Late Night Thoughts

My mind has been a jumbled mess lately. I have had so many things on my mind that it has been driving me crazy! I realize this isn't good at all. One of the biggest things that has been on my mind lately is that I recently discovered that I have a huge lack of confidence! I'm sure many of you know what this feels like. Some days I feel great and I am just in a positive mood and other days I just feel kind of...down I guess. I have struggled with acne since I was in 5th or 6th grade and it has definitely taken a huge toll on my confidence levels. As bad as it sounds I sometimes avoid looking in the mirror in certain lighting because I know that its just going to make me feel bad about my skin. As silly as this sounds, I realized recently that I let my skin get in the way of living my life the way I want to. So, tonight I was just thinking about this and I was like "Leah, really? Are you listening to yourself?" I mean, I let something as small as a breakout ruin my positive mood! And I reminded myself that my blog is called "Simply Beautiful" so, shouldn't I feel beautiful? God doesn't want me to see myself in a negative light. As cliche as it may sound, God tells every one of us that we are beautiful. So, my challenge to myself and anyone reading this is to remind yourself that you are beautiful. God sees you beyond your flaws. And as it turns out, the major "flaws" we find in ourselves end up being small flaws that really mean nothing. And you never know who might find your flaws beautiful. We all have something we don't like about ourselves. But the truth is that God wants us to be confident and know that we are beautiful. I found this verse today and it fits perfectly into this post and it really stuck with me:

"You are altogether beautiful, my darling, beautiful in every way."

- Song of Solomon 4:7 

So, next time you are looking in the mirror at yourself picking out all of your flaws, remember this verse.

Thankful

I have yet to participate in the thankfulness posts so I decided that I would today. As I am sitting here relaxing all morning, I felt it was most appropriate to talk about thankfulness today.

I was re-reading some things from Love Does by Bob Goff, and I know what you're thinking, I have talked about this book already (probably too much). But, I was reading this passage about being a sincere friend and I have to say, I have some of the best friends in the world. But, there's a couple of things Bob says about being a friend: "You know what it is about someone that makes them a friend? A friend doesn't just say things; a friend does." and "If you are a sincere friend, folks around you will quickly understand that there's no hidden agenda and nothing on the other side of the equals sign, just you." I'm so thankful to be able to say that I have these kinds of friends. My friends are always there to listen to me vent and put up with my "giggle attacks" that happen quite often (sorry). Its just really awesome to be blessed with friends like mine in this world today where its extremely hard to find true friends. 

I am so thankful to get to wake up to this incredible view almost everyday lately:

I think this kind of view is a reminder each morning to be thankful. I mean, how could I possibly not be thankful when I get to see this almost everyday?

These verses have been sticking in my mind lately. So thankful!

Happy Happy Happy

My mind is all over the place today...isn't it always?! haha
The past few weeks, well the past month really has been crazy busy! First of all, I was in a wedding on the 19th of one of my best friends! Hailey is like a sister to me and I was so happy to be a part of her big day.

She looked SO gorgeous!! (Totally stole this from Brianna) 

One of my best friends Brianna!

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Brenden, isn't he handsome? :)

On a different note, I came across these verses today and they instantly put a smile on my face:

"The wise counsel God gives when I'm awake is confirmed by my sleeping heart. Day and night I'll stick with God; I've got a good thing and I'm not letting go. I'm happy from the inside out, and from the outside in I'm firmly formed." 

-Psalm 16:7-10

I saved these verses on my phone as a reminder to be joyful. Tonight, I am so thankful to have a reason to be happy. And I'm so thankful to go to sleep knowing that God is going to give me more reasons to be happy tomorrow. Even on my bad days when I tend to overlook the good things, God is still good and that is a perfect reason to be happy everyday.

Things I love about fall!

Today's post is not like my usual posts. I want to talk about how much I love fall! The thought sprouted as I was driving and had bright yellow and orange leaves falling on my car. So here you go:

1. The leaves changing color!  This is such a typical thing to say but it really is so beautiful! Especially driving along seeing all the different colors of the trees. Oh, so perfect!

2. Dressing in layers!! Isn't this everyone's favorite? I love when fall colors come out and I get to wear comfy sweaters, boots and boot socks... My absolute favorite kind of clothes. Oh, and I can't forget my favorite clothing item ever... Scarves!

3. Pumpkin spice lattes! And salted caramel hot chocolate from starbucks! I have probably had far too many starbucks drinks in the past month. Gotta love those pumpkin spice lattes.

4. Watching football! I recently found out how much I enjoy watching Ohio State and the Bengals play. Even though I have yet to go to watch a game I love watching it on T.V. 

5. Carving pumpkins and doing fall activities! I love when the whether gets colder and I can carve pumpkins with friends and sit inside and cuddle up with a blanket and watch scary movies. Fall is such a happy time of the year!

