Doing Things That Matter

Upon my reading of the devotional "Doing Things That Matter", I got inspired to write a post about some of the things that I want to do that matters. Each day I feel I talk and think about too many less important things. Of course we don't have to spend most of our time thinking about serious deep stuff either but, if we fill more of our mind with positive things and how we may can make a positive impact on someone else's life, our lives will begin to be more and more fufiling. I decided that I'm not going to be so lazy about things and get motivated to do important things that will help better my life. Before I get into the things I want to do that matters, I want to share day 14 of this wonderful devotional.

"A STORY THAT MATTERS"

Living a life that matters must be full of actually doing all sorts of things that matter. Doing things that matter doesn’t mean you have to create your own huge global-spanning movement. No. Instead it’s contributing to the largest, global-spanning movement in the history of the world! Finding ways to live and be the person that God has created you to be. This is not about following religious rules or law. This is about love! This is about loving God, loving life, loving others, and as a result, having a life that you actually choose to live.

I began telling our kids each morning as I dropped them off at school to do things that matter. It’s funny how when you begin saying something like that you’ll actually find yourself living a life that is full of life (John 10:10). Doing things that matter won’t happen by accident--they happen on purpose. Your story will become exactly what you lead it to become!

If you want to have a life of watching TV and eating Cheetos, that will be your story. If you want to give your heart to anger, regret, or unforgiveness then that will be your story. If you want to give your best to chasing money or obsessing over sports then that will be your story. If you want to cling to security measures that keep you grounded in the sea of sameness, that will be your story.

But if you become a person who has a life full of doing things that matter then that will be your story. You only have one life to live, and no one is responsible for it but you. He calls us out of the mundane and mediocre and He beckons us to experience life to the full.

What if you allowed the seemingly impossible to become possible?

What if every day you made choices that caused you to live differently?

What if you loved God and others with reckless abandon and a selfless heart?”

What if you never allowed fear to stop you?

If you pursue the journey to dream wildly, live differently, love recklessly, and lead courageously all for the glory of God you will discover a life that is well-lived. Don’t just do something—become someone! Wake up every day and choose to be who God has called you to be.

Here's some of the things that I want to do that matters.

1. Be more giving - I feel like it's such an amazing feeling to give to others and it must be  even more of a pleasure to those that are receiving what is given, whether it's money, food, or an encouraging word. It warms your heart when you know that you've done a good deed for someone. Though I may not make a ton of money, i'd love to give to organizations. Especially christian organizations and/or programs that has blessed my life. I feel like it's great to be blessed and to be a blessing.

2. Continue to be fully devoted to God - Everyday I want to continue to submit my life to God, I want to do his will, learn his ways, and become more and more sensitive to his voice. I want to shine my light more and more brightly. I know at times shining my ligh is hard at times for me in certain places. But I pray that God will help me to break away from my shyness and be bold in my faith. Something that's on my bucket list is leading someone to christ. I await for that day to come.

3. Be more committed to working towards my goals in life - I know that social media is becoming an big asset to my writing and blogging but I do noticed that sometimes i get distracted from doing the things that I need to do. So, in that way I'd like to have a better balance to my life. I want to be able to get a good amount of important things done first before surfing the internet or checking social media. I try to line up each imporant things I like to do first starting from the minute that I get up. I want to:

�Pray and Read the bible

�Write (whether that being writing exercises, writing more to my story, or blogging) I want to make it a priority to write something each day

�Study manual for DMV learner's permit test (because i'm ready to start driving soo badly)

�Read Books (I always have books that I need to catch up on haha)

�Free time - in my free time I would like to do things like talking to friends, listening to music, eating a good meal haha and i feel like by doing that i'm still doing something that matters.

And that completes my list (I guess) but i'm sure there's plenty of other things that I'd like to do that matters. But I think i'd be pretty satisfied if I was able to do those things each day. Let me know if you have made a list of "Doing Things that Matter" or are planning on making a list. I'd love to hear about! Also, let me know if you get the chance to read the devotional "Doing Things That Matter."

That's all for now.

- Kammy😊

My Thoughts

I believe I’ll make "My Thoughts" a special segment of my blog. I have many things that I think about from day to day that I’d like to share with my blog readers. 

