"The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that our very existence is an act of rebellion." -Albert Camus

Show the World the Warmth of your Smile

Happy Holidays everyone! Its been awhile since my last post but my life has been a busy blurr with trips, working, and the end of school. Today is Christmas and it centered around time spent with family eating and opening presents. However, I feel as though it should act more as a day of rest and peace.

I visited my brother in New York City this past weekend and fell in love with the city all over again. I want to go to art school in NYC once i graduate and every time I visit I find more and more things to love. Never the less, I did begin to notice the rush of life in everyone who lives there.

I realized that life cant be spent hour to hour, minute to minute, it must be cherished with each passing moment. It is also okay to have a moment of rest every now and then. Being a junior in college has made my moments of rest slim to none. It is crucial to stop as realize the blessing in everyday things, such as, family, friends, education, and health. God has blessed us with life, we must live that life to the fullest.

"This is my wish for you: Comfort on difficult days, smiles when sadness intrudes, rainbows to follow the clouds, laughter to kiss your lips, sunsets to warm your heart, hugs when spirits sag, beauty for your eyes to see, friendships to brighten your being, faith so that you can believe, confidence for when you doubt, courage to know yourself, patience to accept the truth, Love to complete your life."

In Your Ocean I'm Ankle Deep

This is my winter song to you.

The storm is coming soon,

It rolls in from the sea.

My voice; a beacon in the night.

My words will be your light,

to carry you to me.

Is love alive?

Is love alive?

Is love alive?

They say that thing cannot grow

Beneath the winter snow,

Or so I have been told

They say we're buried far

Just like a distant star

I simply cannot hold

Is love alive?

Is love alive?

Is love alive?

This is my winter song.

December never felt so wrong,

Cause you're not where you belong;

Inside my arms.

I still believe in summer days.

The seasons always change

And Life will find a way.

I'll be your harvester of light

And send out tonight

So we can start again.

Is love alive?

Is love alive?

Is love alive?

This is my winter song.

December never felt so wrong,

Cause you're not where you belong;

Inside my arms.

This is my winter song to you.

The storm is coming soon

It rolls in from the sea.

My love a beacon in the night.

My words will be your light

To carry you to me.

Is Love alive?

Is Love alive?

Is Love alive?

I Could Feel My Heartbeat Taking Me Down

As it is finally starting to feel like winter in Knoxville, its time to pull our your chunky sweaters, tights and boots. And I have officially started listening to Christmas music, planning my wish lists, and am ready to decorate the tree.

Just as I am getting in the Holiday season, ELLE published one of the most beautiful covers I've seen in awhile. Jessica Alba is gorgeous and I am obsessed with the colors and themes of the photo shoot. Here are the various photos picked to be in the layout.

"Happiness comes of the capacity to feel deeply, to enjoy simply, to think freely, to risk life, to be needed."

-Storm Jameson

She Knows that My Hands are Empty

In Christ alone my hope is found
He is my light, my strength, my song
This Cornerstone, this solid ground
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm
What heights of love, what depths of peace
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease
My Comforter, my All in All
Here in the love of Christ I stand

In Christ alone, who took on flesh
Fullness of God in helpless babe
This gift of love and righteousness
Scorned by the ones He came to save
'Till on that cross as Jesus died
The wrath of God was satisfied
For every sin on Him was laid
Here in the death of Christ I live

There in the ground His body lay
Light of the world by darkness slain
Then bursting forth in glorious Day
Up from the grave He rose again
And as He stands in victory
Sin's curse has lost its grip on me
For I am His and He is mine
Bought with the precious blood of Christ

No guilt in life, no fear in death
This is the power of Christ in me
From life's first cry to final breath
Jesus commands my destiny
No power of hell, no scheme of man
Can ever pluck me from His hand
'Till He returns or calls me home
Here in the power of Christ I'll stand"

I've Made a Mess of Me

Life is a jumbled confusion of experiences, that somehow form our traits and personalities. God gave us freedom in order to shape our hearts. This freedom brings chaos, passion and love. These photographs capture freedom both in life and in fashion.

"Every human has four endowments-self awareness, conscience, independent will and creative imagination. These give us the ultimate human freedom... The power to choose, to respond, to change."
-Stephen R. Covey

The Breath Before the Kiss

I was inspired this week by another excerpt from Captivating. Lately I have been feeling guilty for my day to day actions, and I was feeling lost and abandoned from Christ's grace. My faith was lacking because I was confused as to why God would let me stray from my day to day relationship with him.



God does not always rescue us out of a painful season. You know that he does not always give us what we so desperately want when we want it. He is after something much more valuable than our happiness. Much more substantive than our health. He is restoring and growing us an eternal weight of glory. And sometimes...it hurts. But the experience of sorrow in no way diminishes the joy of living. Rather, it enhances it.
-Pg 144


"To love is to risk not being loved in return. To hope is to risk pain. To try is to risk failure, but risks must be taken because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing."