Prompt 2 and 2.5

Prompt 2: Write about your favorite pair of jeans.

They are rather perfect, the darkest blue imaginable. Because it is hard to find actual jeans that fit me, it takes a while to find them. They come past my ankles, in fact they drag a little bit on the ground behind me. They come up to the right height on my waist and they are tight fitting, not so tight that I can't breath, but not too lose. I got them at Maurice's  my favorite store in the entire world. I put them on and I feel like super woman because they are just that much fun. Ideally they wouldn't shrink, but this isn't a fairy tale, not everything is perfect. They shrunk a little bit. Now I just iron them with my straighter, or pull on the legs, to make them the right length again!

Prompt 2.5 Describe your best friend (well I have too many so here goes)

She has long hair that is a dull carrot color, and though others can't pull it off, she surely does. She is tall, taller than me. Her face is speckled with freckles of all sizes, and it just adds to her beauty. She makes me laugh a lot. Possibly my better half. She is the sweetest person in the world, and honestly we are inseparable. Around her neck hangs the best part of all her outfits, the necklace with an owl that says best. Only when we stand next to each other can you see that mine reads friends. It is no wonder. She is intelligent, and the happiest person to be around. She is a hard worker and she always supplies her friends with Pixie Sticks, just so they can finish their homework.

My other best friend is not like the first. She is shorter than I, though not by much. She too has long hair, but hers is a beautiful deep brown. She is a lover of all things boy bands and Notre Dame. Her eyes are perfect. Sometimes I question her fashion sense, because I am pretty sure those sweaters are ones you couldn't find at any fashion savvy store, but she pulls them off with a confidence that cannot be matched. She has a very competitive nature, she may make you want to cry during a board game. She speaks her mind in the most animated way possible. Her eyes crinkle perfectly when she starts to laugh at something humorous. She is always there to listen to any crazy thing I may say, and she knows that eventually I will tell her she was right about most situations. I can't remember the day we became best friends, but I know that it won't end.

Creative Prompt 1

So for Christmas, my grandma got me this really fun writing book called 642 Things To Write About. There are literally 642 creative things to write about, something to get your mind flowing, and to have a little bit of fun with. Lets face it, I am a nerd, I absolutely love to write, but creativity wise, I sometimes struggle (seriously, ask my cousin Kara about my "book" my sophomore year) So from Christmas 2012 to Christmas 2013, I am going to take a whack at this creative writing stuff... I can't guarantee that it will be every week. It  certainly won't be every day... but it will give me a fun project for the next year!

Prompt 1: Describe yourself in the third person- your physical appearance and personality- as though you were a character in a book

She is a tall girl who is neither fat, nor skinny. Her skin was is fair, she is absolutely pale. Her lips are always smiling under her perfectly round nose and shining blue eyes. Charlotte never has the same hair color for long and her hairstyle changes almost weekly. She has confidence, but at the same time you can see the cautious, reserved ways of her childhood. She can make you laugh with her sense of humor, or her unintentional ditzy behavior. Her love for her Savior, and for others is truly evident to those who come into contact with her. Her favorite thing to do is to make others know that they are loved. She wants to convey to every person who she meets that they have a purpose and that they are loved beyond ways that they could ever understand. She has high hopes and aspirations, and she knows that God has an incredible plan for her life.

Prince Charming called... He's not perfect

I had a stream of ideas flowing last night as I laid down to go to sleep, and of course all my great ideas were gone by the time I decided to write this post. However I have a message that I need to share. Its about boys and girls... shocker I know. 

I was thinking about how our society puts such a huge emphasis on finding that "someone special." We hear about it in songs. We hear about the perfect ones, the ones who mess up and the ones who will only "be friends. We see it in TV shows. And we have all seen the romantic comedy with the strong, independent women who "don't need no man" then she meets some cutie in a bar and they fall head over heels for each other, only to be torn apart by some incident. But every movie ends the same way. She always ends up with him in the end. 

I love romance movies as much as the next person, but in a way I believe they set women up with this false expectation that they need some handsome prince charming to come in and rescue them. Or they set us up to believe that we, as women, can't be single. We get this notion that we need a man to complete us. They give us unrealistic expectations for a man. Hollywood portrays the perfect gentle man who will solve every problem we may ever face. 

If I can be honest, the perfect man doesn't exist on this earth. I am not bashing on marriage or dating, if you have found the perfect one, GOOD FOR YOU! (I actually think it is absolutely beautiful ;)!!) That is how God designed it. But for those of us who are still searching, I want to tell you that you aren't going to find the perfect prince charming. Love isn't just about finding the one who is your better half. It's about sacrifice. It's about finding the one who God picked for you  before you were even born, and understanding that just like you, he will have flaws too. But despite his flaws, he is going to be absolutely perfect to you! I am not saying settle for someone, I am simply encouraging you to lay aside the idea that Matthew McConaughey is going to come to your rescue and make your life a fairy tale. 

