Valentine's Day

I feel like Valentine's Day has gotten its fair share of negative publicity over the years. Whether it's referred to as Singles Awareness Day, or just another American Consumer Holiday, it's not always welcomed with open arms. 

And I get it, I do. As someone who has been sans-date for nearly all of my Valentine's Days, I understand the lukewarm sentiment. But today, I want to share my love for this holiday, single or taken. 

Some of my most memorable Valentine's Days were not the ones celebrated with a significant other. They were not the ones spent on an elaborate or not-so-elaborate date night out. They were the ones where a single act of completely voluntary love caught me by surprise, and left me feeling blessed. 

Like my first Valentine's Day away at college, when a friend knew my heart was still bruised from that high school relationship, and stole the key to my dorm room to surprise me with a teddy bear and chocolates. 

Or last year, when another friend sent a beautiful bouquet of flowers to my office, to make sure I felt loved, appreciated, valued and celebrated. 

Love comes in many forms. February 14th seems to bring a microscope to the romantic kind in your life, or lack there of. But what about all the other kinds that deserve to be celebrated?

We are born into this world through love; the single greatest act of voluntary love belongs to each and every one of us. 

"Even before He made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in His eyes. God decided in advance to adopt us into His own family by bringing us to Himself through Jesus Christ. This is what He wanted to do, and 

it gave Him great pleasure."

Ephesians 1:4-5

We are born with the craziest love we'll ever experience right in the palm of our hands, and best part ever? Nothing can take it away! {Romans 8:38-39, check it.}

I pray that this Valentine's Day, you know that you are so loved. I pray that you feel the insane love of God, and you see the outflow of that in the relationships that surround you. 

Regardless of who you're celebrating with, I pray that you celebrate fully and joyfully knowing that yes, we celebrate love every day. But why not go a little harder once a year? 

The roomies and I pumped things up a notch this year by ordering Valentine's Day cards through Tiny Prints. We had so much fun taking pictures together, and looking through all of their Valentine's collection. I was so excited to see that blue box arrive, and couldn't be more thrilled with how they turned out. It's the perfect way to send out a little personal love on this holiday. 

So from our house, to yours: Happy Valentine's Day! May yours be filled with love, hugs, laughs, joy and chocolate. Lots of chocolate. 

Lady Friends

Here come's another Monday! Hope your weekend was a great one. Mine definitely was. One of the ones that I walk out of just simply praising the Lord for this beautiful life He's blessed me with. 

I was always a girl who wanted a boyfriend, who didn't feel complete without a second half. Or rather, who didn't feel complete without a second half to fill her mind with reassurance and affirmation. 

I'm so thankful for how things played out in my life. I'm so thankful that I'm 24 years old and still 100% single. I never would have imagined feeling so happy, fulfilled, and complete without a relationship. 

You know why that is, though? I'm about to gush on the seriously amazing lady friends in my life. But as amazing as they are, they aren't the reason that my life is fulfilled. I went through a season of looking to my friends for that, and it wasn't any different than turning to a relationship. Just put a heck of a lot more pressure on my friendships. 

The reason is because that's just who our God is. He truly, truly is all-sufficient. He truly can satisfy every single craving or need in our little human hearts. He really does fulfill our ever desire. Sometimes, we just can't realize that because our hands are busy grasping things we can find down here. Like relationships. Or friendships. 

Having always been a girl who was terrified of being alone, I am so thankful that the Lord radically restored my heart to see that no relationship can fill me like He can. It allows me to truly enjoy singleness, and all of the blessings that come with it. 

Like these seriously amazing lady friends that I was talking about. 

Saturday was filled with time with these incredible women that I am blessed to call friends. A group of us took a morning hike, trekked up to the top of a workout-of-a-mountain, and enjoyed the gorgeous view of Inspiration Point. 

After a good shower and some party prepping, we opened our doors to a dozen+ of our gorgeous lady pals to enjoy a "We Love You Too Much To Only Celebrate Once" Post-Valentine's Party. 

When we were looking for places back in the holiday season, we would simply dream of a perfect house. One of the main dreams we had was to have a place where we could entertain and host others. This has been the third big event we've hosted in less than 2 months of living here, and each time our living room and kitchen are packed to a brim, I can't help but praise the Lord for how perfectly He brought all this together. 

I looked around at all of those women in that house, and felt thankful for each one. Some I've known longer than others, and some I may know more about. Some I may see weekly, and others not as much. But I am thankful for each one. 

I'm walking into this new work week full from a weekend packed with friends, fellowship and fun. I hope your weekend was packed with all sorts of good stuff, too!

HAPPY Friday!

Haven't done one of these in a while, but there's always a lot to be happy about on Fridays, am I right? So let's celebrate a bit of that today. 

*The fact that I'm not working today makes me happy.*

TGIFlexday, indeed. 

If you're wondering what a flexday is, you can read all about the amazing-ness here. Just a little over a year ago, I started tracking flexday festivities with the #tgiflexday hashtag. Now, there's a whole group of us using it, and I love looking back on all the fun ways we've spent those free Fridays. 

*The fact that I'll be getting a free kick in the butt workout this morning makes me happy.*

If you're local, I can almost guarantee that you've heard this name around. Maybe you've seen her shirts, or her posters, maybe you've heard people raving about her program, or maybe you've heard her yelling encouragement at people running on the side of the road {probably that one}, but let me tell you that Jenny is the real deal. Her classes are some of the hardest I've taken. Ever. 

Anytime Jenny offers a free class, I'm there. If you're a Santa Barbaran, and in need of a killer work out, check out her schedule today. All classes are free! What's stopping you?

*Living with these ladies makes me happy.*

The way the Lord brought this house together was just such a blessing. It feels like just yesterday, we were dreaming up everything we could possibly want in a house. And now, boom. Here it is. And it's called the Hideaway. 

Last night was the first time we were able to have a legit roommate night. It included Yogurtland, Friends, and practicing Minute to Win It games. 

I really, really love living with these girls. 

*Finding verses that speak straight to my heart, at just the right moment makes me happy.*

It has been happening quite frequently lately, and each time it's just a sweet reminder that God is here. That He sees me, and He knows me. And He's rooting for me. 

One of the verses that spoke to me this week was this piece of gold:

But God's discipline is always good for us, 
so that we might share in His holiness. 
No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening - it's painful!
But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living
for those we are trained in this way. 

Hebrews 12:10-11

So. Darn. Good. 

***

What is making you happy on this Friday?