Tag: Growth

Life-Long Learning

Published on by BrandiLeave a comment

In less than four months I will be graduating with my Bachelor’s degree!

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I am, however, going an extra year to get my teaching license. This is honestly pretty exciting because though I am ready to be done with school, I also really love learning.

Learning isn’t confined to a classroom, though. Nor is it confined to any one period of time in our lives. As we live our lives we are constantly changing and growing. Any and every point in our lives is a great time to learn.

I love to soak up information about the season of life I’m currently in as well as future seasons. I’m not a mom yet, but I hope to be some day. So I do spend time reading articles and books and listening to podcasts that have to do with pregnancy and parenting because someday they will be relevant. I’m not a teacher yet, but I try to learn as much as I can to help me with that season of life. I am also currently a wife and a follower of Jesus, two things that I’m not going to stop being; however, there is always room for growth and development and thus I strive to learn and grow constantly.

We are not done learning when we are finished with school; we aren’t done until we take our last breath. Read books, go to conferences, listen to podcasts, read blogs. Learn. Grow. Change.

With love,

B

Photo credit: unsplash-logoNick Hillier

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Growing Time

Published on by BrandiLeave a comment

128 days. It’s not that long. But when it’s 128 days until you get to marry your best friend, it feels like forever. Often times I find myself thinking, “March? Why did we plan the wedding so far away? We totally could have planned a wedding in, like, 3 months.”

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Sometimes it really does feel like forever. But lately I’ve become thankful for these 128 days. Because each day gives me the chance to work on preparing to be a better wife to my husband. It’s 128 days to work on our communication, to work on me handling my temper,  to work on learning to cook. The list goes on and on. Part of me wishes that my wedding was tomorrow – well, maybe not tomorrow, I have an exam I can’t miss. At the same time, I am super thankful for these months to prepare for my marriage. When the day comes, I know that neither of us will be “ready;” there’s always room to grow, but we will be more prepared than we are today. So I will cherish each and every day and seize the opportunities to learn from my mistakes, to better myself, to seek God’s wisdom, to grow. And when the day arrives and our journey together truly begins, we will continue to grow together. And hopefully we’ll be growing while eating more than the 5ish meals I can currently make.

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 Photo Credit: Daniel Hjalmarsson

We’re Not in Neverland Anymore

Published on by BrandiLeave a comment

Over the past several months I have been – as I put it – trying to adult.  I don’t think you turn 18 and suddenly you know how to be a successful adult.  When I turned 18, I was in the pseudo-real world that is college (for some – some people work full time and go to school, I don’t know how ya’ll do it).  A lot of college students start college with scholarships, loans, and/or family money.  You’re an adult, but you don’t do much adulting.  You go to class, eat cafeteria food, hang out on weekends, do homework.  The world calls you a grown up, but you’re really just a glorified teenager.  My freshman year really felt no different than high school except that I didn’t live at home and no one asked me if I had homework to do.

Fast forward to this year.  I live at home and commute 45 minutes to school.  All of a sudden I had to learn to budget for gas, snacks for school (I prefer to bring my own healthier options if possible), and some bills with an average income of $20 per week.  Through this, God has provided tremendously.  He has shown me nothing is impossible if I trust in Him and discipline myself.  By no means am I comparing myself to someone who is out on their own providing for themselves completely.  I live at home and receive occasional financial help from my parents, I don’t have to worry about having a roof over my head or food to eat, but God has blessed me with the opportunity of learning to manage money and start to take care of myself before I really have to when I’m out on my own.

This year I’ve also started to make my own decisions in other areas; being an adult isn’t like middle school where you had gym three times a week.  I’ve taken my health and lifestyle into my own hands, opting for better food choices and an active lifestyle.  I’ve started recycling and doing what I can to preserve the environment, not because someone is over my shoulder telling me to, but because I’m trying to take responsibility for the things I do and the impact I make.  My faith is in my own hands.  It’s on me to seek God and choose to live for Him everyday.

Again, I don’t think being an adult is just something you just know how to do, it’s something you have to learn how to do.  You have to learn to take responsibility for yourself and to manage your life physically, spiritually, and financially. I have been incredibly blessed to start to learn how to manage my life before being on my own supporting myself.  In the past several months, God has taught me so many lessons on being self-disciplined – like waking up on time so I can actually get things done and not skimping on a work out because I don’t feel like.  God has taught me how to trust Him more.  God has blessed me in a season of life that I did not imagine so much growth to come from.

The idea of growing up and being an adult used to sound so unappealing at times. No, I’m not in Neverland anymore, I’m growing up and it’s scary and not always easy, but I have to say, it’s not that bad.

Photo Credit: Andrew Ruiz

Journaling Through Life

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Tonight I got home, got into bed, and settled in to read my Bible and to journal before watching Netflix.  I’m moving through Job (admittedly the hardest book of the Bible I’ve read) and tonight I was on chapter 38 which is God’s first response to Job and his friends.  After I read it I was journaling about how humbling the chapter was and my thoughts about it (I may do another post about it, but ya’ll should read it).  I was going to blog about it but my computer was taking for-ev-er to turn on, so while I was waiting I flipped through my journal.

I started this journal November 30 of last year – almost a year ago exactly! Admittedly, I’m not a very faithful journalist so my entries tend to be rather spread out, but as I got to looking through it I’ve seen how God has moved in my life this past year: terrible heartbreak, a whole different kind of heartbreak over losing my Papa and my Granny,  moving sermons, my first time leading someone to Christ, my change of heart about teaching, lessons in love being a decision and not just a feeling, the fact that my handwriting is hardly legible a majority of the time, healing God has brought over the heartbreak and losses, God opening new doors in my life, miracles, breakdowns, praise, choosing joy.  The list goes on and on, and all of this in under a year!

Though I’m not the most religious journalist, God has definitely used this journal to show me how He has healed me, changed me, and grown me over the past year, and that is one of the biggest blessings I think a person can receive.  On an ending note, here’s a quote I found in my journal from a man who came to speak at my school:

“Start journaling your journey and watch God.” -Dr. Bobo

Until next time, lovelies.