#worstdayever {Heart to Hearts}

We live in days plagued by a struggling economy, with soaring unemployment rates, surrounded by people who have no idea where their next meal will come from. These  people are legitimately struggling to make ends meet.   We come into contact with  them everyday, while they quietly fight their serious battles.

And even when we know we have it good,  it's still easy for us to get caught up in petty problems and lose sight of the blessings that we are surrounded by. This can be seen, more than ever, because people now take to the social networks to vent about insignificant problems.  We all have bad days, but I can't see what good comes from clouding each others' news feeds with negativity. (It reads like this on twitter: "Terrible traffic. Spilled coffee on my shirt. Work Sucks. #worstdayever) It kind of seems like we are just passing that negativity along to the next person and starting an unnecessary cycle. Even when a bad day comes, and situations don't go as planned,  it usually could always be much worse.

I'm excited  that we are entering a season that makes it easy for us to focus on the blessings that we take for granted in our lives everyday. And, for every one thing that makes us grumble, aren't there 20 more that we can be thankful for?


"Let us rise up and be thankful, for if we didn't learn a lot today, at least we learned a little, and if we didn't learn a little, at least we didn't get sick, and if we got sick, at least we didn't die; so, let us all be thankful."  ~Unknown

Read more...

Choices {Heart to Hearts}

“You don’t drift toward good, you choose it”-Trisha Davis

This quote is written on a sticky note strategically placed in a spot that I glance at every morning and night, hoping it reminds me to choose wisely.

I heard this concept from Trisha Davis' testimony. She explained that humans don’t drift toward doing the good things in life but rather have to choose them, (choosing forgiveness over bitterness, waking up early to study the Word instead of sleeping in, etc.). 

Every single day we are faced with choices. These choices begin to shape our days, weeks, months, years and eventually lives.

Our power to choose is a precious gift that when used wisely can:

Produce character

Heal wounds

Grow bonds

Achieve growth

Build confidence

Use your gift to do good

Read more...

Single in the City {Heart to Hearts}

Doesn't every girl have a life outline? You know, the one where you have your life perfectly planned out in bullet points.

What happens when life throws you off and you are forced to alter the plan? My big 2-5 is coming up and this birthday is a deadline for some of those bullet points. According to 13-year old me, I was supposed to be married with a baby on the way. (HA!)

Recent events have prompted me to look at my life and rediscover my plan. I never had dreams of living independently in a big city in my mid-twenties (omg, mid-twenties?!). But it's my reality, and I am grateful for it. Since my move to Nashville, I have grown more than I have in all my 24 years combined. I feel a sense of empowerment. I am independent, faithful, confident and I see the beginnings of the woman that God created me to be.

Not only have I been learning about myself but I'm getting to soak up everything Nashville has to offer. My heart and mind are open to change and I suddenly have the opportunity to explore my own desires and goals. I get to do things for me: take a pure barre class, start a blog, meet a friend for coffee at 10 pm on a Wednesday, volunteer with children, have my mom be the first person I call with big news, spend extra time with God everyday.

Being single in the city is a beautiful thing and I believe 'The Man Upstairs' knows just what He's doing.

My season of singleness is preparing me for a lifetime of happiness..

Throw out that outline and enjoy the rough draft! 

Read more...

I Want a Love like Johnny and June {Heart to Hearts}

If anyone was to ever ask me who I'd like to meet - dead or alive- I'd know my answer right away. I've been intrigued by Johnny and June Carter Cash since high school. I did my term paper on them, and I remember I couldn't put down the books. I wanted to read every biography that had ever been published  because their life is an incredible, real life love story. "Walk the Line" only illustrated a small layer of the trials and tribulations that were thrown at them. They experienced an immense amount of pain and heart break throughout their lives, but they were able to conquer it all together. What stuck out most to me was reading the way Johnny spoke about June in his autobiography.

