The Last Thing You Expected...

Hahahahahahahah, didn't see that one coming, did you?
While this song is a little old for me - it came out 5 years before I was even born, maybe that'll make some of you feel nice and old - I, along with millions of others, have come to know of it through the beautiful prank known as "Rick Rolling," what I have just (maybe!) done to some of you. It started out as a number one hit in the United Kingdom, where Rick Astley is from. It soon escalated to the United States, where within years it became a classic. It's now a classic prank on the internet, where a simple link which is supposed to take you to some video of your choosing instead takes you to this video.
For as ridiculous as it is, this song has some pretty legit lyrics. Take the chorus for example:

"Never gonna give you up, never gonna let you down, never gonna run around and desert you. Never gonna make you cry, never gonna say goodbye, never gonna tell a lie and hurt you."

Obviously, Astley's promising someone that he's pretty much never going to leave them, hurt them, or disappoint them. That's a pretty big promise to make, don't you think? I mean, I've promised the same things before, and unfortunately I've had to break some of those promises, just like others have made and broken the same ones to me. You may mean it when you say it, but more often than not, something goes wrong and the promise is broken.
That happens a lot though, don't you think? We're only human, and as hard as we try, we're going to do things we said we wouldn't. We're going to make someone cry even though we tried our hardest not to. We may have to leave someone for their own good, for our own good, or for other reasons we can't control. All of these lyrics seem ideal, but, at the end of the day, they can be darn near impossible for anyone.
Anyone, that is, except God.

"And surely I am with you always, even to the end of the age." - Matthew 28:20

"The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged." - Deuteronomy 31:8

"Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." - Hebrews 13:5

"For I am the Lord, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, 'Do not fear; I will help you.'" - Isaiah 41:13

...do I have to spell it out for you some more, or do you catch my drift?
God has promised each of us dozens of times that He will never leave us nor forsake us. God's not giving us up, or letting us down, or deserting us. God also says in the Bible how He has plans for us to give us each hope and a future. (Jeremiah 29:11, if you're wondering!)
I'm sure if you searched you could find a verse for just about every promise mentioned! Isn't that pretty amazing? It's like God's personal song right to you, written down thousands of years ago for you to enjoy anytime.
So, here's your NR challenge for this post. I challenge you to read God's love song to you - the Bible - and memorize these promises for yourself. God's never gonna give you up, or let you down. He's never gonna run around or desert you. He may make you cry, but He has plans for you which will make tears of joy rather than sadness run down your face! He's never going to say goodbye to you, and He would never tell you a lie to hurt you. Rather, God wants an intimate relationship with you, so He can tell you personally every day and in every way possible that He isn't going anywhere - as long as you let Him stay with you.
Pearl Bailey, an actress and singer, once said it best:

"People see God every day, they just  don't recognize him."

You have to be willing to pay attention, open your eyes, and see that God is always at your side.
Are you in?


-Kimber.

Lasagna for Life.

Just call me Garfield.

My absolute favorite food is lasagna. If I could, I would eat an entire pan of it all by myself. The best part of lasagna is, other than the numerous layers of deliciousness, you could eat it everyday for a week after you make it and every day it would taste better than before. (Sadly, this never happens in my house, because it's normally gone 2-3 days after it's made, partially because I eat it for every meal when we have it.) 
There have been 2 different times in my life where my taste buds have exploded from lasagna-y goodness. The first was last July, when I was down in Orlando, Florida for IYC. The few days prior to the convention, we went to Disneyworld and all of the parks there. Our youth group was at Epcot one day around dinner time, and we all chose the Italian restaurant there in the Italy section of the park. My friend Jake and I each ordered lasagna, and when our food came out we tried it at the same time. The looks on our faces were probably priceless, because it was the best lasagna I had ever eaten to that point, hands down. Those bites were pure bliss, and Jake and I about cried when we realized we were down to our last few tastes. The second time was a month or so ago, when I crashed a friend's family reunion one night after drama. Theirs is a big Italian family, so of course the reunion was filled with all kinds of Italian goodness. When I went in to eat with my friend, I spotted the lasagna. He laughed and gave me a huge helping of it, which I started eating right then, even though it was cold. It was, amazingly, even better than the lasagna from Epcot! Obviously this makes sense, considering that was a restaurant in an amusement park, but you get what I mean. I found who had made it - the matriarch of the family, no less! - and plopped a big kiss right on her cheek. She didn't even blink. She must be used to crazy non-related kids kissing her on the cheek because she's a lasagna-making goddess. 
Based on these two slightly strange lasagna filled stories, I think it would be a safe call to say that, if given the opportunity, I would and easily could eat lasagna every day. 
In Isaiah 55:1-2,  God tells us this: 

“Come, all you who are thirsty,    come to the waters; and you who have no money,    come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk    without money and without cost. Why spend money on what is not bread,    and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good,    and you will delight in the richest of fare."

