I needed this reminder today. Whatever this new week brings, remember that you are loved with an eternal love. That puts everything else into perspective.
Simply,
Liv
Inspired By Lately
If you're anything like me, the last few weeks of the school year (especially when it includes the biggest blizzard of the year) are usually the hardest. I lack any semblance of motivation at the time when I need it most. So I'm trying to find inspiration to keep pushing forward everywhere I go. Here are some lessons I've learned so far:
1. Self-proclaimed "Mental-health-snow-days" are sometimes necessary.
2. Pinterest breaks are a must. I pretty much find all my inspiration/distraction here.
3. Drink coffee. But not as a substitute for actual food and water. Or you might pass out in the hallway in front of a bunch of fellow English majors. Personal experience? You'll never know.
4. School doesn't control your happiness or value in life.
5. Quit forgetting that you live in Colorado and blizzards always happen in the middle of April.
These probably obvious, yet important lessons are getting me through the storm that is finals season. While trying to strike a balance between school and "real life" is difficult, keeping a diligently relaxed (oxymoron? Probably.) attitude is so important.
So here are a few things that make me smile and help me daydream a little bit in the midst of the craziness:
1. Self-proclaimed "Mental-health-snow-days" are sometimes necessary.
2. Pinterest breaks are a must. I pretty much find all my inspiration/distraction here.
3. Drink coffee. But not as a substitute for actual food and water. Or you might pass out in the hallway in front of a bunch of fellow English majors. Personal experience? You'll never know.
4. School doesn't control your happiness or value in life.
5. Quit forgetting that you live in Colorado and blizzards always happen in the middle of April.
These probably obvious, yet important lessons are getting me through the storm that is finals season. While trying to strike a balance between school and "real life" is difficult, keeping a diligently relaxed (oxymoron? Probably.) attitude is so important.
So here are a few things that make me smile and help me daydream a little bit in the midst of the craziness:
 |
Dreaming of the ocean
Loving this song
Simply,
Liv |
A Balancing Act
Recently I've noticed my tendency to focus on certain areas of my life over others, and while this isn't necessarily a bad thing, it can quickly throw my priorities out of whack and cause me to miss a lot of the beautiful things around me. My first instinct is to neglect things like eating healthy or making time for a quiet time. I rationalize that its worth the fifteen extra minutes of sleep, so I'm stuck with grabbing a pop tart and half a cup of cold coffee on my way out the door. I put off reading my Bible till the absolute last thing of the day, and by that point its usually somewhere around 1 AM and I figure that God will be more offended if I fall asleep while I pray than if I just skip it altogether.
Routines are oh so easy to fall into, and while there are good things about structure, sometimes I miss being able to wake up with no agenda. But since I've entered this thing called "the Real World", structureless living is in short supply. I rush to the bus stop in the morning, barely make it on time to my first class, somehow make it through my next three, zoom off to pick up Roxy, my little puppy, try and relieve her of as much energy as possible, somehow fit two full days of nannying in and schedule my free hours for things like homework and Biblestudies and late night phone calls with my boyfriend. And do it all over and over and over again.
And I have a feeling I'm not alone here....
With the blurry rush that is our day to day, balance is an imperative thing to master. I read a blog post a few months ago from a dear friend back in Nebraska, that unbeknownst to her has stuck with me all this time. She wrote about choosing one word to define your year. A word that you've prayerfully considered, seen reappear in your life, or encompasses a lesson you're learning.
That was all the way back in January. Three months later, I know what my word is. Balance.
Used as a noun, balance means...
an even distribution of weight enabling someone or something to remain upright and steady.
Upright and steady. How fitting.
Balance is recognizing what is important and what isn't so that I can remain steady- faithful to what I've committed to. Balance is distributing the weight of all of my commitments and relationships, putting each in their proper place. While its so easy for me to "loose my balance" and give certain things more weight than they should and others not enough, its never too late to redistribute and refocus.
Today I'm thankful for that blog post I read months ago (you can/should read it here). I'm thankful that lost balance can be restored.
Though I was a little late in figuring out my "word" for the year, I'm excited to see how keeping balance in the forefront of my mind will help my priorities fall into place.
If you had to pick one word to define you for 2013, what would it be? Its something worth considering.
Happy weekend!
Simply,
Simply,
Liv
Thankful For Lately
I've been so thankful for my life lately. I'm feeling overly blessed as I jump into this new semester, expecting it to be great. A few things in particular have been grabbing my heart lately, things that make me excited to start each day.
