beauty

Psalm 23 has been special to our little family ever since we found out that Ayla was growing in my womb.

I can’t remember when I came across the idea, but I read about another set of parents that prayed a Scripture over their child every night, even before he was born. I thought it was such a beautiful idea, and we set out to do the same with our growing little one. We chose Psalm 23, because this passage is so full of rich promise and blessing. Every night before we went to sleep, Ben would place his hands on my belly and we would quote together Psalm 23…”the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want...” And almost every night without fail, she would start kicking and moving inside of me the very second we started praying this to her. It was the sweetest thing!

We’ve kept up this ritual even after she was born, and it’s the last thing we do in her bedtime routine before we carry her up to her bed and tuck her in. Sometimes she babbles along, sometimes she’s tugging on her daddy’s head and wanting him to play, sometimes she just sits and listens to us say the words that she’s heard almost every day of her life…”the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want…”

I was so honored and excited to serve as a brand rep this past month for one of my absolute favorite shops. If you follow me on Instagram, you’ll know it’s no secret that I am a huge fan of Dear Mushka. I came across this adorable shop a few months ago and I immediately fell in love with not only the pieces, but also the heartbeat behind them. And I also love that the business is local to Nashville! Katie designs gorgeous necklaces, earrings, and bracelets…but she also injects so much personal love and prayer and meaning into each piece.

Each of Dear Mushka’s pieces are given a name, and this name corresponds to a specific Scripture verse. When Katie told me to pick a piece that I wanted as part of the brand rep, it was so hard to pick just one! I wanted Honey, Pearl, Parallel, and Eclipsed…but I eventually chose Staff because…”the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.” How could I NOT pick this one?! This piece comes with a customized initial stamping option, and I got mine done with an A. It’s the first letter of my name and the first letter of my daughter’s name, and I plan to pass this beautiful, hand-crafted piece down to Ayla once she is old enough to wear it. I wear this necklace all the time, and I love to pair it with the Salt necklace for a minimalistic layering look.

And cool news! I’m hosting a GIVEAWAY for a Dear Mushka piece on Instagram, so head there now to enter to win one of these beautiful jewelry pieces for yourself!

What about you: which Dear Mushka piece would YOU chose if you win the giveaway?

I’d love to hear your thoughts!

I feel like I’ve been getting hammered lately.

IN THE BEST WAY.

I feel like I’m in a season where so many things in my heart are being exposed and peeled away and transformed and changed. And truthfully? I like it. There are so many things in my heart that need to be exposed, peeled away, transformed, changed. I would say I’m aware of about maybe half of the those things…and the other half are stored away deep inside in complacent oblivion, carefully covered over with the belief that “it’s just normal to feel/act/believe this way.” But Jesus knows…He sees all the hidden things, and He so gently and carefully and sometimes forcefully shines His beautiful light into those dark places to bring a new life and light to the broken spots.

It feels good to feel yourself being changed, right? It feels good to encounter a situation or internal thought process that has always had a certain outcome and to realize that hey! something feels different here! i’m thinking different, acting different, believing different! *insert party emoji*

Three things that I’ve been hammered with lately:: shame, fear, identity. I can’t even say how many different ways God has worked on me in these three areas in the past few weeks. There have been so many sermons, songs, books, random quotes from social media, or quiet revelations that have blown these three things wide open in my heart, and it’s been like this constant stream of seeing how shame, fear, and lack of confident identity have been blocking me from the life that I want. But along with the revelations came hope and excitement, because it meant I could change. Seeing our issues and brokenness is the first step towards walking in a better way.

I was in town earlier this week stocking up on groceries, and the grocery store was in a little shopping plaza with some restaurants and retail stores, all of which were mostly high end shops. I drove by them all on my way to the parking garage without much of a second glance, because honestly, high end shops intimidate me like crazy. I don’t go into them, ever.

But for some reason that day, I just wanted to walk into the Anthropologie that was in the shopping plaza. It was a strange fancy, because honestly, most of their styles aren’t things I would really choose to wear. I’ve actually only been into this store a handful of times, because every single time I walk through the doors of a store like Anthro, I just felt like an imposter. Like there was this proverbial sign on my forehead signaling to the sales clerks and other shoppers that she doesn’t belong here. I would scurry around for a little, pretending to be seriously considering different items while surreptitiously looking for the price tag and trying to keep from visibly reacting to the numbers attached to a simple top or sweater. We all have our priorities, right? Mine simply isn’t spending a big amount of money on a single item of clothing. But the imposter feeling wasn’t because of the price tags…it was because of my heart that felt unworthy of the kind of things that Anthropologie sold. Who am I to think I’m good enough to set foot inside of these kind of places?

As I got in my car and started to pull away from the grocery store on Tuesday, I suddenly just wanted to walk into Anthropologie. Like I said, it was weird. I re-parked my car, strapped Ayla into the Ergo, and dashed through the rain into the store. As I walked through the door, a gorgeous, perfectly-styled sales clerk smiled at me and said hello…and in that moment, I realized something was different. I didn’t feel like an imposter in Anthropologie. I was dressed in jeans, a Target sweatshirt, and my hair was wet and ratty…and it didn’t matter. I felt worthy of being there. I browsed the racks and even picked out a few things to try on, and the whole time I was there, I never once felt intimidated or embarrassed of my very un-Anthro outfit or ratty hair or just of myself. I just had a fun time walking around the store…no shame, no unworthiness, no stupid lies telling me I was an idiot for even being there. It was awesome!

I didn’t buy anything that day, and honestly, probably never will. But my stepping into Anthropologie on that rainy morning wasn’t about that…it was about realizing that somehow my heart is changing to believe and know and feel the worthiness given to me by Jesus. It was about realizing that I don’t have to hang my head in shame when I walk into a store full of designer clothes and beautiful women. It was about realizing that I’m being set free in glorious new ways to be who I am, freely and fully.

And that, my friends, is something to be excited about.
And that is something I hope He is doing within your own heart as well.

What about you: do you find yourself feeling unworthy to do certain things or be in a certain place that seems “above” you

I’d love to hear your thoughts!