McDreamy

Okay... Imagine your dream guy (oh yeah, dudes - this post is aimed more to the girls, but take it as you please).

Imagine the guy that you would want to spend the rest of your life with. The guy that you would want to be your other half, to talk to every day, the man you would want to fall COMPLETELY in love with.

In general, I think there are some prerequisites we all have for our own McDreamy (I hope you like that name… you’re about to see it a whole lot more), and this list doesn’t include handsome… though it never hurts, of course. I’m talking about character, here. The type of man we ALL need.

Situation #1

Let’s say you are going to the movies with McDreamy and a bunch of your friends. But after your movie, your friends want to sneak into a movie you didn’t pay for, but McDreamy says “No, we didn’t pay for that.” That’s no fun! So you leave McDreamy, run off with your friends, and sneak into the movie. Well, the movie theater police (that’s not even a thing, we’re just pretending) finds you, makes you pay a fee, and escorts you out of the theater.

Lucky for you, McDreamy is waiting for you outside with the car cranked, air conditioning on, and door open.

Situation #2

When you get back to your house, you look in your purse, can’t find your phone, and realize that you must have forgotten your phone at the movie theater. “MCDREAMY! HOW COULD YOU LET ME FORGET MY PHONE?! YOU SHOULD HAVE MADE SURE I HAD IT BEFORE WE DROVE OFF!”

Lucky for you, McDreamy saw your phone sitting under your seat when you ran off with your friends, so he picked it up and is now handing it right back to you.

Situation #3

Later that night, you realize how sassy you have been to McDreamy all day. You start apologizing, you get a little teary, you apologize again, you burst out in a flood of tears, you apologize some more, and you finally ask McDreamy to forgive you for leaving him in the theater and for blaming him for something he didn’t do.

Lucky for you, McDreamy smiles, and opens up his arms for a big hug.

Situation #4

The next day, you meet McDreamy at McDonald’s (because HAHA). You are both sitting at an outside table because it’s a beautiful summer day, and you are about to eat a french fry. Right before the french fry reaches your mouth, McDreamy knocks the fry out of your hand and onto the ground. “McDreamy, what was that for?”

Lucky for you, a bee was on the french fry... and McDreamy knew you are highly allergic to bees.

Situation #5

You and McDreamy then decide to walk downtown for a little while and go into a few shops. You are waiting at a red light, and you’re waiting for the crosswalk sign to give you the signal to walk. It has been a solid minute, and the signal still hasn’t changed. You don’t see any cars coming, so you start to walk across. All of a sudden, a car comes around the corner headed straight towards you.

Lucky for you, McDreamy sees the car, runs after you, and pushes you out of the way… right in time.

What if I told you that there IS a McDreamy in your life? You may not see him as someone you have a romantic relationship with, but OH - this man loves you more than you could ever imagine. I think you may be getting my drift, so go back to Situation #1 and replace “McDreamy” with a name like... oh, I don’t know, “Jesus.”

*rereads, replacing “McDreamy” with “Jesus.”

I’m not gonna lie, I giggled many times whilst reading this over. A few of my personal favorite sentences were:

“JESUS! HOW COULD YOU LET ME FORGET MY PHONE?!”

“Later that night, you realize how sassy you’ve been to Jesus all day.”

“The next day, you meet Jesus at McDonald’s.”

“Before the french fry reaches your mouth, Jesus knocks the fry out of your hand.”

Even though we don’t go to the movies or McDonald’s with Jesus, in all seriousness - He does these things for us everyday. He forgives us when we leave Him for sin. He forgives us when we blame Him for our mistakes. He listens to our cries. He protects us. He gave His life for us, when we didn’t deserve it.

He does these things because He is madly in love with us.

I was reading Psalm 116 tonight... I was just so humbled and thankful and ashamed and loved and in love and at a loss for words. The only words that came to mind during my prayer were “thank you.” Over and over. Isn’t that weird? I can spit out a 1,000 word blog post in 20 minutes, tell a story without leaving out ANY details in 5 minutes, and sing all 50 states in alphabetical order in 18.05 seconds (believe me, I just timed it). Yet, Jesus can completely overwhelm me with pure thankfulness, and make all other words and thoughts in my head disappear. I don’t know about you, but THAT’S a McDreamy. THAT’S a man I want to spend the rest of my life with. THAT’S a man I want to be my other half. THAT’S a man I want to talk to every day.

