In Over My Head

Every once in a while comes a song that resonates deeply in my heart. I am a music lover (probably an obvious statement if you've read previous posts) so I am usually very emotionally invested in the music I listen to, but sometimes there's a song that goes beyond. Often it's because of the lyrics; the right words coming at the right time in my life. This week I was randomly introduced to the song "In Over My Head" by Bethel. It was on in the background and the first time it wasn't until the bridge that it caught my attention. The second time through it had me at the first line.

I have come to a place in my life 
I'm full but I'm not satisfied

I love the heart that this song has. The heart of coming to God, knowing that we believe but maybe aren't quite in the head-space that we want to be.

This song is a prayer to be known and to know more, and I absolutely love it.

Would you come and tear down the boxes that I have tried to put You in
Let love come and teach me who You are again
Take me back to the place where my heart was only about You
And all I wanted was just to be with You
Come and do whatever You want to

I pray that this week you are encouraged to take this song seriously, because I think that it's more than a song. It's more like an extremely bold prayer. A prayer that God would take you from lukewarm to piping hot; from complacent to completely in love.

 

Rend Collective

Just released!

Song: One and Only

Artist: Rend Collective

New Music Friday

In case you missed the memo, new music is now going to be released (world-wide) on Fridays.

Here's to weekends filled with new music :)

Check out:

Mobile Orchestra - Owl City

Released: today!

I'm only half way through the album but I'm already in love! There's some classic Owl City vibes (try Unbelievable) mixed with some new ideas (try I Found Love). And I'm absolutely loving all of the collaborations (so far my fave is Thunderstruck with Sarah Russell)

Having a Moment: Off the Shoulder

Off the shoulder tees & dresses are definitely in the spotlight right now.

I love that they can be dressed up or down with a simple switch off accessories and shoes! And I especially love this chambray one that Kendi wore on her blog!

via

Reading the Bible

I was listening to one of Jeff and Alyssa Bethke's podcasts recently (it's called Anything & Everything, it can be found on iTunes and it's fantastic!) and they were talking about really getting into reading the Bible, but described it in a great way that really hit home:

We're told the Bible is like food, sustaining us. But sometimes we're blown away or affected deeply by what we read and other times we aren't. It's like meals though... Some days we're going to have a big, wonderfully memorable steak dinner and other nights it's nothing special. They are both still necessary, though, because they are sustenance our body needs.

So just because some days you don't feel blown away by your Bible reading don't get discouraged! We are meant to be in the Word and through it God has, and will, do amazing things. Be patient and pray that your heart will be open to what God has to say to you through His Words.

Summer Lists

Summer 2015 Fashion Tips:

1. White is always ideal for summer. Try a cute take on it with a white dress and bright accessories.

2.  Swim suits are a perfect piece to invest in. I've mentioned it before, but I love a good one piece - they're classic yet unexpected. This one (it's actually a two piece but has the flair of a one piece!) has had me swooning with it's unique silhouette and bright pops of colour.

3. Best way to beat the heat: dresses! Seriously, they're breezy but totally put together. Find one like this one and you can make it casual or put-together for the office.

Coming Soon (Music):

 1. July 10th - Owl City - Mobile Orchestra

2. July 17th - Jon Foreman - The Wonderlands: Shadows (EP)

3. August 28th - Sidewalk Prophets - Something Different

On My Reading List:

1. Donal Miller's Scary Close 

2. Lisa Velthouse's Craving Grace {I read this book every summer}

3. Judah Smith's Life Is ____

On A Random Note:
It's Sevenly's 4th Birthday! I've mentioned this website a few times on the blog and I'm 100% a fan. They have helped raise almost $4.5 million dollars for various charities in their 4 years, all the while promoting these amazing causes through they're fantastic t-shirts and products. Check them out!

Top 4 - June 9th

cute take on cut-offs I'll be trying out this week:

tutorial here

book I've added to my list to read this summer:

CDs on repeat:

The Wonderlands: Sunlight ~ Jon Foreman

Seriously, this is Jon Foreman at his finest! I love the variety and the lyrics and... ok, I love it all.

Download now: The Mountain & Patron Saint of Rock and Roll

beautifully done up quote:

via

Even When It Hurts

Song: Even When It Hurts (Praise Song)

Artist: Hillsong United

Greatly to be Praised

 

Song: Greatly to be Praised

Artist: Citizens & Saints

Summer Must Haves

Here's a list of my must have products and things for the summer!

1. Pillow Soft Curls

Perfect for a lazy summer day. It smells great and definitely works!

2. Love Does by Bob Goff

This book is seriously amazing. It's funny, thoughtful and has tons of powerful truths! And that's just with me being half way through!

