plans & dreams.

as y'all who have been reading for a while know, life has been rather tough lately. things just aren't going as planned. i've really had to trust the Lord with my plans, or rather His plans, what He wants with my life. i've had to let go of what i thought my life would be like, how i thought my life should go and let God direct me.

this means i've spend a lot of time in prayer, in his word, and just listening. driving to and from work have been especially powerful. some moments were good & some were rough. it's the place where i have no one else needing my attention and can just think. sometimes i had ah-ha moments and sometimes i just got frustrated. i tend to over-think things, which gets me into trouble. stupid satan loves to use that for his gain. anyways, before i ramble too much, the point is we make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps {proverbs 16:9}.

we make all these plans for our lives. sometimes they happen, and sometimes the Lord takes those plans we made and throws them away for the plans that He has planned for us. the plans that are better than we could ever imagine. this is what He has done for me- He has guided me where He wants me to be and given me opportunities far beyond what i could ever imagine. if you saw friday's post  you'll know that i've got own url, going from a .blopspot.com to a .com & i've started my own business. if you'd asked me a few months ago if this was my plan, i would have said no. but this is where the lord has led me and it's much better than i could ever have imagined!

here are some of the scriptures that have really comforted me while i've bee trying to figure things out:

Jeremiah 29:11

Proverbs 16:19

{{link-ups!}}

life verses {printables}

these are some of the verses that have inspired hope & change in my life. these are the verses that speak the most into my life and i live my life by.

so, as you already know, the past few months, okay, half a year, have been rather tough. this is the verse that has gotten me through it all. it even inspired me to get a cute little tattoo on my ankle so that everytime i look dow, i remember who my hope & security are in.

you can find the printable here.

this is such a great reminder that not only does God have it all under control, he also wants what is best for us. he plans, and those plans will come true. 

you can find the printable here.

 a few years ago, i realized i talk a lot. i'd never really thought about it before. but then it made me think, how much of it is positive?

you can find the printable here.

{{link-ups!}}

courageous

"our time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. don't be trapped by dogma. don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. and most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition." -steve jobs

when i read this to my students in assembly, i realized i need to eat my own words. {oh, how many times have i needed to do that? a lot.} there are so many negative people that overly critique you just to be jerks or because of their own insecurities. so often this year, heck, over the course of my whole life, i've let stupid people's opinion drown out my voice and, unfortunately, God's voice.

"the greatest mistake you can make in life is to be continually fearing that you will make one." -elbert hubbard

"courage is never to let your actions be influenced by your fears." -arthur koestler

whoa. life changer here. oh, goodness, i have let this happen so many times. i really struggle with being accepted and am very much a people pleaser. one of my big fears is not being accepted or making someone i care about mad. that fear has made me do many, many stupid things. sometimes not even big things, but  i act out of that fear much more often than i'd like.
i've realized i wouldn't have to act out of that fear if i would just trust Jesus & what He has to offer me. He will always love me. He will always accept me. I sure do make Him mad, i know, but He will love me no. matter. what.

^{35 "}Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? ³⁶ As it is written:

“For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”

³⁷ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. ³⁸ For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, ³⁹ neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." -Romans 8:35-39

so, i've made not one, but two printables. one with the steve job's quote & the other with Romans 8:38-39.

you can find the printable here!

you can find the printable here!

{{link-ups!}}

overcomer

"you're an overcomer
staying in the fight until the final round
not going under
cause God is holding you right now
you might be down for a minute
feeling like it's hopeless
that's when He reminds you
you're an overcomer"
-overcomer by mandisa

here's the video incase ya wanna check it out:

with all this stupid crap from satan in this world, life can feel so overwhelming and just sucky. i feel it daily, honestly. something ticks me off or is difficult & i have to remember who is in me, which reminds me of these scriptures:

You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. 1 John 4:4

And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you. Romans 8:11 

i made this for me & you so we can remember who is in us & what He can do {kick satan's butt}:

you can find this printable here! 

jesus... just that name.

so. this song is fawesome {friggin awesome}. like, i listen to it over and over and over and over {you get my drift} again. it helps set my mood for the day & re-set my brain on the way home from work.   when i listen to it, i never listen to it once. i have to put it on repeat! haha. if you are riding beside me when i listen to this, i am not crazy, okay?! i'm just worshiping the Lord to my favorite song by dancing and singing as loud as i can in my car!! 

klove fan awards songs of the year 2014 mash up by anthem lights 

this video inspired me to make this printable:

{linking up with oak & oats & i have a degree in this & a harvest of blessing}

she loved the Lord with all her heart

my work has a secret pal program where for each month of the school year you give/receive gifts from your secret pal. this month is the last month & our reveal month. {sweet secret pal of mine, if you're reading this, as i know you often do, you will know i am your secret pal when you see the bag this this week!} since it was a special month, i sprang for a cute gift bag. here is what it looks like:

as i was cleaning, i decided to go ahead and "wrap" the gift. then i sat it on the rail to remember to take down the stairs and place it by my purse so i won't forget it {i have the worst memory!} when i was walking by, i noticed this on the side:

with everything that i've been going through, this really touched my heart. it's amazes me how God shows you sweet little messages sometimes- even when you don't know you need them. 

 

i just loved the quote on the front of the bag so much it inspired me to make my first printable! the link takes you to dropbox. {since this is my first one- please let me know if it doesn't work!!}

link to this chalkboard one here! 

i also did a plain white copy you can find here. 

{linking up with still being molly & oak & oats  & harvest of blessing & dearest love}