All the Single Ladies

Here I thought February was the month for couples. 

Surprise, surprise! It's also the month for single ladies link ups!

But before I even get started here, I want to say a giant Thank You. 

Thank you to all of the incredible people that left kind, inspiring and encouraging comments on yesterday's post. This blog has led me to meet so many incredible friends who consistently lift me up and point me closer to Christ. 

Thank you. 

Thank you for accepting me. 

Thank you for believing in me. 

Thank you for loving me as I am, a sinner who daily falls short, yet will never stop striving to be more like Christ. 

I'm pretty sure that quote was meant in a romantic sense, but I'd say it fits you all perfectly. 

So there!

Moving on. 

I saw that my sweet blog friend Kiki linked up to a Single Ladies Blog Party, and I couldn't resist. I figure what better way to celebrate my single-ness than with a bunch of other beautiful single ladies? I'm sure plenty of guys are jealous right now.

So here I am! Linking up with Meghan. Thank you for coming up with this wonderful idea, girl! I'm so excited to be participating!

Bring on the questions:

1. White chocolate or milk/dark chocolate? Is all of the above an option? 

No? Okay. I would say I like white or milk chocolate the best, but I've got no complaints on dark chocolate and that's technically good for you, right? So sign me up for that!

2. Tea or coffee? I drink tea more regularly, so I would say that. 

But if I'm on a coffee date with a friend, definitely ordering me a chai tea latte with almond milk, or a salted caramel mocha -- yum!

3. Movie or book on a night in? Gosh with all of these questions I just want to answer all of the above! Movies and books are both great in my book. 

But I suppose if I had to choose, I'm a movie lover at heart. A good chick flick gets me every time.

4. Rom-com or a tear jerker? Rom-com all the way. 

Bam, how's that for a decisive answer?

Finally.

5. Who is the first literary couple to come to your mind? In all honesty, since I just read Kiki's post, I'm gonna have to agree with her. Katniss and Peeta.

6. Who is the first *movie* couple that comes to your mind? The couple from The Vow. If you haven't read that book, dooo it!

7. Roses or chocolate? Roses, definitely roses. :)

8. Fancy dinner in a 4-star restaurant, or a simple picnic? Simple picnic works for me. 

Not saying I'd say no to that dinner, though.

9. Dream wedding scenario: outdoor family affair, or a formal church wedding & reception at a 5-star hotel?

A mix of these. I would love an outdoor wedding, but definitely hoping to have a big wedding full of family and friends. 

You are all invited. 

10. What was the last love song you listened to? I would say the song I'm listening to now counts. More by Matthew West. A love song from God to me, the best kind :)

11. Favorite real life/celebrity couple? Miranda Lambert and Blake Shelton.

Saw them both last year at Stagecoach and they are just adorable. And write dang good country songs, so 10,000 extra points for that. 

12. One piece of advice about love: Already posted this pic, but it's so good that I'll do it again.

So true, people. And something that I have to remind myself of daily. 

There we have it, ladies. Definitely love this link up idea, I see myself being back for more :)

Happy Friday!

My Heart for Purity

This post has been on my heart for quite some time now. But I haven't written it out of fear. Fear of saying the wrong thing. Fear of sharing too much, or too little. Fear of judgement. 

Just plain fear. 

I fully recognize that fear does not come from God. And that He puts things on our hearts for a reason. 

So it is my prayer that these words are His, and not my own. That they provide encouragement to those who need it. And most importantly, that they lead those who read these words straight to the creator behind them, Christ. 

Please note that this is a personal post, so whoever may be reading this, be warned of that now. 

And lastly, thank you to all of those who encouraged me to be bold by your own words. Specifically, L, Annie, Erin and Nadine.

Be still heart, just write. 

I believe in the Bible. All of it.

I believe that it is 100% applicable to our lives, and was written to help protect us from the darkness in our world. To guide us to the light, Jesus Christ. 

You may be nodding your head like "Yes, duh. We know you're a Christian." But I have found that proclaiming yourself a believer of Jesus Christ and deciding to live your life according to His word are two very different things. At least for me, they were. 

For the majority of my life, I was desensitized to the sin in my life. Some of it, I simply didn't realize that I struggled with. I didn't acknowledged the dark stains of sins such as selfishness, pride and jealousy that lived in my heart. Mainly because I lived on the surface, and on the surface, those sins don't seem as apparent. 

But some sins, I openly invited into my life. I was so lost in this world that I listened when it whispered that the Bible was outdated. That these sins were normal. 

