The Problem

Before I begin this blog, I want to say a few things. 

I have forgiven my dad. 

He will always be my dad. 

I will always have a difficult time trusting him and probably being near him. 

I will probably also always blame him for why I am the way I am. 

It is hard for me to be okay with him because of how my life turned out and what he did. 

I do not want crap for this blog. It is how I feel. This blog has taken a lot in me to write. It's been a lot of late nights a tears. But I think it's time to be said. So please understand that this wasn't easy for me. 

I will always love my dad. But he ruined my views on a lot of things. 

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To begin, this blog is not 100% about him. In fact, this blog is about fathers in general; bad fathers, good fathers, and my opinion on why and how they are different. I know that seems so simple and dumb but I truly believe that bad fathers are the way they are for a reason.

In order to write this blog, I've been getting a little help from a book called She Calls Me Daddy by Robert Wolgemuth. This book is really good and is actually made for dads. In part two of the book, it goes through the seven things you must know. These things are vital for having any kind of relationship with your daughter. They are protection, conversation, affection, discipline, laughter, faith, and conduct. 

"Bad Fathers"

Before I start on this very harsh section, I would like to say a few things. 

1. There is almost always a reason bad fathers are the way they are. 

2. Some men don't understand the importance of a relationship with their kids. 

3. Some men just can't handle children. 

I believe that the way people are raised reflects directly on who they are about 95% of the time. That other 5% are the people who KNEW that there needed to be a change and THEY made it happen. 

First of all, everyone is raised differently. Some people have a ton of money and whatever they want, others have nothing. Some people have never had a care in the world, others have feared their whole lives because of certain people or events that have happened to them. Everyone has their own issues. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not sticking up for the "bad fathers." I'm simply saying that everyone has a plate and some have been overtopped and others have perfect servings. No one is perfect. BUT there are always ways to fix things before it's too late. 

I've heard tons of stories of teenage guys and girls who don't get to ever see their dads. In fact a few of my best friends never get to see their parents. Whether it's because of a messy divorce or just the fact that they are always work. Whatever the reason may be, I don't think that anyone understands how incredibly difficult it is to not have a parent around or to not see them all the time until it actually happens to them. The other day, my mom was telling me about my great grandpa, who never really had true relationships with his daughters and I know that it has affected my grandma greatly throughout her life. Personally, my dad and I never a good relationship. He never seemed to care about me in my opinion. I'm sure he did but to me it didn't seem like it. Having a relationship with your child, grandchild, whatever is SO much more important than you think. It affects who they are and who they will become. That's just me speaking from opinion. 

 

Lastly, I have never believed that if a man could get a woman pregnant, that it was okay to leave her. I have heard countless stories of an individual who's dad left their mom to raise that child by themselves. I don't think it's fair at all. A man needs to take action for his responsibilities. If you made a promise to raise a child, don't you dare stop. Stay there. Be there for them. They will need you. They do need you. I promise. 

"Good Fathers"

Some fathers are great. Incredible. Wonderful. They are godly men, who have huge hearts and are constantly trying to better themselves. They look out for you. They have a relationship with you. My best friend was the most incredible grandpa there ever was. Donald Summers was everything to me. He taught me how to peel potatoes and carrots. He always played along with my weird acting games I wanted to do. He always loved me. He will forever be my angel. When I think of great dads, I think of 3 others specifically.  In my opinion, there are the fathers like my best friend Serena's dad, Russell Allen, and Andrew Mitchell. They are life changers, people worthy of your trust, people you can count on. They have your back. They won't hurt you. They are THERE for you.  They check on you when you're sick and have been missing school for a week, even when you aren't even in their class. They give you a bear hug every time they see you cause you know you need it. They share your greatest love of the Florida State Seminoles. They make sure that you're doing okay every time you see them. All these great men that I mentioned above have made me a better person. They have shown me what a dad is supposed to be. They have supported me. I may not be where I wanna be in life but I'm getting there because of their impact on my life. Because of them, the problem is no longer a problem. Their fathering of me has become a solution. 

