God's Persistent Love

"You cannot explain or comprehend Gods persistent love. It's just how He is. You are His child. First John 4:16 says, 'And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.' We can't "rely" on something we have never accepted. Gods love for us is lavish (see 1 John 3:1). By the time we were knit in our mothers' wombs, our lives were like open books before Him-every sentence read, every paragraph indented, every chapter titled, every page numbered. He knew it all in advance-all the sin, all the selfishness, every weakness. Yet He chose to love us-lavishly. Sometimes God allows us to reach a point where we realize we can rely on absolutely nothing- except His love. Perhaps you are one who thinks that God shouldn't be bothered with the little things you can handle alone. Have you faced a circumstance over which you had no control? Do you remember the relief and release you felt when you lifted that burden to Him? God is willing to take every burden, every day, even the ones we think we can fix in our own strength. He will give us that relief and release daily. Try it- right now." - excerpt from pg 32 of Whispers of Hope: 10 Weeks of Devotional Prayer by Beth Moore.

My Life Lately

I feel like I am never good at starting a post. Like now for instance. This is why I never did very well in creative writing/english class. Anty-ways.... On to my post. :)

1. The Hubs & I have been watching One Tree Hill. I watched this show religiously in high school but then I kinda quit keeping up with it once I graduated. So I haven't completely seen the last few seasons. Watching it takes me back to my high school days. #TBT We just got done with the episode where Dan shoots Keith. I cried of course. I've cried about almost everything on this show. I'm such a big baby! I still hate Dan. Peyton is a pathetic helpless girl ALL THE TIME. & Brooke is still my fave. (sidenote: Andrew told me I am a Brooke & a little bit of a Hailey mixed in because I'm a nerd. Ha!... I promise he does say nice things to me most of the time)

2. I have been reading Whispers of Hope: 10 weeks of devotional prayer by Beth Moore the past few weeks. It was recommended by my fellow blogger Nikki. I am loving it. It helps you outline your prayer time & have some order to it. Sometimes I feel like I just ramble on in my prayers. I throw in some thank yous, prayers for my family & husband and a "please let today be a good day Lord". I really just wanted some guidance in my devotional/prayer time. & I feel like this devotional has given me exactly that. Also it has been a challenge for me to get up earlier in the morning to actually have time to sit down & do my devotion. I am not a morning person by any means. If you have read my blog for any length of time you know that. Not that you have to do a devotion in the morning time, but that has been my goal. For me personally I feel like it gets my mind in the right place. A positive place.... So check this devotional out! & thank you Nikki for the recommendation :)

3. Only 8 days (not counting today) until my best friend Han & I will be St. Augustine bound for a girls weekend! & for Hans bday on 8/11! St Aug is only about 45 minutes to an hour away from where we live so its a perfect little trip for us.We haven't been able to take a trip together in forever it seems like. We've been busy getting married & such in the past 2 years. So we are excited just to get a way for a little bit & do all the best things girls do together. Shop, eat, sleep & repeat. :) (I am so serious about the eating part, be prepared for multiple #foodselfies on my insta if you follow)

4. What is up with all the plane crashes going on around the world lately?! Its crazy! Needless to say I won't be flying international anytime soon.

5. Unless you live under a rock I'm sure you know who Miranda Lambert is. Which leads me to believe you know who the Pistol Annies are. (if not you're missing out on life) Which leads me to Ashley Monroe. She is a member of Pistol Annies but also has 2 solo cds out. I LOVE her. She has an amazing voice. I would say similar to the style of Dolly Parton. If you like old school country music. Check her out. My favorite song of hers right now is You Got Me.

6. Have you heard about Blake Livelys new site? I read about it in an article yesterday & did a little browsing around. I am in love with this little tea stand. Not that I plan on having any tea party's anytime soon. But I LOVE IT! I could use it as a centerpiece or put it on my buffet area in my kitchen. My kitchen is in red & black damask print. It would flow perfectly. Its also $185 dollhairs. (insert gun emoji here) BANG! Little pricey. But a girl can dream. Also I would love one of these. Lavender or Sandalwood please. (ya know just in case someone is looking to buy me a gift or something)
(check out some of other wants on my Luvocracy page)

7.I finally joined the club & got myself a eos lip balm. Smells lovely. Haven't decided if I love it just yet. I have super dry lips & I have yet to be impressed by any particular lip balm giving me that extra moisture I need.  Have any suggestions?

8. I ordered myself a new phone case off Amazon a couple of weeks ago. I cannot not have an Otterbox type case. I drop my phone entirely way too much. But Otterboxes are also stupidly expensive. High five for finding a knock off that doesn't cost 50 bucks AND its cute!

& with that I am going to end my post. Because it makes my little OCD brain happy to end on an even number. But then almost not because I really should've ended on #10. #thestruggle

A Little Tuesday Morning Controversy

I usually stay away from controversial topics on my blog.

BUT I just had to share this post.

