Little Rambles

Conveying the Gospel

Hey y’all! Thanks for dropping by Little Things and Sunshine! The WordPress Daily Prompt for today is “Conveyor”. What does it mean to convey? The Merriam-Webster dictionary says, “A: to bear from one place to another; especially: to move in a continuous stream or mass. B: to impart or communicate by statement, suggestion, tester, or appearance.” Today I want to focus on how this word “convey” relates to how we share the Gospel.

In the routine of day-to-day, it is so easy to brush someone off or skip out on fellowship. I know that I really struggle with avoiding people when I get busy. Its just so much easier to stay home and hide lol. But that’s not what Christians are supposed to do. We should, not only have direct conversations with people about Christ, but also convey His love on a daily basis. Its the small words of encouragement to a co-worker or the way you greet the barista at Starbucks that can make their day so much better. Look forward to these seemingly “small” opportunities! They are just as important as the big mission trips and deep conversations. By conveying the Gospel through the little things, we already have a head start on the big opportunities. Only God can plant the seed in the hearts of the lost. Pray that He would give you the strength to convey His truth throughout your day. Let’s be conveyors of the Good News.

“Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven”

(Matthew 5:15–16, NIV)

Thanks for stopping by! What are your thoughts on conveying the Gospel? Let me know in the comments below:)

Emerald

via Daily Prompt: Conveyor

 

3 Ways to Keep Your Resolutions

Hey y’all! If you’re anything like me, you get all excited for the new year and plan many resolutions to make yourself a new and improved person. Needless to say, mid-January rolls around and all of those improvements seem much less appealing. So how can we keep up the good work in a realistic way?

  1. Consolidate – Yes we want to have a killer body, eat kale everyday, and solve world hunger, but let’s be real. If you feel like you set a few too many large goals, go through and reexamine the list. Make sure that everything on the list are things that are practical and that you need to achieve. Don’t overwhelm yourself all at once.
  2. Specify – Be very specific in your goals. If your goal is to “Get Healthy” then your process will be much harder. You’ve given little accountability by not specifying to yourself what it is you’re going to do to achieve that goal. Try making specific goals such as “Run 12 Miles Per Week” or “Have Vegetarian Monday”. Creating specific goals will be much more manageable to achieve.
  3. Faith – It’s so easy to get wrapped up in our appearance and material possessions when evaluating life. Remember to make God the main priority in all of your goals. Pray for the strength to meet those difficult resolutions and for guidance in the process. Don’t be afraid to pray about the difficulties in your weight-loss journey or decluttering project. Nothing is too small for God.

Those are my tips! Over the next few months, encourage each other in your resolutions. Be a blessing to people this year.

Thanks for stopping by!

Emerald

17 Favorite Songs of 2017

Happy New Year! I’m so glad that you stopped by my blog, Little Things and Sunshine. Last year, I posted my favorite worship songs of 2016 (you can find that post here).  This year, I thought that I would share my favorite songs of 2017, secular and Christian. These may seem a bit random, as there’s quite a variety of genres lol, but this is what I’ve been loving;)

  • Words as Weapons (US Version) – Birdy
  • He Will Hold Me Fast – Norton Hall Band
  • How Long Will I Love You – Ellie Goulding
  • Sweet Creature – Harry Styles
  • All I Have Is Christ (Live) – Sovereign Grace Music
  • Wonderfully Made – Ellie Holcomb
  • Perfect Duet – Ed Sheeran & Beyoncé
  • It’s All Coming Back to Me Now – Céline Dion
  • Waving Through a Window – Dear Evan Hansen
  • Broke – Lecrae
  • Old Hymns/New Hearts – Tom McConnell
  • Beautiful – Carol King
  • He’s Always Been Faithful – Chelsea Moon & Uncle Daddy
  • Let It Be – The Beatles
  • The Power of the Cross – Keith & Kristyn Getty
  • Funny (Live) – Tori Kelly
  • Take My Life – Norton Hall Band

What are your favorite songs of 2017? Comment down below!

Emerald @ Little Things and Sunshine

I Went Vegan?

Hey y’all! Welcome to Little Things and Sunshine. I know it’s been forever since I’ve posted anything. I could blame this on school and numerous other things, but honestly I just haven’t felt very driven. Maybe it was just the mid-semester slump or something. Anyways, here I am moving forward again at full speed:) One of my goals for September was to go vegan for the month. Now I’m sure many of you are asking, “Why on earth would you do that!?”. Well before September began, I read a lot of articles and watched many videos about the vegan lifestyle and it’s pros and cons. My normal lifestyle being mainly plant-based, I figured it would be an interesting way to challenge myself without having to make many changes.

