BLOG HISTORY
NOVEMBER
November 1, 2014 Saturday
Another year ... coming to a close
Making new friends ... lol
Photo of Karissa Hagemeister & Scorch
Well, happy 1st of November to all you beautiful people!
Can you believe that November is already here?! That means Christmas is just around the corner and the end of 2014 will be here before we know it. Another year come and is almost gone.
Is it just me or does this year feel like it flew by? It seems like we were just celebrating Christmas last year. Time has escaped us once again.
But at the same time, so much has happened this past year.
Technically, we still have two months before this year is over. But I know those months will fly by in the blink of an eye with all the holiday hub-bub going on.
I AM THANKFUL
November 27, 2014 Thursday
So I have already began thinking about this past year. Did I accomplish what I wanted to? Did I grow? Did I love as much as I could? Is there still something I can do before the close of this year?
I do not like wasting time or doing things that have no results or accomplish nothing. I think that is why I like to evaluate my year.
I feel like I have grown so much this year. I can see myself growing into the woman I was made to be, step-by-step. I learned some hard lessons. Some of my plans came through but many of them changed.
I made new friends. Lost touch with some old friends. Laughed over the silliest things. Cried over some pretty hard things. Loved but not as much as I could have.
It makes me happy to know that I was able to accomplish so much and go so far. It is hard knowing that I did not do everything the best that I could or finish everything that I wanted to but it gives me some goals to look forward to and work on in the new year.
I believe in living my life to the fullest. Enjoying every second of it. Making the most out of where I am. Seeing the beauty in every possible thing.
I hope you have found much success and growth in this past year. Remember to enjoy to the fullest these last few months before we all begin again. Life is beautiful, and we are about to enter the most beautiful season (at least in my opinion) of the year.
YOU ARE NOT
November 2, 2014 Sunday
Thanksgiving is a good time to remember that we should be thankful every day
Photo of Karissa Hagemeister
Hello Beautiful,
Happy Thanksgiving, first of all.
Let me take advantage of the fact that it is Thanksgiving and share with you what and who I am thankful for (I probably will not get everything in this small space, but I will try).
I am thankful for family, both immediate members, those married in and relatives far away. I am thankful that I still have most of my family members and for the majority, we all remain in good health.
I am thankful for the friends that I have not only across the states, but around the world (and this includes you). I could try to name all of my friends but I feel I would never be able to finish.
I am thankful for God, his Son and the Holy Spirit. For their love for me and their purpose for my life. I am thankful for all that they have done for me and all that they are still doing, even though I never deserved it.
I am thankful for my future husband, for the love that he has not only for me but for God. I am thankful that he is pursuing God’s purpose for his life. I am thankful that he will lead me with wisdom and love.
I am thankful for food, clothing, shelter, water and all the extra gadgets that I do not really need but have been blessed with.
I am thankful for nature, the beauty and the life in it: both animals and plants.
I am thankful for life. I am thankful for health. I am thankful for a strong heart and a wise mind.
I am thankful for the many gifts and talents that God has blessed me with.
I could go on for a long time, but now I would like to hear what you are thankful for, beautiful ...
I'm thankful for you
You are you, not your parents
A good message I heard today in church ... thought it was worth passing along.
No matter what background you came from. No matter who your parents are. What they did. No matter what your siblings did. No matter what has run in your family history ... those things are not you. They do not make you.
Your dad may have been an alcoholic, that does not mean you will be. You may be tempted by it, but you can be strong and overcome that. You can build a better life and future for yourself and your kids.
My parents got divorced, but that sure as junk does not mean that I am. I choose to learn from the mistakes that my parents made.
Be you, no strings from the past attatched
Photo of Karissa Hagemeister
I choose to work the best that I can on the marriage God gives me. Loving, and respecting my husband; marrying for life.
No matter what your past or your families past looks like, you are you. You are not them. You are not their past. You are not their mistakes. You are not a mistake.
You are a beautiful individual with a bright and beautiful future ahead of you. Keep your head on straight. Keep your eyes on your future and your goals.
Do not be afraid to dream and dream big.
BIG, UGLY TRUTH
November 3, 2014 Monday
I do not want something that ugly hiding in the deep recesses of who I am. Making it miserable for others to be around me.
I come to random realizations of what is inside my heart. These just came to me towards the end of last week.
There is always something there. It must by that self-righteous thing but most of the time they come as a surprise to me. What? That is in there? Well, I never ... thought that I was that way.