If you do not currently follow Matt Walsh, you should be. I love the way he writes. & his sarcasm is an extra plus.

Unless you live under a rock, I am sure you have heard about Kendall Jones by now. The cheerleader who shot a lion in Africa. Basically.

Read the article for yourself & make your own assumptions.

I completely support Kendall Jones & this is why:

#1 What she did was legal

#2 The meat of the animals she killed went to feed a local village in Africa

#3 The money she pays for the hunting permit also benefits the community

Matt Walsh takes the issue everyone is raving about and presents an even bigger issue. The level of concern regarding the millions of babies that are killed in the US every year doesn't even slightly resemble the outrage towards Kendall Jones. & that folks is quite depressing. Society has things so backwards its sickening.


But like I said... Read the article.

Do some research & educate yourself.

TN & WV Vacation

Prepare yourself for a huge photo dump!

June 27th the Hubs & I headed up to Cleveland TN for a friends wedding on Saturday. Then Sunday we drove to Wayne WV to visit my mom in laws family. By far one of the best, most relaxing vacations I have ever been on! We did a lot of front porch sittin', eating some amazing home cookin' by Mammie (my hubs grandma) & relaxing. The weather in WV was absolutely perfect! Only between 70 & 80 during the day & in the 50s at night. With no humidity! This FL girl was lovin' it!

ready for the wedding

the cutest little church in TN

& the cutest set up for the wedding

 

 

 

 

 

 

the place settings were adorable!

Four wheeler riding

pretty scary going down my hubs Aunts driveway! steep!

if you ever have the chance to go to Fat Pattys do yourself a favor & order the pretzel burger. UH-mazing

We visited Carters Caves in Olive Hill KY. Pretty cool!

It was between 50 & 60 degrees inside the caves. felt amazing!

entrance to the caves

had a little picnic in the park by the creek

& the boys did some golfing

shopping with my little sister in law in Huntington :)

smores of course!

the cutest little antique store we went to in WV

got to brush up on our shootin' skills

sightseeing. deer EVERYWHERE in WV. anytime of the day.

& of course on the way home we had to stop at Cabelas in Charleston.

the tunnels we had to drive thru on the way home were pretty neat. we don't have these in FL

It was an amazing trip! I felt so refreshed & de-stressed after a week up in the hills of WV. Can't wait to go back!

Friday & My Blog Anniversary

Gooooooood Morning folks! 

I realized something today... I totally missed my 1 year anniversary for this little blog here! I know, BIG FAT BLOGGER FAIL! It was on May 20, 2013.

I have really enjoyed having a blog. Especially because of all the awesome people I have come to know through the blog world. I haven't had a "blate" or actually met anyone. But I have been encouraged & related to so many ladies in the blog world. Its nice to read the insides of someones life & realize we aren't alone. We all go through the same struggles, goods, ups & downs etc. We all can relate.

I haven't been posting as much as I used to lately ,but that's ok.  I am not here to get a million followers. Or get paid to do promotion posts. Not that there is anything wrong with that. But that's not why I created this blog. (not that I would turn down a paid post if I was offered one, if it was legit, cause ya girl can always use some extra $$$, am I right?!) I just wanted to have my own little space to share my thoughts, struggles, highs & funny's of my life. So that's what I plan on continuing to do. I may post once a month or 2x a week. Whatever I do, its mine. My thoughts, my dreams, my little space in the world. &I think thats really what having a blog is all about.

So happy late 1 year blog anniversary to me!

ANDDDDDDDD... this just happens to be my 100th blog post! :)

On a side note...

TGIF! Hope you have a wonderful laid back Friday! :)

Its been awhile

Borrowing this post from Marquis! Check her out!

watching: the abc family show Young & Hungry with Emily Osment. 2 episodes in. Its pretty funny, maybe more cheesy funny. But I'm a cheesy kinda gal. Ask my husband. :)
excited: for my little weekend trip to St Augustine next month with my bestest!
loving: my sweet hubs.
annoyed: with the humidity in FL. Boo!
missing: sitting on the front porch of my Hubs grandparents house in WV
obsessed: cute coffee cups, home decor etc
craving: a good southern home cooked meal.
enjoying: the quietness at work, which is rare.
wondering: what life will be like one day if we ever jump on the baby train.
laughing: with my husband a lot lately. i love it.
wishing: me & the best friend could start our little produce/jam selling business & quit our jobs. we come up with some random ideas from time to time.
wearing: skinny jeans, flops & neon yellow bright stoppin' traffic striped shirt.
drinking: currently water. earlier my hazelnut cream coffee. delish.
wanting: to be back in WV on vaca with my love
looking: for a good devotional book.
waiting: on 5 o'clock.
smelling: B&BW's Provence Collection Lavender Blossom hand soap. UH-MAZING. & of course they have discontinued it :(
thinking: about the weekend. Can it get her faster please?!
feeling: relaxed. rolling over from vacation, lets hope it stays this way.
smiling: because my life if pretty great.

Happy Wednesday :)