His Word Brought Me Through

Hey Everyone

Sorry I have been MIA the last few days. With Black Friday just around the corner, it's definitely scramble time here at work. You can say my life has been hectic!

This time of year is always great for me and bad for me. 

Its great because of the obvious reasons, you get to spend quality time with your family, take off some work, and reflect on what you are thankful for. 

But for me, it's a little different. Around this time a couple years ago, something tragic happened in my life. It is way too personal to discuss but this time every year, I can't help but think about it. I find myself getting in this mood around this time every year because it's in the back of my mind pretty much throughout November and December. Just a sensitive time, I guess. 

My close family will tell me thinking about it won't do anything but I feel it's my way of coping with it. Because it doesn't just remind me of what happened, it also reminds me how God brought me through it.

I remember I hung onto God's word like never before and eventually, I saw His word coming to pass it my life. When for a long time I thought I went through something tragic alone and afraid, I realized I was never alone, God was there with me.

People will make jokes to me and say "you are a bible thumper" or "you are such a Jesus freak" but I am because Jesus was there for me when no one else was. I am addicted to Him because He is the reason I got through it- I truly believe that. He was the one who healed my pain- and is still healing my pain. He comforted me when others didn't, or couldn't. It was after going through this that I realized Jesus deserved my all. 

When no one understood it, or understands it- Jesus does. 

& that is why I love Him with all of my heart. He paid the price for me and shows His love to me like no one else can. His Word brought me through. His promises and love is what kept me going and keeps me going. 

So this time of year can be tough, but it brings me back to remember of the time I met Jesus for the first time. And for that, I am truly thankful.

No matter what you go through, God is there with you. Hold onto His promises. 

-A

#Dropthemask LYLS Thursday Link- Up!

Hey Everyone! 

Happy Thursday! I hope you week is going good! 

I have to tell you, I just love this month's topic! I have gotten so many responses from you and I appreciate your involvement! I love hearing about your honesty and triumphs on how you work on dropping the masks! It's truly so empowering. 

Today, I am opening about a mask I put on because I fear people may see my dad in me. 

Growing up, my dad was always a pretty harsh person. Not a lot of people liked him because he was very direct, stern, and sometimes aggressive. He also has a very bad temper. 

As I grew up, I realized I inherited that trait from him. 

I was the definition of an extremist when talking about anger. I either was cool and calm or raging upset with no filter.I was awful! 

Over the last couple years especially, I have worked so hard at taming that part of me (thanks to Jesus, I no longer have to struggle!). I have tried so hard even longer to not be like my dad. I did not want people to see him in me. 

I found myself putting on this mask with certain people that even though they may had upset me, I would keep a smile on my face and act like I wasn't effected by anything. I think to a certain extent that is good, BUT I started building up negative emotions towards people and at a certain point, I would blow up and my anger come out anyway!

I also think it started making certain people think they can say and do things to me because I wouldn't care or I wouldn't do anything about it.

So I have worked on removing that mask. I have tried letting people know when they have upset me and talked to them about it instead of just being angry or letting it build up. I realized that I was still being extreme! I either would say nothing or eventually blow up. Makes no sense right?!

So I have realized:

Multi- Masking is Soul Taxing!

The best thing to do is just be yourself, be honest, be open with communication, don't compare yourself and just be the best you can be. 

What mask are you dropping this week?

Let's drop the mask we so often put on and show people the real us- because we all have unique things we could share to help someone else.

Let's continue this conversation:

Hashtag #Dropthemask. 

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Today is Let Your Light Shine Thursday!

You know what time it is, let that beautiful light shine!
Each week we appreciate those of you who come by to share your posts on fashion, beauty, faith, love, and all the in between.

Today we are sharing a post from Samantha at Godly Womanhood.

Her post in LYLS link up last week was about how we are made to love.
Its a quick, but powerful read, I highly suggest you take the time to read it today :)

RULES: 

1. Link up your favorite post this week - It can be related to faith, fashion, food, family, or whatever else you would like to share that helped you shine your light from the week!
Don't worry if you don't have a blog to link up - just leave a comment with how you let your light shine this week!

