Beauty Trends to Try this Summer

Girl, it's hot outside.

With all of this heat radiating around, my beauty regimen has definitely been tweaked. Seasons change, as do the trends. In this post, I want to inspire you to go try something new! Stray away from the norm, sometimes, change can be good.

Strobing

That.glow.girl. Strobing is basically the same as highlighting, but the product for it usually comes in a cream formula that is applied before foundation, BB cream etc. I love, love, love the MAC strobing cream. I apply on my cheek bones/apples, the tip of my nose, my brow bone and chin. It gives a nice dewy summer glow, that most of us are oh-so-craving. 

Summer Shadows

I am a very neutral person when it comes to shadows. I like matte, skin-tone shades. However, I recently picked up the Tartelette in Bloom palette and needless to say, I am hooked. My go to look is "rebel" on my lids and a mixture of "activist" and "leader" in my crease. Sometimes, if I feel a little dazzled, I'll add "funny girl" in the corner/tear duct. So, if you haven't already looked into peaches and subtle pinks, now is a great time.

Brown Lips

When I first thought of buying a brown lip in the summer, the whole idea felt a little bit off to me. My intrapersonal communication wondered if it was more of a fall/winter look... Whatever, I still went for it and I love the look. Like I said, I'm neutral, so this color of course was right up my alley. 

Prioritize the Moistuize

I cannot stress this enough. Moisturizing skin makes such a difference. I moisturize twice a day. In the AM, I use the LUSH Ultrablend cleanser. That leaves my skin supple and ready for makeup application. Then, when the night falls and I'm ready to shut the day down, I apply Pacifica's "Wake up Beautiful" moisturizer. It legit does not come off, I wake up as moisturized as I went to bed. 

Beauty Blender

Maybe it's just me, but I feel like my makeup breathes so much better whenever I apply foundation with a sponge. Brushes make me feel cakey for some reason. I highly, and I mean highly, recommend trying out a beauty blender! It's worth the buy and has plenty of other uses. You can find those uses in one of my previous blog posts, if you click here.

Overall, summer is a great time to try new things. You have more time to experiment with looks and to figure out what will work for you in the upcoming school year. I hope you try some of these ideas out!

stay blessed,

rebecca. 

Devotions// How to?

Talking to God and dwelling in His presence is such an essential to life. Trust me, I'd know because I've been there. There's a false sense of happiness you get without it, but don't trust it. Give time with God a try, you won't regret it. 

Jesus calls us to talk to Him. How fair would it be if you started ignoring your friends all day and prioritizing anything but them? Not fair at all. So why pass up on God's offer to talk to Him? Thus being said, the purpose of this post is to give an idea of how to do devotions. This isn't a step by step guide, but more of a brainstorm post. If you don't know where to start, here is how I do mine!

ACTS//Lord's Prayer

I started my prayer life with ACTS and stuck to it. It's the most simple template and never leaves you at a loss for words or stuck in an awkward position. ACTS stands for- Adoration, Confession, 

Thanksgiving and Supplication. The adoration portion is basically you just giving God praise. Confession is the daily asking for forgiveness of sin. Thanksgiving is exactly what it sounds like, giving God thanks for everything He does and all that He is. Lastly, supplication is asking God for the things you want and need in life. That's the easiest prayer template.  Also, don't forget the Lord's Prayer. It is the official prayer and it's not that long either. Jesus told the disciples to pray exactly that way. It leaves nothing out and legitimately covers every necessary thing.

Worship//

I usually listen to Bethel Music and Hillsong Young & Free for my worship. There's no certain amount of songs I do, just however many I feel need to be sung or whatever theme I really need to think about. 

Prayer Journal// 

I love to write out my prayers. For me, it makes them more fluent and it's helpful to look back and see how God has moved and how things have changed. I write mine in a letter format. There's no particular reason for that, I just think it works well for me.

Bible Study//

Lastly, I read my Bible and take notes in my prayer journal. It's scientifically proven that writing things down helps you to remember them better. So, when it comes to Bible verses, if you need help memorizing them, I 10/10 recommend this.

So that's usually how my morning devotions go. It's so much more manageable in the summer, because I have time galore. I hope this helps you!

   stay blessed,

rebecca. 

Devotions// July 20th

Good morning! I hope you've had a pleasant morning and you woke up on the right side of bed. If not, you can always start having a good day now. It's your choice!

Today I dwelled within Ezekiel and Jeremiah and also enjoyed two certain songs. So, without further ado, here are my devotions from today!

I always start my devotions with a prayer on one page and then the following page has notes and such. So, my prayer today was for the Holy Spirit's fulfillment. So there's that and other little details. The next page that has my notes, as aforesaid, started with song devotion.

"In Your Eyes" by Hillsong Young & Free, has a great message and is such a bump! A lyric that really stood out to me was "When I look in your eyes, I find the clarity to life." I really cherish that statement because, life can often be very confusing and sometimes things happen in life that a "skip" button would be helpful for. However, whenever we don't understand the physical, we have to comprehend the unseen manifestation working in our favor. Jesus provides clarity in life and that is one of His potent promises, that will be kept. Why? Because the God I serve stands by His promises, because His promises are sacred.