 3. A beautiful one-piece swimsuit 

I think that two-pieces have their place, but nothing can beat a great one-piece! 

This one is especially fantastic!

4. Verge by Owl City ft. Aloe Blacc

Perfect for graduations! This upbeat song is totally Owl City with a little bit of a twist!

5. A Comfy but Cute Dress

Summer outfits need to be easy to put together and comfy but cute. This dress is an adorable option!

via

6. Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Shortbread Cookies

To. Die. For. Recipe here

7. Bananagrams

This game is perfect to play out on the patio as the sun goes down! And it's for all ages!

Buy it here

8. French Bread Pizzas

I haven't tried these yet but they look easy to whip up and delicious - so they're definitely going to be perfect for summer munching! Recipe from here

9. Caroline by Jon Foreman

As the lead singer of Switchfoot, it's pretty much a guarantee that anything this guy touches will turn to gold. This song is only available on Spotify at the moment but it's making the anticipation for his new albums (4 with a total of 24 songs coming out this year!) even greater! It's a beautiful background song for the summer.

Top 4

On my shelf ready to read:

get it here

Song on repeat:

Quote:

Lord, you have been our dwelling place
    in all generations. Before the mountains were brought forth,
    or ever you had formed the earth and the world,
    from everlasting to everlasting you are God.

-Psalm 90:1-2 (ESV)

On the look out for a new swim suit:

original post/photo here

 

Prayer

I've been really reminded this weekend that prayer is a powerful thing. 

Whatever is going on in your life, never forget that God is a God who listens. He is a God that is faithful and He is a God that is loving. He is also a God who puts thought into the details of every single second. 

Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns.

- Phillipians 4:6 (The Message; emphasis added)

My Stress-Buster Playlist

This week has been a bit nuts (and by a bit I mean absolutely, completely nuts). Here's some of the songs I've been using to try and keep my stress levels down:

• Vapor - The Liturgists
• Hallelujah, To Saving Grace - Bellarive
• Salt & Light - Lauren Daigle
• This Is Living (Acoustic) - Hillsong Young & Free
• He Knows - Jeremy Camp
• Furious - Jeremy Riddle
• I Know You - Bellarive
• The Ruins - Jonathan Thulin feat. Moriah Peters

Top 4

Quote:

"We get so worried about being pretty. Let's be pretty kind. Pretty funny. Pretty smart. Pretty strong."

- Anon.

Song {something a bit different than usual}:

"Silhouettes" - Swimming with Dolphins

Fashion:

These have been on my feet constantly since I bought them last week!

  

Book:

Can't wait to read this over the summer!

 

Top 4

Book I've Been Reading:

Find it here

 Song on Repeat:

Over and Over Again - Lauren Daigle

Quote:

"Happiness, not in another place but in this place... not for another hour, but this hour."

- Walt Whitman

Fashion Item:

Donate to an autism charity and look cute (via Sevenly)

 

Top 4

Song  on repeat:

 

Vapor - The Liturgists

 Quote:

"If nothing else the Christian faith is one masterful story of life emerging from the grave. We are resurrection people who audaciously believe that the ultimate end of our story is life not death."

Jenny Simmons

On my closet's wishlist:

via

 

 

 

 

 

Perfect re-read for the post-Easter season:

synopsis here

  

Waiting.

To some, this is a sombre day. The day that Jesus was in the grave. But to me it isn't so much a sad day as it is an amazingly beautiful day. If I had been there at the time I would like to think that it would be have been a deeply sombre day, but with the hindsight that we have in the Bible this Saturday doesn't have to be sad, it can be a joyful one. Jesus has risen. We know this and we we know that He was risen for us.

One of the most beautiful parts of the crucifixion story for me is the part where the Temple's veil is torn in two (Mark 15:38). It separated the holiest of holy areas from the not-quite-as-holy places and was where God's presence was. The tearing of the veil (to me) symbolizes that God no longer needed to be in the Temple receiving sacrifices - He had received the final, necessary sacrifice through His Son. We don't have to separate our not-quite-as-holy places with our God-filled places anymore. He looks at those places and still calls us beloved because of what Jesus did on the cross.

Nothing But The Blood - Corey Voss

Good Friday

Struck by these beautiful words that popped up on my computer screen this afternoon. I think they do an amazing job of describing this day:

"It is finished. Complete.
And hear this today - really hear it: Because it is finished, there is nothing that any one of us can contribute to Jesus' work on the cross to bring us any closer to salvation."
- She Reads Truth, Lent Day 45

True Love - Phil Wickham

(my favorite Easter song) 

Worship On Repeat

It's been a slow year for finding new artists that I love for some reason. Here's a list of worship tunes that I've had on repeat lately - in the background for studying, my devotions and just in general!

