Trust in YOU

Drawn towards a creative life at a very young age and being an only child, I was always found drawing, imagining, or creating in one form or another. Now I am the desigNERD behind Dig Deep Design Studio. I'm all about designing, writing, photographing and living a fruitful, fulfilled life. No other ambition than to find balance in myself and live an artful existence. You can find Diggers blog here & her shop here. Want to read more from Digger? You can do that here.   


I was thinking about one of my friends today. She's incredible. I mean truly amazing. I worry about her and I think about her a lot. She is currently doing the Soul Detox and she came across this quote:

"What you fear reveals what you value the most. What you fear reveals where you trust God the least."

She instantly felt ashamed of herself. She felt she'd let God down because she lacked trust. I think we all feel this at some point in our lives. I know I have. Anyway, I just wanted to put this out there for anybody else that is struggling with this concept. It hurt me that she felt bad about this. Like I said, she's amazing and I can't imagine God being disappointed in her for anything. She has been a solid foundation for me, and I know that her faith in God is unquestionable. 

Source: gatherlove.tumblr.com via ty on Pinterest

You see, trust is a big issue with us all. It's not something that we are born with. We're sent to this Earth in our most simple, most innocent form. EVERYTHING must be learned, and we're always growing and learning - being forced to stretch our skills and talents. Some of them are easy and some are hard, but we're all sent here as equals.

Trust in God is no exception to this rule. Especially when bad things happen or when our lives are flipped upside down. However, those are the moments that we're asked to bend and stretch. If you can look those times in the face and still bend down to your knees and talk with God, that, all by itself, shows that you have trust. You trust that no matter what, in the end, He'll come through for you. Otherwise you would denounce your beliefs and instantly claim atheism. 

Source: gatherlove.tumblr.com via ty on Pinterest

I realize that this doesn't seem like a lot. That there are no bells or whistles or parting waters, but I honestly believe that God doesn't work like that (on the regular of course). He wants us to seek him and believe in him. That's how we show our trust. 

This Soul Detox is a good thing. I may not participate but I do agree that we all need to spend a few minutes every day thinking about these things. However, don't let one quote shake your faith. Knowing who you are is just as important as knowing what you believe. Hold on to that. And if you start to lack Faith in it, just ask. Trust that God loves each and every one of us, no matter what we do, he will be there, standing tall and standing strong, just waiting for us to reach out.

My philosophy on life

Growing up Cassie always loved to write. Notes, letters & in her journal. Now she has a passion for writing. She's loves Jesus. She's a wife to her high school crush & a mother to two beautiful little boys. She dreams big, loves entirely and lives life to the fullest. She believes laughter is the best medicine and embracing life is something she does with pleasure. Her blog is Live.Laugh.L0ve and she creates spontaneous designs in her handmade shop called The Spontaneous Designer. You can see more post by Cassie here.   

I tweeted something the other day asking if it was bad that I was optimist.
That I always look at the glass half full.
I loved the response I got.

The only reason I asked was because sometimes I wonder if I drive people crazy with my, well it could be worse or laughing when the situation should be making me cry. But this is just me. I am an optimist. I will try and find the good in every bad situation. This is my philosphy on life.

{via}

When I feel myself slipping.
Or the day is going wrong.
I name atleast five positive things about the day.

• The sun is shining.
• I have food to eat.
• I got a car
• My kids are healthy
• I have a loving husband.
• I have an amazing best friend.
• I'm alive today.

I have realized doing this has turned my life completely around. I have more great days then I do bad now. Because I do look at the glass half full. I do try and find the good and the beauty in any situation. It has kept me happy. No one know if they will be here tomorrow and life is far too short to spend most of it in a bad mood or unhappy. So, I choose happiness.

{Via}

Share with me. What do you do when you are having a bad day to pull you out of your funk?

Just dance!

