A New Perspective

Hi everyone!

Tonight I was listening to one of my favorite bands, Tenth Avenue North, and I randomly decided to check out their YouTube channel. I do this from time to time since they upload some unique videos every once in a while. Sometimes the videos are of Mike (the lead singer)'s hilarious character sketches, and sometimes, Mike talks about something a bit more serious. And that 'something more serious' is actually always definitely worth hearing. So today I listened to Mike's experience and thoughts on happiness and pleasure in life. He talks about the freedom that comes with shifting our perspective on what, or rather who is most important in life. I could explain more, but this video truly and awesomely says it all. Hope it resonates with you as much as it did with me. :)

                                   

Hope you have a wonderful week!

~foreverfaith <3

Standing on the Promises

Hello everyone,

Tonight I was thinking about the promises of God. He has given us a lot of amazing promises. And not only has He given us a lot of amazing promises, but tonight I was thinking about how He keeps them. He doesn't keep them sometimes...not only if He's having a good day...not only if He's "in the mood." He always keeps them. Humans will fail us, but He never will. His promises stand. They don't waver or change.

Who changes? I do. We do. We doubt, we question, we worry, and we fear. And when we do these things, our focus is shifted from trusting in Him, to focusing on our own efforts to solve our own problems. But when has relying all on our own strength ever ended well? We weren't created to carry our burdens alone. We need His help. I want to remember to keep trusting Him to keep all of those amazing promises.

"Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful." -Hebrews 10:23 (NIV)

I am nothing without Him

When I was little, I remember singing this hymn with my parents. I sang it with all my heart, and though I don't remember if I fully comprehended it at such a young age, it helps me a lot today. Sometimes it will pop into my head when I am feeling down, or when I am confused and unsure of what to do.

Standing on the promises of Christ my King. Through eternal ages let his praises ring; glory in the highest, I will shout and sing, standing on the promises of God.

Refrain:

Standing, standing,

standing on the promises of Christ my Savior;

standing, standing,

I'm standing on the promises of God.

Standing on the promises that cannot fail, when the howling storms of doubt and fear assail, by the living Word of God I shall prevail, standing on the promises of God.

(Refrain)

Standing on the promises of Christ the Lord,  bound to him eternally by love's strong cord, overcoming daily with the Spirit's sword, standing on the promises of God.

(Refrain)

Standing on the promises I cannot fall, listening every moment to the Spirit's call, resting in my Savior as my all in all, standing on the promises of God.

(Refrain)

-"Standing on the Promises" - R. Kelso Carter

I hope you enjoyed this post :) Happy Weekend!

~foreverfaith <3

Bloglovin'

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Hello everyone,

I'm trying out Bloglovin'! Hopefully I will get everything up and running with it soon :)

~foreverfaith <3

Freeman Feeling Beautiful Facial Clay Mask - Avocado & Oatmeal: Review

Freeman Facial Clay Mask, Avacado & Oatmeal

Hello everyone!

This summer I made a goal for myself to try to find and maintain a good, simple skincare routine. So, as a part of that routine, I have been using the Freeman Avocado & Oatmeal Clay Mask. I have used this product off an on for several years, but this summer I have really been enjoying it. I purchased mine at Ulta for only $3.99 which is so inexpensive for such a large amount of a great product! Currently, I use this product once or twice a week when I feel that my skin needs to be "purified" from excess oil and product build-up. Aside from using this product in a regular skincare routine, I also think this would be a great mask to use on a girls night, a sleepover, or when on vacation.

Here are some of my pros and cons:

Pros:

1. Leaves your skin so incredibly smooth
2. Not harsh or drying to the skin
3. For me, it has actually lessened some of my breakouts and evened-out my skin tone!
4. The smell is unique, but really good in my opinion
5. (Bonus pro): It's green! (for me this is a plus since it kind of reminds me of those movies where the girl comes out of the bathroom and scares her brother as she rolls her eyes because he "just doesn't understand the importance of a girl's beauty routine").

Con:

1. Sometimes it takes a bit longer than I would like for it to completely rinse off. But if that happens, I just use a washcloth to easily remove the excess residue.

