This is truly what i needed to read.
please read and enjoy.

Written By Regina Brett, 90 years old, Cleveland , Ohio

1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.
2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.
3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
4. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and parents will. Stay in touch.
5. Pay off your credit cards every month.
6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.
8. It's OK to get angry with God.. He can take it.
9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.
10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.
11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.
12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.
13. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.
15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God never blinks.
16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.
17. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.
18. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.
19. It's never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.
20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.
21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.
22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.
23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.
24. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.
25. Frame every so-called disaster with these words ''In five years, will this matter?".
26. Always choose life.
27. Forgive everyone everything.
28. What other people think of you is none of your business.
29. Time heals almost everything.. Give time, time.
30. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
31. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
32. Believe in miracles.
33. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.
34. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.
35. Growing old beats the alternative -- dying young.
36. Your children get only one childhood.
37. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.
38. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.
39. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back.
40. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
41. The best is yet to come.
42. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
43. Yield.
44. Life isnt tied in a bow, but it is still a gift.

Song for today

There are some days that I hear a song and it absolutely fits what I am going through and I just cant get it out of my head. I love this song.. I thought I should share it since it seems to fit my life right now. Follow this link and listen! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJsx3GLB6wQ

Patience is a Virtue

Things looking up? I like to think so.. God has a funny way letting the sun shine in the middle of a storm. With all of the awful things that have been going on in my life the past few months this week has been the first light of hope in a long time. I met the two families I will be working for this week and I LOVE both of them. The Vaughn family is hilarious, are all extremely smart and although slightly awkward are very funny in the "I am way smarter than you but can still have a sense of humor" way. (their neighbor is coach Nick Saban which is CRAZY!) The other family, the Cooper's, are very down to earth and have the ideal picture of what I would love to have one day. Jenna and Rob are so in love and even though they have been married for years just the way they looked at each other was adorable and their kids are angels- I am so excited to work for them. I am so blessed to be working for both families and will be working a 45-50 hour weeks this summer and will hopefully make enough to pay off my rent for the next year which would take a major weight off my shoulders. God is so good! It seems that lately God has been putting this verse on my heart: She is clothed with strength and dignity, and she laughs without fear of the future. Proverbs 31:25 Even though the sun has been coming through there are still some things that have me worried and I can't seem to shake. I feel foolish whining about things like why I can't seem to keep a good guy or why all of my friends seem to be making such great things of their lives and settling down and I feel as if I am still just as lost as I was the day I graduated high school. Why can't God make things happen the way I always dreamed they would happen? Why do I let other girls get to me and make me feel like I am not worthy or good enough?? Oh where did my confidence go? Where did the happy-go-lucky girl I used to be go? Where did the girl who could love freely and never worry it was being wasted? Well I am learning new virtues now....Patience is one thing that I feel God is throwing at me to work on and the more I feel like he wants me to work on it the less I feel like I have. I wish to be a Proverbs 31 woman one day with all my heart. One day be a wife and mother of such greatness that my great-grandchildren will talk of me... Well enough of my whining... I feel better now!

I am now officially moved into my room here in Tuscaloosa. The past few days have been very lazy with lots of sleep and good food but that will now be coming to an end since my aunt and brother are now in Washington D.C. and it will be just me, Uncle Dabs, and the dogs. There are some things I have noticed that I love about this place since I have been here. The house always smells of vanilla, cookies, and roses. I have a mocking bird nest outside my window and they like to sing at two in the morning. The bathroom in the basement makes the pipes sing in my bathroom. I love the smell of the pool in the morning before everything gets hot and steamy. But there are also things I am beginning to miss from home like the smell of my mom's coffee in the morning or my dad whistling through the house. I miss my cat coming in my room and cuddling with me in the morning. And I really miss being able to call up a friend to just come over anytime I want.
Before I left I rearranged my room and cleaned out all of my drawers and my closet. My room will now be a guest room for anyone coming to visit my parents; I now feel like I am officially out of the house. I will miss you Booneville. Hello Tuscaloosa!

As the first few minutes of May 14th tick by I can not help but think about my brother and the many years that have passed coming to this day. You see, today is the day my baby brother (well more like big brother since he has been bigger than me since he was 3) graduates from high school. In my head Aaron should still be the stubborn, extremely shy, curly headed ten-year-old. Aaron is the complete and total opposite of me in every way from his bright blue eyes the color of the sky, to his curly light brown hair or the fact he is a tall 6'2" (I say he is taller). Aaron is everything I could every want to be and even though he is younger I still look up to my baby brother-in more ways than the literal one.
Aaron is a very old soul and has been reading books like The Iliad long before I even knew who Homer was. Aaron is also extremely smart and thinks on a completely different level than the rest of us, he can remember details months after seeing or reading something that I never noticed the first time around. My baby brother also loves music, whether it is the screaming hardcore christian rock band Red or the ballads of Billy Joel he has an appreciation for everything from the writing to the musicality of the words being sung.
Being three years older than my baby brother gives me some great memories of him as a baby. Aaron was always humming and singing whether he knew the words to the song. We have some great videos of Aaron singing "The Barney Song" as a 2 year old. Aaron also was the funniest little boy and was always making the funniest faces and telling great jokes like:
Aaron: Knock Knock!
Me: Who's there?
Aaron: Orange.
Me: Orange Who?
Aaron: Orange you gonna open the door?
I am so proud of my baby brother and as he embarks on this new phase of life i can't but be kind of sad because my little bro is growing up ( and that means I am getting old!) Happy Graduation Day Aaron!!!

