Focus

    This one is a bit more personal than the past few posts. As I was working today I realized FOCUS is what keeps us moving forward, staying sane and not losing sight of this awesome life we've got ahead of us. The very thing that I struggle with the most is the very thing that makes me the happiest. It is something I work for, it does not come naturally and quite frankly the thought of it freaks me out, FOCUS. 

     It didn't strike me today until I was listening to music that I realized how music has this innate ability to capture my attention and put my head in the exact place it needs to be. It's like all the worries that are not in my control but I still stress over are forgotten and placed in their own basket out of reach while I'm living out the current moment. That mindset where you have no choice but to be content, to be so lost in the here and now that your heart is full and satisfied? Focus is not about the WHAT but the WHY. Why do I attend cosmetology school for 11 hours 3 days a week alongside working?  Because the least I can with my passion is serve others, because I know without a doubt this is what God wants me to do, because in the depths of my soul I know there is nothing else I would rather do.... It is the why that wakes me up every morning and allows me to be GLAD for another beautiful day-because I know that it's all part of a grander purpose that will slowly come together.
     Lord knows, I'll need an extra dose of the aforementioned (hint: focus) coupled with four cups (per hour) of coffee this week as I'm packing, shopping, wrapping and mentally preparing for Seattle to go visit the boyfriend and family on Thursday, which I can not wait for! I hope everyone has an awesome week before Christmas!

Baking Christmas Party with some beautiful 

sista-friends

Trust in the Lord with all your heart;

      do not depend on your own understanding.

  Seek his will in all you do,

      and he will show you which path to take.

-Proverbs 3:5-6

Season of Giving

Happy Last Sunday before CHRISTMAS! 

     This December has been especially meaningful to me as my life is in a much better place than last year, full of HOPE and JOY for what is, and what is to come!

Every single day I'm blown away by THIS!

Hiking Here!

Eating THIS x 783

Newest Creation;
Scooped out Cinnamon-Raisin bagel
Cream Cheese
Organic Peanut Butter
Nanners
Cinnamon/sugar 
Pure Maple Syrup
= DELICIOUS

+ some organic Strawberry jam

 A la mode a BIG Christmas tree!

 living with Her!

God is GOOD and in this season of giving I am reminded he has given me MORE THAN ENOUGH.

 "For a child is born to us,
      a son is given to us.
   The government will rest on his shoulders.
      And he will be called:
   Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
      Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."

-Isaiah 9:6

The Way I Are

HELLO Darlings! VERY brief post here! 

Just wanted to say I have so life is really good and never sell it short of that.

We get CRAZY busy and our worlds start spinning and hair starts flying but when we look back at our lives in even a year we'll remember the times we had fun, laughed and were straight up RIDICULOUS. 

He & I, in San Francisco, September 2010

Celebrating 10 months of THIS

Tomorrow! 

Hope y'all have AWESOME days, sucking life dry for what it's worth!

 “God blesses those who are poor and realize their need for him,

      for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs."

-Matthew 5:3.

    

Duh-sers

Good Tidings! (sounds Christmassy eh?!)

     So I was struck with the realization today that I can NOT do it all. Who would of thunk? It's one of the most refreshing experiences to be had. As I'm rushing from point to point subconsciously thinking that scurrying will help I eventually hit a climax, a peak where I realize I'm human. I'm me. It's then and only then that  I can choose to fully enjoy and ponder this life I'm living or be consumed by the dark fog of the world around me. By focusing on what blessings I've been given I can experience peace and joy in trusting that God will never let me fall. His agenda is a heck of a lot more strategic and intelligent than my most intricate plan. You know sometimes the best thing is really just to be dropped on our faces a few times, real hard until we hit that breaking point and begin to realize that the right plan is that there is no plan and we need to be flexible yet diligent in each and every pursuit.

I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.   -Romans 15:13

      I used to think I was the only one who struggled with all that encompasses this life. The future, the present, our bodies, school, careers, family, social... And then I realized somewhere between going to school with 99% women and working with majority women that we all face it. There is something empowering about a woman who can be real with herself and others.  It's the women who can be open with her imperfections while embracing them, who walks in a room with a glow, who wears clothes that express who she is not who the media says she is,  a woman who speaks up for what is right, takes care of her body, mind and soul,  a woman who gives confidence to other women instead of breaking them down to build themselves up and a woman who is happy to be herself. YOU are this woman. WE are this woman.  Instead of covering up our vulnerabilities and struggles and going through our days in that foggy state, let's truly display our colors, personalities and experiences and enrich one anothers lives while doing so.
  
    Also if any of y'all need a haircut my school is doing an awesome fundraiser for Phoenix Children's hospital this Thursday, December 16 from 10a-12, $5 haircuts and $5 waxing!

Enjoy this lovely Christmassy Season with your favorite people!

