5 Ways to Fall in Love With the Bible

Hey there my friends!! 

i know I've been a little MIA on here the past few months but I'm Back! lolol

I want to share with you have w I fell in love with reading the Bible.

Okay let me start with my morning  routine. I try and get up at 6:30 every morning. (Note I say try because most mornings whatever   Incentive I have to get up seems no longer relevant compared to my nice warm bed. ) sad but true. After I crawl out of bed I usually make myself a cup of coffee ☕️ or fresh mint tea cause ITS THE BEST. Then since it’s summer I settle myself down on my front porch, dive into the word. 

that's it. so simple. 

But what Joy is  found in the presence of God!

see for to long i had looked at reading the bible as a chore, something to check off in order to have a good day. its mearly something that has to get done. and my friend when you view reading God's word that way you will struggle to make the time. 

im not presuming to know all the shortcuts to drawing closer to God. But see that's the beauty of the Bible. there is no "right" way to have a relationship with God. Honestly we are always changing, and so will our time with the Lord. So, wherther your just starting out, trying to get back into the loop, our just looking for a change, here are.

5 WAYS TO FALL IN LOVE 

WITH YOUR BIBLE 

1. BE CONSISTENT 

if your anything like me that's one of the things that i struggle a lot with. lists, planning, scheduled are all very strange words to me. Id be more than happy to  throw everything into a bag and head off on a last minuet trip with a few of my friends. i love that! 

SO I've had to really work on setting a consistent time with Jesus. even if that means getting up earlier in the morning. See my friends here's the thing. WE NEED TO PUT JESUS FIRST.  First above everything else because He is the most important thing in our lives.  So make a date with God, what could be more important. Go to a coffee shop grab a cup of coffee & dive into the word. if your in the country like i am, find a field, pack a basket and enjoy!

2.STOP READING IT LIKE A TEXTBOOK

The Bible is not just a book. It’s Holy, it’s inspired! This is no ordinary story!! within these pages are the key to life! the key to living a victorious life! don't breeze through it. let the beautiful truth transform your heart through soft, thoughtful intake.

3. ASK GOD TO AWAKEN A DESIRE FOR HIS WORD IN YOU

It’s okay.  It’s OK to not feel like reading your Bible. There’s no shame in that, God meets us where we are and we need to be honest with him. So ask him to change you. Ask him to change your mindset. He will!! You are so precious to Him. But that doesn’t mean that you  and just sit back and wait for God. No, seek Him! 

4. BE IN LOVE WITH JESUS

When I say be in love with Jesus I don’t mean  an emotion . I don’t mean this constant high.

 Love is deeper than an emotion. Love is deeper than a feeling. It’s trusting, hoping, loving unconditionally, relying, communicating. It’s knowing deep within your soul that He will never leave you or forsake You!  It’s abiding and his constant love.  It’s spending time with him. talking to him. crying out to him praising him!

It’s taking all your worries, all your fears, all of your problems,  and giving them to Jesus. 

Taking them  to the foot of the cross.

5) USE DIFFERENT TRANSLATIONS

if your reading and get super confused don't be afraid to find a translation that you like and can understand! also a fantastic app that i am loving right now is the Blue Letter Bible. its amazing for in depth study, reading plans, and a ton of other cool things!

SO there you have it friends, 5 ways to fall in love with the Bible. i am still far from perfect. i mess up all the time, still im striving to grow and mature in my relationship with God and that can only happen by reading the word and steadfast prayer!

You got this my friend, so dust off your bible case and dive in! what are you waiting for?

if you have any questions please let me know in the comments below :) :)

April Monthly Post

Anyone ready for some sporadic things?!?! K K 

HERE WE GO......

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walking out the lane with the sis, listing to music and singing at the top of our lungs.

dang guys the older i get the faster life flies by. remember when we were kids and summer seemed to be infinity. i wanna go back to those days.

Its still coldish at night, but despite the cold we had a campfire. which was fantastic! perfect way to end the day 10/10 recommend this!

 its finally 60 degrees.

