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Letting Go
I think sometimes we only think of letting go when it comes to BIG specific things, like a dream that didn't come to life or an opportunity that didn't turn out as we had wished. However, what if we were to "let go" more than just when we have to? Scroll down to read more!
If we make letting go a daily way of life, it will become habitual and natural to release the tight grip that we have on our own dreams, plans, and thoughts. Doing so will ease our burden and allow us to surrender control of our lives over to the One who is actually in control. "Letting go" can be a constant lifestyle and a forever frame of mind, versus just an act when you are in a situation or circumstance that forces you to let go. A yoga teacher once said during class, "Let go and let God", and that has forever made an impact on my life. If we choose to live in a "let go" state, we open ourselves up to all that He is capable of doing! A few thoughts on how to actually do this...
-Praise Him each morning by praying, giving thanks, reading His Word, and turning on worship music as you get ready for the day;these things put the focus on Him versus ourselves and set our minds in a place that is open to His direction.
-When you start to feel stress over figuring something out, or obsession over an outcome, or worry over what could happen "if"...stop, breathe, and say out loud "Jesus, I give this to you. I lay it down." Or something like that! It is amazing how the act of saying those words actually changes our mindset and causes peace to settle in.
-Keep Moving. This is a funny one because at the same time that we are to "move forward" we are also called to "be still" in waiting for His guidance and direction. Even though they sound opposite, they actually can be and should be lived out simultaneously. Read this previous post for more!
-If you feel like your mind can't let go of something, journal about it or call a friend or family member to talk it out. I had a great conversation with a friend recently and she made a comment about letting things work themselves out, which is another aspect of letting go. Give things time to happen, but in the meantime, write down your thoughts and seek wise counsel.
We would love to hear your thoughts on letting go in the comments section! Here is a passage of scripture that we find so comforting and encouraging when it comes to letting go, surrendering, and trusting Him:
My child, listen to me and do as I say, and you will have a long, good life.
I will teach you wisdom's ways and lead you in straight paths.
When you walk, you won't be held back;
when you run, you won't stumble.
Take hold of my instructions; don't let them go.
Guard them, for they are the key to life.
Proverbs 4:10-14 (NLT)
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10 Questions with Angela Lanter
Hey guys! We are so excited to have one of my besties on the blog today, Angela Lanter! Ang and her husband, Matt, are two of my and Jase's closest friends and we absolutely love doing life with them. Read the Q&A below to get to know Ang as she dishes on all things love, beauty, pregnancy, and blogging. xo- How did you and your husband meet and when did you know that he was the one?Matt and I have a mutual friend from church, Courtney, who played matchmaker. She was convinced that we were perfect for each other… Turns out she was right! I knew very early on that Matt was the one for me. I didn’t have a moment, per se, that it dawned on me. I could feel that something was different about our relationship than any other relationship I’d ever been in.-When did you start your blog and what was the journey of becoming a blogger like for you?I launched Hello Gorgeous in January 2013, just a few months before our wedding. I didn’t have much time to put into my blog at first because I was planning a wedding and working full-time as a fraud investigator. After we were married, I quit my job and we moved to New Orleans for Matt’s show, Starcrossed. I had time to focus on my blog and turned my passion into my career. I launched my YouTube channel in September 2013 and never looked back. I’ve always loved beauty, so I knew this was the field I wanted to be in, I just didn’t know how to make that a reality. Blogging has allowed me to take the things I love and turn them into my own business.
-We love your Instagram so much! What is your approach to managing that social platform and connecting with your followers?I try my best to keep my posts as real as possible. Social media has a way of making things look so perfectly perfect… But that’s not reality. I love connecting with my followers, my Gorgeous Girls, on real-life issues, so I focus on creating content that’s relevant to what’s currently going on in my life that others can relate to. I also do my best to respond to as many comments as possible to show my appreciation to those who take the time to follow along and share their lives and thoughts with me.-Give us a brief description of your personal style. Where are your favorite places to shop? I consider my style feminine casual. I like to be cute but also comfortable… Especially now that I’m pregnant! My favorite thing to do is mix highs and lows.-What is your typical morning beauty routine + a few of your must-have products? I’m big in exfoliation, I try to exfoliate 2 times a week to keep my skin looking and feeling soft. My basic morning products are: cleanser, toner, serum, eye cream and moisturizer with SPF. I can’t live without a good eye cream!
