..:: i cooked brussels sprouts ::..

First of all, I've gotten into this weird habit of cooking. Who am I?
{My child self is very confused and weirded out by this.}

Second... not only have I been cooking more than normal {and actually enjoying it}... tonight I decided to cook BRUSSELS SPROUTS! WHAT!?!?! Seriously, though, WHO AM I!?

Funny enough, I actually enjoyed them and have decided that I'm a great chef (self-proclaimed... because I cook for an audience of one... me. Mom likes my salmon, though.)

I'd encourage anyone to try this brussels sprout recipe. Sorry it's not super specific... I'm one of those 'a little of this, a dash of that' cooks. :)



INGREDIENTS: Brussels Sprouts, Olive Oil, Balsamic Vinegar, Sea Salt, Fresh Pepper

INSTRUCTIONS:

• Buy brussels sprouts (how to determine which brussels sprouts to buy!? WHO KNOWS. I just picked a pack off the shelf at Publix... I think their produce is pretty legit)
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees
• Wash brussels sprouts
• Trim off the stem and cut in half long ways
• Place flat side face down in baking dish
• Lightly cover in olive oil, sea salt, fresh pepper and balsamic vinegar (whatever your little heart desires will be great, I'm sure)
• Toss
• Place in oven for 15-20 minutes
• About half way through, remove dish and flip brussels sprouts
• I decided to add a little extra of each of the ingredients at this point, but you probably don't have to
• Enjoy the delectableness and satisfaction that #1. You cooked. #2. You cooked Brussels Sprouts

WARNING: Your child self may be staring at you in disbelief. It's okay. We must all grow up at some point and eat our veggies.

..:: an open letter to younger people ::..

Dear younger people,

Today I was browsing on Instagram, which I do often. Being in Public Relations and Marketing, I'm constantly monitoring social media channels. I have a lot of people I follow {specifically on Instagram, but also on others} who are younger than me...

1. I work with the youth group at my church
2. I lead a small group for high school girls
3. I was in a sorority and have many younger sisters who I stay in touch with
4. I have a sister in high school - therefor I claim many of her friends as my own
5. I have many friends with younger siblings... and therefor I also claim them as my own
6. I've spent years teaching dance, dance camps, working with dance teams and working at summer camps as a counselor

I don't feel I need to justify that point, but the point I want to get across is that the age difference between us is very small {in the grand scheme of things}. The big difference is the phase of life I'm in verse the phase of life you are in. 

While I'm only 4-10 years older than many of these friends I follow or are connected with on Social Media, I've survived the awkward middle school days, made it through high school {alive}, somehow I managed to get out of college with a great degree, and have held 3 great positions in my field of study that have always been a step closer to my career goals. I've broken hearts, had my heart broken, lost friends, gained friends, made bad decisions, made awful situations worse, made great decisions, and seen God turn the most awful, unpromising situation into a glorious case that just proves His love for us. 

What I don't understand {and I constantly, and too frequently stumble upon} is why... oh WHY... do younger people find in necessary to cuss on social media, post pictures with alcohol, use vulgar speech and post half naked selfies? And please... oh PUHLEASE... do not think I am stereotyping younger people or saying 'all young people do these things.' Trust me... there are some younger people out there that live such a mature, amazing life, that it daily challenges me to be a better person and examine the situations I make in my own life. But it seems that the bad posts have stood out to me lately.

I've noticed that younger people like freedom and to express themselves at their will. {Note: Freedom comes with a price.} Of course we all do... and I am a huge fan of all the pro's that Social Media has brought to our society... but the way some younger people put themselves out there on their pages is just appalling. Is this an entitlement thing? Does it make you cool? Do you think you are going to grow into future leaders of your generation by posting these things? Does posting a sentence where every other word is a cuss word get you the 'hott guy' at school or the 'popular' girl? Does a half-naked selfie really attract the type of person you want to date? Does posting pics of you and your friends partying and drinking adult beverages make you cooler than the person who is just doing it without posting pics of it?... oh wait. Drinking underage is illegal... Oh yeah... there's a penalty for that which can go on your record permanently. Posting pics of it is definitely not smart. Moving on...

