christmas eve.

we are family.

i'm countin' down the minutes, ok maybe seconds....until i see 'em.

they all kinda have my heart.

i pray y'all have a wonderful/safe Christmas and Happy New Year with your loved ones.

peace out, i'm north carolina bound :)

broken heart.

My heart aches.

It aches for Newton, CT.

It aches for the parents that lost a child.

It aches for our country.

 

I’m not a parent, but my heart is deeply saddened by this tragic event.

 

Like most of you, I’ve shed so many tears.

Like most of you, I’ve prayed continuously for Newton.

Like most of you…my heart is completely broken to pieces.

 

I pray our Heavenly Father will bring comfort and peace to those hurting.

I pray our Heavenly Father will heal our broken hearts and restore our faith.

I pray our Heavenly Father will work in the hearts of those who need Him the most.

a little weekend trip.

Wow! Does anyone else feel like 2012 has flown by?

My birthday is right around the corner. Yikes!!!!

I've definitely put blogging on the back burner, but I have so much to share. 

Ok, I'll take it one post at a time.

Soooo...back in October, I went to Williamsburg, VA. 

It was just a little weekend trip.

Of course, I took a zillion pictures, but here are just a few. :)

i'd tell my younger self...

Listen…don’t interrupt…just listen. Sometimes people just need you to listen to them.

Talk TO people not AT them.

Always hug when you see them and leave them.

You don't get a second chance to make a first impression.

Bite your tongue...some things should remain unsaid.

If he wants to be with you, he will.

Being emotional or senstive is not a bad thing…god created you this way…embrace it.

 Don't whine and complain about every single little thing

Embrace your BIG hair…bigger is better after all ;)

Take time to learn how to speak Spanish fluently

Don’t have serious conversations over text messages.

Be in the moment. Embrace the present…stop worrying about the future.

Lean on His understanding and not your own.

You are exactly where you’re supposed to be.

Are you in an uncomfortable season in life? Good…don’t run…sit tight…God is up to something.

Don’t burn bridges!

Think twice before making a decision that could change everything.

Be yourself. Stop comparing yourself to others.

Speak up!

Manners go a lonnnggg way!

Don’t put your business on facebook!

Don’t tell your parents everything.

Don’t talk about your relationship to your friends.

Don’t keep score.

Don’t worry about what others think about you. Do you!

Believe you’re beautiful…because you are.

Learn how to take compliments.

Look at who you call your friends... 

Save your money!

Don’t drunk dial.

Embrace your multi-racial background….it’s a beautiful thang!

Choose your battles.

Fake it till you make it!

Smile. Life is full of endless opportunities!!

Don’t buy that! You’ll never wear it and end up giving it away!

Date a man that opens doors for you, pulls out your chairs, has manners, and has a relationship with Christ and his mother.

A little time apart can be a good thing sometimes

 

Everyone’s fairy tale is NOT the same.

Don’t make decisions based on assumptions.

Know when to walk away and when to try harder.

Hang around positive and happy people.

Talk to strangers. Sometimes, those are the best conversations.

Thank God every day for everything.

Open your eyes….God’s blessings are everywhere!

 

Stop making excuses. The mind can trick you into thinking it is impossible, but anything you can imagine is possible. It’s called faith.

Don’t let your emotions rob you of your joy!

Be happy…you’ve got a roof over your head, food on the table, clothes on your back, family and friends that love you…life is good!

What would you tell the younger verison of you?

truth moment.

A fellow blogger inspired me to write this post…a post I've neglected to write out of fear. Megan wrote the most honest post a blogger could. She talked about how real the devil truly is. He exists.

She said… “The devil knows us inside and out. He knows the doubts that we have about ourselves and the insecurities that we are facing. He waits for moments when we are weak and hurting, and then tries to launch an attack, making us question ourselves, our friends/family, our world and our God.”

Megan asked her readers to comment with any lies/lie the devil tells them. The devil often tells me the same things…his deceitful ways try to get a hold of me and often tug at my heart, making me question God’s ways...

...I’ll never be as pretty or skinny as her

...I’m not smart enough

...I’m not qualified enough for that job

...I’ll be single forever

...I’ll never have the chance to be a mother
...I ruined my one chance of true love in my last relationship

...Moving away from North Carolina was the worst decision

...I’m not strong enough to be alone

...I’ll never truly love myself

...My heart will never fully heal

...God doesn’t care about my needs and wants

"The quickest way to change your attitude toward pain is to accept the fact that everything that happens to us has been designed for our spiritual growth."

