Let Finals Roll...

Pin It Now! It's that time of year again...

FINALS.
The one word that will make a college student shutter.
Late nights, 12 pages papers, piles of notecards... and lots of coffee.

That, in a nutshell, is my life at the moment.

I decided this morning that the best game plan to surviving finals.... is to take each day as it comes. I'm going to give it my all, but I am also going to realize that no one expects perfection. I'm going to still appreciate the beauty of every day and the friends I am so blessed with here-
as much as I can, at least.

Courtesy of kygirlpinkpearls.blogspot.com

That's really all we can do isn't it? If we get too far ahead of ourselves, if we try to take on too much, and if we get overwhelmed by expecting more than we can handle... we forget that these small, minute details (like a few percentage points on a final paper) aren't really worth much in the end.

The memories I make and being happy each day are worth so much more.

On a positive note... I can see the light at the end of the tunnel- the next upcoming days may be some of the hardest I have encountered yet since being in school, but if I can make it until the end of next week, I'll be sitting in front of the fire with my puppy by my side sipping hot chocolate...

A girl can dream...

What do you do to relieve stress? How do you see the beauty in every day?

"You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you."
Isaiah 26:3

Peace.Love.Inspiration.
Meaghan

DAY 31! One Last Lesson

Pin It Now! HAPPY DECEMBER! :)
Can you believe that it is December 1st already?

I have my LAST 31 Day Challenge! :)
Take a quick trip back to that post to see how far I've come and what I've accomplished for the month of November.

Today... 12. Boot all of my self-conscious thoughts and stress out of my mind for a day.
I saved this one for last, because it holds significant meaning for me.

My biggest insecurity... the fact that I am so hard on myself. I expect perfect, I constantly criticize, I convince myself that I have to live up to a certain image or expecation.

I'm always the first to judge.

So today- I didn't let those thoughts speak to me when they usually come flooding in and overcome my ability to relax and let go.
I told myself:
I'm beautiful.
I'm smart.
I'm compassionate and caring.
I'm a good daughter, sister, and friend.
I'm determined and successful.
I'm loved.

Sometimes it's hard to believe that we are loved- we get so caught up in not loving ourselves that any thought of others loving us doesn't even register.

Big plans tonight! We have our semi-formal dance in Detroit. I'm excited, nervous and really anxious. More details to come later- I'm stuck in lecture while the beautiful sun shines on our fresh snowfall outside. I'm thankful for education.... :)

"You are altogether beautiful, my love; there is no flaw in you."
Song of Solomon 4:7

Peace.Love.Inspiration.
Meaghan

Day 30- Being Thankful

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It's day 30 already... the day to 31. Spend a day being entirely thankful.

Sometimes I forget to just stop and appreciate the beauty of life. We get so wrapped up with moving on from one thing to the next thing, or accomplishing something way down the road—that we lose track of the grace and wonder of everyday life before our very own eyes.

So today, I made a conscious effort to realize the little things I am thankful for:
I'm thankful for friends who make me laugh.
I'm thankful for the healing and energetic power of my morning coffee.
I'm thankful for an incredibly warm winter jacket that makes me look like an Eskimo on the way to class.
I'm thankful that exam grades don't mean everything.
I'm thankful for being able to share meals every day with so many incredible women.
I'm thankful for my passion for journalism and magazines.
I'm thankful that I am the opposite of a procrastinator.
I'm thankful for M & Ms and the kids I babysit who put a smile on my face.
I'm thankful for a car to take me anywhere and everywhere.
I'm thankful for late-night snacks.

I am so thankful for life.

It's December 1st tomorrow- and my last official day of The 31 Day Challenge! Help me celebrate? :)

What are you thankful for? What makes you excited for December?

"The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully."
2 Corinthians 9:6

Peace.Love.Inspiration.
Meaghan

Day 29- Truth Matters

Pin It Now! Day 29 of my 31 Day Challenge :)
The options are becoming few and far between...

14. Be 100% honest for an entire day.

Today, I'm working on honesty. More specifically, I am learning to be honest with myself. Sometimes, being honest with oneself is harder than being honest with others. We tend to convince ourselves of certain things to please others, to mask discomfort, or to deny struggle.

Sometimes I convince myself that being imperfect and having flaws is unacceptable.
In reality, everyone has bits and pieces of their personality of character that they consider 'flaws.' Our flaws not only make us individuals, but they make us beautiful in God's eyes.

Sometimes I convince myself that I'll never find someone to love.
In reality, I know that God has an incredible plan for my life... and I am confident that finding someone to share my life with is a definite part of this plan. If it is truly one of my desires, it is one of his as well. Cue patience....

Sometimes I convince myself that if things don't go a certain way, my whole life will fall apart.
In reality, I know that little things and flexibility will never make a huge difference. Going with the flow may not be easy for me—but in the end, it will make life a lot less stressful.

So today, I was not only honest with others... but I was honest with myself. I'm learning that it's okay to doubt and question—that nobody is perfect.

What would you like to be honest with yourself about? Why is it so hard to admit things that might make us uncomfortable?

I challenge you to be honest today. You may find that it's a lot harder than it sounds.

"The very essence of your words is truth; all your just regulations will stand forever."
Psalm 119:160

Peace.Love.Inspiration.
Meaghan

Day 28- Living and Learning

Pin It Now! What am I going to do without my 31 Day Challenge :) in a few days? It's been so nice to have something to inspire me each day, I think it might be hard to go back to normal blog posting for a while...

But for today- another one bites the dust!
11. Learn something new- challenge myself.

Wouldn't it be great if we could challenge ourselves to learn something new each and every day? The truth is, you learn a lot more every day than you can actually remember.

I consider living in general as one big lesson, you are always learning more about yourself and the world around you with each passing day.

Today was my first day as a 'nanny'... and what an experience it was! 

I picked up the three kids at school (a girl in 6th grade and a boy and girl set of twins in 4th grade) and took them all to get their hair cut. Sitting in the waiting room, it was time to conjure some sort of entertainment... we turned to magazines and lollipops (always a kid's best friend). This was probably what I was most nervous about- being the adult supervisor of the hair cuts as well as the one in charge of keeping them entertained. Luckily, no problems here... the styles were all pretty basic trims and we left the salon without any bumps or bruises.

After, we sat in the car for a few minutes while the kids munched on a few after school snacks (which their mother referred to as their source of sanity). Once they were happy and fed, and after listening to a little Justin Bieber in the car, they were off to Mathnesium (a math learning center). Mom, if you are reading this... thanks for realizing that kids really don't need to be in school longer than they are in school. They looked less than enthused to spend another hour after school doing math problems :(

Lesson of the day- don't be so afraid of new experiences. On my first day as a stand in mom, I did pretty well! We made it to all of our stops in one piece, everyone was happy, and all went smoothly :)

My inspiration for my first day as a 'soccer mom' (two of the kids actually play soccer, ha):

I hope they made you laugh a little :)

And just to be clear... I'm not a mom yet- just a stand in. Not quite ready for that much responsibility!

"For whatever was written was given to us for our learning, that through patience and comfort of the scriptures we might have hope."

Romans 15:4

Peace.Love.Inspiration.

Meaghan