April 25, 2022
Hey! I’m so glad you decided to check in today! I pray that you have all had a great weekend. I had a busy weekend, but end the end it was overall a good week. Yesterday, I got to set up a booth at a small local event and hand out information about BBB as well as sell some shirts/bracelets. The turn out was not really what I had expected but I had to remind myself that the few people that did stop by, I was a witness and hopefully an encouragement. I really enjoyed being able to meet some new people and even got to hear a few others open up about mental health struggles of their own. It always amazes me the connections we can make when we simply talk to one another. You would not believe the amount of people in your community that are or have faced similar trials as you. If only we were more vocal about the reality of life. I honestly think we could form a huge support group if we normalized talking about the “crap” in life. It is like that clique question of How are you?With the “correct” answer of Great or amazing! When in all truths, we are a struggling people, a hurting society in need of nothing more than a Savior and a community of support.
This is exactly why I love doing what God has led me to do. I tell people all the time that this is my therapy. I use BBB to vent and to share my feelings. It pushes me and encourages me to try out new coping skills, explore the Bible more, and overall be the best version of myself I can. It calms me to know that I have all of you here to support me and just like you have my back, I have yours. Nobody is in the battle of life alone. God placed us on this Earth with one another to be an army for each other.
I know this weeks update was short but I hope that it was helpful and I pray that you would be willing to open up. This doesn’t have to mean spilling all of your life’s issues in front of your entire church or dinner table, maybe it is just a friend. No matter who, I really challenge you this week to talk to one other person about the struggles you are facing because lets be honest, we all have our stuff. If you can’t think of someone trustworthy to talk to, shoot me an email and I will be sure to be that support for you. I love you so much and will see you next week
April 17, 2022
Happy Easter! It is so crazy to think we are already to this time of year. It feels like if I blink my eyes it will be Christmas already. I used to not believe my parents when they would say that life happens fast but now I am living it lol! Sometimes I want nothing more than to slow down but it seems impossible. I pray that you have all had a wonderful morning and have been waiting for the update. I didn’t mean for it to be so much later in the afternoon but Easter morning can sometimes be hectic around my house. Between getting dressed for Church, taking care of the dogs, eating breakfast, and getting there on time I kind of just forgot. However, I think the hectic mornings and crazy afternoons we face are simply part of life. This week I want to focus on our planning. I know for me, it is so easy to come up with a perfect plan. I will give you a great example (taken many of you will probably laugh at me for it but I enjoy it so laugh all you want) here is a walkthrough of my perfect plan, routine, ritual, weekly Sunday. I know you are probably thinking what the heck is wrong with this girl? She has a perfectly planned, ideal Sunday? Yes, yes I do and it follows as below:
- Wake up around 8
- Eat breakfast
- Get ready for church And Go to the 9:45 service
- Go to the gym and walk until about 11:30-12 ish
- Car wash
- Get lunch at the Mediterranean place
- Go to Walmart, Aldi, and occasionally Kroger
- Get home by 3:00ish
- Eat a snack
- Fold laundry, dishes, clean out pantry and fridge
- Go to grocery store (by myself or with my brother)
- Get my routine take out dinner
Trust me, I have been told MANY times this isn’t normal for a 16 year old but this is me and I like it this way, it brings me happiness and it doesn’t become a problem until my perfectly planned Sunday doesn’t go as planned.
I think all people are quick to make plans, whether it is a vacation, family, or future, we have all at some point made up in our minds our ideal plan but often times we don’t face reality and ask ourselves, What if MY plan isn’t GOD’s Plan? This is where we all need work because we assume and want so badly nothing more than for life to go our way because we think that way is the right way, the “perfect plan” Yet the truth is that our plans don’t always add up to those of God. This can be so difficult to understand when all we wanted was to spend time with that one person, go on that one vacation, make that one grade, get that one acceptance letter. Sometimes when our plans are thrown off kilter we lose it and our minds go whack. (Me with the SAT) It is as if our well throughout out plans failed us, But it is so important during these times that we focus on the truths and change our outlook. I came up with 3 truths to remember when our plans don’t go according to God’s plans:
1 TRUTH : When things don’t go as planned, don’t try to fix them, instead turn to God and trust Him.
When we find ourselves in the unplanned part of life, it can be tempting to fix it all on our own. Or take matters into our own hands. But as Proverbs 3:5 says, we are not called to be the planners of our lives here on earth. We are called to “trust in the Lord with all our heart and lean not on our own understanding.” God has it all under control and when we submit to Him, He promises to pave the way and make our paths strait again.
2 TRUTH : There is good in EVERY situation.
We are so fast to make up lies when plans don’t add up. Telling ourselves the day, week, year is ruined all because one situation. I won’t lie, at times it honestly does feel this way, it is as if nothing positive can come from it but the reality is, “All things God works for the good of those who love him.” Romans 8:28. God has bigger, better plans. We may not be able to see them right now because like i have said before, we only see a sliver of our entire life whereas God sees it all. God can and he most certainly will bring good out of all situations.
3 TRUTH : Do not hesitate to step into the unplanned.
Unknown can be scary, I know for me being out of control is something I absolutely hate. It can leave us feeling alone, and afraid but the truth is that with God in our lives, there is no need to be frightened. No matter what God has in store for your life, you are never going to face it alone. He promises to be with you every step of the way. We need to be willing to challenge our courage because this one step could potentially change your life. 2 Samuel 10 :12 says, “Be of good courage and let us be courageous for our people, and the cities of our God, and may the Lord do what seems good to him.” God is higher than anyone or anything here on this earth which can bring peace when life doesn’t go as planned.
