8/31/16

Dive Into the Living Water

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 dive into the Word. 

 what does that even mean?

do i dive like an Olympian,

with fancy twists?

bends?

jumps?

spins?

is there a judge

on the other side

qualifying my worthiness

to enjoy God's Word?

or do i dive because

that's the fastest way.

i need my mind

cleansed,

refocused.

and since diving goes head first

i dive.

since I am cold,

dirty,

tired

up here on the diving board,

anxious that i'll go in the

wrong way,

i will simply dive.

submerge.

get swallowed up in the

blurry water of grace

found in Your Word.

because i need You, Jesus,

because i love You,

i dive in

not counting on how i get there

but counting fully upon

there. 

 You. You, Jesus, are there. 

 You invite me to come,

not with a perfect heart,

creative soul,

attentive mind,

quiet body.

You invite me to come

because You know my

soul is thirsty and

You are the Living Water.

i'm diving in.



Princess Hannah
Hannah
22 Comments

8/23/16

Vanquishing Fears

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                                                     I am afraid.

Afraid that the world is moving too fast.

Afraid that I chose wrong.

Afraid that I'm missing the point.

And this fear makes me sick.

It makes me sad.

It makes me feel trapped in a room with no escape.

But then, look!

Look up and see a Light.

Fix your eyes on that Light,

Never let it go.

Let it be your guide,

Your hope.

Your vision.

Let this Light fill you with love,

A perfect love that drives out fear.

For this Light has conquered sin,

It reigns over darkness.

It is with me. 

 And so the darkness isn't as dark anymore,

Because I'm holding onto the Light,

Holding on with all that I have.

And the fear, well it can't get close,

For as soon as it does,

The Light vanquishes it.



"Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Let us consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men that you may not grow weary and lose heart." (Hebrews 12:2-3)

I've been thinking a lot about fear this week, so head on over to my newest Odyssey article to read my thoughts. Also, say a prayer for me as I move into the dorms and start this next year of challenging and wonderful adventures! And comment below how I can specifically pray for you.

Princess Hannah
Hannah
26 Comments

8/16/16

Simply Tuesday- Review and Giveaway!!!!

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I've been hinting forever at a Simply Tuesday review, but I kept putting it off and life got in the way and you know what I mean. I wanted to give this book the attention it deserves. And so, on its one year anniversary (which is this Thursday), I'm finally telling you all about this wonderful book, and even more, giving you a chance to win the book!


Simply Tuesday, where do I begin? It is a book of grace, of moments, of God's whisper that His power is made perfect in weakness. It is a book that slowly comes into your life and changes you when you're not looking. It is a book that soon fills with pink highlighter marks and hurried penciled notes on almost every page. And for me, it is a book that changed my life.

But I get ahead of myself.


Simply Tuesday's purpose is for Christians to have "small moment living in a fast-moving world." Which is why I don't think that Emily would mind that I took my time reading it. It grew with my my freshmen year, comforting me in just the right times, often bring tears to my eyes.

Because Emily speak so much truth in this book. Truth that speaks to the soul. Truth the helped me understand the soul. Mainly, though, truth about the Truth, Jesus, and how He works among us even now.

She talked of how to be where we are, not where we want to be. She wrote on how to work for excellence instead of perform for perfection. She invites us to look for meaningful, soul-inspiring community and not competition. She describes how to joyfully sit with Jesus in the fog of life, in the crossroads of desire and disappointment. And in all of this she speaks with a Christ-centered focus that's refreshing and real.


Emily writes with such elegance and rawness that I ended up underlining every other sentence and wanting to scream out "YESSSSS" several times, even when I sat in public. Throughout the book I seriously considered if Emily and I were the same person because she oftentimes described life just as I see it. And then she talked of how Jesus taught her to see Him more clearly in this life, and I just had to freak out a bit.

One of my favorite quotes from the book, one that encompass the theme so concisely is as follows:

"Let's dig deep, not to create meaning where there isn't any, but to see Christ, our companion, where he actually is, not where we wish he was. Let's gently poke our sleepy souls, refusing to wait for a big event to wake us up. Let's stop running from ordinary time but begin to sit right in the middle of it." (page 48)


Oh how this book taught me to sit in the ordinary time and see something extraordinary. This extraordinary life isn't always beautiful, but is good and for the glory of God. This book taught me joy even in the midst disappointment. It taught me a soul-rest that transformed last year to something of true beauty.

All of this to say, I recommend this book highly to all of those seeking a soul-rest and adventure in Christ. In fact, thinking back on this book, I convinced even myself to read it again!


Because I want you to read this book so much, that I'm giving a copy of it away! All you have to do to enter is leave a comment. I didn't want to make this giveaway about gaining followers or promoting something, for something always seems fishy about that. No, I'm just giving it away because I so very much want to see what y'all think about it! (Too bad I don't have funds enough to buy a book for each one of you!)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Also, be sure to check out Emily Freeman's encouraging, soul-opening blog.

Leave a comment about one of the books that has changed your life. Do you now want to read Simply Tuesday? And y'all, I cleaned my desk for these pictures, and I'm pretty darn proud of it!

Princess Hannah
Hannah
57 Comments

8/9/16

Mountain Wind in Your Hair

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                                                        Impossibilities. Imagination. Imperial delight. 