"What June did for me was post signs along the way, lift me up when I was weak, encourage me when I was discouraged, and love me when I felt alone and unlovable. She's the greatest woman I have ever known. Nobody else, except my mother, comes close." -Cash: The Autobiography 

 -Cash on unconditional love: "You hear that phrase a lot, but it's real with me and her. She loves me in spite of everything, in spite of myself. She has saved my life more than once," he said. "She's always been there with her love, and it has certainly made me forget the pain for a long time, many times. When it gets dark, and everybody's gone home and the lights are turned off, it's just me and her." 

This is so incredibly inspiring to me. June loved him so deeply and stood by him so firmly that she was able to get him through his darkest moments. She died of complications from heart surgery with Johnny holding her hand... and he died four months later.

If anyone ever doubts the power of true love... just open up a Johnny Cash biography. 

                                

Read more...

Spring Awaits Us {Heart to Hearts}

We're halfway through March already? I really can't believe it. You definitely wouldn't be able to tell if you came to my house. My roommate and I still have our Christmas tree up. Don't you judge, though.

This Sunday marks the first day of Spring. The season always begins on March 20, which is a really special day for me. When I was younger, I went through 2 1/2 long years of chemotherapy. I had a calendar which served as my "roadmap" for treatment. I constantly dreamed of the day I could mark through March 20. At the time, it represented the finish line to my journey and the day I would be considered healed. Thinking back now, I guess it was less of a finish line and more of a beginning.

Spring always comes with perfect timing, and we all welcome a season of rebirth, renewal, and regrowth. You can't help but be excited that it signals that the bitter cold of winter is over. The days are longer, the air is warmer, and the sunlight is brighter. And it leaves us with a good lesson.

"If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant: if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome." -Ann Bradstreet

Read more...

Leap of Faith {Heart to Hearts}

I’ve never been afraid of heights. As a matter of fact, I have always enjoyed thrill and adventure.  Rollercoasters, whitewater rafting, you name it. If it is fast and furious I'm there. But skydiving? That’s a whole other story.

My adventurous side was tested as a friend and I headed to Rockmart, GA to Skydive The Farm. We couldn’t believe it. We were seriously doing this! At one point, we were literally ‘signing our life away’.

Though the instructional video gave me nerves and the plane ride up was frightening, the most terrifying part was looking over the edge, trusting the guy that ‘had my back’, and letting go.

One of my favorite musicians, Dave Matthews, sums this feeling up in his song You Might Die Trying.

'To change the world,

Start with one step.

However small,

The first step is hardest of all.'

Isn’t it true.. that jumping is the hardest part? For me it is, in life and surely in skydiving. But the second my shaky feet left the comfort of that solid floor and I was flying 15,000 feet above ground I had a freedom I had never known.

In the past few weeks I have felt pushed to start moving. Stop talking and start walking. I’ve made a lot of changes and took a big leap of faith in those changes. Things have not had time to completely unfold but what I’ve seen is so-far-so-good. They were not irrational decisions. I planned, prayed, trusted, confided, prepared, prayed some more and after all of that TOOK THE LEAP. 


And let me tell you…it feels good to fly.

Read more...

Write It Out {Heart to Hearts}

I've been living in Music City for about 8 months now and I've started to think something is wrong with me because I don't write songs, sing, or play a variety of instruments (or all 3..at the same time..on a professional level).


After some recent misfortunes, (if you will) I found myself thinking until it hurt. Yes, I was over-thinking things and still getting little relief. So I picked up a pen and began to write my thoughts down. I quickly realized the intense healing power of writing. After only a week of writing, my journal is already full of poems, songs, stories and a lot of chicken scratch. My heart and mind are at ease. The journal has carried the burden for my mind.

I'm not saying my poems will be published or my songs will be hits, but I get what this city is all about.{MUSIC HEALS}. Not just for the listener but for the artist. So I encourage you, write it out! 

My hope is that this blog becomes a safe-place of writing where people can read and write and share ideas and experiences. And most importantly someone, somewhere can find some healing of their own. 

 



This picture is lyrics i wrote down from one of my favorite praise songs, How He Loves by David Crowder.