Me: Summer is HERE!" automatically  puts ALL of my jackets away.

next day.

"Oh look its snowing."

     apparently its spring everywhere else but where I live. 
picture above is my grandpas lane. there are still no leaves on the trees where i live.... so yeah. lolol

Spent last week in PA with some of my family. it was a lovely time, 3 hour coffee shop conversations with the cousins about trips

ME AT 11:30 PM "Sara i think its time for Tea." 

also if any of you have favorite Tea blends that you love PLEASE please let me know. 
i'm kind of obsessed with tea right now. lolol. currently my personal fav (other than fresh mint from the garden) has been the hot cinnamon sunset for target! guyss its amazing! do yourself a favor and get some.

working in the garden again!!!!honestly is there anything as peaceful and de-stressing than this!?!?!

Waves by Dean Lewis//Majesty by Micheal W. Smith// Needtobreath's acoustic album// have been played SO many times this month.

also i may have binge watch the entire first two seasons of Riverdale. yeah it was pretty intense... lol

I've been reading through the New Testament this year. Ya'll its been so so so good! currently i'm reading in 1 Corinthians.  

I've been reading about God's Wisdom and Holy Spirit. amazing!

God has given us (His children) the gift of the Holy Spirit, to guide, lead, and direct us in the path of Righteousness. Isn't that Amazing!! what a magnificent Father we have!

 

HIGHLIGHTS

• seriously going to say this again BUT WARM WEATHER. it was a long winter folkes. 
• All the campfire feels!
• Also bring on the Iced coffee. 
• So i discovered Riverdale & now im kind of obsessed with it tbh. its so good. I'm not a huge lover of Drama but THIS show is fantastic!
• I read 3 books this month that i LOVED!

So that pretty much sums up my month.

LEMME KNOW WHATS NEW IN YOUR LIFE
HOW WAS YOUR APRIL?
ANY EXCITING PLANS FOR MAY?

Hey Again!

hey friends,  i know I've been MIA on here a bit but honestly life has been a bit crazy, andd maybe iv'e just procrastinated trying to sort out my thoughts..
okay im going to jump right into what i want to say to you all today.

contentment in my dreams. 
is that a weird way to put it? maybe, but that's kind of how i feel about it rn.
let me be completely honest with you all for a second.  its hard for me sometimes to look at people on social media and see what they’ve accomplished & not feel suddenly inadequate at the place I am in my life right now. 

okay. that's the lie Satan wants me to believe.
Here's the truth 

 By comparing myself to someone I don’t even know, I end up becoming more discontent and unhappy.
what I really think has to change is the way we look at others. Instead of feeling sorry for ourselves that we haven’t accomplished what the other person has or reached the same level as them. 
Let’s look to our own journey let’s look to what God has for each and every one do instead of looking to others and being envious of them. spend your time and energy cultivating your own dream or vision. At least I know that something I have to do on a continual basis. 

hey kid, God Knows you.

HE created you! those dreams you have, He's the one who placed them in your heart!

waiting for spring

I've been waiting for spring. slowly the days are getting longer. the sun seems a little warmer. most of the snow has melted. the other morning i heard birds chirping outside my window.everything is waiting. anticipating the beauty spring brings to us.

Liebster Award

So i was tagged in this post a while ago. like months and months ago. and as you can see im just now getting around to posting it. i was tagged by the lovley Hanne, do yourself a favor and check out her blog Losing the Busyness

The rules are simple:
1. Thank the person who nominated you
2. Answer the 11 questions they gave you
3. Name 11 facts about you
4. Nominate 11 bloggers to do this tag, and let them know
5. Give them 11 questions to answer

                                             

Questions to Answers 

What is your favorite winter tradition? skating and drinking a hot chocolate afterwords lolol cause my feet are frozen!

What is your favorite quote?

"I lay my whys before Your cross in worship kneeling, my mind beyond ALL hope, my heart beyond all feeling, and worshiping, and realizing that in knowing You I dont need a why. -Ruth bell Graham  

What is the book you read most recently, and what did you think of it? The Most recent book i read was THE Real Lincoln, a new look a Abraham Lincoln, his agenda and, an unnecessary war. it was SO good and eyeopening!! srly all you history lovers should defiantly read this book.

