2016 (Realistic) Resolutions for Dummies

My tips, tricks, and rules of thumb that anyone can easily follow for a better 2016:

- Read the Word every. single. day. Preferably when you wake up or before you go to bed. Do this in a calm, quiet, undisturbed and undistracted environment. 

- Eat desserts. 

- Breathe. In yoga you learn to breathe during exercise to lengthen muscles. In life you breathe to lengthen patience. 

- Smile. Again, often in yoga you smile through difficult poses to remind yourself that what you're doing might be tough, but it's worth it. A simple smile can be what you need to get through the end of a pose (which also usually is the hardest point of the pose when we think "I can't do this anymore!!"). This is a valuable lesson we can carry into our own lives. 

- To follow the yoga trend, do it. Often. It keeps you fit, it increases your flexibility and even your brain power, and could be the perfect way to wind down or even to wind up. It also helps aline your spine/pelvic floor and could be the perfect exercise for those who may not be able to conventionally exercise.

- Break rules. Wear white after Labor Day and before Easter.

-  Stay humble. You may be a 10 during the work week, but never forget your Walmart sweat pants/mud face mask/ 3-day-not-washed-hair weekend days either. 

- Life is hard enough. Buy a planner and use it. 

- Be organized. The older I get the more and more I realize how useful this skill is. The more organized I am, the better I sleep. 

- Speaking of sleep, spend money on good sheets and wash them every 2 weeks at least. Stay clean, sleep better. 

- Read books of all kinds. (If 50 Shades of Grey is on your "recently read" list, you're not doing it right and you're missing out on actual pieces of literature). 

- Pray. Frequently. 

-Wear what makes you happy, not what is trending. If they happen to coincide, awesome. 

- Keep coconut oil on hand at all times. Heals sores, softens skin, strengthens hair, and is a great healthy substitute for butter. Coconut oil and duct tape are musts in life. 

- Don't be a snob. Shop at Goodwill. 

- Drink lots of water. The benefits of water are literally unlimited. 

- When the going gets tough, the tough really do get going. 

- Do hard things. Often these are the only ones worth doing. 

- Dont hide behind a social media handle. Who you are is not who you are on a screen. Be authentic. Put down your phone in the presence of others. 

- Don't sleep in makeup, no matter how tired you are. Its icky, it ages you, and no one likes second day mascara. 

- People make mistakes. Your goal is godliness. Extend the characteristics of God towards people to the best of your abilities by exercising forgiveness, grace, and mercy. 

- Don't forget where you come from. Who raised you, where you are from, and who was there when you were at rock bottom. 

- Just because someone's lifestyle doesn't line up with what we believe from the Bible doesn't mean we have a pass to keep our distance from them. Never once did Jesus do this. It is our duty to be Jesus to these people and that requires interaction and often times friendship. 

- Journal. 

- Keep a working budget and write down all of your expenditures. 

- Just because something says "organic" beside it doesn't necessarily make it healthy. Make good choices. Eat less processed food. Put some green on your plate. Be awesome. 

- If you own a black dress, you can own the world. 

Happy New Year! May 2016 be the year you actually keep your resolutions (I know, who am I kidding?)

I Believe.

These days it's common for elementary school kids to throw on some pjs, climb into a big yellow school bus, and head off to school for a day of cookies, hot chocolate, and one of the newest but most treasured Christmas movies, The Polar Express. Unfortunately for me, my grade was the last grade that didn't get to indulge in this magical day at school until my 5th grade Christmas party, however no pjs were worn that day so it seemed like every other year for me. On party day as I walked into the bus room and sat down in my class's line, I saw the grade below me all clad in their pjs and slippers and was filled with jealousy. From that moment on I decided I would hold my grudge against The Polar Express and not the people in charge at my school, naturally. It wasn't until the last few years that I decided to let bygones be bygones and allow myself to watch the movie. Needless to say, it's my favorite Christmas movie now and holds such a special place in my heart. 

If you've never watched that precious movie, you're truly missing out. It wasn't until I watched it this year that I had an "aha" moment and my eyes were opened to the vastly deep plot. These children are on the cusp of not believing in Santa anymore, get picked up by the most magical train since Hogwarts (but NEVER to surpass The Hogwarts Express), and are taken to the North Pole to meet Santa-with a lot of stuff in between. Once they've met Santa, the main character is gifted with a bell from Santa's sleigh. This is no ordinary bell, however. The bell can only be heard as long as you believe in Santa. The main character ends the movie by narrating as an adult with the quote:

"At one time most of my friends could hear the bell, but as years passed it fell silent for all of them. Even Sarah found one Christmas that she could no longer hear its sweet sound. Though I've grown old the bell still rings for me, as it does for all who truly believe."

