Travel Journal//Chicago – June 2018

Abi Leah2 Comments

Hello everyone! It certainly has been a while since I’ve posted. So much has happened between my graduation and family events. Last week my family and I had the opportunity to travel to Chicago for a friend’s wedding. It was absolutely beautiful and I am so glad that we were able to spend time with our family and friends.

tj-il-header

The Windy City

Every day that we spent in Chicago was beautiful, busy, and windy. The views of the skyline and the lake were so pretty. I also loved seeing so many different people throughout the city. There is such a diversity in a city like Chicago that I just don’t get to see very often back home.

Must-Sees

One of the days in this big and bustling city we went to visit a couple of tourist attractions, or as I would rather call them, must-sees. The Willis Tower, for example, was definitely worth the long hour-and-some wait as the views from the 103rd floor of the building are breath-taking.  The famous Bean was also fun to see and a great place to take pictures. The Ferris Wheel on Navy Pier was probably my favorite, though. It gives a perfect view of the boats and the city!

Family and Friends

chicago8

Because we knew so many people in Chicago, there were lots of great meals with them, including a three-and-a-half hour dinner in Chinatown. While we ended up being pretty exhausted at the end of it all, I enjoyed spending time with the people who have made such an impact on my and my family’s life.

Have you been to Chicago? What were some of your favorite places to visit? Let me know in the comments below! I would love to hear from you :)

signi

An Open Letter to High School

Abi Leah5 Comments

openletter-highschool

Dear High School,

I can’t believe the time has gone by so fast. Four years ago I started high school and now I’ll be graduating.

I’ve learned so much in these four years, about myself, about my family, about relationships and friendships, about God, about the world. I’ve grown in ways I never would have expected. I made new friends, gained confidence, tried new things. I lost some friends too, experienced grief, and had to say goodbye to some amazing people.

I know that even though I’ll be leaving an amazing school, the relationships that I’ve built will always be there for me. It was in high school that I found my best friends, people who have pushed me closer to Christ. It was in high school that I stretched myself and became friends with people from many different groups. I know that all of these people are going on to study at great colleges and universities and will always be just a phone call, text message, or Insta picture away.

I am so grateful for the teachers as well, as they have taught me, not only about history and government, French and religion, science and Spanish, but also about life and the importance of following Christ along the way. These teachers have been praying for me and I am certain that they will continue to pray for me and the rest of the 2018 graduating class.

I think the parts that I’m going to miss the most about high school are the memories that we made together. From the camping trips at the beginning of the year, to the spirit weeks with crazy inflatable dinosaur and Baymax costumes, to the time we skipped class to play in the snow, the grades bonded together and laughed together. I loved the senior pranks, the photography class field trips, the picnics, and the prayer chapels. I loved the school trip to Peru, the movie days in French class, and the time my friend ran to Aldi to buy icecream during lunch. I loved the surprise parties, the dance nights, and the musical bells between classes. These are the things that I will miss.

And even though I am sad to leave all of these amazingly beautiful people and memories, I can look forward to the days when we will all reunite again and reminisce about the best four years we all had together.

Thank you High School, for giving me these times. Thank you for the lessons. Thank you for the memories. Thank you for the friends. But, most of all, thank you for the opportunity to grow.

signi

101 in 1001: Beginning

Abi Leah15 Comments

Hey, everyone! So today I’m going to start a new project for myself called the 101 in 1001. It’s basically a list of 101 things that I want to do in 1001 days (2.75 years). I wanted it to end on my 21st birthday as a little “birthday present” for myself, so I’m going to start today!

101in1001

Start date: Friday May 11, 2018
End date: Friday February 05, 2021

A healthy lifestyle

  1. Eat gluten free for 2 weeks
  2. Work out twice a week for three months in a row
  3. Eat meatless for 3 months
  4. Take dance lessons
  5. Become plastic free
  6. Go to bed by 10 every night for 2 weeks
  7. Get up at 5 every morning for 2 weeks
  8. Go through my clothes and donate what I don’t wear
  9. Learn 5 new recipes
  10. Go through all of my photos and purge the duplicates
  11. Spend at least 15 minutes outside every day for a month
  12. Bike somewhere (anywhere)
  13. Go skating again
  14. Delete unwanted emails
  15. Make an emergency kit for the car
  16. Run in a race
  17. Complete a 30 Day Squat Challenge
  18. Go a day without my phone
  19. Go a week without my phone
  20. Go a month without social media
  21. Complete 10 random acts of kindness
  22. Try to go “car-less” for a week
  23. Volunteer at an event
  24. Be able to do a split
  25. Work out in the morning for 2 weeks

For family and friends

  1. Quilt a blanket for my aunt
  2. Take a trip with my mom
  3. Send 50 handwritten letters
  4. Send a “just for fun” package to my friends
  5. Throw someone a surprise party
  6. Sing around a fire pit with some friends
  7. Go to 5 sports games
  8. Finish the 2017 scrapbook
  9. Have an early morning Bible study outside
  10. Visit a high school friend at college
  11. Give someone a handmade gift
  12. Send birthday cards
  13. Take my sisters on “sister-dates”
  14. Volunteer with my family a Saturday morning
  15. Start a future hope chest
  16. Reconnect with an old friend
  17. Start a birthday tradition

Exploring the world

  1. Go to a drive-in/outdoor movie
  2. Go camping
  3. Take a roadtrip
  4. Visit a city I’ve never been to before
  5. Go to a flea market
  6. See a shooting star
  7. Watch the sun set, stay up all night, and then see the sun rise
  8. Play an instrument on the beach
  9. Have a picnic
  10. Explore downtown Charlotte
  11. Study abroad
  12. Speak French with a native
  13. Go horseback riding
  14. Go on a spontaneous trip
  15. Learn sign language (enough to have a small conversation)
  16. Become fluent in French
  17. Find a church by the university
  18. Go sailing
  19. Go to a lavender farm
  20. Learn to identify 5 constellations

A little bit of me

  1. Read the entire Bible again
  2. Memorize 25 Bible verses
  3. Read every Jane Austen novel
  4. Finish watching all of the Doctor Who seasons
  5. Watch 20 documentaries
  6. Complete a 30 day photo challenge
  7. Have a photoshoot
  8. Vote in every election
  9. Sew a quilt for myself
  10. Put $5 into savings for every goal accomplished
  11. Fill a sketchbook with doodles
  12. Visit my high school teachers after I graduate
  13. Paint on a canvas
  14. Memorize a chocolate chip cookie recipe
  15. Learn a poem by heart
  16. Attend the midnight premiere of a movie
  17. Read a book in a day
  18. Celebrate Easter really big
  19. Read 5 classic novels
  20. Update my makeup
  21. Have a spa day
  22. Spend an entire day watching Disney movies
  23. Build a blanket fort a read under it all day
  24. Sell something on Etsy
  25. Buy something from Etsy
  26. Make a new vision board
  27. Make a reading corner

Scribbles and words

  1. Write 5 more poems
  2. Journal every day for a month
  3. Compose and write down 2 new songs
  4. Write 3 “How-to” blog posts
  5. Write 10 more devotional blog posts
  6. Write a letter for myself to open when 1001 days are over
  7. Guest post for another blogger
  8. Map a book I love
  9. Reach 500 followers on my blog
  10. Write a wishlist of places I want to visit before I die
  11. Go to a book signing
  12. Write a new list when the 1001 days are over

I am so excited about my goals for this list! I will be sure to share an update every couple of months but you can check my progress on the “101 in 1001” page located at the top of my website.

Have you ever done a 101 in 1001 challenge? If so, how did it go? If not, would you want to do one? I can’ wait to hear from you! Have a great day. :)

signi

5 More Weeks – An Life Update

Abi Leah10 Comments

5weeks.PNG

In 5 short weeks, I will be walking across the stage to receive my high school diploma. This blows my mind. It seems that just yesterday I was walking into high school for the first time, overwhelmed with all of the unfamiliar faces. Now those faces aren’t so new, and my friend groups aren’t so small.

As the days bring me closer and closer to the end of my high school career, I’ve become more thankful for the people God has placed in my life. Thankful for my parents for sticking with me through the good and the bad, thankful for my sisters for making me smile when I need some cheering up, thankful for my friends for encouraging me to remember the Truth, thankful for my best friend for always leading me closer to God.

The past few weeks have been super stressful and emotionally draining as I am suddenly realizing that I’m graduating and how much that means to me. I now have to face the fact that I won’t be able to see my friends, classmates, or family members every day. And, honestly, that makes me very sad. But, I have to remember the great memories that we had together and look forward to the memories that we will make in the future.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-2, 4 says:

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot… a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance.

Graduation is a time for rejoicing in many ways. There are so many adventures waiting for me and I don’t want the excitement to be weighed down by mourning too early. I know that it’s sad to leave people that I’ve loved for so long, but I will see them again. And that is definitely something to look forward to.

signi

Travel Journal//Peru – March 2018

Abi Leah6 Comments

Hello everyone! As I mentioned earlier, I had the chance to go to Peru for 8 days with my school. I got back a couple of weeks ago and it was amazing! I loved the country, loved the people, loved the culture.

tj-pr-header

Headed to Lima

Traveling to Lima wasn’t as stressful as I thought it was going to be. And of course, it helped to have friends coming along to have conversations with as we waited in the airport. The flight itself wasn’t too bad either. I had a chance to have a long conversation with a Pastor who was going as a missionary to Peru! It was really encouraging to meet another believer who was so passionate about his faith.

City on the Beach

Our first full day in Peru was spent in Lima.We spent the day walking on the beach and seeing the views from the city above the hills.

Mountains and Culture

Seeing the culture in Peru was really interesting. The markets were crazy busy with people calling out their products as you walk by. With so much going on, sometimes it got overwhelming. But, the people were so nice and just beautiful, especially patient with my broken Spanish. The nature in Peru was probably my favorite part. The flowers bloomed everywhere and the clouds drew attention to the greatness of the mountains.

Machu Picchu and the Sun Gate

Machu Picchu was absolutely breath-taking. The hike up to the Sun Gate was pretty tough but the view was worth the hike. We also got to see some llamas so that was fun!

Lake Titicaca

Lake Titicaca was also really beautiful. I loved seeing how life worked on the floating islands. The weather was perfect and, of course, the boat ride out to the islands was beautiful as well.

Other Pictures

I’m so glad that I took the opportunity to go to Peru with my school. I loved getting to see the beauty in Peru and getting to know the people better.

signi

 

Faith in the Storms (Guest Post)

Abi LeahLeave a comment

guestpost-renae

Hello everyone! I am Renae from www.renaesfight4recovery.wordpress.com

Today I wanted to talk about having strong faith in God when through the storms of life.

Lately, life has been throwing me some curveballs. I have been diagnosed with bipolar, depression, anxiety, and social (you can read all about my journey with mental illness on my blog). I have also just been diagnosed with fibromyalgia. So lately I have been in a lot of pain and my faith has been weak. But, I know I can have strong faith in God even through the storms of life. You, too, can have strong faith in God, no matter what.

Faith in God lately has been difficult. With my fibromyalgia being so bad, I can barely walk. But, I had a moment with Him, when His goodness just overwhelmed me. I prayed and prayed. It was so hard. But He told me: “Keep going. You can do this. Don’t give up. I am here.” I knew it was Him and His words were true. I knew then, He is faithful and true. I can have strong faith even when I am in the storms of life.

You can have faith that you will get through the trials too. You can overcome with God by your side (John 16:33). Put your faith in God because He is faithful and true (1 Corinthians 1:9). He will always be there for you, no matter what you have done. You can have strong faith in that He is God and He is good. No matter what you are going through, you can always go to God. You can always run into His loving, helping, and comforting arms (Psalm 91:4). He loves you so much.

You can have strong faith in God by praying to Him and asking for faith. Most importantly, you can have strong faith by believing in Him, that He is good, that He is faithful, and that He is true. You can trust God because He won’t let you down.

Reach out and put your faith in God! He will strengthen you. He will give you peace, joy, hope, and faith. Go to God, and I promise you won’t be disappointed!

Hello, everyone! I would like to give many thanks to Renae from Renae’s Fight 4 Recovery for writing this guest post!

Renae is a 20-year-old college student majoring in writing. She loves Jesus, coffee, cats, crocheting, writing, and reading. Her advice for new writers is to just do it! Go in there and follow your dream! Just start, don’t wait!

You can follow her Instagram @renaeloveswriting and read her Wattpad works @renaeloveswriting. Also, please go check out her blog and leave some encouragement for her!

signi

guestpost

Help Me Get to Know You!

Abi LeahLeave a comment

blog-survey

Hello, everyone! As my blog continues to grow, I want to make sure that I am listening to what you are saying about my blog. Here is a short Google form that has questions that will help me know when to post and how to post. Thank you so much for taking the time to answer the questions!

If the form doesn’t work for you, click here to access the form.

signi

God’s Perfect and Powerful Love

Abi Leah4 Comments

perfectlove

Love. That is one thing that no one can live without. And yet, it is the thing that we, as a society, have broken. Love has seemed to have lost its meaning. After all, there is no way that we can love another person perfectly.

There is hope, though, because we are loved by a perfect and wonderful Father. As Christians, we celebrate Jesus rising from the dead. This powerful miracle is the ultimate example of God’s love for us. Jesus defeated death so that we could spend eternity with Him. John 13:1 says this:

It was just before the Passover Festival. Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.

As sinful and fallen people, it is impossible to love the way that God loves us. Despite the pain of our immense sin that was placed on Him, Jesus fought and destroyed death so we could have a relationship with Him. And through all of the pain, all of the sufferings, He still loved us. Isn’t that perfect love?

My challenge for you this week is to remember how powerful and perfect God’s love for us is. Remember that, even when we don’t feel loved, God loves us with an unending, all-powerful love.

signi

Learning to Pray Expectantly

Abi Leah6 Comments

prayingdevotional

Prayer is an important part of having a strong relationship with God.

I remember last fall, my school took a trip to Windy Gap. We spent the week worshiping God and getting to know one another before heading back to school. One of the last nights we were there, the leaders sent everyone off to have quiet time with God. I found a spot beside the sand volleyball courts. Looking up at the starry night sky, I thought of how cool it would be to see shooting stars.

Immediately after that thought, I frowned. Why should I ask God for shooting stars? Aren’t I supposed to ask for important and meaningful things? How can I ask for shooting stars when there are so many other things to be praying for? I bent my head and looked at my hands, convinced that something as little as shooting stars should be something I should have prayed for.

You could probably guess what happened. When the bell rang and everyone was called back to the chapel, my friends ran up to me speaking quickly about how beautiful the shooting stars had been. I stopped in the path, shocked. God had answered my prayers but I was so busy convincing myself it wasn’t worth the time that I had missed His answer all together!

While we should pray with full faith that He is able to answer our prayers and do everything we ask, we have to remember that it’s God’s Will that is to be done. God wants us to accept His Will completely and give our lives to Him. Once we do that, He openly answers our prayers because we are praying for His Will to be done! Sometimes, though, there are things that He gives us anyway, like shooting stars. But we have to remember that it is God that we are serving, not ourselves. James 1:6-8 explains this idea:

But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. ~ James 1:6-8

My challenge this week is that you would pray expectantly, knowing that God can answer your prayers, giving us everything we need, but also remembering that His Will comes first.

signi

Life Update + Awesome Blogger Award!

Abi Leah5 Comments

lifeupdate

Hello, everyone! How are you? It’s been a while since my last life update so I thought I would share one today.

Things have been pretty busy until today. I just finished my third quarter of Senior Year and I’m not exactly sure what to do with that information. I’m excited to graduation coming up in a couple of months but I also know that I’m going to miss so many things from high school. I think, for now, I’m just going to take things one week at a time.

Speaking of, this next week is going to be full of really exciting things! On Monday, I have my final meeting before I head to… Peru! I’ll be gone for 10 days but I will come back with lots of pictures! I also have a Sign Language Club meeting on Monday which I’m very excited about! I’ve always found sign language to be interesting and I’m looking forward to being able to sign with some other people from my church and school.

The Awesome Blogger Award

awe

I was nominated for this award by the lovely Lindsay from Linds4Dance. Thank you so much, Lindsay! Please be sure to check out her blog here and her version of the post here!

Rules

  1. Thank the person who nominated you!
  2. Include the reason behind the award!
  3. Include the banner in the post
  4. Tag it with #awesomebloggeraward
  5. Answer all the questions!
  6. Nominate at least 5 other awesome blog buddies
  7. Give your nominees 10 questions of their own!
  8. Let your nominees know they’ve been nominated!

*I’m going to skip these but please feel free to accept your own nomination for this award!

The Reason Behind This Award

The Awesome Blogger award was originally created by Maggie @ Dreaming of Guatemala. This is an award for the absolutely wonderful writers all across the blogging world. they have beautiful blogs, are kind and lovely, and always find a way to add happiness and laughter to the lives of their readers. that is what truly defines an awesome blogger. ~coffeelovingbookoholic

The Questions

  1. What’s your favorite quote? – “May the flowers remind us why the rain was so necessary.” – Xan Oku
  2. What’s your earliest childhood memory? – My earliest childhood memory was when I was around 3 or 4. I was in preschool and it was my birthday. I remember having pigtails with purple ribbons and having nap time. I was so excited about my birthday that I couldn’t go to sleep. :)
  3. If you could do anything in one day, what would you do? – I would probably wake up early, be productive, have lunch with some friends, and then spend the afternoon with my family. That would be a great day.
  4. Who in your life, do admire most? – My former Sunday School teacher is someone that I admire a lot. She is the happiest 70~ year-old I’ve ever met. Every time I see her, she is always excited and reminds me to be strong in my faith. She constantly prays for me and it means a lot. She hasn’t had the easiest life, but through everything, she has been praising God. That is how I want to be.
  5. Who is your favorite blogger and why? – Oh, my! Okay, my favorite blogger would have to be Madyson Grace. Her blog is full of meaningful posts that encourage us to remember the Truth.
  6. Markers or Colored Pencils? – Markers. 100%
  7. Chocolate or Hard candies? – Chocolate!
  8. Current favorite outfit? – I would have to go with my church outfit. It consists of this fit and flare burgundy dress from Altar’d State, a black cardigan, and flats. It’s really comfortable.
  9. What’s your greatest accomplishment? – Reaching my 3-year blogiversary!
  10. If you could go back in time, where would you go and why? – I would go back to the 1950s because I think that was an interesting time period.  Also, it was during that decade that Disneyland opened!

Thanks so much for reading! I hope you have a great week! :)

signi