circumstances

          The Lord tells us in Esther that He has called us "for such a time as this."  My "this" happens to be in the midst of a rough year ((tests and friendship problems and family stuff, oh my!)).  Really, God?  I kept telling myself, "next year," as in next year, when I'm in high school, I'll make good, lasting friendships; next year, I'll be apart of Your plan.  Middle school just isn't my time".  Well...God wasn't a fan of that particular plan, and He made sure to make me aware of that.

          Maybe it was the extra hour-and-a-half of sleep I was blessed with through a faulty alarm clock, but I walked into school with a new set of eyes. I realized that circumstances aren't the enemy. We can waste our whole life trying to wait our circumstances out or attempt to change them, when really, He puts us into these situations to draw us closer to Him and shine His light.
          Earlier this year, God used a series of extremely difficult events to bring me closer to Him, and now He is working through me to bless others around me.  Today, I subconsciously found myself holding doors, complimenting strangers, and volunteering to help people out--whether it be buying their lunch or carrying their bags.            
          Middle school is a hormone jungle and people are flat out mean.    While this isn't an enjoyable experience for anyone, that is all the more motivation to shine His light to others.  I once heard a quote, While you're waiting for God to open the next door, praise Him in the hallway.  Right now, my hallway is literally hallways, and for my "such a time as this," I will utilize it to bring God glory and make the best of it//3.24.14

greetings

          God hasn't quite blessed me with a spirit of persistence, but the month of March has been prosperous in creating new, good habits, so why not start this?  I've been reading my Bible every day, filling my playlists with more worship music, journaling, and making a constant effort to encourage others and exalt God in every move I make and word I say.  In this time, I feel closer to God than I ever have, and in that, He is revealing new things about me to me.  I now know my deepest, excruciating fears, and one of them is letting down my exterior. Here it goes. I was terrified of doing this, but if God is blessing me with knowledge and experiences unique to my own circumstances, why not share? Any one reading this: just know that it isn't by accident. And even though this post is about me and my insecurities, I hope God will use this to speak to you.
         I'm Carly. At the moment, I am sporting some Eyore footie pajamas. I'm on my eighth episode of Gossip Girl just today. My biggest flaw is not being able to find happy mediums: I either say nothing, or everything. I'm scared of what people think about me because I have no control over their judgement. I spend too much time on my phone. I wear too much eyeliner. I laugh a lot ((but not too much)). If anybody else said that too me, I would probably explode, and then explode again if they told me I was overreacting. Not anymore: from now on, my goal for myself is to find the best version of myself through my identity in Christ, and run towards that at a million miles an hour, and along the way, help others too. Accompany me on the way?//3.8.14