Musings

It’s been a while since I’ve posted. So much of life just seems to rush by and I hardly have time to catch my breath. The seasons are changing again. The air is warmer. The sky is clearer. And all of the hope seems to be renewed after a long harsh winter. Things are looking brighter. Life seems to be a little more optimistic. It’s funny though. How much things change even in a little amount of time. Things that once again I never thought would happen, happen. I find myself in that familiar place of finding company with myself. It’s taken me a while to be okay with being by myself… even as an introvert. Days like this make me long for the things to come. I find myself caught up in day dreams.  I find it freeing though, on days like this- the sun shining, the soft breeze blows through the trees, the sense of wanderlust fills my being. I long for adventure in the most quiet ways. The romanticized road trips across country to places off the beaten trail- I want to see mountains and wander the redwood forests and see the oceans depths. My heart longs for things that it’s never known. One day. One day it’ll get there. For now I’ll have to learn to be content with the quiet meadows and rolling hills and the simplicity of mid-western suburbia…

DIY Glitter Nail Mani

I’ve been obsessing over all of the nail designs on Pinterest lately, so I decided to try some out! Here is my Glitter Mani I did myself. It’s A LOT easier than you may think!

For this manicure what you will need is:

• 2 different nail colors (your choice) I used Sally Hanson #113 in Sand Storm and Sally Hanson Gem Crush #06 Razzle Dazzle
• Q-tips and Cotton balls
• Nail Polish Remover
• Tape

Time estimate: 1.5 hours

First what you will want to do is clean off any old nail polish so you are starting off with a clean slate.

Then take what ever color you are using for your base coat and paint one hand. I suggest painting your dominant hand first. This will make it easier to finish off the manicure.

Since this nail polish was quick drying, it only took about 5 minuets for my nails to dry. I suggest doing two thin coats to give you even coverage and also to ensure your nails won’t be tacky.

I waited about an hour in between coats. My nails were dry, but I wanted to make sure that they were completely dry before I added my top coat.

Next you are going to take the tape and cut it into 10 strips, one for each nail and long enough that it covers the whole nail. You will need to stick the tape on the back of your hand to make the tape less sticky. If you don’t do this, you will peel off the base coat. You will want to tape all of your nails first. This will make it easier as you paint them.

I decided to do my nails in a simple stripe pattern, so I taped my nails like so-

Next, apply your top coat. I wanted something with a little pizzazz, so I chose a nail polish with sparkles, because let’s be honest, who doesn’t love sparkles?! Don’t worry about it being messy, it’ll look great once you take the tape off.

I waited another 30 minuets for the top coat to dry before I peeled off the tape. I found it easiest to pull the tape straight up an off, that way it won’t accidentally peel off any nail polish. Take the Q-tips and clean up any nail polish that may have gotten around your nails and then you will be all set to rock out your new awesome manicure!

This is my finished product. I’m pretty happy with the way it turned out! I’ve gotten lots of compliments and people asking me where I got my nails done. They’re all surprised when I tell them I did it myself, and they’re even more surprised when I tell them how easy it was!

Content

Since when is contentedness with being single a precursor to being in a relationship? We say that God will bring us a relationship only when we are fully content being single, but then in the next statement we say that it is all on Gods timing? If it is truly God’s timing, it shouldn’t matter if I’m content with being single or not. What if the prerequisite of being in a relationship isn’t being content being single, but in being content in God? God gave me a desire for a husband, therefore I’m NEVER going to be content being single. I was not made for singleness. I can however be content in God despite being single, and I think that is the more fair approach.

I’m not one to say being in a relationship is my ultimate goal in life. No. In fact I say quite often that people should stay single for as long as possible because it gives you time to focus on yourself and your relationship with Christ. But I am, however, tired of people saying that one needs to be “fully content in whatever order to (fill in the blank of whatever they are trying to get)” I don’t think anyone is ever fully content in anything, ever. And I don’t think God is sitting up there waiting for us to be fully content. When have you ever been in a situation where you have ever felt fully ready for something? Chances are that there have been very few times. So why do we say this about relationships?

Now, I get it. Things don’t happen the way we plan. And God likes to give us surprises as to what His plan is. “Things happen when we least expect it.” But that’s just my point. If God is waiting for us to be content in our singleness before He brings us a relationship, then aren’t we putting it back on our terms instead of His? So how about we stop guilt-tripping people who are single and not content where they are. It’s okay for them to be unsettled with being single. God has made them for relationships. As long as you are seeking after God and seeking to please Him above all else, and glorify Him over everything, it’s okay to be wrestling with the fact that God’s not done with you yet and you are single and seeking a relationship! It’s okay to be discontent with being single and yet find your contentedness in God, because the only one who can fully satisfy the human heart is the One who made it.