In our culture, we see relationships being romanticized as some sort of necessity. We constantly see celebrities get in and out of them in the blink of an eye. We are told that if you aren't in one, you're going to be forever alone and that you're weird for doing so.

For me, seeing everyone I know in a relationship can really pressure me. People I went to high school with are tying the knot. People I grew up with are settling down. Even those closest to me are sort of getting into one.

To be honest, it bums me out. It makes me wonder when I will get that chance. It's thoughts like this that is the devil's playground to truly get you. It's the thoughts that say, you'll never be in a relationship, you'll never be loved, no one cares that can really wreck you.

This is why it is so important to realize that whenever we have these thoughts, we need to continually press into God. These thoughts are put there because you're putting your trust in relationships and finding that love that we all need. We need to realize that the love you're searching for? It can only be found in Him. He loved us so much that He sent His son to die for us! That's a love that can't be compared with what the world has brought us to believe is "love".

What we also need to remember is that even when we see people, even our believer friends, get into relationships, we are not forgotten. Whenever I get into my little funk, I always feel as though the Lord has forgotten about me altogether. In Isaiah 49, the Lord says,

This verse is one that's really important in my struggle with being content with being single. It's so easy to feel forgotten, but to realize that the Lord hasn't and that He always has you in mind is really comforting. He has our entire lives planned out. He knows that this season of singleness is really hard when you see everyone around you not in the same position as you. He wants you to realize that He knows your every thought, and that His timing is perfect. Jeremiah 29:11 says that his plans for your future are still to prosper, and in this, He wants you to know that He has the perfect someone planned for you and is preparing you and that person for that moment.

When it all comes down to it, we need to remember that this season of singleness isn't just brought about for no reason. It's a time to really focus in on God, to know that He loves you and has not forgotten about you. He hears every want and need you ask for, and He will provide at the right moment in time. When will that time be, you ask? I don't know. Be encouraged that the Lord has all of that planned out for you at the perfect moment, and that you have a love that cannot be compared to this world with Him.

Yours truly,

Leighan

Hello, friends! I am so sorry it has been so long since I've been on here! Life got the hold of me, both for the better and the worse. There have been so much going on that I have lost a lot of focus and energy to write anything. Also, I was fresh out of ideas as well.

However, something came to me recently (aka, about 5 minutes ago). I have had a lot of things going on in my life, unfortunately not all that great. I'm struggling financially, productively, and emotionally. I cannot really accurately describe what exactly has been going on, but so many things have hit the fan that I felt like I was slowly losing control. I felt like all of a sudden, this massive storm cloud just came over my life, with one little one hanging over my head. 

Most people didn't really see it, but those close to me really noticed it. I am usually not very open when it comes to things going on in my life, but I do turn to my sister. She is younger than me, but she is wise beyond her years. She and I talked, and she instilled in me something that I knew I was struggling with, but didn't want to admit: I wasn't fully committing myself to God, only focusing on letting myself handle everything in my life and not giving it all to Him.

I was trusting myself and others to get whatever I needed done, and I wasn't letting God handle it. I was somewhat slipping, and God was taking things away from me and putting me through this hardship in order for me to fully recommit my life. Now, this was not like when I officially recommitted to God back in my freshman year of college, but this was more of a, "stop thinking you're gonna have everything handled out your way, let me do what I have planned for you". 

So, that night, I sat in my room, and cried out to God, asking him to take full control of everything going on in my life. I asked him to build in me strength to face my struggles, and to let me not forget that He will always be there for me, and that these trials are here for a reason that I do not even fully comprehend why yet. I promise you, I felt God's hand of protection over me that night, comforting me, letting me know that He wasn't going anywhere. 

This season in my life has taught me so much. What can really be summed up by my experience these past few weeks is in 1 Peter. It says,

I have so many trials that I have faced in this short period of time, but I know now that: 1)  I have to fully let go of trials in my life and let God take the reigns, and 2) God has put these trials in my life for a reason. He knows what's going to happen tomorrow, next week, and within these next years of my life. I just have to stop being a stubborn bum and just let God work in my life.

Have you guys ever let God handle a situation you originally wanted to on your own? How did that turn out? I love hearing about how God is working through people's lives! It's such a blessing!