Growing up Cassie always loved to write. Notes, letters & in her journal. Now she has a passion for writing. She's loves Jesus. She's a wife to her high school crush & a mother to two beautiful little boys. She dreams big, loves entirely and lives life to the fullest. She believes laughter is the best medicine and embracing life is something she does with pleasure. Her blog is Live.Laugh.L0ve and she creates spontaneous designs in her handmade shop called The Spontaneous Designer. You can see more post by Cassie here.   


There comes a time in life. 
Where things are going crazy. 
Stress is building. 
Whatever the case may be. 
We get tense & frustrated. 
It happens! 
But what you need to do is turn the song on loud below & just dance!

I believe in dancing. This song is perfect for it, along with the music video. I dance around the house all.the.time. I dance in the car and wherever the mood hits. There is no better feeling then just letting loose!

Just remember. don't be afraid to dance

Peace and worth

By Mandy.

About five or six years ago, someone asked me the following question, “Upon what do you base your sense of worth?”  I looked at him with a blank expression until it got uncomfortable for the both of us and he broke the silence with further comments.

But it is a very important question.  Perhaps it is one of the most important questions when it comes to our own feelings of peace and worth.  And it can also be a hard question if we don’t fully understand ourselves and our place in the world.

I don’t know about all of you, but for most of my life, I judged myself based upon what I did – tasks I accomplished, people I was kind to, selflessness I exhibited.  Self worth was something that I earned.  And for the most part, I was a decent person, and I earned it.

But the problem with earning our sense of self worth is that we can lose it.  When we make a mistake (as we all do very often) our whole sense of self and any prospect of peace can just fade away.  And our whole idea of worth can be eroded to almost nothing because of the countless number of mistakes, large and small, we all make in our lives.  It becomes a battle of what we pay most attention to -- the good or the bad -- and quite a few of us will choose the bad.

But I’m starting to seriously question the whole idea of earning our sense of worth.  The problem with it is that we can very easily lose all sense of worth.  If we make a massive mistake that at the time seems to override everything else, we can come to the conclusion that we are, indeed, worthless.

And I’m not sure that is something that is really something that should be possible.  Can a person ever actually be worthless, without any worth?  Are there any people who are worth more than others?

Of course, there are people who contribute to society more than others.  There are people who are kinder, gentler, and more selfless than others.  And there are people who just truly make abhorrent decisions on a regular basis.  According to most standards, we would say that some people are “better” than others, and by this, I think we are saying that those people are more capable of making decisions that benefit the larger good.  And that’s fine if that’s what you want to do.

But to say that some people are worth more in an overriding sense… that just doesn’t sit right for me intellectually or spiritually.

And based on that, I think we need to re-evaluate what we base our opinions of ourselves on.  Should our worth be based upon our decisions?  What else is out there that could provide a more accurate determination of our worth?  Do you truly believe that your worth is inherent in your humanity, and if so, how could you change your opinions about yourself to be more in line with that belief?

Where is heaven?

Growing up Cassie always loved to write. Notes, letters & in her journal. Now she has a passion for writing. She's loves Jesus. She's a wife to her high school crush & a mother to two beautiful little boys. She dreams big, loves entirely and lives life to the fullest. She believes laughter is the best medicine and embracing life is something she does with pleasure. Her blog is Live.Laugh.L0ve and she creates spontaneous designs in her handmade shop called The Spontaneous Designer. You can see more post by Cassie here.  

A few days ago I had a wonderful day outside with my boys. We played in the water and soaked up the sun all day long. After awhile of playing with them in the water I put my tanning chair in their and laid down on it so I could still be in the water.

I listened to the birds sing.
I listened to the laughter of my children.
The gentle splash of the water.
I watched the sky - the endless of it.
The way the sun felt on my skin.
There was only one or two clouds in the sky and it was perfection.
I thought about life.
I thought about God - alot.

Then I began to wonder where heaven was.
I know it's up there somewhere - but where?
We have made it past that big blue sky and into space.
So it can't be above that big blue sky where I thought it was.
So it is above the galaxy.
How far up is it?

