This...

...is a wonderful lady that wrote a really interesting book. I read it last year and was reminded about it today. I got curious and looked her up! Turns out she has a blog too! I recommend reading the book first and then the blog. The book is called "Confessions of a Boy-Crazy Girl: On Her Journey from Neediness to Freedom". Such an encouraging, true story.


Link for Book: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/confessions-of-a-boy-crazy-girl-paula-hendricks/1114796629?ean=9780802407504 

Blog: http://paulawrites.com

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and He will make your path straight." Proverbs 3:5

Here's

...to getting back on track and becoming the best version of myself. 

Today I was struggling a lot- focusing on my outward appearance and comparing myself to others in a negative way. 

Then I read my last post about Beauty and the Beast, and surprisingly, I actually felt encouraged by my own post. 

How awesome is that?!

I'm still struggling with wanting to look a certain way, but at the same time, 

I'm so tired of wasting my time on that. 

I want to put more meaning into my life. 

I want to think about others more instead of myself. 

I want to do something with my life- something really meaningful. 

I want people to see Christ in me. 

I'm definitely not perfect, but it's okay as long as we get back up again after we fall. 

I heard this phrase a while ago: "Fight. Fall. Repent." 

I think the point of the phrase is that we need to fight- to push ourselves- to fight against our sinful nature. 

We sometimes fall. That's normal. 

Then, the important part: We repent. I read about repentance and the author described repentance as "turning around"- that is, turning around from our mistakes. 

So,

don't fret. 

When we fall, let's make sure to get up again and start fighting again. 

Keep going. We'll get better- you and me- day by day. 

As long as we really put effort in, God sees our effort and encourages us. 

We're eagles-in-training, people!

Let's get going!

Onward! Seize the day. 

"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified. Do not be discouraged. For the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go." Joshua 1:9 <3

I Don't Know...

...what my problem is, but I have been so preoccupied with my outward appearance lately. I have been putting so much focus on outward beauty and measuring my happiness on whether or not I look skinny "today". I've been critical of myself and in result have also become critical others. 

But today is the day to change. 

When I watched Beauty and the Beast in theaters, I loved it so much, but I felt more like the Beast than Beauty. 

The good thing is is that there is always HOPE. 

Even though I've been so pathetic lately, I am very ready to change and become a better person. 

Day by day I can become better and work on myself. 

I can be kinder to myself and especially to others. 

We're all human. 

We've all made mistakes. 

We've all looked like hobos at many points in our lives. 

I have to keep reminding myself that it's our inside that counts- our heart, that is. 

Going back to the movie Beauty and the Beast, remember that the whole point of the movie was that Beauty fell in love with the Beast's heart AND even though Belle was beautiful, it was her golden heart that mattered. 

I read a quote by Emma Watson the other day that I loved. 

"I keep telling myself that I'm a human being who's not made to look like a doll, and that who I am as a person is more important than whether at that moment I have a nice figure."

That says it all. 

So- I'm in the mood to be motivational. 

Let's all start focusing on our inward appearances. 

Don't get me wrong. Wanting to look pretty and all is good and even important, but I'm done comparing myself to others and being critical of everyone. 

Let's all turn into the Beast after his heart changed. 

When he became humble.

When he became kind. 

When his insides finally showed on the outside, and he became the prince that he was inside. 

So cheesy, but true. 

Get to it! 

Let's become the kind-hearted, compassionate people that God intended for us to be...

...and seize the day. 

He...

...was wounded for our transgressions. 

He was crushed for our iniquities. 

The punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, 

and by His wounds we are healed. 


Isaiah 53:5

Happy Easter!

CHRIST IS RISEN <3 

Eagles

I am a hopeless romantic. I watch cheesy romantic comedies and love happy endings. I am currently watching a movie called "Becoming Jane". It's about the story of Jane Austen and how she found true love. I don't actually like the ending, but since it's a true story, I can't do much about it. In the scene where Jane and Tom (her love), finally kiss, (her first kiss by the way, which makes it so much more special), Tom expresses his love to Jane with the words, "Jane, I'm yours. I'm yours- heart and soul!" I have watched that scene so many times. I know that sounds silly, but this scene means so much to me for different reasons. One reason is that there is real love there- sacrificial love. Another reason is that it is pure love. One other reason that I love this scene so much is that Tom is completely and utterly genuine of his love. I want that kind of love. I know, God-willing, it will happen when the time is right. I also know that movies tend to make perfect scenes that might not always happen, but I am going to keep hoping and even praying for a pure, genuine love of a husband and also praying to become the person that I would want to meet- which is very important as well. You know why? Because if you're looking for an eagle, an eagle is not going to want a turkey- he'll want an eagle too. I'm not gonna give up. Let's become eagles together, shall we? I believe that with God's help, if we just keep moving forward, we can all find that kind of love. (Of course, besides God's love <3) I'm talking about marriage. I want to have a beautiful marriage. And who cares if I get all mushy and hopeful when I watch these movies? I know that marriage isn't all chocolates and roses, but I'm sure that, when the right young man comes along, there will be a whole bunch of love in everything we do. But it starts now- with each of our hearts. Let's give love to everyone now, so that one day, we'll be ready to meet our very own Tom. 

Patience

Learning to be patient is so hard. 

I pray to be patient, but when an opportunity arises of when I could be, I'm not always patient. 

But thank God that we have to push ourselves to be patient sometimes, otherwise we wouldn't feel such satisfaction and reward from our perseverance. Just imagine if you got everything you wanted right now. 

You would probably feel empty after awhile. "Well what now?"- you might think. 
If there's no goal, then there's not much left. 


So this is just a loving reminder for all of us to stay patient and focus on making ourselves the best we can be, and learning to trust God more, and then, when it's best, things will God-willing fall into place. 

Book Recommendation

Hi guys! 
So I wanted to tell you about my favorite book. 

It's called "An Old-Fashioned Girl" by Louisa May Alcott. 

I wouldn't call myself a bookworm, but guess how many times I've read this book. 

6 times. And going on 7. 

Now don't get me wrong. At first I was skeptical, but it's a perfect combination of the importance of morals, having good friendships, becoming the best versions of ourselves, and it has some romance in it (which of course makes it even better!) 

By the way, if you get it, either get the one book with two parts to it, because half of the book starts off with the characters after six years or it can come in two books with the second book starting off six years later. 

I promise it's great. 
Go buy it, and remember to keep moving forward! :)