That’s a man I want to fall completely in love with.

I am constantly amazed and constantly in AWE of His beauty. Thank you, Lord.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”

-John 3:16-17 (NIV)

11 Lessons I Learned By My Senior Year

The day finally came. The day that is both an ending and a beginning. The day that finally made all of the essays, busy work, homework, sleep deprivation, cold classrooms, equations, and bad school lunches pay off. The day that all of my teachers, peers, family members, and friends have been talking about for THIRTEEN DARN YEARS.

High school graduation.

Like I said before, it is an ending and a beginning for everyone. We are all together from the time we are five years old to the big eighteen years old. Where I live, everyone knows everyone (along with all of their business), we are in classes with the exact same people every semester, so we basically grew up as a family. It’s my favorite thing about Franklin County. But the strangest feeling has been realizing that we aren’t ALL going to be together again! It’s an ending to the wonderful memories we’ve all made together. But, it’s also a beginning to our future. We will all go our separate ways, and we will take on everything that life is going to throw our way. Four years ago, there’s no way any of us could go out into the real world and live the best, most awesome life we could. Thankfully, high school has taught me a few lessons, and I am forever thankful for them...

1. People will surprise you.

As teenagers, we sometimes have some harsh first impressions. First impressions aren’t avoidable, of course, but we are constantly being compared… therefore, we compare ourselves to others. The funny thing is, almost 90% of people I’m close friends with now are completely different than I expected them to be after the first impression. You may think one girl is snobby, but really she ends up being the sweetest person you know. At the same time, you may see her as a kind, innocent person, but you find out she’s cheated on her three boyfriends, stolen $300 from a gas station, and is part of a gang (I am NOT speaking from firsthand experience, people). Get to know someone before you make assumptions, you will find your true friends!

(None of those assumptions were about anyone pictured here, these are just some of my true friends!)

2. Make a point to say “yes” to fun things.

I will proudly admit that laziness has gotten in the way of me making some awesome memories with my friends over the past four years. I have seriously stayed at home because “I had homework,” or rather… I didn’t want to change out of my pajamas. Once I started getting out of that state, my life was 30,000 times happier! Just say YES, and you will get a whole lot more out of this little life.

3. People are much more kind to each other than expected.

Our generation is so much more accepting of people, whether they are black, white, gay, straight, atheist, Christian, drug users, non-drug users, drinkers, non-drinkers, WHATEVER. We don’t always agree with everyone else’s lifestyles, we just accept each other as people. That’s the beautiful thing I love about people my age - we are more kind than we are given credit for! We just love each other, no matter our beliefs. Ironically, this is what God asks us to do in the Bible… He asks us to just LOVE each other!

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

-John 13:34-35 (NIV)

4. Fully ENJOY the people that make you happy.

Listen to them. Talk to them. Laugh with them. Sing with them. Go to Zaxby’s with them. Agree with them. Tell jokes with them. Go camping with them. Hug them. Make videos with them. Make s’mores with them. Compliment them. Pray with them. Have a Walmart scavenger hunt with them. Go bowling with them. Dance with them. Be stupid with them. ENJOY THEM!

5. Participate.

I’m not talking about extra-curriculars, even though those are awesome, too. But just participate in class, in assemblies, in volunteering opportunities, in clubs, anything! Get involved with your school. It makes you feel more connected and “in the know” with what’s going on! It’s fun to have a group of people who are involved in the same thing as you, don’t let that opportunity slip by!

6. Take a class you wouldn’t normally take - just for the heck of it.

I took a healthcare class last semester, just because I wanted to... and a little bit because my boyfriend’s mom taught it. I had thought about becoming an occupational therapist, but I still had other options. I didn’t want to have a career in the big time medical field. I don’t like blood. I just thought, “Hey, this’ll be interesting!” At the end of that class, I had met all sorts of interesting people and I’m not opposed to a medical career at all! I’m set on occupational therapy now, but my two backup jobs are now BOTH medical-related. It’s all thanks to a class I took “just for the heck of it!”

I also took a Psychology class for fun, I met all sorts of interesting people...

7. Tell everyone how much they mean to you.

The class of 2015 at lost three guys that meant the world to everyone. All three losses were so unexpected, and the entire school was incredibly shocked and of course, devastated. It made us all so much closer, because we had to be there for each other when we were hurting. It made us all realize that we don’t know when it’s our time to go, and we all learned to tell each other how we feel. Never take anyone for granted.

