He is my Shelter

Hello darlin' nice to see you

It's been a long time
You're just as lovely as you used to be :)

     If you guys know that song, you're my new favorite people.  Just saying.

     But anyways, happy Thursday!  I hope your day has been or is going lovely.  My day started off pretty great, because Leah is the best!  (She brought me a frappe this morning, she obviously knows how to win my heart). 

     So last night I went to a singing that my college has every Wednesday night, and I was actually pretty reluctant to go.  I had homework, I was tired, blah blah blah.  I went anyways, however, because Guapo (our friend) made me feel awful for having him go alone.  Guilt can be a great tool, my friends, especially when you know how to make that person feel as such. 

     Well there I am, on the floor of a small chapel with about a hundred other people or so crowding the place.  Mind you, this is a really small chapel.  I'm getting claustrophobic, my legs are falling asleep, I'm falling asleep, and it's just rough.  But then we start singing.

     Oh my lands, did I make a mistake in not wanting to go to that.  The sound of all the voices around me praising God reverberating off of the walls was so overwhelming.  I just wanted to sit there and listen to the words around me magnifying the power and glory of our Lord.  I've been very down on my luck a couple of weeks, letting little things build up and falling into a rut where I don't want to be at all.  I've felt so alone, so lost and confused about my place in life and where I'm meant to be. 

      Then this song was sung (see video), and I just broke.  In a good way.  I think Guapo thought I was asleep, but I really was just listening and fighting back tears.  I realized that I'm not alone, far from it, and I've been so oblivious to what's been going on this whole time.  I've been in God's heart.  I've been being taken care of in ways I didn't know the Lord could've provided, and I've been blessed beyond all measure.  I never was alone, God was being my safeguard. 

Matthew 28:20 "'...and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.' Amen." Amen.

"And when the winds blow He is my shelter

And when I'm lost and alone He rescues me

And when the lion comes He is my victory

Constantly watching over me."

Face Your Fears

Happy Nation Face-Your-Fears day!!
Whoop whoop! And confetti! :D
When I think of fear, I obviously think of Divergent by Veronica Roth. "Becoming fearless isn't the point. That's impossible. It's learning how to control your fear, and how to be free from it."
Fear is useful. It makes us wise. It hurts us but I feel that this pain is the scraping away of our weaker parts. Fear sharpens us.
Fear is an oxymoron. It leaves scars and makes us more sympathetic to other's fears. It makes us weak and also makes us strong when we face it.
I am going to name my top four fears in honor of my Divergent themed post. Number one is the greatest fear, going down from there. Number four would have to be falling of any kind but specifically slip-and-slides. I hate them. Number three would be having people be angry at me. Or conflict, in other words. It's irrational, I know, and unavoidable but I worry far more than the average person and conflict always stresses me out to the extreme. Number two would be embarrassing myself. This one doesn't make sense either because I am very easily embarrassed and spend probably 87% of every day with this emotion but I still fear it. And number one would be... drum roll please! Having people be ashamed of me. It is tied very closely with number two but different. I feel it's because I couldn't stand it if someone didn't want to hang around me. Shame is The Most Horrible Emotion ever!
So, now I've exposed four of my fears! It's agreed that they're lame but that's why it's important to face them! To "be free from it."
Thanks for reading! Like Eleanor Roosevelt said, “Do one thing every day that scares you." I hope this helps you! Love and chocolate! Leah:D

Friend Forgiving :)

    I have missed you guys so stinking much, it's ridiculous.  It feels awesome to be typing again, and the perfect weather and chirping birds outside makes it about 200% more awesome.
     So what do I talk about today? Well, I guess I'll talk about the FRIENDSHIP FORGETFULNESS (cue dramatic music here).  Friendship forgetfulness is a very hard thing that almost all forever friends go through.  It's when one party, or both parties, of the friendship becomes so comfortable that he/she/they forget that the other party has feelings.  Instead of being a friend, they be a flaw-searcher and criticize you for everything they know you hate about yourself.
     This is a superbly common thing, although most instances aren't that bad.  However, if this is happening to you, you can't let it continue.  Sure, it's fun once or twice and taken as a joke.  But after about a week of this nagging and critiquing, you just are so annoyed and so down that you could scream. (Side note: October 12th is International Moment of Frustration Scream Day.) 
     It's going on in my life, actually, and with one of my closest friends from these parts who I hold very dear.  The funny thing is that he really feels bad about it, because he can definitely tell it affects me negatively, but it still continues.  It's definitely toning down though, because once your friend hits that peak of dismissal, they start to recover.  I honestly shouldn't have let it continue, but it did.  And I feel dumb.  But, in the end, he's definitely still a great person and friend, and we should never stop being forgivers. 

     The Best Way To Kill The Friend Forgetfulness is to be a Friend Forgiver.

Take Care Y'all, and Be A Friend,
Karly :)