Dare to Believe | CRAVE

So, I'm not quite sure how I want to start this or where this is going to go, so I'm just going to write. It'll probably be very ramble-y and unclear, but that's okay. It's just how this goes sometimes.

The other day on facebook someone I'm friends with made a post. it said:

So these "Christian genocides" taking place are tragic, don't let me give you the wrong impression. BUT that being said its almost as if religion is still causing more problems than its worth. Just a thought.

I didn't say anything at first. I still haven't commented on it, but it has been bothering me a little bit since I first saw it. As you all know, I've been a Christian since birth. Born and raised to believe in the Lord. But The reason that I'm a Christian now isn't just because of my parents. Sure, I was raised with the the ideas of Christianity, but I've realized throughout my life how important a relationship with Christ is.

To be honest, if it wasn't for my faith in Jesus Christ I might not be sitting here writing this today. He has brought me through so much; times of doubt and self-destruction. He's my rock, my best friend, and the only one who will ever truly love me unconditionally.

Right after I read the post, I was listening to one of Colton Dixon's new songs called Dare to Believe. The chorus of the song says:

I will dare to believe You are the savior, living in me. And I know you always will be the God of the impossible, the God of every miracle. Before the world to see I will dare to believe. 

And this was what I wanted to comment on it. I'm going to dare to believe, because for me it's worth everything. He gave up his life so that I would be free from my sins. So that I could live and love fully. He's the God of everything, and I believe in it with my whole heart.

The thing is is that the world we live in is broken. Sin came in and took over; it's running ramp-id right now. There are bad things because of sin.

If You were just some carpenter from nowhere, an ordinary man with ordinary news, than we would not be here, still claiming You all these years. We believe the stories because their true. Some might call me crazy but I'm no fool. 

And I think that pretty much sums it up for me. It's more than stories, more than myths. It's truth. He's lived and died for me and he's still living. He will defeat the bad. The sin won't win. The terrible things that are going on in the world will not prevail. And because of that I have hope. Because I dare to believe.

I know that this wasn't the most thought out, orderly post, but it's been on my heart for a while so I needed to get it posted.

xoxo, Shi.

If I Stay | Booking It

If I Stay by Gayle Forman

In a single moment, everything changes. Seventeen-year-old Mia has no memory of the accident; she can only recall riding along the snow-wet Oregon road with her family. Then, in a blink, she finds herself watching as her own damaged body is taken from the wreck...A sophisticated, layered, and heartachingly beautiful story about the power of family and friends, the choices we all make--and the ultimate choice Mia commands.

This book was something very different than what I'm usually into. As you all know, I usually go for the YA romance books. But I had heard so much about this one that I thought I had to pick it up; especially before the movie comes out! And I have to tell you that I don't regret it at all. This book was actually stunning. The idea of it and the way it was written; ugh it was just fabulous. Gayle Forman did a fantastic job conveying what she wanted to with this novel. I loved it. 

"I realize now that dying is easy. Living is hard." 

"Sometimes you make choices in life and sometimes choices make you." 

****

I gave this book 4 out of 5 stars. While it was a fantastic book, the ending didn't really leave me feeling satisfied. I'm hoping that the second book will bring that satisfied feeling that the ending of this one didn't quite leave me with. 

In other news I was wondering if you guys would be interested in me making videos about my book reviews. I've been watching a lot of booktube lately and have been strongly considering it. So let me know if you'd be interested in that. 

Thanks for reading.

xoxo, Shi

The Beginning of Everything | Booking It

The Beginning of Everything by Robyn Schneider

EZRA FAULKNER was supposed to be homecoming king, but that was before--before his girlfriend cheated on him, before a car accident shattered his leg, and before he fell in love with new girl CASSIDY THORPE. 

Golden boy Ezra Faulkner believes everyone has a tragedy waiting for them--a single encounter after which everything that really matters will happen. His particular tragedy waited until he was primed to lose it all: In one spectacular night, a reckless driver shatters Ezra's knee, his athletic career, and his social life.

No longer the front-runner for Homecoming King, Ezra finds himself at the table of misfits, where he encounters new girl Cassidy Thorpe. Cassidy is unlike anyone Ezra's ever met--achingly effortless and fiercely intelligent.