2. Follow I'm Perfectly Human & Made with Zeal on Bloglovin, or any other social media outlet (FB, Twitter, Instagram, or GFC)

3. Link back by using the button above or your own link.

4. Visit other blogs and meet new blogger friends!

Each week we will be choosing our favorite posts to feature and share with you all! So link up for your chance to be featured!!

<div align="center">
<a href="http://truesoulandspirit.blogspot.com/shine" title="Let Your Light Shine"><img src="http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l63/AishaLeuthardt/LetYourLightShine.png" alt="Let Your Light Shine" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

Linking up: WIWT, Treasure Tromp, Week's End

-A

Follow me: Facebook || Instagram || Twitter || Pinterest 

An InLinkz Link-up

End of Year Challenge Post 1

Hey Everyone!

As some of you saw On Friday's post, I told you I was going to focus on one goal for the rest of the year. And that was getting healthier and losing weight. I goaled myself at 10 lbs loss by the end of December but as long as I see overall improvement, I'll be happy. 

Well, so far so good! I didn't work out this weekend because I was on the go go go all weekend. But I tried to stay active as much as possible!

I have stayed loyal to working out Friday and now Monday. I'm doing Insanity because with this cold, it's hard for me to be in the cold any longer than I have to (gym travel included!). So insanity is a great substitute if you are not a gym person or you are like me and just want to get to warmth and not have to leave!

Plus, insanity is the only home workout where I have seen true results. About a year and a half ago, I first tried insanity. I lost 12 pounds! So I know if I stick to it, I will see results. 

I'm trying to stick to the book Abs Diet for Women to help with good and nutrition. I really like it overall and it's very educational.

I got some good advice from a woman at church this weekend who is a fitness instructor. She said "I think most people think something is going to happen where they will enjoy working out. Or they will find an exercise that will change their way of feeling about exercise. At a high rate, that's just not the case. So I recommend admitting and knowing you're gonna hate it, but doing it anyway."

Believe it or not, that has really helped me stay on track with eating and exercise. I know I'm not gonna like it, but I'm gonna do it anyway because after I'm done, I feel great. 

Thanks for keeping me accountable on this journey to accomplish my end of year goal!

Xoxo,

A

What is the Definition of Being Successful?

Jeans: Target
Boots: Michael Kors
Tank: Nordstrom
Cardigan: Target
Necklace: Forever 21

I hope everyone had an awesome weekend!

I did. 

A couple friend bloggers and I went on a thrifting together and it was so fun! (I will post pictures this week and tell you more about it!)

I was able so spend some quality time with W on Saturday night and continue to find new ways to cook good, healthy meals for my challenge (see here). I need to post a recipe on what I cooked!

Sunday I started my first day on the coffee committee at church! I am so excited about it. I love church and I love coffee.. such a great pair! :) 

What is the definition of success being successful?

I think a lot of people get stuck into thinking there is a specific path to success: having a dream job, getting married within your "appropriate" timeline, having kids, getting promoted, being a positive role model in the community, retire comfortably, etc. 

I think people get a false perception that there is a specific timeline for their life and which events need to occur in their life and specific things that need to happen in order to be successful.

But when really thinking about being successful, is there really one true definition for it? 

I don't think so. 

Why dont I think so? 

All people start from different places, have different things happen to them, believe different things, want different things. How can there be one true definition of success when no everyone has the same starting point? Or even the same desired ending point?

For example, success for my dad was getting out of Iran, getting an US education, making a life for himself in a foreign country, learning the language and continuing to grow in wealth. 

Success for me? Being happy, having the ability to help others, serving for Christ,  Jesus being pleased with me and more. 