I honestly don’t have anything negative to say about the experience. Being vegan made me rethink the way I prepared and ate food. It was definitely much harder than I expected it to be. I couldn’t just go to the fridge and grab what was most convenient, but had to think through the ingredients and timing of my food. I also had the opportunity to try new foods such as tofu, tempeh, and almond milk yogurt. It was really fun to recreate some of my favorite foods, including brownies, ice-cream, pho, and alfredo, in a healthier and vegan style. Pinterest was definitely a lifesaver for times when I ran out of meal ideas.  Eating vegan had a positive effect on my health and the way I look at food for sure.

Now the month is coming to a close and, no, I will not be going vegan permanently. It just wouldn’t be practical at this point. For me, continuing with a mostly plant-based diet that includes locally sourced animal products will be the best. I am blessed to live in an area where my family can purchase milk from a local creamery and eggs from a lady at our church. Because of that, I know that the animals producing those parts of my diet are in a happy, healthy environment. The products are also minimally processed if at all. Eating meat has never been a huge part of my diet and will continue to play a very small role.

My experiment really did teach me what it means to eat to fuel my body and not just curb hunger. I also had to learn to be ok with not eating a treat just because everyone around me was (a bad habit of mine). What do you think about “going vegan”? Let me know in the comments!

I hope you all have a great day! Get ready for many vegan friendly recipe ideas in the future;)

Emerald

Disclaimer: I am a highschooler, not a doctor or nutritionist. My mother, who is a nutritionist, supervised and encouraged me throughout this entire process. Making a major lifestyle change, such as becoming vegan, can have a negative impact on your health if it is not executed correctly. This post is simply meant to inform you on my personal experience. Before making a diet change, please consult your doctor.

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

five things i want teen girls to know (Guest Post)

 

helloooo sweet friends!! i am emma grace carter from emmagracecarter.wordpress.com and i am SO overjoyed to be doing this guest blog post for my friend Emerald!!! when Emerald asked me to write this I seriously struggled and stuggled to find a topic to write about. my. mind. was. everywhere. but God laid a topic on my heart today that I wanted to share with you, and that is five things I want teen girls to know. sooo here we go:

O N E – you don’t need a boy to define you – girls, you seriously don’t need your main focus right now in middle school or high school to be “the cool girl in the cool relationship” trust. me. your relationship with Jesus should be your main focus at this time in your life. He defines, sustains, and cares for you. He loves you more than any boy or human ever could or will. rest in Him and that. focus on growing closer to HIM instead of finding the cool, cute guy in school to be your boyfriend for a month or so.

T W O – it IS okay to be broken but don’t live there; God has overcome – this is hard. I know because I am going through a season of brokenness currently and it IS so tough when people tell you to not live in your brokenness because while it is so true, it is NOT okay to live in brokenness, it can also make you feel like the person telling you that is rushing you through your broken season of life and does not even care, but I promise, while I am talking about this I do care and I need you to know that it is 100% okay to be broken, it’s life. there are times of heartache and loss and sadness, but God has overcome. we don’t have to live in our brokenness anymore because of THAT. we don’t have to live in sorrow or fear or pain because HE has overcome and we have the choice to say “hey am I going to live in brokenness or am I going to live in the ultimate love and joy and freedom that God has for me KNOWING that it is OKAY to be broken but that I don’t have to stay there because I am loved and the One who loves me has overcome fear and anxiety and pain and brokenness.” that’s where freedom is. that is where the ultimate joy is found. our joy can so be found when we surrender to Jesus.

T H R E E – be yourself – being yourself is one of the greatest things you can do for you. when you embrace you and be who God has called you to be, the right crowd of friends will be around you, and i can promise your life will be so much happier. when I started to be who I was meant to be and who God needed me to be, everything changed, I realized that God does not need two of the same person, He needed Emma, and only I could fulfill that. He created us each unique and marvelously loved. be YOU because God loves you, and the right people and friends will also love that too.

F O U R – HIS timing not ours – His timing is always SO much better than our own. trust Him and that. He will take care of you and it’s okay if you may be a little frustrated when things are not working out in your timing, His timing is always best. and continues to be. and will always be. we just have to know and believe that. He knows what He is doing, I promise.

