Changing Seasons

When I got to Alaska the trees looked dead and cold, when we got back from southeast they were full of bright green leaves it went from a scene in a haunted movie to a jungle and now leaving today everything is a bright orange and yellow. Seeing the seasons change up here is so fun. It reminds me how in life we go through seasons. This year I went from a season of being single to married, but even more than that every year is split into seasons for me; it's the carnival season, the offseason and the Christmas season! The carnival is full of work and long days that are usually colder than I wish for summer time, the off season is full of school and volunteering with Beauty Arise and the Christmas season is obviously when we leave Cali and head to AZ for Christmas vacation. Each season comes with its obstacles and blessings. Just like earth’s seasons. I have to prepare and plan for what is up next. It makes it hard to live in the moment when I feel like every moment goes by so fast. I am struggling to be all there when I feel like right around the corner I have to be in a totally different place doing something extremely different than what I was just doing. I am working hard at trying to live in the present and yet still use my time wisely and not feel overwhelmed. Why is there only 24 hours in a day and 365 days in a year? Why can't there be more? I thought time was only suppose to move at the speed of light when you are old not when your 22!? How does one slow down and take time to be in the moment when it feels like you blink your eyes and the year is gone? I don't like that it is already September, it feels more like I just got married a month ago not 7! Even though it feels like everything is going so fast I have no time to enjoy it, I found this great little devotion on how to slow down and be present, it may not actually make time go slower but it did help me realize how to make every moment count. Hope you enjoy:

Living in the Present

Exodus 16:11–21

Recommended Reading: Deuteronomy 8:16–18; Matthew 6:31–34; John 6:48–51

When you were a kid, did you ever wish you could see into the future? Most kids wonder what will happen to them as the years pass by and they grow older. Where will they go to school? Will they go to college? What about a career? Will they get married and have a family?

This kind of thinking doesn’t end when a person reaches adulthood. Singles wonder whether there’s a spouse for them out there somewhere. Parents dream about what their kids will grow up to be. College freshmen wonder about their eventual career path; older workers prepare for—or worry about—their retirement years.

Human nature compels us to look ahead with wonder. Dreams of the future make the drudgery of work today worthwhile. Anticipation of future events gets us up in the morning and forces us to plan for tomorrow. It’s what separates a man from his best friend, his dog.

The Israelites in today’s story were no different from us today. Faced with an uncertain future and an immediate need for food and water, they started grumbling. While they’d labored hard during their years of slavery, at least in Egypt they’d always had plenty of food and water. Now here they were, out in the desert, and they and their kids were hungry and thirsty. Put yourself in their place, and try to look at the situation from their perspective. Chances are you’d have had a few pointed questions for Moses as well.

God heard them, and responded by promising to provide for them. Those of us who attended Sunday school know the story well—each morning, flakes of bread appeared on the ground; in the evening, quail covered the camp. But they couldn’t hoard what they gathered, and they couldn’t store it. Moses instructed the Israelites to gather only what they needed for the day—no more, no less. Tough to do when you’re thinking about what the kids will eat for breakfast!

Why was limiting what they gathered important to God? Because the Israelites needed to understand what we all need to learn—that we can sustain a relationship with God only in the present.

Our past is nothing more than the story of how we got to where we are, and dwelling on it causes us to become stagnant and unsatisfied. We can’t find God by worrying or dreaming about the future, either, because that just makes us want to control whatever lies ahead.

Yes, we have concerns and hopes and dreams for the future. But this story tells us that we can live out our relationship with God only in the here and now. God longs for us to trust him every hour and every minute of today.