Who knows

     I never really know what will slowly take shape across my blank screen at this hour of the night. All I know is that I have a mind and heart full of ideas and I need to write. The days come and go and as the night is coming to a close I begin to reminisce of all I learned, obtained and lost throughout my day, who I let down and how I can learn from that. Today at school I learned how to cut  real mens hair with clippers and shears and was able to practice on my lovely boyfriend and a friend, Tom.  I really am diggin it! It was as if every small snip produced a new add-in to the sculpture. It's different than womens in that precision and texturizing are HUGE.

     More importantly though today I learned how to keep my head where it needs to be. How not to get ate up in the drama and let it capture my essence. It is human nature to fall into the mainstream and that is why focusing on what is important and forgetting what isn't is VITAL to a life worth looking back at going 'Aha!' You have those people who lift you up and make you better at life, who look into the future and go for it and these people are who inspire me to go forward, not neutral or backwards worrying about petty issues. By letting the small stuff roll off the shoulders we are allowing room in our mind and souls to imagine, create and capture life as it should be.

Don't let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good. 
-Romans 12:21

Thanks!

     Holy Cow! As I sit and think of all that has happened in the past year and where God has taken me, through storms, trials, highs and lows all I can do is bow my head and Thank the Lord. A year ago I was a 21- year old girl so unsure of where I was going, what I was doing and who I wanted to become. Had God not placed AMAZING people in my life, having FAITH in me and just LOVING me I know I'd still be searching for the direction I were to go with my life. After making some major life decisions and ridding my life of those things leading me astray, I knew it was going to be hard but like I've always said "A life worth livin' ain't easy." Some pretty incredible things have happened this past year or have continued to be awesome such as;

1.  My boyfriend, best friend and a Godly relationship.
           If you would of asked me in January of 2010 if I would be in a relationship this year I would of laughed. Well things change fast and I've been blessed with an awesome guy in my life. It's been almost ten months and the best days of my life! Thank You Andrew!

2.  My School
        Who would think I'd be thankful for such a thing? I absolutely enjoy my school partially because we get do hair and paint nails and partially because the people brighten my day and inspire me! It was voted 'Best School Culture' in America recently, it's truly an honor and privilege to go to such an awesome school.  It's been a dream to attend cosmetology school for many years now and until this point in my life it has been put on hold. I am finally doing something I know that with 100 percent certainty I am made to do. It has been incredible!

3. Friends
      Both old and new friends have been such an integral part of my life more than ever the past three years since moving 2,000 miles from where I spent the first 19 years of my life where my beautiful family resides. They have been real, and told me what I needed to hear instead of what I wanted to hear. The women I have been blessed to have in my life are the greatest ladies I could ever ask for. They inspire me, and make me want to be selfless, loving and courageous. They display a kind of love I thought was only possibly from a mother. They broke every premonition I had about girls and have shown me what real women are. I would not be living here following the desires of my heart had these ladies not reached out and shown me they cared for me.

4. My Mom
      Everyday I thank God for the mother who raised me. She taught me what it looks like to not quit and work hard for everything. She showed me that life is what you make it to be, that it's not about being perfect but having fun with what you are given. She believed in me and I am ever thankful for that. She shows me what it looks like to love Jesus with all your heart.

This is from August 2008 I believe but you get the idea ha :)

5. My Body
     After beating up, depriving and abusing my body I have realized more than anything I'm so blessed and thankful for it! It doesn't need to be my enemy but how awesome is it that the more respect I give it, the more it gives back.

Most of all I am thankful for ALL of you, each making a mark on my life!

the REAL DEAL

Alright here's one straight from the heart. We have our bodies for the rest of our lives and we are blessed to be on this Earth with them. I personally and I feel as though it's a common theme throughout our society and age group to forget that our bodies are more than just physical appeal and actually require time and work so we are the most beneficial here on Earth. Lately with being on my feet for 12-14 hours a day I will forget to eat or drink water, and load up on the coffee. It's actually really selfish for us (women especially do this) to forget of purposefully not eat. We can't expect to serve anyone, let alone be a good daughter, mother, worker, friend if we can't even take care of the very thing that allows us to serve others.

IT IS MORE THAN JUST AN OBJECT OF BEAUTY. It is a gift from GOD to be used to further his kingdom and show others LOVE. Where have we lost sight of that? Maybe somewhere between media shoving films with skinny girls eating junk as their primary source of fuel and magazines telling us how many calories to eat. EXCUSE me but there is not a single person who requires the exact same requirements nutritionally or physically. There are people COUNTING on YOU. Don't do it to your body, don't ruin it day by day, little by little eating away at it.

This is coming from a heart that finally realized the implications of my actions tonight. I FORGOT to eat at work and my blood sugar was so low I was dilusional and couldn't even function. It struck me how my actions are selfish. Ok sure, maybe I forgot to eat but what if my body just forgot to start working one day?  I'd be devastated.  I was blessed with a body and I need to treat it like I care.

It's time to live beautifully, caring for our bodies and those who we will love and care for with them!