Encourage&Inspire:: 2

Do you like the blog's facelift?! Just seemed like a good time for a little change =) 

Clean, crisp, and simple areas make me feel calm, like I can breathe a little easier.

{which may be why I avoid my room so much....oh the clutter haha} 

Happy Monday everyone! 

so much MAGIC! {found here}

love. this needs to go up on my wall. 

how great is this? 

Beauty in Disappointment

I had plans.

Finish up work, spend the weekend with friends in another state, dance and photograph and just relax for a few days.

Then I woke up sick.

Fever, puking, miserable sick.

And I was angry.

BECAUSE I HAD PLANS, you know?

I'll admit, the sick part was pretty awful. Laying on the couch for 48 hours wondering if you'll ever want to eat again is not ideal. Missing work (read: money) wasn't great.

But waking up rested after two days of sleeping was needed. And spending 3 days with my godparents (from CA) instead of 1, was pretty special. Bowling and watching movies and learning about football was...refreshing.

I'll admit, I'm still disappointed my plans didn't go as planned. I'm sad I didn't get to spend time with my friends.

However, realizing God can make beautiful things out of my disappointment, that he can renew and breathe life into areas I didn't even know I were lacking...is pretty amazing.

Encourage&Inspire:: 1

I think it's key to constantly be finding things that inspire you, whether it be someone you know, a photo, a cause, or a quote - discovering pieces of life that light a fire within you.

Life can be rough, we all know that. It likes to wear you down, whisper the negative, and prey on your insecurities. But that's when I go digging for my favorite photo, write a bible verse down and pin it on my wall, or go read up on a photographer I look up to. A little motivation goes a long way!

So in honor of mondays, when I find myself dragging the most, I'm starting "Encourage&Inspire". Basically, quotes, photographs, and stories that I enjoy and think you might like too =)

Reminded: Hope

A gift from a dear friend,

my favorite word with my favorite color,

a much needed reminder

to keep holding on.

To the hope that no matter how hard we fall,

how low we sink,

how far we walk away,

God can always save us from ourselves.

this beautiful song from Gungor  is another great reminder 

of this Hope 

Bring Joy

This isn't a new year resolution. Because I don't plan on it failing. Or pretending like I didn't say this in about three and a half weeks. This is real and it isn't a new years resolution because I thought about it before the new year even happened.

promise.

this is what I know:
I like people who make me laugh. Who make me happy to be where I am, doing what I'm doing, because they're there. I like people who make my day better.

and this is my thought:
what if...I was that person. What if I made people laugh? Made them feel better? Brightened their day?

here's the key part:
regardless of how I feel. whether I want  to be at work. or I happen to be struggling with myself. beyond all of that, if I stepped outside of myself and where I'm at and simply

brought joy.
because I know people need it.

I would really like to be that girl.

I will probably fail 9 times out of 10 (okay, maybe 8), because lets be honest, I get wrapped up in my worries more than a normal person should, BUT

if every morning,  I wake up and try again, wrap my joy up in a paper bag and carry it to work, share it in a smile, or a joke, or a listening ear;
if every morning, I make the choice (no matter how many times remade)

to bring joy.
I think that's what counts.