I'm the type of person who is always curious about the unknown.
I know it's this big wonderful amazingly beautiful place.
But where?

But I guess that's the beauty of life. Is we don't know where it's at. So I'm just going to live life, enjoy the journey and be surprised by the destination when I arrive to. That's part of embracing life - enjoying the journey. Enjoying every aspect of the ride until it's time to get off.

Do you ever wonder where heaven is? Do you enjoy the journey?

God's Love

Sarah is a Christian wife and mom of two girls.  I love life and am learning how to give thanks in all things.  I enjoy blogging as a way to share with others the blessings and joys in life that are out there if we just look around! You can find her blog here and shop here. Read more posts from Sarah here. 


I was very fortunate to attend a retreat at church this past weekend for our "Sisterhood" women's group.  There were over 150 women in attendance.  It was the icing on the cake of an 8 week course on learning how to break free from the bondage we find ourselves in that is preventing us from having a full relationship with God our Father. While I could go on for a very long time about the amazing retreat that I attended, I won't.  What I do want to share is one of the core messages we received.  If we cannot fully love ourselves, we cannot fully appreciate God's love for us.  We cannot fully embrace life if we can't fully embrace ourselves.  We cannot fully embrace life if we cannot fully embrace all that God is and all that He has to offer us. Some of you might be saying, yeah, but I'm this big sinner and I did this, that or the next thing that God just cannot possibly forgive.  You might think that for whatever reason you aren't deserving of His love - or at least not as much of it as He is willing to give.  You may feel distant from Him.  You may think that because of your circumstances you are unlovable. I'm telling you right now that none of that is true!! God loves you without fail and without question.  He loves you unconditionally.  He loves you immeasurably.  God loved you before you were born and He loves you as the person you are right now.  God loves you no matter what circumstances you are in today.  He loves you whether you are choosing to embrace life or whether you are doing all you can do cast Him out of your life.  God forgives you for all you have done - if you are willing to accept that His son died for that purpose, forgiveness is yours!  No matter who you are, where you are, or what are doing or what you have done, God has 100% love for you. 100% outrageous love. Once you know that and experience that, you can fully embrace life and all that God has intended for you. I'd love to share this video with you.  It is something we had an opportunity to view during our retreat this past weekend.  I would love for you to watch this.  The message is so powerful.

Doing something you normally don't get to do

Growing up Cassie always loved to write. Notes, letters & in her journal. Now she has a passion for writing. She's loves Jesus. She's a wife to her high school crush & a mother to two beautiful little boys. She dreams big, loves entirely and lives life to the fullest. She believes laughter is the best medicine and embracing life is something she does with pleasure. Her blog is Live.Laugh.L0ve and she creates spontaneous designs in her handmade shop called The Spontaneous Designer. You can see more post by Cassie here.   

I'm going to be honest. When I first sat down to write this post I wasn't sure what to say. I'm recovering from being sick so my brain has just not been working lately. But then I thought about something - how much I hate being sick. I like nothing about it. The sickness its self, the being stuck on the couch, wanting to sleep all day when I can't. Not being able to fall asleep when I finally can.

I'm shaking my head writing that out. It's ridiculous. I hate taking a day off and doing nothing basically. That's a joke right? 

Yesterday really wasn't such a bad day even though I felt like crap.

• I got to lay on the couch the majority of the day & watch netflix & crochet sense I couldn't do much else. I mean who gets to do that everyday? Certainty not me.
• My boys were super good and super sweet. Again, rare and they are only that way when I'm sick. It's like they somehow know momma doesn't feel good and they gotta be good. :)
• I got to go lay in bed at 7PM people! Seven. This just doesn't happen but I got a night off from "mommy and wife" duties.
• I soaked in a hot bath with candles all around my bathroom. It was so relaxing and I rarely have time to do that.

So while I felt sick. I got to do quite a few things I don't normally get to.