F I V E – step out of your comfort zone – be brave, step out and do something you don’t wanna do, and I don’t mean “go get in the car with someone who doesn’t have a drivers license and step out of your comfort zone.” i mean, get plugged into your church and if you do not have a church google one close by, find a youth group, find a girls bible study or small group. raise money to go to christian camps and stay connected with the people you meet at those places. be involved, be 100% there. invite someone out to lunch, start a bible study with someone at your local coffee shop, just. do. it.

we are so loved by Love, rest in Him knowing life won’t always be easy but HE will take care of you.

these were just five things that I wanted girls to know, you might already know them, you might not, but I pray that you embrace them and realize that we are all so imperfect but absolutely loved by a perfect God. and I hope you have THE best day, sweet friend!! if you wanna follow me on social media you can find me on instagram @emmaagcarter and on twitter @emmagcarter, and on my blog.

YOU are priceless and amazing. let’s love well and know we are so well loved, yes?!?

-emma, emmagracecarter.wordpress.com

P.S. Hi it’s Emerald! To see my guest post on Emma’s blog click here!

~Tethered to Christ~

“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” – Lamentations 3:22-23 (ESV)

We’ve all been there: that moment in life when the unthinkable happens. That moment when you drive out of one storm straight into another. You’re already weak, stressed out, and angry at the world, and all you can think is, “Seriously? I’ve had enough trial for one season of life, thank you very much!” Maybe you’re going through all of life’s craziness and you’re struggling to believe that a loving and merciful God would really let so much bad happen. Well me too. Thankfully God makes us a promise.

It says in Lamentations, “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases…” Those words alone are impossible to comprehend with our simple, human minds. If we were left to believe by our own will, we would probably think, “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases’… but I think I can do this on my own so just hold out for a bit.” We are so foolish! God gives us endless mercies. Every morning He renews His ceaseless and steadfast love. God sent His only son, Jesus Christ, to take the burden of our sins. He did this so that we could be tethered to Him; so that He could share our burdens and sorrows.  His faithfulness is so great! God uses the unthinkably bad seasons of life to make us dwell in His unimaginably good. He will not give any of us more than we can handle. So today trust that your are tethered to God’s love by the blood of Christ. Nothing that you could do or any of your trials could ever change His steadfast love.

P.S. Check out this song: He Will Hold Me Fast

via Daily Prompt: Tether

7 Words of Wisdom for Depression 

Life isn’t always filled with simplicity, happiness, and contentment. There are so many times of intense sorrow and heartbreak. Many of us just can’t seem to find joy even when life is at its best. There is just so much that can’t be explained and simply doesn’t make sense. It is times like these that God uses to bring us closer to Him. A lot of people would ask, “How could a loving God let me feel such a lack of joy?” During the periods of depression, it is so easy to fall into that trap that Satan sets. Suffering is such a gift. It reminds us of how broken we humans really are and forces us to depend on Him. 

I put together a list if quotes, verses, and song excerpts that really help me during rough patches. Let these words of wisdom bring peace and contentment to your heart. Remember that while Our Father does promise Christians hardship, He also promises that He won’t give you too heavy of a load. 

1. “Maybe you have to know the darkness before you can appreciate the light.” – Madeline L’Engle 

2. “No pow’r of Hell, no scheme of man, can ever pluck me from His hands; till He returns or calls me home- here in the pow’r of Christ I stand!”- In Christ Alone, Keith and Kristyn Getty

3. “This is my comfort, my consolation, and my breath of fresh air in the midst of my depression and loss, Your Word nourishes and repairs me, it revives my life and your promises restore me and make me whole.” – Psalm 119:50 

4.”God will let you walk into uncomfortable situations where ALL you can do in rely on Him. Don’t be anxious. He’s about to show you He is faithful.” – Brittney Moses

5. “O death, where is your sting? O Hell, where is your victory? O Church, come stand in the light. Our God is not dead-He’s alive!” – Christ is Risen, Matt Maher 

6. “Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.” – 1 Peter 1:7 

7. “Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with My victorious right hand.”- Isaiah 41:10 
Well I hope that these help you as much as they do me. Do you have a devotion or Bible study that has made an impact in your life? Let me know in the comments! 

Have a blessed week, 

Emerald 

Watermelon Days.

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The arrival of summer means loads of freshly cut watermelon and sunshine. What does summer mean to you? How do you spend your watermelon days? Send me a comment and don’t forget to follow Little Things and Sunshine!

“Live in the sunshine. Swim in the sea. Drink the wild air.” ~ Emerson