And when you find him, never let him go. Cherish the love that God designed for the two of you. 

HE IS OUT THERE! Be patient and wait for God to bring you together. 

Stuff on my Mind

I do not like to write in a journal. I like to type things out and watch the word fills the blank screen. So today my blog gets to be my journal. I was struggling with being single today. I guess when you see cutesie couples around you everyday, there is a part of you that longs for that too. So as I was sitting in my bed being single, I decided to turn on my music and listen to worship music. Ironically enough the first song that came on was a song called "the fathers song." These beautiful lyrics paint a picture about how much God, our Father, loves us. Its one of those songs that I can listen to a million times and I love it even more and more each time.

As I was listening to this song, God reminded me why I am single right now. He reminded me that He has the perfect guy for me waiting. And until He is ready to send Him, I need to wait as well. Patience is one of the fruits of the spirit that I really struggle with. I hate waiting. Especially for something that I know is going to be so wonderful. I was also reminded that being in a relationship won't fix any of my problems, or take away lonely or sad feelings. God was trying to teach me that the love I will one day invest in another person needs to be invested right now. That love can't go anywhere else, because it isn't the right time.. You can't give all your love to a person. It is impossible, but I feel like we expect someone to do that for us. We can't really truly love others until we first love the One who created us. I needed to learn that lesson today.

As my thoughts flow now, I am not thinking about how single I am. My thoughts are about how much my Savior loves me and how much I love Him and they blend together to make a beautiful song.

I am at an exciting point in my life. I am still young, but I am being transformed into a woman of God. He is maturing me and preparing me for the work that He has for me. He is laying out a plan of the places that He is going to send me. I no longer fear the future, in fact I want to run towards it with all my might and embrace whatever lays ahead.

My other thoughts are on break. My goodness how I need this break! I went home tonight because sometimes even grown ups need a big hug from their mom and dad. So I went home and I was reminded, as I am every time, how much I miss being home. I love Bethel, don't get me wrong, but I walked into my room and I was overwhelmed with a sense of peace and SHALOM. I desire peace in my life. I long to sit with my Savior and rest in His peace.

I am also in pain. I don't like to talk about my pain because at most times it feels like it holds me back from reaching my full potential. Then I remember how God can use the broken, the wounded and the hurt. Despite physical aliments, God can us whomever He chooses to use. And not only that, but God will heal me. He says that it is by His stripes that we are healed! So if God chooses to intervene and heal my legs in a supernatural way, then YAY JESUS! but if He chooses to use the wisdom of a doctor, then so be it. But my pain can no longer be a hindrance from living my life. '

An attitude can flavor any situation in life, I chose to live with a positive and joyful attitude. I am going to close with a prayer.

God, You know the desires of my heart. I come before you tonight asking not for what I want, but rather what you want. Please open my eyes to what you desire me to see. Give me wisdom and clarity in dealing with situations that come up in my life. Please be my rock and my fortress. I am yours Lord. Use me how you so chose. In Jesus' name, Char

Identity

I realized that the world puts a lot of expectations on us. Especially women. We are supposed to look pretty, but if we put too much makeup on then we are "fake" and we are supposed to be comfortable in our own skin, but only if we look like airbrushed models. I am sick of the crazy messed up standards that we are expected to live up to. I want to encourage every woman to examine where your identity lies. Is it in the person that you are? Or the person that you desire to be? Do you find worth is things that will fade? Or does your worth come only from the only One who can sustain our happiness?

So I would like to encourage you to remember that you are a beloved daughter of an amazing King. Your identity shouldn't lie in what others think about you, it should lie in the person that God created and is creating you to be.

Heavenly Things

We are here on this earth for a short time. Our society tells us to live life to the fullest, seize the day and my favorite one, YOLO. So think for a few moments about your time on earth. What are you doing to "leave your mark or how are you going to impact the world? 

I am all for living life to the fullest, in fact I think that God wants us to life our life in the best way possible. However, I feel like many of us use a "short life" to justify our stupid or ungodly mistakes. God doesn't tell us to live life the way we want to while we are on earth, rather He tells us to set our minds on Heavenly things in   Colossians 3:2. We are called to be in the world, but not of the world. 

Our life is relatively short compared to the greater timeline of eternity. God created us for His glory, and He wants us to impact the world, but at the same time our time here on earth is relitvely short compared to the span of forever. Isn't it better to think about what we have to look forward to instead of dwelling on the present moment, or the temporary struggles of our life?

I don't know what God has been doing these last few weeks, but I know that He has been teaching me more about myself and the life that He has already called me to. For so long I changed my interests to fit in with my friends. While I didn't do anything "bad" per say, I still wasn't living my life the way that God had called me to live. I realized that this time in my life I just need to be patient and wait until He builds me up enough to be sent out. So I remain a work in progress, I will let you know how it goes.