- M. Scott Peck

I know the devil is very much so alive and he uses my mind as his playground, but sometimes I forget how powerful he really is. He feeds on my weakness and insecurities and desperately tries to steer me away from God’s amazing grace. In the past two years, my heart has ached to know God and have a relationship with Him. God saw the strong hold the devil had on me a couple years ago, and He spoke into my heart…asking me put all of my faith in Him. Let me tell you…I’m not the same woman I was three years ago. No, I haven’t changed…I’ve grown. I’ve grown spiritually. And, that is an amazing feeling...

When this job offer was presented to me last July, I didn’t whole-heartily want it. I knew it was a wonderful career move, but I was scared to remove myself from my comfort zone. I prayed about the decision to accept the job offer or not. A whole week I heard nothing. I asked God to give me a sign…do I take the job or not? During these couple of days the devil tempted me with his evil thoughts…you can imagine what lies he told me. Finally, the day before I had to give the company my decision, He spoke. He told me to move. This was the first time in my life where I truly felt God’s presence in my life. When He tells you to move, you move. Honestly, it was kinda scary at first. Shortly, after I felt peace and sense of calmness. God was trying to answer my prayers…He knew I craved an imitate relationship with Him, and the only way to have that was to make this move…alone. I had to learn to rely on Him.

God was rescusing me during a time I allowed my feelings to rob me of my joy and happiness. As I’ve of said before, this move hasn’t been easy. Honestly, this was the hardest thing I've ever done. I left everything I knew to come to the unknown. I left my family, my friends, my first love, job...everything. The first couple months the devil certainly had a hold on me. It was so difficult to ignore Him. I have never spoken to God so much in my life. I have never pleaded with Him so much…crying my eyes out every single night. I felt like He had abandon me after telling me to make this life changing decision. Looking back, He was there all along. All the nights I cried myself to sleep...He was there. He knew moving me to this new place would be a beautiful struggle. A struggle I desperately needed.

I’ve learned to trust God in sooo many new ways, despite what the devil tries to tell me. The devil caused me to question God’s glory and love for me. God removed situations/people in my life for my own good. At my weakest moment, I realized God wants to be a part of the growing process with me. He wants me to lean on His understanding…not mine. He knows how uncomfortable this season in my life has been, but still He remain present in my life. He is molding me into the woman He created me to be. There’s a sense of peace knowing I’m where I’m supposed to be. Don’t get me wrong, every day is no walk in the park and the devil tries to stray me away from the man upstairs…I refuse to give into his evil ways. It’s a struggle as you know, but God always remains faithful.

I’ve learned to embrace this season I’m in and have faith that God’s will be done in my life. The devil often tells me, I’m all alone and will be single for the rest of my life. I’ll never experience God’s gift of becoming a mother. All lies, but these lies hurt. God knows what my heart desires and in His perfect time…he’ll either answer my prayers or reveal something much better. He is the only person who can truly fulfill us…bring joy, happiness, and love in our lives. If only we let Him. If only we trust in His ways. He knows this can be difficult for us. Of course, He knows…He created us. Sometimes, I forget God knows every detail and every inch of me. I will never forget how much He loves me, forgives me and continuously gives me countless opportunities to learn the lesson He has set before me.

I am so thankful for the people God has placed in my life. Especially, all of the beautiful Christian women whom inspire me and help me grow as a Christian. Thank you!

My amazing co-worker and friend said this to me this morning… “And, for what it’s worth, I pray for you and all of my friends every night….that you always find what you seek, and receive what you so richly deserve.” And, this is what I pray for all of you.

more of Him...less of me.

just reading this brings tears to my eyes. so beautiful. so true.

just wait.

wait and listen to Him.

  

i'm really trying.

lately, i've been really struggling with this.

especially, during this season where i've been trying

to quiet my thoughts, and just wait on His guidance.

honestly, i've never whole-heartily tried...until now.

for the first time in my life...i can honestly say the Lord has truly humbled me.

i mean...

knock me to my knees,

spending weekends in bed,

crying at the drop of the hat...

i could go on, but i'll just stop there.

this is the real, raw and uncut verision of what i've been dealing with.

 i am forever grateful for this season, although it's been extremely difficult at times.

i have never felt this way.

 ever.

i remain faithful in knowing He hears my prayers, cries, and will guide my steps.

 i'll admit...i've probably cried and pleaded with Him more in the last seven months.

i've learned He needs to be the center of my life.

that's all He wants from us.

amazing, how it took me moving to a completely different state,

being all alone for seven months...to realize this.

but, this was probably His plan all along.

my heart yearns to hear Him and desperately wants to wait on Him.

this is tough.

i guess this is what happens when you pray for patience.

this is something most of us struggle with. right? i can't be the only one.

this blog ALWAYS speaks to my heart.

especially, during this season in my life.