It's verses like these that make me like Isaiah the more I read it.
Imagine being able to sit down and eat as much lasagna and Dr. Pepper as you wanted, all without costing a cent. (Ohk, substitute lasagna and Dr. Pepper with your favorite foods and drinks to get the same effect...) Wouldn't that be great? I would never move from that table. If you had everything you ever wanted with your food and your drink, would you still go out and waste a couple bucks on Ramen noodles, TV dinners, and tap water? I think not! This would be like me saying, "No, thanks!" to the table full of lasagna and heading over to WalMart to stock up on the terrible Banquet TV dinner lasagnas. Not the same - at ALL! 
You wouldn't do something like that either, right? Then why would we do it with our faith? God is telling us in these verses how, no matter how hard we try, we can't satisfy ourselves with, well, ourselves. We need God and what He offers to be truly satisfied. He's offering us the richest and best food and drink for our souls - a free, personal relationship with Jesus Christ. As much as I love lasagna, I love the idea of that much more! 
Your NR challenge for this food-themed post is this - don't walk to the kitchen and expect to be satisfied with the few things that are inside. The only way you'll truly be able to be happy and content is when you walk over to your bookshelf and dust off the Word of God, then opening it to learn more and be satisfied with Him. Remember that no matter how hard we try, we won't be able to satisfy our souls with ourselves. Accept what God offers, and you'll find that your "soul will delight in the richest of fare." And that's way, way better than lasagna.
Are you in?


-Kimber.

Lessons From Babysitting

So I'm sitting here, watching Roo and Grant-man jump on the trampoline. For those of you that don't know, Rachie and Grant are the younger siblings of my best friend. I'm babysitting them right now because my best friends went to the Taylor Swift concert, and her parents are on a "hot date" in the South Side finishing up their lesson plans for junior/senior high at youth camp starting tomorrow.
Right now, Rachie and Grant are laying on the trampoline and tickling each other. Or, Rachie is tickling Grant, and he's squealing like a little girl. Before they started that, though, they were playing a girl they called "Magical, Magical." The point of the game is that whatever Grant says Rachel has to turn in to, she has to try and do. Simple, really. Grant just said, "Magical, magical, turn this woman into a rock." Rach just flopped on to the trampoline and Grant looked concerned - thus starting the tickle war that's currently still raging.
Earlier,Grant said, "Magical, magical, turn this bird (what Rachel was then) in to Jesus!" Rachel sat there and said, "I can't be Jesus silly!" They both flopped on the trampoline again, laughing uncontrollably.
I thought about that for a bit after she said that. "I can't be Jesus, silly!"
Is that true?
The definition of the term "Christian" is, essentially, "Christ-like." When we profess ourselves to be Christians, we are essentially saying that we are trying to be Christ-like in our thoughts, actions, words, and mannerisms. When people look at us, they should see Christ shining through us.
Then comes the bad news - we're human. Romans 3:23 says that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, and so regardless of what we do, we can't be 100% perfect. Nothing can get us there - not good deeds, not going to church, and not acting "more Christian" than any other people. So basically, we can't be like Jesus in this aspect.
So what do we do? We can't be like Jesus, because we're human and sinful, but we're supposed to strive to be like Jesus, and represent him in everything that we say and do. And right there is your answer. We aren't supposed to act all "holier than thou," but we aren't supposed to follow the crowd and do the same things as the secular crew. We're supposed to represent God's light in everything we do and say, but it's difficult sometimes, isn't it? Of course! We can't "earn" our eternal home with good works, or being nice to people, or going to church and pretend that we're living the life of a Christian.
Sorry that this post is so sporadic - I've been writing it off and on all night as I watch the kids, haha! - but hopefully you'll see my point. We can't be Jesus, no matter how hard we try. The term "Christian" means to be Christ-like, not Christ Himself - because that's impossible!
Your NR challenge for this post is to act Christ-like. Be compassionate. Follow what the Bible says. Strive to be as close to Jesus as possible. Discover how awesome it is to be close with God. Who knows? You can have a "magical, magical" moment and have Jesus turn you from a normal person to an extraordinary follower and Child of God.
Are you in?


