Top 5 Posts of the Year + Glance at 2016

1. 5 Kids You'll Meet At Every Youth Group 

The Gamer, the gorgeous girl everyone wants to be like, the cool kid, the person who only comes once and the spiritual one. This was the top viewed post with about 158 views. 

2. Importance of Friendships 
When you think of life, friendships are some of the biggest things that make up who we are. They grow us, challenge us yet bless us at the same time. There are many reasons to have good friends in your life, and they are talked about in this post. This was the second top viewed post with about 147 views, and was the second post chronologically in the friendship topic. 

3. Lesson's I've Learned From my Friends 
Friendships can become idols, be careful who you hang out with all of the time and communication is key in friendships. All of these lessons are detailed in this post, published back in January, the first post chronologically in the friendship topic. This post takes spot number 3 with 121 views. 
4. Pop Music 
A music labeled post threw itself into the mix topping out as number four. With a little over 100 views, this was the most popular music post. A few of the questions tackled in this post included, "What is appropriate to listen too...and what is not appropriate and is listening to secular music sinful?" Being extremely picky when it comes to picking what songs you are going to listen to is important. 

5. The Truth about Friendship
This post was third chronologically in the friendship topic, taking the number five spot. The topics tackled were how friendships are often about the conversation not the commitment, the most important characteristic of a friendship is the ability to be vulnerable, people may appear different than they are on the surface, gain advice from wise friends and keep your relationships open to the Lord, always praying for them. It's always best to choose a few close friends instead of many acquaintances. This post                                                       was the fifth ranked post with 95 views. 

Sneak Peak at 2016!

I am so excited to announce some super exciting news: the name of my blog will be changing this week! 

I have renamed my blog "Victory" because it is centered around my personal journey and a huge goal of mine I have for 2016, a belief and strength centered around Christ. I'm excited for my focus and theme of my blog to reflect how God is working in my own life. 

It will also become easier to maneuver, a lot of my old posts that had little significance posted back in 2013 will be turned into drafts/deleted so that it is easier to find old posts that are meaningful. 

I'm also super excited to announce a new series called "Making 2016 Happen." The first post to this series will be posted on Friday, so watch out for that!

I'm so excited for the many new things that will be occurring in 2016 and for the changes happening right off the bat. 

Who's ready for this new journey? 

Some Places have your heart

This past week, my family took a little trip to Chicago for a couple of days. Now my family doesn't really go on city trips that often just because my family isn't your classic "city" family, but it was a great experience (Hotel rates are also cheaper around Christmas time because there aren't as many business travelers). Have you ever just been to a place where it completely captured your heart? A place where you just know a part of your heart was left there and you made such incredible memories that will stay with you forever?  As much as I truly did enjoy Chicago, this was not one of those places for me. The city is a really fun experience, and I really love shopping, eating out and some of the luxuries that come with spending time in the city. But I think that spending time in the creation of our amazing God with some incredible people is what has captured my heart, not only the mountains in Tennessee, but also the ones in Utah. When I took a missions trip out there in the summer of 2014, the mountains in Utah sealed the deal for me that I adore mountains, no matter what part of the country they are in. For me, something about mountains gets me excited. Seriously. It's something about the freedom, the feeling and just the experience. I don't really know exactly how to describe it, but for me, that is something worth a long car ride for.  

I really enjoy hiking and seeing all of the wonderful waterfalls that are in the national parks in both locations of mountains. But I believe it is something more than just that. 

The mountains even from distance are pointing to a creator...something had to have created something so majestic. 

The city, I love it. But to me, the city is filled with more commercialism and almost represents how sin has corrupted the world. Not that the city in itself is corrupt, but it is harder to see God's beauty in it. See, even Pigeon Forge/Galtinburg have an amazing shopping area with some of the most awesome outlet malls and the coolest mini golf attractions. It just looks so cool. Something about that has appealed to my heart so much more than the city. The south and the culture warms my heart and I LOVE hearing the southern accents. Everybody down south seems a little more friendly and hospitable.   

Maybe it's the south that has my heart. Maybe it is the mountains. Maybe it is being able to really be in God's creation. 

I think it truly is a mix of all of those things. But I tell you what: when someone tells me I'm going to Galtinburg and Pigeon Forge Tennessee, girl, I get excited alright. 

What place has captured your heart? 

Goals for the Holidays

break for me is in 1.5 days. 4 finals to go.

So, I thought I would take a break from the studying I should be doing to tell you about some of the goals I want to create for myself. 

With approximately 420 hours of free time, I want to make some goals for myself, otherwise I will waste a lot of precious time.

So here goes it ya'll. 

1. Go ice skating with friends. I want to do this sooo incredibly bad. Going ice skating is so incredibly fun, especially when you are with friends. Something about doing it in the Christmas time is literally just gleeful and just very festive. It. just. it's. awesome. ya'll.  