Be the Beautiful God Created You to Be

<3 Alissa 

6 Tips Since It's Been 6 Months...

First I want to start off saying this is a huge step for me. I am going to commit to blogging. My goal is to blog weekly or at least bi weekly. Why this is such a big step for me? Because I am so self-conscious about my blogs. I read people’s blogs all the time and love them but that triggers embarrassment about mine. But I am stepping out and committing to this because I feel like this is something that God is challenging me to do. With that being said here we go…

6 Tips Since It’s Been 6 Months (Holy smokes its already been six months?!):

1. Always Make Time For Quiet Time

            This has always been a challenge for me honestly. I have a hard time being motivated in the morning and I work until late at night. However that is not an excuse. Quiet time is a must and in an extremely stressful time in life with major decisions being made I am learning how vital it is to spend extra time with God. I have always had a very quick daily reading but lately I have been buckling down and committing time and it’s been such a blessing!

2. Having A Husband Doesn’t Mean I No Longer Have A View

            I have always been a very independent person. I started working with family and friends at a very young age. This formed me into a self-reliant person. Adding a second person (my husband) to my life made me an indecisive person. I was always so concerned with hat he wanted. I am learning, as we are having to make decisions together, that I do need to state my opinion because it does matter and is important in life choices.  That in most cases it is actually appreciated and accepted by my husband. This leads to my next point…

3. It Is Okay To Disagree

            Just because you are married doesn’t mean you have to agree on everything. This scared me a great deal at first. I was terrified when we disagreed on things even if it was as small as where we should eat. It instantly gave me doubts. What if we are not meant for each other? What is getting married was a bad idea? But disagreements do not mean incompatible. Disputes are going to happen and it is a way that God uses to strengthen your marriage in a huge way. However the only way that conflicts work out are by communication and understanding.

4. Your Confidant Will Need To Change

            When it comes to making decisions I used to get most of my advice from my mom. She is a very Godly mentor and I value her opinion dearly. However God is really showing me that I need to bring my problems to my husband first.  I still value my mom’s advice deeply and still go to her for help but I have now become one with another person (Ephesians 5:31) and he should be my confidant.

5. Reading Is A Must

            I hated reading. I did the most minim amount possible all my life. When it came to high school I barely read a full book. I just would skim or read notes. However my life is changing drastically. Don’t get me wrong, I am definitely not a person who reads a book a day or even in a week in most cases, but I am reading. I decided to challenge myself with this at the beginning of the summer and I LOVE it. I am learning new things and even better than that it is helping me relax.

6. Having A Husband Is Fun!

            Finally I just want to say having a husband is so fun!  Being single was great but having someone to share your accomplishments with, your emotions, your decisions and your enjoyments is just so wonderful! We don’t see eye on everything and actually have very different hobbies but that just makes it such a more enjoyable journey. We learn from each and grow with each other in such incredible ways.

Be the beautiful God created you to be!

<3 Alissa Leavitt

A couple photos of our marriage journey :)

He's pretty cool

A breakfast date to the Red Chair Cafe

Some late night slacklining

A double date night to Bingo

A New Life...

Wow I am married. I am still just in awe that less than a year ago I was blogging on how God's timing is best and that if He thinks after college was the best time then I was willing to wait. But here I am now more than a year away from Hayden's graduation and I am married! Its crazy to see how when you are willing to surrender everything to God He may just reward you. I love the fact that God allowed Hayden and I to get married this soon. So now I am going to use the extra time He has given us to bring Him more glory as a couple. I love being married! 

Now for a quick little marriage lesson:
Even though I have only been married a little over a month I have learned more in these last few weeks about relationship than all my years put together.The biggest thing I have learned is you can’t hide anymore. Your life is no longer just  yours, it is shared with another human.It is truer than I thought when the Bible says, "the two shall become one". Its a great thing to have someone to share everything with but it can also be difficult.So when it comes to this area understanding and communication is key. When you feel so vulnerable and like an open book remember you spouse is feeling the same. Be sure that grace and patience is flowing from you like a never ending fountain. You will learn things you never knew about you husband/wife when you first start living together and it can be a crazy awesome adventure! 

Now for my actually blog post that was featured on Beauty Arise's Website:

Set apart for our God above

Set apart for the One we love

Set apart for Your glory

These are some of my very favorite worship lyrics. They run through my head on a daily basis. Each time I listen to the song it makes the hair on my arms stand up. The words hit me so hard every time.