Even more... do you think your parents don't see it? Or do your parents not discourage it? {I guess that's another rant for another day} Or do you just... not... care...?

I don't know about you... but I sure would not say those things in front of my mom who has busted her butt to raise us... and especially not in front of my grandmother! Geez.

AND even more... let's look at the future, people... Would you younger people say these things in an interview? Would you say these things to your future spouse? Would you look a CEO of a company you desired to employed at and show them a picture of you dancing with your friends on top of a truck in a field with red solo cups {only filled with soda... of course} and repeat the words you posted {1/3 of them being vulgar and cuss words} along with that half-naked selfie? 

Everyone should consider those things... because that's exactly who will see those vulgar posts, those unnecessary cuss words and the exposing pictures {along with all the people whose newsfeeds you pop up in}.

Don't get me wrong... I've done enough stupid things to hold my own. I'm not better than anyone and I'm so thankful I serve a loving God who does not hold anything against me but freely loves and forgives. 

I'm writing this letter more as a challenge because it hurts me to see young people throwing away the potential they could have in the future because they are naive in thinking that their current actions won't affect their future. I just want to warn you since I'm going through life only slightly ahead of you. 

More and more companies are using Social Media as a free background check. Even with your privacy settings on, they can get the info they need. And if they can't, the bigger companies have connections with people that can. 

I may not be old enough to be your boss (or maybe I am...), but I am the person that would screen an application prior to a job interview. I'm the person that would write a resume for a sorority. I'm the person who is friends with the 'bosses.' I'm the person with connections at the schools and colleges you want to go to. I'm the person who has connections to the people you need to know, but would never refer someone to a position who I would not put my name on... and by some of the things I see posted on social media, I definitely wouldn't want my name on that. 

GIRLS... let's look at it from this view {we can stop for a minute on the uptight future school/career stuff} || DO YOU WANT TO PORTRAY THAT TYPE OF GIRL TO YOUR FUTURE SPOUSE? || Do you want to attract a guy who parties all the time and is going nowhere in life? || Do you want your body to be exposed to the world {because that can happen with social media} when that is supposed to be special to your future husband? || Do you not have enough respect for yourself to put some clothes on.... or at least not post half naked pics of you in those clothes? || Do you really think that the top women in business got there by cussing and posting party pics? || Do you think cussing is lady like? {Or do you not care...?} || I could go on... but I will stop.

GUYS... I can't look at it from your point of view... but what I can say is that you are called to be leaders. In your schools. In relationships. In sports. In many other ways. The things you say can help or hurt girls your age and you can be the difference, the leaders in their lives. You are their friends. You are their boyfriends. Encouraging words go farther than you could ever imagine. 

I don't want to sound like a prude. I had fun in high school and probably too much fun in college. And I have those memories in my head... not in my digital blueprint for the whole world to track my life timeline during those phases of life. I would hope that my future husband could look back at my social media timeline and be proud of what he sees. I would hope that my social media pages would be even more proof why an employer would want to hire me to represent their name, their company and their brand. I hope my online presence is an inspiration to others and a testament to my character. 

And dear younger people... just know that older people aren't perfect either. I constantly see people older than me post questionable posts with vulgar language and cussing as well. That saddens me. Social media can be a great thing... and it can also be a detrimental thing.

BUT I challenge YOU to be the difference. Make a change. Live your life to a standard you would be proud of when you look back 10, 20, 50 years from now... because trust me... unless the internet as we know it disappears, your whole life (or what you post of it) will still be accessible some way or another.

As I've been noticing how much it hurts me to see these posts by younger people, I've been examining what I post. Does it positively affect others? Will it help someone? Does it hurt someone? Does it represent my character? There's definitely past posts and pictures I've posted that I look back on and wish I hadn't. But you can't live in the past. You can only move forward and learn from your mistakes. And that's what I'm trying to do.

I love my position in life. I love speaking into the lives of younger people. If I've made a difference in just one life, I've lived a life worth living. I hope my life can be somewhat of an example for younger people and that younger people can take my mistakes and learn from them to avoid the road bumps I did earlier in life.  

Any decision in life will either have a negative or positive impact on your life... and broadcasting those decisions on the world wide web for all to see will only dramatize those decisions and leave a lasting imprint in the digital world. 