Read more...

Bless Your Heart {Heart to Hearts}

These 3 little words can mean a lot of things right? It's a phrase understood by all Southerners. But if you leave the region, don't be surprised if you throw them out to someone new and they give you a puzzled look.

Instead of taking our mama's advice.... you remember what she always said: ("If you don't have anything nice to say don't say it at all.") We sometimes decide we can't fight the urge to hold our tongue. But it all works out though, as long as we follow it up with a quick, "Bless her heart."

We got with the Urban Dictionary and compiled this definition list:

Bless Your Heart

1: it's a phrase used by Southern women to excuse themselves for speaking ill of someone else.

a: "She's as ugly as a mud-fence, bless her heart."

2: and an expression of sympathy or pity.

b: "Well, bless ya'lls hearts, your blog posts are terrible!"

3: or it can be a polite way to respond to an ignoramus, particularly male, who showers upon you flattering but unwanted compliments.

c: drunk fella: "Even if you were ugly, I'd STILL think you were beautiful!"

recipient: "...bless your heart."

4: or it could serve as a really good way to describe someone who is a complete and utter mess. (We wouldn't know anything about this one.)

d: "That girl is an absolute basket case.... bless her heart."

So to sum it all up:

• No matter how wrong somebody is, or how messed up, or how hopeless... These 3 simple words are redeeming and they somehow make everything alright.
• We want this site to serve as an anything goes, safe haven for our thoughts and yours.
• You might not agree with our ramblings or even be interested in reading them, and that's ok. But for goodness sakes, see definition number 2 (above)... and you'll know what to think.

Read more...

Meet Your Match {Heart to Hearts}

Update: You can probably tell from my Meet Your Match post (below) I wasn't taking the issue seriously. That all changed today. A second guy informed me that this same girl had used roughly 200 of my pictures for a fake facebook account and gave me some other disturbing details that gave me the hibbie-jibbies.

Match.com has removed the profile. I've contacted Mark Zuckerberg. A police report has been filed. 

Moral of the story:

• identity theft is real. 
• update your profile privacy settings. 
• i still like the fact she used my snuggie picture.

Alright. I admit it. I've had some relationship epic fails. But who hasn't, right?  I would prefer to meet someone naturally and not resort to online dating in my mid-twenties.  But someone else had other plans for me. 

I received an e-mail last week from a stranger saying he recognized me from match.com? I wasn't sure if it was a lame pick-up line or if it was something I needed to look into. For me to even check into this matter,  I had to make my first profile account. Sure enough, user au_tiger2010, a 28 year old nurse living in Birmingham with 3 God children,  has managed to find dozens of my pictures and is using them to meet her match.   

I'm still not sure how or where they got my pictures but I'm further perplexed about why they thought the snuggie picture was the gem to use for the profile pic?

 I sent this to match.com with my fraud report. Still haven't heard back.

Read more...

We've All Got Scars {Heart to Hearts}

We've all got scars. Battle wounds, if you will. What we're left with after a crisis strikes and knocks the breath out of us. 

Maybe the  pain starts with a broken marriage. Maybe it comes with the loss of a loved one. Or it could be the hurt we feel after a relationship has been severed. Or the strife we're dealing with from a health crisis or the responsibility of caring for a sick loved one. Or maybe we can't stop replaying memories of being betrayed by someone close to us. The list goes on.

All of these things leave us wounded, a little achy, and somewhat empty. 

And if we're not careful, the emptiness we feel could be the very thing that allows us to pass this hurt onto others.

But if we work through the pain, can't these battles also be the same ones that make us strong?

We all need healing in some shape or form, so that we can pull the good out of the tragic circumstance. That healing is found in different ways for each of us. Maybe through acceptance, forgiveness, faith, and prayer.

After the healing, we're left with a scar.  But it means the hurt is over, and the wound has closed.

So if we find a way to handle the hurt appropriately, can't these ugly scars be the same ones that make us beautiful?

Read more...