Thursday, August 16, 2012

what letting go means....

I found this and thought I would share, it's a very important lesson:


To let go doesn't mean to stop caring, it means I can't do it for someone else.
To let go is not to cut myself off, it's the realization that I can't control another.
To let go is not to enable, but to allow learning from natural consequences.
To let go is to admit powerlessness which means, the outcome is not in my hands.
To let go is not to try to change or blame another, I can only change myself.
To let go is not to care for another, but to care about.
To let go is not to fix, but to be supportive.
To let go is not to judge, but to allow another to be a human being.
To let go is not to be in the middle, arranging all the outcomes. But to allow other to effect their own outcomes.
To let go is not to be protective. It is to permit another to face reality.
To let go is not to deny, but to accept. 
To let go is not to nag, scold or argue, but to search out my own shortcomings and correct them.
To let go is not to adjust everything to my desires, but to take each day as it comes and to cherish the moment. 
To let go is not to criticize and regulate anyone, but to become the best I can be.
to let go is not to regret the bast, but to grow and live for the future.


To let go is to fear less, trust in God more, and freely give the love He's given to me. 

Monday, July 2, 2012

and the world spins madly on...

Sometimes, life amazes me. Actually, most of the time it does. While driving home tonight from a super duper long day of work, I looked at the moon (full moon). For some reason, the moon has always fascinated me. No matter where you are in the ENTIRE world, you can see it shining. No matter what direction you are going, no matter where you are in the world whether it be Australia or Lincoln, NE it's always there. I can't help but relate it to God's love. I know, super cliche, but hear me out. Some people think that it's so hard to find happiness in the dark times of their lives. I'm not saying that it's easy because it isn't always easy, but God (or the moon ;] ) is always there. God's love for us isn't something that just comes around when life is going good, it's there when we don't even give Him the time of day. Or when we think we are "too busy" to pray, or even think about Him. The moon will still be shining on us, and He will still be pouring out His love to us.

Now on to the title of this blog. I came across a song a few days ago, called The World Spins Madly On... and I can't stop listening to it. It's one of those songs that is kind of sad if you look up and listen to the lyrics. But for me, it's a positive thing. No matter what you do, no matter how sad you are about something, whether you let go of what's bothering you or let it eat away at you until you are nothing- the world spins madly on. Yeah, sure you can easily get caught up in what you don't have. You can cry all night about something that you've lost or wasn't really ever there at all, yet (you guessed it!) the world spins madly on.

The wonderful Fr. Holdren said to me recently, "Instead of nurturing the sorrows in life, nurture gratitude. When you get caught up in thinking about being sad about this or that and letting it spiral out of control, think of all the things you are grateful for." And the list of all the things I am thankful for is endless. Though it is so easy to get caught up in the negative things in life, the little things that make you want to give up, remember all the reasons you have to keep going. I read once, "When life gives you 100 reasons to cry, show life you have 1,000 reasons to smile." I've said that quote on here before and I repeat it because it's so good.



Keep being you, whoever that is. And never, ever let anyone change that.


Travel the world, take a jog, and always

stay.beautiful









for your viewing pleasure, here's the song :)


Wednesday, June 20, 2012

this guy.

never ceases to amaze me with his words. 



Wednesday, June 13, 2012

modesty

Wow, modesty?! What a loaded subject. But I thought I would give my input on it because I've been thinking/praying about it and feel the need to share my thoughts. Being a freshman in college, modesty is one of the last things girls are thinking about. Especially being in a sorority, it's so easy to just wear the tight skirt or put on the low cut shirt. And I'm not saying that I've perfected the "cute-but-still-modern-and-modest" style, because I most definitely have not. It's a subject that has been talked about in Bible studies around the world (I'm guessing) and a subject spoken about a lot between Catholic guys and girls trying to find a happy medium. Going to a Catholic high school, we were bombarded with the issues of modesty and never even got into a dance without going through "dress patrol". After searching endlessly through stores trying to find a dress that wasn't see-through or too revealing, I just decided to make my own (problem solved!) Even though it was a huge hassle, I can easily say that I am so extremely thankful that I grew up in a school that held me to higher standards and in a house that raised me to respect my own body and others and not dress like a slut.
 
    But as I've gone off to college and had one year under my belt, I'm starting to see modesty in a different light. Of course modesty is and always will be an issue of how women dress. It is dressing in a way that calls men to see not only the mere parts of your body in which you show off, but to see women's souls and personalities rather than solely their bodies. As a fashion design major, my main goal is to make the fashion industry and the world realize how much we could change if women just started respecting themselves more and dressed more modestly. (Keep me and all that in your prayers). But what I want to talk about here is the deeper part of modesty. Not only the clothing and the covering up the body but another aspect: guarding your heart.