I know I am loved forever. 

A Letter To My Other Half

As many of y'all know, I've been working at LifeWay since March. I love my job more than anything. This is where I met Ashley.
Ashley came into my life while we were doing inventory and my life has never been the same.
When you go into a job, most of the time (at least for me) I don't think "oh I'm gonna find my best friend here." Of course when most people go into their first day, they don't normally start off by doing inventory from 5 PM to 2AM the next day. In this way, you make friends VERY quickly.
Ashley has been more than just a coworker to me. She's been a friend, a best friend, a quick hug, a diary, a lot of things. What I love about Ashley is that she is so easy going and fun to be around. There is not one time that we have hung out where we haven't both pulled at least 10 "blonde moments" and laughed our butts off.
She truly has become one of my best friends and someone who is like a true sister.


I hope you enjoy this letter that I have written to Ashley. I hope that it reminds you of someone you have in your life. I hope that you will thank your best friend after you read this ❤️

Ash, first of all, as much as I hate to admit it, you know a lot more about me than I ever though you would. You get me (most of the time unless I'm babbling about random things). You know I'm not an emotional person but when I am it's either really bad or really real. You know what my favorite store is (Target, cause that's literally the only place we go) and you know what my favorite food is (Chick -Fil-A because that's all we eat). You know how to make me feel better always. And you always have my back.

I seriously love you so much and I am truly blessed. Thank you for being the kind of best friend for me that everyone truly deserves (and I just got really blessed with you). Thank you for being there when I have to deal with a bad breakup. You have made my life a lot better, for sure. Thank you for continuously making life at work fun and life in general more enjoyable.

Anytime we are together, we always have the best times. Even though it hasn't been super long, you have made my life 100 times better and I don't know what I would do without you. I honestly can't find the words to thank you enough for everything you'e done for me and I hope that I truly have been a great best friend for you too. There is a definitive moment in a person’s life where they become acutely aware of the fact that they found their soul mate. Not someone that you wanna spend the rest of your life with, that's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about you and I. I'm so thankful for you because you accept me for me. Thank you sharing in my happiest moments, for genuinely feeling the same, and being happy for me. Thank you for also being there for me in my worst moments and helping me get through them. You always know the best pick me ups.

Thank you for being the most beautiful person, inside and out. Thank you for making the world a better place, just by being in it.

Thank you for being my rock and my Ash.

I love you so so much

Love,
Kaley

My First Week of College

I MADE IT THROUGH MY FIRST WEEK OF COLLEGE (alive, that is) 

At the beginning of the week, I was hesitant. At the beginning of the week, I was terrified. Terrified of getting lost, terrified of not making friends, terrified of new things. 

For me, doing new things that I've never done before makes me nervous and incredibly anxious and scared. But I totally killed this week. And I'm proud of that. 

At first, when I decided to go to TCC, I was like "this is gonna be just like Lincoln, I'm gonna hate this." Nope. Not at all. So far, I love TCC. I have sincerely enjoyed all of my classes, meeting new people and waking up at 8am every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday (and even later for my 1:05 class on Tuesday and Thursday's) rather than that early everyday! Note to all high school seniors: College is great 😉 

The first day was probably the most nerve wrecking part mainly because this was the first time I'd be going to a new school by myself and knowing literally no one. When I say that, this is what I mean: sure, I see people I know around but for my whole life anytime I changed a school, I was going to be with a bunch of people I already knew. 

Honestly, I'm so happy that I don't know hardly anyone and that this is a new start for me. "Starting off fresh," right? No worries about being my old high school self. No worries about being shy. New school, new life, new me. This is what I've needed and I could not be more thankful. My heart has been waiting for a change and this is gonna be an incredible ride. 

I've learned things about myself and life all within this first week and I truly cannot wait to see where life takes me. 