-How do you stay so healthy & fit!? Share a few tips + a some of your favorite foods.I would love to say that I have this awesome workout routine and diet that I stick to… But I don’t, lol. I try to do yoga whenever possible and I’m constantly on the go, so I tend to walk a lot. We try to make smart choices when cooking and eating out, but I also really love my desserts… It’s one of my pregnancy cravings for sure.-Congrats on your first baby-to-be! What has been the most surprising thing about pregnancy so far? The most surprising is the amount of symptoms that I have experienced that I was clueless about. You would think with as many cousins and girlfriends that I have who have had babies, I would know it all… But no one does. Each and every pregnancy is different and I made the mistake of thinking that what I’ve seen others experience would be exactly what I experience.-Tell us about your and your husband's podcast, Hello Bump! How did that idea come about? I had been throwing around the idea of launching a podcast for over a year, but my husband’s job moved us to Vancouver last summer and we put that idea on the back burner. When we found out we were pregnant, we thought, this is the perfect time to jump into the podcast world! We didn’t even know if we would ever release it, but after listening to what we recorded, we decided it was too fun not to share.
-It must be so fun working on the podcast with Matt! Do you feel that sharing the journey with your followers and fans has been a gift for the both of you as expecting parents? I think so. I’ve had so many women reach out to me after listening who relate to me because of my endometriosis journey, or different symptoms I’ve experienced. I’ve had a lot of women say that the podcast has been such a fun way for them to relive their own pregnancies, even many years ago. I think it’s just a fun, easy listen and people can relate to what we’re experiencing and feeling.-What is the one thing that you are looking forward to most about being a Mom? Bonding with my baby. I wanted a girl so badly, so I’m so excited to get to share things like my love of makeup and clothes with her (hopefully she’ll love those things too, lol!) I can’t wait to dress her and do her hair… Basically, just be a girl’s mom!
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The Beauty of Community
When you think of community, what do you think of? The idea of community has been on our minds a lot lately, specifically the beauty of community and how people loving, supporting, and caring for one another is instrumental and irreplaceable in all of our journeys.
What is so cool about community is that it comes in all different shapes and sizes! Whether it is your closest girlfriends, your family, colleagues at work, people in your Church, couples that you are close with, or anyone else in your life, it is so healthy and rewarding to have people that you are able to be open and transparent with and really connect with on a soul level.
Inviting people into your lives and sharing your lives with people is the Lord's vision for us as as believers-there is nothing that makes Him happier than to see brothers & sisters joining together and collaborating through life together, in His glory. Romans 15:5-7 May God, who gives this patience and encouragement, help you live in complete harmony with each other, as is fitting for followers of Christ Jesus. Then all of you can join together with one voice, giving praise and glory to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.Therefore, accept each other just as Christ has accepted you so that God will be given glory (NLT). 
Another beautiful thing about community is when community grows- when you meet more people, when you share your story, your light, and your faith with others, you are willing and available to receive other's stories, light, and faith. Community develops overtime and the potential is endless! What inspires you to stay connected with others and spread your love? Let us know in the comments!
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Q&A With Jase On Love, Life, and Marriage
Happy Friday, Friends! We are so pumped to share a Q&A with Jase on love, life, and marriage! I could not be more grateful to be married to a man that is full of the sweetest wisdom and such a refreshing perspective on everything from career decisions to building new friendships to what it takes to balance life! He has helped me tremendously to relax when I get overwhelmed or am overthinking something (hello womanhood!) and enjoy life to the fullest capacity! Melissa and I were chatting about Q&A ideas for the blog and we were so excited when the idea of interviewing Jason came to our minds. As we worked on questions, a clear theme became evident: love, life, & marriage. No matter if you are single, married, or engaged, Jase's words will speak to you and hopefully fill you up with so much love, hope, and wisdom! Scroll down to read and thanks, babe, for doing this! xo
What was the hardest adjustment after you got married?I would say in the beginning, I was just really worried about what it was going to be like living with somebody else and combining schedules and how that was going to work out. I was concerned if I was still going to be able to hang out with my buddies. Is she going to want to hang out with me all the time? Am I going to want to hang out with her all the time? After doing the dance for a little bit, you just get into a routine, and it’s the greatest routine because you get to spend time with your best friend every day. What have you learned most about yourself the last three years?That it’s important to have someone to do life with. It’s such a refreshing thing and a blessing to have someone in your life that you can talk about work with, your struggles, family...whatever it is. It is absolutely pertinent to have someone in your life that you are open with and knows everything about you.What do you look forward to most in life?Vacations with my wife...getaways. It could be a place an hour and a half away where you don’t have to get on a plane to even do it but just getting refreshed and escaping the craziness that life can bring sometimes is what I look forward to most.What would you say is the key to a healthy marriage?Communication and honesty or honesty and communication...easy as that!