The value of consistent prayer is not that He will hear us, but that we will hear him.

- William McGill

20 Principles Of Success Not Taught In School.

we could all use some good tips, right?

L.O.V.E the twenty tips below.

good stuff.

check it out!

mmmmkay? ;)

********************************************

1.The only thing in life you have control over is your perspective. No matter what happens, YOU control what the meaning is, and what to do with the meaning you give to the circumstance.

2.Have more fear of regret than failure.

3.Failure is only part of the journey to success. There is not one success story out there that hasn’t experienced failure. The reason you are hearing about it as a success story is because those people saw failure as a tool to get it right.

4.It’s not about what you want to do for a living, it’s about you who want to be. What is your purpose and legacy? I believe the age-old question, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” is wrong. We need to be asking, “Who do you want to be? What footprint do you want to leave in this world?” From there, you will have your answer as to what you should “do.”

5.Stay focused on your race within. When you are too busy looking behind and around you, people are passing you by.

6.True leadership comes from good energy. Worry more about what your energy is like than the firmness your handshake.

7.Life will give you the same challenges/problems over and over again until you learn your lesson.

8.Until you jump over your inner roadblocks, your outer ones will stay firmly in place. We spend so much time focused on all the exterior obstacles around us, letting them be our excuses. But the more clear and aware we are of our internal roadblocks, and dissolve them, the external roadblocks will begin to disappear, too.

9.The most successful people are the ones that work on themselves first.

10.Do not judge—be inspired. If you are too busy judging everyone and everything around you, you are not remaining open to find inspiration in everyone and everything around you.

11.You are not allowed to complain about something unless you are going to do something about it.

12.Surround yourself with people you want to be like.

13.Learn to become comfortable with being uncomfortable. The more fears you face, the more you will grow.

14.Always ask, “What if?” and, “Why Not?” Instead of thinking, “What if I fail?” ask, “What if I succeed?”

15.Creativity is your unlimited capital. Understand and harness its power.

16.“I only have good days.” If you start off everyday with this mindset, even when challenges emerge, your positive mindset will help you overcome them more readily.

17.Create your own footprint. You do not need to do what others have done before you.

18.Hit the “mental reset button.” When you are thinking negative thoughts, envision hitting the “delete” button in your mind and begin to rewrite a better story.

19.Abundance is everywhere. You must choose to see it and believe it in order to fully experience it.

20.There is a lesson in everything that happens to us—wisdom to be gained and gratitude to be given. Begin with gratitude and everything else will reveal itself.

The beauty of success is that it can have many layers. Success doesn’t need to be limited to one aspect of life—but as many aspects as we desire to succeed in. The critical part of being successful is to be aware of what you want. Define it, write it down, and reflect, every day, on which steps are necessary to write your own story of success.

Positively Positive

The Girl Behide The Blog {link up}

Hola chicas!

Today,  I'm linking up with  Captivated by Grace and 5ohWifey

 for the Girl Behind the Blog Vlog link up! 

The Prompt

-Introduce yourself and any other "regulars" on your blog (spouses, kids, pets)

-Tell us a little about your blog. Main theme? Do you have a niche?

-Tell us why you started blogging and why you have continued to blog?

-How do you envision your blog evolving in the future? What hopes do you have for it?

What is your favorite thing about blogging?

What is the most challenging thing about blogging?

What inspires you to blog?

Is there anything else you'd like readers to know?

Try to keep your blogs between 2-3 minutes!

I went wayyy over the time limit! Oppps! 

Kinda rushed to do this video - not my best! Sorry :(

thank you.

bday recap.

i celebrated my birthday with my newest friend, Brandi.

because of this little blog of mine, i met this fellow blogger five months ago.

she is now someone i call a friend :)

this was my first birthday away from home, so i was feeling a little down.

especially after my initial birthday plans fell through.

miss brandi, went above and beyond to make my birthday a special and fun day!

we spent the day doin' girlie thangs...

gettin' nails done, shopping ALL day, and taking our sweet time getting ready.

she even surprised me with a cute lil' cake!

what a doll, right?

we finally made our way to d.c and met up with her husband and some other cool people.

oh.em.gee i had sooo much fun and i'll just leave it at that! ;)

cheers to birthdays and blogger!!

happy biirrtthhdddayyy toooo meeeee!!!

don't ask how old i am...

