BEAUTY IN HUMBLE PLACES

4.10.12

bits of autumn.

3.10.12

what i've learned about blogging.

it's hard to believe that saturday marks the first "blog birthday" of {beauty in humble places}.
i had no idea it would turn into something that became apart of who i am.
something that introduced me to so many wonderful, diverse women.
something that allowed me to express myself and be me.

over the last year, i've learned so much about blogging -- the good and the bad.
although i'm no expert, i want to share what i've learned after a year of blogging:

be yourself. when someone visits your blog, they want to read about you, not a second-rate version of yourself. people gravitate to those who are honest and real. through blogging, i've discovered my voice. for the better part of my life, i didn't give my opinion out of fear that others wouldn't like me because i disagreed, but we are unique and that's the beauty of it all.

write about what you love. whether it's a lifestyle blog, a fashion blog, or a food blog, write about what you love. write about what you know. your writing will reflect your passion, which in turn keeps your readers coming back for more.

blog regularly. this is a big'n. i'm not saying write a post every single day -- you'll get burnt out quickly. it's about consistency. i make it a point to blog at least four times a week.

make a blogging schedule. this will keep you on track. it will also help you stay out those dreaded blogging ruts.

don't do it for the followers. lemme break this down for ya: when you start a blog, you aren't going to have very many followers. many people start a blog because they read other blogs and see how many followers they have. here's the thing: they didn't start out that way. they accumulated readers over a period of time. they have been writing and blogging for years. if you write openly and honestly, people will start following along. over time.

make sure to tag each post. you will thank me later. [also: make the tags basic. don't use tags like "chocolate" or "spaghetti", tag it "food"]

take good pictures. this is my number one rule. when i come across a new blog, this is where i either click the follow button or i move on. i'm not saying you need to go out and buy a dslr. these days, cell phones are fully capable of producing quality images. pictures give us a visual of what you're writing. we can be in that moment you're describing. (if you have blogger, another piece of advice: when you add a photo, click on it when you're typing out your blog. it will say "small" "medium" "large", etc. make the picture bigger so we can see it! i usually click "x-large")

give credit where it's due. this is my biggest pet peeve. if you post a picture that you found from another website, CREDIT THE SOURCE. if you post a picture that you yourself didn't personally take, there's a name for that: it's called stealing. it's no different than shoplifting. if you read a post on a blog that you'd like to recreate on yours, credit that blog for their idea. [see example here]
have a clean, clutter-free design. nothing is more distracting than clutter in our homes. same goes for our blogs. keep it simple. make it neat and proportional.
comment, comment, comment. comment on other blogs. plain and simple.
have an 'about me' section. this allows others to learn the basics about you. it's very important, in my opinion.

make a blog button. this lets others give your blog some love, which will allow their readers to visit your blog, which might make them want to continue reading. i've found a lot of great blogs from seeing their blog button on another blogger's page. [i found this tutorial to be helpful]

participate in link-ups. link-ups are a great way for you to showcase your blog and find other bloggers you like. my biggest piece of advice when participating in a link-up is link the blog post associated with the topic of the blog you're linking to. when i first started blogging, i linked my blog, which is a no-no. (unless it's a blog link-up). example: a blogger has made a link-up for instagram posts. link your instagram blog post, not your entire blog.

i think the most important lesson i've learned with blogging is to always be honest and open and stay true to myself.

here's to another great year of blogging!

p.s.: i made a new blog button. the link is at the bottom of the page is you want to grab it!

2.10.12

i believe in:

purple. it is my favorite color and reminds me of my sweet grandma gracie.

true love. love that accepts flaws, cherishes, and grows stronger.

dancing in the middle of a grocery/department store when a song from the 90's comes on.

God's timing.

having your mama as your best friend.

learning valuable life lessons from anyone at any age.

quality daddy/daughter time spent cheering for the sooners.

finding good in everything.

capturing this beautiful world with a camera.

the power of prayer.

big bear hugs.

the wisdom of the elderly. insightful and simple, not outdated.

choosing joy when every emotion you want to have is the complete opposite.

the infallible, inerrant, inspired Word of God.

flowers. God knew how much i would love flowers. He thought of me as He created them.

standing up for yourself, even if all you receive is laughter and ridicule in return.

honesty.

getting lost in a good book.

-most importantly- Jesus Christ and His ultimate, life-changing, love.

