TERMINATED

Hello, dear readers :)

I'm sorry to say, that I will be TERMINATING this blog.  I've had three and it's just too much for me to keep up with at present, so I am stopping all but one, A Daily Dose of Happiness  click here to go there.
Once more, I apologize, but I feel that this is what's best for now.  May you have a good day, and may God richly bless you :)

Love,
Gracie

Fall and Beauty

Fall is here!!!

Time for scarves, hoodies, bonfires, toasted marshmallows, boots, and leggings!  Fall is one of the prettiest times of year; it shoots out so much beauty before winter covers everything in white.  But winter has a beauty of its own.  Each season has its own style of beauty.
So do we.  Sometimes we girls aren't satisfied with the beauty we have, convinced that we aren't beautiful, simply because we don't have the beauty style of another girl.  But when you think about it, spring never looks like fall, nor does it want to.  Why?  Because it has a beauty all its own, a beauty that no other season has.  Like the seasons, we girls should all take joy in the beauty that we possess, nurturing it and shaping it to look the best it possibly can.  We are all unique and lovely in our own way.

Love,

Gracie

Take A Breather!

We girls put so much stress on ourselves to always look our best and be as attractive as possible.  These are very good things to do; after all, we need to care about how we look.  But we don't necessarily have to take our appearance to such extremes every day.  I think we should all take at least one day a week and give ourselves some slack.

Pick a day and just tell yourself, "I love the way I am."  Each time a negative or critical thought comes in, just block it out.  Wear your most comfortable clothes, matching or unmatching and just take the day to relax and be you and do the things you love.  Bake your favorite cookies, or walk your favorite trail, or watch your favorite movie.  It doesn't matter as long as it's what you love to do.  Give makeup and earrings a rest and smile broadly every time you see your reflection.  Who knows?  You might find you prefer yourself to look that way :)

Remember, life isn't supposed to be centered around stress and drama.  It is possible to live a peaceful, happy life.  And most of that comes from trusting and believing in God.  If we can learn to sacrifice our wills, I mean REALLY sacrifice them, then God will begin to move in our lives and bless us with what we desire.

I just realized this: if I'm constantly asking God to do this for me, or go there, then I'm dictating how my life will be.  If I'm asking Him to make it possible for me and a certain boy to be together, He may do it for me, but it isn't His perfect will, it's only His permissive will.  And my stubbornness will most likely come back to bite me.

My goal is to daily die to myself, to pray, "not my will, but Thine be done, Lord."  It's not easy to mean that, but it is the most rewarding thing you'll do :)

Love,

Gracie

Be You!

Don't feel like you have to change who you are to fit into the "cool crowd".  If fitting in with them means changing who you really are, then it's not worth it.  Each of us has our own style, our own unique way of doing and saying things.  And it should never be changed.  Don't be afraid to express who you really are.  Because other people who aren't afraid to be themselves will be drawn to you, and the people who have stifled their own unique attributes will find themselves wishing they could be more like you.

When you embrace yourself for who you are, you automatically become a source of inspiration for others.  And remember, there's nobody like you to take your place, so if you don't express yourself, there will be a gap in the order of the universe :)

Love,

Gracie

Single

To all you loverly girls out there who have never had a boyfriend and are complexed about it, I am addressing you.  Just because you're in your teens and are still single doesn't mean that there's anything wrong with you.
And you know, how thin you are doesn't determine whether you'll get a guy or not.  The fact of the matter is, boys take a lot longer to mature than girls do.  And a vast amount of guys in their teens are still too immature to want a lasting, good relationship with a girl.  A lot of guys go for the skinny girls who will flirt and make fools of themselves because they're just looking for a good time and they want whatever the girl will give them.  They overlook the safe girl who wants something real and pure and lasting.  To be honest, "bad boys" don't feel comfortable around "good girls" because thy know good girls don't approve of them.  But they fail to realize what they're missing out on.  Good girls are the ones who will wait for a guy they know will treat them with respect and care.  A great way to judg a guy's character is by your parents.  If he respects your parents, their house, and their rules, you've got yourself a pretty good guy :).
But trust me, waiting for the right guy is so much better than dating every one that comes along or shows interest in you.  Lots of girls make that mistake and it always ends up in heartbreak and a scarred past.  Trust me, if you were to talk to girls who have been there they would tell you never to settle.  Don't take te first guy who like you just because you may feel desperate, like he's your only option.  He's not.  God has someone wonderful in mind for each of us, someone more wonderful than we can even imagine.  For all you period drama lovers out there, he will be like Mr. Darcy, Mr. Thornton, Mr. Bingley, Mr. Knightly, and Mr. Ferrars all wrapped up in one!  And for all you more modern girls, he will be like Josh Hutcherson, Zac Efron, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Channing Tatum, and Garret Hedlund all in one!  Just keep the faith, and that special guy will come, probably when you least expect him!