2. Create homemade gifts. This year, I want to make sure I have really good and intentional gifts. I have been busy with studying and other things,  so I want to be intentional in the 10 days until Christmas to finish up all of my Christmas "shopping". 

3. Watch a Christmas movie. I rarely get around to watching movies, either because I have other things to do or I just don't have time. This year, whether it is with friends, by myself or with my family, I want to watch at least once Christmas movie. 

4. Decorate my room. I want to put some Christmas lights up in my room and make it just feel very cheerful and Christmasy. 

5. Walk around the mall. I think anything is more fun during Christmas time, especially walking around and shopping. Even if I'm not actually buying anything for myself, walking around the mall, doing Christmas shopping, it is a lot more enjoyable during the holiday season. 

6. Host or go to a Christmas party. Yes, I'm going to a youth group party for Christmas, but I really want to go/have another one besides that. A New Years Eve party, a holiday party, whatever it is. I need to party. Finals have gotten to me and I need a reward to look forward to. 

7. Bake goodies. This holiday season, I want to bake at least ONE Christmas goodie. Who doesn't love food and sweets? 

8. Spend time with those I love. Above all else, I want to be able to say that I was able to spend nearly every moment of my break with those I love. Even if it's not everyday, I do want to make sure not more than a few days go by without spending time with a friend. 

9. Read more from God's word. I want to be intentional and use this time to spend more time in God's word. I want to pursue Him and prepare myself mentally for the new semester that will start (but we won't think about that part of it quite yet). 

what do you want to accomplish this holiday season? 


p.s. if you are ever interested in reading a devotional written by myself, please click here to check out my new devotional page!  This page won't be updated everyday, but I will try to update it every couple of days with new content. 

aiming for the perfect christmas

Just like any other break (summer or spring break) we tend to have some dreams of how awesome our break is going to be.

Goodies, goodness, buying gifts for others, watching holiday movies nonstop, watching the snow fall and going ice skating. It all seems so perfect.

As I've grown up, I've discovered more and more that I try to force a perfect Christmas on myself.

It starts to morph into pressure to create the perfect kind of Christmas.

A lot of times when we are on break, we tend to threaten Christmas with ruin when things don't turn out all merry the way we expected them to. 

Sometimes the cheer of the holidays can cover up a controlling heart trying to achieve selfish dreams. 

Release the pressure. 

There is a quote from Jon Bloom that says, "Christmas is not about fulfilling our holiday expectations. It's about celebrating Jesus's overwhelming accomplishment for us and following in his humble servant footsteps." 

Try to think about it for a moment: what if all of the sudden, all of the things, peppermint mochas, gifts around the tree, what if all of those were taken away?

It wouldn't feel like Christmas at all, if I'm completely honest. Yet at the same time, we have everything we need to celebrate Christmas. 

Don't try to achieve a perfect Christmas, but maybe this year, you can let it come naturally. Let the praise from the Holiday fill you with perfect joy found in Christ.

1. Invite friends over and do fun activities

For most of us, this probably isn't a problem. For me, I definitely love being around close friends, but this year, if you're like me, maybe you can step outside and invite some friends you don't know as well. Expand your horizons. Hospitality reflects the message of the gospel, and Christmas parties are a huge hit anyways :)

2. "It is more blessed to give than receive". 

I've found myself being very selfish in not spending too much money on certain things. This holiday season, spend that extra $5 to give someone something or to host a party. $5 is not going to kill you and when you focus on giving to others, it will bring true joy.

3. Focus on others, not just yourself.

Often we get self absorbed, no matter what holiday it is. But when you are joyful and go with the flow of circumstances around you, you will be a happier person. So try to look beyond yourself this Christmas season, but please, do take time to have that peppermint hot chocolate and watch a few Christmas movies :) We are blessed to have those opportunities, so make the most of them! 

what plans do you have this Christmas season? 

7 things I need to remember

// Even though sin may seem enticing, it is not worth it or pleasurable in the end and will only end in heartache. 

//Your past sins do not define you. Christ sees you as blameless because of the blood shed by Christ. You are free from the bondage of sin and it no longer has a grip on you because the strength of Christ. 

//Being alone isn't always a bad thing. Just because you aren't doing something every Friday night doesn't mean you're a loner. Take those moments to spend time doing what you truly want to do. Don't jam pack your schedule. Sometimes you need to embrace alone time. 

//The friendships that you are supposed to have in your life right now, they will happen. Don't stress over, push or over analyze things that are not supposed to be in your life right now. Sometimes you never know what people may come into your life you never thought you needed.

//Think about the consequences of your choices before you make them. If there is any hesitation for what you are about to do; think about the consequences, positive and negative.

//Be yourself and make decisions based on yourself. Don't base where you are going to go to college or what you are going to major in just for other people. If there's something you really want to do, go for it.

//A life spent pursuing Christ is far more valuable than anything else this world can offer. Yes, there are lots of important things, but do not waste countless hours on electronics when you can be spending more time pursuing the King of Kings and loving other people.

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