Yours truly,

Leighan

Hey guys! I am SO sorry for not having this up last week! I was supposed to have these pictures and I didn't, and then school and work and life happened.... But I digress.

Outfit:

Dress, Target (there's only the salmon one online!)

Shoes, The Shoe Dept (check my V-Day post for shoes!)

Bracelets, my own

(not shown)

Necklace and Earrings, Forever 21 (necklace is currently sold out!)

 I hope you all had a wonderful Easter! I just basically went to church and had dinner, with the occasional Starbucks, because what day is it without it? 

In all seriousness though, Easter made me remember the price Jesus paid for all of us. God gave us His son to die for us, while we were stuck in our sin. We slandered him, beaten him, and, yet, he still loved us. If you want to have a real visual reference, please watch The Passion of the Christ. That movie makes it all so real, the ultimate price. It brought me to tears thinking about it. It brings me to tears thinking about it now, as I'm typing this. It is just wonderful that we have that savior who defeated the grave and showed Satan who's boss, am I right?

All in all, please let's not forget why we celebrate such holidays such as Easter. Most people think this holiday is about the Easter bunny and eggs and how much money is in those eggs you find. All of it is material things. The real reason is because we became free from the bondage of sin, and I don't know about you, but I cannot be thankful enough for it.

Yours truly,

Leighan

Hey friends!

So, if you guys have been following me on Twitter and Instagram, you will know that I recently got that pretty little piece of mail called an acceptance letter to the University of South Carolina. For all of my college people out there, you know how huge of a deal it is to get accepted into the school you wanted to get into. It is such an amazing feeling, words cannot describe!

I have been working so hard for this for the past year now. I originally was at another college that I realized I did not feel comfortable at. At first, I didn't want to leave because that would mean "wimping out" or quitting. I didn't want to end up messing things up for me, and hurting my parents' feelings by doing so. However, for me, it was kind of like God was calling me to go back home and review my options.

At the time, I was so lost. I was lost in the world, at school... basically, I was just lost in life. I was caught up in the college lifestyle, where drinking to get drunk was the "thing" and parties were an everyday necessity. I remember sneaking drinks in between apartment rooms in order for myself and my friends at the time to not get in trouble by the security at the housing development we were in. I had the mouth of a sailor, and was just an angry, lost individual. I remember calling my sister, trying to hold it all together even though I was breaking.

That last phone call I made to my sister about a pretty big falling out with my roommate was the final straw. God was definitely saying, This is not what I planned for you. This is not where you are supposed to be. After that, I called up my dad and told him I was leaving as soon as winter break started.

Coming home permanently from my previous education caused a lot of concern from people that I knew. They believed I was simply chickening out and not sucking it up. The thing is that they don't realize that it wasn't by my own will, but God's. It also made me really start falling back in love with God and strengthening my faith. Before, I was only just living in my parent's faith, When I came back, I started going back to church and befriending more people who were God's people and who would hold me accountable if I ever slipped up. I started reading more, started taking time out of my day to spend it with God. I'm still trying to better myself as a woman of God, and I am far from perfect, but I am farther away from sin than I was before.

Putting my trust in God has led me to so many great things. At first, I was at this job where I had a horrible boss who would belittle you for every bad mistake. When I started letting Him take control, I was presented with a better job opportunity, and the Lord has blessed me so much. I now have a great, understanding boss and I actually like going into work. In regards to school, I am doing so much better than I was at my previous school. I'm at a technical school and will transfer to USC next fall. I have a 3.2 average and am still holding onto it. 

Looking back at it all, if I didn't listen to God calling me home, I would have never gotten this opportunity to go to a school that is closer to my family (and better for my major) and be closer to Him. My favorite verse that can probably best describe this post is from James, and it says,

I hope that this post will inspire you guys to listen to the call of God and listen to what he has planned for you. I know that if I wasn't as broken down as I was that night, I would have never heard God saying that where I was wasn't the place for me to be at, and I would have been still stuck in this rut of sin and debauchery. Break down your walls. Shut the world out. Just take some time to hear what the Lord has to say today, and you will be glad you did.

Yours truly,

Leighan