God’s Plan Will Prevail

Exactly two years ago this month, my friend Addison and I decided that we were going to get together once a week to talk, catch up, and pray together. It quickly became the highlight of my Mondays. It’s always great to have people around you who want to know what’s going on in your life. And it’s even better when they will sit and pray with you about those things.

Week to week, the things we prayed about would vary. School, work, friends, relationships (or lack thereof), and anything else you can think of that girls in their twenties would normally be dealing with. But among all of those topics, there were always a couple things that would come up every single week. For me, one of those was my little sister, Danielle.

A Letter To My Best Friend Before Her Wedding Day

Dear Best Friend,

It’s hard to believe I’m actually writing this letter. I know it’s cliche, but it really does seem like yesterday that we were in high school, playing basketball together, having sleepovers and eating an insane amount of ice cream and kettle chips. Now, here we are just one week away from your wedding day. Seven days from this very moment, you’ll be getting your makeup done, your hair curled and your dress steamed. Meanwhile, I’m sure I’ll be sitting right next to you, trying not to cry, because I’m the emotional friend. (Don’t let me forget my waterproof mascara.)

A Letter To My Future Husband: Where The Heck Are You?

Dear Future Husband,

There are some days when I really start to question whether or not you’re even on this earth…and today is definitely one of those days. This morning on my way to work I started contemplating all of the possibilities.

“Maybe he got hit by a bus.”

“Maybe he hasn’t even been born yet, and I’m going to be a cougar.”

“Maybe he wanted to become an astronaut before he got married, and he’s out floating in space.”

And the list goes on and on. Can you tell I’m in a really good frame of mind about this right now?

40 Questions To Ask At Thanksgiving Dinner Instead Of Looking At Your Phone

A few weeks ago I posted an article encouraging people to put down their phones and engage in real, in-person conversation. I have seen one too many dinner tables full of people too busy looking at their phones to enjoy the company of the friends and family around them. Fast forward to this past weekend. I was at dinner with my best friend and her two sisters for her bachelorette weekend. As soon as the waiter left from bringing us our drinks, all four of us immediately picked up our phones. Before I could even check my Instagram, I stopped myself, looked around and said, “Guys! Look at us! We are all on our phones.”

We all started to giggle, but then I reminded them that we didn’t go out to dinner to look at our own phone screens for two hours. So at that point, we put all of our phones face down in the middle of the dinner table.

When Life Doesn’t Make Sense, God Is Still Worth Trusting

It was about this time two years ago that I thought I had it made. I had been out of college for almost a year and was loving the post-grad life. I had an amazing group of friends that I got to hang out with all the time. The holidays were coming up, which is my favorite time of year. And on top of all of that, I had landed my dream job. I’m talking about the kind of dream job that made me genuinely love waking up at 5 a.m. and going to work every morning. I was getting to do things I was skilled at and passionate about. I had an amazing team that felt like family. I worked for an incredible boss, and I got to share an office with one of my best friends. I felt like I had finally ended up where God wanted me to be.

A Letter To My 17-Year-Old Self And The ‘Good Ol’ Days’

Dear 17-Year-Old Self,

You think life is really hard right now and rightfully so.

Chemistry is going to be the death of you. No one has asked you to the homecoming dance yet. You have no money to go out with your friends after Friday’s football game. And you’re trying to juggle a social life while you have a mountain of homework waiting for you when you get home.

Everyone keeps asking you where you’re going to college, when you’re taking the SATs and what you plan on doing with the rest of your life. They want to know how many schools you’ve applied to. They want to know your Plan A, Plan B and Plan Z. But you don’t know the answer to any of those questions. Heck, you don’t even know when your next history test is.

I get it. High school is tough. You’re still trying to be a kid, but everyone is pressuring you to grow up. So please hear me when I say this: don’t listen to them.

And let me tell you why you shouldn’t.

For Heaven’s Sake, People, Put Down Your Phone

A couple weeks ago, I was sitting in traffic on my way home from work (yay for living in Atlanta). I was just minding my own business, enjoying my jam session to Taylor Swift, when I looked to my right and noticed something.

There was a couple, seemingly married, sitting at a table outside a local restaurant. The weather was great, perfect for an evening out. Their dog was chilling out underneath the table as they casually sipped on some sweet tea. It looked like the picture-perfect date night.

Except for one thing.

They were both on their phones.

I sat at the red light next to the restaurant for two or three rotations. Not once during those few minutes did this couple even look up at each other, much less actually put their phones down. In fact, I don’t recall seeing them even talk to each other. They just sat there in silence, seeming perfectly content with staring at a screen instead of engaging with each other.

I’m sorry, but that just doesn’t seem right to me.

When did it become acceptable to pay more attention to your phone than to your dinner date?

Weigh Your Words Before You Size Me Up

If your upbringing was anything like mine, then your parents probably used the phrase, “If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all” on at least a few occasions. What if someone else’s parents didn’t tell them that? What if they did say something that wasn’t so nice? What happens then? Maybe you used the good old “sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.”

I don’t know about you, but every time I said that, I knew in my heart it wasn’t true. Don’t get me wrong. I’m the biggest wimp in the world when it comes to physical pain, so I have no doubt that if you throw a stick or a stone at me I’ll start crying, but there have been a few times in my life where words have hurt worse than any stick or stone on this earth.

Don’t Judge A Book By Its Cover, Or A Person By Her Cover Photo

Picture this: It was the beginning of my final semester of college. I had landed an internship at a large non-profit in Atlanta, and because the other intern on my team had left, I had landed my own office. That’s right. A 10×10 room with my own desk and a wonderful view of the parking lot.

I know it might not sound that glamorous to you, but it was a very big deal to me.

Fast forward a month into the glory that was having my own office, and my boss stops by to talk to me one day. He proceeds to tell me that he was going to be hiring another intern, and when that happened, the new intern would share an office with me.

That was the end of an era. The days of having my own office ended more quickly than they began, and needless to say, I was not happy about it.

About a week later I met the new intern when she came in for her interview. Her name was Noelle. She seemed nice, but everyone’s nice at an interview. So after she left, I did what any college-aged girl would do in my situation: I stalked her on Instagram.

You Told Me I Was Different

I never saw us working out. We were as different as night and day.

But something about you pierced my heart, so I couldn’t walk away.

 

Initially, my guard was up. I was scared of another goodbye.

But you told me I was different and asked me to give us a try.