our divine intervention

isn't it funny when things are right under your nose but you can't quite see them?

when you can almost taste it... buuuuuut you still can't figure out. 

then you finally see it! its a hip hip hooray moment!

this past week has been just like that.

yesterday, Blake was presented with some amazing opportunities that only God could bring forth. and today, we received the keys to our new apartment!

it is perfect. there probably could not be anything better for the two of us. 

it's small, but perfect. unique, but not weird. pretty much just great.

but for a long time finances have been such a trigger for problems lately. with me out of a full time job for a few months now, and Blake working so far away, it has been a cliche uphill battle. a brutal cliche. but just like a roller coaster, when you are going higher and higher and more straight up to the sky than you thought was humanly possible, those nasty feeling in the pit of your stomach comes and the thoughts of "i am going to die get me off of this. why did i say yes" start rolling through your head, then all of a sudden you hear the last click of the track..... then wee! smooth sailing and joy from then on :)

our trip out to sea is starting to get a bit calmer. definitely sunny skies and lovely breezes from here on out for this season!

thank you Lord, for your divine intervention on our lives.

dreamz.

saltines are my life these days. i just wanna feel better already.

and to make matters worse, i had a dream where i just got out of the shower and i just brushed my wet hair, and it magically blowdried itself, curled a perfect wave, and my make up was somehow done to perfection.

then i woke up to myself in the mirror. with saltine crumbs on my shirt.

sigh

april obsessions

1. saturday night live

why is it so funny? i find myself on hulu every night watching episodes. but it doesn't stop there.... the memories of kristen wiig and my favorite host, zach galifinakis, stay with me all day and i cannot help ut chuckle to myself. even if it is in the middle of church, or while i'm consoling a friend in need. 

all im saying is, snl, you make my life a little brighter.

2. neutral wedges

i am just a little bit in love with this style of shoe. just a little. lot.

3. dutch bros. coffee

OK! i am in love. dutch bros. coffee has changed my life forever and ever. the moment i brought the straw up to my mouth for the first time, it was like i didn't know who i was before. all i knew was how much of a better person i am now.

ok so maybe not, but i'm gonna go ahead and let myself think that way! dutch bros. trumps starbucks anyday. i have found myself in conversations about why i love it so much. people come up to me and ask, 'hey i've seen you around with dutch bros. is it good?'

oooohhhhhhh ho-ho. lemme tell you. 

i am the coffee connoisseur. i know what i am talking about. you won't be dissappointed.

oh the good ol' days of art.

remember these?

gel pens.

i could have drawn on black paper forever. it never lost its magic!

gimme a big ol like if you were a neon artist like myself.

his name is {Zach}

this is him.

Zacharius Knight Galifianakis.

yes i can successfully pronounce his last name, and i am intrigued by him.

he makes me laugh to the point of urination.

but you know what? i would unashamedly pee myself if it would get him to notice me.

you pretty much can't get much funnier than him

why, you ask, am I blogging about him?

because this comedic man is worthy of a blog note.

here are my top 5 out of 190984 reasons why i love him

1. he is greek like me.

2. he makes jokes about being homeschooled.

3. that beard. 

4. his midwestern accent impression is to die for.

5. he probably gives really good teddybear-like hugs.

ZACH I AM YOUR FAN FOREVER AND EVER.

here are some goodies. enjoy.

  

"i went to my high school reunion not to long ago, and it was a little weird. because i was homeschooled"

"sometimes i'll do something and i'll think to myself, 'that is so raven'. and then other times i'll do something and then i'll think, 'that was not so raven'"

Even though you might keep falling down, and when you try to stand it's not in the safest spot, Jesus still picks you up every time so you don't have to crawl.

{march obsessions}

ok. so pretty much can't get enough of any of these things at the moment.

3. crazy straws

                      2. plaid shirts

1. messy buns

probably can never get enough of this hair-do.

PTL it's in style, becaaaaause i am lazy.

{and this is what im lovin on at the moment}

vertigo-3-27-11

a piece written by olivia manos


Have you ever heard the verse,  
“In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God”

But most importantly, have you ever thought …

Who is He?