-Kimber.

Repeat After Me.

For as long as I remember, I've wanted to be an elementary teacher. I'm not sure why, but I've just always known that God was calling me to teach the ankle biters in their early years and hopefully leave an impression on them. I especially want to leave a Godly impression and try to help them out a bit, considering religion is banned from schools and whatnot.
Over the years, I've paid attention to my teachers and took some mental notes regarding good ideas and things that they've done. For example, I know that a red pen automatically decreases self esteem, and so when grading things a teacher should use a different color. I know that yellow paper is better to take tests on than plain white paper, because the yellow relaxes the mind more. Chewing sugary gum stimulates brain activity and so you should always pop a piece in before taking a test. Playing classical music stimulates young minds also. Some of it may be silly, but I've tried it, and it works!
The number one thing I've noticed, however, is that when you're trying to get an important idea or concept across, you repeat it a few times. Some people say that 3 times is the best way to get things across, and so repeating a phrase or something 3 times or more is highly effective. Sometimes it can get annoying though, trust me. Senior year, my high school decided that we needed to have "daily learning objectives" in every class, and the teacher had to state them 3 times - once at the beginning of the class, once in the middle, and once at the end. No one really did it, because it was so pointless. My pre-calculus teacher wrote 3 objectives down the first day of school and never changed them, and so whenever an admin came in he would whip that paper out from his pocket and pretend that he was in the middle of teaching that. It was pretty funny. But hey, I remember those objectives because he mentioned them 3 times!
This process applies to so many other things, too. When you're talking to little kids, you repeat yourself. When you're talking to family, or friends - anyone, really. When something is important, you repeat it.
God does that, too.
In the book of Joshua, God talks to the new guy, Josh. Josh has been installed as the new leader of the Israelites, following Moses' death. He is to take the people to the promised land, but first he has to get rid of the people that are already living there. These guys are big, scary, and can easily whip the little guys of Israel. To say that they were pretty scared would be an understatement. So what does God do?

"No one will be able to stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you. Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their ancestors to give them. Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.” - Joshua 1:5-9

God assures Josh that everything will go fine. With God on your side, how can it possibly not? God tells him how no one will be able to stand up against the Israelites for the rest of his life, because they will be feared and powerful. God isn't going to leave them. As long as they follow God, they'll be alright!
While that's all well and good, did you catch the most important part of what God was saying in those verses? No? Let's try this again, then. Look:

 No one will be able to stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you. Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their ancestors to give them. Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.” - Joshua 1:5-9

Did you catch the hint there? God told Joshua THREE TIMES just in those 4 verses that he shouldn't be afraid, but rather be strong and courageous. The very first chapter of the book of Joshua, and God is already telling him something important.
Throughout the entire book, though, God repeats this message multiple times. Even verses later, Joshua tells the people exactly what God told him - be strong and courageous! Talk about the ultimate teacher, telling his students one of the most important lessons ever.
In junior church, we used to sing a song about this verse. It went something like, "Be strong and courageous, do not be terrified, do not be discouraged. For the Lord your God is with your, wherever you go." (Put a tune to that, and you get the point.) Even at a young age, we should realize that God won't leave us, no matter what we've done, will do, or are doing currently. There's another, newer, song that says, "If our God is for us, then who could ever stop us? And if our God is with us, then what could stand against?" I can't really say it any better than that. If God is with us through everything, then why are we afraid?
What are you afraid of? Witnessing to your friends? Standing up as a Christian in front of your family? Going head-to-head with Satan in the form of drugs, alcohol, porn, lying, or any other thing? Conquering an addiction? Taking the final step and placing your faith in God?
Whatever it is, God is there. In Ephesians 6, it tells of putting on the full armor of God - the belt of truth, breastplate of righteousness, shield of faith, helmet of salvation, and sword of the Spirit. With all of that Godly "armor," could you really lose? I think not. Even if you stumble, you'll get back up again.
TobyMac said it best:
 "We lose our way, we get back up again. It's never too late to get back up again. One day, you will shine again. You may be knocked down but not out forever." - TobyMac, "Get Back Up"
This is your NR challenge - what are you afraid of? Conquer the fear. Be a conqueror. God's right there with you every step of the way. He's carrying you through the good times and the bad, it's just up to you to realize you won't get dropped on your head.
Be strong and courageous.
Be strong and courageous.
Be strong and courageous.
Are you in?


