The Lovely Little Introvert

     There have been a lot of crazy thoughts rolling around in my head the last few weeks. I've started to write a new blog post so many times and it just never felt quite right. There were so many options, but none I had really fleshed out yet. Anyhow. I'm here now! Finally writing again, and it feels good! I am currently done with school for the summer (on week four of my vacation) and it feels wonderful. My sister is coming home from Africa in 17 days and I could not be more happy!! We also moved into a new house and I absolutely adore it. I have a glorious little hammock in the backyard and I am working on making a fairy garden with tiny little plants and a house shaped like a teapot. It's gonna be pretty epic. Yet despite all of this great stuff, God and I have been wrestling with some things for a while.      The overall issue has been with purpose and contentment. So many things have brought this about. For one, I am going into my junior year of col...

     If my blog's title didn't quite give it away, I am an introvert by nature. I used to resent it frequently, but I have come to accept myself that way. (I am still working on what comes after acceptance, but that's another story.) Anyway, a few days ago I was talking with my Mom about my being an introvert and just how I deal with people in general. She said that most people don't know how to handle introverts and are sometimes (perhaps even unconsciously) afraid of them. So I wanted to take this opportunity to explain introverts to you and a little about how to handle them--you know, so it's less scary next time you encounter one.       1. Introverts don't hate people.           It's a common thought that introverts just don't like people, but it isn't true! Most introverts love being with people, just not all the time. And it's typically easier when it is one-on-one or just a small group of people. Anything larger tends to cr...

     I have been really bad about blogging lately. Things have been crazy lately. Life never stops, you know? Anyhow, I hope to be a little better about it this time. And today's post will be quite random, so prepare yourselves!!      Ever since I was about fourteen or so I have been in love with Ireland. It all started with me wanting something to write about. I literally grabbed an encyclopedia (yeah, we had the book set, not the fancy internet encyclopedia...) and flipped until I found something interesting. That happened to be the Irish potato famine. I knew it had to be the setting for my book! I did tons of research and became totally obsessed. That was the first book I wrote. Looking back now, I realize how terrible the writing and plot were, but I have a special place in my heart for it. That sparked a huge ongoing interest in the country. Some of my favorite authors were Irish. If you've never seen any real pictures, do yourself a favor and go loo...

     I've always been a little indifferent towards Valentine's Day. Like why do we have to celebrate love only one day a year? Has it become that cheap? The other part of me has lamented the fact that I have never had a Valentine. My one relationship was in the Valentine's off season. It's cheesy, but there's just something about the beautiful flowers and heartfelt notes. (And I've always wanted to get one of those giant cards...I don't know why.) And I would love to plan some super awesome surprise for someone, too. So as we have come into February, I have been reminded again just how single I am. You know, the culture gives the word such a negative connotation. It's looked on as something to be pitied, like, "Poor thing. She's alone on Valentine's Day. How sad." Sucks for all us singles. Or does it? (Hold that thought for a minute).       Growing up, when people talked about loving themselves, I thought it was selfish. Shouldn't ...

       This week has been one of the roughest I remember in a long time. It just seems like that week where everything goes wrong. I mean, Monday started out great. Work was amazing and I felt like I made progress with my baristas and I felt like I was on cloud nine. Then I came home, packed up my stuff, and went to the library to take my French test. Though I haven't gotten back my final score yet, it is safe to say I bombed that thing (and I only have three...and they count for 30% of my grade). On Tuesday, work was a nightmare. We were understaffed and I felt like I was having a continuous panic attack for like two hours. When I did homework later on that day, I found out that two of the textbooks I had ordered were wrong, and one of them I needed for a presentation that's due next week. I emailed my teacher and the news kept getting better. There was no access to the correct books online anywhere and none of my local libraries had them. To Amazon I went. I had to...

         One of my favorite parts of Sunday mornings is worship. I enjoy everything about it, especially if the team happens to play a few of my favorites. There are a few I currently have on repeat. One is Holy Spirit by Francesca Batistelli (and Jesus Culture) and the other is Forever by Kari Jobe. We did both of those songs this weekend and they really got me thinking. When we worship and pray and read the Bible, do we do so to a living God?          I don't mean is God alive or not. I happen to believe that He died and rose again on the third day just like He told His disciples. The way God kind of brought it to my attention was "Do you pray like I'm alive now?" If spiritually staggering is possible, I think I did so then. This isn't a new revelation for me, but something the Lord has to remind me of often and every time I am taken aback by it. Do I worship God like He is still alive? Do I pray like He is alive in me?    ...

      Hey there to anyone who decided to read my blog!                       I know a bunch of people don't like New Year's Resolutions and that's totally fine. I usually don't like them either. Every year I say I won't do it again and still do. With that being said, this blog is one of my resolutions this year. For a while now I have been wanting to start a blog and be intentional with it. So here I am!!  Welcome to the new home of The Lovely Little Introvert. (My goal for the year is 100 posts, which comes out to about 2 posts a week...*fingers crossed!*)          This blog isn't going to be about just one thing. It will probably consist of a lot of Jesus, lots of caffeine, a few silly observations, challenges, and other random things. I mostly just wanted a way to share my heart. I hope you find it makes you laugh, makes you think, encourages you and I hope you just plain enjoy ...