Fearfully Wonderfully Me

Growing in God and Inspiring Young Women Through Faith and Fashion

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What Failure taught me about surrender

What Failure Taught Me About Surrender

March 28, 2018 / / 8 Comments

Ever have one of those days when your thoughts seem to be haunting you? Lately, those days have been frequent for me.

I feel as though God has been working on me about confidence and my identity in Christ, but my own mind likes to self-sabotage.

Life is changing rapidly for me, as I am finishing college and will be getting a real “adult” job. The class and internship work is piling up, and now I know what my friends meant by the term senioritis.

All of this is a recipe for stress and opportunity, and that also means failure.

And I hate failing. I really hate failing.

As a perfectionist, I struggle with anxiety and self-esteem issues. But I know I’m not alone. There are so many people out there who struggle with anxiety and depression.

As I’ve been praying to God about all of this, there is one word He has laid on my heart.

Surrender.

Surrender is the key to freedom, and it is also transforming. If you’re struggling with negative or haunting thoughts, then I urge you to keep reading about what surrender has taught me.

Surrendering Our Broken Pieces

I’ve been a serious Christian for a few years now, and I always thought that surrender just meant giving all of my plans and dreams to the Lord–to let Him have control of my future.

But surrender is so much more than that.

Yes, we should surrender our plans and our desires to the Lord. His plans are better than anything we could ever dream of. And when we trust in God, He will lead us on the most amazing journey ever.

But there’s a lot more to surrender than just giving up the good parts of our lives.

Pain, shame, sin, and fear. These are the things the enemy wants us to hold onto. This is how the devil keeps us in bondage.

Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. (Isaiah 53:4-5 NIV)

When Jesus took up the cross and died for our sins, He also bore all of our shame and pain. All of the things that haunt us and hold us back from a great life are things He died to free us from.

Christ died to nail our broken pieces to the cross. And He left an empty grave behind in order to fill the emptiness in our lives.

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The Transformation of Surrender

When we get stuck in our pain or fears, then we get wrapped up in ourselves. We start to feel bad about our lives, and then an evil menace seeps into our hearts.

Pride.

I know that when I have a bad day and think of all the mistakes I’ve made, I miss out on opportunities to do good things for others.

When we get too wrapped up in ourselves, then we cannot fully serve the Lord. It’s the enemy’s trap, but we have the keys to freedom.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! (2 Corinthians 5:17 NIV)

When we choose to follow Christ, we become new creations! We can surrender our pain and mistakes and choose to live a new life with God.

None of us are perfect, and that is why Jesus died for us. This is what Easter is all about. The blood of Jesus covers us, and His grace is bigger than any of our mistakes.

Each new day with God is a fresh start, and we can always choose to move forward in victory.

But it all starts with surrender.

Thanks for reading! I hope you have a blessed Good Friday and Easter. Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below 🙂

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The God of Messy People

April 19, 2017 / / 2 Comments

I felt like I was watching a reality TV show unfold right before my very eyes. I found myself glued to the window as a young woman was handcuffed and patted down right on my very street.

I live near a busy road and have seen many police stops. But never in my life have I witnessed someone being arrested–until now. It was kind of addicting, watching this woman being hauled off to jail. I felt awful, but I couldn’t pry my eyes away. I have no idea what she’d done, and it really wasn’t any of my business.

So why couldn’t I stop watching?

Eventually I went on with the rest of my day as usual. And that’s when God reminded me of something.

With Easter weekend just fading off of the calendar, images of the cross and Jesus’ death and resurrection are still fresh in many of our minds. However, I think that a lot of us tend to forget that our Lord and Savior died the death of a lowly criminal.

And they stripped Him and put a scarlet robe on Him. When they had twisted a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and a reed in His right hand. And they bowed the knee before Him and mocked Him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” Then they spat on Him, and took the reed and struck Him on the head. And when they had mocked Him, they took the robe off Him, put His own clothes on Him, and led Him away to be crucified. (Matthew 27:28-31 NKJV) 

Jesus was bruised, mocked, and beaten. He was stripped and humiliated. He was hung on the cross between two criminals.

Jesus took my place.

Jesus took your place.

Jesus took the place of the woman I’d seen being arrested.

Our God chose to die a lowly criminal’s death so we don’t have to. Even though we all mess up and sin, our eternity with God is secure if we believe in Jesus (Romans 10:9).

Watching that woman being arrested is a lot like the drama in our culture that most of us tend to feed off of. Things like reality TV, tabloids, and celebrity gossip. Can I get an amen, lovely reader?

As I started to ponder all of this, I wondered how I would have felt if I were in that woman’s place. Of course, I don’t know what she did, and I am thankful for our justice system for keeping us safe. But I wondered how humiliating it must have been for even a guilty person to be arrested in broad daylight in the middle of a quiet suburb.

And then I wondered how awful it must have been for our sinless and perfect Jesus to go through some of the roughest torture a prisoner could go through. I’m telling you, experiencing God’s selfless love will change your perspective on humanity. 

Though I am far from perfect, I am gratefully covered by God’s grace and freedom. And I want to extend this grace to all human beings, and sometimes this means putting my lust for entertainment aside in order to give a person going through a rough time their dignity.

We all tend to go about our lives, unaware or unsympathetic toward those who are lost and broken. But Jesus is always in the midst of these messy people, calling them His beloved children. And you know what? I’m so thankful God gets into the middle of my messy life to call me His daughter.