What is your favorite board game? I personally play more card games myself BUT i do enjoy a good game of Ticket to Ride.

What’s a name that you love but won’t ever use for your kids? I really like the name Liam. idk if i would for sure never use it though.

If you could learn one physical activity and do extremely well at it, what would it be? 

haha i honestly don't know. maybe soccer, or hockey since there's winter for 8 months of they year where i live.

What is your favorite brand? (i.e., Forever 21, Nike, etc; not restricted only to clothing) 

roolee. they have amazingggg clothes!!

What is your favorite trait in a friend?

Honestly I love when my friends feel comfortable around me to be their own quirky selves.. lol

What is your secret talent? 

haha i don't think i have one.. 

What was your favorite moment of 2018?

Can i even pick a moment? lolol but srsly this fall i spent the weekend camping at the ocean with some cousins and friends. at night we built a fire don at the beach & listen to the waves, sang, played games. it was pretty amazing!

_________________________________________

Okay now its my turn, here are 11 questions for you!

who is one person that has impacted the way you look at life.

what is your favorite season? and why.

tea or coffee?

favorite place you've gone too?

4 things that you're thankful for.

what is something you are passionate about?

last 3 books you read

what country would you most like to go too?

a bible verse that has spoken to your heart.

what makes you feel loved?

okay now tell us something random about yourself :)

SO if this looks like something you would be interested in doing, consider yourself tagged! 

Just a little ramble + Jesus talk

Hey. Friends sooo I thought I would post more on this vacation BUT apparently not lolol.

Actually it’s been quite the month, we had some unexpected things happen while on our trip. But God is good and no matter what life throws at us HIS GRACE IS SUFFICIENT!

I’ve been journaling so much recently. This is the fastest book I’ve filled up in years lol it’s been great!

Been listening to a lot of Michael W. Smith his album  Worship is amazinggg. So please go listen to it rn. It’s okay I’ll wait...

Great your back! Let us continue 

Love this bible verse!

Psalms 48:5

“Why my soul are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? PUT YOUR hope in God! For I will yet praise Him, my Savior and my God!”

Oh and I think I have an obsession with Polaroids SRLY go yet yo-self one! And start filling your wall up with cool memories xxx

one last thing 

I’ve been thinking a lot about the ART OF LIVING & what it means to me. 

Cause when you really think about it there’s SO MUCH DEPTH to 

that!! You know! 

Idk it’s just something I’ve been pondering xxxx 

Okay enough about me. How was YOUR February? Let me know in the comments below XD 

.

Things I’m learning to appreciate

Listening to Patsy Cline late at night. 

Inside jokes with friends. Eating fresh sourdough bread at 11 pm. Being excited to see some of my favorite people.

Getting up in the morning  and drinking  fresh Honduras coffee. 

Leaving the cold north and going somewhere warm. Taking a whole stack of books on vacation with me.  Actually learning a song on my ukulele!!

Dreaming of my garden and spring, which doesn’t seem that far off anymore. 

I guess I’m just realizing that the little everyday moments  and dreams are actually the best. 

Life is good dudes! 

What are some moments you’ve

 learned to love and appreciate recently? 

D R E A M S

Dreams. They can be sweet and beautiful one moment and the next cause such deep pain. Maybe you’ve  felt at times after so many painful experience  of silently hoping just to have the very thing that your heart longs for become obsolete. You start to question the point of having dreams. They never come true in the end.

Please don’t think that. Your dreams are special, unique, just like you. And oh how very near and dear to your heart they are. So don’t stomp on them. Can’t you see what  beautiful treasures they are!

But here’s the thing

Maybe it’s not that we shouldn’t dream, but rather be able to allow your dream to change, grow, evolve. Adjust the way you looked at it.. 

 Cause honestly our life is pretty much a changing dream.  

