Men

Can I also tell you that I am ALL about this men's hair trend. ALL ABOUT IT

Where the wind comes sweeping down the plains.

Tomorrow I am hopping on a plane and heading "home" and I say "home" because my parents just moved to a new city about and 1 and a half from our old home and this will be the first time I go to this new place. But they say home is where the heart is right? So I guess wherever my family is, that's home.

Anyway I am SO excited. Like woah. I get to see my parents, my grandparents, my brother, my sister in law, my nieces, my favorites Lisa, Michael, Cory, Reeves, and Taylor and my dog. Oh goodness it is going to be a week full of 5 minute hugs and laughter.

Things is Nashville are great but a little time away is going to be oh so good for my soul.

i, with a deeper instinct, choose a man who compels my strength, who makes enormous demands on me, who does not doubt my courage or my toughness, who does not believe me naive or innocent, who has the courage to treat me like a woman.

anais nin

Yep

(via Meg)

Hippie Hair

Ya'll, this stuff is CHANGING MY LIFE.

Best thing since sliced bread. For real.

(I'm on day 2 of not washing my hair...gross or awesome? I choose awesome)

Run Run Run

I completed Week 1 of Couch to 5K. By day 3 I wasn't completely dreading the run. I was actually looking a little forward to it (but just a little). It was an escape and by the end of each run I felt great. This week the running segments get longer. I feel the hate of running slowly fading away.

Yes, I realize this photo is completely fake, but still, every time I look at it I get chills and have a mini panic attack. Can you imagine.

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It's an incredibly good and a sometimes painful thing when God places people in your life who challenge you to be a better you. To be more like who God created you to be, who He longs for you to be.

Sometimes they are fully aware of the challenge they are giving you. When they see something in you, or an action you take and they call you out on it. Or they make you think about something in a way you've never thought about it before. Or they just remind you something you once knew, once held close that you somehow let slip.

Sometimes they have no idea the impact they are having on you. Just being around them makes you want to be better. To live better. To be who you are supposed to be. It may be an innocent comment or action that catches you off guard and makes you think and reexamine parts of your life.

And all of a sudden things start to come into focus again. You see that sin or attitude that you have been trying so hard to ignore, or that passion you once had comes flooding to the surface, or you realize why you do some of the things you do, or a teaching or scripture you once held dear is brought back into your life with just as much power as it had before. And it's beautiful. Even in the painful moments of seeing things in yourself you wish you didn't see, it's beautiful, because you are becoming more beautiful. You see this person for the complete blessing they are.

And you're thankful. So very thankful

God Help Me

So, this morning I decided to do the Couch to 5k training program. Sigh...

I have never loved running. Actually if you ask my friends they would tell you that I have proclaimed often how much I hate just running. So why on earth have I decided to get to the point where I can run a 5k? I have no idea.

I guess that's not true at all. I do know. Running is great for you, all of you. Mind and body. It helps you lose weight, get in shape, it's great for your heart, the benefits are endless (well they probably end, but it makes me feel better about my decision to start this dreadful journey if I say they are endless, ok?)

Nobody likes running at first, right? You have to build up to it. And that is exactly what this Couch to 5k program does. It doesn't want you to push yourself so hard at first that you despise running and quit. It's little by little. Run for 60 seconds, walk for 90. rise and repeat.

How am I going to stay motivated? Well I am going to blog about it once a week telling my progress for that week, how i'm feeling etc. I am also going to put stupid cheesy motivational sayings in random places where I will see them and feel guilty about sitting on my butt (yes, guilting myself is a completely acceptable way to stay motivated.) and lastly I am going to get on of my friends (who is a freak and loves to run) to text, call, yell etc at me to make sure I have done my running for the week. And he will, I know he will, and I will get mad at him for it and it will be a great idea for our friendship. And EVENTUALLY (when I am not gasping for air, and barely lifting my feet by the end of the run) I will get a running partner.

This is my plan.

Stay tuned.

And pray for me

Relationships are hard. Really really hard. It doesn't matter if it's a friendship, a romantic relationship or family. It's hard and it's messy and people get hurt and things go wrong and lines get blurred.

It's inevitable.

If these things don't happen in your friendships at least at some point, you're probably not as close as you might think you are.

Because people are messy and stupid and if you really dive into a relationship you're going to see people's mess, the things about them that drive you crazy and you don't like.

It's in those moments where you have to make the decision to either stick with it, fight for it, or run and give up.

The fighting, the wading through the mess, the hurt, the mending, the decision to stay, that's the beautiful part.

That is what makes the laughter, the seeing the good, the love so much better, it makes it real.

There will come a day when relationships aren't hard, where things will be as they were intended to be, and as beautiful as never giving up on relationships is, it also makes me long for what will one day be. Where there are no walls, no past, no games, no shame or fear. Just pure love.

"As far as relationships and people go, I'll take real and messy over fake and pretty every day of the week"

"A perfect relationship isn't actually ever perfect, it's just one where both people never give up"

I Know Better

In the words of the singer Meiko:

I know better than to be friends with boys with girlfriends

Puppy Love

Good Lord, that's cute