Single Ladies

I have had the most amazing week with one of the most inspirational and beautiful women I know. Ali Ballard made her entrance into my life almost two years ago and has not stopped inspiring me and pushing me to be the most wonderful version of myself I can be. The past few months have been particularly difficult for me and Ali has been a blessing throughout. Ali not only has a beautiful soul but she shares it with others on a daily basis. I can only hope to one day have the inner joy and passion that Ali has.
After spending several days with Ali and talking about life and how scared I have been about the future I woke up to the most beautiful message on facebook and thought I could share it with the rest of the world. Maybe somebody else can learn from this as much as I did.

MY BELOVED CHILD:

Singleness is a blessing and not a curse. As your Father, I am longing to show you my heart and watch while you grow in me and become more like your brother Jesus. I planned this time just for us to be together. I have called you away from home, the past, and even your family.

You see, I want to develop our relationship. I want so badly to show you my love and let you get caught up in my presence. I wish you would wake up rejoicing in each new day that I give you and just wondering what adventure I have planned for you today. You and I have a whole world as our playground but the only thing I wish most of all is that you cherish these moments along with me as much as I cherish them. Because you see, I know one day I will have to release part of you to another man. Yes this man will be the one I chose and set apart for you because I wanted to bless you but also to give you a small example of love, commitment and the relationship that I want to have with all my children.

Yes, marriage is wonderful and it is a gift from me, but so is singleness. Singleness is a time of learning to be strengthened and fulfilled only in me. I have longed for these days when we would be alone together and I could teach you the meaning of true love and intimacy.

First I want you to be fulfilled in me alone and see me as the one to meet your every need. I love you too much to give you a blessing too early because I know it would then become a curse. Yes, your husband is out there and it won’t be long before I bring the promise to pass, but I want us to delight in every minute.

You see, I know the day is coming when I will have to face the hurt of every father. When he walks the woman that he still recalls as a helpless little girl down the lone church aisle and give away the hand that grew so quickly from a child to a woman now by his side. They will always treasure those last special moments before the father gives away his little girl’s hand to become the wife of another man. This is the road we are on and oh! I cling to every last moment that I have you completely by my side. I am that father and I see the altar approaching ever so quickly. I just wish these moments were as special to you. My heart if grieved for it seems that you are running towards the altar content to let me creep slowly on behind. Wont’ you just rejoice in these moments with me?

My child I am your father and I love you with a love beyond what you can believe. I would love to leave you here in my lap forever but I know that would not be best for you. You see, it was even my love that birthed that desire for marriage in you. I loved you so much that I wanted to give you an example of my love in the flesh (someone that would physically be there to hug you because you long to feel my loving arms but weren’t there in the flesh). I wiped away the tears when you wanted so badly to hear my voice whisper I love you. I felt the pain when you needed a loving smile to melt all those fears away. I am the answer to every one of those needs, but my love is strong enough to send someone in the flesh to love you through .

So don’t be sad or discouraged when you see others getting married. Don’t think I am making you wait because you are a hopeless case. Maybe I just want you all to myself a little longer. Please don’t run away from these days in search of a greener pasture. I planned this time just for us.

I love you. Your daddy- God

A New Season in Life

This being my first blog post I typically wanted to make it amazing. My first thoughts of what a blog should be like revert back to images from You've got Mail, Gossip Girl and Julie and Julia. Of course, mine will be nothing like that since I am not 1. Not Meg Ryan. 2. An upper-east-sider with amazing clothing and a magnet for drama. 3. I will not become famous from my endless ramblings. Now, with that said I will begin to explain why I have started this blog.
I will soon be moving to Tuscaloosa, Alabama for the summer to get away from small-town Mississippi. Although I will be working most of the time (I will be a nanny for two hopefully amazing kids: I am praying they will not be snot nosed brats who will make me never want to have children) I plan on making time to find new friends and hopefully find out who I am as young woman and maybe even figure out what God has in store for me. The idea of being plopped into a new environment where I do not know a soul other than the family I am living with absolutely terrifies me but at the same time makes the hair on the back of my neck stand on end with excitement me. Today while I was unpacking my life that I brought home from a year of college and began to think about how many new opportunities that will be in front of me I made a decision-Live without regrets. Being newly single with a new major (art... the term starving artist is very possibly going to be a reality for me), a new home and an exciting summer ahead of me, I plan on not only to go at it with everything I have but also influence the people that come in contact with me and in the mean time have a summer for the record books.