8. Do what you love.

If you aren’t doing the activity that makes you feel that overwhelming sense of joy, then what’s the point?! It doesn’t matter what other people think - I mean, I do DRAMA. Drama people are WEIRD. But who cares?! I am happy on stage, and I’m surrounded by people that have the same passion as I do.

9. Be bold and stick up for people.

Don’t let bullies bully. It’s that simple. You will feel better about yourself, the person who is getting bullied won’t feel alone, and the bullies will feel bad about themselves and they will stop. Break the chain!

10. It’s okay to change your mind.

At the start of my freshman year, I was set on NOT going to the University of North Georgia… just because my parents went there! I wanted something new and different, and I had been to Dahlonega enough to not feel like I was in a “different” place. But once I visited the campus my junior year, I fell in love. I felt at home. As much as I hated to admit it, my mind was basically made up that I was going to be going to the ONE school I didn’t really even want to consider! But it’s okay. As long as you feel like you’re doing what’s best for you, it doesn’t matter what has happened in the past. Hey, it means that you really should be changing your mind, if you went from an absolute NO to an absolute YES!

11. Trust that God’s plan is better than yours.

No matter how hard we try to convince ourselves that we know what the best move is: God knows how our life is going to play out and he will take us on the most rewarding path to get us there. There have been situations in my high school life (whether it’s a class, a relationship, or a friend) where I have gotten so ANGRY because things don’t play out how I (emphasis on “I”) would have made it work. But, now I’m seeing where some friendships or relationships fell apart so others could fall together. Only God knew that would happen, and that’s shown me that I just have to TRUST HIM. Trust what He is doing and all will be well!

As you can tell, most of my high school career was focused on the people around me. That’s what high school is though, it’s the people. So, my overall advice: Be a friend to everyone. I will try to remember my own advice next year at college, but I wouldn’t definitely mind if anyone reading this would say a prayer for me! The past four years of my life were unbelievable, and I can’t wait to see what God has in store for me in the future!

“‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’”

-Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV)

“‘For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,’ declares the Lord. ‘As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.’”

-Isaiah 55:8-9 (NIV)

“Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and He will establish your plans.”

-Proverbs 16:3 (NIV)

“Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.”

-Proverbs 19:21 (NIV)

Perfect Love

Which sentence do you like better?

1. The sky was a brilliant blue, and the fluffy, white puppy went frolicking through the field of yellow flowers with a big, elated grin on his furry face!

2. The sky was a dreary gray, and the ugly, brown rock sat in the gritty dirt with no expression, because rocks don’t have faces.

I’m gonna guess that 95% of you said that you are more of a fan of Sentence 1. The other 5% of you are sad little party-poopers. But in general, I think we all love hearing good news over bad news, happy stories over sad stories, funny jokes over not funny jokes, fun plans over boring plans, compliments over critiques, etc. All of those “first choices” have one thing in common = positivity! We like hearing positive comments, or things that make us feel good about ourselves. Funny jokes may not make us feel good about ourselves, but it makes us feel giddy inside when we’re laughing until our side hurts. Everybody likes feeling happy!

The same rule applies when we are reading scripture. We would rather read verses about how God is going to love us no matter what, but we would rather avoid the verses about punishment for our sins. I’m gonna be referring to Psalm 89 in this post… let’s look at verse 22.

“The enemy will not get the better of him; the wicked will not oppress him.”

-Psalm 89:22 (NIV)

That’s awesome, right? The enemy won’t get the better of us, we will stand strong with God on our side! But here’s some food for thought: Have you ever thought about yourself being the enemy? What if you are the wicked one? That thought hit me smack dab in the face the other night, and I got scared! I’ve GOT to make sure I don’t do anything to make myself a spiritual enemy of someone else!

Exactly.

We can’t just read those “happy verses” and assume that we can just sit back, sing some songs, and let God do his thing... and we’ll be alright. God is MORE than capable of that. Literally, He has moved mountains. But, He wants the best of us, He wants to work WITH us. If I don’t understand a math problem on Virtual School, I know I can take a little hike up the stairs to the math hall, and any of those teachers will help me until I can do the problem. (It actually took five of us to solve one problem at the beginning of the semester… it was written wrong.) Anyway, that’s how our Lord is! “Rabbi” literally means “teacher,” He wants to work with us!