Another song I really liked this morning was "Even When the Fight Calls" also by Hillsong Young & Free. "You made my fight your own." This is such a powerful lyric because it goes to show that the champion and creator of all, takes up our battles, fought them and already won them. It can be so easy to become discouraged in our "fight" but we have got to be still and know God is God and we need to stop fighting when the fight has been won. Another lyric is " I know you are greater, forever you are Savior. I will sing your praise, with all that I have, with all that I am Lord." As well as "I'll stare down the waves, for You own the tide." So powerful and such evident truths.

As for my Bible portion, I leaned more into Ezekiel and Jerimiah. Ezekiel 28:22 says " I will be glorified in your midst; and they shall know that I am the Lord." I love, love, love this verse because it reminds me that God always shows himself and in all things, and in all our life, He WILL be glorified and we can be still and know he is Lord. I went on reading Ezekiel 28:26 and that goes on to say, "They will dwell safely and securely." God is a good father, the ultimate dad. If our own parents want to protect us, how much more could our creator? I then moved on reading Jerimiah 39:18. This verse states "For I will surely deliver you, and you shall not fall by the sword; but your life shall be as a prize to you; because you have put your trust in me, says the Lord." God once again, assures that we are safe in His grace and that our lives are worth it and overall a prize to us, because we follow Jesus and believe in Him.

With all of that being said, it seems as if my theme for today's devotions is God's promise of safety. It's an amazing thing to know we have a God who unconditionally loves us and looks out for us. I hope you enjoyed reading this and take something away from it!

stay blessed, 

rebecca.

Scared to Minister?

"Lack" of qualification, "Lack" of knowledge. Fear. These are all reasons that the enemy tries to place in God's children to hinder them from fulfilling their purpose and call to ministry. Well, let me be the one to break that barrier for you. You.Lack.Nothing. God has given you everything you need to minister. Your testimony could be you opening your eyes this morning. God has blessed you and the enemy wants you to forget your power and purpose. 

Ministering can be fun, or it can be frustrating. Not everyone welcomes Jesus with open arms and surrender. Some people really just hate Jesus for seemingly no reason. A question that often comes to me is, what did Jesus to them? A matter of fact, what didn't He do for them? Keep in mind, when you're telling someone about the love of God, and they retaliate in a manner you'd much rather not deal with- just know it's not you. Jesus said the world doesn't love his children. We aren't of this world, it's just a phase. 

Also, don't think you always have to verbally share Jesus. That's the prime and epitome of ministry- BUT, often times you can give a better sermon with your life than your lips. 

Don't be scared to minister.  Jesus goes with you wherever, whenever and He's been where you haven't He's experienced every emotion you have and faced every fear. He's won the battle and your task is to share that everlasting truth with others.

stay blessed,

rebecca.  

Trusting in God's Timing

     

Jesus is perfect. His ways are perfect, his aspects are perfect and His timing is perfect. Do you think the Champion of Heaven can't handle your earthly worries? Matthew 6:26 assures that God looks out for us and tends to us daily even when we can't sense it. The verse states,  "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?" 

     Often times in life we want things- we want them then and there, at that. However, God does not operate on our schedule! We operate on His. When He moves, we move. Waiting on Jesus for our wants is a necessity and if we try to move without God, the entire operation falls apart; because anything without God cannot stand. Note how I said wants. God takes care of our needs! We don't have to beg on our knees and be anxious for God to put clothes on our backs. Jesus has an entire plan for our life- the ultimate blueprint (Jeremiah 29:11) . That plan is flawless. Even when our earthly eyes don't see it and we think God has forsaken us, He hasn't! God won't change the roadmap to spare Himself from our "disappointment" or "anger". What is for you, is for you. "All things work out for those who love Jesus, to them who are the called according to His purpose- Romans 8:28" 

     However, never forget that some things, just.won't.happen. Just know that even when it doesn't happen, it's because Jesus knows it's not good for us. It's not because God wants to steal an experience from us or rob us of some "fun". Be still and know his ways are perfect and that overall he is God and He is good. Trust in the timing. Trust in God's timing.

Stay blessed,

rebecca. 

     

it is well.

"When life hits you by surprise, let a song arise". Those are some of the most profound words I gathered at Forward Conference 2K16. Spoken by Peter Toggs, those words spoke to me. Life can throw some really down casting surprises that are most definitely far from enthralling. However, even though the trial might not be over, you can capture plenty of victories during whatever rough patch you're going through. The best victory during life's trials is defying the devil. Satan wants us to turn from Jesus during our issues and make ourselves more vulnerable to his plans. (Those obviously are no fun). Releasing praise + worship whenever life decides to contrive something you'd rather not go through, is 10/10 something to do. It's a win-win. You leave Satan stupefied, God proud, and ultimately better your soul by lifting a praise, as your blessings come down. Call that a win-win-win! 

Overall, not to sound cliche- but we serve a great, astonishing and loving God. Even when we can't feel his presence, we should always know that he is there and carries us. In scripture, God promises us that He "will never leave us or forsake us. " Deuteronomy 31:6. Be still and know that he is present and that he is our God. All we have to do is cast out cares upon him and He will surely carry our burdens- as His burdens are light.

Stay encouraged, stay blessed. 

rebecca.