Do Not Be Afraid. Be Fearless.

Are you ever afraid?

Afraid of what is going to happen tomorrow? This month? In the years to come?

Afraid that you will never pass a test, never find "the one," never have a family, never be successful at your job, fail as a friend, fail as a parent.

Are you ever afraid of these things?

I am. Daily.

I fear, and worry, and doubt God's gracious hand in my life.

But once I open up his word I am reminded...

"do not be afraid"

the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward. 

Genesis 15:1

Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning.”

Exodus 20:20

Do not be afraid of them; the LORD your God himself will fight for you.”

Deuteronomy 3:22

The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”

Deuteronomy 31:8

In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I will not be afraid. What can mortal man do to me?

Psalm 56:4

But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.

Luke 2:10

“Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom.

Luke 12:32

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

John 14:27

So do not fear, for I am with you; 
   do not be dismayed, for I am your God. 
I will strengthen you and help you; 
   I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

Isaiah 41:10

God is always with you.

He is guiding you through this life.

You have no reason to fear, but every reason to...

Be Fearless

Blog Award!

You see that image above?

Of course you see it...because I made it the "X-Large" setting when I was making this post ;)

I was very excited when Bronwyn from Our Beautiful Blessings awarded me the Leibster Blog award! The Leibster Award is for up-incoming bloggers {200 followers or less} that you think deserve recognition for their fabulous blogging abilities! I'm very honored that she felt the need to award me, so, thank you so much Bronwyn! You are a doll :)

Here's how this award process works!

Each Nominee Should:

1. Choose five up and coming blogs to give the Liebster award to. Blogs must have less than 200 followers.

2. Show your thanks to the blogger who gave you the award by linking back to them.

3. Post the award on your blog.

4. List the bloggers you gave the award to with links to their sites. Leave a comment on their blogs to let them know they've received the award.

5. Share five random facts about yourself!

Here are five random facts about myself :)

1. I've been a blogger since January of 2012 {NEWBIE!}

2. I've lived in the same town, same house, and same bedroom my entire life! I'm just a small town girl from Wisconsin :)

3. I was adopted by my parents when I was 6 weeks old

4. When I was younger it was my dream in life to be an Olympic track runner. Now I'm just training for a half marathon :)

5. I'm addicted to social media:: blogger, twitter, instagram, facebook, pinterest...I do it all!

Now here are the fabulous ladies that I am awarding for having lovely blogs :)

Tiffany @ The Coffeehouse

Ashlee @ Life's Little Lovelies

Taylor @ Sweet Southern Nothings

Megan @ and today was a fairy tale

Kelly @ Kelly Elizabeth

The Love of Easter

I really think that Valentine's Day shouldn't be seen as the ultimate celebration of "love"

Exchanging flowers, cards, and chocolate, sharing hugs and kisses, showing our loved ones here on earth how much we love them--these things are all forms of temporary, earthly love. Our love is ridiculously insignificant compared to the one true love of the earth.

So do you know what date should be the ultimate celebration of love?

You probably guessed it...!

Of course you guessed it :)

EASTER of course!

Christ died, then rose again. Taking the the entire world's sin upon himself and conquering it.

Why would he do this?

Because he loves us.

...how wide and long 

and high and deep 

is the love of Christ

Ephesians 3:18

Christ's love is incomprehensible.

No love is greater.

We have eternal life because he put to the side his glorious self, humbling himself, making himself into the nature of man. He died on the cross, and by his blood, washed away all of our sin and guilt. And because he was still an almighty and powerful God, 3 days later he conquered death and rose from the grave on that first Easter morning.

Easter is truly a celebration of love.

His arms spread out on the cross showed the immeasurable love and sacrifice of your Savior.

Let's praise and thank him for the love he has shown us on this Good Friday!

Here's an awesome worship song by Andy Cherry. It has such an awesome message about the amazing love of our God and what he's done for us! 

Rise with a shout, cry out, our God's alive!

"He alone can save us
He will not forsake us
He remains forever,
Our savior"

3 Cheers For:: The Android Instagram App!! :)

After months of iPhone envy...

Being on the outside of the monthly photo challenges...

And wishing I could tweet cute, edited pictures...

There is now Instagram for Android!!

I love my Android, and the only reason I actually coveted iPhone's was because I wanted the Instagram app!

You can follow me by clicking the Instagram button under the "FOLLOW ME!" tab to your right :)

Here's some of the pictures I have been editing so far on Instagram! :)

Welcome to Instagram!

My Love :)

My "sock bun do" :)

Tilapia for lunch. Sooo yummy!

My poo poo butt :) {otherwise known as Annie, the Miniature Schnauzer}

ICED coffee on a warm Spring day :)

Spring Tulips in my parents garden :)

Make sure you come on over and follow me! :)

Rae's INSTAGRAM

Hey There, April!

Oh April, it is so nice to see that you have arrived. I greet you with open and loving arms! You came quickly, and I could not be more thankful you were speedy in your arrival!

I've decided that to celebrate your arrival I will be saying goodbye to the past and hello to what you have in store for me these next 30 days :)

Goodbye March; Hello April

Goodbye snow storms; Hello rain showers

Goodbye Winter; Hello Spring

Goodbye 4-leaf clovers; Hello Easter Eggs

Goodbye mid-terms; Hello finals 

{the school year is almost over!}

Goodbye jeans and sweaters: Hello shorts and dresses

Goodbye Uggs; Hello flip-flops

Goodbye black; Hello pink, yellow, purple, red, blue!

Goodbye turning the heat on; Hello to rolling down the windows 

{...and cranking the radio up!}

Goodbye running on the treadmill; Hello to running outside

Goodbye un-healthy eating habits; Hello to a new healthy lifestyle

{Get read for a new me!}

Goodbye bare nails; Hello pretty painted nails

Goodbye fair skin; Hello tanning bed

{So unhealthy, yet so necessary}

Goodbye dull, dark hair; Hello bombshell summer blonde hair

Goodbye procrastination; Hello determination

Goodbye insecurity; Hello confidence

What about March are you saying goodbye to, and what about April are you warmly welcoming?! :)

The idea for this blog post came came from the lovely Elease at the little lovebirds