We have to do our part. To do that, we have to read the not-so-happy verses, too. But let’s be honest: without bad news, we wouldn’t know what good news was. Without lame jokes, we wouldn’t know what “funny” was. Without Hell, we wouldn’t know the magnitude of Heaven. Without the verses about what will happen if we sin, we won’t know that the feel-good verses are rewards.

Back to Psalm 89. I was reading where the writer was talking about what God said about David, and I found a passage that describes the entire point of this blog:

“If his sons forsake my law

and do not follow my statutes,

if they violate my decrees

and fail to keep my commands,

I will punish their sin with the rod,

their iniquity with flogging;....”

-Psalm 89:30-32 (NIV)

WOAH. WHAT. Flogging?! That’s a little harsh, right?! This is one of those verses. I would rather not read that. But wait - let’s read the rest...

“….but I will not take my love from him,

nor will I ever betray my faithfulness.”

-Psalm 89:33 (NIV)

We had to read the bad to get to the good. He will never take away His love from us, either! God’s love will never fail, and He will never leave us. Even if we fail Him daily (and oh, guess what? I know I do!), he won’t stop loving. He will punish us, but it’s because it’s what’s best for US. He will do what it takes to help us. He does this because He is our Rabbi!

We have to take the bad to know how GOOD the good is, and that’s exactly what our God does! This is our awesome God’s love. He has a perfect love for us!

Cherry on Top

“ALL I KNOW IS I’M NOT HOME YET, THIS IS NOT WHERE I BELONG!!!!!! TAKE THIS WORLD AND GIVE ME JESUS, THIS IS NOT WHERE I BELONG!!!!!!!”

(P.S. That was me belting out Building 429 on the way home the other night.)

I love that song. It’s so catchy and great. It makes me want to pound on a bass drum as loud as I can. The lyrics really are so meaningful and beautiful, but I also found a little more beauty in it the other night…

You know how sometimes you can hear a song, sing all the words to it, but never ACTUALLY think about what the words mean? Yep, that’s me. All the time. I have always sang along to this song like that, until the other night. “This is not where I belong.” There are some days when I feel completely different, out of place from everyone else, and I feel like I don’t belong. So, this song would remind me that it will get better and it won’t be bad forever. But on this particular night, I was feelin’ GREAT. My day went phenomenal. I got to school on time (and didn’t get halfway to school and realize I forgot my cousin, like I may or may not have done yesterday), I was two weeks ahead on Virtual School, I had Zaxby’s for lunch, Emily and I rocked out our lab in Forensics, I kept my awkward Maddy-isms down to a bare minimum (only 3), and my gas tank was full. WHAT COULD HAVE MADE MY DAY BETTER? Going to Jared’s, that’s what.

AND I DID.

It was a wonderful day, and my heart was full of sprinkles (when I’m really happy, I imagine my heart full of rainbow sprinkles... I don’t know). So, when I was riding home from Jared’s, I hear the song. Ya know, THE song. The one we were just talking about.

“This is not where I belong.”

To be honest, I disagreed there for a second. I thought I was "belonging" pretty well. I felt so happy and content with my life, I didn’t feel like I wanted anything more! Which made me realize: Heaven is going to be AWESOME. If tiny things, like finding an extra piece of lead in my backpack, can make me feel like I want nothing else, imagine what BEING IN GOD’S PRESENCE WILL FEEL LIKE. HELLO! That’s amazing!

Even more sprinkles were added to the ice cream I call my “heart” that night, even when I thought it couldn’t be done! (My heart is chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream, by the way, with extra cookie dough.) Every day God manages to astound me. He does things that are completely unexpected, in the most glorious way! I know I’ve said it before, but I just cannot believe how breathtaking and abounding God’s love is. He doesn’t just love me and encourage me on my good days, He loves me and encourages me on my bad days, too! That’s the beauty. His love is everlasting. It never runs out. Needless to say, that song was the cherry on top (pun intended) of a wonderful day! It reminded me to always keep my eyes on the One who knows where I belong.

“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”

-Lamentations 3:22-23 (ESV)

P.S. I have three more things to say:

-Revive Worship is releasing their new album soon, King of Glory, and it’s based on the book of Psalms (which I just so happen to be reading right now, if you missed this post).

-You get a sneak peek of two songs when you pre-order.

-So I did.

-AND THEY ROCK.

(If you want to pre-order, text KOG to 51555. You will not be disappointed!)