I say all of that to say this, no matter what deep, ugly secrets you have, we all have some. Now you know mine. You also know that you do not have to live with them. You are stronger than them and you can be free from their grip on your life.
You do not have to keep working on being perfect, just work on becoming a better version of yourself, beautiful.
This is what happens when those things don't get taken care of ...
Photo by Karissa Hagemeister
Hello Beautiful,
The truth is, we all have big, ugly things that hide in our hearts. These things are what keep us human: human meaning imperfect and makers of mistakes. They are not excuses for us to keep falling upon.
The truth is, I am a self-righteous, judgmental and prideful jerk. There is the big, ugly truth. It does not make me who I am. It was not even until I looked closer, deeper into my heart that I even realized that it was there.
Sometimes those things hide. We all have different things that hide inside. But once they show their big, ugly faces, I for one, am ready to nip that in the butt and get it removed.
These
things do not make you
A LITTLE CLOSER
November 5, 2014 Wednesday
Through it all, I get a little closer
Hello Beautiful,
Today I wanted to share a great song with you by Group 1 Crew, from their album "Faster." This kind of describes where I am right now ...
The song is called "A Little Closer"
IF YOU OPENED MY HEART
YOU'D SEE I DON'T HAVE IT ALL TOGETHER
IF YOU TOOK ME APART
YOU'D SEE THE WORST OF ME WANTS TO GET BETTER
BUT YOU'RE CHANGING ME, PIECE BY PIECE
INTO WHO YOU'RE REALLY CALLIN ME TO BE
THERE'S A BEAUTY AND BEAST INSIDE OF ME
WHO I AM FIGHTING WHO I WANNA BE
BUT THROUGH THE RISE AND FALLS
THE ROLLER COASTER
I, I, I GET A LITTLE CLOSER
LIKE A CHILD WALKING IN THEIR FATHER'S SHOES
I JUST WANNA LOOK A LITTLE MORE LIKE YOU
EVERYDAY'S ANOTHER STEP FORWARD
I, I GET A LITTLE CLOSER
I, I GET A LITTLE CLOSER
LORD, I KNOW THAT IT'S TRUE
YOU'RE GONNA FINISH THIS WORK YOU STARTED
EVEN WHEN I DON'T KNOW AND IT'S MOVING SO SLOW
EVEN WHEN I FEEL NOTHING BUT BROKEN HEARTED
BUT YOU'RE CHANGING ME, PIECE BY PIECE
INTO WHO I KNOW THAT I AM GONNA TO BE
I, I GET A LITTLE CLOSER
ALL MY DAYS
EVERY BREATH I TAKE
WON'T YOU MAKE ME, SHAPE ME, INTO WHO YOU ARE
My beautiful sister and I having a cup of joe and a nice convo
Photo of Cassandra & Karissa Hagemeister
BEAUTY WITHIN
November 7, 2014 Friday
Inner beauty vs.
Inner ugly
Hello Beautiful,
Inner beauty glows ten times more than outer beauty does.
I am one of those individuals that believes everyone is beautiful. There are some people that cover up their beauty by hiding in overly-baggy clothes. Some that have lost respect for themselves so they do nothing to enhance their beauty in regards to hair or make up. But everyone is beautiful on the outside.
The inner beauty is what really makes it or breaks it. Inner beauty are the things that drive your responses, fuel your comments and make up the deep recesses of your heart. Inner beauty consists of love, kindness, caring, compassion, generosity ...
I do not think that people are ugly on the outside but there is definitely inner ugly that many people carry inside their hearts and that causes the darkness to mask their outer beauty, making it less visible or believable. Inner ugly are things like hate, unforgiveness, bitterness, jealousy, envy, anger, strife ... you get the picture.
It is all about the beauty within
Photo Karissa Hagemeister
If you have been on this planet long enough, you have most likely come across some human beings that have sparked a less than beautiful response inside. Many have even dealt with traumatic life events that have caused some inner ugly to rear its head.
Saying that, we all have dealt with some inner ugly. But that does not mean that you stay ugly inside. If you really deal with those feelings and emotions that arise and release them, choosing not to act on them but finding something more beautiful to do in response, you kick that inner ugly out and it makes room for inner beauty.
I know how hard it is to make that choice to be the better person. To choose beauty over the ugly that wants so badly to come out. I spent many years living with inner ugly. The sad part is, people knew it was there. Especially the people I loved the most because those were the ones that would often get the lashing from the inner ugly.