-Kimber.

Busy!

Busy as a...yeah, you get it.

Well hi, guys. 
So, lately I haven't been posting a lot, and there's a reason for that, I promise!  I haven't really done anything, and so there hasn't been much to give me an idea for a post. What ideas I do have, I'm getting writer's block for and so I have like 10 drafts of different posts saved in the NR archives, but I promise you I'm chugging away at them. Also, I'm working on another part of My Story and it's probably the hardest one to write yet, and so that's taking a while. Words are not my friends, lately...but! That is my pathetic and feeble excuse as to why I haven't posted recently, and I hope that you'll accept it.
I'm heading off to Whitehall on Saturday, the 11th, to be a counselor for the 5th and 6th grade youth camp, then coming home the following week, repacking, and heading up again in the 19th to counsel at junior/senior high. I pretty much won't be back home for a decent amount of time until the 27th or so, but in that time I'll definitely think of some new posts and hopefully get past this writer's block for the ideas I already have. Prayers that I can get writing soon, that I won't hurt myself at camp this year (it happened last year! haha), and that I'll be able to make a positive and Godly impact on my campers these next two weeks would be appreciated! 
As always, if anyone has any ideas on what I could post on, or if you have a different angle on something I've said before, feel free to share. It gets lonely just talking to cyberspace; I need feedback from you guys to keep this blog going!
Thanks, and have a great few weeks, everyone!
Are you in?


-Kimber.

Like a Lily

Disclaimer: I will get mushy. Just warning you.

In September I started an online reading plan for the Bible that takes me through the entire book in 1 year. Today I read Song of Solomon chapters 1-3 for the Old Testament, and Galatians 2 for the New Testament. (This is a plan that I picked myself; if you're interested in reading through the Bible in a year by yourself in a different way, here's the link to the website! http://www.ewordtoday.com/year/) When I first saw that I had to read Song of Solomon, I thought - great. Of course today I would start with the book of lovie dovie mush.
See, today is an anniversary for Scott and me. Yes, we're one of those goofy couples that highlights every monthly anniversary, but we do it because it shows that even through the tough stuff, we can make it work however long. Today marks 1 year and 11 months for us - next month is two years! (Sidenote - WOOOOOW.) But anyways! 
I wasn't too happy about reading the SoS, because Scott is working up at Whitehall this summer and I haven't heard much from him since he got there Sunday. It's been ohk so far, because of him being busy at school this past year, I've gotten accustomed to not speaking to him as much as we once did. That's all right. But not speaking to him a lot, paired with a bit of jealousy that he's at camp and I'm not, added with today being our anniversary = one crabby Kimber not wanting to deal with Solomon's love poems.
But, I read them. Of course. I'm a sucker for romance, whether I admit to it or not. And let me tell you, a few verses into SoS and I was hooked. Take a look for yourself:

"Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth—    for your love is more delightful than wine.  Pleasing is the fragrance of your perfumes;    your name is like perfume poured out.    No wonder the young women love you!  Take me away with you—let us hurry!    Let the king bring me into his chambers."- Song of Solomon 1:2-4.

I don't know about you, but I find that pretty romantic! In SoS, a man and a woman (exactly how many, the standings of each - royal/commoner - ect., are debated) speak to each other along with their friends, telling the other how great the other one is. The entire book is dedicated to this "storyline," with the friends replying once in a while to tell of their happiness for their friends, the woman saying how dreamy and dedicated the dude is, and the guy saying how gorgeous and pure his bride is. To some, it may seem boring - but to others, ahh, how romantic!
Think of that! Having the one you're marrying tell you things they love about you, how beautiful or handsome you are, how happy they are that you saved yourself for them in marriage, how happy they are that they're marrying you - it goes on and on. That would be pretty nice, right? 
When I was reading through, one verse in particular stuck out to me. In Song of Solomon 2:2, the man says of his bride:

"Like a lily among thorns is my darling among the young women."