Oh and a huge thank you goes to Courtney Allen for encouraging me as well as drawing me a map that is currently still my background so I don't get lost. #FreshyProbs 

Enjoy this picture of my super cute background (and yes, it may look simple to anyone else, but in person, I can't follow maps and this was necessary) thanks again Courtney! ❤️: 

Ps GO EAGLES 

A heavy heart

Normally I wouldn't share my feelings this vulnerably but tonight my heart is incredibly heavy. I need a lot of prayer for a successful, happy, and relaxing last week of summer. It's been a rough week and I want this week to go as smoothly as possible. 

This week I have been dealing with a lot of financial stress, long hours, general stress for college, pain, and heartbreak. 

After my first session and therapy I was in so much pain. I didn't want anyone to touch my arm. My arm honestly feels like it's getting worse and at this point it's really dragging me down. It's killing whatever energy I have left slowly. 

I'm scared that there is something more than tendinitis going on in my arm and no one can figure it out. 

I feel like I have nothing left in me and I'm just trying to make it. I feel like everyday there is never enough time to get anything done. I feel like my head is currently in explosion mode. 

At the age of 18, I don't feel like I should be feeling like that. This isn't healthy anymore but I don't know how to stop. 

I know I need a break but my endurance isn't letting me do it. 

I'm driving myself insane at this point and I know it's not good. I put so much effort in trying to make sure that someone else was happy and supported and now I'm alone and I'm exhausted and without him. 

I need a lot of prayer tonight. Pray that someone can find out what's wrong with my arm, pray that I can sleep, pray that things can go better for me from here on out. 

Get to Know Your Blogger!

30 FACTS ABOUT YOUR BLOGGER 

1. I hate goodbyes. 

2. Exploring is what I dream to do

3. My name is Kaley and I have dimples on both cheeks, if you couldn't tell. 

4. I don't like when people complain, especially when they know they're blessed with a lot. 

5. I wanna help people. That's my goal in life. 

6. I don't know what I wanna do with my life. 

7. I have tough skin until you know how to get underneath it. Then that's where I'm emotional. 

8. I'm stubborn and I honestly can't help it. I just am. 

9. I roll my eyes at least 100 times a day (sorry Momma) 

10. Retail therapy is my favorite kinda of therapy. (Again, sorry momma)

11. I love the cold and the heat. But at the wrong times of the year. 

12. I have PTSD and it affects me still occasionally 

13. Marley is my baby. 

14. One of my favorite quotes is "stop looking for happiness in the same place you lost it." It's such a good reminder

15. I go to TCC

16. I've changed my major too many times and I'm still not sure what I want to do. 

17. I work at LifeWay and with ItWorks! 

18. Belle is my favorite princess. 

19. I'd rather blog than do anything else. It's my favorite activity. 

20. I love hugs and cuddles. 

21. Hailee Steinfeld, Bae Miller and Shawn Mendes are my favorite singers right now. 

22. Stitches by Shawn Mendes describes my life right now. 

23. I love my family and my best friends and how much they love me and support me. I wouldn't be here without them. 

24. I can be a hopeless romantic. Sorry about it. 

25. I was born on Thanksgiving. 

26. Baths and candles are my favorite. 

27. I love the shows The Middle and Reba. 

28. I'd rather be exploring than sleeping and that's saying a lot. 

29. I love making things. 

30. I am happiest when I'm eating cake batter frozen yogurt or a cake batter snowcone and looking at sunsets. 

Things I wish I had known in High School

I have been graduated from high school for a little over two months. 

I honestly can't tell you how I'm feeling. 

Mixed emotions I guess. 

I have made a list of 15 things I wish I had known in high school or at least thought about more and actually listened to. 

1. Your grades really do matter so keep track of them. 

Do not wait til senior year to play catch up. 

2. Your GPA is really important so keep track of that. 

Again, do not wait til senior year to play catch up. 

