the wind blows through the leaves
as sunlight glistens
how i wish i could be as free as the wind

Did you know that an adult human heart pumps about 6,000-7,500 liters (1,500-2,000 gallons) of blood daily? Did you know that the epidermis or surface layer of the skin is renewed every two to four weeks? Did you know that the human eye can distinguish about 10 million different colors? Did you know that your body produces 25 million new cells each second? I bet you didn't know that. Neither did I. We take for granted how fascinating and amazing the human body can be, yet we don't realize that we are a living, breathing miracle.

I am learning that there will always be people who will misunderstand you...and that's okay.
Because you were never made to please everyone.

there are so many songs you have not yet discovered, people you haven't met, concerts not gone to, things you never knew about yourself, places not yet traveled to, and letters not written or sent to loved ones.
embrace this incredible yet messy journey called life.

sunrises and sunsets remind me that there is beauty in both beginnings and endings. learn to enjoy the journey in between too.

We all just want to be understood. To be heard. To be known. To be loved. And to those people in your life who accept your imperfections and downfalls; those are the people who deserve a special place in your heart. Never let them go.

"I know God listens to my heartbeat on His iPod. It reminds Him that we still got work to do." // Rudy Francisco

maybe we're not scared of death. maybe it's that we're more scared of showing who we really are, to only end up rejected.

"To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all." // Oscar Wilde

“Be weird. Be random. Be who you are. Because you never know who would love the person you hide.” // C.S. Lewis

What makes someone extraordinary?
What makes them ordinary?
Is there anyone who's just ordinary?
Aren't we all extraordinary?
Do we just underestimate ourselves in thinking that we have to do something profound in order to be considered extraordinary?
But even the littlest acts can be extraordinary.
I guess we're all struggling with what we want our legacy to be.
What do you want yours to be?

the little things we tend to stress about aren't as massive as we think they are. don't always stay in tunnel vision. it's important to zoom out and look at the bigger picture.

it's so easy to get caught up in the future or the past, but it's important to be fully present in the now. as cheesy as it sounds: don't focus on the negative. think positive! what we put into our minds and what we think really does affect how we behave and act. so **** out the negativity, and learn to be grateful for what you do have than what you don't have.

she missed her childhood photos, so she asked her mother if she could find them. she wanted to look at how happy she was when she was little. look at that smile, she said, while holding a picture of when she was five. that smile; so vibrant, bright, and gleaming. would she be able to smile like that again? she saw so much color in her world, now her days are filled with hues of black and gray. she feels as though her world now has gone cold. but those memories of the past remind her that although she doesn't feel happy now, there is always hope. hope that things will get better. she just needs to find the light around her, and within herself, to keep going despite the pain.

i want to say "i love you" and "thank you" too much than too little.

perhaps in the moments of feeling lost, we find ourselves.

i open my eyes and the light hits my face
i toss and turn in my bedsheets, stretching my arms
i inhale breaths of life
and exhale
i am grateful

i am grateful for a roof over my head
a warm bed to sleep on
clean water to drink
and food i can eat

i am grateful for blue skies and sunshine
staring up into the horizons
feeling the warmth consume my body
from the inside out

i am grateful for friends who care about me
saying i was lonely, feeling hurt, and down
giving me a listening ear and a shoulder to cry on

i am grateful for tough days
for without them, how could we be grateful?
learning to appreciate what we have
despite feeling empty and broken

i am grateful for silent moments and days where i sing at the top of my lungs
learning to embrace the still and quiet
taking the time to reflect
that even silent moments have something to teach us
and expressing my joy
dancing like nobody is watching

but most of all, i am grateful for my Savior, Jesus
who bore everything for me on that cross
pursuing me despite my messiness, failures, and sins
fully knowing me and loving me
i am eternally grateful
forever grateful
of each breath He gives me
teaching me to live this life for Him
and not myself
to give glory, honor, and praise to the One who paid my debt

she hasn't spoken to anyone in weeks.
she sits as the world passes by,
unaware of how much heaviness she carries inside her.
her world feels as though it is caving in deeper and deeper,
and she cannot cry out for help,
so she stays silent,
feeling the weight of it all.

unapologetically, I will be.

a few days ago, i sat on a bus going home and i noticed an elderly woman with pixie cut white hair and glasses looking out the window and blowing kisses to someone. i looked out and i saw an elderly man with white hair blowing kisses back to her. it was her husband.
i couldn't help but smile. moments later the elderly woman got out of her seat to go outside and give her husband a kiss.
isn't it beautiful that we get to grow old with another person? to be able to live life together, side by side, sticking through the good and bad times, knowing each other's flaws and mistakes yet choosing to love one another. that love isn't just a feeling, but a choice.

She has been in the shallows for so long because she is afraid to go to the deep end. But she casts that fear aside and takes her heart with her. For being in the shallowness limits oneself in what they can do.

