Freedom.

I had an amazing time celebrating yesterday, as I know the majority of America did.

my amazing parents.

fourth of july snuggles. 

just chillin' in the pool, no big. 

Why did we celebrate?
Well, most of us were taking advantage of a day off.
But the reason we celebrate?
We celebrate our freedom.
We live in a beautiful and place were we have freedom that is not given in many other places because of the sacrifices that many made on our behalf.
So we celebrate.
We eat hotdogs and go swimming and watch fireworks and spend the day with the people we love.
Because we are free, and that is worth celebrating.

I had an amazing day yesterday, and I am so thankful for the freedom I have.
It made me think of how I am not only free because of the country I live in, but I am free in another aspect, too.
I have an ultimate freedom because of an ultimate sacrifice.

The Bible reminds us over and over again that we have freedom. That we have been set free.

I run in the path of Your commands, for You have set my heart free. 

-Psalm 119:32

So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. 

-John 8:36

Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.

-2 Corinthians 3:17

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.

-Galatians 5:1

In Him and through faith in Him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.

-Ephesians 3:12

I am so incredibly thankful for that freedom.  That is a freedom worth celebrating.  
Remember that.  
You have been given the incredibly precious gift of ultimate freedom. 
So celebrate.
Not just sometimes, on special occassions. 
Not just on Sundays. 
Live a life of celebration because of the freedom you have been given. 
Jesus didn't come so we could have stuffy, boring lives that don't really amount to anything. 
He came so we could have life. 
Not only life, but abundant life. 
And abundant life is worth celebrating. 
An abundant life is a life celebrated. 
So celebrate. 

Wednesday.

Happy Wednesday, beautiful people!

Today is a brand new day full of so much potential.
It has the ability to be a starting point of something new, if you want it to be.
Today can be the day you look back on and realize that was the day you started something really great.
It can be a day full of memories.
A day of hard work.
A day of blissful summer laziness.
A day of quiet.
A day of dreams.
Today can be anything you want it to be.
Don't let that kind of potential pass by you!  Make today into whatever you want it to be. 
Live and work and laugh and relax and dream and explore and be happy today.

Just because you can.

you are enough.

"Sometimes I really do hate myself"

"I wish I had a thigh gap"

"One day, I will look like _______"

"Why can't I just be better?"

These are all things I have seen on my twitter feed in the past two hours. 

It breaks my heart to see anyone, especially young women, be so insecure.

We live in a world constantly bombarding us with subtle {and not so subtle} messages on a daily basis.

Even if they are not verbally vocalized.

be skinnier. 
be stronger.  
speak up more. 
be quieter. 
be softer. 
be more tough. 
work harder. 
be smarter. 
buy this so you can be more ____.
be more like her. 
be more like him. 
you are not enough. 
you are not enough. 
you are not enough. 

Little whispers that constantly surround, mock, and overwhelm.
You hear them while watching TV, driving down the road, getting on instagram.
They are everywhere.
And they are lies.
I will say that again:
They are nothing more than lies. 

Stop buying into the lies that say you are not enough. 

You were fearfully and wonderfully made.
You were created uniquely, and with a purpose.
You aren't meant to be more like ____, you are meant to be you. 
There is no reason to chase anything else other than the best version of yourself.
Why?
Because you are enough. 

And when you don't believe that, you do the one who created you a major disservice.

Love yourself.
Sometimes it's hard.
And that's sad, because it shouldn't be.
But you have to love yourself.
Because there is one who loves you far more than you could ever imagine, and I think that it must absolutely break His heart to see that you don't believe you are enough.
To see that your time is taken up wishing you were someone else, striving to be different than you are.

Embrace who you are, for you were made that way for a reason. For a purpose.  For a destiny that only you can fulfill.

You are not merely okay. 
You will not do. 
You are not simply average. 

You are enough.
You are more than enough.
Live your life believing that, because you are worth it.
Because you are enough.

encouraging words and insta-news.

Happy Monday, beautiful people!

It's the start of a week, and you have a choice.

You can choose to view it as a drag.  As the cruel end to your fantastic weekend.  As a hassle.  As a life-sucker.  {I try not to think about Monday's negatively, but when I do, I like to call them life suckers. You're welcome for that.}

OR. 

You can choose to view it for what it is:  a blessing.

A fresh start.  A beautifully blank page.

It's the beginning of a week that is just overflowing with possibility.

What will you choose to do with it?


Also, I have exciting news!  I always find quotes and encouraging words on pinterest that I want to share with all of you, but 1) if I blogged every time I saw something like this, I would never get anything other than blogging done, and 2) I don't want to blow up my personal instagram with these things, because we all know that one person who does that, and we also all know that one person is annoying, and we skip anything they post.

SO.

I created an instagram for my blog!

instagram.com/thegirlwholovedtowrite.

Feel free to follow along if you want to add a little sparkle to your daily news feed.

Have an exceptionally wonderful Monday.