Hey, Stranger.

It's been a long time since I wrote on this... A lot has happened.
I've learned to accept that people come and go.
It really stinks.
Many of my closest friends either have gone to college or live far away. With it being my senior year, I've been thinking a lot about what a friend means to me. More specifically, how a friend actually stays my friend. So far, I don't really have a clue.
What's hard is that people change. They can't help it... It's natural. Even I've changed. If you really want to get technical, everyone's prefrontal cortex develops during the teenage years, and logical decisions and reasoning matures with aging. The brain learns how to socially interact in different environments. What's interesting is how everyone develops differently and how interests, desires, and attitudes can completely shift another direction. When God came into my life, I wanted my will to be aligned with His. So by getting to know Him more and serving Him, my interests, desires, and attitude changed so I could glorify Him with my life (then again, this is still a long work in progress). Following God is hard... You think you're walking and growing with some people along the way, but then there is a bump in the road and they've fallen behind. You want to stop and wait for them to catch up, but God has taught me that I just need to trust Him and know that He has a plan for them. The most I can do is pray for them and encourage them.
I've been really praying that God provides me with a friend I can grow with and enjoy life with, and trust in college. Last Friday, I received the wonderful news of my acceptance at Liberty University. Every single day I have been praying and getting really excited to go there next fall. Every part of me can not wait to be in an environment that will encourage me to grow in my walk with Christ and be surrounded by people who want to do the same and will encourage one another. It really is my dream. I know God has big plans for me there and I can not wait to faithfully accomplish them for His glory! But back to the subject- I really need a friend. More specifically- a girl who will keep me accountable and will be my best friend. The past couple months have been so rough. Coming home from a long day and wondering who to talk to stinks. This is what happens:
*Going through my phone* Should I text ____? No, they probably have other stuff to do, they're always really busy.
Maybe _____? Nah, when I talk to them, I feel like what I say goes through one ear and out the other.
______? Who am I kidding.. 
Not having someone to share life with and lean on is really hard.
Then, God burdened my heart...
He's my ultimate best friend.
I can talk to Him everyday through prayer, I can listen to what He has to say by reading the Bible-which is far by the BEST advice anyone can receive, and I can be reminded daily of His unfailing love for me.
"No one has greater love than this, that someone would lay down his life for his friends." -John 15:13
Now when I get really excited or really disappointed about something, my first instinct is to pray. I just casually talk to God and tell Him about my day and apologize for stupid things I might have said and ask for strength to not do that sin again. My favorite time of the day is when I'm by myself in my car and I can just pray out loud without thinking twice about it. It's like He's sitting in the passenger seat (Although- in my walk with Him, it should be obvious that I want Him to be the driver of my life haha just clarifying).
Overall, I think God used this opportunity so I could rely on Him more and grow in my relationship with Him. I can truly say now that He pretty much is my BESTEST friend and I know what's it's like to have that intimacy with my Heavenly Father when there seems like no one wants or is there to listen. I'm so grateful of my salvation through Jesus Christ and CAN'T WAIT TO GO TO LIBERTY.

Guys, I mean it when I say I think about Liberty every single day. #dailythought

Why I Stopped Wearing Make-Up

I was sharing this with my friend today and decided to blog it :) It's a very interesting topic that involves most women. First I'm going to ask: Why? Why do girls wear make-up? I'm just going to say this now: I'm not saying that people who work with make up as a profession is a waste of time, or that people shouldn't wear make up for special events, or that people don't need make up. But when it comes to everyday living (which I'm focusing on), I've learned that girls who don't wear make up are even more attractive to [the right] guys. Hear me out. If you're going to cake on make up to go to school everyday to impress other people, that's not a good reason to use make up. First, think about all the money we spend on the nicest, newest make up brands. If you use it everyday, it's not going to last forever obviously. So you go back to the store to get more of this expensive stuff that you're just going to keep buying over and over again. Money adds up, and what you could do with that money for other causes, especially stuff to honor God, is innumerable. You could sponsor a child in Compassion, donate it to a soup kitchen, or even give it to someone who's homeless. You never know. Secondly, we use make up to impress others. Social media and teen magazines always talk about your outward appearance so you can catch the attention of that boy you're crushing on. This pressures teenage girls that they have to do things to themselves in order to make them beautiful and/or noticeable. How sad! God's word clearly says "I will praise You, because I have been remarkably and wonderfully made" (Psalm 139:14). We're already wonderful, remarkable, desirable, breath taking, and irresistible to God! He loves us more than anyone else could ever love us. We all have a place in our hearts that can only be filled with God and when we chase after boys or favor in others, we try to fill that hole in us that only God can fill. Many people try to fill it with drugs, sex, and alcohol, but only God can truly satisfy us. So when we wear make-up, is it to 'enhance' something that God already treasures and loves? Personally, I wore make-up because I was insecure with myself. In middle school, someone told me I was ugly and for a long time, I believed it. I didn't think about how God viewed me, I just wanted that affirmation from others. I wanted to feel desirable and I wanted attention. We all want to feel accepted and loved. But what we're doing is deepening our insecurities AND we're even setting up our brothers for trouble. By trying to charm them, we're only deceiving them ("Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting, but a woman who fears the Lord will be praised." Proverbs 31:30). I don't know about you girls, but I absolutely love and adore our brothers in Christ! But by trying to capture the lust in their hearts so we can attract attention to us is ultimately defrauding our brothers. It says in the Bible "And that no man transgress and defraud his brother in the matter because the Lord is the avenger in all these things..." (1st Thess. 4:6). Jackie Kendall from Lady In Waiting stated "Defrauding is to excited physical or emotional desires that cannot be righteously fulfilled." So let's really take an examination of our motives.
All of guys that I've talked to (guys who are true men of God, not complete jerks and are super awesome-yes, they exist) say that a woman who can proudly not wear make up is ultimately more desirable. It shows she's content, secure, and confident with herself! That's like incredibly remarkable because you don't meet a lot of real girls like that anymore. I don't know about you, but I want to be that girl.
I want to be so in love with God, a man has to seek God in order to find me. I stopped wearing make up because I want people to notice me for my personality and inward beauty because that will last forever rather than outward beauty. I want to be a Proverbs 31 woman and 1st Corinthians 7:34 ("An unmarried woman or a virgin is concerned about the things of the Lord, so that she may be holy both in body and in spirit") woman. I want to be a good representation of a Christian woman and most importantly, I want to glorify God in whatever way I can. Do you?