Top 10 of the 2010s.

Happy New Year's Eve!!

I cannot believe that not only have we reached the end of 2019, we have reached the end of the entire 2010s DECADE! Crazy.

If you followed along with me before my 3 year hiatus, you know how much I love new year's and reflecting on the past year. This year, in honor of 2020, I'm kicking it up a notch.

Behold: my top 10 moments of the decade.

The 2010s was a pretty big decade for me. Honestly I don't know that I'll have another decade quite as productive as this one in my lifetime. I was 16 years old at the beginning of the decade, and now 26 as it ends. I visited 2 countries and 7 states, had 5 job changes, got 4 new pets (and lost 4, too), and transitioned through about 6 different life stages. Obviously there have been both great times and challenging times, but overall I can say that I don't regret a thing! So, without further ado, my top 10 of the 2010s.

God Has Shown Favor: Part 2

If you missed part one, click here.

Disclaimer: This post is Jackson's birth story. While I promise not to get graphic, I know reading birth stories isn't everyone's thing. I won't be offended if you choose to stop reading. You've been warned!

God Has Shown Favor: Part 2

My pregnancy was fairly uneventful - which is definitely a good thing! I only had mild morning sickness until about week 11, and then honestly it was smooth sailing from that point on. Of course, I was getting pretty uncomfortable toward the end, but that's to be expected.

We actually thought Jackson was going to come early for a little while because he was already in position and ready to go starting around week 36. I had even started dilating, but around week 38 all progress stopped - and seemingly didn't want to start again.

Once we reached my due date (June 24th), my doctor gave us the option to schedule an induction which we took. We scheduled for Friday, June 28th, but would go in on Thursday evening to be given a medication called Cervidil to help prepare my body for labor. This medication needed to be given 12 hours in advance. So the plan was to start that Thursday night, then be induced Friday morning.

Unfortunately I did not go into labor naturally before Thursday evening, so we moved forward with the scheduled induction.

We arrived at the hospital around 7pm and started the medication around 8pm. So, the plan was to start me on pitocin to induce labor at 8am Friday morning. But Jackson had other plans. ;)

God Has Shown Favor: Part 1

I'm baaaackkk!!!

And oh so much has changed since we last talked, Internet Friends. I promise in time you'll be all caught up, but I want to start with my favorite story from the last 3 years.

It's kind of long, so I'm breaking it into two parts. Welcome to part 1!

God Has Shown Favor: Part 1

This is a story of infertility. This is a story of brokenness. This is a story of God's overwhelming grace. This is my story.

This story actually starts years ago, back when I was a teenager. I'll spare you all the details, but the main thing you need to know is that for various reasons, I always suspected I might have issues getting pregnant. I truly hoped that my suspicion was 100% rooted in the fact that I am an eternal pessimist, but as you'll soon find out, it wasn't.

So, when my husband and I decided we wanted to start our family in August 2017, we decided not to tell anyone. My reason was simple: I didn't want people to wonder what was taking so long if it didn't happen right away. I thought that would be embarrassing and shameful.

Normally, I am an incredibly open person. I hate secrets. I think there are very few good reasons for having them. I don't necessarily volunteer all of my dirty laundry for everyone to know, but I at least always willing to talk about it.

Except with this. This was the exception. I did not, under any circumstances, want people to know we were trying for a baby. I convinced myself my reasons were legitimate, but the reality is, it was pride.

I'm going to pause there and tell the medical side of this story first. Remember this, though, because it plays a very important part in this story.

2016: My Favorite Year Yet.

It's my 3rd favorite holiday!

First is Christmas, then Thanksgiving, and then New Year's is third! (If you're wondering, Valentine's day is fourth and July 4th is fifth.)

I love New Year's for several reasons: 1) it's just a fun time to stay up late and celebrate with friends, 2) my first date with my now-husband was on NYE, and 3) as I've mentioned before, I love new beginnings! The beginning of a new year is a great way to have a fresh start with new goals, plans and adventures. 2016 was a really big year that will be hard to top, but that certainly isn't going to stop me from trying!

