How to Reboot After Thanksgiving

If you’re anything like me, you probably ate way too much Thanksgiving and now feel groggy and bloated. The mounds of turkey, buckets of gravy, and lack of green vegetables can be quite the trial. Trust me, the struggle is real lol. Since we’re probably all in the same boat, I thought I would share a few tips to help you get back on track…

1. Drink More Water ~ Water is always mandatory, but is especially helpful when high sodium and greasy foods are apart of the scenario. Drinking a little more water than you typically do will help you to flush out those toxins and feel much better.
2. Exercise ~ Adding more movement into your schedule over the next week will help to cleanse your system even more. Taking the stairs, parking farther away from the store, or maybe even hiking this weekend are great ways to boost your physical activity.
3. Keep Breakfast Clean ~ This week, really watch what you eat for breakfast. What you choose to fuel your body with first sets the tone for the rest of the day. For a quick and easy breakfast, try making a dressed up bowl of oatmeal such as Good Morning Breakfast Oats.  They will keep you full until lunch and give you the energy to conquer the day.
4. Pray for Gratitude ~ Thanksgiving is about giving thanks and celebrating harvest, but how often do we think about gratitude any other time of year? Let’s remember to thank God daily for His blessings AND trials. Pray that God would give you gratitude for every situation in life. The hardships help us to appreciate the good times.

Thanks for stopping by Little Things and Sunshine! Feel free to leave any tips you have for getting “back on track” in the comments below.

Have a blessed week,

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

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