Sunday Night Style Blog: What Your Game Day Outfit Says About You!

Whether you are singing the Tiger Rag, yelling War Eagle, or shouting Go Seminoles, there’s one thing we Football girls can all relate to and that is searching to find the perfect game day outfit!

You are what you wear but, just like everything in the South, it’s bigger on game day than any day. For us, game days are more than just a few Saturday tailgates…it is a way of life. Chances are you are like me and enjoy watching people as much as watching the field. After seasons of attending SEC football games, I’ve noticed a pattern of what girls are wearing to the tailgate.

1. There is always that girl who looks like she’s coming straight from brunch well equipped with her favorite team’s colors from head to toe.Some may think her floppy hat is too much, but she believes the higher the hair the closer to heaven.This game day girl is really there to look cute in her  two piece skirt set and to try not to “glisten” as it enters into third quarter.

2. Another belle of the tailgate is rocking her boho  romper paired with her favorite booties. These girls get to the tailgate at the crack of dawn and don’t leave until the sun goes down. They understand the importance of comfort while still looking cute!

3. We all know the girl who enters the stadium sporting her teams  tee shirt paired with their favorite denim. They consider themselves to be “one of the guys” and are proud of it. Just wait until Monday, you will find them in the dining hall “fan girling” over all the players.

Happy Tailgating! 

A Little Bit Stronger

7am tomorrow morning you will find me attempting to pry my eyes open in my adorable new coral pajama set sitting on my bed that is covered in 20 pillows. You would snicker as I master the art of balancing my filled to the brim coffee cup on my bed. It’s okay…go ahead and picture it and grin. haha

If you’ve ever known a girl who is an OCD list maker..congratulations, you have met my twin. I could share with you the extreme satisfaction I get from crossing off items from my list. But I’d like for you to keep reading. Haha So, after I reassess my list I’m onto my favorite part of the morning, my devotion. I just started Clayton King’s book, Stronger. The book demonstrates how going through hard times reveal God’s great power.

So many times when things don’t go our way we only see the worst in the situation when in reality, God always knows what He is doing and I promise you, it is for your good! I could go on for days illustrating examples of this in my life but I’m sure everyone has already had a few of their own experiences pop in their heads. Looking back there are several decisions I feel I was forced to make and at the time I thought those decisions were the end of the world. Little did I know, those decisions that I was so opposed to have lead me to great career paths, even greater friendships and some awesome stories to tell.

I lost someone very close to me within the last year and it was the most heart wrenching experience I’ve ever faced. At the time, I was so angry at everyone. I didn’t understand why something like that had to happen to me. I began to question everything and kept asking God why I had to go through this. Within that year I’ve had two friends go through losing someone and in that moment I looked up and just smiled. That is exactly why I went through that, so I would be prepared to help others in that situation. God’s plan to make us stronger and use us is not what we always see coming.

 To me, that is the sweetest thing about life, just when you feel like life isn’t going your way God shows up and just chuckles at your distress because He knows it is all for nothing. Regardless what your plan is or how wrong you think your life is headed there is a reason you are going through the storm.

For a little encouragement this Monday, next time you feel like your at your breaking point always know God has a good plan for you coming..you just have to patiently wait. Trust me, I know waiting is hard but the joy and promise you’ll receive from it will be worth every moment.

XOXO,

The girl in workout clothes and a joy-filled heart

What A Beautiful Mess I'm In

                                                          

Messy. Unruly. Tousled. 

These three words are the three least cruel words I could pen to sufficiently label my hair in the mornings. I would, on no occasion, coin myself as your typical blissful, merry morning girl. Quite frankly, I wouldn't advise for you to engage in much conversation with me until I've had about 2 cups of coffee and 5 cups of Cinnabon creamer to go with it! To say that my hair reflects the posture of my heart on any given morning would be pretty accurate. I am in desperate need of grace each morning as soon as I turn the alarm off. 

I stagger out of bed and stomp right into the bathroom. I can’t help but snicker to myself as I face the mirror. The girl peering back at me is shabby and drowsy and there’s mascara smudged on her face, and she’s in glasses that are a little crooked on most days. I go ahead & stick on a label for myself without hesitating. Messy. 

I can't help but be reminded, there is beauty in the make up, the hairspray (lots of it!), the pretty frocks and the sparkle. But.. there is even more beauty in the messy hair and smudged mascara. 