I want you to look to these three truths whenever you feel like life has failed you because IT HAS NOT! I pray that you will take all of this we talked about today and embrace it all. Find faith in the unplanned and thank God for giving you the opportunity and chance to be who you are today. I love you all so much and hope you have a amazing rest of your Easter.
April 10, 2022
Good morning! I pray you all had a great week and for those of you on Spring Break were able to enjoy some time off. I just got back from my vacation yesterday and I am so thankful we decided to come home then rather than today because I needed a day to recoup before going back to school. We had such a great time. I was able to see family and friends, and overall had a great time. It was go good to escape from the normal routine of things and change life up a bit yet, I am glad to be back in my safe place lol. I want to take an experience we had while on vacation to kind of guide todays update.
So for those of you who read last week, me and my family went to Florida to visit my grandma for three nights and then we spent two nights at the beach afterwards. We were all super anxious to get to the beach early Thursday morning because we only had two days to enjoy it before we had to head home. But just our luck, Thursday morning we woke up and it looked pretty overcast outside but we didn’t stop. We loaded up the car and headed out to Clearwater. Then, right as we arrived the sky let out. It started raining cats and dogs, thunder lightning, and we were even under a tornado watch. As my and my family piled in the hotel lobby with all the other disappointed families on vacation, I started to feel like our perfect beach trip was falling apart. I was so upset because I thought the short time we had to spend in the sun was over and all we were going to do was sit in the hotel.
An hour or so passed and as I sat there I started to feel guilty. Why was I complaining? I am so beyond spoiled. I mean yes, it was raining outside but if I when I looked past that, I was enclosed with blessings all around. I was on vacation, at the beach, sitting in a nice hotel surrounded by my loving family, with a full stomach and yet I was complaining because it was raining. As I think about it now, this really goes to show how spoiled we are. Because as I sat in that hotel lobby upset about the weather, there are kids and families looking for somewhere to sleep that night or trying to find something to eat. I am so guilty of whining and fussing about about things that some would find so exciting. I complain about weather while AT THE BEACH, I fuss because my BED WASN’T COMFORTABLE, I whine because MY FOOD WAS OVERCOOKED, I pitch fits when MY PARENTS ASK ME TO DO SOMETHING. When in reality, if I would just think for a second, there are people who have never been out of their city, individuals who are sleeping on sidewalks, families who haven’t eaten in two days, and kids without parents at all. This is just a few of the things that I loose sight of and I’m sure you have done the same. God is constantly providing and blessing us and I can promise you that if we can just take a second to be grateful for that of which we do have, our mindsets will be totally changed.
I think back now, that day after just about two hours of it raining, we were able to go out to dinner, visit the aquarium, and just have good family time. I know it can be hard at times which is why I am going to take on this challenge with you. This week I want us to try and turn every complaint or fuss that we have into a blessing. Use that thought you have in that moment to pray and thank God for something you are blessed with. By doing this, we will begin to see all God has and is providing as well as how blessed we truly are. I hope this weeks talk will resígnate with you too and please don’t forget that I am always here for you. I hope you all have an amazing day and I will talk to you next week.
April 3, 2022
Heyyyy everyone! I am so glad you came to check out the update for this week. I know many of you are probably on spring break or you may be reading this after the fact, but I hope you are all having a relaxed, fun week. Like I said last week, vacation is so good for our minds. Even if it is a “staycation”. To be honest, those are usually my favorite. LOL! Sometimes I feel guilty for being such a home body however it truly is when I am at home that I feel like I’m in my safe space and I am able to do my rituals which bring me happiness. Yet, I feel different about our upcoming vacation. My Family and I leave for my grandma’s house on Monday. I cannot wait to see her. It has been way too long since we were last able to spend time with her. Then, just to add to that excitement, after we stay at her house for a few days we are all going to the beach. I absolutely love the beach. It just amazes me to look out into the ocean and imagine how I am so blessed. God is breathtaking and it is almost unimaginable to think Heaven will be incomparable to anything we have ever seen.
Back to the point, I am really glad that I feel differently about this trip and that I am looking forward to getting away from home for a little. I do know that by the end of the week I will be ready to be back but, for the time being I am going to soak it all up.
Time to get real, I really want to take a second to explain something that happened to me that has left me really feeling a drive to share. I think that it is something so many people go through but we don’t like to talk about because we are embarrassed or disappointed in ourselves. Anyways, I got my SAT scores back last week and was so upset because I didn’t make the cut for dual enrollment. When we got the email with our scores I was in the middle of class and many of my friends were opening theirs right then. I heard all of them talking about how they made higher scores than they thought and when I opened mine and saw that I did not score as well as them, I immediately started the comparison game. In my mind I was beating myself up for the fact that I didn’t do like everyone else. Come to think about it now, I was extremely hard on myself. When in the end, after talking though it with my parents and myself I realized that a number means NOTHING. Why would I allow a test score determine who I was. I let it affect my entire day and I regret that now. I have a new mindset on it now, I took my ACT this morning and when I sat down and picked up my pencil the first thing I did was tell myself that paper is not who I am.
I will not know my score for a while but I do know that when it comes back I am going to use it as goal setter for the next one I take. We all have strengths and weaknesses yet the only way to overcome and get stronger is to face them head on. I am so thankful God allowed me to figure this out and share it with you all. For some this may not mean much but, I do want you all to see that I too still struggle. We all do and we will until we go to Heaven. It is through these times that we can help one another. I love you so so much and will see you next week!