If you've made it this far, thanks for reading. Feel free to share or comment. No one is perfect but I hope we can raise a generation of young leaders who will positively affect others around them. 

Be awesome. Stay Classy. Love unconditionally. Change the world.

On Time.

Psalm 27:14

Wait for the Lord;
    be strong and take heart
    and wait for the Lord.

I came across the following verse this morning:

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap the harvest if we do not give up.       -Gal. 6:9 (NIV)

This verse is one I've heard throughout my life and I always think of it as being a good 'christian' and to 'keep on keeping on...' in doing 'good things' in life. This morning, it hit me a little differently...

The 'weird' phase...

A lot of people my age are at a weird phase of their life. I wouldn't call it the 'awkward' phase of life (that's the teens...), but honestly it's just weird. At 25, you have friends who have been in and out of college and have gotten their 'big kid' jobs, you have friends who are still in college, you have friends that never went to college, you have friends that went to college and are doing nothing with their life and you have friends that have hardly any education and are making more money than 4 of your friends combined. On another aspect of life, you have friends that are married, you have friends that are single, you have friends that date and date... and date, you have friends that never want to get married, you have friends that ONLY talk about ever getting married... and they are the single-est of them all. And to add one more aspect, you have friends that are 25 that act and live like they are 25... you have friends that are 20 that live as though they are 29 and then you have friends that are 31 that party like they are 21. With all that being said, the mid-20's are just a HUGE transition phase of life... and it's just... weird.

Over the past few years, I've really taken time to get my life on the track God has set for me and He has placed the people in my life that need to be there. It's been a hard few years and my faithfulness has definitely been tested... and there have been so many times when my impatience has kicked in and I've jumped to make decisions and done things on my timing... that clearly weren't God's timing.

The past 6 months have been full of events testing my patience and faithfulness... whether it be work or relationships, it's been an intense, but wonderful, 6 months. Most recently something that I had been trying to be patient and faithful with was suddenly ripped from my hands (which I shouldn't have ever been holding in my hands in the first place) and turned in a direction that I totally was not expecting. It hurt. A lot. And it still does... but it really has made me step back and think a lot about TIME. When it happened, I just kept saying, 'I wish I could just take back the past 6 months,' so I could change the outcome.

On Time...

When I read the words, 'proper time,' in Galations 6:9 this morning, I remembered what I had been saying about taking back the past 6 months of my life, and I realized, the events that are unfolding in front of my eyes and in my life are not on my timing. They are on God's timing. And his timing is perfect. Maybe not to what our human brains can wrap our minds around, but because He walks ahead, behind and beside us, He knows what is next on the agenda and He can overlook the past and walk with us to guide us through those times.

As I was thinking about this, God said to me, 'I'm not early. I'm not late. I'm ON TIME.' Wow. It's true... God is ON TIME.

In life, we will experience hardships, we will have to endure tests and trials and we will at times be heartbroken and find ourselves in a place that we never expected to be at a time that we thought something would be unfolding a different way than it did. In these times, we can rejoice knowing that God is ON TIME when we are FAITHFUL and TRUST in Him and His master plan.

God has given us each special talents and gifts with a purpose to share those with others. In these times of brokenness, we are called to keep doing good and being faithful with the talents and gifts God has given us because despite our human 'feelings,' God is going to use your talents to bring about something during that time... you just may be too distracted by the events blinding you to see His plan unfolding. So, as Galatians 6:9 says, 'Let us not become weary in doing good,' we need to endure the tests and trials that life throws at us. On His 'proper time,' we will 'reap the harvest if we do not give up.'

As I continued to think about all this, I realized that my hurt and brokenness may be distracting me from something else God is calling me to do. Maybe God is protecting me from something or maybe He just has other plans for me... either way, I have to step back and lay that hurt at the foot of the cross and live in peace knowing that God is ON TIME. He will work out those situations on perfect timing and I can rest knowing this. Joyce Meyer said,

God causes things to happen at exactly the right time! Your job is not to figure out when, but to make up your mind that you won't give up until you cross the finish line and are living in the radical, outrageous blessings of God. The more you trust Jesus and keep your eyes focused on Him, the more life you'll have. Trusting God brings life. Believing brings rest. So stop trying to figure everything out and let God be in your life.

