Faithful Fridays ~ It's a PRIVILEGE.

Hey everyone!  It's Friday again.  :)

Faithful Fridays is a weekly "meme" hosted on my blog.  I made it so that Christians would have a designated day (Friday) to share something from their Christian walk on their blog.  If you'd like to participate, grab the button above, write your post, and link up at the bottom of this post!  :)

I was reading in my devotional the other day, and something kind of just hit me.

I don't think I really ever caught this before--I never really thought about it.  Before Jesus died on the cross, you had to go into a temple and ask forgiveness for their sins.  Even then, you had to stand behind a curtain and have a priest speak for you because--remember!--we were (and still are, if we don't put our trust in Jesus) separated from God because of the sin we were born into.

You had to go into the temple to learn about God and His Law.  There were no Bibles.  No way to get your spiritual fill at home like we can now.

But the Bible says that when God sent His One and Only Son to die on the cross as the Ultimate Sacrifice, the curtain that divided us from God's presence in the temple was SPLIT IN HALF.  Think about that for a second.  Think about what that symbolizes.

I often feel obligated to read my Bible and my devotional and pray and do all this stuff, when really--guys, it's a privilege!  We should feel blessed that we are able to come to Jesus at any time of the day, anywhere, no matter what the circumstances, and no matter what our condition--both spiritually and physically.  It's amazing, isn't it?  The God who formed the world with His hands allows us to freely visit Him!

Image via Pinterest.

So today, please be thankful for this awesome privilege we have--the privilege of coming to God whenever we need to.

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I also wanted to ask you guys to be praying for my mama today--she started feeling really bad yesterday and it's gotten pretty bad--she has fever, a headache, and earlier her whole body ached and she's been throwing up.  :(

God bless you and have a great day!

Joy :)

Back and White Wednesday ~ Spitfire.

Hey everyone!

I'm entering in Emma's Black and White Wednesday Photo Challenge.

Here's my entry:

This is my little cousin, Sydney.  She's just over 2 years old.  And she's a little spitfire.  My Pop calls her Short Fuse.  :)   She has the prettiest blue eyes and a big smile.  I can't wait to see her again!

God bless you!

Joy :)

Happy Birthday, Mama!

Today is your birthday, Mama.

I don't quite know what to say!

I know know what I'd do without you.  You're my best friend, the only person I can really tell everything to.  When I have something exciting to say, or something I'm upset about, or something I need advice on, you're the first one I talk to.  I love you.

You have put up with me.  Oh, gosh, yes.  And Luke (bless his loud little self).  And Daddy.  And Colt.

You're beautiful.  I'm glad I got your pretty brown eyes.  :)

Do you dye your hair red?!  :)

You always take an interest in what I'm interested in--whether it be music, movies, shows, actors or actresses, clothes...whatever it is, you try to connect with me on it.  I love that.

You always correct me when it's needed, and you try to do it in the best way you can.  I really appreciate that.

I love you.  I don't know what on earth I'd do without you! 

Happy birthday!  I love you!  8!  :)

Love,

Joy :)

Pinned It, Made It! Monday ~ Messy Bun Tutorial

Hey everyone!  Time for Pinned It, Made It! Monday.  :)  Pinned It, Made It! Monday is a weekly link-up my mama made so that bloggers could share something they pinned on Pinterest and actually followed through with.  ;)
You guys know how I'm into hair and nail stuff, and one hairstyle that's really popular right now is the messy bun.  I hate trying to get my hair into a high ponytail--it hurts and it's hard.  So, when I saw this little tutorial on Pinterest, I decided to try it.

^^The original pin.^^

I've been wearing this style quite a bit in the past week or so, and I've gotten lots of compliments.  I wear mine higher up, and a little less messy (although the really messy style is cute).  One stranger in Walmart was passing by and just looks up and says, "You're so cute!"  :P  Kind of made my day!  :)

SO, my dear readers, today you're getting one of the first videos from me (in the past two years, anyway).  Enjoy (and try not to laugh too hard at my southern accent, and my squealing brother in the background.  ;])

                                     

I love this style because it's cute, secure, and it keeps the hair out of your face and off your neck.  :)

The final product:

Have a great day and God bless!  :)

Joy :)

Song of the Week ~ Headphones by Britt Nicole.

Ya'll.  This song.  I love it.  :)  It's "Headphones" by Britt Nicole.  So fun and upbeat, and Christian, too!  :)  I love the music video below...it's entertaining (and Britt's hair and makeup is so cute).  :)


Oh, goodness, now it's in my head again.  So catchy!