Sexual sin was one of those sins. 

With each serious relationship that failed, I lost a part of myself in the process. I would be left feeling every bit broken as I watched men who I loved and once swore I would marry walk out of my life. I would doubt myself and my worth.

And the worst part was that I became very, very confused. I began to intertwine physical intimacy with love. Touch became the only form of affection that I recognized, the only way I would feel safe in a relationship. Without a clear sign of physical attraction, I did not feel loved. And if I didn't feel loved, I immediately developed a fear of abandonment. 

Then God came in. 

And to be honest, even as I was falling in love with Jesus for the first time, I wasn't sure if this was a part of my life that could be healed. I felt too far gone. Too lost in my ways.

Until God spoke to me. 

I am certain it was Him. I was driving to San Diego from Santa Barbara when my own pastor came on the radio, hours away from home, and discussed the importance of Christians engaging in Christ-centered, biblical relationships. 

That is the only sermon that I have ever listened to on the radio. And I have no doubt that it was entirely a part of God's plan. His plan to change my heart. 

Since that moment, everything became clear to me. I recognize that God calls us to remain pure until marriage because that is the only way He can protect our hearts from the heartbreak that sexual intimacy outside of marriage can cause. I recognize how powerful that kind of intimacy is, and it's clear to me that it only belongs in a committed, lifelong marriage.

I am thankful every day that Jesus broke through the lies that the world had been filling me with. I am thankful every day that He removed the shame of my past, and is guiding me along the path to my future. 

And that is not to say that I don't struggle. Since the moment that the truth finally broke through, there have been struggles. It will take time for God to heal all of the damage that my sin did to my heart. He has promised that there is no condemnation, but that does not mean that my sin does not have consequences. 

It does. 

But even with the struggle, there has not been a day where I doubt the truth. The truth is clear to me now, the scales have been removed from my eyes. And nothing that Satan can do will put those scales back on. 

Though he may try to tempt me, he cannot undo what Jesus has done. 

Thank you Jesus for bringing me out of the darkness of my sin, and into your beautiful light. 

I Went to the Snow! (Again)

Just loved it so much last time, that had to go back for round 2. 

This time: to Mammoth. 

That's right, 19 people in one cabin. And it didn't even feel that crowded. 

Even in my room, where this lovely couple was lucky enough to share a bed with muah. 

I thought about third wheeling for the weekend, but then I came up with a much better idea. 

Steal Madeleine. 

It worked.

It was such a blast being back in the snow, and bonus: it wasn't -8 degrees and I didn't completely suck at boarding this time. 

Heck yes!

Although I will say that my 2 favorite snowboarding experiences were when Madeleine super manned straight into the snow. 

(What good friend wouldn't photograph the aftermath?)

And when I fell and summersaulted while attached to my snowboard down an entire hill. 

Sadly, there's no photographic evidence of that one. :(

Overall it was a great trip with some absolutely beautiful scenery. 

And how was your weekend?

Some truth for your day

I hope it encourages you as much as it did me this morning. 

May your Monday be so, so blessed. 

Love you friends!

Show Us Your Singles

While doing my usual check up of my favorite blogs, I noticed that the lovely Melissa had linked up with Kelly for Show Us Your Singles. 

A link up for singles? How could I resist?

And if I don't happen to meet the future Amy's husband from this link up, then at least I can take the opportunity to introduce myself to any newbies around here.

So here it goes:

My name is Amy, and I'm a 23 year old living in beautiful Santa Barbara. 

I love Jesus with all my heart, all my soul and all my strength. 

Although I fail Him daily, He never fails to amaze me with His grace, mercy and love. 

My main goal in life is to show others how much they are loved and valued by our Savior.

I have been blessed with some incredible friends. 

Monday through Friday, I am a financial analyst for an engineering company.  

Friday through Sunday, I am out making as many memories as possible with the people that I love.

I will always be down to spend an entire Sunday watching football (while rooting for the Patriots), and will never say no to an outdoor adventure. 

But at the core, I am definitely your typical girl. 

If there is a baby or puppy in the near vicinity, I will naturally gravitate to it.

I am a daughter to two incredible parents who have taught me the importance of good work ethic and drive. And I am the big sister to the two best younger siblings that I could ask for. 

As much as I would love to, I don't think I could ever leave California for the four reasons below.

And now let's keep it real and consider some things you should know before dating me. 