Lately I’ve gotten a bit too sucked into the social media popularity thing. I find myself continuously trying to keep up with others and trying to be the person who has the most likes on a post or the most views on a video. As I saw the low numbers of my videos and no responses to my "ask me a question" post, I began to feel a bit sad. I begin to think to myself "I guess I’m not worth the time for people to ask me questions" or, "maybe I’m not interesting enough" I then told my friend about how I was feeling and he gave me great encouragement saying "Don’t let these things matter so much to you" and first I was like "well why not? If I get many likes and followers on instagram then I’ll have many people wanting to buy my books in the future" and he continued to say "Don’t let it worry you." So, I’m not saying this to tell others that social media is crap, it’s probably beneficial to many peoples use but mine, not so much lately. I think if I began to use it for pure pleasure of pictures and just sharing some cool things I see or experienced through pictures or videos it would be more beneficial to me. I must know my worth even if I don’t have many likes on my post or if I don’t have many views on my videos. I realize how much of an effect it had on me when no one wanted to ask me a question on my story post. I think if I continued to wait on others to make me happy it’ll always be temporary happiness. I even sometimes define friendships from instagram posts. I’d think to myself "this person didn’t like my post, they must not like me that much" or if anything instagram related I see lack of responses I began to feel that I don’t have many true friends. 

That was part of the reason why I joined Instagram, to possibly gain more friends but now that that purpose of mine seems to be failing I have a different view of Instagram. I guess I’m a bit disgusted with the way it made me feel. I realized that it was me who had to change the way I use or feel about Instagram. I decided that it would be best for me to stay off of Instagram for awhile until I feel I’m ready to accept the fact that everyone may not be interested in what I’m saying or doing but I will do it just because I truly enjoy it. I will post about my new blog posts but I won’t have such high expectations as to who will read it. I can’t continue to let myself get sad over this. 

If instagram isn’t the place where I’ll find friends then I will try the best source, which is in person. But what I’m saying is, I’m struggling with my friendships or gaining a friendship. So, my method right now is to just go with the flow of things. I can’t continue to worry myself about the same things day in and day out. God has put great people in my life for a great purpose and maybe it’s just not his time to reveal what that purpose is. He also will put other great people in my life in his time. And I believe he’ll help me overcome my negative thoughts and negative views of myself.

I love sharing these personal things like this. Writing is a great way to express yourself and that’s the best way that I feel like I can express myself. 

That’s all for now. With love Kammy😊💞

Three Things That I Feel I Do Well

I'm not one to always give myself a pat on the back but, I sometimes amaze myself by some of the things I do. It's probably because I often don't give myself enough credit. I know that each of us are gifted in our own way and sometimes the things I do I don't realize that it's a gift! So, this will probably be a short post but I thought it be neat to jot down just a few things that I confidently feel I do well.

1. Designing and/or Coordinating - I feel that I'm pretty good at designing and/or coordinating. I love decorating things such as a mug, my nails, and my hair! I always love to find ways how I can spice things up a bit. When i'm wearing a plain T-shirt, I love to add colorful jewerly or a scarf to it. When i'm wearing all black, I like adding a splash of bright colors such as a bright colored lipstick or bright colored shoes. If I had a plain phone case, i'd paint a beautiful design on the back. I suppose that's something a few people may not know about me is that i'm very artistic!👩🏾‍🎨 So, when I design these things, I take a step back and am pretty satisfied with my creation. Not be cocky or anything but everyone has something they feel that they're pretty good at. 

2. Communicating - Ok, so i'm not an expert at communication but, I feel I do pretty well with responding to an email, text or phone call. Firstly, I get pretty excited when I receive phone calls from people. So, I always make a note to myself to respond to this person as promptly as possible. I know most people appreciate swifter responses, especially business people. However, we all have our weak areas and quickly responding to someone isn't always as easy for them. I get it, it happens, usually when people don't respond quickly to me, I try not to have a cow about it. I'm usually pretty understanding as to why they couldn't get back to me. 

3. Being organized - This I can say I do pretty well with because if you look inside my purse, I have a compartment for every little thing. I have a spot for my cords and earplugs, I have a spot for smaller things such as gum, hand sanitizer, lip balm and more. In my room I have some work with organizing but i'm doing pretty good with keeping up with things for the most part. But, I plan on getting a bookcase, something to keep all of my shoes in, and something to keep all of my important stuff in. I'd even like something to keep all of keepsake items in. So, I know that I have some ways that i'd like to be more organized but, no one's perfect. I feel i'm doing a decent job for the most part.