3. If you have a worthy best friend who is willing to put up with your crap, keep them and do NOT let them go. They're important, even if you don't realize it. 

4. People change.

Let it happen. It's inevitable. Your best friend freshman year may not be your best friend by senior year. 

5. Heartbreak will happen. 

It sucks but it ends eventually and you will move on. There will come a day when they don't even cross your mind or you are able to walk past them in the hallway and feel nothing. Love isn't a fairytale. 

6. You're gonna change. A lot.

Make sure it's for the better and that you are making good choices for your future. 

7. Your college choice may change about sixty-five hundred times. 

Don't sweat it. It's August 7th and I just changed my college about two weeks ago. Again. 

8. Unless you get very lucky and run into someone who's been raised right, no high schoolers tend to be mature. 

That is also inevitable. 

9. Playing sports or doing extra-curricular activities such as clubs is actually really important. 

You make awesome friends and they look incredible on your transcript. 

10. Making new friends is always good. 

You never know what may come from it. 

11. Your favorite teacher freshman year may not be your favorite teacher by senior year. 

Luckily, mine remained the same and that teacher has been the most incredible person in my life and such a great paternal leader in my life. 

12. Your mom or dad (or both) or a sibling will probably end up being your best friend. 

I don't know where I would be without my mom and sister today supporting me and pushing me onward no matter what. 

13. Go to football games and pep rallies and other sporting events as much as you can. 

You'll regret it if you don't. 

14. Things will work out for the best. 

Even if it sucks right now. I promise. Things do get better. 

15. Graduation comes faster than you expect. Senior year flies by. 

Do not waste the good times, and do not dwell on the moments that aren't so great. They pass. There is a new day around the corner. 

You will miss high school and the friends you made. You'll miss the school spirit and even your worst enemies. 

Enjoy it will you can. 

P.S. I love you LHS2015 

A letter to my best friends since 11th grade

Throughout your life, you will meet so many people that are decent, work keeping in your life but they will never compare to the bond you have with your best friends.

Almost a month ago (ish), one of my best friends turned 19 and pretty soon (today), my other best friend is moving to Jacksonville to start her official college career there. 

Life is changing for us. But, we have to focus on our incredible memories. Although we got incredibly close this year, it seems like we've been best friends for WAY longer than that. But they have been the most amazing people that have crossed my path in my last few years of public K-12 schooling. 

All three of us have been through absolute hell together and we have made it out so strong. They are the people that I would go to for everything. And I will love them for well... Forever. 

In fact, we went to Disney World in celebration of our graduation in May! 

I would take bullets for these two. 

So without any further delay, here we go. 

Thank you for getting me out of some of the darkest spots in my life. 

Thank you for standing by me no matter what. 

Thank you for loving me and keeping me sane and not letting me slash any of my ex boyfriend's tires. 

Thank you 

I'm sorry for all the mean things I have called you when I got upset. 

I'm sorry for all the heartache you have ever had to go through. I'm proud of how far y'all have both come. 

I know that one day, you will both get married and have lives of your own but y'all are going to be incredible in life. Y'all are gonna be so supportive and loving and amazing like you have been for me. But please also remember that I will always be your best friend. 

Thank you for being the most kind-hearted people even when I was hurting and no one knew what was going on with me, including myself. 

Thank you both for keeping me grounded when I needed that cause I know that was hard in the past. 

Thank you for encouraging me when I was down because I am such a better person today than I was in the past. 

The other day I was reading an article called An Open Letter To The Man Who Will One Day Marry My Best Friend

It said this and I couldn't agree more: "There will be things that she will go through that you will not be able to understand, and there will be times when she will choose to call me and not you. When those times come, do not be upset with her for choosing to come to me instead of you. It does not mean that she loves you any less; there are just some things only a best friend can fix."

My best friends are the friends that I will hold onto tighter than any memory that I made in high school. 

I love you both to the moon and back. 