Have a great week, guys.  I'm sure you'll be singing this along with me.  ;)

God bless you!
Love,
Joy :)

L-o-o-ove is coming through your headphones...la, la, la, la!

It Happens in a Blink.

This is a spur-of-the-moment post, guys.  I just found out that one of my online friends passed away.  She wasn't much older than me.  She was born with a life-threatening disease, but just a few weeks ago, she was "97% healthy."  She went in for a surgery on Friday (today, the day that I'm writing this), and while the surgery went well, she began having heart attacks and seizures one after the other for about three hours.  She passed away shortly after.

I'm pretty much in shock, as I just found out a few minutes ago.  I only knew this friend for a few months, but she called me her best friend.

This made me think really hard.

Life happens so fast.  I'm pretty sure my friend had a sort of disruptive family background...and I might have been the only "Jesus" she ever really knew.  I should've talked to her more about Jesus, should've witnessed more.

It happens in a blink
it happens in a flash
it happens in the time it takes to look back I try to hold on tight but there's no stopping time What is it I've done with my life It happens in a blink 

Slow down, slow down
Before today becomes our yesterday
Slow down, slow down
Before you turn around and it's too late 

-Blink by Revive

Life happens in a blink.  Do you what you need to do now, because you're not even guaranteed the next fifteen minutes, guys, let alone tomorrow.

Faithful Fridays ~ Music to My Ears.

Hey everyone!  It's Friday!  :)

Faithful Fridays is a weekly "meme" hosted on my blog.  I made it so that Christians would have a designated day (Friday) to share something from their Christian walk on their blog.  If you'd like to participate, grab the button above, write your post, and link up at the bottom of this post!  :)

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I LOVE music.  Some of my happiest times are just riding in the car with my mama, and, as I put it...jamming. :P

I thought I'd show you guys some encouraging, fun Christian songs.

First is "Should've Been Me" by Citizen Way.  I LOVE this song.  So much.  The first few times I saw it, the lyrics just hit me like a brick.

Next is "Me Without You" by TobyMac.  :)  This is a super fun song with great lyrics.



This next one is "Healing Begins" by Tenth Avenue North.  This song and the music video are powerful.  Gives me chill bumps (especially since I've seen the movie the clips are from, "The Grace Card").  And isn't the lead singer's voice neat?  :)



And this one is "Your Hands" by JJ Heller.  LOVE this song.  JJ's voice is beautiful.



And this is also by JJ Heller.  It's called "What Love Really Means."  Makes me want to cry!



And this one is by Brandon Heath.  It's called "I'm Not Who I Was."  It made me think of Isabelle, as she is a big Brandon Heath fan.  :)



And this one is "More Beautiful You" by Johnny Diaz.  Girls, watch this.  'Nuff said.



And last, but not least, is "City Bus Love Song" by NewWorldSon.  I like the words, and NewWorldSon's style of music is so fun.  :)

That's it for today!  Hope you enjoyed.  :)

Have a great day and God bless!

Love,

Joy :)

Black and White Wednesday ~ Peanut.

Hi everyone!

Just dropping in to enter my photo in Emma's Black and White Wednesday photo challenge!  :)

The theme this week is "Eyes."  Here is my entry:

That is my little Peanut (AKA Ellie).  Love that girl.  :)

Have a great day and God bless! 

Joy :)

Pinned It, Made It! Monday ~ Watermelon Pops.

Hi everyone!

Today I'm linking up with my mama for Pinned It, Made It! Monday.  I wanted to share something I saw on Pinterest--watermelon pops.

What you'll need:

Craft sticks/popsickle sticks.

Sliced watermelon (shown above).

Freezer bags.

Gather up your sticks and watermelon....

Push the stick through the bottom of the slice of watermelon--the green part.  You have to really push.

Put them in the freezer bags....

Put them in the freezer, let 'em sit for a little while, and you have watermelon pops!  :)

That's all for today, guys!  :)  Before I go, though, I wanted to open up one more opportunity for you guys to give me questions for a possible vlog.  :)  Any ideas?

God bless you and have a great day!

Joy :)

Faithful Fridays ~ Worth It.

Hi everyone!  It's Friday again!  :)

Faithful Fridays is a weekly "meme" hosted on my blog.  I made it so that Christians would have a designated day (Friday) to share something from their Christian walk on their blog.  If you'd like to participate, grab the button above, write your post, and then come link up at the bottom of this post!  :) 

Today, I'm kind of going...well...off the deep end.  No, I'm not going crazy.  I'm just sitting down and letting the words flow with not much of an idea of where they'll go.