Love,
Gracie

Harry Potter Theme - Incredible Piano Solo of Jarrod Radnich by ThePiano...

Okay, this blows me away!!!  He is officially one of my heroes!  Which by the way, I think heroes and people that we look up to are a very good thing.  God is my first and foremost hero :)  I hope you enjoy this at least half as much as I did! :)




Love,
Grace

Beautiful

Amen!  Girls, God knows you're beautiful.  And so many times, He wishes you could see it too.  Don't underestimate yourselves or talk yourselves down.  You are each a beautiful, unique creation of the Lord and He wants you to fulfill the purpose He has for you with confidence and love for yourself and for others.

Remember, the mirror is not the enemy.  That nagging little voice that tells you you're not worth anything when you look at your reflection is.  Every girl deserves to feel beautiful.  And every girl should be told that she is beautiful.  It doesn't take makeup and facades; it just takes you the way you are.

Love,

Grace

Good Morning!!

Well, I'm going to be going to a nursing home in a couple of hours.  Our church youth group is singing there and I'm going to play the piano for them.  Pray that it goes well!
I hope you are all having a lovely morning as well.  I've eaten my breakfast, fed the animals, and now it's time  for a little morning devotion.  You know, there are a lot of scriptures in the Bible that we can pattern after.  One scripture that I really like is this one.

1 Timothy 4:12 "Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity."

I just think that's a really good scripture to live by.  My heart prays that God will help me to live that scripture in my own life.
Another thing a girl needs in her life, besides Biblical instruction, is peace.  Those few peaceful moments that you are fortunate enough to have to yourself where you can just retreat from family and friends and be by yourself.  Those moments are precious indeed :)  Have a good day, lovelies!

Love,

Grace

Photo Shoot!...Sort Of

Well, I like taking pictures, unfortunately, I'm not very good at it!  But I like taking my phone and snapping pictures of things, particularly people.  Sadly, I was the only model available today.  But here they are :)

My loverly pine trees 

My cat, Kyle :) he's so bratty

Our grapevine

One of our pastures.  Now that it's rained, they're green again

A random picture of myself

Hiding amongst the flowers

And again :)

Me and our silhouette whom I have named Ned McNelly

Well that's pretty much it for now.  I'll see if my sisters will let me photo shoot them soon :D  Take care, lovies :)

Love,

Grace

Mom

                Your mom is the number one candidate to be your best friend.  She’s with you every day, she knows you just as well as you know yourself, perhaps better.  Yet, mothers are the ones we teenage girls tend to push away more than anyone else.

“Stay out of my life, Mom!”

Look and sound familiar?  First, let me say this: every girl is going to have a spat or two with her mother at one point or another.  Let’s face it, we won’t always see eye to eye.  But your mother loves you more than anyone else on this green earth.

                Mothers have a special connection with their children.  When she sees you making bad choices, or caught between a rock and a hard place, it’s her instinct to help you in a way that’s best for you.  Despite what we teenagers seem to think, Mother really does know best.  When she grounds you, or takes away your phone, or cancels your date with your boyfriend, believe it or not, she’s not out to ruin your life.  She’s doing what she’s supposed to do, which is take care of you, whether you see it that way or not.

“Thanks for always being there, Mom!”

