Loving Who God Made You To Be

Hello there lovelies!

Today we have a guest post from my friend Cori. She was one of the first people to volunteer to write a blog post for this new blog post series I wanna do throughout the year and I LOVE what she has to say.

I hope you all receive some encouragement from this lovely gals words of wisdom.

Well, it’s a new year again and our social media is filled with “New year new me” posts and new years resolutions that will last a couple of weeks.  Now don’t get me wrong, I don’t see anything wrong with trying to better yourself, but when its all about me, me, me I think we might just be missing the point. My resolution is to grow closer to Christ and to love who He made me.

        The world tells us that it is all about you. You do you. You only live once. I agree to make the most of your life but when your life revolves around you and you only that isn’t exactly what God has planned. God tells us to live humbly and to always put your neighbor before yourself. He tells us to give a homeless man the clothes off our backs if he doesn’t have any. He tells us to pray for our enemies and love them no matter the harm they’ve caused you.  That may not be very easy, but that is what we are called to. There is a difference between loving who God made you and being a self centered jerk

        Now my life hasn’t been that easy. I was sexually abused, I’ve harmed myself and did for many years, and I even attempted suicide. Growing up I’ve had major self esteem problems.  I would look at myself in the mirror and hate everything about my reflection. I would cry at night because I wasn’t good enough for society or even myself. It wasn’t until recently, actually, that I realized  I wasn’t living how God had planned. It took a mental hospital being waved over my head for me to finally get my act together.  My point is this: God made you who you are for a reason and you are perfectly and wonderfully made. He planned out every inch of you, beautifully, inside of your mother and God, the God of the universe, does not make mistakes. (Psalms 139:13-18)

        Now I pray that in this new year you learn to love yourself for who God made you. Not for what the world wants you to be. Serve your Lord with all your heart soul and mind and love every bit of yourself because the creator of everything there ever was and is to come made you and that is pretty amazing if you think about it.

    Now I still deal with all of these things today. I am not saying that life is gonna be a bundle of joy on a sunny day. Life sucks, there’s no other way to put it, but it is so much easier to have hope and to love who God made you to be then to dwell on things and to try to be this perfect person society makes the standard out to be. You will never be perfect. You will never be “Good enough” , but you know what? That’s why Christ died for us. So that in Him we are good enough and always will be. God doesn’t look at us for all the bad things we have done.  He looks at us as perfect, just as He made us perfectly.

“Lord help me to love who You made me to be. Help me serve you in any way that i can in this new year. I pray that in the new year i grow spiritually and grow to love others more than myself, thank you for all these blessings, i pray that my self esteem will be high this year. In your name I pray , Amen.”

Yours Truly,
Cori Heck

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About The Blogger – A New Post Series!

Hello Readers!

As promised, here is the post I mentioned in my previous post about Writing Groups. Lots of craziness has been going on in my life (not all bad craziness! Just…Craziness) and a lot of it is linking to upcoming events and all that so I figured I might as well start posting about all this stuff cause I just want to share with everyone. I’ve been wanting to do some more personal about me type posts and all that but just never got to it but I figured, I eventually am gonna run out of things to say about writing that isn’t so repetitive AND I don’t want you all to be bored! Cause that just won’t do.

Nope. Nope. Nope.

SO here I am! Doing some posts about the goings on in my life. These probably won’t be an all the time thing but I thought it would still be fun to do every once in a while none-the-less.

Today’s post is gonna kinda be filling you in (and apologizing greatly) on the reasons for my absence on the blog lately. I’m excited to get going on this so get going on this, I shall!

(Note: All the fun and exciting stuff is near the bottom… like if you want to see my grad dress then stick around 😉 )

 

SOCIAL MEDIA STUFFS:

*unashamed self promo here*

Instagram!

SO. For those of you who don’t know. I have a bookish Instagram account (a.k.a Bookstagram) and it just recently reached 530+ followers! It’s pretty darn exciting and I’m hoping to be able to do some giveaways and such very soon. But yeah. Thats pretty exciting. You can find the link to my account on the sidebar or just search my username if you wanna see what kind of cool (ish) pictures I take.  (@TheLibrarianFiles)

I’ve taken a few recently that I absolutely adore so yeah.

Youtube!! 

So recently I began posting videos on youtube and what not all relating to books and writing and I’m enjoying it tremendously! I so far am not doing weekly videos and they are more popping up when I have the chance to film a video (and not sit there for 20 minutes talking to the camera when it stopped recording…cause yeah that happened and I had to re-film the last half of the video) BUT I’m gonna be switching it up and hopefully getting some vlogs of some upcoming events I’m going to! Which events? Well keep reading and you will find out.

