Hi, friends.

I have no idea who's still subscribed to my blog, so thanks to those of you who've hung with me and waited on me! It's been a good year since I posted but I keep finding myself posting uber long "captions" on my Instagram posts (more like mini rants/mini blog posts) so I figured I might as well post the full lengths here and not have to worry about people not wanting to read my long Instagram posts. 😂

2018 was a good year, not an easy one. There was a lot of learning and growth and trials but still more faithfulness from my amazing God. Everyday I am more amazed in His goodness and grace. Everyday, I mess up and disobey God, both unintentionally and intentionally. Still, my God is as welcoming as ever and shows me His great love by giving me a second chance...then a third...then another, and another.

Last year, I realized a lot of things about myself; things that ultimately, God revealed to me. He shifted my perspective on myself, and now I realize way way more than before how beautiful and valued and wanted I am. He also revealed to me His voice and a specific, special way of hearing Him: by Bible references. Not ones I know, but seemingly random references that forced me to look them up and also pushed me to begin my daily Bible readings in the morning again.

I realized how important communication is in relationships and that the people around you are just as broken as you are. We all need grace and respect and love.

Above all the relationships, drama and busyness, one thing has remained the same for me and that is my confidence in Christ. He is forever my lover, my friend, my comforter, healer and savior and I owe every coming day to Him.

Here's to the rest of 2019. Let's keep striving to live intentionally with purpose!

Would you rather float down a lazy river or swim across the ocean? That's an easy question for me; I'd pick lazy river nearly every time. I love the relaxation and ease. You don't have to really worry about where you're floating; the jet streams do that for you. You get to kick back and relax. Swimming the ocean, however, is vastly different and way more difficult. You actually have to make decisions. You are the one that has to take control, or else the ocean will control you. At the beginning of this year, I was thinking about what I wanted to focus on this year. A few years ago, I'd done the one word challenge, and I knew I wanted to do it again this year.

I chose Intentional as my word of 2018. Intentional means "done with intention or on purpose; intended," according to dictionary.com. I want to choose God first in every circumstance. I want to choose to be joyful despite my emotions. I want to choose to love even when that other person isn't loving me back. I want to choose to be like Jesus. I want to choose life, not death. I want to choose to speak life to everyone. I want to choose to be FEARLESS and FREE and STRONG.

I've finally chosen a tagline for The SoCal Gal: "Intentionally living with purpose." As Christians, in our walk with God, we must choose our daily decisions. Everything we do affects something. Did you thank the last person who gave something to you? That could leave her grateful and happy for your courtesy and thankfulness. Did you yell at your little brother when he was annoying you? That could leave bitterness and make your relationship drift.

Being intentional means making choices with a specific reason in mind. One thing I would like to work on doing more intentionally is praying and reading my Bible more. I would like to exercise more self-control and gratefulness as well. It's so easy to slack off and forget to pray because "I'm so tired" or not have my devotion in the morning because "I don't have time" or give in and say yes to a bad choice because "What's one more time?"

Being intentional means saying no to ungodliness and conforming to the world. This is one problem in life that's really hit me this past year: how many Christians conform to the world. It might not always seem obvious, but doing anything that tolerates sin even a little is wrong. This could be spending time with the wrong crowd, lying, believing anything against the Bible, making social media your number one or making fun of the president.

Being intentional means knowing your purpose. What is your purpose on earth? Are you living that out, or is that "purpose" just a cover-up for what you really stand for?

In the next few posts, we'll be covering these three topics. I'm so excited for this new series! This week, I challenge you to:

• Examine your heart and ask yourself what purpose you are living for
• Is that the purpose you want it to have?
• What's something you can change to make your purpose + actions coherent?

• Pray for intentional living
• In your life
• In your family
• In your friends

• Choose to do, say and think things with purpose
• Know the impact these actions have and use them for His glory!

• Ask yourself if the current is guiding you, or are you guiding the current
• Current = the world's ways
• You can either go with the flow or go against the flow

1 Peter 2:9 -

I love this verse because it reminds me of my true worth and purpose - I am chosen by God and I was created to share His excellencies to everyone around me. He called us out of the darkness of sin and into the Light, that is, the Christian walk of life. You have a great purpose and a unique identity, more important than any other task or label someone gives you. No more is your chain to sin. No more are you forsaken. You have been transformed to a child of God and you are worth so much. Do you know how amazing the word CHOSEN is? It means you were hand-selected by God. How cool is that? You're not just another face in the crowd - you are loved and cherished by God as a father loves his children. Even though God is a father to many children, He remembers each and every one of them; they are unforgettable to Him. Each one is precious.

Christ empowers us to be more than we can be by ourselves. In Him we are unusual. We don't blend in with others, and we weren't made to. Peter says we were called "out of darkness into his marvelous light." Though this earthly world is full of darkness, we who are saved are called to enlighten the world by God. And ultimately, this is just our temporary home. Our destiny is heaven. Those usual people follow the crowd and might get approval from the world, but those who are unusual - we the children of God - get our approval from the Creator of the universe. Although the Christian walk of life can be a struggle, remember that through Jesus you are made unafraid, unashamed, unbroken, unceasing, undefiled, undivided, unforgotten and unstoppable...unusual. I encourage you to live each day full of confidence that you are a chosen child of God. Share God's goodness with others. Live freely and live a life full of light. And don't forget your new identity in Christ.

Unusual just might be my new favorite word.

Note: this graphic was made by me. Please do not steal! If you would like to use it, you can contact me through the contact form.