The Process:

1. First, I pull my hair back with a headband. 
2. Next, I use my Cetaphil cleanser (love this stuff) and make sure to remove all of my makeup. 
3. Once my makeup is off, I dispense about a penny-size amount onto my hand and smooth it across my face, making sure that there isn't any skin peeking through (this is the fun part: hello green skin! :p).
4. I wait for it to dry for about ten minutes (for me, this means time to crank up the music and have a solo dance party!).
5. After the mask dries, it's time to wash it off (you know it's time when it feels tingly and you can barely smile...a feeling that I love for some reason...). I splash water on my face several times until it all comes off, and sometimes I use a wet, warm washcloth to remove the excess.
6. I follow up by patting my face dry with a towel and voila! I have clean, soft, smooth, purified skin!
7. (Sometimes I apply a bit of moisturizer afterwards, but you could skip this step).

Final Thoughts: Overall, I think this is a great product. What I like most about it is that it doesn't break me out; it actually minimizes my breakouts! The smell is great, and it is just a really fun product to use.

I hope this helped...recently, I also read a beauty book that featured recipes for natural masks using fresh fruit. I didn't have time to read it very thoroughly, but it looks like a great option as well! Maybe I will try some of them out and make a post on how they turned out?

Hope you enjoyed this post and thank you so much for reading! Hope your week is going great :)

~foreverfaith <3


P.S. This isn't sponsored :)

June Playlist - Summer 2013

Hello everyone!

Today I thought I would share some of the songs I listened to this month. Hope you enjoy :)

1. Keep Looking Up - Landon Pigg

I love so much about this song. The guitar, the lyrics, the melody, Landon's voice...I could go on. :) It's really easy to listen to.

2. The Moment - GOLDHOUSE

I literally never get tired of this song. The lyrics are really cute and the sound is just so nice.

3. And The World Turned - Gabe Dixon Band

The piano is so awesome in this song. Also, the story behind it is really creative. I also love this music video and I think it depicts the song so well.

4. Don't Have Love - Holly Starr

This song is so fun and SO catchy. It makes me really happy when I listen to it. And the lyrics are simple, yet great. 

5. Overwhelmed - Rachel Platten

This song is so bright and happy. Rachel's voice is really nice and fresh. Also, it's a great reminder to not stay down and feel sorry for ourselves.

6. I Want Crazy - Hunter Hayes

I just recently started listening to this song, but I love that it is so fun and creative. I especially love the chorus, and isn't this music video enchanting? :)

7. Somewhere Only We Know - Keane

I can thank Pandora for getting me reacquainted with this song. :) I feel like I have heard it a lot off an on throughout the years, but it really is a great song. I also saw that the song was in the Winnie The Pooh (2011) trailer and it fit so perfectly. 

8. The Feeling - Ben Rector

I love Ben Rector's voice and I love the lyrics of this song. It also gets stuck in my head quite often. :)

9. Bloom - Moriah Peters

This song is just so nice and sweet. And how cute is this music video???

10. So Far Gone - Thousand Foot Krutch

This song has more of a quiet and reflective vibe. Not only does it sound very good to the ears, but the lyrics are so honest and meaningful: "I want to be lost in You. Like a ship in the night. I want to get lost in You. Underneath Your sky."

Thank you so much for stopping by and I hope your week is off to a great start!

~foreverfaith <3

The Summer of the Swans

Summer of the Swans

Hello everyone!

Today I have a story about a book called The Summer of the Swans. Though it is a juvenile book, it is nostalgic to me since I remember reading it when I was a young child. A little backstory relating to my early fascination/obsession/passion for reading, is that I would often look at the list of the Newberry Medal winners (an award for outstanding children's literature) and pick out books to read that sounded interesting. I was curious to know what made a book good enough to win such a great award, and even at that young age, I wanted to soak up and learn as much as I could about life through the pages of those books. I couldn't get enough of reading. As I grew up, I navigated the library, finding as many books as I could that seemed thought-provoking. I loved the feeling of learning something new each time I read a novel.

All of these memories came back to me about a week ago, out of nowhere, as I remembered this little book The Summer of the Swans. I specifically recalled the big orange sneakers that Sara, the main character, was so upset about, and the color she decided to dye them. I remembered Aunt Willie hating motor cycles and I remembered what happened when Wanda, Sara's older sister, begged to ride one with her boyfriend. I remembered relating to Sara and her insecurities and her great love for her brother, Charlie.

