My Life in Music

I am a huge music lover. Music is definitely a big part of me, and I really don't know what I would do without it. I just wouldn't be myself if I couldn't listen to or play music. I have played piano since I was five and have been in choirs since high school. My parents probably have a lot to do with my love for music. My mom and dad always had music playing as I was growing up. My mom played the piano a lot when I was young and my dad loved to sing. My dad made me my first "mixtape" when I was about seven or eight years old and listening to music was one of my favorite things to do when I was younger. So, just for the fun of it, I thought I would answer some questions about music.

1. What was the last song you listened to? 

139 / Dead of Night - Leeland

2. What song are you loving right now?

Right now I am really into a capella music. So my favorite song at the moment is the version of She Used to Be Mine sung by Upper Structure. I love this song so much and I can't stop listening to it!

3. What was the last concert you attended?

It's been a while since I have been to a concert. I think the last concert I attended was a One Direction concert.

4. What was the best concert you have ever been to?

I went to a BarlowGirl concert years ago and it was so great. I remember that it made a huge impression on me. I think it was my first official "Christian" concert.

5. Name your favorite album.

One of my favorite albums will probably always be Young Love by Mat Kearney. I will never get tired of listening to it.

6. What is your favorite movie soundtrack?

The music to The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe will always be special to me, since it was one of my favorite book series when I was growing up. Watching all of the characters coming to life in the movie, along with listening to the soundtrack, was so magical.

7. What is a song that makes you happy?

There are so many, but one that comes to mind is pink skies by LANY.

8. Who are your favorite artists?

• Mat Kearney
• LANY
• Ben Rector
• Relient K

And SO many more.

9. What is your favorite genre of music?

I like songs in most genres. I like a lot of pop music, worship music, and "indie" music.

10. What song has meant a lot to you in the past?

The song Times by Tenth Avenue North definitely meant a lot to me since it talks about the all encompassing, ever-forgiving love of God. Actually, there were many Tenth Avenue North songs that got me through some hard times.

Polyvore

I wish I didn't have to write about this, but I feel like I need to. I just want to talk about Polyvore shutting down. If you don't know what Polyvore was, it was a site where you could create fashion "sets" or "collages" and share them with the online Polyvore community. If you want more information, Google can probably give a better description. Anyway, when I tried to log in on April 5, and saw a new website in its place, I was in shock and I was devastated, to say the least. I had been using Polyvore consistently since June, 2011. Some things that I loved about it was that it was always there. It was an escape, and a way for me to express myself. I always felt free to say whatever I wanted to say and to show whatever I wanted to show. It was a wonderful way to be creative and to share my thoughts and even music I was enjoying at the time. Polyvore was such a wonderful and supportive community. I rarely ever saw any negativity on the site. Maybe once in 7 years. Everyone was so kind and encouraging. I never felt afraid to be myself on the website. I am also kind of at a loss now that I have no way of connecting with the community members. I miss looking at everyones' sets and just getting lost in another world whenever I visited the site. Anyway...I just felt like I needed to say this. I definitely miss it.

The last set I ever created:

A few of my sets that I loved:

Good to me

Life is so busy right now. Probably the busiest it has ever been. It’s a challenge trying to get through this time in my life, but I am making it. Almost every day I wake up exhausted. Also, this year my allergies have been bothering me. My eyes are puffy and itchy, and I have hay fever-like symptoms, which isn’t very fun, of course. Even though it’s difficult, I am surviving. I would never make it without Jesus. I literally would not be able to get through each day without Him. I thank Him every day for helping me and for giving me His strength when I don’t have enough.

“I put all my hope on the truth of Your promise. I steady my heart on the ground of Your goodness. You are good to me. Good to me. ” -Audrey Assad

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'

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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 :)