Recently, I feel like life has become very messy. It seems as if it resembles my thought process before I've had my coffee but yet it doesn't seem to unfog after the fourth cup. :) My days begin and end trying to understand why people make the choices they do or why circumstances play out in ways I never imagined. When I've had all I can take in the questioning I'm reminded it's all for nothing. The worrying does no good because we serve a heavenly Father who has it all already planned out for us. Isn't that what makes life so beautiful after all?

 Walking with Jesus is beautiful. The ride is stunning.. the view is breathtaking.. the joy is unmatched. Following after Him is sweet.. but so messy. There are days where I am quite literally grasping the very last thread hanging from His garment. 

But some days my hair is a mess and my heart actually compliments it pretty well. That's the exact moment He rushes in to the mess and sits with me. He whispers promises and grace into this weary girls' ear. 

There is beauty in the put together. There's a sense of sheer sweetness  in the good days- in the days where your hair is doing that thing you want it to do.. where your eyeliner is even & your lipstick is the perfect tint & your coffee tastes just right. But there is beauty in the cluttered. The days where you woke up too late to wash your hair. The days where you forgot your lipstick all together. Those days are the hard ones. The days where joy has to be sought after. The days where our faces hit the floor in need of Jesus by 8AM. The days that our knuckles are white from HOLDING ON.. those are the precious ones. When we seek Him, we FIND HIM. In the messy and in the pretty- SEEK. His sweetness fills in all of our gaps & our weakness- our good hair days and the days we grab a hat to cover it all up. He rushes into our mess and laces it with meaning. Seek, seek, SEEK.. and you will find.

XOXO,

The Girl In A Polo And Pearls 

"Don't Worry, Be Happy!"

     Most people like to say they have their life figured out. I was one of those people.. I was going to go to college, have a beautiful marriage and a job I loved. That was my plan.. I'm pretty sure I had it planned down to the minute. But then things changed..situations were no longer so perfectly coinciding with my plan. My plan I had for my life had been thrown completely off track and I didn't understand . Then, I realized it was never MY plan to make.  God created a plan for our lives before we even had life. 
       Sometimes we feel like things are falling apart when really God is trying to mold our plan according to His. While it may be some of the hardest times in our lives we will be so thankful for them in the future. This may seem like the perfect time to be angry with God for messing up what you thought was the perfect plan but this is the time you need Him more than ever.
     The day I started praying for His guidance and His will to be done in my life was the day I saw things start to turn around. It's one of the most difficult things to put your entire life into His hands but it's the best decision you could ever make! We serve such a loving God that only wants to pour His wisdom and love into our lives. So, when it seems as if things are falling apart a lot of time it's just God asking us to let Him in!
         The best part is God tells us not to worry or be anxious! Only God's shoulders are broad enough to carry your worry. So don't worry through this time, just be happily patient while God works in your life!

• Philippians 4:6-7

  Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

~~Xoxo~~

Finally it's the weekend..time for rest?

Be Still

Imagine you’re sitting at lunch with your old high school friends conversing after so much time that only feels like mere days have past. You sip your sweet tea silently as you hear laughter and gossip of the latest relationship or excitement of summer travel plans. The attention is turned toward you to tell what’s new in your life; the silence continues. If you know me my whole life has been pretty much mapped out by the minute and full of struggles to fit everything in lately, its’ been the complete opposite.” Maybe I can talk about what I’ve pinned on Pinterest lately or my new dress?” That accounting test coming up? No, I sit there in silence.

For once in my life I’m completely still.

I was the kid who constantly left my pink mat to ask when naptime was over so I could get up and go play (which now I question that decision) but I’ve always wanted to be constantly busy. So, now I have all this time on my hands and nothing to do with it. I began to pray for God to send me something to occupy my time and I received no response. God wasn’t giving me the silence treatment as I have been giving Him he was answering my question in his own glorious way. I prayed for a worldly thing to occupy my time and my Father wants me to spend time with Him instead. It’s so easy to go to a Christian school, get cute for chapel, sing a few songs and go on with you week only opening your bible to do a quick devotion before bedtime. God cleared out my schedule to have room for Him to step in. It wasn’t a coincidence that everyone seemed to be busy all of a sudden or school slowed down it was all a part of His plan. This is one of those times when I just looked up and smiled and told my God congratulations, you got me this time. Sometimes it takes that for us to focus our eyes back to our maker, it’s a wake up call. I wish I could say I was sinless and didn’t need that reminder but I’m so thankful for the cross so that I can be forgiven for that sin. Maybe God is sending some way and needs me as a witness….perhaps He’s sending me on a new journey in the future and wants to spend time with me before it…I don’t know. I’m just so excited to spend more time with my heavenly Father!!  