What does it mean to be set apart? How does it look to live a set apart life?

Set apart- to reserve for a particular purpose, to make noticeable, distinguish

The definition puts an even more special meaning to the lyrics and meaning. Not only does the song say a lot about this but scripture also mentions this concept in many places. Some of my favorites are:

Romans 12:2

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

1 Peter 2:9

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.

Deuteronomy 14:2

You have been set apart as holy to the Lord your God, and he has chosen you from all the nations of the earth to be his own special treasure.

Each of these verses demonstrates the concepts of living a set apart life. It puts a special meaning on our life as Christians. We are called to a life that makes us noticeable in a way that honors the One we love, Jesus. We are reserved for a particular calling that God has placed on each of our lives. At times this seems like an impossible task how can we live up to a standard of a set apart life but it is not based on our strength (Thank you Jesus) it is all through the power of the Holy Spirit. If we commit our lives to our Savior He can help us accomplish anything He has planned for us. We just have to be willing and ready servants of the Lord. Living a set apart life is not an easy calling but it will be a rewarding one. If you are unsure what your calling is -Take time today to ask God what He has set you apart for and in his perfect timing HE will reveal His plans for you.

The Journey begins...

My fiancé (oh that’s so fun to say) and I recently decided to start pre marital counseling. Not because we are already having issues but because we want a solid foundation to build our marriage on. Also when has Godly counseling ever been a bad thing? Tuesday was our first session and I went in with so much anxiety. Some many thoughts that at had never entered my head began flooding in. What if he (the counselor) says we are too young? What if this makes me not want to marry the man of my dreams? What if he says we are incompatible? And worst of all what if this makes Hayden not want to marry me? With all of these thoughts, I was dreading walking into the office.  However coming out of the meeting I was more excited than ever before about being married and becoming a wife!! We learned so much in that short hour and a half. I can’t wait to go back and discover even more. The advice he gave us not only applied to marriage but a lot of it related to everyday life. There are a few things that I really think are worth sharing for everyone to read.

1.     Don’t be negative! That was some of the first things that came out of his mouth. He talked a lot about communication and how that is key to a successful marriage. His key piece of advice about communicating was don’t be negative. Every answer to a question HAS a positive initial response. He went on to say that when someone says they loved something, you don’t need to instantly come back with a response on how you disliked the same thing even if that is the case. He also pointed out that if someone makes a mistake in what he or she is saying there is no need to point it out for the world to see. I think that this advice is vital for marriage but is also so important for everyday life. Proverbs 16:24 “Gracious words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.” All words that come out of our mouths should be gracious, kind and loving.

    

      2.     “Let your yes be yes and your no be no,” leads us into his second major point. It too is about communicating. Clarity is of vital importance. If you say something be sure and mean it. Do not go back on your word or promises. I can see how this is extremely important in married life but once again this should be an everyday rule we live by. Most people do try to keep their word, but take the extra step and really keep it. If you say you will pray for a person then do it. Remember that integrity is a disappearing in this world so going above and beyond and really being honest with your words makes a difference.

      3.     Finally the last thing I want to point out that he said was happiness cannot be pursued it ensues. Something that ensues occurs as a result of other actions. We need a cause greater than ourselves. For Hayden (my fiancé) and I, it is a happy marriage. That is what our “goal” is. However it’s not something that we pursue. It is something that occurs from being intentional with our behavior, not just our thoughts, everyday. We have to make a daily choice to be self-sacrificing. If we choose to behave this way a happy marriage will ensue. Along these lines he said, the best day of our marriage should be the day one of us dies. We should never settle and we should always make today better than yesterday and tomorrow better than today. I think that is a powerful statement that I want to live like in every area of my life.

I hope this inspires you like it inspired me. Also I hope you have a wonderful week and make tomorrow better than today.

Blessings,

Alissa <3