Success is having a positive attitude even when you have some doubt

Success is keeping your hope alive in your illness

Success is putting another meal on the table for your family

Success is being able to give a little more than you were able to before

Success is being able to give at all

Success is making it from home to work and back again safely

Success is not giving up even when you didn't get the interview

There is not one definition for being successful, but many.

No matter where you are in your life, there are so many successes. You are successful. It's so freeing to know you don't have to be chained down to the mainstream idea of success. 

What is being successful to you?

Do you believe you are a success? I do. :)

xoxo,

-A

Let me pray for you.

Lord, help remind us to not be conformed by this world but focused on the things of the kingdom and of the Spirit. Help us remember that we all have unique journeys that you have planned for us and that your dreams are far better and bigger than we could imagine. I pray for health, healing and prosperity for all of you today. 

In Jesus name, Amen.

One Goal At a Time: Nov/Dec Goal

Happy Friday Everyone!

I hope everyone is having a great end of the week. 

Sweater: Target
Boots: Target
Leggings: Nordstrom
Necklace: Forever 21

I have decided I want to one large goal for the months of Nov and Dec and that is to incorporate working out into my life again.

I used to work out almost everyday! But slowly I stopped because I had a lot of other things going on or I was just exhausted from work.

Exhausted or not- I need to do this for myself.

My goal is to workout atleast 4 times a week until the end of December.

I am setting a goal to lose 10 lbs by Dec 31st but it's hard to say what your weight will be after building muscle.

I will be posting a workout calendar everyday so you guys will have to help me stay accountable!!

Thanks for coming along on my journey.. wish me luck! :)

xoxo,

A

#Dropthemask LYLS Thursday Link-Up: I want to be...

Hi Everyone!

I hope everyone is taking part in our #dropthemask campaign for the month. I love seeing everyone's tweets!

Today I want to unveil some parts of me that need working on. Do you ever have desires to be someone you don't think you are? Or you feel like that person is inside you but it doesn't always come out?

I want to share with some of you things I want to be.

1] I want to be a loving person. When people meet me, I want them to always say I showed them love because that's what Jesus did everywhere He went. But there are times when I don't always show love to people- especially with the people I love the most. I think it's probably because I am more comfortable with them so I feel I can speak my mind, but I want to learn how to always communicate in a loving and intentional way.

2] I want to be outgoing. I would say I am an overall peppy person, but many people call me a homebody. I don't like that. I own it but I wish I would be more willing to go out and do certain things. What kind of things are fun to do that don't have to involve drinking and partying?

3] I want to be fit. I struggle with weight. I have been watching my weight since I was a young age because part of my family are more prone to gain weight. I have found over time it's become extremely more difficult to maintain my weight. I just haven't found the thing that works for me the best.

4] I want to be an Proverbs 31 woman. There are so many things in the media these days that distort what a woman should look like, act like, be into, etc. & it does nothing but make us more insecure and doubt ourselves. Women have these big boobs and butts and small waists, they have the nose job to go with it and are portrayed as the perfect woman and praised for what they LOOK like. It gives men a false idea of what a real woman should look like, in my opinion, and it makes women live up to things they weren't meant to. I want to work harder at straying away from letting anything other than what God says I am effect me. 

Let's drop the mask we so often put on and show people the real us- because we all have unique things we could share to help someone else.

Let's start the conversation with

hashtag #Dropthemask. 

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Today is Let Your Light Shine Thursday!

You know what time it is, let that beautiful light shine!
Each week we appreciate those of you who come by to share your posts on fashion, beauty, faith, love, and all the in between.

Today we are sharing a post from Katya at Life, KV Style.

Her post in LYLS link up last week caught my attention because let's admit, we are all trying to find the key to eating healthy!  This blog post of hers offers a fantastic tip on how to start your health journey and stay on it. Take a look!

RULES: 

1. Link up your favorite post this week - It can be related to faith, fashion, food, family, or whatever else you would like to share that helped you shine your light from the week!
Don't worry if you don't have a blog to link up - just leave a comment with how you let your light shine this week!