May you find rest and peace in your walk with Christ.

Xoxo, The Girl In a Polo and Pearls

Hebrews 4: 9-11 “Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience.”

It's about to get tense

This week has been one that has seemed to drag on forever maybe it's because I'm ready for the weekend or the fact that only 6 days separate me from Thanksgiving break! Yes, I'm also the girl who is already counting the days until Christmas! Well on the joyous note of those holidays, I've entered into a very joyous season in my life as well. As a "new Christian" I found myself needing to be fed God's word if there was any event or camp I would count down the hours until we were leaving because I could NOT get enough Jesus! Well, since this summer I seemed to have exited that stage and felt like that wasn't enough anymore. I began to see how others were not only attending these events but were helping with them and finding their own callings which caused me to turn an awful shade of green. I didn't understand why God hadn't led me to do any of these things. " Am I not a good enough Christian?" I began to question everything and in some way didn't really  want to be apart of anything anymore. I almost felt bitter about the whole thing as if some sort of politician who lost an election. Recently I've had a lot of frustration and anger towards a lot of things particularly towards the one person I would never want to harm. You know everyone says, " people only want Jesus when they need Him." That was me. Red handed. I had somewhat turned away from God until I needed some help and a lot of answers. So, I began looking up sermons and biblical advice about relationships and marriages. This is something I've always been very passionate about and have been eager to learn about. After many late nights staying up, taking notes and absorbing all I could I decided all my questions were answered and I felt good about my decisions. As I woke up this morning to go to chapel I seemed to have a bit more pep in my step than usually at 9 am, we had a guest speaker from Colorado speak this morning. He was an older gray haired man who looked like he could be my grandfather and was as cute as a button. He said the word purity, saying that to a group of college students creates a silence where you could hear a pen drop. What he said was one of the most profound and true phrases I've ever heard,

"Your generation is so concerned with everything being  pure,( water, air, gas, dairy products,)but yourself." 

That's when it truly came apparent to me that I had found my calling. God didn't have me sitting down watching sermon after sermon for no reason, I can use my knowledge to help others. From sharing those videos and my knowledge hundreds of marriages could be saved or relationships that will end in a divorce could be stopped. Someone could actually realize how they're supposed to treat their other half or how to find that person and have a Godly relationship. This is what our world needs more than ever, you would be surprised some people don't even know what's right or wrong in a relationship because they've never been taught. I'm no Dr. Phil nor do I intend to be but I feel I've gone through these obstacles in my life for a reason and if that is only changing one relationship than it's worth the price. Saying that, instead of me rambling on all night long I'm just going to post a few of the sermons I watched and let you make your own opinion and decisions. 

Xoxo,

The girl in a polo and pearls 

Goodnight 

Is he willing to fight for you?
How to identify a real man

A woman can't love a man without first loving Jesus 
A woman needs to admire her husband

Ready or not here I come!

     Remember the old faithful game of hide and seek? That rainy afternoon game that kept us occupied for hours. We always thought we were so clever because our parents could never find us. Little did we know they were letting us win! Why am I talking about a game we use to find ourselves playing years ago? Because I'm playing it right now and some of you may be too, you just don't realize it yet. 

     This summer has flown by leaving me with very few pieces to pick up while I'm trying to convince myself it isn't shortly coming to an end. It's hard being away and getting use to a different routine and being thrown back into your old one with everything but ease. A lot of times, just in this case, when we  are confronted with a difficult situation..WE HIDE. Maybe it's not behind the bathroom door or our sisters' bed but it's that invisible cloak we wear that says, " I'm not here, I don't feel, it's easier that way." We may all be hiding from different things, perhaps your hiding from the fact that you've lost your faith or you're like me and just feel so defeated you try to hide all feelings and make yourself become numb. 

     But, I do know the one thing you're wrong about is that you are alone. Just as our parents or babysitter or whoever was playing hide and go seek with us knew exactly where we were our Heavenly Father now knows. He knows exactly what we're battling with in our hearts. There's nothing to be ashamed of, nothing to confess. All He's asking us for us to tell him where we are and He will come pick us up and rescue us. So maybe you've been hiding behind something too long, need some encouragement or answers. Call on me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know. Jeremiah 33:3 

xoxo,

The girl in a polo and pearls 

P.S- I hope to be blogging a lot more soon!