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. (Philippians 2:3-4 NIV)

Thanks for reading! Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below 🙂

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Easter Dresses + The Power of The Cross

April 14, 2017 / / 4 Comments

Happy Good Friday lovely readers and followers! When you really think about it, Good Friday is quite sorrowful. It was the day Jesus was beaten and crucified for our sins. It was the day of our Savior’s death.

Can you imagine how bleak things must have looked for the disciples that weekend? Of all the things they expected the Messiah to do, dying on a lowly cross wasn’t one of them. But there is tremendous power in Christ’s death on that cross. 

I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. (Galatians 2:20 NKJV)

When we choose to believe in Jesus, we are crucified with Him. As we live in faith, we die to our sin, shame, and old ways of living. There is power in knowing that God loves us so much that He would give up His own life, through His precious Son, to pay for our mistakes. I hope that you take this weekend to reflect on the cross, and to remember that you are made new again in Christ.

Really, this awesome news of the Gospel is amazing enough to end this post. But we still need to talk about Easter fashion!

(See more of my Polyvore collections)

Would an Easter fashion post be complete without featuring dresses? I’ve noticed that stripes have been a major trend this spring, and they really make a simple daytime dress stand out.

Many people don’t think they can pull off stripes, but they can actually be very flattering. Small stripes, vertical stripes, or different size variations (top right) are all super flattering. Belting your dress at the waist (top left) also highlights a feminine shape in the most elegant way. This print can be used to your advantage, so go for it!

I love how classy and timeless stripes are, and fresh colors like navy or pink are a perfect way to modernize it. I’ve noticed that although I have striped blouses and skirts, I still need a dress! I guess I will have to work on that 😉

Thanks for reading! I hope you have a blessed Easter. What are your holiday plans? Let me know in the comments below 🙂

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How Fear Becomes Faith

April 12, 2017 / / 13 Comments

I didn’t realize what a hypocrite I can be until I broke down in my room a couple of weeks ago. I was in the midst of making decisions about my education and the fear of the future was absolutely crippling.

I couldn’t eat. I couldn’t focus. I couldn’t even write. I was crying and crawling into my bed, wishing that I could just quit adulting.

Ever felt that way before, lovely reader? I have a feeling I’m not alone.

The only problem is that I didn’t feel like I could turn to God.  

I write a lot on overcoming anxiety and trusting God, so freaking out and having a meltdown makes me feel like a huge failure–like my faith isn’t real enough. 

Eventually God tugged at my heart enough to pray. And that’s when it hit me. Jesus freaked out too. Don’t believe me?

Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to the disciples, “Sit here while I go and pray over there.”  And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and He began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed. Then He said to them, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch with Me.” (Matthew 26:36-38 NKJV)

Jesus was greatly troubled in the garden of Gethsemane–enough to sweat drops of blood (Luke 22:44). I believe this is God’s way of saying, “I get it. I understand your fears. It’s okay.”

It’s okay to be afraid sometimes.

Is that hard for you to read, lovely reader? It probably is, considering that most Christians are taught that fear is a sign of a lack of faith. Now I’m not saying that we should go around living in fear all the time, but God can actually take our fears and work wonders in them.

Jesus was with me that day I broke down. He made me ask myself, do I trust Him enough to open up about my fear? Am I ready for that kind of intimacy with God?

If you want to let go of your fears, then you’re going to have to let Jesus experience them with you. 

Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you. (1 Peter 5:6-7 NKJV)

How great is our God that He constantly wants to talk with us? Although a lot of times we try to figure out how we should feel and pray, God just wants us to come as we are.  We can only grow when we are honest and vulnerable, allowing God’s power and grace to work within us.

This is how fear becomes faith. 

I know that I am slowly growing in my faith and learning to trust Jesus. But in the meantime, I’m going to let Him into all of my human moments and feelings–even the messy ones.

Thanks for reading! Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below 🙂

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OOTM: Denim + Scarves

March 25, 2016 / / 7 Comments

Happy Good Friday everyone! Of course today will be a fashion Friday post, but I think we all need to take a moment to reflect on what God did on the day of Jesus’ crucifixion.

But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed (Isaiah 53:5 NKJV).

The torture and bloody death of God’s Son on the cross was for our freedom from sin and bondage. It was for our healing. And now that He has risen from the grave, we can rise too!

But the angel answered and said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for He is risen, as He said (Matthew 28:5-6).

What a blessing to be reminded of what the Lord has done for us! And now for March’s Outfits of the Month: Denim + Scarves 🙂

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This scarf is one of my favorites! It has butterflies (which I love!) and goes perfectly with an edgy faux leather jacket. Even though I usually only wear skinny jeans, I decided to dig out my flares, and I’m loving the look! It feels so fresh for spring.

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Gray and pink are always a cute combo, and this lace scarf looks classy when paired with a pastel cardigan. The dark skinnies and Sperry’s keep the outfit grounded for classes or everyday wear.

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Need some outfit inspo for church this Easter? Why not pair a maxi skirt with a denim jacket! And of course, don’t forget a floral scarf to “tie your look together” (I’m sorry that was so cheesy!). I really like the mix of turquoise and green in this outfit–they definitely allow for the unique prints that I coordinated.

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Here’s a close-up of the scarves 🐣🌼

A big shout out and thank you goes to my friend Lauren for being my photographer!

Thanks for reading! I hope you liked these outfits. Please feel free to comment and share 🙂

Happy Easter! What are you lovely readers wearing for church/dinner? Let me know below!

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