You guys are my other halves and I would be nothing without y'all. 

"if you see all of the wonderful things that I see in her and love her more because of those things, then she will love you more than you ever imagined was possible. She is a rare and beautiful person"

I love you guys no matter how far apart we physically are, we will end up together at heart. Forever and always. 

(Names not used for privacy of my best friends) 

A calling to adventure and good reminders

 

Lately, I've gotten a really strong feeling of wanting to explore. I don't know what I want to do with my life yet but I hope that it can give me opportunities to see the world whatever it may be. 

Pictured above is my Lokai bracelet. It's my most prized position right now. If you've never heard of Lokai, they make bracelets with the most powerful meanings in my opinion. "Each lokai is infused with elements from the highest and lowest points on Earth."

There are two beads, one's white and one is black. The white bead carries water from Mt. Everest, and its black bead contains mud from the Dead Sea. "These extreme elements are a reminder to the wearer to live a balanced life – staying humble during life’s peaks and hopeful during its lows." 

Order them online at: http://mylokai.com/shop/lokai-bracelet-clear.html

10% of their net profits go to incredible charities! 

Every time I look down at this bracelet, I always remember to keep going, keep pushing myself. 

Things. Get. Better. 

an update on life...

In the past few months I have been dealing with life.

First of all I got a new phone and for the life of me, I couldn't remember the log in information for this blog (go me!)

Now that it is August and I'm finally getting back on, oh well. Even the best of us can't remember what email of the 158 that we have unlocks our whole blog. 

Anyways, backing it up!

After I got out of the hospital, life got better for a while. For the most part. 

I dealt with some teacher drama at school that mentally ripped me apart but also shaped me in so many ways. 

I got a job at Lifeway Christian Bookstore and it was really taught me a lot about retail, God and I have met (and even re-met) so many awesome people!

I got to spend about a week with my two best friends at DISNEY WORLD which was incredible and we got super close. I love them with all my heart ❤️

I wouldn't mind dealing with them til the day I die 😂❤️

I graduated high school May 26th with honors and A/B honor roll after fighting for so long to do well and get high school done.

I've really been taking this summer to learn more about myself and the things around me. My love for adventure has increased a lot. My endurance has increased a lot. I'm so proud of myself. It's weird growing up but it has to happen. 

This summer has taught me so many amazing things like handling money, having patience (it was mainly me waiting for letters from Erik and dealing with kids at camp), loving people more and going with my gut is a good idea a lot of the time because it seems like that led me to incredibly great things this summer. 

I have met so many awesome people so far this year and even this summer. 

This past Saturday I found out that I have tendinitis in my elbow which has been incredibly painful but I have been sucking it up until I can get my shot. Like I said, my endurance is growing very quickly. 

Life gets better even when it's at its worse. Believe that! 

Hospital visit

As of about 11:50 today I was released from Tallahassee Memorial Hospital from their Bahavioral Health Center. I've been diagnosed with Depression, Anxiety and PTSD.  Although none of this really came as a surprise to me, I am now being treated for it. 

The main reason I am writing this is not to say "oh feel bad for me" it is to raise awareness that it is important to remember that mental illnesses are not something to mess around with and make fun of. And ALWAYS remember what you say to people. You don't know how making them do something or telling them something can affect them. 

Although my visit was short, I learned a lot. I hope that I continue to grow and heal. Even though I was very reluctant at first and very upset, I'm glad I did it. This is my road to recovery. 

Xoxo 

Kaley 

You can overcome this!

Here are some good songs to enjoy:

Overcomer

By: Mandisa

Greater is He

By: Sixteen cities

Our God redeems and overcomes

1 John 4:4 says "Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world."

Our God is NOT of this world, Our God DOESN'T lose. He is greater! 

John 16:33 says, "I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world."

This verse gives me chills, no joke. "I have OVERCOME the world." We should have no worries because God has OVERCOME. 