There was good that came of not feeling well. 

That's the point of embracing life people - finding the beauty in every situation.

Share with me - What have you done lately that you wouldn't normally get to do?

When Facing Challenges

Sarah is a Christian wife and mom of two girls.  I love life and am learning how to give thanks in all things.  I enjoy blogging as a way to share with others the blessings and joys in life that are out there if we just look around! You can find her blog here and shop here. Read more posts from Sarah here.

When life starts throwing you curveballs, it can be really challenging to figure out how you are supposed to embrace your circumstances.  We've had challenging past few weeks and, honestly, it's had me in a funk.  For whatever reason, I seem to be having a hard time lately trying to figure out the "why" behind the "what" of our circumstances.

But God knew what I needed to hear.  Twice in the past week, He has reminded me in big ways about something I need to know and remember always.  Jeremiah 29:11 says:

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

This verse was preached on at my church twice within the past week - once at our First Wednesday service last week and towards the end of our message this past Sunday.  In both messages, the pastors discussed the fact that we may find ourselves in circumstances that are beyond our understanding.  We may even wonder where God is in all of it.  We may be begging him to tell us why this is happening {or not happening, depending on your issue}.  We just can't seem to find the answers and we may be having a hard time seeing Him through it all.

This verse says it all.  GOD knows what the plan for our lives is - even if we don't.  We need to trust in Him that HE knows what the plan is.  We need to trust in Him that there IS a plan!  Sometimes we just can't even fathom how our circumstances could be used for anything good at all.  But we need to trust God.  As our pastor said, whether the circumstances are good or bad, we aren't able to see the entire picture.  It's just not possible.  We can't always see the purpose He intends for us in the middle of the situation.  But there is a purpose.

So, this is a challenge to myself and to any of you who may also be facing some challenges right now.  I know it's not easy, but when you cannot see the "why" for the "what" that you currently find yourself in, try to remember Him.  Just hold on to His promise that He has a plan.  It hasn't been forgotten or abandoned.  He knows what the plan is and He will use your circumstances for His good.  When you are having a hard time embracing your life, at the very least, embrace that promise!

"Peyton's Field of Flowers" - a piece done by a local worship artist for my special needs daughter.

June Sponsors!

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Aunie Sauce

What is your favorite thing about summer? 

Warm weather. Is that cliche? It's OK! I love being outside with a pair of shorts, sunnies, and some cute sandals on... soaking up the sun!

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The Blog Diva

What is your favorite thing about summer?

What I love about Summer is the warm weather!

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A little piece of me

What is your favorite thing about summer?

My favorite thing about summer is being free from anything related to school.  Getting to sleep in, no homework, no struggling with my daughter to wake up or get ready, no worrying about her missing the bus, being free to schedule things all day without needing to stop to get her at the end of school, or struggling to get her to bed early.  I know... fun right??  Probably not what you thought I would say being that I live in Hawaii.  =) 

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Embrace Imperfection

Mandy.

I would like to start off by saying that I am really excited to be writing my first Embrace Your Life post.
I think the ladies here have done an excellent job of creating a blog that has an opportunity to touch
people’s lives for the better, and I am very honored to be a part of it.

I’ve been thinking over the last few days about what I would write about in this first post, and I went
back to the theme of the blog – embrace your life – and I started to think about the parts of ourselves
that are perhaps the hardest to embrace: our imperfections.

I’ve mentioned on my own blog that I suffer off and on from depression. I never quite know when it will
hit me, but it’s always very similar in its attack. I will go through the day with blinders on. As I get out
of bed to walk into my girls’ room to greet them for the day, I don’t see their smiling faces or their joy at
my presence. I see the clothes on the floor that I didn’t clean up last night, the dust on the shelves, and
the fact that it took me a couple of minutes to get in there this morning. I see all of this, and I call myself
horrible names, and I start going to extreme places with my thoughts of how bad of a mother I am. This
just creates a snowball that gets worse as the day progresses.