And there is my top three things that I feel I do pretty well. I hope that I can add a few more things to this list. I hope that I'll feel confident enough to add blogging and writing in the list but I believe it's something I'm still developing and learning about. But i do have great supporters in these areas and i'm very happy about that. I'll name a few things I liked to be better at: Being more positive, being more mature, developing my social skills, being more responsible, being a better friend, being less distracted, having more faith in God.

I hope you enjoy this post as much as I enjoy writing it. Feel free to tell me some of the things that you think you do well. Let's chat about it in the comments section. That's all for now lovely people, peace out!

I Lived

That song speaks to me in so many ways. There's been moments in my life where I said, wow, I really did this? Did I really experience this? And that's why I love that song because it says "I owed every second that this world could give, I saw so many places the things that I did." It gives me flashbacks of some of the amazing things i've done and/or experienced. I know you guys are thinking "Ok, she's writing an entire post about a Onerepublic song?" Well, yes and no. The song inspired the title of this post and it ties in to the subject of "living out your best moments in life" but, it's not what the entire post is about. However, I want to clarify what it's about because I noticed that in some of my blogs the meanings isn't clear. So, this post is about "Reliving your Best Moments."

I'm going to share some of my best moments and at the end of this post, I'll ask you guys to share some of your best moments in life.

The best moments in my life have been the Taylor Swift concert. yes, the concert itself was amazing but how I was able to get in this concert was even more amazing. Firstly, like the week leading up to the Taylor Swift concert, we heard that the radio station was giving away tickets. We began calling everyday until the concert. Sadly, we had no luck. On June 22nd, 2011 (which was the day of the concert) me and my sister heard on the radio that the radio station will be at the venue giving out last minute tickets. So, me and my sister decided to give it one more shot. We headed down to the XL center and played a game to try to win the tickets from the radio station. Sadly, we still had no luck. Then, a lady and her daughter tried to play the game and of course, they ended up winning. So, me and my sister began to walk away feeling a bit disappointed, but just as we were walking away, my mom began talking to them and telling them how much this concert will make their summer. After a few minutes of my mom and the lady and her daughter talking, the lady handed us the tickets. We were completely stunned and absolutely so happy! The lady and her daughter said "we actually have better seats than what the radio station was offering" It was truly an amazing night. Also, on top of that we ended up getting a free T-shirt. That night will go down in history for me.

Another great moment of my life was when I was in Starbucks, just sitting down drinking coffee with my sister and doing a bit of work. My mom came in and I believe ordered coffee also. She began talking to this couple and smiling at their baby. After a little while, I saw my mom chatting to this couple for a little while now. Then, I realized that there was another guy sitting there who was their pastor. Soon, my mom brought the couple over to our table to introduce them to us. The couple sat down and began talking about their church and their faith and the conversation went on from there. Then, the pastor came over to our table also and we got really caught up in talking about God and everything and then the pastor opened up in prayer and right after the prayer, he handed my mom an envelope. It was a gracious gift that I'm not going to reveal what it was but i'm telling you, it was a good gift. I felt the presence of God move in Starbucks that day. I never that i'd feel like in Starbucks but I'm a witness that god works wonders anywhere at anytime. That day changed my life. It was truly remarkable the way God setup that connection between the couple and their pastor.

Also, another great moment that happened just about three months ago was my sister's birthday party. Kayla had invited some friends we know from church to her birthday gathering at an ice cream place called Milkcraft. The ice cream shop has a very young environment to it. Although the seating was very limited, we may the most of it and still ended up having a good time. We ate ice cream, socialized, and play some phone games! Even though it was a small event, I still feel like it was one of the best days ever. It felt so good connecting with other people around my age because I always used to watch other young groups of people laughing and having a good time, but now, I finally got to experience it for myself.

Another part about the birthday gathering that made it so great was that, I felt like I was really interacting with people (which is something I don't usually do) I didn't even used to talk a whole bunch to my friend that i've known for 2 years now but that night, we really interacting the most we probably ever have. I could say that I saw sparks flying but... I won't go there. It's numerous reasons why I don't talk about this person that I have feelings for. For one, I felt before I didn't really fully leave it in God's hands. But now, i'm fully leaving it in God's hands with whichever way he wants it to go. Things are a lot better this way when nothing is being said and pumped up as if we're going to take the next step right here and now. Overall, it was a great night!