But, I mean, seriously.  Isn't that part of the fun of writing?

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Alright, ladies.  Let's get honest.

We are GIRLS.

We daydream about our prince.

We fantasize about being swept off our feet.

Some of us a little more than others, yes, but even the best of us who claim to detest romance indulge in a little daydreaming every once in a while.

And while a little daydreaming may seem harmless...girls, we have to be careful.

One of our pastors, Alex, was teaching on guarding your heart a few Sundays ago.  He said, "Whatever you think about, you'll do."  And then he said, "Think about that (no pun intended)."

Whatever you think about, you'll do.

We have to be careful that we don't jeopardize our own purity (emotional and physical) with these thoughts.  A little is understandable, but we have to have limits.

You'll know when you need to stop.  Because God will reach down there and prod your heart.  We may not want to listen to Him when He does, but we have the choice.

Purity.

What is it?

Why should we do it?

Purity is so many things.  It's doing your best to stay clean and blameless before God (this does not mean that we're supposed to be perfect, because we're not.  Only God is perfect.  We're expected to do our best and ask His forgiveness when we fail).  It's saving yourself for your future husband.

It's hard.

Being a girl is complicated!  No, you guys out there, you have no idea how hard it is to be a girl.  No idea.  

It's even harder to be a teenage girl.

And it's amazingly hard to be a Christian teenage girl.

But you know what? 

We have Someone on our side.

Protecting our purity and guarding our hearts can make us want to scream.

It can feel like a war.

It's hard, and it's messy, but at the end of the day, it's more worth it than anything you could ever imagine.

So, girls and guys, I'm asking you today to guard your hearts, protect your purity, and remember that even in the hardest times when you feel like kicking everything you see...

God is there.

My {Pinterest} Closet.

We all wish we possessed every outfit we pinned, right?

Right.

So I decided to put together a post of my {Pinterest} closet.

Because a girl can dream, right?  :)

LOVE the colors and the boots in this one.  Very nice.

Oh my gosh, this red is so cute.  Love the cardigan!

High-low dresses are so pretty!  And these are in my favorite colors.  :)

Ah, I really want cowboy boots!  :)

I'm not one for skirts, but this is so cute.  Love the colors and the belt.

I made this little outfit on Polyvore.  Because Gwen Stacy is ten times 

better than MJ.  And her clothes are pretty cute (when they're modest).  :)

And that, my friends, concludes the tour of my {Pinterest} closet.

What's in your {Pinterest} closet?

Have a great day and God bless!

Joy :)

Black and White Wednesday - That Smile.

Today I'll be linking up with Emma for Black and White Wednesday.

Here is my photo:

You see that smile?

It makes my day.

Especially when it's curled into a cackling, adorable laugh.

Have a great day and God bless!

Joy :)

A Smile for You Today.

Hello, readers.
Agent Joy here.
My mission today?
To make you smile.  :)
Hence the slight cheesiness of this post.

Look closely, folks.  This is the one and only time you'll ever see JB on my blog.  Wait.  NO!  Don't look closely.  It'll burn your eyes!  :O

Oh, Lucy.

I'm always tripping in gymnastics...and my coach always makes fun of me.  So this is what I tell him.  :)

All the time!  All the time.

Ya'll.  These things crack me up.  XD

Have a great day and God bless!

Joy :)

Pinned It, Made It! Monday ~ Lighting.

Hey everyone!  It's Pinned It, Made It! Monday again!  :)


Today's post will be on photography.
We spent this past weekend in Alabama visiting my aunt, uncle, and cousins.  Which includes my adorable little cousins, Sydney (AKA my little spitfire) and Ellie (AKA my little peanut or Ellie-bug). I was browsing Pinterest on the iPad, looking for something to use for today, and I got the idea to just grab the camera and head out to take pictures of the very photogenic girls.  I had been on my photography board, and realized that the sun was at a perfect spot for lighting.  So, this photoshoot is based off pictures that use lighting such as these....

The girls don't necessarily cooperate, but...it works out.  :)

I might add that poor Sydney has a tendency to bump her head in that one place--she can just slightly hit it on something and an egg knot pops up!  Bless her heart.  :)

That. Grin.  :)

Me and my peanut.

So, I hope you've had your dose of cuteness today.  :)

God bless you!

Joy :)