As I said, I suffer from depression, so I am very good at these mental leaps, but depressed or not,
mother or not, I think we all go through this often in our lives perhaps even more than we realize. We
can be surrounded by our successes, receiving praise at every turn, and yet the voices that ring the
loudest in our minds are of the failures.

I’m sure we all have different reasons as to why we let the bad become so prominent in our thoughts.
But the problem isn’t recognizing our faults. The problem is when they get out of perspective. The
problem is when we let them define who we are.

I realized last week that the reason why these thoughts are so troubling to me is because I feel like they
are failures. I guess somewhere deep inside I believe I should be the perfect person – perfect mom,
wife, employee, homemaker, writer… And so whenever I make a mistake, I feel like the universe has
fallen off orbit, and there is something fundamentally wrong. As much as I understand that perfection is
not possible, I still berate myself for not being able to achieve it.

And then yesterday, I told myself that these imperfections are just proof of my humanity. We are all
imperfect, and we all make mistakes every day. We can rage against them and hate ourselves for them,
or we can embrace them as proof of a fundamental truth: we are imperfect. In a backwards sort of way,
the more I started to embrace the label of imperfect, the more okay I felt with myself.

This doesn’t mean ignoring mistakes and relishing in them, but it means accepting them as part of our
lives and ourselves. If we accept them, we can recognize them in peace, and if we are in peace, then we
can make some progress.

Fallibility is part of our nature. We have absolutely no choice in it. And this fallibility will impact all
areas of our lives. If we choose to ignore it or try to eliminate it, we are fighting against an opponent
that we can never beat, and that opponent is human nature. Instead, we need to accept imperfections
and embrace them just as we accept and embrace the faults in our loved ones.

Embracing life means embracing it all, warts and all. And for me at least, when I am able to do that, I am
finally able to find some peace.

And so I say to myself and to all of you, “I am imperfect, and there is absolutely nothing I can do about
it.” And wow that feels good!

Each day is a gift

Growing up Cassie always loved to write. Notes, letters & in her journal. Now she has a passion for writing. She's loves Jesus. She's a wife to her high school crush & a mother to two beautiful little boys. She dreams big, loves entirely and lives life to the fullest. She believes laughter is the best medicine and embracing life is something she does with pleasure. Her blog is Live.Laugh.L0ve and she creates spontaneous designs in her handmade shop called The Spontaneous Designer. You can see more post by Cassie here.   

Life has been busy lately. I have been soul searching. Sun bathing. Painting with my boys. Making over the playroom & working on shop items. You know all those things that come with enjoying life. I have been hitting the bed at about 11 PM every night & getting started first thing in the morning.

This is summer & I love it.
So while I can't put together a coherent blog post for you today because my arms are sore.
The sun is calling me.
& my boys want to play.

I can tell you.
Whatever you do today.
Do it for you. For God. For your husband. Your bf. Your friends. Whoever.
Do it because you have this day for you.
Tomorrow is not guaranteed.

"Each day is a gift and not a given right." - Nickelback

Clear your mind

Growing up Cassie always loved to write. Notes, letters & in her journal. Now she has a passion for writing. She's loves Jesus. She's a wife to her high school crush & a mother to two beautiful little boys. She dreams big, loves entirely and lives life to the fullest. She believes laughter is the best medicine and embracing life is something she does with pleasure. Her blog is Live.Laugh.L0ve and she creates spontaneous designs in her handmade shop called The Spontaneous Designer. You can see more post by Cassie here.  


This is vital to Embracing Life. Let your mind relax a little. Clear it, make room for new things. Do you ever feel like you have a million and one things bouncing around in your head that its hard to shut your mind off? That's me normally. So, I try as often as I can to clear my mind.I'm going to share with you five simple things to clear my mind.

1. Write your thoughts down. This is one way to make the mind a little less chaotic. Write down your thoughts. In a journal, as a story, in list format. It really doesn't matter. Just get them out of your head and onto paper.