Who is Jesus?

Jesus is love. But what is love?

What would that be like? To look at His face right this very second?

I mean, think of the love just pouring out of the scent of His skin.

Just glancing in His eyes…  could you even be able to stand with just one look from Him?

Without even having to turn around, He knows your face.

Don’t say a word. He already knows what you are thinking

He already accepted you before you were even a thought.

Because He wanted to think of you first.

Just stop. Stop and try and think.

Jesus thought of you first, and takes pride in that.

He’s the first to love you, and the last.

You know how it goes.

But do you know how much it means?

Psalm 139 says, “You know when I leave, and when I get back. I am never out of your sight. You know everything I am going to say before I even start the sentence. I look behind me and you are there. Then I look up ahead and you’re there too. This is too much, too wonderful! How will I ever begin to take it in?”

Jesus you are too wonderful to take in.

You are the light that burns brighter on this earth.

In you, I take heart.

Take my heart Lord.
And with it, thrust it into Your Kingdom.

-------------------

figuring out love.

can we ever? can we seriously ever figure out love? pretty much no...

 what about those types of people who just tripped so easily over so many things because they weren't looking out, and now all they do is think so carefully before they take a step into something of love?

--------------------------------

this morning at QT, i'm just minding my own business as usual. not looking anyone in the eye, just sort of fiddling around with my keys and coffee in hand, trying just to get out of there so i could rush to church which i was 5 minutes late for. but as i keep my head down away from everyone else, pretty much trying to be ignored as much as possible to stay in my own world of cheap french vanilla lattes, i heard some sort of grunt from the couple in front of me, as if they couldn't get words out. well much to my surprise as i look up to try to figure out what was going on, i came to realize that the couple in front of me was deaf. 

i realized i had no idea.

i had no idea what was going on in front of me.

i had no idea who these people were. 

but the craziest thing that struck me out of all of it, is that i didn't even think to notice who they really were. i didn't think to even look for a glimpse of what makes them, well themselves.

here's the deal though.

God sees every single person for they really are.

He doesn't stand in line waiting to pay for gas and a 16oz. coffee just minding His own business.

--------------------------------------

He looks with love. always seeking to love even more. and for us, we just try to stay in our own little worlds as much as possible. we weren't made to understand the capacity of God's love.

but we were definitely made to live in the capacity of His love.

livy's favs {living}

livy's favs { art }

livy's favs {wedding attire and beauty }

livy's favs {wedding flowers}

livy's favs {fashion}

countdown.

CCXI days.

Liv Help : Top 5 notes for guys

It seems to me lately that alot of stories I am hearing are of guys not understand. not listening. or saying things that seem so whack to their lady friend. So here are my top 5 things that will take your tension from a 10 to a 2.


1. Don't buy a girl clothes. Whatsoever. 
 I think the worst idea a guy could have is buying a girl clothes or accessories. Because face it. Unless you have been married for 15 years, you don't quite know her style, or what goes into picking what you like.It is a little more complicated than just the "style". "Is the cut of the shirt flattering? Does that color look good on her skin tone? Will it be too tight in the bust and make me look like dolly parton exploding out of this blouse?" This is what happens when we try on clothes. Now, beware of when she points something in a store. Just because she said she liked that dress at Anthropology,  that is not the go ahead to take your mom to help you pick out the right thing. Let's face it. Your mom, her mom, her sister, her friends, they will never exactly pin point her style.  Instead, just get her a gift card to her favorite store, and tell say, "Now you can go get that shirt and shoes you really liked". Win. Every time. Guaranteed. 


2. "Are you doing ok?" "Yeah I'm fine!" "Ok cool." *Hell breaks loose*
Alright so we all know the age old issue with girls. They say they are ok, but you know if the word 'fine' is used in her sentence, things are usually not as ok as she says they are. Unfortunately, girls will do this at some points in their lifetime. There's no way of getting around it. Girls don't communicate the same way guys do. So therefore, communication issues! But guys need to help out just as much as girls do. Always just double check that they are ok. So then when they say their response for the second time, the ball is in their court and you can't say you misunderstood.