Together, Ezra and Cassidy discover flash mobs, buried treasure, and a poodle that might just be the reincarnation of Jay Gatsby. But as Ezra dives into his new studies, new friendships, and new love, he learns that some people, like books, are easy to misread. And now he must consider: If one's singular tragedy has already hit, what happens when more misfortune strikes?

This book was utterly fabulous. The book had a very John Green-esqe feel to it, which I obviously loved. 

Ezra was really easy to relate to for a lot of reasons. He didn't want to just do what everyone else was doing to fit in, yet he wanted to fit in and find out who he was so desperately.  And Cassidy was great. There was some stuff she did that I didn't really get and I sort of hated her at certain parts of the book, but in the end you truly know why she was the way she was and I thought that was great. 

The last 30ish pages of this book were so intense and beautiful and I just loved it.

Oh, and I loved Cooper. He was a fabulous poodle. Just saying. 

"We all have been fooled into believing in people who are entirely imaginary--made-up prisoners in a hypothetical panopticon."

"'All of our longings are universal longings,' Cassidy said. 'I'm paraphrasing, but it's Fitzgerald.'"

"and I wondered what the future would hold once we'd gotten past our personal tragedies and proven them ultimately survivable." 

and my personal favorite:

"Oscar Wilde once said that to live is the rarest thing in the world, because most people just exist, and that's all. I don't know if he was right, but I do know that I spent a long time existing, and now, I intend to live." 

*****

5 outta 5

I completely and totally recommend this book it was lovely and wonderful and yes. 

You should read it. 

you can find Robyn Schneider on youtube!

Read on :)

Here Comes The Sun | Vacation 2014

//Andalusia, Alabama
June 6-13, 2014

thank you pinterest for this lovely. 

So this summer we got the privilege of going to visit some of my extended family in Alabama. It was such a nice little break from the constant happenings of life and, if I may say so for myself, we made our own adventures for everyday that we were down there.

On Sunday we basically just had a family day. Nothing too exciting; Church and then just some catching up. My dad preached Sunday night, and it was the first time that I've ever got the chance to hear him. It was fantastic.

my uncle keeps strange pets around...Hadley was brave enough to hold one of them.

Monday was our beach day. We all got in our vans and drove down to Destin, FL for the day. It was my second time there, and let me tell you: it's. gorgeous. I've never seen such beautiful water and white sand. It's lovely.

destin, florida is absolutely breathtaking

While we were in Destin, we decided to stop for some sea food because...why not? Joe's Crab Shack for the win! Am I right?

I love these lovely ladies. 

After a long day at the beach, we went home and, well, slept. (Long car rides are exhausting). 

Tuesday we went and saw Blended (excellent film by the way). My cousin drove us around her old college town and showed us where she went to school. We stopped and got some Sonic (because what else do you do?) and then we went back to my aunts house. Later on that night, we decided to go bowling. 

bowling shoes selfie...wait what?

It was such a good time with my family. After bowling what did we do? We got some more Sonic. (It's a reoccuring thing throughout this whole trip, just bare with me). 

WEDNESDAY WE DID PUTT-PUTT. Holla! 

This was actually so fun though. I don't know what else to really say about it. 

Wednesday night we had Church again. 

Thursday we went to this really cool zoo that had so many awesome animals. The guy who ran the zoo was, like, freaking close to all the animals. Like, he would feed the bears marshmellows out of his mouth...like WHAT?

selfie with some ponies...cuteeeee.

 He also had snakes....lots and lots of snakes...which he made us hold... EW! I will never hold a snake again in my entire life. Agh.

Merci had a slight panic attack.

holla!

i swear this one was trying to kill us!

(We got more Sonic on the way home from this...just thought you should know). (We love happy hour a little too much).

I don't have any pictures from Friday. But on Friday morning we went swimming in a family friends pool. It was so nice to be able to just enjoy the weather and relax in the sun. The water felt amazing (it was like 100 degrees down there). So it was nice. 

Friday night my aunts Church hosted a game night and it. was. awesome. We played this game called Battle of the Sexes and it was madness. It was so funny to watch all the guys vs. the girls and to see how competitive we could all get. (Girls won...both games). 

On Saturday morning we drove home. So not too much excitement that day. I literally slept the whole way. But overall it was such a great vacation. I learned so much and tried so many new things. It was incredible. 

We vlogged some of it, so if you would like to see our crazy vacation adventures head over to youtube.com/abeautifulpath - we would really appreciate it!

xoxo Shi

What kind of vacation did you go on this summer?