There's something beautiful

Despite the chaos going around us in the world...it is so important to realize the beauty and joy that happens all around but we often don't hear about it.

Warning: It could get sappy....sorry (kind of)

This past weekend we were in Cincinnati celebrating the marriage of two friends. And what a beautiful weekend it was. There is truly something beautiful about marriage and love. It is really wonderful to spend time in the presence of it and celebrating what God has created it to be.

This weekend marks not only a significant event in the lives of our friends, but also in my own life. It is a weekend that changed my life in a way I never could imagine.

The most beautiful blue eyes I've ever seen

One year ago, this week, I went on my "official" first date with Jake. I had no idea at that time that that date would be so life changing. Now, before I say much more, let me say that I realize the future is in the hands of God and that is where it all stands. But I trust His faithfulness.

My relationship is truly a gift from God, because it if was up to me I wouldn't have taken the chance. But, I am so incredibly grateful that God is faithful in His promise that He has a plan for our lives and that He will provide in His timing. However, I am just in awe of how good He is and how He brings people into our lives.

One year ago today, my life changed in such a way that I could have never prepared for and its been the most incredibly beautiful ride. Its been a challenging year with a lot of changes; finishing grad school, moving, starting a new job, moving again, becoming a "big kid", immense life changes have all happened and those were just my life...not to mention Jake moving three times, two major certification tests, working in three different locations. It's been a lot of change.

But through it all, I've been challenged and grown and never been so in love as I am now. I have learned so much that I cannot even begin to explain. I am better than I was and I continue to grown not only in my relationship with Jake but also what it means to experience unconditional love from the God of the universe.

Love is a beautiful thing and it is to be celebrated. I'm just so glad that we were created to share in this life because it makes the journey so much more enjoyable.

My ridiculous and awesome family

Friends til the end

They have my heart.

They're something extra special

I have been truly blessed with an incredible family, amazing friends and now I am in love with a man who is far greater than I could have ever imagined and who has the most beautiful, genuine heart. Life is not usually easy, it is full of challenges and tough times. But when we're in the presence of love, it makes life beautiful.

He's even a Colts fan.

So, enjoy and keep life simple by just loving. It's one risk work taking and it is beautiful.

The gift

In my opinion, there is nothing better than a late night deep conversation about life. I thrive on moments like this. I am truly blessed that God has brought someone into my life who also loves these kinds of conversations, or at least has them with me.

And what is even better, although it doesn't seem like it at the time, is being challenged in those moments. Having someone look you square in the eye and ask something that you don't know the answer to. I recently had one of these conversations/challenge moments.

The question at hand..."What do you believe is the gift that God gave you to use in your life?"

"Well, humph...I'm not sure"- Me

"Then pray about it to figure it out."

Even though, I know this, sometimes its hard. Sometimes its hard to pray to figure it out instead of just standing on...I don't know, but I'm sure it'll come to me some day.

So, today as I sit down to read my Bible. I turn to 1 Peter and it reads...

Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothing. Instead it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight.For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to make themselves beautiful.
~1 Peter 3:3-6

Problem solved? Ok, not exactly but it is the cracking open of an insight. This verse alone has shed some light into what it is that God has given me to use in this life. I'm not going to begin diving into it all, but I feel like there has been some light shed on this darkness. The doubting that I just couldn't figure it out. Or that it had to be something completely grand and extravagant. But the beautiful thing about it is that it doesn't have to be. It doesn't have to be something that we struggle to do, it's a gift. God created us all to do something different. And it just opened my eyes and my heart to the joy that this is what God created me for. That this is my gift to the world to help spread the Kingdom. Sweet...it's always so great to realize that we are who we are because we were created that way and there was a purpose in that creation.

And in this realized, I began to reflect on two of the most influential people throughout my life...and they have the same name. Grandma.

This is my Grandma Janice. If you don't know her, I wish you did. She is one of the most Godly, loving, sacrificial, generous, and precious souls that I've ever known. If I can be half the woman she is, I will consider it an accomplishment.