2. Follow I'm Perfectly Human & Made with Zeal on Bloglovin, or any other social media outlet (FB, Twitter, Instagram, or GFC)

3. Link back by using the button above or your own link.

4. Visit other blogs and meet new blogger friends!

Each week we will be choosing our favorite posts to feature and share with you all! So link up for your chance to be featured!!

<div align="center">
<a href="http://truesoulandspirit.blogspot.com/shine" title="Let Your Light Shine"><img src="http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l63/AishaLeuthardt/LetYourLightShine.png" alt="Let Your Light Shine" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

Linking up: WIWT, Treasure Tromp, Week's End

- A

Follow me: Facebook || Instagram || Twitter || Pinterest || Bloglovin 

An InLinkz Link-up

Making Hand Me Downs Fit To My Style

Happy Tuesday!

I am a big thrifter- I absolutely love it! Another thing I love is hand me downs! As you can see here.

I love to find ways to have someone else's style work with my own- even if I end up just wearing the clothes for lazy "around the house" clothes.

My mom recently asked me if I wanted a cardigan of hers that she no longer wanted. It was over sized, but I knew I could make it work.

It has a vintage look but I love a vintage look every now and then. I paired it with some sassy heals from DSW and a basic black tank. 

Cardigans are always my favorite for fall :) 

What hand me downs do you love??

xoxo,

A

He Says "Come As You Are"

Happy Monday Everyone!

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. 

My weekend was filled with love. I would say that is the best way to describe it. I was able to spend time with friends, family, and celebrate love! I attended a wedding this weekend with W and it was beautiful. I love weddings :)

I also got to spend time with my lil' sis which I really enjoyed. She is currently at college so I do not get to see her often but it was great being able to spend some sister time together yesterday.

I (and I believe many other believers) sometimes struggle with guilt from my mistakes, wrong doings or mess ups. 

If I am being completely honest, I mess up a lot. Then I end up knocking my head wondering why I made the same mistake as I have made before. Then it goes into a spiral of guilt with thoughts wondering if God is upset at me, or if I will miss out on blessings, or even if God loves me the same! 

But when in doubt, I go to His Word and just talk to Him. One thing He has really been teaching me lately is about how He wants us to come as we are and He accepts us in any way, shape or form.

He reminds me that He is our Savior- He came to save us from sin, death and even ourselves. He says He is just and will cleanse us of all unrighteousness if we come to Him (1 John 1:8-9).

 I am thankful that I can continue to come to God as I am and be open and honest with Him about my mistakes and failures and He is so gracious that He will cleanse me. That through Jesus I am made Holy, blameless, and free. 

And isn't it great that He remembers our sins no more? That He doesn't hold our sins against us? 

I thank Jesus for His love and forgiveness.

It's so freeing to just talk to Him and confess all I am feeling, all that I am going through, and all that I have done. Sometimes I will start talking to Him about something I think will be quick but then I go on and on and on! Then after I go on a little longer, I can feel the love and peace of God over me that I was letting my feelings of guilt block before I talked to Him. 

I am so thankful! You should try it! If you are going through something or have feelings of guilt and you are doubting God's love and favor over you- just talk to Him and fall into His loving grace- I guarantee it will be better than talking to even the best therapist!!

Let me pray for you:

Heavenly Father, I thank you for your never ending grace and mercy. I thank you for those that are reading this message and are struggling with guilt and doubt. I pray Lord that you pull them close to you today and that you make it known to them that they can come to you with anything and everything. I ask Lord that you cover them with your grace and love and make your presence known to them. Make it known to them that they can come as they are and you will continue to love them unconditionally no matter what. I am so thankful that you never give up on us, accept us as we are and as we come. I thank you for your forgiveness and the freedom given to us through Christ. In Jesus Name, Amen.

Further Reading:

Matthew 11:28

Ephesians 2:1-22

"Earth Has No Sorrow Heaven Can't Heal"

- A

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What I Have Learned: Being Multi-Cultural

Happy Friday!