I get chills every time I hear this quote and it's the subject of many future pinterest projects that I have pinned on my pinterest. However, last night I asked myself "does this movie possibly have an even deeper meaning?"

Just as many children stop believing in Santa at a certain age, unfortunately many people stop believing in God as well. I'm at a crucial part in life where a lot of people go to college and begin to have doubts. During this time of year especially, "the doubters", as the Polar Express would say, seem to come out of the wood works. A virgin birth, a northern star, and God made human all seem like fallacies in their minds. We see lawsuits to businesses for not being diverse enough. Christmas parties become holiday parties. Nativity scenes are labeled "offensive". Coming from a science major, yeah, it seems pretty out there to a human mind. In science you have to have facts, evidence, theories, and formulas before anything can be labeled as true. Jesus requires us to believe, trust, have faith in something that, in their minds, has little to no fact behind it. 

So what if we are the same as the kids in the Polar Express? What if we look at this Christmas as a journey? What is we allow ourselves to climb aboard the train of God and let it take us to the Father himself? 

There's one catch to this journey: we must be willing. The Polar Express doesn't force children to ride so that their eyes may be opened, they are asked if they want to ride. The main character at first says no, but when the train begins to leave he chases it down to eventually get on. I don't care how we arrive to this train, but we MUST get on. Unlike in The Polar Express, however, the train is always there for us. All we have to do is ask and Jesus says that if you ask you shall receive.

Asking God to open up our eyes to him doesn't just have to happen at Christmas, and it shouldn't just be for those who have their "yule tide doubts". We should all do this, and frequently at that. Every day we should wake up with one goal in mind: to grow closer to the Father's heart. That can come out in many ways and it looks different for everyone, but every day you should live to serve your God and come to know him more and more. 

Unfortunately, not all will believe. Just as in The Polar Express, some will not believe. Some, like Sarah, will allow events in their lives to shape how they see God or if they see him at all. But for those of us who ask God to take us on his own train ride, we will always believe no matter how old we grow or how seasoned our lives become. The bell will always ring for us. 

As the conductor of the magical Polar Express said "Seeing is believing, but sometimes the most real things in the world are the things we can't see." 

As for me, I believe. 

Relationship Goals

I live in a generation where all romance is dead. There's no anticipation during a first date because you two have already texted each other your complete bios. Goodnight texts are considered the highest level of love one can achieve in their relationship. "Netflix and chill" is the idea of a perfect date. And there's also this really annoying thing called #RelationshipGoals where we hashtag this next to anything we deem relationship worthy. Surprise, we're not really good at relationships.

I did a quick hashtag search on twitter and heres what "relationship goals" look like for our generation:

1) "___ and ___ are seen out in public together. #relationshipgoals"

2)"I wanna watch Elf and drink hot chocolate right now. #relationshipgoals" (not sure what that has to do with a relationship but okay)

3) a comment on a staged picture of a 3 week old couple on instagram that says "relationship goals" for no apparent reason.

4) "When he sends me a long text message telling me how much he likes me #relationshipgoals"

5) Some nonsense about how Chuck and Blaire are relationship goals. (Did you guys even watch Gossip Girl? Because I'm getting the feeling that you didn't.)

I don't know about you but literally none of those sound like "relationship goals" to me.

Relationship goals are loving a person when it's toughest.

Relationship goals are doing someone else's dishes or folding their laundry just because.

They're answering a phone call at 3 in the morning because your significant other is throwing up and they just want to talk to you.

Relationship goals are when he's really hungry but lets you eat as much off of his plate as you want.

Relationship goals are praying together, studying the word together, loving Jesus together.

They're foot rubs and hair brushings and random roses.

They're a goodnight phone call and a good morning text every single day.

They're offering your only jacket because she might be cold.

They're telling someone that you love everything about them in person 20 times a day so they don't forget.

They're trips to the grocery store for groceries that aren't even yours just to be with them.

They're carrying carloads of bags and not complaining once even though she's high maintenance

They're calling someone just because you know that they'll listen.

They're the times when you're driving down the road and you catch them looking at you for no reason.

Relationship goals are being called honestly beautiful when your hair is wet and you have no makeup on and your pajamas are 3 times too big.

For me, relationship goals aren't going to the gym together or being rich or watching a movie. Relationship goals are about living a normal life with an extraordinary person and putting their needs above your own every step of the way. So next time you go to comment "relationship goals!" on some instagram post of a new couple with a fake photo, rethink what you're actually saying. And don't you settle until your relationship goals look like absolute love.

**P.s. shoutout to my best friend and boyfriend for being the model of all of my relationship goals. Not a single person on this Earth could treat me like you do and I am so incredibly thankful that you choose to lovingly put up with my crazy self every day**