God has overcome the world.

God overcomes everything.  

He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. 

No obstacle is too big. 

No problem is too complex. 

No thought is too distracting. 

No situation is too overwhelming. 

No weight is too heavy to overcome. 

 

No obstacle is too big.

An obstacle is something in the way that you didn't replace there; it's out of your control. 

For example: 

Say you go to a football game. Then, out of no where, it starts sprinkling. Then an umbrella goes up in front of you at a football game. 

For a football lover, this is a huge obstacle. 

No problem is too complex: 

We face problems in life that just have too much going on. For example: most problems have at least two paths you can take. I have been accepted into many colleges but choosing where I want to go makes me anxious. I have so many different paths I can take but I can only choose one. 

No thought it too distracting: 

Psalm 139:2 says, "You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar."

2 Corinthians 10:5 says, "We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ"

Have you ever had times when you have so many thoughts that you cannot focus on anything, especially on your relationship with God? 

God doesn't get distracted. 

I have always had a problem with keeping focus. I'm pretty sure I have undiagnosed ADD or ADHD. I will sit down to do one thing and all of a sudden I'm distracted with something else. If there is one thing I could fix, it would be my focus. But that's why God is so amazing. He forgives us. In the end, we are humans. We aren't perfect. God forgives. It's amazing because as hard as we try to stay focused, we just can't. We will get distracted. God can literally have billions of things going on at one time and never lose focus. 

No situation is too overwhelming 

Look up: Luke 4: 1-13 says

Have you ever had a situation you've wanted to get out of? 

I constantly have these situations. Constantly. I can get uncomfortable in situations that most people probably wouldn't be uncomfortable in. I get anxious in a lot of situations. 

No weight is too heavy

Romans 12:21 says, "Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good."

I try to go to the gym at least twice a week. There are some days where I just can't do it anymore. I can't lift this weight anymore, I can't do anymore leg presses, whatever it is, I just get tired. That doesn't happen to God. He can literally do anything. 

Because we are his children we can overcome by his power.

No obstacle is too big for him to get us over, around or under.

No problem is too complex for him to workout.

No thought is too distracting that he can't capture and help us fix our eyes on him.

No situation is too overwhelming that he can't work out for our good.

No sin weight is too heavy for him to cut away.

So 

When we see an obstacle it becomes and opportunity for God to work

When problems come our way we realize they are potential praise parties

When our thoughts become too distracting we release them over to God, he can handle them

When a tough situation arises we do not fear the situation because God is with me

When you find yourself weighed down with sin troubles we get rid of every sin weight by surrendering them to God, he will cut them out. 

Remember:

1 John 4:4

No matter what the situation, you can overcome it with God's help. 

Our God is the one who overcomes 

Miserable

I am currently laying in my bed, it's 1:30 AM and for the past hour I was lying on my bathroom floor trying not to throw up. I am miserable. 

I don't really know how I got sick or when, but all I know is that I don't feel that great at all. What's fantastic (sarcasm) is that MPA (music competition for chorus) is this week and I really need to be there. Hopefully this is all cleared up by then. 

I know I haven't blogged in about a week. Things have been so crazy and ever since Friday I haven't felt too hot. 

Even though I am sick, I am still remembering that my God is so good and He is watching over me and taking care of me. 

Although I am miserable, He is here by my side while no one else can be.  

JESUS, HOW ARE YOU ROMANCING ME TODAY?

Some of you might be confused by the title: "this girl is crazy. Jesus isn't her boyfriend. Jesus is the Lord and Savior. He's not supposed to be romantic." 

And that my friend, is where you are wrong. 

We are called to love God. We are called to serve God. We are called to long for God. 

Well, Kaley, where are you going with this? I've heard all those things a thousand times. 

God longs for US too. He wants to spend time with us. He wants to captivate us and have all our attention on him. 

He wants to make us HIS. 

I'm sure you've heard a thousand times: God is a jealous God. 