Creativity. Chilly mornings. Colorado time. 


Soul inspiring. Spirit rising. Sunsets rising up. 



This is the mountain. Hear its song. 


I am back from my last trip of the summer! And, oh, I do not think that I have the words to describe it. The mountains. The fresh air. The freedom of my soul rolling to and fro these majestic mounds of glory crafted by big hands of love. 

Take that back, I have many words to describe it. It just doesn't seem enough.

And so I will let the pictures do (most of) the talking, and let your imagination fill in the rest. Let your spirit feel the cool breeze of the mountain air. Feel it play with your hair. Smell the pine trees and watch the aspen leaves glitter as you pass them by. Smile to yourself. Mostly, give glory to the One who stands taller than any mountain, Whose shadow creates a haven of grace and a fearsome awe. 

Drive up the 14,110 Colorado mountain with me and taste His grace. For the mountain has fallen upon us, crushed us under its weight. Yet it gives life, and not death. Freedom and not slavery to sin. 



This is great reason to dance, smile, create, sing. This is reason to live. 

Do you feel that?


It is a song of joy. The earth praising its Creator because it knows nothing else.

Shall we not join in its song? Shall we not praise the Creator and Savior not because we have to but because we know nothing else better? We are created to worship, and only when we stop worshiping our pebbles of pride will we be able to look up and see the mountain ahead and understand.

Only then will we see. 

So look up. 

His glory is all around you, even at a laptop in a dim bedroom with clothes hanging over a chair. His glory is there, just as in the mountains. For He is in you. He is working in the hearts of people all around you. He is. And isn't that enough?

Oh His beauty and righteousness is abundantly more than enough. 

Breathe in. Breathe out. And feel the mountain wind in your hair. 

Have you been to the mountains? Comment below your experience. Also, what ways have you seen God work in His glory and grace? How does this make you see the world just a bit differently? 

Much love, 

Princess Hannah

Hannah
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8/4/16

The Pinterest Challenge Recap

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Way, way back in the early summer, I hosted The Pinterest Challenge, where I challenged myself and anyone else wishing to join to not go on Pinterest unless we would actually do something that we found on Pinterest. 21 days of productive Pinterest, could we do it? More than that, what kind of awesomeness can Pinterest offer us once we start using it for purpose and not simply pastime?



The Pinterest Challenge rocked as 10 other people joined me to pin 68 Pinterest ideas that we did in real life. 68 more pins taken from the Great Chasm of Forgotten Pins and placed into our working, creative lives to help us. 


Well, it's been over 21 days, and I still look at Pinterest differently. I look at it as a springboard and not just a, well, bunch of entertaining boards. 

Here's what the Pinterest Challenge taught me:

1. Pinterest is way more fun when I use it to assist me to do something

 

At first, it was hard to resist going on Pinterest to waste my time. I wanted to click that shinny red "P" and chill on my bed. But instead I asked myself, "can I take something on Pinterest and put it into action instead?" And when I couldn't do anything because of time, then I couldn't go to waste time I didn't have looking at Pinterest. In retrospect, this makes a lot of sense.

2. The recipes taste better than they look 

 

For the Pinterest Challenge, I baked 7 desserts including a 4th of July fruit pizza (mine pictured below), a blueberry cobbler, and a strawberry layer cake! I love baking, and so discovering all of these new recipes made Pinterest even better! 

 

3. Sharing my experiences with others made each pin mean more

 

I added a comment to each pin, describing to others how it went. This made the experience so cool because even though I may never see my Pinterest followers, I now have a small part of their life where I told them how to make their underwater VBS room fabulous! 

 

4. Sharing this experience with 10 other inspired me to do more Pinterest-y things 

 

I didn't even know about sun tea or doily water coloring until my fellow pinners showed me how they did these things. Now I need to do some Louisiana sun tea!



5. I have more time to do the things on Pinterest than I think 


Some of the smaller Pinterest things that I did included five minute exercise routines and watching the shows/movies that all of these marvelous gifs originate from. 


6. Pinterest will never be just an entertainment site to me now 


Even though I don't do something every time I go on Pinterest, I am no longer satisfied to just look at a bunch of things that I will never do. Every time I find myself scrolling, this nagging feeling in my post-Pinterest Challenge mind tells me that I should do one of these ideas and soon. 


7. The Pinterest Challenge doesn't have to end 


Even though I'm not under the strict Pinterest Challenge rules, I (and you) can still take the principle and apply it to our daily Pinterest habit. We can be more intentional in taking charge and doing the things on Pinterest and then pin those things, with a personal comment, to the Pinterest Challenge board. I'm even pinning old things that I've done in the past to the Pinterest Challenge board so that I and others can see how it went, because sometimes I can't remember which recipe that I made and if I liked it. Let's make the Pinterest Challenge board a full collection of experiences and advice! 

If you participated in the Pinterest Challenge with me, THANK YOU!!! You made this all the more fun. Tell me in the comments all that you learned. What was your favorite pin that you did? 

If you have yet to participate in the Pinterest Challenge, it is never too late! Comment on one of my pins or message me and I'll add you to the board so that you too can discover the joy that Pinterest can give to you in the full. 

Let's use Pinterest and not let it use us. Let's find that Pinterest is much more fun in real life. 

Love y'all,

Princess Hannah
Hannah
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