P.S. I just finished another Max Lucado book that I read in 5 days! It's called "Fearless." I'll tell you more about it in my next post!

- Lots of love, 

Leah

Be Positive or Be Quiet

So, update! I finished 31 days with Jesus yesterday! What an amazing journey that was. Truth be told, I've needed lots of encouragement lately. My classes this year are really difficult and I have been overwhelmed with all the work its taking. I'm trying my very best to stay positive. Today was a pretty rough day and I was taking it kind of hard. But, as soon as I got home I watched Joel Osteen's sermon called "Be Positive or Be Quiet" and let me tell you, that's probably his best sermon ever. He said exactly what I've been needing to hear. It was like God brought me to that video because I needed to hear it. Anyways, Joel said a few extremely eye opening and inspiring things. Joel said "negative words can keep you from your God given destiny." Wow. That message is definitely eye opening to me. I feel like I am always talking myself down and being negative and I never realized how much I could be missing out on all because of my negative words. Joel also said that we talk ourselves out of things that God has planned for us because we believe we aren't good enough, or that it will never happen. All because of our negative words. I mean, God has SO much in store for us. Why should we talk ourselves out of things we could be doing? This message hit me like no other. Definitely one of the best sermons I've ever heard. After I heard this sermon, I sat there and thought to myself that I am missing out on so many great things because I'm always talking myself down and telling myself that will never happen or that I'm simply not good enough.

On another note, (awkward transition), I have been feeling very very blessed lately with amazing friends. Just in the past year, God has placed so many amazing people in my life. I have been struggling with some things lately and my friends have been there for me so much. Over the summer, I began dating one of my best friends who has blessed me in so many ways. He also listens to me all the time even when I'm not in a great mood he still puts up with me (how sweet). And one of my very best friend's Brianna, who became my best friend just over the past spring, is not only one of the sweetest people I've ever met, she also is a crazy pinterest lover like me. We probably repin each others stuff every single time we pin something. (Just a little obsessed).

I hope to start blogging more often, if you have any suggestions, let me know! 

What's holding you back?

So, update! I just finished Traveling Light today!! Finally, I know. 

I was so sad to finish such a great book though. But, I feel that I should update you on what's going on with life right now. 

First off, I am doing a devotional called 31 Days With Jesus. I am currently on day 10 and it is definitely teaching me a lot. Not only am I reading a lot of scripture that I have never read thoroughly before, I am also learning about ways to improve myself and my relationship with God. I highly recommend trying a devotional like this one! It's definitely life changing. 

*Cue awkward transition*

Second of all, I just mentioned that I finally finished Traveling Light by Max Lucado!! Such a good book. It has opened my eyes to things that I have never really thought about before. 

Why are we carrying so much luggage in life? No, I'm not talking about the luggage you take on vacations with you (if you're anything like me...that's a lot!) I'm talking burdens that you are carrying that God never intended on you having. Max Lucado did such a great job describing these different burdens that we carry. We carry burdens of fear, guilt, disappointment, discontent, worry, hopelessness, etc. We carry all these burdens that they actually start to feel like actual luggage. Although it's hard to overcome this, we need to set this luggage down. God is telling us to release these burdens that we were never intended to bear. So what's holding you back?

This is exactly how I am feeling after reading Lucado's book. I am so amazed at what God is opening my eyes to and the doors He is opening in my life.

Traveling Light

Hello there! It's been awhile...of course!
Summertime really keeps everyone busy.
One of my very best friends, Brianna (Look at my last post), told me about this amazing book called Traveling Light by Max Lucado. Brianna is one of my best friends, you know I had to get it! So, the book is about releasing the burdens you were never intended to bear. It is based off of a very popular verse Psalm 23. In case you aren't familiar with it, Psalm 23 is a promise to us. I won't spoil the whole novel but basically, he talks about lightening our loads.

It says, "God is saying to you, "Set that stuff down! You're carrying burdens you don't need to bear." "Come to me," he invites, "all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28 NLT).
This made me think, why am I relying so much on my own strength. God is telling us to not rely on our own strength, but trust in Him. He will free you from the burdens you carry. How amazing is that?
Okay, so I won't ruin the book for everyone. But, another post will be coming when I finish the book completely!

*Cue awkward subject transition* Is there a better way of doing so? haha!

On another note,
The past couple of weeks have been awesome!
Here's a quick recap:

I got to have a picnic at a beautiful park!

Went to the zoo with my awesome mom, brother and a couple of best friends! And coming up in the next week I get to help throw my best friend's bachelorette party! She's getting married in 2 months! I'm so excited for her.

More posts coming soon for the book I am reading and some exciting things coming up! 

With love, 

Leah.