I'd share many other great moments in my life but, I think that'd be a pretty long blog post. But, these three that I named were the most memorable to me. Of course i've had my writing classes and my first Onerepublic concert that was incredible also but I believe i've shared those moments with you all already.

So, there you have it! I just shared some of my best moments in my life and i'm sure i'll have more to add as the years go by. So now it's your turn, what has been some of your favorite moments in life? It could just be one major event or thing you've experienced in life or you can tell me a couple of great things that happened. Let me know in the comments section.

That's all for now lovely people, I'll try my best to post more regularly but honestly, this whole blogging thing is still new to me but I'll get there! I'm always open to ideas and suggestions. You can let me know in the comments or on my social media sites!

Bye for now!💟😊👋

10 Songs I'm Loving Right Now

I'm always discovery new music whether i'm in Starbucks, in the car, or streaming online. I'm always on the hunt for some great music. With that being said, I decided to come up with a list of 10 songs that i'm currently in love with😄

1. My Epic - Of Wilderness

2. Glasslands - Deadman

3. Attic Sleepers - Berlin

4. Hillsong Worship - Touch of Heaven

5. My Epic - So Be It

6. Jessie Early - Living on Your Love

7. Hillsong United - So Will I (100 Billion x)

8. Callum Pitt - Happiness

9. Jesus Culture - Flood the Earth

10. Andrew Ripp - Deep Water

There you have it my friends, these are the songs that have been on constant repeat on my iPhone. I’d l’d love to hear what you guys have been listening to also! Let me know in the comments section.

Forget Me Not: Book Review

I believe I mentioned some time ago that I was going to read books each week or something and give my review of it, well I know it hasn't been every week but you know, life happens. In that case, I decided to take the time to write a review of a recent book i read called Forget Me Not. It's about an astronomy loving girl named Calliope  who has tourette syndrome, so she sometimes makes faces or noises that she doesn't mean to make. When she and her mother move yet again, she tries to hide her TS. But it isn't long before the kids at her new school realize she's different. As Calliope navigates school, she must also face her mother's new relationship and the fact that she might be moving--again--just as she starts to make friends and finally accepts her differences.

The story is written in poetry style, which was really neat to me. I truly loved this story because it's about seeing the good in others despite their differences. I know that it's hard making friends in general, but I know it must be super hard when you try to to make friends and trying to hide your TS. The story brought tears to my eyes between Calli getting teased at school to dealing with her mother and her many different boyfriends and having to move so often. I was hooked to the book from start to finish and that barely ever happens with me when reading a book. I felt sorry for Calli throughout this book, hoping that things would really begin to look up for her. 

This book is absolutely correct, Tourettes is a very misunderstood syndrome. It's not widely talked about and the few times it is, it IS with extreme examples of the swearing and/or obscene gestures. But this book shows the truth of it. This is a very bold and beautiful book that brings light to something I knew very little about. I loved the pOV'S and how they were told two different ways - one was told through verse and the other through short chapters. It gave Calli's loneliness and hurt a good packed punch to the reader but didn't drown us in her anguish. 

I also loved how Calli made a true friend who was willing to look past her differnces and accept her for who she is. He stood up for her and stopped being friends with those who were bullying her. It's cool to know that someone can see the good in you even when everyone else sees the bad. And ok, i'm going to give you a spoiler alert but Calli and her new friend named Jinsong begin to like each other, it's the sweetest thing ever. He thought she was beautiful and sweet even though everyone else thought she was a goofball or a weirdo. 

The story just generally touched my heart and it inspired me to want to write more stories like that. I hope that my books can leave peope laughing, crying, smiling and whatever else. Forget Me Not is the perfect example of why we need our own voices, and why voices shouldn't be a trend but an essential part of literature. I highly recmmend this book to just about anyone. 