I wish that I could say I have advanced to a perfect state but that would be a lie. The truth is, sometimes I still battle with the inner beauty and inner ugly and sometimes I do make the ugly choice. But now I am quick to ask forgiveness if I have hurt someone and give that inner ugly the boot.
Here’s to your inner beauty, beautiful!
WEEKEND REFLECTIONS
November 9, 2014 Sunday
The things I used to do, I don't do anymore
Hello Beautiful,
Hope your weekend has been wonderful.
I have been enjoying a weekend, practically, to myself. This hardly ever happens but when it does, I find myself reminiscing a lot.
These past two days I have spent time pouring over old yearbooks, photo albums and journals that I kept in high school.
Sometimes it can be nice to revisit the past. You can see how far you have grown. You can see the things that you have overcome. Those things that looked like huge, scary mountains at the time but are nothing but small ant hills of your past.
I did a lot of laughing. I mean the hard, rolling on the floor, type of laughing. Mostly at myself. At how naive I was. When I think about it, I am still pretty naive.
It is also interesting to look back or read back because I can see patterns of things that I do.
Put my thinking cap on and think, think, think ...
Photo of Karissa Hagemeister
It is not so easy to see them in the present. But it is good because it shows me areas where I am weak and have been weak, so now I know that I need to work on them or watch out for them.
It is really interesting going back through things from the past. I do not know if anyone else feels this way, but I go back and it feels like I have lived several lives. I change so much as a person, that the person I was back in high school or even college is not close to the person I am now. Cats have nine lives, how many do humans have? I think I’ve had at least that many.
Its weird because that person that I used to be in those other places and other times, she just sort of disappeared. Or I guess you could say she died. I am still alive but that part of me is not.
Maybe not everyone is like me, but when new situations arise (like going off to college) or when a new year comes, I like to think of it as a new start. A time to reinvent parts of me that don’t fit with who I am anymore. I am always looking for a way to improve some part of me. Not in a bad way. I am not trying to become something that I am not. But it is more like I am trying to remove things that I do not feel really add to me as a person.
Hmm ... reflecting is fun. I like to think a lot. LOL ... anyways enough of my rambling. Wishing your start of the new week will be fun and productive, beautiful.
THE TRUTH
November 10, 2014 Monday
We all want the truth ...
Hello Beautiful,
People want to know the truth.
Do you like it when people lie to you? I know I sure don’t. I do not like people deceiving me. I do not like them even lying to me if they are trying not to hurt my feelings.
Tell me the truth, straight up, or stay out of my face.
I do not even enjoy people being fake with me. That is the same thing as lying. Putting on a front, a facade, so that people will think one thing of you that is not even real.
If all we really want is the truth, why do we go around lying and deceiving others? They want the truth too. They want to know who you really are. They want to know what is really happening in the country they live in.
The TRUTH is so crucial in the decisions we make and in how we choose to live our lives.
Narrow is the road that leads to true life
Photo by Karissa Hagemeister
Here is a big truth that most people are afraid to admit or stand up for:
The truth is this life will end. Once it does there is a hereafter. There are two destinations: Heaven or Hell. Hell is a lake of fire where you burn constantly in the sins you committed in this life. It never ends. Non stop, excruciating pain and torch for eternity.
Heaven is far greater than anything you could ever picture or imagine in this life. But there is only one, narrow way to Heaven. That way is through a relationship with Jesus Christ, God’s only son. You accept him into your heart as your personal Lord and Savior.
When you do this, the truth in all other areas of your life becomes much more clear. He gives you guidance and direction in this life through the Holy Spirit. He fills this life with joy, peace and love. That is something worth living for, don’t you think, Beautiful?
If you are looking for the truth, there it is. You will be amazed at how much the truth can change your life.
COLD FEET
November 12, 2014 Wednesday
Cold feet
=
Happy feet
Hello Beautiful,
I have not given many beauty tips lately so I decided that this would be a good one to share. This one is for your tootsies and it is a practice I participate in every winter.
The weather is changing outside. In some places it is getting nippy, in other places it is already snowing.
That being said, most of us have put our feet away for winter. No, we do not take them off but we keep them covered. So they will be spending their days covered in socks and boots for the next several months.
What better time to take extra care in pampering in your feet?! Here are some of the things that I do that will make your feet happier than ever:
Oh the places your feet will go
Photo by Karissa Hagemeister
1. Take the polish off ... and leave it off for the winter. No one is going to see your toes except for you for the next few months so allow them time to breathe.