3. Make sure you know what she drinks.
Knowing what your girl drinks is important. You can never ever order her food, because you will most likely always lose. But drinks? You have a higher chance of getting some sort of reward for your efforts. When you order a girl a drink, maybe while she's in the bathroom at a restaurant while you are sitting down to your table, or driving through a starbucks on your way to see her and you want to surprise her with a little something, think about it. Think about all she has ordered in the past, what she ordered the most. That will definitely be a big help. Don't just pick the thing you heard her say last. Girls pick what they like for whatever mood they are in. It changes alot. Here is what will happen if you order her something wrong.
Scenario #1 - She's crazy. In her little PMS mood which is probably not even PMS, she's just moody. She'll not-so-gently hint to you that she does not drink that. Depending on who, she might make a scene. Let's hope she's a little more grown up than that.
Scenario #2. More on the shy end, she sees your effort into getting her something nice, but its something she is not in the mood for, or doesn't like at all. Then she proceeds to not say anything, because she feels bad you went to all that trouble, but she can't even stand to take a sip it is so disgusting to her. So now she is sad.When all else fails, text her best friend what she likes, or better yet, just ask her. You'll be way better off than trying to do the whole surprise-shpeel.


5. Pick a girl who can communicate.
Probably the worst decision a guy can make is picking a girl that can not for the life of her communicate. Too many issues. Now I know that everyone should be loved no matter where they are in life, but seriously guys? You pick the girl who looks cute as a button but she can't even tell you what she wants for dinner tonight cause she's crying profusely over the fact that you didn't understand her when she told you she wanted the tiffany blue sweater for her birthday yesterday and you got her the baby blue one? "But all she said was that blue sweater she saw!" You scream in your head. (see? don't buy a girls clothes.) All I'm saying is, think a bit before you jump into a relationship with a girl. Just saying.


5. Please please please. Don't tell her she's a 6.5. 
Ok so. When girls get home from a long night of work, or maybe just straight from the gym, they just really want to put on some pajama pants, slick off the make up, and most likely not even think about their hair and how they look while laying on the couch when they are shoveling in flaming hot cheetos with their red tinted fingers. What goes through your mind? The image of how dolled up she looked when she walked in the door, then all of a sudden.... yep it pretty much left asap. Here's the thing. Girls like to be comfy too! You can walk around without a shirt and nothing on, don't have to wear makeup, no hair-do. Nothing. Comfy, right? But if you are feeling like your lady doesn't doll up for you as much as she does for others, don't even dare start to tell her. "Baby, I feel like, you know... you are always a 10. Smoking hot 10. But when you come home.. its like, oh just a 6.5" Sooooo how's that head of yours after she through a book at you from across the room after those words? Gentlemen. Inestead, inspire her. Tell her she's absolutely lovely. Touch her softly, then tell her you are going to take her out. Do that a couple times within 2 weeks, and she'll always wanna doll up for you. Because now she has a reason.








- Just a little help from Liv...

us or the birds?

So I am sitting here, eating some cheese and crackers, a little ginger-ale in hand, and Blake just went home to go to bed. Now all alone to myself to think... sometimes not a great idea lol.

As I sit here praying about Blake's interview tomorrow, and the job God has in store for me, and possibly getting a job at starbucks, financial things, my heart, his heart, our steps, what to do about this, what to do about that, so on and so forth, you get the gist. But the thing I could truly only focus on? All the good things. And I realized, that God only focuses on the good things. He acknowledges the hard and troubling things, but in His mind all that is running around is the thoughts of how He cares for us, how beautiful us women are. How strong and courageous his sons are. Most importantly though, He will always take care of us. He will never leave us out to fend for ourselves if we don't have the means to keep going forward on our own strength.

So why shouldn't I put my faith in God? Why should I be worried?

"Look at the birds, free and unfettered, not tied down to a job description, careless in the care of God. And you count far more to Him than birds" Matthew 6:26

I pray that this year I will create a heart of patience after God's, but not to worry about what I will do tomorrow, instead I will worry about how God is using me today.