God wants to captivate us with his Beauty just like each and every woman wants to captivate a man in her life. 

God wants YOU. 

As I was reading my favorite book, Captivating, (the book you will here about a lot) I got to this and just stopped: "Jesus, how are you romancing me now?" 

God wants to know you intimately. God wants to know everything about you. God wants to capture your heart. 

So look around you. Do you like sunsets? Look at the one in the sky and how beautiful it is. That's God talking to you. 

Let yourself be vulnerable. Let Him romance you. It changed my life. 

The Life of a Key

On Wednesday night at youth group, we learned about how we are like keys. This lesson was one of the most interesting lessons I have ever learned and I felt really called to share it with others. 

Rejected and reclaimed: 

a key is created uniquely with a specific lock in mind. It's sole purpose to operate that lock. 

If the lock is lost, the key goes into the reject box. The key can also be dismissed or lost. It is labeled, "Not worthy of the key ring" or "not useful anymore" 

Set aside. Cut wrong. 

To no fault of their own, they end up in the box. Just like us. We find ourselves in that box because of how the world has put labels on us. 

R E J E C T E D. 

Have you ever been put in the reject box? Or felt like it?

It may have been because of your choices or the choices of others, but you still feel like that is where you are. 

Life happens. 

We make mistakes. People hate us because of who we are. Things just happen. 

God restores and reclaims the ragamuffins by His redeeming power. 

 The definition (By Merriam-Webster) is: a child who is dressed in rags and is usually dirty and poor

We are ragamuffins. A ragamuffin should be selfless not selfish, obedient not rebellious. Soft heart, not hard heart. Builds others up, not push them down. 

Seeks good, not the bad, defender of the weak, a block to lean on, not to stumble over, one with deep trust in God.

God is a God of redemption and he will redeem you. 

Redeemed means to buy back, to reclaim, recover, repossess. 

GOD WANTS TO DO THIS FOR YOU. 

All you need to say to him is:

For better or worse, I will live for YOU, God. 

He has done the work of redemption on the cross. Give your life over to Christ and he will redeem you. 

When life gets bad, we struggle and want something different.  we will always have God to redeem us DAILY. 

Galatians 6:1 says, "Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted." 

Romans 14:13 says,

"Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother."

A good song that I hear constantly is "Redeemed" by Big Daddy Weave. This song is so beautiful and gives me chills every time.  

God restores as life happens.

You don't have to stay in that reject box because God wants you to come back to Him. 

Fact: There are at least 17 different kinds of keys. 

Then, when the lesson was almost over, we were given keys that Kevin, my youth minister, had spent his time hammering each key. 

On each key, it says "PERSUE, HEB 13:8" 

1. "God is the same yesterday today and tomorrow" -Heb 13:8

2. PURSUE: To pursue hard after God everyday. 

This is a good reminder that everyday we need to pursue God constantly and keep our eyes on him. HE is our freedom. 

3. That our youth group may be a place where everyone can find that restoring reclaiming and redeeming power of God. 

Each key is different. Each key turned out a different way. Each key has it's own story of why it was put in the reject box. 

Just like you and I. We have been rejected by the world but called back by God. 

Remember: 

YOU ARE WORTH IT.

A giving God and wonderful sunsets.

God is a romantic guy. He sends us signs constantly, we just have to look harder. He wants to know YOU and what YOU love. Sunset skies are my deepest passion and he knows that. I am so thankful. I am in love with the Creator of the Universe. 

I've been reading a book called "Captivating" by John and Stasi Eldredge. It has encouraged me to start a blog and talk about my journey of becoming a woman that God created me to be. It has taught me to be thankful for the things that God gave me and continuously gives me daily. It has taught me to find myself through God and God alone. It has taught me to find happiness through God and not others. It has taught me to forgive those who have hurt me in the past. And I think I'm finally ready. So join me on my journey! It's gonna be a good one!

I'm trying....