Sadly, my Grandma Norma passed away nearly 8 years ago. But she too, lived a life of love and caring for others. She always had an open door policy and taking care of her family was of the utmost importance. She is so dearly missed, but a great woman to have known.

These two women have significantly shaped my existence, desire and helped me to see my purpose through their gentle and quiet spirits. All you can do is to say Thank you Lord, for my gift to this life and for those who have gone before me and modeled it so well.

If you could do anything...

If I could do anything...I would write.

Yes, indeed, I would to be a writer. I would write whatever I wanted to, without the constraints of staying within a specific writing style. I would write, for the love of writing.

I went through a phase where I though writing was dumb. This was the time where the only thing I was writing was when someone told me to. But once I began writing because  I wanted to, it completely changed my life.

I fell in love. I fell in love with words.

I love the way words work. Think about it. There is a significant amount of power in words both written and spoken. A poorly written sentence can have a huge impact. Wrong spelling, wrong word choice. Although they may seem like minimal details, they actually play a big role. Especially for people like me because as much as I love to write I also love to edit. I love to go back through what I have written or what others have written and make it better...ok maybe not better but try to figure out exactly the right word to use. 

Its kind of like solving a math problem. You have a set of data and you want to figure it out to provide an answer. So you go trying to find the right combination of steps that will give you the right answer. Writing is just the same. You have an group of words, and you try to put them together to give you the exact combination of what you are trying to articulate. It's important.

With all of that said, the reason I love to write is not because I am fond of math. It is because I have a lot of thoughts that run through my head, all the time. I am honestly not sure yet why God created me that way but I am sure I will spend the rest of my life trying to figure it out. But writing allows me to release those thoughts. Pen to paper...or in this case, fingers to keys. Once the thought is written down, it is saved forever and I can release it from my mind and move on to the next thought.

For me, there is just something truly amazing about the freedom that comes with just a pen and some paper. So simple, so wonderful.

Maybe someday I'll get paid to write. But for now, I write for the love of words.

If you could do anything, what would you do?

When it's too much

There are some days, when it all just seems like too much. I can get overwhelmed fairly easily.

Today has been one of those days.

Even the ordinary can be too much. It's those days that I forget that I can't do it alone. I like to think that I am completely capable. But sometimes, I just don't have it in me. And those are the days that I only survive when I have to call on the Lord and pray for strength.

Now, this is something I should do everyday. Learning to submit. Learning to be faithful. Learning to rely on God. I fail at this a lot. I'm used to doing it on my own. I've always been really independent, to a fault. So calling for help is not something I'm good at or something that I like to do. But God continues to strip more and more away and I can do nothing more but call on Him.

You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.
~ Hebrews 10:3 

Persevere. That is what the Bible says. Persevere. So, this is what I'm called to do. When it gets to be too much, call on God and persevere. He'll provide, even when I don't realize it.

I demand perfection!

Today's word...demand.

Doesn't sound too appealing does it?  At least I don't think so.

However, I have learned that I demand a lot. I demand a lot of myself and of other people and I often demand perfection.

It's unfortunate really because no one likes to have things demanded of them, especially if they're unaware that its being even demanded of them. I have a tendency to demand perfection, of myself and of those closest to me. I used to think it was that I had high expectations, but I am now realizing that its even greater than that. It's a demand. Sounds so harsh...and it is.

Someone once told me that maybe perfectionism wasn't something that was created to make us strive, but is like an arrow to our soul. And I believe it. I used to think being a perfectionist was an admirable quality, but as I continue to mature I am realizing that it's not the blessing it disguises itself to be. What a harsh reality...what you thought was helping you was actually hurting you. Attempting to re-learn how to think and live is no easy task. Reframing the way you think about the world, woah. I didn't sign up for that. But yet, it is what needs to happen, at least in my life.