~I love going to the movies. But be warned that I will fall asleep in 90% of the movies that we watch together. Couch, drive in, movie theater? It doesn't matter, I'll be dozing off at some point. You can bet money on it (people have before).~

~I hope you don't mind people singing along to songs. Because if I know the lyrics, I will be singing. And if I've heard the song even just a few times, I know the lyrics. Don't worry though, my singing voice isn't that awful.~

~I cry a lot. When I'm sad? Uh huh. When people are nice to me? Most definitely. In chick flicks? Oh tears will be flooding. My younger cousin's Bar Mitzvah? Yupp, there too. You'll get used to it.~

And, well, gotta leave some sense of mystery, right? We'll save the rest for you to figure out on your own. ;)

So whether you're my future husband reading this, or just a loyal reader, or heck, just someone who stumbled upon this blog,

Cheers to you!

Creature of Habit

It's 11:07PM and I probably should have been asleep 67 minutes ago. 

I've got to shower, get 8 hours of work in, go pick up a snowboard that a friend so graciously offered me when she found out I was going to Mammoth this weekend a few hours ago, and pack all before 3PM tomorrow. 

Have I mentioned that I'm a major procrastinator?

But luckily, I'm also extremely skilled at functioning properly off of very little sleep. 

Thank you, college.

You know when you get a spurt of inspiration?

Well I got that today while browsing pinterest (thank you Jordan!).

That quote. 

Man, it sums up my current phase of life so perfectly. 

Growing up, I had a vision of what I wanted my life to look like. I wanted a husband, and a truly loving relationship. I wanted 5 kids. 

Yes, 5.

I wanted to be fit and healthy. I wanted to be rich in my faith. I wanted my family to go to church every Sunday, and I wanted to be a part of women's bible studies where I could both develop lasting friendships, and become an active and intricate part of our church. 

In 2012, I realized that I was in no way, shape or form walking towards that dream. 

It finally hit me that a happily ever after like that doesn't just appear out of thin air. I realized that I will not just be waking up one morning with my Christ centered household, especially not when

I, myself, was not living a Christ centered life. 

I finally figured out that if I wanted that life, I was going to have to start walking the path that lead to it. 

22 year old Amy was going to have to start walking down the path that would lead her to her happily ever after Amy.

And I'm sure I'm not the first to learn that realizing something is one thing.

Actually applying that knowledge, is another.

This has most definitely been a process. And something that I'm learning right now, is that I have some habits pretty deeply ingrained in me.

I want to wait for a man who loves Christ, but I tend to get caught up in any man that I develop feelings for.

I want to have a healthy diet, but I tend to eat whatever I'm craving, and whenever I'm bored.

I want to get quality time in with the Lord before work, but I tend to hit the snooze button 6 times before actually getting out of bed instead.

I want to use the free time that I have during the week to be productive, but I tend to catch up on my favorite tv shows instead.

I am a creature of habit.

And I am not saying that these are all bad habits, by any means. 

A relaxing night of tv? Always a great way to wind down. 

Getting some extra sleep in the morning when you need it? Never a bad thing. 

Endulging in your favorite meal? Something I love.

And heck, getting excited over the possibility of a new man? Not the worst thing that could happen to a girl.

But I've realized that these habits have slowly turned into a lifestyle. 

I will walk in the door after a long day, telling myself that I'm going to be productive for once, only to immediately plop on my bed for some New Girl. 

I will go weeks without a single day of getting out of bed after the first alarm (or 5).

I'll tell myself one handful of dark chocolate covered powerberries (Dang Trader Joes!), and have had 3 handfuls before I realize it. 

And the second I develop feelings for someone, all rational thinking flies out the window. 

So I'm trying something new. 

These habits? I'm confessing them to God. 

As trivial as some may seem, I know that my Father wants me to be exactly the woman that He created me to be. And I am confident that He will mold and shape my heart to rid myself of any habits that will keep me from being just that. 

And you're probably laughing at the fact that I began this post with my confession of major procrastination. 

Yeahh, I'm sure that's another one I'll be tackling with the big man upstairs. 

I'm thankful that I've learned to not settle for my own imperfections. It's easy to accept that I will always live a certain way. 

Always find my identity in men. 

Always be a stress eater.

Always struggle to get out of bed in the morning. 

But with God, I am confident that all things are possible. I am confident that my deepest habits can be transformed with His help.

And because of this, I am confident that 23 year old Amy will most definitely find happily ever after Amy.  

It's only a matter of time.

Too deep for a Friday? 

Whoops. 

Happy Friday, friends!