Obstacles

Isaiah 41:13
"For I am the LORD your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you."
Hello Everyone!
I know it has been a minute since I have done a blog post but I am back at it again! Today I am going to be talking about obstacles including people and good ways to overcome them.
This month I have been faced with many obstacles trying to bring me down. The largest obstacle being that I lost my best friend, I know very sad. Events occurred that allowed me to see her true nature and I didn't like the way she was treating me. Overcoming this obstacle has proven to be difficult, due to the fact that I do see her everyday.
Many of you have, or will have, obstacles that will hold you back. There are a couple of easy steps that will help you along the way.
1. Self-Awareness: Sometimes it is hard to accept the fact that not everything in your life is perfect. Things are going to be thrown at you from all different directions in life and you need to be able to accept it so that you can move on.
2. Facing the Problem: If you are having trouble with someone, sometimes the best way to help YOU is to talk to THEM. My suggestion is that you go to whoever you're having a problem with and tell them how you feel. What the worst that can happen, having them tell you that you are wrong? You may approach them and tell them how you feel and they may have had no idea what they had done; or you may approach them and have them be completely awful to you. Either way, you have addressed the situation and can move onto the next step.
3. Forgive: An amazing verse in Matthew says, "For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sin, your Father will not forgive your sins." God wants us to forgive those who have wronged us. That doesn't mean you have to forget, but you should forgive. Don't live your life holding a bunch of grudges against people from the past. Forgive them, move on, and pray.
4. Pray: The best thing you could do for someone you are upset with is pray for them. I don't mean the prayers like "please God let him be late to school today" I mean a prayer wishing the best for them. If you are wholeheartedly praying for someone, it is impossible to stay mad at them!

I hope this helped some of you through some obstacles that you are facing! I wish the best to you all and will write soon!
xx
Faith

New Years!

Its a new year which means it is full of new opportunities! As the New Year begins we are all going to have our New Years resolutions that we are going to try to keep with! As I said.. TRY.
I went to bible study this past Sunday and I got asked what my top three New Years resolutions were, so we all wrote and shared. But what I really took out of this lesson was when I got asked what my top three resolutions were, to make me more like Jesus! I believe, as a christian, that is an important question to ask yourself. I mean , we all want to live a life like Jesus.
My top three resolutions to make me more like Jesus were:
1. Go to church EVERY Sunday - Going to church on Sunday always sets the mood for my week. I walk out of church thinking about the lesson and how it applies to my life. Through out the week that lesson encourages me to focus on God and less on stress! Life can be stressful but with the kind reminder that God is by my side, nothing can bring me down.
2. Read my bible more - It needs to stop being the book that sits in my locker and on my desk and turn into the book I pick up whenever I have a free chance! There are some interesting books in the bible, you just have to have the patience to sit down, read and comprehend.
3. Pray more- The most important thing you can do is pray. God is always listening and you never have to doubt that. Whenever you are in need of guidance or just need a little push , send a prayer to the Man upstairs. But he is not just there to listen to your burdens, tell him about the good things you've got going on. Yes, he already knows, but that is a good way to put you in good spirits and motivate you to go on.
I hope all of you had a safe New Years and are making resolutions you can keep up with. Don't put to much on your plate at once and if you find yourself not keeping up with a resolution, don't stop. The worst thing you can do is stop, pick up where you left off and push forward!
Happy New Years!
xoxo
Faith

Faithbox

12.6.15
Hello Everyone!
Last night in the mail my mom introduced me to the magic of a "Faithbox." This man in the picture, Willie Morris, has created this company that sends out Faithbox's every month.
In each box you receive:
1) A Daily Devotional - I like this because I go to church on Sunday and I get this amazing message to get me through my week. But as the week goes by I feel less and less of the message. This daily devotional gives me some spirit throughout my week and I love it so much!
2)Products - These are so awesome! They are all eco-friendly goodies that make an impact.
Each box that you purchase feeds a child in need! The money you spend on the box goes to a company that feeds children who can't afford to feed themselves.
My favorite thing that I got in my box this month was my $10 gift card to a cause of my choice. It allows you to go to this website and use the card to donate $10... to a cause of choice! I donated $10 to "Help Rescue Children" to help rescue one malnourished child at a time!
I hope this made you encouraged to take a look! Here is the link below
http://faithbox.com/
xx Faith