We can't be perfect. I can't be perfect. (Let's say that all together now...)

But it is another path to keeping life simple. Don't demand something you can't obtain.

Stop demanding perfection. God doesn't expect me to be perfect. So, why should I?

For the love...

In order to simplify, I've decided to add things to my life. Confused? Let me explain.

I'm taking away the things that add stress or commitment, things that are on the to-do list; instead of doing things for the simple joy of doing them.One thing that always brings me joy and that I absolutely love to do is...baking.

Not just cooking, but baking. (I secretly desire to someday be a baker) And one of my favorites is cupcakes!

This year, part of my first Valentine's day with Jake included cupcakes. More specifically, one of his favorite's, Bubble Room Red Velvet Cupcakes. The Bubble Room is a restaurant in Florida and he always talks about how awesome their cakes are. So I attempted to make them for Valentine's Day.

They were significantly more red than I anticipated.

The recipe

I also made mini ones because I love all things "mini"

I

 

The finished product

And I'm not going to lie. They are incredible. I was nervous how they turned out...but they taste awesome. The only thing that was frustrating was the frosting. I thought it would be thicker and set up better, but it was more runny than I thought it would be. So, my next challenge is to master the frosting.

But, if you like cake...these are a must! It was a definite thumbs up for Valentine's Day. Jake liked them, so I was happy.

Taking time to do the things we enjoy most is so crucial to enjoying life. I'm learning this slowly. It's usually hard to stop and do something 'just because' but it's wildly important. Doing the things you love, spending time with the people you love, and enjoying life. So simple, so why don't we do it more?

Simplicity

Hi, welcome!

It's been about a year and a half since I first said I wanted to start blogging...so it's right about time to actually start doing it, right?!? To be honest, I'm not really sure yet what I'm doing or honestly what I'm going to write about, but I sure with as many thoughts and ideas that pop into my head each day, I'll be fine. I do have to thank my dear friend Kristyn Ellen who has continued to inspire me to get back into writing. In college, it was my major. I wrote all the time, it's basically all I did. So after taking a year or so off, I realized how much I missed it. For me there is a real joy in writing (or typing...technically speaking) and expressing myself through words.

I have no real artistic ability, even though, at times, I like to believe I do. So, for me, words are an art form. Words are my artistic contribution to the world. And it's something that I love to do.

For a long time, I wasn't sure if it there was any real point or value to starting a blog. Would anyone actually read it? Would people think it was interesting? Would people think I was funny? Or would it be something that we slowly just forget about. But I let go of all those fears and decided to write for myself. If people find it entertaining, interesting, or actually read it...that's awesome! I appreciate the fact that they care and who knows what will come out of it. So, I will just write.

I titled my blog "Keep it Simple." If you know me, you probably realize that this isnt' something I am particularly good at doing. I have a tendency to do the exact opposite. Instead of simple, I like to make it difficult.

Eeerr, maybe not difficult but definitely full. I keep my life very full. I am constantly busy. Always doing something, always going somewhere, always needing to talk to someone about something. Busy, unnecessarily so. However, that hasn't been working for me so well in the past few months. It's actually beginning to tear me down. So, it is time that something has to be different.

Someone very special to me use to always use to say to me..."Shana, you've just got to remember to KISS."

"Excuse me," I'd say.

"Yeah...keep it simple, stupid."

No, he wasn't calling me stupid, but he'd always tell me to keep it simple. And that concept has stuck with me. I've done a poor job with implementing it in my life thus far, but it is a process.

Definition: Simple - free from vanity; of humble origin; free of secondary complication

Simplicity- the state of being simple, uncomplicated, or uncompounded

So this is what I'm doing...this is part of my plan to simplify my life. To take a step back and de-stress, de-complicate. To start enjoying, to start letting go, to start basking in the beauty of the life we're given. God did not intend for us to always be wound up tight.

My goal is to take a step back and remember to just Keep it Simple.

Thanks for reading...please come back again.