So, there's my review. I plan to get a bunch moe books to read and then discuss here on my blog! If you have any book suggestions please let me know! I'd be happy to consider some of the choices you guys suggest. Lately, i've been neglecting reading but i'm so glad I decided to get back into it. Especially with summer coming up i'm ready to get started on some great summer reads. I know you guys have also noticed that I haven't been very active on my blog and i'm very sorry about that, I am cookin up some great posts so stay tuned. I hope you guys enjoyed reading this post today, until next time... peace, love, happiness 💗😊

Summer plans/goals 2018

Well folks, summer is quickly approaching. I can't believe we're already 6 months in 2018. It's been a heck of a ride these past 6 months but yet many blessings also. Blessings that at a time I didn't realize were blessings. Many times we wake up with complaints, feeling tired of life being draining and just wishing that life could go our way every once in awhile. But you know what? I bet if we had a more heavenly perspective on life, we may just find much more joy and satisfaction in things. Though you may have times where you feel exhausted and frustrated, there's ways that God can still spark joy in every task and it will be fulfiling no matter how we view how hard our jobs may be, how we don't seem to have much talent, etc... God has given each of us great gifts to use for his glory. In another post, I'll talk about gifts, but for now... let me get back to the point because yes, I was having another one of my spaghetti moments.

I'm excited for summer. Summer has always been a fun time for me, it means frappucinos, outdoor games, ice cream, swimming pools and concerts!! and so much more. I'm determined to make this summer the best one yet. So, here's my goals/plans for summer 2018.

1. Be More Motivated - For some reason when the weather is warmer, it brings out more motivation in me. I believe I feel I have more opportunities to do things as far as being proactive goes. I know that it takes a lot for me to get motivated at times. I'm the type of "it can wait until tomorrow" type of person. But this year, I really want to step up my game. I'd like to be motivated to write more, sing more, and to get more exercise.

2. Get more into my hobbies - summer is a great time to get into some things that you haven't done in awhile. For most people 7+ have summer vacation and many times probably thinking of some cool things to do during their 2 and 1/2 month vacation. A lot of times I neglect my hobbies, I know that these are some of the things I enjoy doing but oftentimes I seemed to put these things on the back burner. Loom bracelets are fun and easy to make and great accessories for summer! This would be a great hobby for me to get into and it's not very time consuming, i can even do it in the car! Another great summer hobby is decorating. I recently discovered that I really like decorating and designing my room with cool, funky furniture for summer will be a great way to spice up room! I also had the idea in mind to make homemade ice cream.

3. Spend time with friends - spending time with friends isn't something i've been able to do much. There's a few people that I feel I haven't really gotten to know on a personal level. Since most folks have more time in the summer, like i said in #2, it should be a bit easier to catch up. Doing your favorite things are really enjoyable, but when you're doing it with other people it truly makes it much more enjoyable. I hope to make great connections this summer and this year period and I hope to make memorable times like I did back in April. I'm hoping that time in April at my sister's B-day hangout will be something that would be a continuous thing. I'm praying that God will open that door for  me to spend time with friends.

4. Take Walks - It's enjoyable and great exercise.

5. Go to open mikes - Open mikes are a great practice for me to get more comfortable and better at my singing.

6. Be more independent - In any small way where I can be independent makes me really feel great, whether it's going to the grocery store, going to the bank, cooking, etc... it really makes me feel good. At this time, i'd like to find more ways where I can gain more of an independence. Since the weather will be warmer consistently, taking a short bus trip will be something fun and a way for me to be more independent.

7. Read - Reading is relaxing and it helps build my vocabulary! It's a great activity that doesn't have to require looking at a screen! (yes, there's ebooks but at least we have the option of picking up a paper book if we wanted to). I have lots of books on my reading list to catch up on so... wish me luck this summer.

8. Discover new music - Discovering new music is always a cool thing to do I think at anytime of the year haha.

9. Recruit people for my writing group - I really want to try to start this writing group because it's been something that's been on my heart for some time now. I'm praying God will lead me to the people that would truly love being apart of this writing group.

10. Go/have a cookout - These are sure to be a good time. I'd love to go to someone's cookout and have my own. I don't get a chance to have BBQ'a often so I really hope that I can make it happen this summer. 

I think I have many things I could add to this list but I think i'll stop right here. Of course i'll be sharing with you all about the actual summer plans that take place, but for now it's cool to share my ideas. It's always great to be a planner at times. I do have some set plans already such as, simsbury carnival, firework show to attend, bike riding, and Niall Horan. Plus, whatever my church has planned for this summer i'm sure to be joining those events also.

Overall, I look forward to a great summer and the great things that God's going to do.