Arrow Dynamic | lifestyle blog

2018: a year of change

2:12 PM

At the beginning of this year, I had high hopes and big plans. The plan was to graduate from community college, work in North Carolina over the summer, and transfer to university in the fall. I have a feeling God smiled as I poured these plans out to Him knowing that He had much bigger things in store.

If you have followed my story for any length of time, you know that a lot of unexpected things happened this year. So many plans changed, so many new adventures, and yet in the midst of it all—peace.

January -

I traveled to Chicago to visit a dear friend. I was able to explore the city and make new memories with my precious friend. I also lost my apartment that I was living in, but the Lord provided a loving family that took me in. People that I barely knew opened their home and showed me so much love. I am forever grateful for the Lord's provision.

May -

I graduated college with a 3.6 GPA and a whole lot of memories. I wrote a blog post about my experience, and it went semi-viral. My post was published in the school's monthly magazine. The day following graduation, I moved into my dorm at Ridgecrest for my second year as a recreation summer staffer. I didn't know it at the time, but I also met someone who would quickly become one of my best friends.

June -

My Toyota Camry caught fire and left me stranded on the side of the interstate. I didn't know it then, but that event would be the first of a series that would completely turn my life upside down.

July -

I learned that going to the university like I had originally planned in the fall wasn't going to be an option anymore. The apartment that I had planned on living in when I returned to Louisiana fell through, and I didn't have the money to buy a new car yet either. I was broken. I cried a lot in July and prayed a lot more. I was so confused and wondered what was coming next.

Then, I was offered an internship. Room and board provided, no car needed, and just enough pay to continue saving for a replacement car. It was my dream job. A creative position working for a ministry. Again, God showed me that He had much better plans than mine.

August -

I moved into a different dorm on Ridgecrest campus and started the internship. I made new friends and started learning so much about marketing and what it looks like to run a non-profit behind the scenes. I found a new church to call home with people who are on fire for the Lord and serving the local community.

October -

I saved up enough money to buy a car! I was able to find a Subaru Forester '02 in green--which had been my dream car forever. I also started partnering with a local ministry that helps children in the foster care system as their part-time photographer.

This year I started reading a lot more books. I listened to a lot of new artists. I opened an IRA and researched investing. I moved to a new state. Made a new best friend. Changed churches, banks, and cars. I let go, lost a lot, but gained so much more. The Lord has been so gracious and has given me so much. He is teaching me how to surrender fully to Him, to rest in His faithfulness, and pursue peace. I already have big plans for 2019, but bigger than my plans, is my trust that the Lord is holding my tomorrow.

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3 Things My Parents Got Right

12:47 PM

I believe parents can be the most influential people in a child's life. In my life, my parents definitely were and still continue to be. As an adult now that dreams of parenting children one day; I've thought a lot about what parenting philosophies I would like to carry onto my future children. There are many, many things that I believe my parents 'got right'-- but today, I wanted to list the main three.

1. If You Are Following Christ Everything Else Will Fall into Place

My parents raised me in a small Southern Baptist church where I learned the words to every hymn. I was required to go to Sunday school, Sunday worship service, along with Wednesday night children and youth classes. However, going to church two times a week wasn't what taught me everything I learned about God, the Bible, or what it means to follow Christ; my parents instilled these things. My parents saturated everything I did in scripture, worship, and prayer. I was required to memorize scripture from an early age, and I was able to recite Old Testament stories by heart. They taught me about sharing the gospel and what being a missionary truly means. And when they weren't teaching me verbally, they were showing me every day in their own personal walks with Christ. They taught me that spiritual warfare is real, and life doesn't magically get better once you choose to follow Christ. They taught me the importance of putting Christ first in your life and that everything else will fall into place, because He works everything for good for those whom He loves.

2. Daily Affirmations

From the time I started understanding English, my parents were always very positive with their words. Phrases like "I love you," "God loves you," "You are smart," "You are beautiful," "You are helpful" were used so much that they played in my mind like a broken record. Some may think that the overuse of words like these causes them to lose value. On the contrary, they were said so much that I started to believe them. I grew up confident knowing that God and my family loved me, so no matter what went wrong in life-- I always had that to fall back on. While this isn't to say that there weren't times when I thought I was stupid (because Satan is still a liar)-- at the end of the day--I knew that those things weren't true. My mom has a saying that I grew up hearing and now as an adult I continue to take it to heart, she would say, "If you tell yourself or hear something often enough-- you'll eventually start to believe it." My preteen and teenage self rolled eyes when hearing these tired phrases, but I'm so grateful that my teen angst didn't deter my parents from continuing their daily affirmations.

3. Encouraging Passions

My parents never forced me to play sports, learn instruments, or join clubs. If I came to them with an interest, they would try their hardest to find an outlet for me to be able to learn or play said thing. At age twelve, I started becoming interested in photography, videography, blogging, social media, graphic design, web design, and marketing. When I was in middle school, my brother and I would make videos and post them on YouTube. Sometimes we would make up skits. Other times I would film our family vacations. Our parents were always very supportive and encouraging towards our passions-- no matter how bad our acting or video editing skills were. I started a blog and my own photography side hustle at fourteen. At fifteen I started working for a photographer part-time as a graphic designer. Later, I designed countless websites, taught myself some coding, grew in knowledge of marketing, and social media strategies. Through everything, my parents were cheering me on. Now as sit in my office writing social media posts, editing pictures, and designing graphics for a well-known non-profit, I can thank my parents for giving me the opportunity and encouraging me to pursue my passions.

My parents didn't raise me perfectly, but I think they got a few things right.