We don't take the time to appreciate what we have until it's gone. Count your blessings. Take nothing for granted.

sometimes we expect so much from people, because we would be willing to do the same thing for them.

she puts in her headphones
to get away from the world
and the chaos in her mind
"music," she thought to herself, "is my escape."

i used to think that home was a place until i found You.

maybe i am too afraid to love for the fear of getting hurt.

it's okay not to be okay.

when you look back at your life
are you gonna regret the things you didn't do
or look back and say
i did all that i could
and be satisfied with the way you lived

don't live in your head so much
and wait for things to happen
or things to come to you
sometimes you gotta make things happen yourself

so don't get caught up in the past or the future too much
be in the present
do what you can
with what you have
stop living in the shadows
and let the light shine

i think as we get older, time seems to go by faster.
when we were kids, we thought we had all the time in the world.
sometimes i wish i could go back to the time when i was kid.
not having a care in the world about those kind of things.
but life doesn't stop for anybody.
it just goes on.
time is fleeting.

but i think it makes you realize that time is precious.
the most precious thing you could give to someone is your time, because you can never take it back.
the time you spend by yourself alone or with people, you can't take back.
so we should choose how we spend our time wisely.

sail over the horizons
let loose your entwined thinking
confined to walls

imagine
don't think too hard
for overthinking
can be treacherous

i used to hate the rain...
the way it would drench my clothes
and get in my eyes
mess up my hair
and make everything gloomy

but now i think i actually like the rain
because without it
how would the grass be green
and there would be no rainbows

funny how it's like storms in life
without them we wouldn't grow

and i love listening to rain at night
the way it sounds
as it helps me drift off to sleep
pit-pat
pit-pat
it's so calming and relaxing

and you can tell how people are
by the way they react to rain
people either dance in it
or are miserable by it

people who don't accept you at your worst don't deserve you at your best.

we may feel like we have all the time in the world,
or maybe that time moves too fast.
but sometimes,
i think we don't realize that
tomorrow is not guaranteed.
we may not realize what we have
until it's gone...
so seize the day.
live your life to the fullest.
because anything can happen in a day.

we all carry within us a story that is aching to be told.
as maya angelou said "there is no greater agony that bearing an untold story inside you."
and it's so true.
each of us carry hurt, pain, memories, heartache, loss...
we don't know what someone may be going through each day.
you may be going through a rough time yourself, but don't forget to extend kindness to others.
even when you don't feel like it.
think of other's needs before yourself.
life is too short not to smile at the stranger at the bus stop.
who cares if they give you a weird look.
because we all need love, joy, and hope.
be kind to others.
and be kind to yourself.

don't wait for someone to come along
and think that you can only love fully
with just that person

no, you are full just as you are
you don't need another person to complete you
you are already made complete in Him
the One who bore you into being
who loves you more than any man could

so even though you're sad you don't have a man
to share kisses, handwritten letters, and midnight texts with
on valentine's day
don't be
why do you look for love in another person
when you are already so loved

love fully, darling
love without limits
love the stranger on the bus
love the person you just met at your friend's birthday party
love yourself
love your enemy
because life is too short to not love others

there will always be someone who is prettier than you, smarter than you, but no one can ever be you
be you
be yourself
stop comparing yourself to others
because you are unique
you are special
you are one of a kind
be who God created you to be

you don't have to prove yourself to anyone
God accepts you fully just as you are
why do you seek approval from others
when He has already accepted you

sonder.
the realization that each random passerby is living a life as vivid and complex as your own.

this is one of my favorite words, because it really opens your eyes in the realization that every single person you walk by really does have their own world they're living in.
each person carrying intimate moments, memories, songs, hurts, struggles, secrets, pains, and beliefs about themselves and the world they live in.
but what if we chose to extend a loving hand to people. in treating them with kindness, respect, dignity, and forgiveness. what a beautiful world we would live in.

it pains me to know that i won't get to see the people i care about
that they will eventually be far from me
maybe that's why i tend to push people away
thinking what's the point of being so close to someone
when eventually we'll be apart anyway

but God has been teaching me to love others wholeheartedly
to see each person as someone who He died on the cross for
to see as He sees
to hear as He hears
and to love like He loves

i don't know if i'll be gone tomorrow
tomorrow is not guaranteed
therefore i will love relentlessly
forgive others as God has forgiven me
and to live knowing my purpose and desire is to make His name known and not my own

when i was younger, i used to admire people who were intelligent.
now that i'm older, i admire people who are kind.
there's the saying that no matter how educated, rich, talented, cool, or "smart" you are, it all comes down to how you treat others.
and it's true.
choose kindness, because a small act of kindness goes a long way.

We tell people to be themselves
Yet we judge them when they're being themselves

sometimes i feel so deeply or not at all...