I love, love, love this verse. Why? Think about it - the man is saying that his bride stands out from all of the other women around. It may not specify why this is, but to the man, she's the only one he sees.
What girl hasn't longed to be the one that stands out in the crowd? To be the only one that every guy has eyes for (in the right way, of course!) Face it - at least once, you've wanted to be the girl that the popular guy in the class wanted to take to the dance, or out on a date. Or vice versa; guys, you know that at least once you wanted to show all your friends up and be able to take that cheerleader out. While sometimes these feelings may be for the wrong reasons, I'm pretty sure every one of us has experienced them at one point or another.
Those are just regular people, though. Imagine if you're standing in a crowd of people and the person you're going to marry in the future points to you and says, that's the only person I see. That's the one for me. They're better than the rest in my eyes, and I'm going to marry them. That would be pretty cool, right? Of course it would!
This guy in the verse is saying how his bride is like a lily among thorns - in essence, a rare beauty, inside and out. There is the obvious comparison, which says how the bride was much more beautiful than all of the other young women that the man saw, and that's what made her stand out to him. But there's also something more, something about the beauty on the inside. The girl could possibly be a lily among the thorns because she has a good personality as compared to the others, or a better and gentler temperament. However, it says in the verses several times about how the girl was pure; she was still a virgin when she married the man, which could be different than many of the other girls - truly making her a "lily" among the "thorns."
Whatever the man means, 1 thing is clear: these two were crazy about each other. Another verse that I love from this book is Song of Solomon 8:6, which reads:

"Place me like a seal over your heart,    like a seal on your arm; for love is as strong as death,    its jealousy unyielding as the grave. It burns like blazing fire,    like a mighty flame."

To me, that is SUPER romantic. Once, in a county chorus festival, we sang a song that had these words in it. I about died every time we sang it just because it was so sweet! (I'm totally listening to it now, here you go,)

Whether or not you have a bride waiting for you, or a groom, Song of Solomon can be something that makes you think. Are you trying to be a lily among the thorns for your future spouse? It isn't just about looking good - separating yourself from the sex scene and staying pure, keeping your head and having a good attitude, and having a cheerful, Christlike personality make you stand out even more than your looks. 

Your NR challenge for this post is exactly that: separate yourself from the mainstream and try to be the lily in today's world. Not only will your future spouse love you for it, but your friends, family, God, and you will as well.

Are you in?

- Kimber.

My Story, Part 2.