WINTER TRAVELS// CENTRAL AMERICA// ADVENTURING

Okay so whose ready for a photo dump? no srly i took about 1000 pictures. so i am putting only my absolute favorites on here. lolol

i was in Central America for two weeks in January with 4 of my cousins. we had an incredible time together. so much laughter and good times. guys i know I've said this before but.... 

PLEASE. GO. TRAVEL. WITH. YOUR. FAMILY. ITS THE BESTTTTTT

we literally bused everywhere. i got to see a new part of CA that i haven't explored before. there's this one city had this colonial Spanish feel to it! we went up into the mountains one day. i mean wayy up, searching for coffee. it was an incredible experience. pretty much everything about this trip was amazing. 

 fun fact. when i was ten my family actually lived in Central America for 3 months. 

in some ways it feels like a second home (other than the fact that my Spanish is terrible) everything is so familiar to me. the sights and sounds, all the different food that i crave like coconut water.

This church was built in 1200. And is one of the oldest in the world!Isn’t that cool!

 #SOMUCHLOVE

We spent two days out by the beach snorkeling in the Caribbean. SO incredibly beautiful. 

this  probably my favorite coffee shop I've ever been too. their coffee is so good words can not begin to describe. lolol the Dirty Chi is out of this world amazing! And the mint Latte is to die for. 

If you have never eaten street tacos WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN DOING WITH YOUR LIFE.. seriously all I’ve been doing is stuffing my face with this incredible food!

 ALSO green mangos with salsa are unbelievably yummy. Just saying. And yes this post is mostly about food. 🙈 and coconut water. FRESH COCONUT WATER. 

I might do another post about what 

i experienced on this trip, and my 

thoughts on traveling. idk

also im home now and my suitcases still need to be unpacked. oh. and its -10 outside SO YEAH THERE'S THAT 

But guys life is so wonderful. and just the simple fact of coming home after an adventure and that feeling of this is where i belong. there's nothing like it.

PS. how are you my friend? 

what 3 things make you happy??

Favorite Photo??

QUICK UPDATE

Hey lovelies, I know some of you may be wondering why I’ve dropped off the face of the earth. Yeah me too lolol. 

But seriously if you follow me on Instagram you know that

I’ve been in Central  America for the past few weeks. 

Anddd my WiFi seriously sucks. So with that said I really wanted to do a quick update and just wanted to let you know that a lot has happened this month. 

Hopefully when I’m in the states next week I’ll do a photo dump and give you more details as to what Janelle has been up too XD 

ALSO I’m  so greatfull that I’ve gotten to experience Central America like this, even though I’ve been coming here for most of my life (I have family that live down here) this has been a completely new adventure. And the Lord has been working in my life and heart ❤️ More of that later!

So tell me how was your January? What unexpected things has God done in your life this month?

Expand + Grow

Expand + Grow

am i comfortable in my box? i think not. i'm tired of my mundane. but when the times comes for me to break down the walls i suddenly find that i love the comfort and safety of normalcy. 


why?

Am i really that afraid of newness, of the unknown?
I never thought i was. 
till now.  

but then i do the very thing that i am terrified of doing and i find that it wasn't worth all that worry and fear. 

So my question to you today is this. is there something that you really want to do but are afraid of. Please stop. Don’t let that hold you back from your dream. Because if we never did anything that took us out of our box what kind of life would that be? 

Also this

courage is not courage if you are not afraid.

 Break down the walls of that box, once you can see the outside you’ll never want to go back. I promise. 
yesterday you were afraid and today you feel a bit more ready - so tell me dear what changed in you?  are you ready for the adventure of the plunge?

Thoughts

my thoughts are fearful.

But God's love casts out all fear.

i feel alone, but when we have God we are never alone.

I forget to trust.

God says to trust is to have faith.

I say my faith is so small.

if little things worry and  terrify me how can I handle a storm?

MY Child. God says 

- what do you think I am preparing you for in this small trial. 

I am strengthening you for GREATER battles.

I am weak - i think to myself- 

that's okay because i am strong -God whispers to me- 

I WILL BE YOUR STRENGTH 

(idk these are just some of my emotions that i have been working through) 

\\WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS//