encouragement

Encouraging Morning Playlist

Hey y’all! Welcome to Little Things and Sunshine!  Today I thought that I would share one of my favorite morning playlists with you. Music is such an important part of my life, and listening to something encouraging really helps me to start my day out right. This is a great playlist to listen to as you get ready, make breakfast, go to work or school, or just hang around the house!

                     My Morning Playlist

Well I hope you enjoy all of these songs! I would love to know which ones are your favorites and what some of your favorite encouraging songs are! Thanks for stopping by:)

Emerald

The Things Unseen

2 Corinthians 4:16-18 (ESV)
16 So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. 17 For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, 18 as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

Well I must say it’s been a crazy few weeks for me. I’ve been out of town, and while going new places and spending time with my friends and family is great, I’m already dreaming of pre-scheduled days and sleeping in my own bed. At the same time, the fact that school starts in only 2 weeks creates a mix of butterflies and dread in my stomach. I guess that’s pretty normal for the majority of teens.

With the school year approaching it’s so easy for all of us to carry around a lengthy checklist and a bag of stress. It’s all too simple to dwell in the present crisis of back to school shopping and forget about the end goal. Maybe you’re dealing with something a little more serious. It could be that you’ve lost a loved one or just lost your job. Maybe it’s the weight of sin pouring over your life.
Well thankfully 2 Corinthians 4 encourages us to not lose heart. We are assured that though life is crazy, sin is deep, and sometimes life doesn’t seem fair, the love of Christ is renewing us everyday. The pain that you are experiencing now is so very temporal. The road may be rough but it is preparing you for a greater destiny than your present condition. As Christians, we get to look forward to and dwell on the unseen. The life you’re experiencing now is temporary, but God is eternal. Salvation through Christ Jesus is eternal. So go about your week not dwelling in the seen troubles, but in the unseen blessing of heaven. Remember that everything you are going through today is preparing you for the joys and battles of tomorrow.

Happy Monday!
Emerald

I Live in a Camper.

Hey there! It’s Emerald with Little Things and Sunshine:)

I must say, life has been a bit crazy these past few weeks. With school finals, recitals, trying to keep up with blog posts, and being on week 18 of living in a camper, I feel unorganized and chaotic. I am one of three daughters and my family of five has been on the crazy journey of remodeling our 1940’s home. We first moved into our fixer-upper 10 years ago when it was just me, my mom, and my dad. Since then, our family has grown with the addition of my little sisters and, needless to say, our two bedroom, one bath home was becoming a bit tight. So this past winter we started down the road of completely ripping our house apart and starting over. Has it been crazy? Yes. Is living in a camper with 4 other people for nearly 5 months always fun? No. But through all of the insanity, I have been reminded over and over again of how great God is. My family has grown closer to many friends. We’ve had people open up their homes as places to wash clothes, get out of bad weather, and to simply fellowship. God has used our situation to bring us closer to people in so many ways. I’ve also seen humility and patience become a growing theme in our house hold. Needless to say we’ll definitely appreciate our new house so much more after living in tight quarters.

Though it’s not over yet, I’ve already learned a great deal about myself and my family. Some of these include patience, humility, thankfulness, and the ability to just go with the flow. I’ve also learned how to turn the other cheek (I have a hard time with this). Because I’m a fairly headstrong person, it’s very hard to just bite my tong and let someone else have their way. When someone’s frustrated and giving everyone else heck, I’ve had to learn to just back down and let them cool off. Sometimes it’s necessary to take a step back before addressing an issue. After all, a heated argument between five people in a camper is basically a recipe for disaster.

Living in a camper has definitely made me appreciate the things that we take for granted in America. Hot showers, easy access to pots and pans, an organized wardrobe? Those don’t really exist at the moment. But can I tell you how truly blessed we are! There are people all over the world and just a few streets away, who live in terrible living conditions. Sometimes I’ll catch myself complaining and have to remind myself, “Hey you. There are people living in huts, with no food or water, and you’re sitting in a nicely air-conditioned camper, watching your brand new house being built.” When I put it that way, it makes all of my “trials” a lot less dramatic.

So today I challenge you to be forgiving, be humble, and be patient. Always remember to thank God for His abundance AND for what he doesn’t give immediately. Let’s dwell on the One who came to die for impatient sinners. Let Him change you and incorporate His blessings into your life, in the time that agrees with His Will.

I hope you have a blessed day!

Quick Quotes~ “If it is right, it happens – The main thing is not to hurry. Nothing good gets away.” – John Steinbeck

Happy Monday y’all and thanks for stopping by! Today’s Daily Prompt was “Zip”. As soon as I read that word, it was obvious what I should share with you guys.