{Via}

2. Go for a run. There is nothing like a good run to help clear your mind. Just feeling the wind on your face, the beads of sweat forming on your forehead, the sound of the music coming through your ear phones and the smell and sights of the world that is surrounding you. It's refreshing and freeing.

{Via}

3. Meditate. I haven't personally done this but I want to bad. I heard it is so relaxing and a great way to clear your mind!

{Via}

4. Layout by the pool. Oh if this isn't one of the most relaxing things ever. But here is the catch don't focus on everything running through your mind. Focus on the moment. The way the sun feels beating down on you. The beauty from the sun. The sounds around you. Just be in the moment.

{Via}

5. Soak in the bath. Pour some bubbles in there. Turn on soft music. Light some candles and just let your mind empty and your body relax.

{Via}

Just Celebrate

Drawn towards a creative life at a very young age and being an only child, I was always found drawing, imagining, or creating in one form or another. Now I am the desigNERD behind Dig Deep Design Studio. I'm all about designing, writing, photographing and living a fruitful, fulfilled life. No other ambition than to find balance in myself and live an artful existence. You can find Diggers blog here & her shop here. Want to read more from Digger? You can do that here.  

I'm a housewife. As much as I detest that title, that's what I am. I'm a stay at home mom. A homemaker. Most of the time I love it. I love that I get to stay home with my kids and be a part of this precious time in their lives. I like creating a home.

Source: google.com via Samantha on Pinterest

But here's the honest truth. Sometimes it is mad boring. Maybe boring isn't the right word. Exhausting and mind numbing? Sometimes the days run together into a mad dash of clean up one room- walk into the next and find it a disaster-cook breakfast-clean dishes-"Monster, please don't cry, I just want to take a 3 minute shower"-cook lunch-clean dishes-play Candyland-change diapers- find food all over my jeans - run to the grocery store- make a snack - help with homework -cook dinner- clean dishes- "please don't splash water all over mommy"-storytime- one more kiss and hug.....collapse into bed....

All that mommy stuff I do is important. It's what makes our family work. But 20 years down the road, I'm not going to remember how clean the house was or what I made for lunch. That doesn't make it any less important. All the things we do as mothers helps with the development and well being of our children.

We aren't going to remember most of these things in 20 years. What are we going to remember? Christmas. Birthdays. Leprechaun traps. Summer BBQs in the backyard. Family vacations. Easter Egg hunts. Fourth of July writing in the air with sparklers. When my children look back at their lives, I bet they will think about what made the special days special. I may not remember many Wednesday night dinners as a child, but I remember every Christmas. Every Birthday. Every Halloween.

Day after day, 99% of us do the same thing over and over. We care for children or sit in our offices and we do the things that are required of us. A few times a year there are days that stand out. Days of celebration. An anniversary, Father's day, Halloween. These are days that break up the monotony. If it isn't your particular inclination to make them a big deal, that is totally fine. But for those of us who do want to celebrate, it isn't an affront. It isn't to make anyone feel bad about not participating in the celebrations. It is just something some of us do to bring more joy into our life.

Celebrating life. Maybe that is my thing. I love birthdays. I love that there is a day totally dedicated to celebrating someone's birth. My children's birthdays are going to be special. However they want them to be. I love Christmas. I love the smells that remind me of childhood stories around the tree. I love Halloween and the glee of a home filled with spooky decor and giggling at silly costumes. I love all of it. It isn't extra stress to me. It is a de-stresser. A relief from the everyday.

When I mentioned to a friend that I wanted to throw a birthday for Bruiser, she said "You know, he probably isn't going to remember every detail.". That's true. But he will remember always feeling loved. The traditions will become a part of him. And as parents we don't always do things for our children so they will remember them, sometime we do it so that we as parents can remember the utter joy and happiness displayed on our sweet children's faces. For me, those memories alone are worth the trouble.