You Beautiful Thing, You

-Bubbles catching the sunlight.

-The bright glow from your window when you wake up and it snowed.

-The warmness of chocolatey brownies with the coldness of vanilla ice cream.

-The key change in Carrying the Banner from Newsies (listen here, prepare for chills at 4:28).

-Sunrises over the perfectly straight horizon at the beach.

-The whiff of yumminess you get right when you step into Subway.

-Laughing so hard you can physically feel your 6-pack forming.

-String lights.

-Lavender candles that crackle when they burn.

-Putting on fuzzy socks right out of the dryer.

-Riding by canola fields in the summer.

-The floating lantern scene in Tangled.

-A strand of cotton under a microscope

-Shooting stars

What do all of these things have in common?

They’re beautiful. To me, at least.

beautiful (adj.)

/ˈbyo͞odəfəl/

pleasing to the senses or the mind aesthetically

Take just a second and make a mental (or write a list if you have a nonexistent memory, like myself) of more things that are beautiful to YOU...

Did you add... the Eiffel Tower? Super green grass? The SMELL of the super green grass? The sound of a baby laughing? Mountains in the fall? Steamy waterfalls? A cold glass of water when you’re super-craving it? A hawk gliding through the wind? Intricate architecture? A really old forest? The Mona Lisa? A The reflection of a landscape on perfectly still water? Diamonds? Fireworks? Water lilies?

What about yourself?

Did you list yourself as beautiful?

God created so many beautiful things (maybe not the floating lantern scene from Tangled, but he created the minds who came up with the idea), and he also made you. In our society, especially with girls, we are made to think that we have to have “perfect” hair, “perfect” teeth, a “perfect” face, a “perfect” body, and a “perfect” life. We are pushed to think that our makeup, hair, figure, clothes, and jewelry make us beautiful.

This is not true.

We are created PERFECTLY, without the makeup and fancy clothes. God designed our bodies according to His will, in the most beautiful way possible. Everyone has a different part in the Plan, so doesn’t it make sense for everyone to look different from each other? Like, how BORING would it be if we were all 5’4”, had plain white skin, gray eyes and gray, stick straight, shoulder-length hair?! SUPER boring, that’s how. But luckily, God drew up a blueprint (before we were even born) that included our height, weight, hair color, eye color, skin color, facial features, and even every cell in our body. He didn’t press a button that says “random” like when you create a character in The Sims. He planned every part of our being, and he planned it perfectly. He didn’t mess up. You are exactly how you were meant to be.

“You are altogether beautiful, my darling; there is no flaw in you.”

-Song of Songs 4:7 (NIV)

Before we continue, I’m not saying that makeup, clothes, and accessories are from the Devil. I wear all of those things (especially clothes) on a regular basis. But, I think it’s important to use each of these things to ENHANCE your natural beauty that God blessed you with - not modify it.

Back to the Plan. How can our bodies affect the way we carry out God’s Plan? Well, I can’t tell you the answer for your life. But there are so many tiny examples you may not even realize are leading to bigger and better things! You may never even see the result.

Let’s say you’re in Target one day, and you’re heading to the Easter candy section (in honor of the current discounts on Easter candy - yes). You are scoping out all of the Reese’s eggs just WAITING for you to consume, when a shorter lady comes up beside you. She is trying to reach a box of little pink Peeps on the top shelf, but she can’t quite reach it. So you, being able to reach, grab the little pink Peeps for the lady and set it in her buggy. “Thank you so much,” the lady says. You smile and say, “You’re welcome!” Then, you head to the cleaning aisle, get your Clorox wipes, and head home.

“Cool story, Maddy. But that has nothing to do with my body and God.”

I’M NOT DONE.

This lady had the same problem three more times while she was in Target that day, and every time it happened, a stranger would walk up and help her, with no hesitation. So the third time, she was like, “Okay, everyone sure does seem FRIENDLY today.” She asked the man who helped her, “Why were you so quick to help me? You don’t even know me!” The man replied, “Well, I’ve grown up in church, and they always told me to ‘treat others like you would want to be treated.’ I would want help if I were you, so I helped you!” The lady and the man talk for a few more minutes about the man’s religion, and he eventually invites her to church. She says yes. She goes to church with him, she goes a few more times, then she goes every Sunday. She gets saved, she moves to a poverty-ridden country, and she starts a charity to help bring the people in that country clean water. She teaches the country about Jesus, and she ends up saving thousands of lives. The End.

