DAY 23: do something new. a devotional...kind of.

ok so I was supposed to take a picture of what I thought was true (it was a bible study homework assignment). and the first thing I thought of was a compass. you know, like, a true reading?

So, I grab my compass and my camera and I run outside. (bible study was going to start in 30 minutes. I really am a college student when you consider how proficient I am at procrastinating homework assignments and then completing them right before they're due.)

I put my compass down on the porch so I can take a pic....and the reading is TOTALLY OFF. the needle was pointing due east. what is going on?

I move the compass, thinking maybe the needle isn't level and that's what's throwing off the reading.
the needle moves to north. and then I see the little screw next to where the compass had been. a screw made of metal.

then I started thinking:

WE are the compass needle. we point towards magnetic pulls, which is usually magnetic north, but sometimes that can be offset by other magnetic pulls, like a screw. and screws can be an example for worldly attractions. if we get to close to them, we point towards them instead of north.

and did you know that magnetic north (what a compass points towards) does not point to True North (what the North Star points towards)? so lets just assume that as the compass needle, we get as close to we can to north as we possibly can. HOWEVER, that is not actually an accurate reading on North. The only accurate reading for that is the North Star. and lets just say that the North Star is God. he is North, he is unchanging, he is true.

Sometimes we will think "oh, i'm fine, i'm pointing towards north. other people are way off, pointing towards the world, not towards north, so I'M FINE". but the thing is, is if we keep following our slightly-off reading of magnetic north, we will be MILES off by the time we get to where our destination should be. Our only way to get to NORTH is by saying "ok, so THERE is the North Star, and the general direction of north is the way my needle is pointing, so i'm gonna follow that True north, and make sure that my needle is pointing is the same direction."

our job as Christians is to point towards Him. We need to keep ourselves far enough away from worldy attractions and other magnetic pulls so that we can point towards North, as much as we can.  then, we need to check our magnetic north reading with the True North, the North Star, God, to make sure we're pointing in the right direction.

not to ask the obvious question or anything....but which way are you pointing?

Day 21 - a letter to me in 5 years

i'm just gonna throw this out there. THIS IS REALLY HARD TO DO which is why its 9 days late. so there.

Dear Sam,

five years is a long time. hopefully you've figured out that there is more to life than school and your future career.

i hope you've figured out how to be decent to people on a regular basis, not just when things are going your way.

i hope you've realized

that life is a little less complicated than you make it out to be.
that there are more important things than winning.
that priorities hurt.
that rest is important.
that getting the bad stuff off your mind, easing the worries, all that, it helps a LOT.
that you are beautiful even when you're ugly. at least God thinks so anyway, and his opinion is the only one that counts.
that being alone is different from being lonely. and sometimes both are good.

that you are really really really really REALLY blessed. by friends, family, home, and pretty much everything else. you don't have much to complain about.

that life is much deeper, and much richer, and much fuller than you could ever imagine, and all you have to do is dive in.

that you must look at things from an objective point of view, and at people from a subjective point of view, and at yourself with an introspective view.

that when you care about someone, you do whats best for them, and you put yourself aside.

that you must care about yourself, and put up boundaries. not walls: boundaries. they're different. one says: here is the line; you must not cross it; please respect that. the other says: don't come near me. but nearness is special. you need that.

that listening to respond is different than listening to hear.

that there is a balance around you. sometimes it must be upset; no change is not good. there must be a little change, a little discomfort, in order for there to be growth. but that balance is also a good thing to be able to maintain.

that secrets are not a good thing. you should be open. secrets tend to eat you...from the inside out.

that there's that soft spot inside of you, hidden well. but it is soft, and it hurts if you push it too hard.

that its okay to be scared. it means you're about to do something really brave.

that you know the right thing to do. deep down, you know.

and you know, 5 years is a long time. everything might change between now and then. the only things that won't change are good and bad, right and wrong, light and dark, and how much God loves you. and God. God won't change at all.

and in the midst of all this, i hope that you have discovered new music and new books and new places and made new friends and figured out who you are and how you like to chill. i hope you've made life, in these five years, or at least caught glimpses of it.

live well.

Sami

DAY 29: music faves.

because DUH. MUSIC IS THE BEST.

its like air wave therapy.

ANYWAYS. what am i listening to recently?

Ed Sheeran - Tenerife Sea. SO BEAUTIFUL. like, almost makes me cry.

Ed Sheeran - Give Me Love. just, like, WOW.

Ed Sheeran - I See Fire. (okay, YES i am on an Ed Sheeran kick. but there have been worse things, right?)

Shawn Mendez - Stitches. its such a GOOD angry song.

I Am They. (basically their whole first CD.)

what about you? anything good on the sound waves right now?

DAY 24: lazy days. what to do?

watch the rain fall. as far as i'm concerned, rainy days are the epitome of lazy days.

drink tea. preferably earl grey.

Source

read books.

Source

sometimes, i'll go for a drive because there's nothing else to do.

Source

but usually, on a lazy day, the best part is when i let down my guard. i feel good, because i'm not stressed. i'm okay, because i'm able to rest, just for a day. just for a day. because in my world, lazy days come one at a time.

DAY 27: DIY Halloween Decorations...wut.

i am the worst decorator in the history of holiday decorating. or ANY decorating for that matter. my room has been unfinished for basically FOREVER, and my apartment's only excuse for its sadly empty walls and sparsly furnished sitting area is that i'm a college-aged person with little spending money and all of that goes towards food, clothes, and then into a jar (because EUROPE HERE I COME) so basically there goes anything that makes you think warm and fuzzy and its description contains the words "couch" "furniture", or "apartment".

seriously. i don't even have measuring cups for my kitchen.

so WHY on this lovely green earth would i decorate for halloween?

(ahem: the answer is, i wouldn't.)

BUT its this stupid tag that i signed up for. so dang it i have to at least say my opinion.

Halloween Decorations. (oh shoot, and their DIY to boot.....)

1. Halloween is not halloween without a carved pumpkin.

2. candles. enough said.

3. bonfires. also enough said. 

and honestly, after that? who cares! get a movie and make 4 different types of popcorn and sack out on the couch for the evening. happy halloween!

note: all of these pictures came from Pinterest. enjoy!