Roads.

Of all the different roads we can travel down, which one do we choose?

I know everyone wants to find the one but how do you know which road is the right one? 

It's like driving down a lonely country road late at night with only one headlight working… It's very hard to see the whole road when your vision is obstructed or hindered.

When you are driving down the road called life, there are so many different turn offs.

Which one do you take? Do you choose the safe path? The one you know so well you can traverse it blindfolded. But what about the path that has turns and hills? You never know what will be around the next bend or at the top of the next hill. Or what about the one that goes along the edge of a ravine? The one that promises adventure and thrill at every turn.

Your GPS doesn't work here. Stopping and asking for directions from the locals isn't an option. You aren't alone, but sometimes it feels like it. God is your navigator. 

God is the only one that knows which path I'm supposed to take. That's the hard part. I feel like I'm driving down the highway and I keep passing all these exits, wondering if I should get off or keep going. Do I stay on and pray God will tell me when it's time to get off? Or do I chance it? I could be getting off at the right place, or I could be getting off in the worst part of town. I don't know. I feel like I lost my map. I don't know where to go. 

Today.

Don't wait till it's too late.

One of my favorite songs is Today by Gary Allen.

(If you haven't heard it, it's about a guy watching the woman he loves get married to another guy and how he wishes he would have taken that chance and told her how he felt before it was too late.)

I've never had that experience, but I wouldn't wish it upon anyone. 

I'm a chicken when it comes to saying how I feel about people (other than my really close friends… you know who you are.. :D). 

If I was the type of girl that went after guys, I would probably have had one, if not several, boyfriends. But I'm not. I don't think it's my place to go after a guy. I think he should make the first move. I was told by a friend that I am good at hiding how I feel about guys. I guess that's true. I'm to scared that I'll embarrass myself.

If you know me, you know I'm the jokester in the bunch. Not the prank/stunt type… More the teasing-joke-telling-funny-blonde type. From the outside, it's probably viewed as flirting (Trust me. It's not.) I feel more accepted when *I* make people laugh (not at me, with me).

I do think that honesty is best, unless someone gets hurt in the process.

I totally took that to a completely different topic than I originally wanted. Back on track.

I wish we could go back to the 3rd grade days of old. "Do you like me? Check yes or no." 

Why is it so hard to express how we feel? Why are we afraid to jump? 

I'm not normally a risk taker, but I almost feel like I am by posting this. What if the wrong person reads this? What if the right person reads this? What if I help someone? What if I totally screw up someone's life? 

I guess you can take what you want/need away from this post. Hope it helps someone… 

Perhaps.

I would like to thank Disney for filling my childhood with fond memories. Memories of girls dressed in beautiful gowns, of fairy godmothers, of rags to riches, of dancing with your true love.
But among all the happy dreams, the happily ever afters, I would like to thank Disney for ruining my love life.
First off, they parade these ideal men in front of us as little girls and we grow up thinking that the Disney Princes are perfect. Now that we are grown up, we realize that a man like that doesn't exist. According to Disney,  "Prince Charming" will randomly bust out into song, sweep you up into the saddle, defeat dragons for you,  win impossible battles, save you from almost imminent death, and look awesome in a cape.
But they never show us what happens after "happily ever after."
Did they ever have children? Did they get old and wrinkled? Did their love last?

Most girls jump from guy to guy, hoping to find their Prince. They look for him in every guy they pass on the street. They are looking for love in all the wrong places. I am by no means an expert on where to find love {believe me, I'm looking!! ;) } but it hurts when I see girls that are way younger than me flinging themselves at every single guy they meet. That's not how God intended it to go.
Here's one of my favorite quotes:

Perhaps after all, romance did not come into one's life with pomp and blare like a gay night riding down; perhaps it crept to one's side like an old friend through quiet ways; perhaps it revealed itself in seeming prose, until some sudden shaft of illumination flung athwart its pages betrayed the rhythm and the music; perhaps... perhaps... love unfolded naturally out of a beautiful friendship, as a golden-hearted rose slipping from its green sheath.

- Anne of Avonlea

Love.

Since Valentines Day is tomorrow... 

Love ~

–noun

1.)

a profoundly tender, passionate affection for another person.

2.)

a feeling of warm personal attachment or deep affection, as for a parent, child, or friend.

3.)    a person toward whom love is felt; beloved person; sweetheart.