P.S. They may even end up getting married, who knows?

Okay, so this was a bit of a Vacation Bible School, children’s play, soap opera level of dramatization. It was a stretch, and it was very cheesy - I know. The point is, the tiny things that may not seem important to you can change someone else’s entire life! God has made it so that even the smallest things, like being 6” taller than someone, can completely change your life or someone else’s! You may be the small lady, who was moved by other folk’s helpfulness and ends up saving a third world country... or you may be the tall one, who is in the right place at the right time and you never know how you impacted someone’s life… maybe just by grabbing the little pink Peeps off the top shelf.

Either way, your body is perfect and you should never “ugh, I hate...” it. Love your body. Protect your body, it literally carries you through life. It’s your soul’s shell. Don’t hurt your body, don’t put bad things into your body, don’t expose your body in immodest ways. Just LOVE your body! Thank God for your body. It is beautiful. I mean, GOD designed it!

“Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. Rather, 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.”

-1 Peter 3:3-4 (NIV)

Remember… beautiful: “pleasing to the senses.”

We have 5 senses: sight, touch, sound, taste, smell. How can we be beautiful THROUGHOUT? Or, like Peter just called it, within our inner self.

We’ve crossed off the “sight” portion. You look absolutely beautiful (JUST THE WAY YOU AREEEEEEE).

So, “touch.” We touch so many things every day. You may be super touchy to other people, or you may not be super touchy at all. When it comes to physical touch - be gentle and kind. I used to have this problem when I played basketball and my adrenaline would start rushing. I actually gave one girl a bloody nose one time and the game was delayed for 15 minutes to clean up the blood. Yes, I did cry afterwards, I am a very sensitive person and I take absolutely everything to heart. There is no “don’t take this personally” or “this is not directed towards you.” Everything is personal and everything is directed towards me. Therefore, I cry. ANYWAYS, physical touch is important, but so is “staying in” touch. Keep in touch with people you care about and want to spend your time with, communicate with them. Make sure they know that they are important to you. Don’t expect them to call you or set up a lunch date first, do it yourself! Have people in your life who you talk to on a regular basis, don’t shut people out. Be friendly and sociable!

On to “sound.” Are the sounds you hear everyday making your heart more or less beautiful? Is it pleasing to the senses? While we all know those songs that have cussing or bad meanings in them - that may be EXTREMELY catchy, cough, cough - are they really making us more beautiful on the inside? The more you hear about drugs, sex, alcohol, etc., the more it’s going to become a “norm” to you. The same goes with friends. The more you hear stories about how your friends are doing these things, it’s hurting YOU in the long run, even if you aren’t physically doing those things. It erodes your heart.

Surround yourself with sounds of love, encouragement, and positivity! If there is someone in your life who is constantly making you feel bad, do not stay close to them. Now, I’m not saying to shut them out! Share God’s love and give them happy words, but do not let their lifestyle change yours.

Giving happy words leads us to “taste.” And no, literally tasting beautiful is not the route I’m going to take here. That’s icky. We’re going to talk about what we taste when we talk: our words. Beautiful words are words that support and uplift others… and yourself. Give people encouraging words when they need it, congratulate them when they do something good, ask questions when they tell you about something they’re interested in, respect them with your words, lift them up! And don’t forget to lift yourself up, too. Remember that everyone you come in contact with can be impacted by your words, so speak wisely!

Everyone can also sense what kind of mood you are in by “smell.” You may think I’m a crazy hippie from the previous remark, but I actually just read a study in psychology that said that people can actually sense other people’s emotions by their smell. Is that not freaky?! To be honest, it made me a little self conscious, so I will probably start taking extra deodorant places where I know I’m gonna get really excited. Anyways, since that’s true, then shouldn’t you make a point to try to have a positive disposition about you? A cheerful mood is contagious, believe me. Jared Melton proves that to me; he can cheer me up just by looking at me, even when I am having the most horrible of days. Happiness makes every day good! I mean, really… have you ever said, “Yeah, my day was horrible. I was too joyous.”

YOU CAN NEVER BE TOO JOYOUS. Happiness is beautiful.

Beauty is not just what’s on the outside - it’s your heart. Your heart is your source of beauty.

“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

-Matthew 6:21 (NIV)

You are created perfectly...

“I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.”

-Psalm 139:14 (NIV)