Doesn’t sound familiar?  Here’s some good news: it can!  If you’re one of those girls who doesn’t have a tight relationship with your mom, or who thinks she spends every day of her life trying to sabotage yours, you don’t have to think that way anymore.  I’m going to give you a few ways to get closer to your mom.  You may ask, why am I stressing the importance of making Mom the best friend?  I’ll tell you.

                When we hit the teenage years we girls deal with so many emotions we can’t even name them all.  If we’re not one of those wear-your-heart-on-your-sleeve types, we tend to hide our feelings from everyone, even the person who cares most about them: Mom.  I’m speaking from experience.

                I’m one of those girls who bottles everything up inside until it overflows and I explode on whoever is unfortunate enough to be around at the moment.  Not good!  Not good, at all.  Your mom is the one person who can understand what you’re going through.  She was once a teenager too, you know.  And she wants you to open up to her more than anything, to show that you trust her and value her advice and opinion.  And hey, moms can give you some pretty good tips!  So, here are a few ways to build your relationship with Mom:

1.       Ask her if you can go out to dinner sometime, just the two of you.  Ask her some questions like, what were her mom’s rules for her when she was dating and how did she handle peer pressure at school?  Just anything to get the conversation turned towards some things in your life you want to share with her.  I promise you she will listen and care.

2.       If Mom’s out working in the garden, grab some gloves and give her a hand.  It will give you two time to talk and build your relationship, and later, if you ask her to take you to the mall or something, she’ll most likely remember how you helped her out and be more willing to grant your request.

3.       If you’re feeling down, or pressured about something, just come into her room one night and ask if you can talk to her.  She’ll pat the bed beside her and say, “Sure, come sit with me.”Just tell her what’s on your mind and she will be sure to listen and give you some advice.

Opening up to Mom isn’t something that we should be scared of.  If you really want to talk to her, she won’t turn you away.  And if you make her your confidant and friend, you might just find out that Mom is a whole lot cooler than you thought she was!

Love,

Grace

Boyz II Men - I Will Get There

Hey, lovelies!  This is a song I just found and I think it's very inspirational.  It helps encourage me with my weight loss, that I will get there.  I hope you enjoy it! <3

Love,
Grace

Good Morning, Lovelies :)

I'm not sure how much I'm going to be able to be on here today.  My mom is leaving for work soon and the internet is going with her :(
But I hope you are all doing fine and that you're keeping your heads up!  There is no need to walk around with your head down feeling like you're worthless.  If that's normally what you do, today's the day to change it!  Just tell yourself, "I'm beautiful," every time you think you're not.  Did you know that your body obeys your confession?  Yes, it does!  So if you tell yourself you're beautiful, then you're going to feel beautiful and be beautiful!!
I'll try to post more later.  Have a good day, lovies!
Love,
Grace

Girl Power!!

          Let’s just make this clear: every girl has power!  Sometimes we “bigger” girls shrink back into the shadows and let the “skinny minis” steal the show, do the flirting, take the spotlight, and have the fun.  Let me just say—not so!!  Every girl is equally beautiful.  True, not everyone’s features are the same.  Some girls might have greener eyes than others, or slimmer hips, but we are all beautiful in our own special ways.  You should love your body because there is not another single body on the planet that matches yours.  God made you the way He wanted you to be for a purpose.  It’s our mission in life to find out what that purpose is.  And our bodies play a key role.  Your hair color is just right for you; there’s really no need to dye it.  And makeup covers the true beauty of your face.  Most of all, what you are on the inside reflects on the outside.  If you have a good character, a tender spirit, and a great personality, guess what?  People will see it!  It will shine through on the outside.

                Don’t be afraid to express your own style.  Your friends won’t judge you, and anyone who judges you has nothing better to do with their time and is probably jealous that you can pull off that unique look and they can’t!

                Every girl has power.  Some show it; some hide it.  To those who hide your girl power, it’s time to unleash it.

Love,

Grace

First Post!!

Hey everybody!  Well, this is the first post on this blog!  I'm excited!  I hope you all like it and that it will bring encouragement to you on your life journey :)  Here's a little something to boost your confidence!

Love,

Grace