What do you love most about Lo? (insert several heart eye emojis here!) I think she is the most sweet and caring person I have ever encountered in my life, and I love the joy she has. I love that she is so encouraging to me, and when I get worked up over the small things, even though I may not like it every time, she’s really good at bringing me back down and reminding me that it’s going to be okay. On a different note, one of my favorite things about her is she tells stories that she thinks are really funny and it’s really not, and it always makes us laugh really hard. She’s also the best travel partner! And last but not least, I love her little arm to death.How has marriage strengthened your & Lo's love and what do you love most about being married?A lot of people say, oh I am so glad I married my best friend, but in reality, it takes a long time to become best friends with someone truly - to know everything about you and feel complete comfortable being 100% transparent. I have just enjoyed that she actually is my best friend now, and she actually knows me and gets me and knows what makes me tick. Any advice for singles with the desire of marriage on their hearts?Don’t start doing things that you normally wouldn’t do to get a guy. Just truly be yourself. Be a woman and let the guy pursue. Don’t change who you are. Trust that God will bring the right person to you in His timing.
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The Truth about Transformation
Growth and transformation are two of the most beautiful, yet challenging, parts of life and the human spirit. Similar to when we were little kids going through physical changes and development, growing pains were real then and are real now! However, real change and true growth come from enduring those growing pains (hopefully with grace!), as we journey through life and become who we are created to be. Challenging? Yes. Worth it? YES, YES, and more YES.
Last week we discussed living above worry, stress, and fear by clinging to faith in Him, and the week before that we discussed the idea of staying in the training and seeing challenging seasons as opportunities from God for growth. Both of those concepts are related to the journey of personal transformation and the beauty that comes from holding onto unwavering faith as we go along the journey.
I recently heard this sermon on the concept of life-changing transformation and it spoke to the core of my being. The truth about transformation is that it comes from Jesus' unfailing love for us and happens when we fully surrender to Him and His plan for us. True transformation occurs on a soul level, when our spirit has been re-wired to be able to see the hope and change that only Jesus can bring.
In the sermon, Pastor Tomassoni describes how life-changing, real, and deep transformation occurs when Jesus takes the journey to the center of our beings, our lives, our souls, and our minds. This truth is a breakthrough realization, because believing this allows us to not only have an incredible relationship with Jesus, but it is how we really transform and develop into who He wants us to be. Our responsibility? Make Him the center of our worlds. There is no other way! Plus, the joy of Him being at the center of our worlds is truly like no other. It is the most beautiful, joyful, comforting, and peaceful way to live.
The sermon makes me think of this verse of Scripture from Romans 12:2...Let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God's will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect (NLT). No matter what our personal journey is and no matter what we are going through, God is constantly at work in us to transform us into who He created us to be. Knowing this and believing this enables us to endure hard times with grace, to see challenging times as His way of molding us, and to keep going because we know that His plan and will for us is good and pleasing and perfect. Are you going through a particularly transformative season right now? We would love to hear about it in the comments below so that we can pray for you! With love, the LSK team.
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Living Above Worry, Stress, and Fear
We can all agree that feelings of worry, stress, fear, anxiety, and doubt are unfortunately normal and natural parts of life. There are very real reasons in our lives and in our world to feel these feelings, but thankfully there is a bigger Truth at play. There is only one way to live above worry, stress, and fear and that is by faith in God. It is by faith in Him that we can get through the very real feelings that hard situations and challenging circumstances bring. Our God promises to be with us through everything and that is a promise that is bigger than anything in this world! When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you. For I am the Lord, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior (Isaiah 43:2-3 NLT). 