1.10.12

refining and improving.

i was listening to k-love on the way home from work a couple days ago. they were talking about the manicure that kelly osbourne got for the emmy's. a manicure normally wouldn't be deemed as newsworthy, but it was how much the polish on her nails was worth: $250,000.

a quarter of a million dollars on ten fingernails.

one of the dj's had the same initial reaction i had: there are children who will go hungry tonight, families who need medical care, and people living in cardboard boxes on the street. that money could go a long way.

but what she said next is what really opened my eyes:
we could list all the ways that money could be better spent.
but instead of berating her, why not look at our own lives and find ways to improve ourselves?

it was like God was speaking right at me.

instead of focusing on the faults, choices, and shortcomings of others, why not channel that criticism toward our own lives?
in this case, look at our spending habits. in other cases, our words, actions, etc.
i'm reminded of one of my favorite quotes:

let the refining and improving of your own life keep you so busy that you have little time to criticize others.
[h. jackson brown, jr.]

it's easy to criticize others and voice our outrage against their faults, but are we guilty of that same thing, even if it's on a smaller scale? there's no such thing as big sin and small sin. sin is sin.

i started using a program to break down my spending month by month. i was stunned and slightly embarrassed by how much i have spent this year on things that have absolutely no worth. nail polish, clothes, coffee. do i really need those things? i can't take them with me when i go. just because you have the money for it doesn't mean you need to go blow it on useless items that distract your focus from the Lord.

maybe for some, it's their spending. others, it could be the words they say or their actions.
my point is: before we go into a rant about so-and-so, why not take a moment to reflect on our own self?
what can we improve?

the way God uses simple everyday tasks to teach me and mold me into who He wants me to be humbles me.

the one where my baby brother races.

on friday night, my brother and his friend, barrett, raced the car they have been working on.
they have raced before, but this time, the car had a different motor.
they hoped their time would be better than it was with the other motor.

you guys -- the car did better than they expected.
i am so ecstatic for them!

dustin's friend, barrett, posted the videos on his youtube account.

here is the video for dustin's first pass.

my favorite part is at 1:38, in which he can't contain his excitement.

i also love when barrett turns the camera off and has the biggest smile on his face.

here is barrett's first pass.

their second passes are on barrett's youtube account if you want to check them out.

i am so excited and proud of those boys!

26.9.12

sunday school, week 9.

this week, i taught the kids about adam and eve, per their request.
most kids know the basic story of the fall of man, but i wanted to dive a little deeper.

as the told the story, i had them make apples out of playdough.

memory verse:

"no temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind.
and God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear.

but when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can endure it."

[1 corinthians 10:13]

ADAM & EVE:

genesis 3:1-5. (as i told the story, the boys silently acted it out.)

in this passage, we read about the temptation of eve. (and by extenstion, adam).
in the first four verses, there are lies, exaggerations, and misrepresentations by eve and the serpent.
at the root of every temptation is a lie.

genesis 3: 6-7.

in just seven verses, we've read about the fall of man.
from this moment on, sin enters the world.

genesis 3:8-13.

sin causes us to take no responsibility for our actions.
we want to blame others for our faults.

the truth is, sin is a choice by a person who chooses to believe a lie instead of God's truths.

"we can never say 'the devil made me do it'. yes, he will tempt us, but ultimately the choice is made by us. we need to remember who God created us to be and what He wanted us to do. we can depend and rely on the Holy Spirit to help us fulfill God's desire for our lives. He can keep us strong in times of temptation. we just need to ask Him to help us and He will." [source]

TREE OF LIFE:

while i told the story, i had one of the boys draw a tree on a small posted because he is seriously talented.
i then had to boys write a temptation that they face onto "apples" and pin them to the tree.
as they were pinning them to the tree, i had them list ways that satan tries to manipulate them into acting on those temptations.

THE GOOD NEWS:

though we fall into temptation and sin, there is good news. His name is Jesus Christ.
satan has no victory over us.

through the resurrection of Jesus, the devil has been defeated.
satan has no control over us.

when the boys asked me to teach them about adam and eve, they made a comment about it all being the woman's fault.
at the end of class, they had an "ah-ha!" moment and learned that adam was there with eve the whole time. ["she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.]

this was a fun day.
i'm learning that if i give the kids something to do while i'm teaching, they pay attention better and learn more.

i will praise You in this storm.

i could list all the things that have been going wrong lately.
i could get discouraged and angry and cry.

but i won't.

instead, i choose joy.
i choose hope.
i choose Jesus.