The Nike shoes I designed myself at nike.com! Totally want these reeeeeal bad! :)

Lauren and I after our "Biggest Loser" workout on Monday:) Gross& Sweaty but worth it!

Okay friends! So my roommate/best friend, Lauren, and I have decided to go on a road-to-being-healthy journey together! I'll be perfectly honest with you all about my weight, exercising, and eating throughout each week as a way to keep myself accountable and hopefully give you all some encouragement as well! I'll be posting healthy recipes and exercises I've tried as well as inspirational pictures as we go along! Be in prayer for me to stay strong! And I encourage any of you who might need or want to make a change in your lifestyle to become healthier to join in with us and let us know about your journey as well! Together we can keep each other accountable and really make a change! Love you guys& God Bless!!

A friend reminded me recently that sometimes people are simply brought into our lives because they need someone in their corner...someone who is going to be a prayer warrior for them, pray for them like no one has ever prayed for them, and take up their life as a cause in ours. When he brings someone into our lives that we care about so deeply, it would be a complete shame and waste of a friendship not to pray for them on a daily basis. That's what friends are for. We are here to be supporters in the faith for one another. Pray about it. God will show you which friends and people are in your life right now that you should be praying for every day.

         

                

         

    

Woooooooow. It's been forever since I blogged! Haha! Well here's a passage that I hope brightens your day like it continues to brighten mine!!

God is Enough

      I've never really been the type of girl to strongly desire a man in my life or a relationship with a man so much that I think about it on a daily basis. Yes, maybe the slight urges for affection and comfort which comes along with having a serious relationship, but never to the point that I truly desire one. Lately, this has not been the case.

      For a little while now, I've been feeling a strong desire for a relationship, but not just any relationship. I want the man that I want to spend the rest of my life with. The problem is that I know in order for a relationship to really work, it has to be founded on God, and happen in His precious time as well. I have to remind myself to be patient because the truth is that I don't just want any man. It may seem as though I do at times, but if I'm being completely honest, I desire something deeper. 

      I realized today after writing in my prayer journal and talking to God that what I crave is not just some earthly relationship filled with romance and affection, but a Godly relationship filled with the love that only God can bring, and a partner in my mission for Christ. If I truly just wanted affection from a man, I would take it from who I could get it from right now. But I want something more. I want a God-fearing man who has the same mission that I do, to change this world for God's glory, to see it be changed for the better, and to see it be turned upside-down by God's love. I want...no, I need a man who can lead me spiritually and help me accomplish things in this world for God's glory. And really, if I cannot have that man, I don't want a man at all. Some may think my train of thought is foolish, or self-righteous, or picky, or selfish, or even just stupidity at its best, but I truly believe that it is what God wants for me too. 

      I believe God wants me to be with someone who makes me braver and stronger for His Kingdom. I believe He wants me to marry a man filled with His own love and Holy Spirit. I believe He wants me to marry a man on fire for His name and truly seeking to change this world one beautiful individual at a time. And if, on the off-chance that I am indeed wrong (because let's face it, I am no where near perfect) I guess then that I will be single for the rest of my life. I'm not trying to be dramatic or tell you this for "shock effect," and really it may even sound depressing to many. But that's okay. I know that not every two people are the same. Really and truly I believe many and most are intended for marriage, so PLEASE do not take anything I am saying out of context or the wrong way. Many marry all of the time, and you and I both may end up being some of those people, so don't fret or freak out thinking, "OH MY GOSH! GOD WANTS ME TO BE SINGLE FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE!??" Truly that is not what I am saying. My point in telling you all of this is this and this alone: if singleness is our case, and God truly does intend on some of us living a single life, we should bring ourselves to a point where our relationship with Him gives us the strength and wisdom to be able to say without hesitation or doubt, "I am okay with that," and right now, that is what I am doing. I don't know if God intends on me marrying or being single, but right now, in this moment, I am declaring "I am okay with that." I am okay with that because my focus is on God and the mission I want to see through for His Kingdom. I am okay with that because nothing is more important than God and his plan for my life. I am okay with that because He has shown me more love and understanding and beauty and grace and sufficiency than any man, or person for that matter, ever has or could, and that is what I will cling to in all my times of weakness, weariness, and worry. God is what I will cling to, and He will always be there to give me the strength I need. He will always be enough.

"Be A Man?"

