I Feel Pretty/Unpretty

Not usually a huge fan of glee songs. But this one... I just love it :)

Glorious

Life is glorious. Each and every day has some element of beauty, grace, love, amazement, glory to it. Sometimes it's not easy to see-- in fact, most times the extraordinary are hiding where nobody is looking. Maybe that's what makes them so extraordinary-- that those who find them had to be seeking them out. Regardless, life is a beautiful thing. The world is a beautiful place. Just ask the Creator. He's hidden elegance throughout every day, sprinkled magic into the world, and now just waits expectantly, hoping that we'll find it. Hoping that we'll look.

So learn to look. Learn to find the moment or the words or the sight that brings sunshine into the cloudiness of everyday life. Otherwise, it's much too easy to get caught up in the frustrations and the hardships and the ordinariness and the mundaneness of this world.

So learn to look. Then never let those things go. This is the world, this is God's masterpiece, don't take it for granted! Learn to love it. I did. Paradoxically, it took me feeling like I had lost everything in the world in order to learn to live like this. But maybe that's what it takes. Maybe it takes the crashing of a wave to bring the most perfect seashell to view. Maybe it takes the hardest storm to bring about that glowing double rainbow. For me, it took pain to learn what joy is.

Grasp the magic of everyday. Hold on and never, ever let it go. Keep it close to your heart, bottle it up and store it in your soul.

Every day is different. Some days are hard, other days are harder. Each day, each moment, is one closer to the day I'm waiting for. Lately, it's been a storm. Day after day I'm waiting out the storm.

Day by day, I'm learning to dance in the rain.

Happiness is a choice.

"Nobody said it'd be easy... But no one ever said it would be this hard." (Coldplay)

Life can be hard. It's full of heartbreak and sadness and disappointment. But when those things happen, you can choose to let it get the best of you and overtake you or you can choose to let God take control. One thing I've learned lately is that happiness is a choice.

God has done great things in my life the past few days, when I was at my absolute worst. He took control and He totally worked a miracle within me!

When I was at my absolute saddest, this song came on the radio. I cried out to God every word, with all that was in me, and He came through. Right now, God is holding my heart. God is protecting me from the pain and the hurt and the regret. If He wasn't, I would be utterly despondent.

P.S. I've also learned that God is never going to let me go... That He never has let me go. This song made me realize that... Let me tell you, it had me in tears. God is so good :)

Love...

Love is patient,

love is kind.

It does not envy,

it does not boast,

it is not proud.

It is not rude,

it is not self-seeking,

it is not easily angered,

it keeps no record of wrongs.

Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth.

It always protects,

always trusts,

always hopes,

always perseveres.

Love never fails.

Love never gives up.

Love cares more for others than for self.

Love doesn't want what it doesn't have.

Love doesn't strut,

Doesn't have a swelled head,

Doesn't force itself on others,

Isn't always "me first,"

Doesn't fly off the handle,

Doesn't keep score of the sins of others,

Doesn't revel when others grovel,

Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,

Puts up with anything,

Trusts God always,

Always looks for the best,

Never looks back,

But keeps going to the end.

Love never dies. Inspired speech will be over some day; praying in tongues will end; understanding will reach its limit.

(The Message)