I'm eighteen. As a typical eighteen year old girl, I spend a ton of time on Facebook. I blog. I eat whatever I can and most of it isn't healthy. I run, even though I don't particularly like to. I actually started tanning this week. I like guys - a particular guy, but anyone who has been around in the past two years already knows this. I love hanging out with my friends, including my best friends, the wives. I love dancing and singing to my iPod, although I know there are people who wish I wouldn't. I fight with my siblings. I go to school. I spend some more time on Facebook. I text. 
I also struggle with a little thing called self confidence. Unfortunately, this is something that is typical nowadays for teenagers. When I was little, I had the typical innocent baby fat. Most kids do. However, as I got older, it refused to go away. It didn't help any that I hated going outside, ("House Mouse" was my nickname) and I wasn't very good at sports - oh, I tried; I had ballet, softball, baseball, tee ball, and soccer - but I didn't like any of it other than soccer, and that became too hard to manage as my siblings and I got older. So I just chilled inside and read my books and was as boring as all getup. 
I was never huge, but about the time I entered high school - ninth grade - I started feeling pretty bad about myself. I still looked like I did when I was a baby, but just a few feet taller (seriously, just a few. Short. Short. Short.) It made me so upset. Nothing I could do could make that go away! On top of that came the beautiful time of life known as puberty. It was going around in my grade faster than a rumor, and everyone was changing. I hated it. My face was breaking out, I was always gross feeling, and I was still chubby! Ick, ick, ick!
I hated myself. All of the people who had once told me I was a beautiful little girl disappeared into the woodwork. Guys didn't like me - well, one did, but that's for another post. My friends were gorgeous compared to me - they had perfect makeup, and the coolest clothes, and were skinny, skinny, skinny. I didn't wear makeup. A perfect outfit to me was a basketball tee and my favorite pair of jeans with some Sneakers. I didn't even start carrying a purse until the eighth grade, for goodness sake! It seemed like one day we were all relaxing on the kickball field in fifth grade at the top of the world, and now we were in high school, and I was a freak. It got so bad that for a while, I convinced myself not to eat. I allowed myself the minimum amount of food possible to get by. No one noticed, I thought, because no one cared. Sure, I lost a few pounds. After a while, I realized what I was doing and tried to start eating normally again. It didn't work. My body was so used  to eating that little amount of food that I would get sick if I ate more. 
So, let's summarize here. Here I am, a chubby little high schooler, who felt like she had no friends, no looks, and felt like she was a million pounds. Worthless. 
Enter God. 
Sometime after junior year - past my awkward tenth grade phase and the horror that was my junior year of high school - I was sitting in my room, waiting for the beauty that is Whitehall summer youth camp. I had only been there once, and it was in third grade. I hated it; I was the picture of the pathetic little homesick girl. In fourth grade I was there for one day and had to have my dad take me home hours after signing me up. Sad, yeah. But anyway, here I am getting ready for this camp. I'm thinking, "Alright God. You've taken me for quite a ride these past few months. I'm single for the first time in a year and a half, I feel completely worthless, and I have absolutely 0% self confidence or self esteem or anything positive about myself. If you really want to help me out, show me something at Whitehall. Anything."
(Just a quick note here: If you ever say anything like that to God, prepare to get your mind blown. As in, Him showing you something and as soon as you realize it feeling like you just got Bible thumped across the face.)
Long story short, at Whitehall something amazing happened. I met people that I had always known - people in my church that I had seen every week twice a week but didn't really talk to, girls and guys that I had sat next to in youth but didn't talk to because I was shy - that quickly became some of the best people in my life. (Shout out to the wives!) These people understood me, understood what I was going through and did stuff to help me. They made me feel like I was worth something to them. And, of course, you can't forget about the guy that I met. He didn't realize it at the time, but when we met, I was a pretty broken girl. Those people  that I met and had already known that showed that they cared, added with the somewhat awkward and creepy constant following of the guy who already thought I was great, made me feel amazing. Almost whole again.
However, that part was God's job, and boy oh boy did He do it well. God spoke to me that week at camp. He told me how I was His original masterpiece; that He knew me before I was even formed; and, most importantly, He died on the cross for...me. Broken, hurting, doubtful little me. As He was on the cross, I came across His mind and He smiled, knowing that I was worth it.
I was worth it. 
It's been almost two years since then, and I haven't forgotten this. Sure, there are bad days - when my hair is awful (which it normally is,) my face breaks out, nothing looks good on me or I can't fit into something anymore - but the bad days don't hurt like they used to. I've learned to love who I am; it's been a slow process, but I'm getting there. This is the first year that I could wear a bikini and not feel like I should have a shirt and shorts over top of it. I lay in my back yard and tan, and don't feel self conscious. I'm not the skinniest thing, and I know I probably never will be. As long as I take care of myself, though, I know that I'll grow to love who I am. And even when I do have those bad days, sure, I want to cry my eyes out! But I know that there are people out there who are going through the same thing that I am, and that there are people that love me regardless if my shirt doesn't look good on me, or if my hair is so frizzy it's pointing three feet from my head. Above all, I know that God loves me for who I am, and that He made me this way. It may be a sick sense of humor in my eyes, considering the frizzy, messy hair; the slightly round, short, and stubby figure; face that occasionally breaks out and the smile that may not be blindingly white, but to Him, I'm an original masterpiece. His creation. He wanted me this way, and so that's how I am. Beautiful.
Your NR challenge for this post is this - realize your beauty. Realize that God formed you and wanted you a specific way, and so that's how you are. Realize that Jesus thought of YOU as he was on the cross, and He made the greatest sacrifice for you.  Lastly, remember this: beauty doesn't last. Clothes fall out of style or fade. Weight comes and goes and it always will. However, true beauty and self confidence comes from knowing God's love.

The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched - they must be felt with the heart. - Helen Keller

 Are you in?


-Kimber.