Everything

Someone told me the other night that I had everything to look forward to.
They told me that when the time is right
it will be a fight without the striving and the strife.
That “sticking it out” will look like casting all fears and anxieties on the Lord,
not clinging to them.
That there will be a bedrock of peace throughout.
Even when it gets hard.

I didn't ask for advice. I wasn't even in a bad mood, or moping around waiting for someone to give me a reason to be happy. I was already cheerful. And for some reason someone who wouldn't normally talk to me imparted truth to me that was so crucial.

I’m so thankful that You bring people into my life, 
even for just moments,
to tell me something I can’t tell myself.
You know how and when I need people who have “been there.”

I’m so thankful You know my needs.
And I’m thankful that that person told me that
I have everything to look forward to.
Even though I didn't realize that I didn't think that was true.

(photo credit: Mary)

You are a Beautiful Thing

Surrounding yourself with people who value you is important.
Surrounding yourself with people who are affirming is important.
Don’t ever limit yourself to being around people who are only affirming, 
or only make you feel comfortable
or only tell you want you want to hear.
That’s dangerous.
But it’s just as dangerous, I think, to only be around people who leave you feeling less.

If you are consistently walking away from certain social environments and only feeling unvalued, degraded, and slimed, that means you should be wary of being in that social environment excessively. 
God created you to be you. And it pleases Him when you are you.
So when a certain environment is telling you that who you are isn’t enough,
isn’t worth valuing, or
isn’t something beautiful
there are two things you need to do:

1: shake it off, and
2: be clothed again in truth.

We are obviously sinners. We are obviously mistake-makers.
But there’s something you bring to the world that no one else can.
No one exactly has your mix of a personality.
No one else has your memories
your feelings
your experiences
your creativity.
And that’s a beautiful thing.
You are a beautiful thing.

This should not instill in you a sense of self-entitlement. We are called to love others selflessly, honor them above ourselves, and should do our best to serve them in all circumstances, with utmost humility. And with that comes some abuse. We will always be under-appreciated and taken advantage of. After all, Jesus was. Why should we expect something different?

Do not take yourself out or above a place of service. But do not only reside in a place of service. Jesus spent time alone before His Father. I think this was key for Him to have unwavering stamina when it came down to serving others, and always honoring them with how He treated them and spoke to them.

Do not expect yourself to be able to love people well, all the time, unless there is some place you are getting filled back up again. And it is vital that your source of truth is the right source of truth.

Run to the Father, and don’t let demeaning voices into your core group of friends. You cannot love others perfectly if you are not allowing yourself to be loved perfectly.

Over-Lookable

This last week left me feeling very small. Invisible. Insignificant. Over-lookable.
I was very discouraged and frustrated.
And then, by something that might be called coincidence
(but what I see is the Holy Spirit),
I didn't feel so over-lookable.
There are just those little things that don't make you feel so little anymore.
Things that remind you that you're not just some accident, or mistake.
Things that remind you that He's got it all.

I'm realizing that I trust Jesus with so many big things, but I forget He cares about so much more than that. If life was only full of big moments, what would be the point of a sunset every night and a sunrise every morning? What would be the point of existence? We each may go through life without living through any "big moments." But those small, little, delightful moments? Those are the things that make life live-able, delectable.

Last night was a reminder that He cares for
every
single
little
detail of my life.
Not just about college, and marriage, and babies, and death,
which are big things,
but also about making my day, telling me I'm special, and bringing me those people that I didn't know I needed.

It's so humbling.
When have I ever needed something or someone, and He has failed to provide?

To Crazy (not "Too Crazy")

Instead of getting stressed about what is so sporadic and unorganized about my life, 

I'm gonna celebrate it.

As you can see, it's all crazy.

But if I'm not okay with crazy in my life, I'm just going to be constantly annoyed.

(Also, if I try and pour my whole heart and soul into every single blog post, I'll never get around to writing anything. I'm trying to release myself from that pressure and do some more laid-back sort stuff on here.)

So here goes it.

To crazy.

 Had a random afternoon at the beach with Hayden... We went for an art analysis project he had after school. It was a good excuse to hang out for a few hours;)

 Scarf: Target // Sunglasses: probs Target // Polo: Gap? // Skirt: Old Navy // Shoes: Converse

As you can see, I'm still really bad at mirror selfies... but that's okay.

ALSO! It was cool enough outside one day this week for me to wear a sweater to school.

Which was, in a word, exhilarating.

Also, I carried this little friend around with me at school the other day!! It was great.

So there you have it. Last week. In a crazy nutshell of a few random moments.

Hope ya'll are celebrating some crazy in your life as well! Enjoy it.

Love, Case

Make Time to BE

Sometimes,
when you've had a busy day,
not much sleep,
and a slightly stressful week as a whole,
it's good to go to Starbucks,
leave your phone in the car,
and simply take a date with Jesus.

I did that today, after 4 hours of school and almost 4 hours of studying.
I packed up, and drove to Starbucks.
I ordered a tall soy caramel latte with extra caramel and no whip,
and the guy gave me a grande.
I sat outside,
with nothing but my Bible and a pen
and nobody but Jesus.

We weren't there long. But it was the best part of my day.
Because, sometimes,
prying my phone from my hand and locking it away on the other side of the parking lot
is such a good thing.

I read somewhere in a textbook that us Americans use the excuse of, "I don't have the time," so often, yet it's really not true. The correct excuse would be, "it's just not that high on my priority list."
We make time for our highest priorities.
Like, for me, coffee is a priority.
I've been late to a few places because I stopped for coffee.
I make time to stop for coffee.

I want to make more time to just sit
with Jesus,
His word,
and a pen.
I want to make more time to put my phone down.
I want to make more time to people watch,
and actually maybe talk to some of these people.

I want to make more time to be, and not just do.