Thanksgiving

In the spirit of Thanksgiving I thought I would write about what I am thankful for.
I have many things that I am thankful for, starting with books. Without books I wouldn't have my imaginary worlds that I can escape to after a bad day at school. Without books I wouldn't learn about how to deal with some of my problems. They may be fictional characters, but some live real life problems.
My friends and Hunter are some people I am thankful for. When I feel like I am at the point of breaking, I know I have them to help me through the emotional battle I fight as 16 year old girl in high school. I have friends who support me through both my big and small life choices. Most importantly I have friends who support me through my decision to be a youth group leader.
Becoming a youth group leader has allowed me to grow my relationship with God. God will always be someone I am thankful for. Without God I would be driving down a road to Hell and accepting him was the best choice of my life. But I would have never found God without my parents.
My parents are the most important people on Earth, to me. They are my backbone and without them I would be nothing, literally. As I have grown into the young lady I am today, I have learned to appreciate everything they do. They make sacrifices daily so that I can live a healthy life and be happy. I am so grateful to have such an amazing support system in my life and I can only hope that, later on in life, my children will view me the way I view my parents.
I hope everyone has had a Happy Thanksgiving!
xxFaith

Growing Up

Hello!
I was sitting with my mom and dad while we were eating dinner tonight. My mom brought up the fact that in 18 months I will be graduated from high school. Let me be honest, that really was a slap in the face. It seems like just yesterday I was just starting middle school and I was SO ready to grow up. I remember when I first started wearing make up and I thought I was growing up so fast, that it was so cool and that I would love being grown up.
I couldn't have been more wrong. These past few months I have had to look at colleges, finding places that are hiring and practice driving for my test coming up! It has been a huge eye opener to what life is going to be like "on the other side."  You see, I view life before you graduate is one side of a wall where everything is safe and you are in the comfort of your childhood. Then after you graduate you cross this big wall, where you have to suddenly become an adult and have to make adult decisions. I am so scared that when I cross that wall that I won't be good at being an adult, that I will mess everything up! But my parents have been trying to prepare me for the other side since I was about 13 and they are pretty confident that I will do just fine. Just a little nerve racking is all!
But relating to the picture, Hunter and I's official 6 months is on Monday and it just feels like it is going by so fast. I remember before him and I started dating, making the adventure to his school to watch his games! It just seems that, as I have grown up, I have realized what I am looking for. Everything has been falling into place these past few months and it is truly amazing.
If you haven't found that one person in your life and you feel like they aren't out there, they are! Don't rush anything and go with the flow, everything will work out as planned.
xxFaith

Too Busy Feeling Feelings..

I think this accurately applies to my day today. I was so caught up in my emotions today, that I didn't sit back and enjoy the beautiful weather. Today was just a mess!
I woke up late and only had enough time to do my make up before school, so I looked a little on the messy side today. But through out the day I really was just letting everything get to me, to the point where I was so relieved the day was over. I usually really love going to school!
But when I got home I ran myself a nice warm bath and used one of my lovely bath bombs that my mom gifted to me! It gave me a chance to sit back and relax while I thought about what had happened today.
I have started to realize that everyone is going to have an opinion of their own about you and your personality. You can't live your life everyday worrying about what other people think of you. It is just way too much stress! We as people in today's society need to work on judging less and appreciating more. You don't know what the girl/boy has gone through. But you should appreciate that no matter what they have gone through in the past few days or week they decided to put a smile on their face and show up to school!
That is going to be one of my New Year's resolutions, "Judge less, appreciate more."
Faith

Eventually, everything connects

So it's 11:18 at night and I am feeling encouraged to start a blog. I am not sure how this blog is going to turn out, but I figure it is something fun to do!
I found this quote on Tumblr and it says, "Eventually, everything connects." And I can't help but think how much this apply's to my life today. I am a junior in high school with a 4.0 GPA and an amazing boyfriend. This past year has been an emotional roller coaster and I can only thank God, my parents, and my boyfriend for shaping me into the young lady I am today!
I wen't from being so sad at the beginning of the year to being so happy now at the end. Hunter (my boyfriend) has taken a huge roll in this process. We have been together for 6 months now and we are stronger than ever.
I wen't from being always reliant on my parents to a girl who is starting to become independent. My parents have taught me life lessons that I will always be thankful for. They wan't me to succeed in life and only see the best person I can be. They are preparing me for the big world where I will have to make grown up decisions and deal with people I am not used to. They are my backbone and I am grateful to have them in this important time in my life.
And finally I wen't from being hesitant toward God to being fully aware and accepting. I accepted Christ on Easter this year and that was the best decision of my life. Since then I have started my own youth group and attend church as much as possible! None of this would have been possible without God being there for me, even when I wasn't sure he was there.
All in all this year has been pretty amazing so far and finally I see- "Eventually, everything connects."
-Faith