As a whole, we in society have a tendency to “sweep things under the rug,” so to speak, and completely suppress underlying issues and problems with our world, and this was just as true for the men and women of the 1950’s and 1960’s. Although reasons for suppression of the issues may change, there will probably always be problems of unjustness, inequality, or corruptness in our world in which we as a whole in society try to suppress or look over. Maybe it’s because we don’t want change, or maybe it’s because we are afraid to admit that we are wrong and that things do need to change, but whatever the reason, these problems exist. And eventually, they tend to rise up from under our metaphorical rug, and present themselves in a rather blunt manner. In the 1960’s, it was Betty Friedan’s book, The Feminine Mystique, in which fully unearthed the problems existing in that time period for white, middle-class, women. In today’s day in age we have all new sets of issues and problems in which we suppress everyday simply by not going against the grain and taking a stand against the problem.

One of the problems within America’s society today, and probably within other societies as well, in which we have continued to suppress for quite some time now is the issue of male violence. Last semester here at Arkansas Tech University, campus had a Red Ribbon Week, in order to bring awareness to abusive relationships, and not only that, but violence as a whole. In going to the Red Ribbon Week meeting one evening, I learned a lot of information about violence in America that I had never known before. I had always known that violence was a big issue in not only our country, but the world, and yet still had no realization that most of the violent crimes committed in America are done so by men. The biggest problem is that even if I did know this fact, I never questioned why it was so. And I would assume that most Americans probably do the same, and so our issues and problems go untouched and overlooked. By watching the video documentary Tough Guise, a film made in 1999 about the cultural view of men in America, I learned that there is a huge connection between pop-cultural imagery and the social construction of masculine identities in the U.S. The film identifies the link in violence in the U.S. committed by men, and the social norms we associate with men. The main speaker in the film, Jackson Katz, is an anti-violence educator, and in the film he talks about all of the ways in which we as a society have enhanced the view of masculinity with stereotypical characteristics of men claiming “real men” should be tough, large in size and muscle mass, physically and emotionally strong, a fighter, and a leader. What we end up finding because of the unrealistic expectations is that these “real men” show these characteristics through violent acts. The opening clips and quotes to the film were those from news reports of battered women in the U.S. along with movies, television shows, and sports games in which men are portrayed as aggressive and violent showing no pain, emotion, or feelings. Movies like “Rambo,” “The Terminator,” and others, as well as video games, television shows and sports games portray men as big, mean, and dangerous showing no emotions whatsoever; therefore, creating a “tough disguise” and harsh portrayal of men and how a “real man” should act. Katz makes a very distinct connection between our society’s drive to create “tough guys,” and the real life man who is dangerous, abusive, and murderous. He describes to us that we as a society (men and women) only allow and further the success of these “tough guys” portrayals and because of this expectation placed on the everyday man, we as a society are turning out men left and right who are dangerous, mean, abusive, terrorists, and murderous. The violence we are allowing and condoning in the media today is giving our men in America the idea that being a “tough guy” is being a “real man,” and if a man isn’t a “tough guy,” he is given characteristics of weakness and femininity. The truth is that men in America commit 85% of murders, 90% of assaults, 95% of domestic violence, 95% of dating violence, 95% of child sexual abuse, and 99.8% of rapes. Not only are men committing these acts, but it is also men that are more greatly affected by these acts. That’s right. While women are being abused, beaten, raped, and killed every day, those in society who are being victimized most by men are OTHER men. Men are taught to be "tough guys," and accordingly 90% of the violence in the U.S. is perpetrated by men.

One might ask why we have let this corruption go on for so long, but the truth is that the media produces what they feel society will pay money to see, watch, and play. They aren’t producing the violence, only perpetuating it. In the end, it takes a change, possibly even a rude awakening, in order for people to wake up. More than that, it takes every individual deciding for their self that he or she will no longer take part in the perpetuation of this viscous cycle of violence. It takes people, both men and women, standing up and calling people out to make a difference. As WOMEN AND MEN OF GOD, we should be able to stand up against this injustice. WOMEN, stop falling for the “bad guys!!!” I can promise you that they cannot offer you all of the wonderful and beautiful things that God wants you to have in a husband. MEN, stop treating your guy friends and/or other men in general like they are “women” for showing their emotions, feelings, and vulnerability!! Be the better person, and stand up against teasing, bullying, name-calling, and injustice! As Christians, we are called to live a holier life than this, and while MOST people in society, Christian or not, are guilty of perpetuating stereotypes, we as followers of Christ, should realize that true worth, man or woman, does not come from who society says you are or are not, but from God alone, so why then would we ever treat someone else like they are less than the beautiful person God created them to be?