I hope everyone got the chance to link up yesterday and add to the topic thread #dropthemask!

I will be sharing some intimate things in the coming week so stay tuned on the Thursday Link-Ups!

I thought for the month of November I would start a series called "What I have Learned". 

If you don't know me, I LOVE to learn. I am curious about so many things and always want to know the how's or why's or even "what if's". 

There is always opportunity to learn- so every Friday I will be sharing a bit about me and what I have learned from different things in my life!

One of the first things I get asked when I meet someone is "What is your nationality." People always use the word unique when they describe my name back to me or what I look like. I do not know whether to take that as a compliment or a discrete dis, haha.

My dad is persian (Iranian) and my mom has European decent (German mostly). 

My dad came to the Unites States when he was 18 on a student visa and my mom grew up in MN her whole life. 

Isn't it amazing that two people that started at opposite ends of the world met, came together, and create me?! I find that fascinating. I always like to joke and say that's how you know God has a plan for me- because he brought two unlikely people together.

I say unlikely people not just because they come from different places. They also believed in different things, had totally different personalities, goals and interpretations of the world around them. 

My dad is Muslim, hard headed and hard working but very intelligent. If I had to describe him further, I would say he is passionate about creating and building, has a mind to succeed and loves to stay active. He is a "my way or highway" type of person which being his daughter, can be hard to deal with, but I know it comes from the right place.

My mom is very different. She is christian, sensitive, and gentle. Some will say she is the kindest person they have ever met (I have had a different experience, haha. Just kidding, Mom.).

She is also very smart but she doesn't believe in one way to succeed, but everyone has their own idea of what success is to them. My mom will give input when needed but allows us to learn things on our own. 

Having parents with not only different cultural backgrounds but totally different personalities has almost created a blank canvas to who I can be and become.

I have been able to take personality traits from each parent and practice it in my own life. 

For example, I love my dad's ambition, so I often found myself trying to mimic that growing up. My mom is gentle and sweet, so I paid attention to how she approached people and situations. 

Some bad traits have worn off on me, but luckily Jesus tries to fix those everyday, haha. 

I would say one think being multi cultural and growing up with parents of different background has taught me is to accept people the way they are. 

There are so many things that shape us on a daily basis, that it's ridiculous to waste time judging or thinking someone should be similar to you. 

It has taught me how to deal with many different types of people with different backgrounds and beliefs. It's not always the easiest to accept everything people do, but it's allowed me to be adaptable and patient to the people around me.

I thank God for giving me such different parents. After all, the most important things are that they are healthy and I have parents that love me. 

Have a great weekend everyone!

-A

#DropTheMask: Let Your Light Shine Thursday Link- Up!

Let's drop the mask we so often put on and show people the real us- because we all have unique we could share to help someone else.

Let's start the conversation with

hashtag #Dropthemask. 

=========================================================================

Today is Let Your Light Shine Thursday!

You know what time it is, let that beautiful light shine!
Each week we appreciate those of you who come by to share your posts on fashion, beauty, faith, love, and all the in between.

Today we are sharing a post from Whitney at Whitney Nic James.

We love her personal style. Looks at those shoes!

RULES: 

1. Link up your favorite post this week - It can be related to faith, fashion, food, family, or whatever else you would like to share that helped you shine your light from the week!
Don't worry if you don't have a blog to link up - just leave a comment with how you let your light shine this week!

2. Follow I'm Perfectly Human & Made with Zeal on Bloglovin, or any other social media outlet (FB, Twitter, Instagram, or GFC)

3. Link back by using the button above or your own link.

4. Visit other blogs and meet new blogger friends!

Each week we will be choosing our favorite posts to feature and share with you all! So link up for your chance to be featured!!