By faith, we are able to cast off worry, stress, and fear by turning away from those negative feelings and turning to our all-knowing, all-powerful, and all-loving God. When we put our trust and confidence in Him, we become free from having to bear the hard parts of life on our own shoulders. Faith allows us to give all worries and cares to Him, believing that He is capable of handling what is too much for us to bear. We are not designed to carry God-sized worries, but He is! Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you (1 Peter 4:7 NLT) 
What a blessing that our God is willing, wanting, able, and made to carry our heavy burdens. Matthew 11:28 reads: Then Jesus said, "Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light" (NLT). This verse is so powerful because it is calling and inviting the weary souls and the burdened hearts to come to Jesus. If we start to view moments of worry, fear, and stress as opportunities to become closer to Jesus and cling on to Him, our souls will be able to find rest and we will also grow in faith. When you feel fear, run to Jesus. When anxiety attacks, run to Him. When doubt is determined to sneak in, call out to Jesus.
It is only in Him and by faith that we are able to find true rest and real freedom. The truth that His yoke is easy and His burden is light is such a source of comfort during our hardest moments. When we feel the burdens of this world weighing down on us, we are to immediately lay everything down at the feet of Jesus.
The lyrics of Chris Tomlin's song, "Home", speak to this truth so well:
Lay down my burdens, I lay down my pastI run to Jesus, no turning backThank God Almighty, I'll be free at last.
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The Gift of Reading Time
The gift of reading time is something that we really value, appreciate, and try not to take for granted! Settling into our reading nook and opening up a book that we have been looking forward to reading is such a special experience; it opens up the doors for personal growth, enjoyment, relaxation, peace, and so much more.
Regardless of what kind of book it is, our minds open during the reading process; either to new knowledge, new experiences, and new ways of thinking, or our minds can open up to a fictional world that we become immersed in, serving as a brief break from our own worlds. Fiction or non-fiction, books are truly such a gift to us, crafted by authors with God-given talents!
We always feel rejuvenated, full of life, and inspired after taking the time to read. We love Christian books here at LSK and there are a few that have really shaped our lives, our faith, and our relationship with the Lord. These books in particular are gifts from Him, and we cannot give enough praise for the authors of these books! Three titles that have especially made a big impact on our lives are Present Over Perfect, New Morning Mercies, and Uninvited.
A few other books that we highly recommend are The Plant Paradox, The Person Called YOU, and Reclaiming Conversation. These books are extremely different and unique in subject matter, but each one is a gift of a new perspective about health (The Plant Paradox), personal development (The Person Called YOU), and relationships (Reclaiming Conversation).
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10 Questions with Molly Abrigg
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Stay In The Training
What do you you think of when you think of training? We envision hard work, long hours, mental discipline, plenty of focus, an openness to learning, the willingness to change, a desire for strength, and the endurance to keep going even when it gets really hard. All of these elements obviously apply when you are physically training and working out, but it also applies emotionally and personally when you are going through a season that is challenging, intimidating, and confusing. The good news is that with the realization that we are being trained during these seasons, we will be able to stay in the training and keep moving forward!We are so excited to share this message from Judah Smith with you: Trained By His Training. This message has spoken to us so much lately and has caused us to start viewing challenging seasons as opportunities for growth. This change of perspective results in seeing hard seasons as preparing and training us in order for us to becomes the person that the Lord created us to be.The most amazing thing is that no matter what you are going through right now, no matter what your personal circumstances are, this message will hit your heart in the biggest, most loving way. We have sent this link to so many loved ones in a variety of emotional situations because it is a message that brings so much encouragement, hope, and promise. In his message, Judah encourages you to stay in it and keep going and realize that you are being trained by the Lord because He loves you so much.Here is the Scripture from Judah's message + an amazing quote from Judah, but we highly encourage you to take the time (about 40 minutes) to listen to the entire message! We are excited to read your comments in the comment section below. xoHebrews 12: 7-11 (NLT)As you endure this divine discipline, remember that God is treating you as his own children. Who ever heard of a child who is never disciplined by its father? If God doesn't discipline you as he does all his children, it means that you are illegitimate and are not really his children at all. Since we respected our earthly fathers who disciplined us, shouldn't we submit even more to the discipline of the Father of our spirits and live forever? For our earthly fathers disciplined us for a few years, doing the best they knew how. But God's discipline is always good for us, so that we might share in His holiness. No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening- it's painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way. "You know who God is preparing? Those He loves. God told me to tell you tonight, you are in training right now and that is why you feel the way you that you feel. You have been searching your soul thinking, this is the weirdest season- I'm in a funk- what is going on- and I am here to tell you that NOTHING is wrong, you're in training! And it is a form of a compliment from your Father, because He is preparing you for things that you otherwise could not do without Him and His preparation. God is preparing you.- Judah Smith
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