I'm continually reminded of how important it is to pause and remember the things that make life great. Anything from a vanilla latte to a puppy.
What are you thankful for this week?
I'm thankful that I rediscovered our espresso maker and started a few days off this week with delicious vanilla lattes.
I'm thankful that I get to see the sunrise at least twice a week when I go to work. It's an incredible reminder of God's provision everyday.
I'm thankful for this amazing mid-January weather. I can't remember any other winter in Colorado where it has been nice enough to slack line in the middle of winter.
Finally, I'm thankful for this sweet, little baby AJ and I adopted yesterday. Her name is Roxy and I don't think I've ever fallen in love with something so quickly. We are so excited to have her and I can't wait to share our adventures with you!
I'm continually reminded of how important it is to pause and remember the things that make life great. Anything from a vanilla latte to a puppy.
What are you thankful for this week?
Six Months in a Nut Shell
Now that I've had my moment of clarity and decided to pick up where I left off on my blog, the real work begins. I can barely remember everything that has happened the last six months, let alone summarize it in a blog post. Its kind of like when you're trying to watch a movie, but the DVD is scratched and skips about 4 scenes and then you're completely lost and have to take it out and wash it with dish soap and pick back up where you left off. .....Kind of.
So this is me cleaning up that scratch. A lot has happened since I last blogged, but I'll fill you in as best I can starting where I left off- Latvia (you can read about part of my trip here).
My time in Latvia was amazing for so many reasons. I got to spend two weeks doing what I love- playing music and teaching kids. I grew not only as a worship leader, but as a person through the many lessons God etched into my heart. Going on this trip was one of the best decisions I've made and I'm planning on going back as soon as possible!
Remember when I said the trip was amazing for more than one reason? Well one of my favorite reasons is the gentleman sitting behind me in the picture above. I know what you're thinking...and no, I didn't just take a trip across the globe to snag myself a man, but that's what happened in the end. So ladies and gentlemen, I'd like you to meet AJ. One of the more significant changes to my life in the past six months ;)
We got to know each other while serving in Latvia, kept talking afterwards, and started dating about a month later (July 21st...but who's keeping track...). It's quite a lovely story and I love telling it, but I said this was a nutshell recap, so I won't bore you with the mushy-gushy details. But he will probably make quite a few appearances in posts to come, so consider yourself warned.
For the rest of the summer, I worked up in Grand Lake at a lovely little coffee shop and spent most of my time skyping AJ, drinking coffee and hanging out with my adopted Grand Lake family.
Once August rolled around, I moved back to my apartment and started my third semester of college. I learned a lot about things like procrastination, direction, keeping my priorities straight after throwing a boyfriend into the mix, and the negative effects of skipping class. Needless to say, last semester was not my favorite. But more on that later.
Despite my lack of enthusiasm for school, my job added quite a bit of sunshine to days when I just wanted to hit the snooze button...again. I'm now a nanny for two incredible 3 year-old twin boys. We have such a blast together and it has been wonderful spending a few days a week with them. They will probably make a few appearances on here as well throughout the year.
That's just about all you need to know. The past six months have been wonderful, but I'm so excited to be back in the blogging world. I'm still brainstorming ideas for posts, but keep your eye out for bits and pieces of my day-to-day, DIY inspiration, random musings and encouragement to notice the small, simple things in life.
Until next time, remember to:
And:
Simply,
Liv
So this is me cleaning up that scratch. A lot has happened since I last blogged, but I'll fill you in as best I can starting where I left off- Latvia (you can read about part of my trip here).
 |
| My acoustic guitar workshop :) |
 |
| Getting a little crazy after our talent show |
 |
| Most of the team |
Remember when I said the trip was amazing for more than one reason? Well one of my favorite reasons is the gentleman sitting behind me in the picture above. I know what you're thinking...and no, I didn't just take a trip across the globe to snag myself a man, but that's what happened in the end. So ladies and gentlemen, I'd like you to meet AJ. One of the more significant changes to my life in the past six months ;)
For the rest of the summer, I worked up in Grand Lake at a lovely little coffee shop and spent most of my time skyping AJ, drinking coffee and hanging out with my adopted Grand Lake family.
Once August rolled around, I moved back to my apartment and started my third semester of college. I learned a lot about things like procrastination, direction, keeping my priorities straight after throwing a boyfriend into the mix, and the negative effects of skipping class. Needless to say, last semester was not my favorite. But more on that later.