   One Bible verse that has always stuck our to me is this, "Above all else, guard your heart. For in it are the sources of life." -Proverbs 4:23 Holy crap, right?! "Above ALL ELSE" not, "guard your body then your heart" but "above everything, guard your heart." God tells us that our hearts are the most sacred part of us, and how true is that? I'll answer that for you, super true. So what does this have to do with modesty? Well, have you ever heard of emotional chastity? If you haven't, you're in for a journey. If you have, you can attest to my saying it might be one of the hardest things ever. Basically for girls it means, when you meet a guy that you may potentially like and he may potentially like you, don't go tell all your friends how you guys are going to get married and creep him on Facebook and picture how your name and his last name sound together. And if you tell me you've never done that, you're lying because we all have.

   To guard our hearts I feel like is one of, if not the most important thing we have to do. In our day and age, especially in college, the majority of guys are looking for one thing. And what's the one way they linger us in? By telling us the things that will make us believe them and make us believe that our hearts will be safe in their hands. Even guys know that the way to win girls over is by going for their "heart" to get into their pants. In my Morality class junior year of high school, Father Faulkner said, "Guys use love to get sex. And girls use sex to get love." Which is the sad truth.

So what's the point of all of this?

   I guess what I'm trying to get at is that guarding your body and keeping your virginity and all that good stuff is super important and I'm 100% for staying pure of body. But I want to challenge you, guys or girls, to stay pure of heart. It's easy for me to put on modest clothes and say I'm modest, but I think modesty goes further then that. It's not only guarding your "body" but guarding your heart as well. It's just like the saying, "If you give a piece of your body away to multiple random guys, what's left for your husband?" I'm saying, If you give little pieces of your heart away to guys that aren't worthy of it and don't deserve it, what are you going to have to give to your soulmate who has proven his love and worth to you?



St. Maria Goretti, pray for us






Stay classy San Diego, (and modest) and always,


stay.beautiful


Thursday, May 24, 2012

reason, season, or a lifetime

One of my best friends once told me, "People come into your life for a reason, a season, or a lifetime." I've thought about this and couldn't agree more with my beautiful Jessica. Every person in our lives, whether it's someone we just met, someone we just saw walking on the street, our best friend, whoever it is, came into your life because God put them there. It's kind of crazy if you think about it. The random person that smiled at you when you were having an awful day was kind of like a little angel God sent just for you. It's easy to look at the people we have in our lives now and determine that they will be in our lives forever. But unfortunately, that's not always the case. Sometimes, people come into our lives to teach us something. Sometimes they come into our lives to show us how much we can love someone. The hardest ones though, are the people that come into our lives to teach us how strong we actually are.

It's beautiful, this life we have here. If you take a step back to look at how everything plays out, it's pretty crazy how God does it all. I worry so much about what's to come and what I'm supposed to be doing with my life, but when I take a step back, I really have absolutely nothing to worry about. People come into our lives sometimes for a brief moment to show us everything will be okay. Others come into our lives for a season to help us get back onto the path we were supposed to be on or to show us that we don't want to be on the path they are. And others come into our lives for a lifetime, those ones are called soul mates.

Next time you have a random encounter with someone, or they make you think twice about something, remember they were put there for a reason.


Stop worrying, let go, and always

stay.beautiful

Thursday, April 26, 2012

moments

moments. stop and think of the last time you slowed down and actually cherished the passing moment. there are so many in our lives. there are moments in our lives when we have no idea what's going on and have no idea where we are going. there's moments when we think we have our whole lives planned out and it suddenly all comes crashing down in the blink of an eye. there's moments when sometimes you feel like you just have to give up and let fate take over. there's moments when you have been so strong for so long that a breakdown is inevitable.

yet, there are also those moments when you can't imagine ever being happier. those moments that you never want to end, that feel like a movie. those moments when you think that nothing can ever go wrong. the moments where everything is just right. where the people in your life make you feel like you are becoming the best you can be. 

i guess lately i've been so caught up that I haven't taken a step back to recognize them all. the moments that taught me life lessons. the moments in which i couldn't hold on any longer, so I held on to God instead. we always hear that life is about these moments, but do any of us really recognize that? it's just crazy to me that there is so much more to this life then what we see in front of us. the past happened so you could be right here, right now. and right now is happening so that the future can be brighter then you've ever imagined. whether or not you know what's going to be in your life, don't forget to cherish these moments now. because you will never, ever get them back. 

my advice to you tonight, and to myself:

be happy. be sad. cry until you can't breathe. laugh until you can't breathe. smile at the ones who've hurt you. scream into your pillow. some nights, just go to sleep. stop thinking so much. when you think you can't go anymore, just take one more step. when love comes around, just jump. don't hold anything back, ever. 

forever, 

stay.beautiful