{okay, fine. i'll tell ya. we are friends after all}

twenty-seven.

ekkkkkk!

my mommy sent me this email:

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my daughter Ashley. I’m very proud of you Ashley and I give thanks to the good Lord for you. I miss you and I love you so so much. I don’t care how old you are, you are still my one and only Baby, my Elaine. God Bless you my Baby. Love MOM"

shortly, she called to sing me happy birthday in English and Spanish.

yeah, i cried.

thanks A LOT, mom!

can't help it.

i miss my mommy :(

butttt...today's been a good day.

receiving calls, emails, texts and FB notifications all day really makes a girl feel special.

on top of that...my cube was decorated, my co-workers took me out to lunch and bought me an ice cream cake! yum!

cheers!

hope twenty-seven treats me darn good!!



tagged.

Today I've been tagged by my gorg friend Nini from Mrs. H

Ok so here goes the rules to this thing:

1. You must post these rules.
2. Each person must post 11 things about themselves on their blog.
3. Answer the questions the tagger set for you in their post, and create 11 new questions for the people you tag to answer.
4. You have to choose 11 people to tag and link them on the post.
5. Go to their page and tell them you have linked him or her.

11 THINGS ABOUT ASHLEY?

1. My birthday is tomorrow! Friday the 13th! Ekkkkk!
2. I'm a self-help junkie! I just can't get enough of learning about the law of attraction and all that interesting stuff!
3. I secretly want to get my nose pierced...always have - just tooo much of a chicken. 
4. I have clothes in my closet that still have tags and shoes I've yet to wear - pitiful I know!
5. Every year I buy a new planner - I rather write stuff down than use my iphone calendar.
6. I have a love/hate relationship with working out.
7. I'm an Apple whore - I can't live without my iphone, ipod and Mac.
8. I despise pumping gas - literally, I hate it! The whole getting out of your car and all that - hate it! I'll literally let the gas light come on - which forces me to get gas! Ugh!
9. I cannot whistle. Just can't do it!
10. I love ice cream and eat it year around - don't care how cold it is!
11.  I was named after a Soap Opera actress from Days of Our Lives - when my mom came to the states at 18 she learned English by watching TV and she fell in love with the name Ashley!

So here are the 11 questions Nini asked me:

1. What's the most interesting or moving book you've ever read? Bible
2. Which do you prefer the book or the movie? This is hard: read the book first then watch the movie!
3. If you could move to anywhere tomorrow, where would it be? Back to North Carolina - I miss home!!!
4. What's the one thing in life you can't leave the house without? Earrings! I feel completely naked without earrings!
5. What's the furthest place you've flown to? Panama - Central America to visit my mother's family!
6. If you could be anyone for a day who would it be?Ann C.  from the Today Show! Want her job!
7. What is one word that best describes you? (ONLY ONE) Passionate
8. What's been your greatest accomplishment to date?Working for three amazing Volvo companies all before the age of 30!
9. What's your favorite type of food? Spanish - homemade authentic...the good stuff!
10. What's one nickname you have? Ashy
11. What's the best thing you did in 2011? hmmmm....idk

my turn to pick 11 questions for my 11 lil' muffin's to be tagged:

1. What was the last thing you bought?

2. What is the first thing you think of when you wake up in the morning?

3. What did you do for your last birthday?

4. What was the last thing you ate?

5. If you had to choose between Facebook and Blogger? Which one?

6. Name three things that make you happy.

7. What is one of your resolutions for 2012?

8. What would you do if you were given one million dollars?

9. What would be your theme song when walking into a room?

10. What is something you wish you could change?

11. What is your favorite television show?

 And in no particular order, I repeat these are in no particular order, here are the results of my 11 choices:

1. Brandi at Home Team Dreams

2. Emily at Amazing Grapes

3. Kristyn at Read July

4. Whitney at Just a country girl

5. Erin at Captivated by the beauty of grace

6. Meli at Meli Faif Life

7. Marz at Royal Mail

8. Ashley at Run with Me

9. Jessica at Pretty Physicist

10. Erica at Young and Fabulous

11. Amie at Sassy RN