To my Friends going on Project

Unfortunately, this is fantastically true. 

I found that picture on Pinterest the other day and sighed because it was very true for myself. All my friends are going on their summer adventures to all over the world, and its starting to hit me. From Africa to India to North Carolina, my friends are scattering themselves for the summer. Though I will be in Colorado playing with kids and hanging out in the mountains, it will still be hard knowing they are all far away from me. 

I find myself feeling like a mom who's about to have an empty nest, and the loneliness sinks in a little early. It's not like this is new, every summer this happens, but I manage. The best part is when they come back and share their stories of how God has changed their lives. Though I'm sad now, this is just the beginning of something wonderful. Changing lives is what we are meant to do, and to see my friends take the leap of faith to go out and do so is so very wonderful. Almost magical. It's great to see people change in such a short period of time. For the Lord they stick out their necks to do great things that he has called them to do. It's such an adventure in the making and I can't wait to see the out come. 

Prayer requests:

Please pray for my roommate Rileigh Puckett as she heads to India for the summer. She's excited for what the Lord has in store for her.

Please Pray for two of my good friends Anna Ellis and Danielle Dolson. Both of them will be on Summer Project with Cru in North Carolina. 

Please Pray for my dear friend Timo Dykes as he heads to South Africa to work as a leader on the MK2MK summer project for high school students. 

Please pray for safe travels and a great time.

"Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit."- Matthew 28:19

I hope that my dear friends reading this are going to have the time of their lives. And the Lord truly shows them his love and mercy. I hope that they all come back willing to continue to serve the Lord and shine his light wherever they are. 

Love Always,

-Tay

Emotional Feed

Raise your hand if you are a frequent user of social media.

My hand is high. 

Studies show that women are more frequently using social media, checking it multiple times a day.

Hand is still up.

Why though? We use the social networks to keep in contact with people, that's for sure. But what else do we use it for? 

Easy.

We use them for acceptance, self assurance, and to place our emotional resumes out there for the world to like and comment on. 

( Disclaimer, this is my personal thought, no fingers are being pointed, I have done all of these things too on social networks) 

We have all posted a heartfelt status seeking comments and likes to reassure us we are good at the mushy stuff. 

Social media has created a term that is still not accepted by auto correct and dictionaries, "Selfies". A picture you've taken and posted of yourself, taken by yourself. Selfies have become very common and normal, I've even taken a few. But why do we feel the need to over edit and post multiple versions or multiple shots? And when we pick the one we want as our default what do we do?

We sit, and wait.

For comments, likes, approval and praise. 

My hand is still up, and getting very tired I might add. 

We may not of have noticed it, but we do find ourselves looking at who liked the photo or commented. It's in our nature to want to feel accepted and search for it. My sisters have fallen victim to it, and use it as a focus or pass time. When they should be worrying about their track records or yards in flag football. Not which filter to use or if the caption says what it needs to. 

To quote my Adolescent Development professor: " Teenagers have always looked for acceptance in others through appearance and accessibility to it. It's just in the last eight years social networks have enabled them to do it in a lazier way, but also harder." 

It is harder, you have to gain a following base, and get people to notice you. 

Really hard, and my hand is still up. 

Emotional Resume..

To quote someone on twitter:

"Its attractive when guys are good with kids."

You're so right. It is an attractive quality. It's also something every single woman wants in a man whether or not they want children. It's common knowledge. Along with "I want to be treated like a princess and be brought flowers." or the whole "I want a TUMBLR perfect relationship."

Pardon my french, but, what the H-E_DOUBLEHOCKEYSTICKS? Tumblr perfect is a thing? 

I honestly think I have lost brain cells searching Pinterest and Tumblr for information. Coming up empty handed other than seeing young teens embracing eachother in nicely edited photos. 

All those quotes above are prime examples of posting your emotional resume. Wanting a guy to fit the slots. You might as well pass out surveys and take the one that answers the questions most accurately. Honestly, not a bad idea. Just could end badly. 

I see it in all my news feeds. Whether its for friendship or relationships, people are using social networks to fill the void of what they want. Personally, if you want to make friends, or meet a nice guy/girl go out and get'er done. You don't need to publish to the world what you want or need. It's honestly degrading of yourself and the people who are trying to fill that void for you. 

I fell victim to it late middle school, but I soon realized that I don't need to use social networking to fill my void. It's destructive and potentially painful. 

Solution:

Think. Think before you speak, tweet, and post. It's hard I know. I don't always do it myself. I love seeing what my friends are up to, especially the ones I don't ever see. But what I hate is seeing what they want, or wining about how they don't get enough sleep. Internet Etiquette, let's make it a thing. 

Some people it's their only outlet, only way you know what's going on.  And to an extent that's fine. 

But for some people it does nothing but take them down. Yes you may get a ton of likes, but a majority are out of habit. 

Also a limit of five status's a week should be a thing. 

This is just some thought's I had, nothing to take to heart, and no offense intended. I'm not complaining, just observing. Loving and wanting everyone to understand I love them. You should go to people before you go to the internet for therapy. 

What do y'all think? I know I've probably sparked some emotion and debate among my readers. And I'm sure not everyone agrees. But as I've seen it and done it, and recovered from it. I thought, YOLO. 

-Tay

Adventure and the Beast

Adventure is something that I've yearned for my whole life. Though I have no backing or some life changing story that ties into this post and my love for adventure, I have a song.

Ever heard of Disney's Beauty and the Beast?
Yea, me too.
It's pretty cool if you're into that kind of thing (which I totally am). Anyways, there's a great line in one of the songs that she sings, and it goes:

"I want adventure in the great wide somewhere, I want it more than I can tell. And for once it would be grand, to have someone understand, I want so much more than they've got planned."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4SEr8VELvl0
( link to the clip)

Anyways, I've got this thing, it's like an annoying feeling in the pit of my stomach, that is always telling me to go do something wild, not dangerous, but you know, unexpected.
Sorry to those who expect me to fit the norm. I want to go and do the unexpected.
When I was a kid she was my favorite princess, for many reasons. She was a real beaut', she loved beyond looks, and loved to read. It took me years to accept my wild red hair that I still can't seem to beable to manage. It took me years to love literature, but yet here I am. Loving beyond looks, and the whole "Don't judge a book by its cover" thing has always been my motto. I don't care what you look like, you could look like a tea pot, or a beast, and we can still be friends.
Belle not only did that, but she was selfless. she took place of her father in the Beast's prison, and that my friends is something to think about.

I want to be like her, not specifically, I'm nearly twenty years old, I still want to be a princess. But I want to strive for adventure and succeed. I want to become the type of woman people want to read about. Someone who's adventures are one's for the record books.
So if the opportunity arises that I could stay in a castle with talking furniture, I'm taking it.


Thanks for reading a completely pointless post, and making my studying for finals worth procrastinating.

-Tay