Forever - Passion

Love the amazing truth that they sing about throughout this. The verses are incredibly written!

Unstoppable God - Elevation Worship

Loving the simpleness of this song and the truth it proclaims!

Holy (Wedding Day) - The City Harmonic

The lyrics in this one give me shivers every. single. time.

Great Are You Lord - All Sons and Daughters

This chorus though... seriously can't get enough

Drops in the Ocean - Hawk Nelson

A little more upbeat than the rest - I love the perspective it takes!        

Top 4

The 2nd installment of this series.

Check out my top 4 picks from this week:

Book I'm Reading:

Buy it here

Outfit:

via Kendi Everyday

Quote:

via unknown

Song:

THE RUINS by Jonathan Thulin (w/Moriah Peters)

[I can't get a good video sorry!]

Top 4

Since I've found myself posting mostly music stuff lately, I thought I'd attempt to do a post every week that hit all the different things that I've highlighted on this blog in the past, to cover all my bases. So, you'll find my "top 4" of the week here - song, quote, book I want to read, fashion trend/item!

Song:

Holy (Wedding Day) - The City Harmonic

Quote:

Book:

Buy it here

 

Fashion Item:

Buy it here

 

 

SOTW - My Heart is Ready

I'm fairly confident that I have gushed about Jonathan Thulin in previous posts, so this time I will refrain (seriously, though, he is insanely talented... okay, I'll stop)

Song: My Heart is Ready

Artist: Jonathan Thulin

p.s. His new album drops this Tuesday! I got a sneak preview on newreleasetuesday.com

and man, is it phenomenal!

SOTW - He Knows

So encouraged by this song today!

"We may faint and we may sink; feel the pain and near the brink. But the dark begins to shrink when you find the One who knows."

Song: He Knows

Artist: Jeremy Camp

Book Review - Restless

Boy, oh boy has it been a while since I've done a book review. I actually listed this book in my top 3 faith books of 2014 so this is a long time coming! Here it goes:

Restless by Jennie Allen
Ok, so if I'm being honest, it took me a while to get into this one. Once I did get into it though, it really challenged me and got me to reevaluate some aspects of my life, especially my perspective on my schooling and future career.

One of this book's purposes is to guide you in finding the threads (a term she uses a lot throughout the book) in your life that you're passionate about and help you see how these can be used to define your purpose. What the book actually taught me was something a bit different

I sort of went into this book not knowing what I was in for (which may be one of the reasons it took me so long to get into it). I was pretty sure I could name my passions and fit them into what I was (pretty) sure was my purpose. This book - while maybe meant to narrow in on a certain purpose - actually helped me broaden my sense of purpose in a really good way. Often I find that I get too focused on a worldly purpose (ie. my schooling, my future career etc.) and forget my Godly purpose which is to make disciples (see Matthew 28:18-20). Ultimately, I think God can use our wordly purpose as a vehicle for us to interact with unbelievers, but we can't lose sight of the fact that once we're gone our careers (our degrees, our success etc.) won't matter. What will matter is how we glorified God on this earth.

To get back to the book now... I thought that the writing was engaging and thought-provoking. She used a lot of personal stories that really show cased the points she was trying to make, while showing that she wasn't just teaching these ideas but actually learning them in her own life as well. There were also funky little journaling sections which looked fun (although I didn't use them).

I would highly recommend this one to women of any age but I definitely think it's an important topic for teens and young adults to dive into!

Having a Moment: Stripes + Plaid and Sevenly

At this current point in the winter season, layering is definitely key! I am loving the stripe and plaid combinations that keep popping up on pinterest! Here's two of my favorites:

via. Twenties Girl Style

via. unknown

Can I also just take another moment here to highlight some of my absolute favorite t-shirts (that I'm dreaming about wearing with cuffed jeans and cute flats when the weather gets warmer)? If you haven't heard of Sevenly you are seriously missing out! Cute limited-edition t-shirts that help support amazing organizations? A total win-win in my books! Here are two of my favorites (the bottom one is no longer available [sorry!] but it does showcase their amazing artistry and thoughtfulness as they put together designs!):

direct link to product: here

Stress Less

"Stress makes you believe that everything has to happen right now. Faith reassures you that everything will happen in God's timing."

- Unknown

New Music!

Yay for new music! 

Found these guys on newreleasetuesday.com!

Song: Over and Over Again

Artist: I Am They

Tolkien

This quote.

This organization.

Song of the Week: This is Living

Song: This Is Living (Acoustic)

Artist: Hillsong Young & Free