Lovely tree I found at one of the camps this summer

Words, I give you the freedom to come out now. Soul, Jesus is your freedom to rest and breath, even when the body is hard at work. Mind, you can let go now and embrace the now. Body, even you can find the balance between work and play. Heart, prepare now. Dig deep roots. Grow a bloom that can only come from God. Strength, you can lean into Jesus.

Can you feel it? The words inside of you? They are digging into your soul and bringing up something beautiful. They may seem quiet right now, but words never die.

They bloom.

Still lovely flowers I found at a different camp this summer

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I really want to apologize right now for my accidental blog vacation. But to apologize detracts from the lesson that I learned. Sometimes, words come slowly. Sometimes, I have to wrestle with the words too busy before I can do anything else.

I can say this with absolute certainty, though.

I REALLY REALLY MISSED Y'ALL AND BLOGGING AND READING BLOGS AND GAH BASICALLY ALL OF IT!!! (except for technical issues. Those I can go without.)

Although I haven't been active blogging, I've been quite active in many other places in life. Namely, I went on a mission trip!!! I worked in Indiana for a week, and it opened my soul to a new level of boldness and selflessness. More on that in the future. For now, I just want to say I'm back. And I've realized in this blog break how much I appreciate each and every one of you! Blogging has become such an intricate part of my life, that I went a little crazy without it, even for just a few weeks!

Comment below what you've been up to this summer! And do you ever feel the words of your soul dig deep only to bloom forth?

BUNCHES OF LOVE AND CHOCOLATE YOUR WAY!

Princess Hannah

p.s. I guest posted on the MOST AMAZING BLOG (which is Abbie's blog, duh) a couple of weeks ago in case you didn't see it. (If you commented, I recently went back and replayed to them all. It came out during my mission trip and I couldn't reply to all of them.) And since words never die, go give it a read and a late comment. Right now I'm all about those late comments considering I'm catching up from a month's worth of posts!

p.p.s. Also, exciting stuff coming your way from Freckled Minds, a new creative movement I've had the honor of being a part of so far! Go check out the new site and dance around in excitement about the things coming from this spectacular initiative!

Oh, we have this love-hate relationship with time. 

This summer, I'm getting to know time. I planned out my summer and all of the things that I wanted to accomplish during the weeks of summer, but time stole that list. And I let go of that dream. I look back and see the weeks gone by and wonder what happened to the time. I look ahead to the remnant of summer and fear that time will run too fast for me to catch up. 

Maybe, though, I measure time incorrectly. Maybe time can't be measured in days and weeks. Maybe it is measured in laughter and lessons and prayers and words. Maybe it is less of a measuring tool for life. Maybe life rather measures time. 

I've been busy. So busy that I didn't sit and read blogs for around three weeks, and I miss it deeply. I miss you guys deeply. I miss writing and thinking and watching and creating. I feel that time cheated me of my rights to these things. 

But maybe, just maybe, time gave me something better. Maybe I should stop complaining about how I don't have enough time and start looking for the moments that measure my time. Maybe I should cease to count the days and instead count the lessons. 

Lesson One: I don't have to look like a cross between Taylor Swift and a Russian ballerina. God made me beautiful that way He made me. I must chose again and again not to compare myself and revert to my tendency to feel prideful/insecure about my appearance. Time teaches me this lesson this summer. 

I really loved this foundation that I tried on! (Except it's $60!)

Lesson Two: Life isn't about me. When I serve others, I find a truer joy then when I do what I want. This summer, I have so many chances to serve others through the internship with the youth at my church. I teach at camps, pray with students, and do the mundane tasks that need to happen. Sometimes, this isn't fun. I'd prefer to hang out with my friends, write stories, and watch movies. Investing into the kingdom of God costs time, but it gives so much more. Time teaches me this lesson this summer. 

Middle School Camp was so great!

Lesson Three: Planning isn't a bad thing. I fear time because it can't be controlled, but this leads to me abandoning my urge to plan and purpose my time. If I didn't plan it, I can't disappoint myself if I fail. But I'm learning that making goals and plans helps make more of our time. It gives more meaning to the same amount of time. For like it or not, we all have 24 hours in our day. How are we going to use those hours? How are we going to measure them? Times teaches me this lesson this summer. 

I can plan some relaxation too!

Those three lessons took a lot of time for me to learn, and I still learn them each, crazy day. And the days won't stop being crazy for a little bit. I prepare right now to leave on a mission trip this evening, and therefore that will make over four weeks of little to no blogging. I just wanted to let y'all know that although it looks like I've dropped off of the face of the earth, I'm really discovering a new way to measure time.

Will you join me in measuring time not in weeks and hours but in lessons and laughter? 

WHAT HAS YOUR TIME LOOKED LIKE? WHAT LESSONS/ADVENTURES DID IT CONTAIN SO FAR THIS SUMMER? I MUST KNOW ALL BECAUSE I AM A LONELY LITTLE BLOGGER WITH A JOB AND MUCH TO DO IN THIS THING CALLED TIME! 

Comment below an update on your life. Also, how do you measure time? 

Princess Hannah