“If it is right it happens – The main thing is not to hurry, Nothing good gets away.” –

John Steinbeck 

Hurrying, rushing, zipping. Those are probably some of the words that characterize your daily routine. Well congratulations you are officially normal lol. Modern day culture is so rushed. We zip around in our cars, rushing to school, to work, and back home everyday. Let me encourage you to start being abnormal. Take time to rest, pray, and depend on the One Who Holds Tomorrow. It is so easy to get caught up in the zipper of life and forget to look around. Don’t get caught. Take time to look around and remember that what’s important will still be there when you continue forward. Have faith and remember that “If it is right it happens.” 

Have a blessed week!

via Daily Prompt: Zip

5 Quotes For Being Yourself

Hey y’all! If you’re new here, well welcome Little Things and Sunshine! If you’ve visited before, welcome back;)  Today I wanted to talk about how important it is for one to be their own, original self. In today’s world we all want to look, live, dress, and simply be like everyone else. The truth is, that person that you’re dreaming of being like or that life that you’re wishing you could live is so very flawed. Believe it or not, being the flawed, unique, and slightly crazy you that you are is the most beautiful person that you can be.

Here are 5 quotes to help inspire you to be yourself…

1. “Remind yourself that you cannot fail at being yourself.” ~ Wayne W. Deer 

2. “By being yourself, you put something wonderful in the world that was not there before.” ~ Edwin Elliot  

3. “Beauty begins the moment you decide to be yourself.” ~ Coco Chanel 

4. “Do what you feel in you heart to be right for you’ll be criticized anyway.”                               ~ Eleanor Roosevelt 

5. “Be yourself; everyone is already taken.” ~ Oscar Wilde 

Have a great weekend!

P.S. For more inspirational quotes go to my homepage and click Little Rambles. 

Quick Quotes ~ “The road to success is always under construction.”- Lily Tomlin

“The road to success is always under construction.” – Lily Tomlin 

. Have you ever felt like you’re making no progress on your goals or that you’re just failing at everything? Well I have. This is just one of those quotes that really lift my spirit and remind me to keep going.

No one is perfect, nothing is easy, and life is just plain ol’ tuff, but we have to remember that success isn’t instant. Your dreams don’t come flying towards you on a silver platter. The road to success is hard, but it’s also very rewarding. The road to success is also never ending. You’ll never truly be content with what you’ve accomplished in life because your accomplishments and dreams can’t fulfill you.

Just remember, when you’re sitting in that cubicle wishing you were in the Bahamas, that you will get there someday. “The road to success is always under construction,” but that’s one of the things that brings excitement to life. Don’t expect things to be perfect and don’t try to make things happen according to your plan. Sometimes a bridge is going to break and you’ll have to start over, but use that setback to build something even better. Never stop improving. Never stop learning.

I hope you enjoying this weeks Quick Quotes! I challenge you to take those words to heart and apply them to your life.

Have a great day;)

Emerald

Quick Quotes~ “Be an encourager. The world has plenty of critics already.”- Dave Willis

 

“Be an encourager. The world has plenty of critics already.”- David Willis 

    Hey there! Welcome to Quick Quotes at the Little Things and Sunshine blog:)

Today’s quote is about criticism. Society is full of criticism. It’s literally everywhere! You face it at work, at school,… and the list goes on. This David Willis quote, “Be an encourager. The world has plenty of critics already,” is something that we all should take into account. So what does being an encourager mean? Being an encourager can mean being supportive of other’s dreams and goals or just having something positive and truthful to say. I challenge you to be a positive influence in the lives of others and to be encouraging, because the world is full of so many critics.

Thank you so much for stopping by!

Dare to be encouraging;)

Emerald

 

 

via Daily Prompt: Criticize

10 Words of Wisdom to Start of Your Year

Happy New Year everyone!

It’s a brand new year. Just think about that for a moment. This is a brand new start. A chance to start over, try new things, change your perspective, have new goals… if you can think of it its possible! I want to really encourage you to keep your focus on positivity and peace this year. It’s so easy to get bogged down and feel like you’re failing, but with patience and willingness to work, anything can be achieved.

I thought I’d share 10 of my favorite encouraging words to help you start off this new chapter:)

1.  “A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new.”- Albert Einstein

2. “The road to success is always under construction.”- Lilly Tomlin

3. “Happiness can be found in the darkest of times if one only remembers to turn on the light.” – Albus Dumbledore

4. “Sure, there’s bad stuff in the world, but there’s also you. You can be anything that you want today, so be bold, be kind, be awesome, repeat. It’s like shampoo but with your life.” – Kid President

5. Be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead. – 1 Peter 1:6

6. “You can start late, look different, be uncertain, and still succeed.” – Misty Copeland

7. “Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift. That’s why we call it the present.” – A.A. Milne

8. “Be obsessively grateful.” – author unknown

9. “There are far better things ahead than any we leave behind.” – C.S. Lewis

10.” Go forward in life with a twinkle in your eye and a smile on your face but with great                      purpose of heart.” – Gordon B Hinckley

 

So take things words and apply them to your year! Really think about all of them and what they mean and how you can apply them to your life. Don’t let them just go in one ear and out the other. Be encouraged and don’t be afraid to succeed;)

Have a great day!