It's My Birthday

Hi Friends!


Happy Thursday! Today's a day to celebrate because... IT'S MY BIRTHDAY! And not just any birthday, it's my 25th birthday. A quarter of a decade! What?! I can hardly believe it. I feel like I have lived such a full life, and yet there is still so much I'd love to do. 
Initially I had a post written with 25 things I've learned over the course of 25 years. Butttttttttttt, somehow, before my post was saved, the window closed, and three hours worth of work was gone. So, needless to say, I will not be sharing that today, although I might be able to share that one day in the future. Instead, I thought I decided to share two other things.
One: The #summertofall2020 challenge. Here is a glimpse of this super fun challenge I was introduced to by a friend via Instagram. By it's hashtag, it's fairly easy to assume what that challenge is. Simply take your favorite summer pieces and making them autumn appropriate. It's requires some creativity, which in this season, is important to me. We're on day FOUR today, but I haven't photographed that yet, so I am just sharing from the first three days. What do you think? Would you wear any of these looks?

Second: I wanted to share a few ramblings I have regarding some important life-lessons that have become incredibly impactful in this "interesting" year. They are simple thoughts, but they have blessed my life, and I hope they bless you too. 
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Let God write your love story. When you are surrendered to the perfect and loving will of God for your life. I can personally attest that He will not disappoint.
 
Spend time in the intimate place with the Lord. Every single day. God doesn't just want us for a few moments every day. He wants our hearts, our attention, our love, all the time. Enoch was rewarded for his faith because he walked with God, not just visited God occasionally. It wasn't just a few moments a day, it was a moment by moment investment. 


 Friends are precious. We were created to invest and be invested in by others. Hold your friends tightly. They are worth your time and love.


It's okay to be vulnerable. I'm not talking about a big dramatic mess. I mean, open and honest about your struggles and trials, with people you trust.


Learn how to ask people to pray for you. The prayers of a righteous person are very powerful. Learning to face life under the covering of prayer is vital to a dynamic walk with Christ.


Following the crowd rarely leads to discovering truth. Most of the time the Crowd is riled up by what is popular and compelling, not by what is true.


Be critical. And I don't mean rude. I mean process. I mean objectively examine facts. Learning how to be a critical thinker leads to you being able to decipher fact from fiction much easier than the masses. Critical thinking allows you to look past cultural definitions and align what you're seeing with what you are hearing and reading. It's allows you to be objective. It cultivates wisdom, and knowledge. It allows you to set in stone that 😺😺+😺😺 will always equal 😺😺😺😺, no matter what what words or numbers someone might use to "define" what is, reality. 


Identity should never rest in a natural talent or occupation. Who you are is not what you are able to do or what your title is. Your identity is what you are when everything else has been taken away from you. 


Embrace the seasons. Life is all about seasons. Nothing will stay the same forever. Things will change. And that is okay. In the good seasons and the hard ones, there are little wonders to be enjoyed and treasured, even if they are as simple as waking up to a sunny morning. And don't fail to enjoy the season just because you know it won't last forever. Take it moment by moment, and seek the contentment of God to grow you in every season. 


Life is precious. Life is sacred at ever stage of development. Life, everyones' life, matters. 


 It's okay to not look perfect. There are times, just in the last year, that I look back and think, "well, that was a dumb idea." But the past is the past. If you've hurt someone, apologize for it. Make amends. If you've been hurt, forgive. And most importantly don't let bitterness take root in your life. 


Take control of your health. Life should not be about chronic illness and mental health. So much of the issues that are frequent topics within all social spheres are our health issues. And it doesn't need to be that way. God has created the body and mind to be healed, to regenerate, not to be on a life time of pharmaceuticals. Learning how you can take control of your health and not be dependent upon doctors and therapist, brings an incredible amount of freedom. FYI: Clean water, clean eating, and detoxing regularly are incredibly helpful in maintaining a good immune system.


Take the time to make memories. Even when circumstances are not ideal, or it will cause you to be a bit inconvenienced, the memories and stories are always worth it.  


Fear should never be accepted as your identity. It doesn't have to be. There is so much more to life than fear and worry. As someone who has struggled with fear for a majority of my life, I know what it means to feel captive, but I also know what it feels like to be free. And once I experienced freedom, there is nothing that makes me want to go back to that place. 


Keep an eternal perspective. Life here is so short, and honestly, no matter how fulfilled you may feel in any given moment, it is only a shadow of things to come. 
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If you have made it to this point, good for you! HAHA! It means the world that you would stick around and hear my heart. 
I hope you have a great day, and thank you for taking a bit of time out of your day to share a moment with me on my birthday. 


Until next time,
Shell