The other day, I read this book for the first time since elementary school and I felt so happy rereading each of my memories from when I was young. But I also discovered some things I didn't remember when I was a child. I realized some of the book's themes, including the stage that everyone goes through when they feel like an outsider. The stage when you don't have the right body, the right clothes, the right friends, the right anything (I know the feeling all to well).

But then life goes on, and you realize that what others think of you isn't as important as you had originally thought. You realize that sometimes many of your insecurities are all in your head, and that there are more important things to life than worrying about the color of your tennis shoes. (Not that you won't ever have insecurities again - we're only human - but in time it really does get better when you are steadfast in looking to Jesus to find your worth.)  :)


"A picture came into her mind of the laughing, curly headed man with the broken tooth in the photograph album, and she suddenly saw life as a series of huge, uneven steps, and she saw herself on the steps, standing motionless in her prison shirt, and she had just taken an enormous step out of the shadows, and she was standing, waiting, and there were other steps in front of her, so that she could go as high as the sky, and she saw Charlie on a flight of small difficult steps, and her father down at the bottom of the steps, just sitting and not trying to go further. She saw everyone she knew on those blinding white steps, and for a moment, everything was clearer than it had ever been" (Byars, 1970).


The Summer of the Swans is a book about a girl who found herself after losing another. A story about love, loss, gain, and self-discovery in its unique little way. I definitely recommend this book no matter your age.

 I hope you enjoyed my post and I hope you have a great weekend! Thank you again for reading!

 ~foreverfaith <3

The Velveteen Rabbit

Hello everyone!

Today I am sharing a really amazing quote from the story The Velveteen Rabbit:

"Real isn't how you are made,' said the Skin Horse. 'It's a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long long time, not just to play with , but REALLY loves you, then you become Real.'

'Does it hurt?' asked the Rabbit.

'Sometimes,' said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. 'When you are Real you don't mind being hurt.' 

'Does it happen all at once, like being wound up,' he asked, 'or bit by bit?'

'It doesn't happen all at once,' said the Skin Horse. 'You become. It takes a long time. That's why it doesn't happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and our eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand."

-Margery Williams, The Velveteen Rabbit

Interpretation/Thoughts:

This quote really got me thinking. It made me realize a few things. If everything in our lives had been perfect and if we had never needed to experience various hardships, would we be able to appreciate and understand the wonderful things in our lives? Would we be able to fully comprehend the greatness of beauty, grace, or love? Would we feel as deeply? Would we be the same people that we are now? Would we be able to say, "I cried, I was hurt, and I fell down, but that's how I knew how to appreciate laughter, healing, and standing back up?"

The imperfections and scars that the Skin Horse refers to should not hinder us or make us feel insignificant, but they should be reminders of how far we have come. Reminders of what it took for us to not only be able to receive love but for us to be able to give love as well.

Whatever our scars are, we shouldn't allow others' judgements or our own judgements to hold us back from living a full life. Why feel insecure or ashamed by what makes us who we are? Those scars are proof that we have "become." They are proof that we haven't given up, but that we are still going. They are proof that we are not perfect, fragile, porcelain dolls on a lofty shelf, but that we are picked up, beautifully loved, and beautifully and completely Real.

Thank you for reading. :) Hope your weekend is wonderfully real.

~foreverfaith <3

My Current Favorite Free Apps - Summer 2013

Hello everyone!

Today I thought I would share with you guys some of my favorite free apps on my iPod touch. There are some pretty cool, convenient apps in the app store :) I hope you enjoy reading about the ones I use!

1) Games:

Happy Jump

-Happy Jump – It’s official. I am obsessed with this app. I know…it’s not good…but when I’m not doing anything, it’s very likely that I will start using this app. Example: when I am in a waiting room, waiting for my family, waiting for anything. It’s so addicting. And so cute.

Snoopy Coaster

-Snoopy Coaster – I love snoopy. And I love cutesy little game apps. This makes for the perfect, potentially addicting app. It’s super fun.

2) Fashion app:

Polyvore

-Polyvore – This fashion app is really handy for checking activity and it’s pretty decent for looking at sets from people you are following. I love Polyvore so having it on an app is awesome. There are a few features that are missing, but it has the major necessities.  Thumbs up from me for a Polyvore app!