2. Soak them toes ... if the polish has turned your toenails a yellow/orange color, soak them in baking soda and water for about 10 minutes. That will help diminish the coloring greatly.
3. Scrap ‘em ... not your toenails, just your heels and any other part that gets rough from being walked on. PedEgg works great for me but there are many other tools that can help as well.
4. Lather up ... this one is the real winner!! Smother your feet in petroleum jelly, coconut oil, olive oil or vitamin E right before you put your socks on for the day or for the night. Do this often throughout the whole winter. By the the time spring comes around, your feet will be softer than a baby’s butt. (Vitamin E helps if you have scars from blisters or whatever).
So there you have it .... the secret to amazing feet. Cold feet is not such a bad thing after all :)
Just another beautiful reason to be happy about winter and the cold weather. It gives us ladies a chance to doctor and pamper our most used attribute.
Have a beautiful day :)
ALONE
November 15, 2014 Saturday
Just because you're lonely....
Hello Beautiful,
Do you ever feel utterly alone? When you are surrounded by people, maybe even family, but you feel alone ... maybe it seems you are invisible to the world around you. Nobody notices you. Nobody cares.
Beautiful, you are never alone. Not even when you feel your loneliest. Believe me when I say, there is a God in Heaven who knows everything about you to the number of hairs on your head to the number of tears you cried last night. Not only does he know but he cares more than any human on this planet could care for you.
He loves you and you wants you to know that.
I have had some very lonely seasons of my life, some where I was literally alone, like when I left to live in China with a group of strangers who later became friends. And other times I have been lonely, even when surrounded by family and friends.
I'm never alone
Photo of Karissa Hagemeister
But one thing I have always found to get me through that pain of feeling alone is to remind myself that God is right there with me. Yes, that makes me feel better right away. But I don’t stop there. After I acknowledge his presence, I ask him to hold me tight and fill me with his love. In my mind, I imagine sitting on his lap and wrapping me so tightly against his chest. I think on this for a long while. What’s interesting is after I have done this, I do not feel so alone anymore.
If you are feeling lonely right now, why don’t you try it. God is not going to scorn you or laugh at you. He will embrace you. Such a sweet feeling, the love and the presence of God.
I wish I could be there with you and for you during this lonely time, but even I cannot make the loneliness go away.
Just always remember, you are never alone, beautiful. There is a God that loves you very much and so do I. Always hold that in your heart ... always.
BE THE CHANGE
November 18, 2014 Tuesday
Be the spark that starts a fire
Rock this cold weather with a leather jacket and pops of RED ...
Photo of Karissa Hagemeister
Hello Beautiful,
Below are lyrics to song that is new and has begun playing on Air 1, my favorite readio station. I wanted to share it with you because it has been really inspiring to me and I feel like it is one of the main topics that we like to discuss on this blog!!
Enjoy, be encouraged. I love all of you beautiful people.
"Be the Change"
by Shuree
Turn on the TV
Everything is empty
So sick and tired of the rotten junk they're feeding me
Selling us a pack of lies
They must think we lost our minds
When we gonna stop buying what they're pushing down the line
Don't don't be fooled
Don't don't be fooled
It won't be different till we start unleashin'
The the truth
Let it loose go
Be the change
That you want to see
Don't be afraid to be
The change
He started inside of you
Now let it shine through
Be the change
Live like your made to be the change
Inhaling this mess
You're breathless
To scared to speak up you're feeling powerless
Being cool ain't always right
You don't have to compromise
Do you hear his truth inside roaring in you like a lion
Be be be fierce
Be be be fierce
Stand up and take a swing risk everything
Be the change
That you want to see
Don't be afraid to be
The change
He started inside of you
Now let it shine through
Be the change
Live like your made to be the change
Lead the way to His light that won't burn out
To His love that laid it down
To His hope that leads the way
To His light that won't burn out
To His love that laid it down
To His hope that leads the way
So we can be the change
ADD IT UP
November 20, 2014 Thursday
YOU
do add
up
Homemade beanies are perfect for keeping your head warm. My sis made it for me :)
Photo of Karissa Hagemeister
Hello Beautiful,
Have you ever felt like you amount to nothing? Or that you will never amount to anything?
Maybe you feel completely worthless. Maybe you try to make it, you try to make something over yourself but it never seems good enough. Are you good enough?
Yes, you are! You are more than good enough. You are precious and you are perfectly you.
But I know what you are going through. I battled with feeling that way for the majority of my life. No matter what I did, nobody seemed to care. Someone was always better, always smarter, always more beautiful than I was. It hurt.
