When strangers are nice.

I pull into the McDonalds drive-thru and order an apple pie, act surprised when they tell me they are 2 for $1, and say, "I may as well"...I reach the second window to pay for the rectangles of heavenly goodness and am caught off guard when the adorable employee says "oh my goodness girl you just look beautiful!!", and begins to compliment my necklace. It's sad how this almost made me uncomfortable, and I nearly tried bringing myself down as if it wasn't okay to accept the compliment, but I ended up thanking her. Sure, I mean, I was thankful for the compliment, but I drove on anyway. I then started to feel bad for dismissing her kindness. Why do so many of us think we have to be down on ourselves when others try to compliment us?

I know that not everyone is this way, but its something I'm realizing I need to work on more. Why do I feel the need to reject kindness when its offered? I think that a lot of us are afraid if we accept these things, it means we're full of ourselves, think we agree with them, etc., when in reality - we should be thanking those people. Not only thanking them, but EMBRACING what it is that they've said!

I may not wake up every day thinking I look all that great, but I think this world needs more people who are confident in themselves. Who can accept a compliment without belittling themselves. Sure, we may have flaws...but who doesn't? This world is made up of millions of IMPERFECT people...so we should learn to rock our flaws and be proud of 'em!!

I know this was a random post, but it's just been on my mind lately. I hope you all have a great week. I've so enjoyed some time off. I had one engagement session this week, and one Skype call, its been nice to focus more on my home and myself. Make it a great Thursday, friends!

Putting ourselves down {and a small challenge}

Recently, I've felt very blah. Hard to explain...but I just haven't been my usual happy, peppy self. I kind of feel plain, tired, etc. I know part of it has to do with my lack of exercise and eating healthy, but I can't quite put my finger on what's been going on.

Sometimes I'll see photos of myself and immediately roll my eyes, ugh, lets try that again. I mean, its ridiculous. I've noticed I've been putting myself down a lot lately. Not even out loud, but quietly to myself. I hadn't put much thought into it until I shot an engagement shoot on Tuesday and the girl kept talking about how she can't stand photos of herself, how she's not photogenic at all, worrying about a tiny gap in her teeth that no one but her would ever notice. I kept insisting that she looked amazing (cause helloo, she did!), and that she needed to stop being so hard on herself.

SMACK! It was like I was talking to myself. Why do we think its alright to put ourselves down like crazy, all day, without thinking twice? Yet when someone else does it to themselves, we think its outrageous! I wish for one little day, I could talk to myself the way I'd talk to others, and truly mean it. Wake up in the morning and be totally satisfied with what I saw in the mirror.

It's an internal struggle and I know its silly...but hey, everyone's got issues. I also realize that I'm not totally honoring God when I treat myself this way. When I treat my body like crap, then put myself down? I'm definitely not acting as if He created me in His image, am I?

Genesis 1:27; "God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created them; male and female He created them"

There are a few people I see quite often that I get a little uncomfortable around due to nothing other than pure envy. It's absolutely absurd. I've confided in my mom about this lately and she could hardly believe it. I'll just see this one woman and immediately feel intimidated. She can run faster than I can. She's got better hair than me. She's so talented at everything!! Yadda yadda yadda. Please don't judge me for this next sentence, but one time, I was almost looking for something to be wrong with her to simply make myself feel better.

WOW! Okay guys, that was super vulnerable and I need you to stick with me. Please...

I realize its insanely sinful and horrible to have thoughts like that. It's literally like the Devil is whispering in my ear all these lies that he wants me to believe, and I genuinely do, most days. But my perspective has changed the past couple days. I've spent more time than usual in the Gospel lately and it makes me remember that this isn't the way God intended for community/friendships to be. We are called to lift each other up, encourage one another, etc! We are to love our neighbors and KNOW OUR OWN WORTH! It's insanely hard for me to wrap my mind around God's grace but I'm so thankful for it every single day.

I want every single woman to KNOW how much God loves them, and to KNOW how beautiful and unique every one of you are! Beauty is so much more than an outer appearance, its about how we treat people, how we react to difficult situations, how we give of our time and energy. This verse makes me smile from ear to ear and I hope it makes you remember how beautiful you are today;

She is more precious than jewels; And nothing you desire compares with her. {Proverbs 3:15}

I'm also insanely thankful for a husband who treats me like a precious jewel and makes me feel his love on a daily basis, and reminds me of God's love for me.

We've all got flaws...but they are beautiful, and unique, and we need to learn to embrace them. 

So I have a challenge for you... on this random Thursday, as you read this. I want you to comment with one thing you LOVE about yourself. It can be your amazing hair, your sense of humor, or something more specific. I want this to be a post of positivity!! Next, I want you to get a hold of someone you love...your mom, your sister, your best friend...and pay them a random compliment. It could just be the positive shift they needed in their day. Ready? GO!

I wanna see you be brave!

Today my blog post is all about our beauty, as women. Today is also this gorgeous gals birthday. Lyndsie was my Maid of Honor in my wedding! She's the spoon to my jar of marshmallow fluff :) this girl is truly one of the most beautiful (inside and out) people I know. She has a flipping heart of gold, and I just don't know what I'd do without her!

Lyndsie and I have been friends for about 11 years now, which blows my mind. But it really made me think about how far we've each individually come as young women, since we've met. I've been really inspired lately by all of these beauty awareness campaigns that numerous companies have started. The obvious is Dove, but another favorite of mine now is Always' "Hit Like a Girl", which you can see the video here. 

I used to be very self conscious, I had terrible acne, glasses and braces at the same time, and very, very dry skin. I was the 'pudgiest', and didn't understand why I didn't have "cute, bony wrists" like all of my friends. I know the things people said about me in middle school and my transition into high school, well, it just wasn't pretty. As I got older though, I kinda said screw it. I wore tank tops, even though my shoulders were sprinkled with acne every season of the year...I wore my glasses even when I didn't feel like putting my contacts in, and I learned to rock my ever-peeling nose on picture day due to my dry skin (and the nosebleed I got on that same day).

It's campaigns like this that make me so proud to be a woman. Thankfully, meeting Caleb helped me with my confidence a lot. I used to worry about him ever seeing me without my make up caked on, or in the Winter when I'm more pale than a vampire.. but he's somehow learned to deal with me even when I wake up like this... and also learned to make me feel beautiful, and loved.

Hiiii Caleb. I took this today!

We're all beautiful in our own ways...and it makes me sad to think about the young girls who tear themselves down because they aren't a size 0, or because they don't have perfect skin. As women, these girls need role models who LOVE themselves.

 I've realized to just get over it, when Im tagged in a picture that doesn't flatter me... why should I let it bother me? I need to be happy in the skin God put me in, because this is the only life I get to live! I know its like the most famous quote now, but comparison truly is the thief of joy. We can't let it do that to us, ladies! So WHAT if my nose is bigger than hers, or my acne flared up the night before my wedding?! Or if my ankles aren't super skinny, or if my double chin always sneaks its way out when I take my snapchats... I am ME, and I'm happy with it.

I'm lucky enough to be alive, have legs that run, and a heart that beats. I don't ever want to take it for granted. So remember friends, you are SERIOUSLY beautiful.