Despite my lack of enthusiasm for school, my job added quite a bit of sunshine to days when I just wanted to hit the snooze button...again. I'm now a nanny for two incredible 3 year-old twin boys. We have such a blast together and it has been wonderful spending a few days a week with them. They will probably make a few appearances on here as well throughout the year.
That's just about all you need to know. The past six months have been wonderful, but I'm so excited to be back in the blogging world. I'm still brainstorming ideas for posts, but keep your eye out for bits and pieces of my day-to-day, DIY inspiration, random musings and encouragement to notice the small, simple things in life.
Until next time, remember to:
 |
| here |
 |
| here |
Simply,
Liv
Simply Re-Starting
There's really no way to have a smooth opening here, so I'll just say it: I haven't blogged in six months. There is probably some law out there that discredits anything I ever say on here again just because of that.
SIX MONTHS.
Where have I been, you ask? In the middle of the world's longest writer's block apparently.
After my trip to Latvia (....when I wrote my last post), I guess I just got distracted by "real life" and forgot about writing it all down. Things started moving quickly and a lot changed, so I just stopped writing. I lost interest, honestly.
But something in the back of my mind kept nagging me, telling me that I wasn't being completely myself. I wasn't content with just living life, in spite of how beautiful it has been lately. I wanted to write about my life and share it with others. I wanted to inspire and be inspired. Without that, things just feel sort of dry.
So I'm back.
I debated whether to start a whole new blog or to just pick up where this one left off and somehow make up for half a year of lost time, and decided to keep this here blog for good. I really like where I was headed before I fell of the face of the internet and hope I'm able to pick up right where I left off.
My goal in re-starting this blog is to inspire my readers (and remind myself) to see the beauty in the day-to-day and to live simply, enjoying every moment. More than a mere New Year's resolution, I hope that this journal of a normal college-student-trying-to-make-a-difference does inspire you to make changes and notice the small, beautiful things in life.
Be patient with me, though. It will take time to catch up with where I was six months ago, but I can't wait to share the changes with you, big and small. So here's to a new year, a new mindset and an old blog!
Simply,
Liv
Please take this wonderful quote from one of my favorite people as my sincere apology for the past six months.
SIX MONTHS.
Where have I been, you ask? In the middle of the world's longest writer's block apparently.
After my trip to Latvia (....when I wrote my last post), I guess I just got distracted by "real life" and forgot about writing it all down. Things started moving quickly and a lot changed, so I just stopped writing. I lost interest, honestly.
But something in the back of my mind kept nagging me, telling me that I wasn't being completely myself. I wasn't content with just living life, in spite of how beautiful it has been lately. I wanted to write about my life and share it with others. I wanted to inspire and be inspired. Without that, things just feel sort of dry.
So I'm back.
I debated whether to start a whole new blog or to just pick up where this one left off and somehow make up for half a year of lost time, and decided to keep this here blog for good. I really like where I was headed before I fell of the face of the internet and hope I'm able to pick up right where I left off.
My goal in re-starting this blog is to inspire my readers (and remind myself) to see the beauty in the day-to-day and to live simply, enjoying every moment. More than a mere New Year's resolution, I hope that this journal of a normal college-student-trying-to-make-a-difference does inspire you to make changes and notice the small, beautiful things in life.
Be patient with me, though. It will take time to catch up with where I was six months ago, but I can't wait to share the changes with you, big and small. So here's to a new year, a new mindset and an old blog!
Simply,
Liv
Latvian Adventure
For those of you who don't know, I went to Latvia with a group called Josiah Venture to help put on music camps for kids. During the week of camp, we taught the kids from all over the country how to play different instruments and prepared them as best we could for a concert for their friends and family at the end of the week. We used music as a vehicle to share the gospel and form relationships with them. It was so amazing to feel how quickly meaningful relationships formed and see lives changed (including my own) as we went through just one week of camp.
Before camp started though, we spent a few days in Latvia's capitol city, Riga, seeing the sights and trying to get acclimated to the 8 hour time difference before we jumped into a hectic week of music camp. Riga is a stunning city with so much history- I felt like I was traveling back in time. The architecture is incredible so it was hard for me not to snap pictures of every building I saw. Here are a few shots of our time in Riga before camp:
 |
| This is the Freedom Monument in Old Town Riga commemorating their liberation from the Soviet Union |
To help us better understand the culture we were serving in, we visited a museum dedicated to the memory of the soviet and communist occupation of Latvia. Though it was a sobering experience, it was so helpful in better understanding and relating to the country and its people.
More pictures to come!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)