<div align="center">
<a href="http://truesoulandspirit.blogspot.com/shine" title="Let Your Light Shine"><img src="http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l63/AishaLeuthardt/LetYourLightShine.png" alt="Let Your Light Shine" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

Linking up: WIWT, Treasure Tromp, Week's End

- A

Follow me: Facebook || Instagram || Twitter || Pinterest || Bloglovin 

An InLinkz Link-up

Style Your Boyfriend's Clothes

I sometimes like to wear stuff out of my boyfriends collection because it's more comfortable and I like oversized things :)

I took his button up and made it more feminine by tying the front and pairing it with boots. Normally, I would pair it with black boots or brown boots but I thought these beige boots were cute... who says you always have to match?!

Perfect for a 'lax day running errand or just around the house. :)

How do you dress your boyfriends clothes? Or what in his closet do you secretly want to take?

xoxo,

-A

A God of My Soul

Hey Everyone!

I hope you all had wonderful weekend :) 

I had a great weekend. It was full of family fun and relaxation. Halloween was fun- although I only got one tricker treater! So W & I had a night in, ordered some pizza, and had a Game of Thrones marathon. 

Usually on Mondays I will post an outfit post but I feel like doing something different today so thanks in advance for being patient with me and allowing me to share something with you today.

Sometimes I feel I ask Jesus for things and I find Him working on something totally different. Or I will expect Him to do it some way but He will do it a totally different way. 

Frustrating right?! Not anymore- because I have learned that when my experience doesn't line up with my expectation, Jesus is trying to reveal Himself to me.

For example, when I started my job, my expectation was that I was going to do great. I knew God blessed me with this job and I knew His anointing was over me. I went in confident but quickly became discouraged. From a series of things that happened over the course of me working, I felt people were looking for me to fail, I felt I wasn't as good as I should be, etc. Through the series of different events, I would ask Jesus to help me fix it, to help me shine. I was in a place that I was expecting Jesus to fix things, but found my patience, my strength, and my faith were being tested. My experience was not at all lining up with what I was expecting. 

I was holding on to faith the best I could. I asked why He was testing me when I felt so broken down. It wasn't until one day at church that one of the women at my church called my name and started saying such prophetic things to me. The Lord was speaking to me through her  and I knew it because I hadn't told anyone how I was feeling. There was no way she would have known. 

"I have not brought you this far to fail you. Stop worrying. I am your Provider. I see you in the midnight hour. I will always provide for you."

Those words among other things were confirming to me that Jesus was talking directly to me.  It's funny because when He said "I see you in the midnight hour", I was up literally every night because I was so worried about things and I would ask Jesus to help. Isn't that beautiful? When I was talking to Jesus in the midnight hour- I couldn't see Him, but He was there.

He told me things that were going to happen and not even two weeks later they came to fruition/started coming to fruition. 

He revealed to me that going through what I went through made me guard my heart, it made me stronger, but most importantly- He showed me how much I relied on Him each day. I didn't know what the future held but I held onto Him and His word. It strengthened my faith and my soul. 

While I was wanting God to fix my circumstance, He was fixing my soul. 

God is not only a God of our circumstance, but a God of our soul.

But isn't it great- that He can do both??

He took me through a season of greatening my faith, in living a life of constant reliance of Him. Going through hard times led me to repentance, it led me to be more humble. I no longer fear that God is not with me, does not hear me, or does not have a greater plan for my life.

I go to work everyday. Every time I walk through the doors to work, I am reminded of how God brought me through and made everything better.

Get this- I am now so thankful I went through what I did!

He is the God of my Soul. He was getting to the root of the issue- my trust in Him. The worrying, anxiety, and fear were fruits of not trusting Him. My life still has issues that come up everyday, but I am able to look at them and remember that God has His hand on it and everything will be okay- before, I may have not been able to say that.

I no longer ask "why Jesus" but "what". What are you trying to reveal to me Jesus?

If something you are experiencing is not lining up with your expectation- Jesus may very well trying to reveal Himself to you.

I encourage you to ask Jesus what He is wanting to reveal to you today. Whether everything is going great or you are going through some trouble times. Ask God what He is wanting to reveal to you today. 

The God of my Soul.

xoxo,

A