Sometimes those thoughts still try to creep up but then I have to tell myself the truth about who I really am.
Beautiful, you have to do the same.
Yes, there are always going to be people that are better than we are at nearly everything. But life is not a competition. You are you. I am me. They are them.
We spend too much time comparing ourselves to everyone else, even images that are not realistic. And we too eagerly seek everyone’s approval.
This way of thinking and behaving is way too overwhelming. The only competition we should be up against is our past self. If you are working on you, if you are trying, if you are seeing some good change in yourself, then you should be elated.
You are better at one or two things than you used to be. You may not see a world of difference from the person you were last week, but what about last year? See, this is worth competing about.
Your opinion of you is more important than anyone else’s. Do you love yourself? Do you see yourself as worthy? Do you see yourself as beautiful and intelligent? Work on accepting yourself first, before looking to others for their approval of you.
Beautiful, you do add up ... and it is time you see it for yourself.
DREAMS COME TRUE
November 22, 2014 Saturday
Dreams
do come true
Hello Beautiful,
Dreams do come true. They do. Not every dream. Maybe not how you imagined it would. Or when you want it to.
Dreams are possible. What makes them possible? You dreaming them. When you allow yourself to dream, you do not place limitations or restrictions on yourself or your abilities. You think beyond what you see or can even imagine.
Dreaming comes true by doing. Dreaming is the first step. The second step is to do something about it. Do anything that you can to work towards it, as often as you can, whenever you get a chance.
Keep your dreams at the front of your mind and go after them with all that you have until you reach them. Doing this, there is nothing that will keep you from reaching them.
If you need a little encouragement, watch this little video below that I took at Disney World, and remember DREAMS COME TRUE!!
Have a lovely weekend, beautiful.
Adding some bling to your winter wardrobe brightens things up
Photo of Karissa Hagemeister
BE YOURSELF
November 25, 2014 Tuesday
Bea
U
tiful
Hello Beautiful,
It is so refreshing to be around someone who knows who they are and who is not afraid to be themselves around family as well as strangers.
Care free, full of life, full or personality.
Those people have inspired me. It seems that there way of being themselves encourages others around them to embrace that idea and lifestyle as well.
To be yourself in all circumstances, you have to be able to accept all quirks and flaws about you. You have to live unafraid of what everyone will think about you.
Being yourself means you have nothing to hide. It means knowing that you have something to offer the world as the person you are. It means not accepting the fake versions and molds that the world wants you to be.
Don't be afraid to be yourself. The rest of the world is waiting on you to know that it is okay for them to be themselves ...
Photo of Karissa Hagemeister
Being yourself is simply just being you. No masks, no strings attached. Nothing hidden.
I have to work at being myself because I have a tendency to want to hide. I am like a turtle. If anyone comes around that I am not familiar with, I pop in my shell until I know it is safe to come out.
I like to keep practically everything about my life hidden. And you know what ... I don’t really know why. So I work on sharing more about myself with others. I work on not being afraid of what people will think if I act like my crazy self.
It is refreshing, those moments I am able to break out and be me. I feel free.
I encourage you to find ways to be yourself more in different areas of your life because, beautiful, there is no one else like you in the world and the world wants to see who you really are.
THE IN BETWEEN
November 29, 2014 Saturday
We need to pick a side
Hello Beautiful,
Have you ever been in the place where you wonder if you are not doing enough but if you do more, maybe it would be too much? I call that place “the in between.”
I am in that place in every area of my life right now. If I push a little further in this area, will it mess up everything that I have been working towards? But if I do not push more in that area, am I being lazy or letting it go?
Honestly, what normally ends up happening is I think about it so much that I give in and push more. Sometimes it works out and sometimes it doesn’t.
How do I know what is right? How do I know what is wise?
It is hard because I really don’t feel like talking to anybody about it. If I do, they will only give me their opinion and share their past experiences.
Double sided earrings are much better than being double-minded
Photo of Karissa Hagemeister
More times than not, that is not helpful. These are my own experiences and no one is going to have the same outcome and I will not necessarily have the same as they did.
It is so confusing. And it eats me up, consuming my thoughts for weeks on end sometimes. But the crazy thing is, it always seems to work out one way or the other.
I guess what it really boils down to is that I worry too much. Ughhh ... I need to stop.
Well, if you are in the in between, or worry too much like me, try to remember that things will always work out one way or another and thinking so much about them only makes things worse for yourself.
Your life is a beautiful thing, don’t let worry consume it.