–verb 

1.)

to have love or affection for

2.)

to have a profoundly tender, passionate affection for (another person).

3.)

to have a strong liking for; take great pleasure in

4.)

to need or require; benefit greatly from

I think my favorite out of all the examples given above would be the "to need or require; benefit greatly from." I'm not a needy person, but I sure would like to feel like I need someone. That I benefit greatly from them being in my life.

What is love? Is it an emotion or a verb? Is it a feeling or something else? What does it mean to be in love?

I personally think "love" is used too much in the English language. ("I love this movie!"/ "I love Italian food!" / "Don't you just love this band?!")

I will admit that I am among the over-users, but there are times that the word love drives me crazy. For example, when you see two young teenagers (13-15ish) saying that they love e/o. They aren't old enough to get married, let alone truly understand what love is and means. Another example was included in the definitions that I copied. I had to delete over half of them because they took "love" to the physical level. To me, unless you are married, that isn't love. It's being selfish. (What can *I* get out of this relationship? What about *me*?)

I can't wait for the day "What can *I* bring to this relationship?" happens.

True love waits. 

 ~ You love someone so much that you haven't met (or just don't know yet) that you are already thinking of them. You aren't being selfish. You are bringing something to your marriage that is so pure, so clean, so perfect. God intended it to be this way. No heartache. I'm not saying I'm experienced or an expert on this advice, I just know how I feel about this. If you've read the book "The Princess & the Kiss" you know what I'm talking about. Yes, that is a kid's book, but it explains how I feel! I don't want all the riches in the world, I just want a man who values his purity as much as my own that he waits himself.

Listen to the song "Wait for Me"or read the book "Wait for Me: Rediscovering Purity" by Rebecca St. James.

They both explain a lot.

Simplicity.

I'm sitting at a local coffee shop, drinking the last of my caramel latte, when this family of 5 walks in. The kids order hot chocolate and sit down with their parents to play a game. I watch as the get Yahtzee ~ the game my mom taught me to play years ago. In fact, I've grown up playing it... I think about all the memories I have of my mom and I playing Yahtzee.
I forget about the family as I start going through pictures that need to be uploaded (backups!!). I have my headphones in (listening to Dave Barnes)...
The sound of dice hitting a table brings me back. I look up and realize that the family is not playing Yahtzee the normal way. I start to laugh inside. (How hard is it to learn how to play Y? I mean, come on! Just read the directions, it's not that hard of a game to understand.) It hit me. The parents had turned it into a learning game for the kids without them realizing it. The would roll the dice and whoever had the highest total of dice won that round. The kids (all under the age of 13) were having a blast!
Could life really hold such joy in simplicity?

Life.

So why is it that at this point in our lives we are expected to make some of the biggest decisions in our lifetime?!

~ What to pursue in college

~ What to do with your life

~ Who to build a relationship with and when to marry them

I'm pretty sure I know what I'm supposed to do career wise, but why do I have to choose where to get my education? 

Why do I feel pressured to get a boyfriend? I know it's "normal" to have a "significant other" (if not once, several times) by the time you are in college, but where's mine? Why isn't it my turn? I just want to have someone that just wants to spend time with me and will call/text me just to let me know he's thinking of me, or even come to my house and watch a movie with my family. I'm ready to begin the building process of the relationship. I'm not ready to start moving furniture just yet.

I just watched August Rush again recently. That is one of my favorite movies! I never get tired of watching that one. The reason I'm bringing this up is because, towards the very end, when Louis sees Lyla again for the first time in 12 years, the look in his eyes is enough to make me cry. I dream of the day when a man will look at me with that much love in his eyes. It almost hurts watching this movie just because I've never seen that look directed at me. EVER. Yes, my family loves me, yes I have friends that care about me, but it's not the same thing. I want to get to know the man God has for me. 

I'm ready God! I've already started working on the blueprints, let's get the workers hired and the foundation laid so we can get to work on the structure!

I don't want to start feeling desperate to find a guy, but I can't help but feel like I'm missing out. I think I'm afraid to be alone. I want to be a wife and mother almost more than anything else in the world, but I don't want to jump for the wrong guy.

I know God has a special guy somewhere for me. He has to be special, because to fall in love and want to spend the rest of his life with me is going to take someone pretty special!! :)

I'm ready God. Do what You will.