I know I was MIA from the blog for most of 2016, but that's just because I was busy living in the moments instead of writing about them. And as much as I love blogging, it was really a nice break and definitely much needed. There was so much that happened this year, but now that I'm back, I think it's time for a recap of my year, going (somewhat) chronologically.

Our Wedding Day!

I am so excited to share with you the details of our wedding day! We got our pictures back last week and I'm obsessed with them. They turned out so great!

Unfortunately I can't share ALL the pictures with you (there were over 1000!), but I will share some of my favorites!

Anyway, we got married on October 28th, 2016 and it could not have been a more perfect fall day. We were concerned about the weather because we were planning to have part of our reception outside, but God provided the most beautiful 70 degree, sunny weather for our day.

I spent most of the day getting ready with my bridesmaids. We had brunch and then went for mani/pedis. I have absolutely 0 pictures from this time but please be assured we had a blast. We met up later at the chapel after we had our hair and makeup done and finished getting ready there.

You're never fully dressed without lipstick.

He Put A Ring On It.

A lot has happened since my last post! And now that school's out, I intend to post a lot more. :) I had some other posts I was working on BUT I'm putting those on the back burner for now because I have a much more important story to tell first. (Head's up, it's LONG...but good).

3 weeks ago, on Sunday, May 15, 2016, the most handsome man got down on one knee and asked me to be his wife. And I said...well, let me start from the beginning. 

Love.

This morning, as I was finishing up a study of the book of James in the New Testament, I read the famous words that Christians are told over and over again -- "Love your neighbor as yourself."

Then, as I continued my study into 1 Peter, it came up again. "Christians need to...love one another."

According to my Google search, the command "love one another" appears in the Bible (NIV translation) 11 times. "Love each other" appears 4 times, and "love your neighbor" 10 times.

That's a whole lot of loving we're supposed to do.

Today, Christians all over the world are constantly faced with accusations of being hateful, unkind, or worse. If the Bible makes it so clear that we are to love EVERYONE (yes, even your worst enemy; see Matthew 5:44, Luke 6:27, and countless other verses), then why is this such a common belief of the world around us? 

I started thinking about this and wanted to share my thoughts and some encouragement.

A Boyfriend Won't Make You More Secure.

On March 19, 2014 I pressed published on the first post on this blog. To this day, it is one of my most popular posts.

That post gave you a little glimpse into my life and a struggle that I and countless other women (and men!) across the world deal with daily: insecurity.

In my first post, I detailed my personal struggle with insecurity. I talked about some things I had gone through and how those things affected me. I talked about my worries and my doubts and how all of it ties back to the I-word. I talked about my one saving grace: my hope and trust in Jesus Christ.

But even then, after I had come so far in my walk with God and my struggle with insecurity, I had bought into a HUGE LIE that the media tells women every day.

 Here's a snippet from that post last year:

Life Update: Season of Change!

I'm baaaaaaackkkk!!!!

I've been meaning to write a post for some time now and even though I've had virtually nothing going on the past month (since I'm a teacher and it's SUMMER hallelujah), I was apparently more burned out from my first year teaching than I realized and I've barely been able to pull myself off the couch this summer. But, alas, the blog must be tended to...so here I am!

And boy, do I have a lot to say!

A LOT has happened since I last posted. It's been a crazy 6 months.

First things first, I know you're all wondering if I survived my first year teaching!

Own Your Faith.

Imagine something for me for a minute.

Imagine you just got home from a long day of work. It wasn't a great day. It wasn't a particularly bad day, either. It was just another day. Maybe it was a little frustrating. A little discouraging. Maybe it was just mundane. Whatever it was, it wasn't what you wanted it to be.

You lay down on the couch to recover from the day. You start thinking about your life and where it's headed. Suddenly, you hear a knock on your door. You answer. It's your best friend.

You welcome your friend in. What perfect timing, you think. You have a million and one things on your mind and who better to talk to than the one person who knows your life inside and out?

You sit down and talk. Only you don't have to say much before your friend takes over the conversation. They already know what you're going through. They know your struggles, they know your triumphs, and they know exactly what you need to hear in that moment. And so they say it.