3) Music app:

Songza

-Songza – I actually found out about this internet radio app through a Blogilates video on YouTube. Some of the stations have really unusual songs and I listen to it whenever I am in the mood for something unique. I actually only find songs worth bookmarking every once in a while. But what I think is cool is that the app gives you station options based on the time of day and your mood.

4) Image apps:

WallpapersHD

-WallpapersHD – This app is my favorite for finding great iPod backgrounds. The app has a good selection of images and it is very easy to use.

InstaFrame

          

-InstaFrame – This app is great for making your pictures square for instagram and has some unique, fun frame shapes like hearts and flowers. I definitely recommend it!

5) Life apps:

Bible

-Bible (YouVersion) – This app is so handy and I love it. If I can’t quite remember an entire verse, I can look up what I remember in the search bar and find what I was looking for. I also like the daily Bible verses on the home screen.

Gratitude Diary

-Gratitude Diary – This app is so great for documenting quick things that I am thankful for throughout the day. It’s great because sometimes you forget good things that happen and you can go back and look at them when you need some encouragement or just want a reminder.

Bible Verses

-Bible Verses – This app is really nice for giving you a random, encouraging Bible verse each day. I think there is a verse for each day of the year.

6) Organization apps:

SkyDrive

-SkyDrive – This app is so handy. It connects with your outlook account and stores documents that you upload. You can get it on your computer, apple device, and android device.

Documents

-Documents – This app is also extremely convenient. I just recently downloaded it so I am still learning about it. I know that you can create and modify .txt documents on it and it can connect to other accounts such as Dropbox and SkyDrive.


I hope you enjoyed this post! Do you like any of these apps? What is your favorite app to use?

Hope you have an amazing weekend!

-foreverfaith <3

Pressing On - Bible Reflections

A verse that inspire hope and a promise for the future:

"Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." - Philippians 3:12-14

I just love this part: "Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize..."

I press on.

Toward what is ahead.

Sometimes I feel like we can dwell on the past so much. We have regrets that we keep reliving in our mind's eye. But we have so much more than the past. We are forgiven, and we can move on from what is behind.

Something that I want to work on is looking at the positive things that I have now and the positive things that will come instead of looking so much at the regrets of the past. An approach I used so much was that I focused on what I needed to get over more than focusing on what I was going to do in the future to live a victorious life through Christ. I am not perfect, but I need to concentrate on Him and the blessings I have received through Him. Because at the end of it all, the Bible says that I will receive the prize. So why do I keep looking back at yesterday? It's time for me to press on and take hold of my future that is promised in Christ.

Unanswered

Sometimes when I see and hear about all of the sickness in the world, I don't understand. I am confused. Why do some people get very sick and some don't? Why does one person have one disease and a different person have another disease?

 Sometimes I think about all of the unknown answers for diseases.  People are working constantly and putting forth such great effort to find the answer. Day after day. Month after month. Year after year.

Then I realize that while we are constantly searching for the answers with extremely complex chemical formulas and advanced technology, God already knows. He knows every nook and cranny of our our internal makeup and knows which cells are being affected and why; He created every single bit of us. He knows what will happen even before we feel the first pain. Think about the size of the smallest part of our body. An atom is .3 nanometers which is the same as .00000003 cm! That is just crazy to me. There is just so much in life that we can't see and that we can't understand. But I just don't think we are meant to understand.

I don't know why people get sick. I don't know why some people seem to have it way worse than others. All I know is that God is omniscient. He is all-knowing. And all-capable. He is God. And I don't think He would let his children go through something if He didn't have a reason for it. We may not know what it is, but He does.

Though humans are imperfect, worn down, and not meant to live forever, I am very grateful that our spirits are! I try to put things in perspective by thinking that life on earth is literally the blink of the eye compared to eternity. If our life is a drop of water, eternity is all of the oceans combined. If our life is the moon, eternity is the universe. And it's even bigger than that! It is very difficult for me to comprehend, but I try to remember that life here is just a microscopic sliver of our life in Heaven. So tonight, I will rest on the promise that He has a plan far bigger than I could even imagine, and I trust that He is in control of it all.

"My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever." (Psalm 73:26)