Finally got some new, recent author photos taken yesterday! I thought y'all might enjoy some recent photos :) So excited for my book release on October 30, 2016! And I love the picture with my other two blessings from God too! Can't wait to have a picture holding my third blessing! <3
Photo credit goes to: MacKenzie Morganthal
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Hello there, dear readers!
I hope this finds you well! I am reaching out to any bloggers out there today! I'm wondering if there are about 4-5 bloggers who would be interested in having their blog be featured on my blog tour in October for the release of my brand NEW book "Worth it All" which is releasing October 30, 2016! For more information or to sign up to be on the blog tour, you can comment below, email me, or use the contact form here on my blog :) I will be sending you out more information as the blog tour and book release gets closer! Thanks y'all! <3 We've been playing the waiting game for what feels like forever.
Waiting for next week or next year. Waiting for a new job or a new house. For a relationship or someone to love you. For a time when you're older or things aren't so busy. For summer or for winter. For an event you're excited about or for a dream to finally come true. Constantly waiting. And the sad thing is, the majority of us waste our lives waiting for that adventure to come along or that dream to happen. We waste our lives thinking "someday" I will do this or "someday" I will do that. And then we spend our days trapped in "what if's," looking back on the days that went by and wishing for them back. It is like a game of either looking ahead or looking behind. We rarely stop to look around. For you see, the secret that most people don't realize is that....today is an adventure too. Waiting for the day when things slow down or when you finally grow up, is wasting the adventure you are right in the middle of at this moment. I was a little girl with a wild imagination (yeah, I was crazy), and I yearned for adventure. I longed for the opportunity to do something great. To solve a mystery, to experience something amazing, to publish a book, to speak on a stage in front of thousands, to go somewhere new. But I always thought "someday" I will get to do those things, but not today. But let me look into your eyes and motion for you to come closer as I whisper this truth to you. Someday isn't guaranteed. Tomorrow is not promised. What if today is the only adventure you have left? The thing is, I look at today now and I realize what a beautiful adventure it really is. What an adventure it is to look at each moment as the moment that God will use you to change someone's world. I was 16 and 17 when I wrote my first published book, and it was because I finally chose to take today and realize God wanted to use me right then, not "someday." And becoming the soon-to-be author of 3 published books at only nineteen-years-old has been a God-given adventure of a lifetime. According to the world, I should've waited until I was older and had better experience. But guess what? The world really doesn't know much at all. According to God, my adventure was waiting for me already. What adventure could you be missing out on today by looking back on yesterday or wishing for "someday"? What book could you have written? What story could you have told? What drawing could you have painted? What poem could you have written? What song could you have sung? What trip could you have taken? Oh, and, dear heart, don't miss out on the priceless, little adventures of every day life either. For they truly are an adventure too... Watching the sunset with someone you love. Taking a walk with your siblings and laughing at who can make the funniest face. Going out for donuts at almost midnight (admittedly one of the best adventures ever). Singing music as loud as you can into your microphone (which is technically a hairbrush, but it still counts. Admit it, you've done this at least once in your life). Sharing words of encouragement that could inspire someone else towards greatness. Being a friend to someone and changing their life. These little adventures are what make up our lives. They are the adventures God gives us every day to whisper "I love you," to us. Don't you see? God is so crazy about us, that He gives us these amazing little adventures that are right in front of us every day. We just have to search for them instead of searching for "someday." And every time we stop to embrace the adventure God places in our present moment, we whisper back to Him, "I love You too." Today truly is your adventure of a lifetime. Embrace it. And now I'm going on an adventure (donut's might be involved)....who's with me? October 30, 2016 is a very special day!! On this day I will officially be releasing my third published book, "Worth it All: Running the Race of a Lifetime." What a very special book this is to me. This is my story of the race I ran with the National Bible Bee. But it is also the call to run your race of knowing Jesus deeper. For truly that, is the race of a lifetime. I am so excited about announcing this book and releasing it! We will be celebrating the book cover reveal here on October 23, 2016! And then we will be having a blog party right here on October 30, 2016 to celebrate "Worth it All" being released for you to read! Thank you so much for your support! I am deeply honored and humbled. My third book? To God be the glory ♥ Spread the word, y'all!! LET'S GET EXCITED FOR OCTOBER 30TH!!!! ~Parental guidance advised for younger audiences due to the topic of this blog post~
This week has been National Suicide Prevention week and because of that I felt led by God to write this blog post. I created a YouTube video this morning, but because my words sometimes come out better on paper I am writing this as well. ;) When I think about the statistics of suicide my heart aches inside. It breaks me to know that some people have pain so deep that they think suicide is their only way out. I don't pretend to know your pain. I don't claim to know what you're going through or how your heart has been broken. I don't know the situation you are in right now in your life. But I do know that ending your life won't fix things. It's not the only way out and it won't rescue you. There are so many things I wish I could say to you, the one who has attempted suicide or who contemplates self-harm. So many thing I wish I could encourage you with. As I was making my video earlier, the words would not come to me to form what I really wanted to say. I would much rather just sit with you and wrap you in my arms, letting you know that you are loved and you are not alone. But during the making of my video God whispered to my heart so clearly that I knew it was Him. Tell them I love them. The words made sense and they were so true. I was trying to come up with all the right, beautiful words to say, when all along they were right in front of me. And they were so simple. He loves you. He asked me to break into your day right now, just to tell you that. You might laugh right about then or shake your head in disbelief. You might push it away because you don't believe it could possibly be true. Everyone who ever said they loved you may have walked out of your life and abandoned you. It may be hard for you to trust. But here's the truth, beautiful, precious soul. He loves you right now more than anyone else ever could. More than you could ever fathom or comprehend. More than you could ever know. And because He loves you that deeply, He will never walk out. He will never disappoint you. He will never leave you. You are His. His masterpiece. His chosen. He chose you. He wants you. The God who made you loves you so much and He wants to be with you so badly that He paid the ultimate price. He died for you. Nothing you do could ever make Him love you less. He died for you and loved you at your worst. And the beautiful secret? He's always going to want you and love you because He thinks you're priceless. And you are. Your life is beautiful. And simply priceless. There is no one else alive on this earth who will ever be you or come close to being you. You are perfectly unique. Place your hand on your heart for a moment, precious one. Feel your heart beating. Do you feel it? Every time it beats it's whispering to you. Whispering that you still have a holy mission to fulfill and that you still have a story to tell. Whispering that someone out there needs you to keep living. So every time you feel like giving up or walking away from life, promise me something, won't you? Promise me you'll place your hand back on your heart and feel it beating. And listen to the whisper of God reminding you why you are still here. Take a chance on His love tonight, sweet soul. Take a chance on Him and embrace His love even if it's hard and even if you're scared. He will never disappoint you. It will be the one love that will change your life. I'm not saying things will immediately get better, because they might not. I'm not saying everything will become perfect, because it won't. I'm saying that when you have His love, you have hope right in the middle of the pain and suffering. Hope that at the end, there is a miracle waiting for you. Tomorrow may be the best day of your life. Won't you wait to see, please? I don't want you to die tonight. We need you. Stay here, please. No matter what, never give up. The world needs to see that gorgeous smile of yours again tomorrow. Hang on just a little bit longer...please. Love, Bella ~If you have ever contemplated suicide or attempted self-harm I beg you to please get help. Reach out to someone and find help. I especially encourage you to check out www.twloha.com. You are not alone. We're in this together. <3~ |
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