Friday, November 30, 2012

Look of the Day - Casual Christmas

I love getting dressed up for Christmas parties and events but after a while it seems like all I ever wear is red and green. While this is great and very festive, I have come up with a few ways of adding some twists to my festive outfits while keeping them true to the Christmas spirit and I want to share those with you throughout the coming weeks!

Christmas Look #1

Casual, understated Christmas

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What to do, what to do... Maroon (or oxblood as they're calling it these days) is a beautiful version of the classic Christmas colour red. I love pairing it with gold because I think that they play off each other well. Here I added some soft green flats to add that second Christmassy colour into the outfit. You could also add a green headband or a dark green blazer/cardigan.
Tip... Try different shades of green and red - like maroon or dark, forest green. Gold jewelry goes amazingly well with both these colours and for some reason gold always makes me feel Christmassy :)

God With Us - SOTW

I only started listening to this song today but I love it! 
I love his voice and love love love the lyrics.
Not your typical Christmas song because it's not a classic
but we need some new classics!

Song: God With Us
Artist: Jeremy Camp

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Abe Lincoln

"I can see how it might be possible for a man to look down upon the earth and be an atheist, but I cannot conceive how a man could look up into the heavens and say there is no God."
-Abraham Lincoln

Thought that this was an interested quote to chew on.

Monday, November 26, 2012

Where Is God?

I went to an awesome church service yesterday and I wanted to share a bit of what the pastor spoke about!

His question to the church to start it all off was "Where is God?" A weighty question but definitely one that is worth looking in on. Here are some of the points that he talked about!

1) God is looking for us - reaching out to us. In Genesis 3:9 it says "But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, 'Where are you?'" God isn't sitting idly by. He wants a relationship with you!

2) We encounter God in the Bible. When we seek to know Him more by reading His word, He reveals Himself to us.

3) God is with us when we pray. It is a two way communication. In Psalm 91:15 God says: "When he calls to me, I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor him." And in Isaiah 58:9 we read: "Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer;you shall cry, and he will say, ‘Here I am.’"

4) God is always within us when we are born again. "You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you" (Romans 8:9). God fills us with His Spirit when we follow Him so that we are never without His guidance!

God is not hard to find. He's waiting for us to reach out for Him. Don't take this for granted. Take Him up on this offer! 

Friday, November 23, 2012

The Night Before Christmas - SOTW

I promised you Christmas songs...

I have to say, this is probably my favorite Christmas song of all time.
I love the lyrics - sooo much truth going on in them!

Song: The Night Before Christmas
Artist: Brandon Heath

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Impact

Instead of limiting it to one quote this week I thought I would share a few quotes/verses/lyrics that have greatly affected my life in the past few months. Enjoy!

"The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective"
- James 5:16

"Never apologize for being sensitive or emotional. Let this be a sign that you've got a big heart and aren't afraid to let others see it."
- Brigitte Nicole

"God's grace is not an excuse to sin, but rather a reason to love and serve Him more fully."
- Unknown

"Bad days make good ones better."
- Unknown

"You could run till you can't find hope, sail till you can't see land. But there is no place you could go. You could fall till you're out of hope, chase things that never last. You could never run to far. Love will find you where you are."
- Love Will Find You by The Museum

"Consume me, Lord. Every single thought. Consume me, Lord. 'Cause You are all I've got. There's nothing here that I want more than to be consumed by You."
- Consume Me by Sixteen Cities

Monday, November 19, 2012

Inspired, not Confined

If you're like me then you've seen a picture of an outfit on Pinterest, a fashion blog or a fashion magazine and said "wow, I should do that!" This reaction is usually followed by a "how in the world do I replicate this out fit, I don't own any of those things!"

My trick to share with you is this: ask yourself why you like it. Is it the sparkle, the shape of the dress, the pattern mixing, the mixture of textures? When you pinpoint this you can look to your own closet for pieces that have the same idea as the one that you like in the picture.

Example #1:
 I may not have a white dress exactly like that in my closet, but I like the outfit because of the way it's put together not necessarily the dress. To recreate this look I might pull out my plain little black dress, a cute colorful clutch and mix together different accessories like she did here.


Example #2: 
Check out this next outfit on the right. You may take a quick glance at it and think it's cute and then say that you don't have the pieces to recreate this, but think again! All this one is is a cute patterned scarf, a patterned button down and a high waist skirt - definitely all staple wardrobe pieces. The trick about this outfit is that it's all in a similar color palate! I bet that you can make this outfit out of pieces in your own closet super easily.

sidewalkready.com
Example #3: 
When I pinned this on Pinterest I wrote the tagline: "white shirt, patterned maxi and sandals." If you think of an outfit for its pieces then it's easier to be able to create your own version. And if you have a maxi dress not a skirt, maybe try putting the t-shirt over top of the top of the dress and adding the belt to define your waist. It's all about using what you've got and being inspired, not confined, by the images that you see.
 

The trick is that you need to recreate not replicate. We don't all have hundreds of dollars to spend on clothes and we don't all get free gifts from designers like magazines and bloggers do. Take the time to figure out why you like the outfit and then translate that into something that is realistic with your own life!
 


Friday, November 16, 2012

Proof of Your Love

I promise there will be Christmas music next week... or the week after... But for this week, one of my favorites!
Beautiful lyrics taken from 1 Corinthians 13. 
Awesome message.
Epic Video.
Powerful prayer.

Song: Proof of Your Love
Artist: For King and Country

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Wise words of the Week

I think that we've diminished God's size in our own tidy little boxes. He is way bigger than we could ever imagine. He does need us to love Him but He wants us to. He doesn't want us to put Him into a little box and be able to prove every single thing about Him. He is a mystery. He wants our faith
Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1 ESV). 
We as humans won't be able to scientifically prove God because there's too much that we don't know. Trust that He knows what's going on and that He is in control. 

Friday, November 9, 2012

Dear Heart... Song of the Week

Sometimes following our hearts is not the way to go...

Song: Dear Heart
Artist: Sanctus Real

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Wise words of the week

"Our willingness to wait reveals the 
value we place on the object we're
waiting for."
- Charles Stanley

Sometimes it feels like God isn't answering our prayers. 
Sometimes we just need to learn patience. 
If we are willing to wait, He has great thing in mind. 
    

Monday, November 5, 2012

Look of the Day

Plaid shirt with a chunky, knit scarf, leather jacket and jeans. Simple colour palate.
A great way to use some wardrobe basics.
 

CD Review - Focus

Focus - Holly Starr
I loved Holly's last album, Tapestry, so I was super excited when I heard that she was coming out with another one! She has such a sweet, pure voice and beautiful lyrics!
This album definitely disappoint! With a mixture of beat driven fast songs and thoughtful slow songs, it has a song for everyone. Her lyrics are super catchy. Don't Have Love is about how having all sorts of different things in this world are nothing if you don't have love to go with them. Focus is my favourite by far - it deals with keeping our focus on God at all times. With lyrics like "Lord, I really need to stop right now. Stop now and focus on You. Even with the chaos all around, I'll stop now and focus on You," it was my favourite after the first listen.
Listen to: Satisfied and Focus

Saturday, November 3, 2012