It's amazing to you how well they know your heart. You talk for awhile and then your friend leaves, but the words they said resonate with you for hours. You've never felt so at peace with your life as you do in that moment. Suddenly everything makes sense, and you know everything will be okay.

Have you ever had something like that happen?

I did last week.

Love Never Gives Up.

A few weeks ago as I laid in bed after an extremely long, discouraging week of school, I opened the Facebook app on my phone to write a short, two-sentence status that quickly turned into a novel:

Every word of this is true. Every word. Especially the part at the end about Christmas break, but that's over now. (RIP Christmas break...see you next year).

Welcome 2015.

One year ago, just after the clock struck 12 and we welcomed the new year, I made the bold prediction that 2014 was going to be a great year. I just knew it.

Ringing in 2014.

I was right.

2014 was wonderful for many reasons. This year was full of new opportunities, new relationships, chances to trust in God, and answered prayers. It was also full of challenges, hardships, disappointments, and even some tears. It wasn't a perfect year, but in my opinion, it was the best.

Every year has trials. But if you can come out stronger on the other end of them, it's a win. I had some very low points this year, but I'm a much better person because of them. I learned not to take anything for granted. I learned that God has my back no matter what. And I'm starting to learn (though I'm not quite there yet) that I shouldn't let what other people think of me dictate what I think of myself. 

God Blew My Mind.

A week ago today, discouraged and broken, I told God I was ready for Him to blow my mind.

And blow it He did.

If you follow me on Instagram, then you know that yesterday I was hired as a kindergarten teacher at a local elementary school.

I edited this photo to make myself look tanner because I blended in with the whiteboard.

But let me start from the beginning.

Monday Smiles: 2 Corinthians 12:9-10.

This sort of goes along with last week's post, but I came across this verse this morning and it super encouraged me so I wanted to share. Enjoy!

"But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong." ~ 2 Corinthians 12:9-10

Lessons Learned From...Making Plans.

Wow. I totally almost forgot it was Monday. I had the day off because of Memorial Day, so really it felt more like Saturday.

Anyway, I promised I'd be back this Monday with another LLF post. So here it is!

Via.

Most people who know me know that I can be pretty stubborn at times. What can I say? When I set my mind on something, I pretty much stop at nothing to get it. Or not get it. Depends on what it is I set my mind on.

Anyway.

Choosing Joy.

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." ~ James 1:2-4

I'm interrupting my usual Monday series to make a confession.

I'm not a naturally happy person.

I'm not one of those people who wakes up with a smile on my face every morning, focuses on the positive, makes the most out of opportunities, and inspires everyone around them to be a better person. As much as I wish I was one of those people, I'm not.

That being said, I'm not naturally sad, either. Or any emotion really. I'm more of a "go with the flow" type of person.

If something good happens, I'm happy. If something bad happens, I go through the five stages of grief (denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance). If something horribly unjust happens, I turn into the Hulk. I react to whatever is happening at the moment.

Lessons Learned From...Ruth.

Now that it's almost not Monday anymore...here is my Monday post.

To be fair, I had a busy week and was unable to write this post until today. And then I had a crazy day that involved being late to work thanks to a dog running under my car, a bug flying INSIDE of my keyboard at work (for all I know it's still in there), writing an article that I've known about for like a month but decided to wait until today (the day it's due) to start, and watching reality TV.

Oh, and did I mention that the keyboard on my Mac isn't working right? It's useable for the most part, but the delete key (which functions like the backspace for all you PC users) doesn't work AT ALL. Which is reeeeeeeaaaalllyyy inconvenient for someone who makes a lot of mistakes...

So, yeah. Anyway. Monday's post.

Via.

Insecurity.

My whole life I have struggled with feelings of inadequacy, comparing myself to others and falling into depression when I couldn’t measure up.

My whole life I have based my self-worth and value on how many friends I had, how many things I was good at, how many boys would flirt with me.

My whole life I have poured every effort into trying to please everyone around me because I was convinced that happiness was directly related to the number of people who love you.

My whole life I have believed that I am just not good enough.

My name is Kayla Holiday, and I struggle deeply with insecurity.