For the King’s Daughters

Sometimes you feel like no one notices you.

Gym, work, groceries, laundry… Your days all look the same. You wonder if anyone cares or appreciates you… Your efforts feel invisible.

God cares.

God sees you when you pack your kids’ lunches. And when you put forth your best effort at the end of a tiring workweek. He sees every dish you wash and every sweater you fold.

Darling, you are never invisible. God sees your heart. He notices you.

And He delights in what He sees.

photo via weheartit

Protected: How God Turns A Test Into A Testimony

This post is password protected. To view it please enter your password below:

Password:

Twenty-four.

Twenty-four is a weird age because my friends and I are all in different places.

We are single, dating, engaged, or married. We are purchasing homes, renting tiny apartments, or living in our parents’ basement. We are pursuing degrees, realizing dreams, working at dead-end jobs, or unemployed. We are saving money, living paycheck to paycheck, or accumulating debt. We are walking with God or walking away from the religion our parents forced on us.

We are figuring ourselves out. We are making choices about relationships. We are deciding whether we’ll leave something good for the possibility of something great. We are battling fears of commitment, or fears of being alone. We are falling in love with others, or falling in love with who we are in the world as individuals.

We are deciding what the rest of our lives will look like.

And me? I’m reaching. I am reaching for the courage to dream a little bigger. I am reaching for friends who think that God is awesome and life is beautiful. I am letting go of relationships that make me feel like less than I am. I am shifting memories to the back of my mind and making room for better ones. I am embracing the parts of myself that I love and confronting the parts of myself that need improvement.

I am realizing that I don’t want the next few years to be easy. I want them to be filled with beauty and breaking and everything else it takes to have an extraordinary life. I want whatever it takes to become a woman whose life is centered on Jesus. I want whatever it takes to become a wife who never stops finding new ways to fall in love with her husband. I want whatever it takes to become a mom who sets up a tent in the backyard and stays up late roasting marshmallows with her kids so they look back at their childhood and see happy things. I want whatever it takes to become a friend that other people can count on, no matter what.

I love being twenty-four because it means that the days ahead will be filled with love and courage and growth… I’m ready for it.

Strong Is The New Beautiful

I can summarize what I’ve learned this year in one sentence.

I can make it through more than I thought, with less than I thought. 

And, for now, that feels like enough. 

He Taught Me How To Love Myself Too Much To Stay Connected To Someone Who Doesn’t Love Me Enough.

He hurt me, challenged me, refined me, disappointed me, strengthened me, infuriated me, motivated me, polished me, and inspired me. He taught me both how to let down my walls and be vulnerable and to set boundaries to protect my heart. And he taught me how to love myself too much to stay connected to someone who doesn’t love me enough.

- Amanda Hale

Strength In Beauty, Beauty In Strength.

“At any given moment you have the power to say: This is NOT how the story is going to end.” 

The First Time

1. The first time you turn your high heels around and walk away from a bad situation is the first time you realize that you control your own happiness.

2. The first time you do something kind for someone who cannot repay you is the first time you realize that giving love to others will bring you infinitely more joy than trying to receive love from others.

3. The first time you realize that we’re not all given equal opportunities is the first time you get the chance to treat everyone equally anyway.

4. The first time you make a big mistake is the first time you realize that every mistake comes with an equally important lesson.

5. The first time you love someone deeply is the first time you realize how much sunshine one person can bring to your world.

6. The first time you look in the mirror and smile is the first time you realize that God created your face and you get to create the expression.

7. The first time you decide to tell the truth when it would be easier to lie is the first time you realize that having character is more important than avoiding confrontation.

8. The first time you cross a finish line– whether it’s a literal one or an emotional one– is the first time you realize how strong you really are.

9. The first time you experience something traumatic is the first time you realize that life is precious and should not be taken for granted.

10. The first time you face something that scares you is the first time you realize that life is worth living when you take risks.

 

Self-Love Friday

If you’re happy in your head, then solitude is blessed, & alone is okay.

 

Everything Has Rhythm. Everything Dances.

PHOTOS REBLOGGED VIA BALLERINA PROJECT

Open Letter to My 14 Year-Old Self

Dear 14 Year-Old Self,

Even when it feels like the world is shouting that you’re not good enough… You are. You always have been. You always will be.

You are beautiful. People around you will be obsessed with their appearance, but you shouldn’t let them get to you. Don’t compromise your self-worth to fit in. I promise, you won’t feel better by starving yourself. It may make you feel “in control” for a short amount of time… But then everything else will spin out of control.  Eat well, exercise, and love yourself.

Always remember that the prettiest girls are not necessarily the thinnest ones, with the whitest teeth, and a closet full of vintage dresses. The prettiest girls are the ones who have only kind things to say about others, and themselves. Try to be of those girls. Some people will disagree with this description of beauty, but those aren’t the people you need to surround yourself with anyway.

People are more dangerous than your naïve heart can imagine. I don’t want you to live in fear, but you need to know how to protect yourself. If a boy ever physically or emotionally hurts you, that should be the last time he ever sees you. I don’t care how many times he says he loves you or promises not to hurt you again. He doesn’t and he will. If you stay, you’ll start a pattern of playing the victim. You were not meant to be the victim, darling. You need to be the heroine of your life.

Insist on your own happiness. Fight the temptation to give into depression. Disregard the pressure to compete with your peers. Ignore the voices in your mind that wonder if you’re loved. Don’t give in. Be stronger than everything that hinders your spirit. Be creative, seize opportunities, and pursue everything that inspires you. Paint. Read. Write. Swim. Express your soul. 

Don’t worry if you’re not the girl all the boys like when you’re young. You’ll have plenty of time and opportunities for that later. Just enjoy the time you have now– time to be free, innocent and void of responsibilities.  Someday, there will be a line of men who claim to adore you. You won’t accept all their offers, because you’re not desperate for love. Instead, you’ll ask these men to prove themselves through words and acts of genuine kindness and respect.

The older you get, the more you will realize that your life needs to be about giving more than you take. When you start feeling overwhelmed or insecure, pray about it. Close your eyes, take a deep breath, and ask God to fill your mind with His love and compassion. Ask Him for a mind that thinks of others more than yourself. If you do this enough times, your fears and insecurities will be replaced with joy and peace.

You will not make it through life without scars, but it’s never too late to re-do parts of your past. You always have choices. You can choose to give and accept forgiveness. You can choose to make peace with your past. You can choose to silence cruel words with compassion. You can choose to stand up for what’s right. Even if you stand alone.

Walk in beauty and grace, today and always.

Jaclyn