This passage is so powerful and it's such a relief to know that we don't have to figure everything out. We just have to let go and let God work. We don't have to have all the answers we just have to live knowing that Jesus is THE answer and He WAS, IS and always WILL BE on time.

Whose time are you living on?

But let endurance and steadfastness and patience have full play and do a thorough work, so that you may be perfectly and fully developed, lacking in nothing.       -James 1:4

I have it all planned out - plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for.                -Jeremiah 29:11 (msg)

2013 :: let go & let GOD

2013... Is this real life?

Seriously just yesterday we were prepping our homes for the turn of the millennium.... And 13 years later... Where are we now? As I look back on the past and forward to the future, it's truly spectacular to think about the blessings God has given me.

I've been thinking about New Year's resolutions for the past few days. In my 25 (wait... Is THAT real life...?! Haha) years of life, I have never actually written down my New Year's resolutions. But hey, if you want actual change, you've got to make actual CHANGES to your lifestyle. Procrastination and pondering on what you want to do does not produce changes.

My New Year's resolutions are all very simple but also will make monumental changes in who I am as a person, friend, sister, daughter, coworker and leader, but most of all child of God.

Lots of people have life themes: 'Live. Laugh. Love' (one of my faves), 'YOLO' (big on when you live on the coast), 'Don't worry... be Happy.' While all these are great and I refer to them often, God's laid on my heart a new one that has inspired most of my 2013 resolutions... 'let go & let GOD.'

let go & let GOD

It's simple, easy, free and transparent. At the same time, it's complex, involved, expensive and in your face.

I love the thought of letting go and letting God work in my life, use my talents for His purpose and molding me into the woman He wrote the story about. (Yes he has written each one of our lives before we were even conceived)

This thought I'm adopting does not mean sit back, be lazy and do nothing to better yourself as a person. While God wants to work in your life I truly believe you should constantly be taking steps (in His will) that will continually be molding your life to parallel His word.

I'm excited about 2013 for God has promised to move BIG in my life.

How is He going to move in yours? I challenge you to 'let go and let GOD' this year. What are you holding on to that God needs you to surrender to Him before He can bless you with the things He has planned for you? Believe in the promises of God, trust Him and speak truth over your life.

Proverbs 3: 5&6-
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.

I loved the quotes on this picture I found. Maybe adopt a few of those into your life :)

Happy 2013!

How will YOU respond?

Heavy storm clouds hover over the bay while sun still shines on Destin, Fla.

'The way you respond to your circumstance is an expression of the trust in your relationship with God'

I saw this quote on a Facebook friend's status this morning and thought it was perfect for how my day started off. When the storm comes but you can still see what life was like prior to the storm, sometimes it's hard to stay calm and carry on. We often see those clouds rolling closer in the distance and ignore the warning signs until the second the storm clouds are hanging heavy on our shoulders and almost suffocating us.

It's easy to take the worldly route and think we are Superman... Thinking we can hold those clouds back on our own. Reality check: We're not. The only way to make it through the storm is to trust God an know that while we want to hold that cloud on our own...struggling an straining to peek through the thick cloud... He has the WHOLE world in the palm of His hand.

I really like this quote I saw this morning and just wanted to share. Hope that next time you have a hard circumstance that you will let God take those storm clouds in His own hand and move them when the timing is right... But also when you have those nice, warm sunny days in life that you will praise God an remember that God is good and all good things are from him.

'For the Lord our God is our sun and shield. He gives us grace and glory...' -Psalm 48:11

I love this. He is our sun and our shield! Just love love love that.

Praise be to God for being my sun and not only shining down blessings on my life but also opening my eyes to learn this lesson and showing me new things every day, but also my shield. He protects and defends for me. In His name, I can live every day worry free because He and His army of angels are constantly by me to protect me in all journeys of life...

The question is: in each circumstance, HOW will I respond? Will I step back and let Him lead me through the storm and trust that He can carry those clouds? Or will I try and carry myself through the storm? When I am blessed, will I open my eyes and see God through that blessing? Or will I go on along my day and consider it 'good luck'?

How will YOU respond?