Scarf Love!

just thought i would share for you fashionistas out there!
i have a huge selection of scarves that i never wear and i'm hoping to change that.

for the love of Christ? that's right.

just thought i'd share!
i hope it's a reminder that God loves you. <3


Could we with ink the ocean fill
And were the skies of parchment made,
Were every stalk on earth a quill
And every man a scribe by trade,
To write the love of God above
would drain the Ocean dry
Nor could the scroll contain the whole
though stretched from sky to sky.

migraines-more painful than birth

as a hormonal woman with genes that basically despise her, i have had many encounters with migraines. after speaking with a sorority sister, jackie, about her personal problems with migraines, (hers have lasted DAYS) i have decided to share some personal knowledge to both educate the "migraine-less," and to give some tips on how to counter attack those vicious headaches.

what brought about this decision was not only numerous teacher's lack of sympathy to the "excuse" of a migraine, but also the fact i had one today. as i sat in front of my computer, working steadily on a 20+ page research paper that is, in fact, due tomorrow, i had quite the setback. i'm sure at this point you know what it was.

doctors and scientists are unsure of the cause of migraines, but women are are 3 times more likely than men to get them. what is believed to bring on migraines can either be hormones or stress, or basically any number of things.
doesn't help much, right?

i consider myself lucky. about twenty minutes before the pain starts, i get what scientists refer to as an "aura." i get extreme light sensitivity, i see flashing and waving lights in my vision, and within a few minutes, i'm rendered nearly blind. driving is impossible, walking is a living version of bumper cars, and, obviously, getting work done is not an option. while this sounds awful, it also gives me a heads-up to what is to come.

so, women(and men, if you're the 33% who actually get these), pay attention to your body. in order to fend off migraines, stay hydrated, well rested, and if you're stressed, take a breather. but, listen to your body. you can tell when a migraine is coming! you may have any of the following symptoms BEFORE your migraine hits: pain on one side of your head, blurred vision, tingling pain on your head or on one side of your body, nausea, lightheadedness, or sensory flags, such as my impaired vision.

migraines may be caused by an over-working of the trigiminal nerve in the brain, which is a major neural pathway to the brain.

SO!

things that have helped me personally:

-do NOT try to do anything! no reading, watching tv, etc. stay away from artificial lighting and flame-the brightness will hurt your eyes

-take 2 ibuprofen or aleve (i prefer liquid-gel aleve) and drink a FULL glass of water RIGHT AWAY

-if you're not at home, try to get a ride there. do NOT drive if at all possible

-find a quiet, dark room IMMEDIATELY when your symptoms start, lay down with a cool rag covering your forehead, eyes, AND the top of your nose. massage the pressure points between your eyes on the bridge of your nose with the rag, as well as the point in front of your ears

-take a hot bath (with the room completely dark)

-get your significant other to give you a neck and head massage. lie down on your back, and with him/her sitting above your head, have them place their hands, fingers curled upwards, under your neck. using the weight of your head, they can easily give a deep tissue massage with ease.

-use aromatherapy! jasmine and mint work the best for me

-keep your head cool

-don't under OR oversleep

-take a daily vitamin of B-2

i hope i've helped, or at least educated you a little!
until next time, k

a woman in search of a word

eat, pray, love. an extremely controversial movie for us christians. for those of you who don't know, in a nutshell, the movie follows the journey of a woman named liz who leaves her husband, sells her possessions, and follows a "hunch." she travels to italy, india and indonesia, having a few affairs, eating her heart out, and exploring buddhism and meditation. a christian review claimed "to be moved by [the world]—even enlightened!—is absurd; that the memoir on which it's based (and is reverent to) has become a phenomenon is downright disturbing."

To better illustrate why Christians would be upset with the movie, C.S. Lewis once said, "Look for yourself, and you will find in the long run only hatred, loneliness, despair, rage, ruin, and decay. But look for Christ and you will find Him, and with Him everything else thrown in."

isn't that what we are to strive for?

however, as a Christian, believe it or not, i took a lot away from this movie.

before you panic and delete my blog from your following and denounce me as a Christian, just hear me out.

first, a lesson in relationships. the bible clearly states "But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery." Jesus further states in Matthew (19:8) that divorce is not created out of God's desire, but out of the hardness of men's hearts.

now, i don't believe in divorce. i believe in committment. however, i also understand how important it is to be equally yoked spiritually. "But if the unbelieving partner separates, let it be so. In such cases the brother or sister is not enslaved. God has called you to peace." 1 Corinthians 7:15 you don't really have any business as a Christian to be marrying someone who is a nonbeliever, or even someone who doesn't neccessarily have the same beliefs as you. so, on that point, being on the same page religiously and sharing a walk in faith is ultimately the most important thing in a marriage. marriage will not succeed with only two people, i believe it takes God also.

Liz says in one scene of the movie, "hello, God, it's nice to meet you." she begins a journey of finding God. she seeks God out. after all, God never releases his hold on us. but we have free will to seek him out. this quote taught me that it is so important to continually seek God out, and to bask in his presence. a book i'm currently reading, Lies Young Women Believe, states that in prayer, we are not to constantly petition God. "God, i want..." "God, i need..." "God, give me..." prayer is not supposed to be a believer barraging God with pleas for a better life, but a child going to their father and simply speaking to him. i look at it this way. how often do i speak to my mother, or michael, or my girlfriends? it's so easy to talk to people who really understand me. i talk a mile a minute about everything, we can talk for hours and hours nonstop. why don't we speak to our Heavenly Father like this? why are we incapable of "gabbing" with someone who knows us better than our best friend? just talk to God-i promise he'll listen.

(****SIDENOTE! sometimes, God's answer will be NO!!!!!!!!!)

"Americans. You work too hard, you get burned out. You come home and spend the whole weekend in your pajamas in front of the T.V." -Luca. ahem. does that burn a little? it should. because it's true. do you think your heavenly father is PROUD to watch you waste the beautiful gift of life he gave you by sitting in front of the boob tube? guess again.

 now, i know as Christians we are advised to "Love not the world, neither the things that are of the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world." John 2:15-16. that doesn't actually mean don't appreciate God's creation. that means don't participate in the crude jokes and lust and watch that show where you know boobies are going to be shown. that is not what you as a christian should strive for. be in AWE of God's creation!!! God is amazing and he has created something absolutely beautiful. for goodness sakes, GO to italy! it's beautiful-i would know. appreciate what God has set before you.

before i finish, here is a quote from the movie for all the women out there. "Im so tired of saying no and waking up in morning recalling everything single thing i ate the day before, counting every calorie i consumed so i know how much self loathing to take into the shower. Im going for it. I have no interest in being obese but im just through with the guilt." -Liz.

guess what? God loves you. period. no matter what you look like. take good care of what God gave you, yes. but you only have one life here. eat for goodness sake. being beautiful does not mean being anorexic.

"Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. " Proverbs. "Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear— but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious. " Peter. "Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body. " 1 Corinthians

because your muffin top is not the end of the world. so have a piece of pizza, and be thankful to the Lord for blessing you with food, and has not left you wanting.

finally, Liz was told that perhaps in her soul-searching, she is a woman in search of a word. what is your word, as a christian? is it love? or hate? when the world looks at you, as a christian, what does the world see? maybe you should strive to have a word-one with good meaning.

Do not judge, so that you may not be judged.
Matthew 7:1

<3, k