But YES. I’m LOVING it and if you wanna check out my Youtube you totally should…and then give me video suggestions…cause I need help XD

The Librarian Files on Youtube

 

WRITING STUFFS:

Ok! So basically all my self promo thing is done. Well kinda sorta. If there is any of that in this section I promise this will be IT ok?

The Hope Movement Book – Some of you may or may not know about the Hope Movement. Its a website run by my friend Natalie and I and we use this blog to encourage those going through hard times and give them a sense of hope and we have decided to bump it up a bit and are writing a Non-Fiction book! That’s the only real details I have right now but we hope to have it complete by June or July and get it out into the world. But that is the writing I’ve been doing as of late as I’m working on school until Graduation in June!

The Fandom Studio is a blog I started with a few friends and basically its all things books/movies/TV and Fandoms. Nuff’ said.

 

 

READING STUFFS:

So as for reading, I’ve been doing a decent amount of work on it and my TBR pile grew over Easter Weekend cause I bought about 5-7 new books then. I can’t wait to get reading as I’ve got lots of exciting new books but before I move on to the shiny books, my friend gave me a huge stack of books to borrow almost a year ago after a weekend conference and I haven’t even started on it yet! O.O and he claims he is giving me more when I see him next. So I’ve suddenly dived into a panic because if he gives me anymore books I’m going to drown in the huge pile.

Think I’m being dramatic?

Yeah well, I’m not. (Both the Purple and Blue books in the middle of the stack were given to me by my Gram btw. But the others are from my friend)

On the plus side, this should help me blow thorough my Goodreads Challenge this year!

So far out of said challenge, I’ve read 6 out of 50 books…So I got a lot left to go but I’m getting there!

 

LIFE STUFFS:

Swing Dance 

I can’t recall if I’ve really mentioned much of my newest obsession on here or not. I did do a post about it on The Fandom Studio blog but I believe thats it. But anyways! I discovered a local Swing Dance group in November and went to one of their big dances they do once a month. I showed up not knowing what to do at all but then I was taught the basics by some people there and I was soon on my way. In January I joined their Monday night classes and have basically gone every Monday since. Its an absolute blast and the second weekend in March I spent a WHOLE weekend at a workshop learning Lindy Hop and it was beautiful. One of my favourite things I’ve done this year. (My Grad retreat was also a blast! If y’all wanna hear about that, let me know and I’ll write a post on that one) I’ve so far brought a bunch of my friends and my one sister with me to the classes and I’ve pulled a few people into this obsession with me…and I intend to make all my friends come dancing with me at LEAST once. Really thats all it should take to make them love it as well.

Upcoming Craziness of June 2016

Okay! So June is going to be a crazy busy month and I’m BEYOND excited for it. What craziness is going down, you might ask?

Well to start, the last weekend of May (I know that isn’t June but it all ties in so just go with it) I’m going to YC Alberta for the 4th time in a row. That is a conference I never tire of and I can’t wait because not only do I get to spend the entire weekend learning more about and praising God, but its also a time to get to spend with my friends. It’s an amazing and fun filled weekend that is the BEST way to kick off summer! (Or almost summer because Finals and stuff is still afterwards) THIS is one of the things myself and also my friend Morgan will be Vlogging for our youtube channels but yeah. Its going to be GREAT. So to kick off everything there is that.

THEN…

June 2nd I’m gonna be running around like a crazy lady because I’ll be picking my best friend from the airport in Calgary (an hour and a half from where I live) because my best friend is also my Grad Date/Escort (whatever you wanna call it haha) so I kinda need him 😛 and from there I will take my grad dress to the store I purchased it from and get it steamed so my skirt doesn’t turn into some weird, stiff, cupcake floof thing… THEN I will also need to be doing a final check to make sure I have EVERYTHING for Grad all ready to go for the next morning….cause if I forgot my dress at home I would laugh and then start to weep. You think that wouldn’t be possible but knowing me and my brain I wouldn’t put it past myself to forget something vital. Maybe not my dress but… you get the point.

Which reminds me.  *pauses the post*

LETS TAKE A BREAK SO I CAN SHOW YOU MY DRESS AND SHOES AND HAIR STYLE I HAVE ALL PICKED OUT AND ALL THAT.

MINE CHOSEN HAIRSTYLE

I have a backup hairstyle in case my hair isn’t long enough. because I’m prepared.

MINE SHOES

AND FINALLY!!! MINE DRESS

SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

OKAY SO NOW THAT IM DONE BEING EXCITED AND SQUEALING BACK TO THE CRAZINESS OF JUNE THING.

So fast forward to the early morning of June 3rd. Not only do I turn 19 that wonderful day but I have to drag myself and my friend (he’s a little bitter about it) out of bed and we are on the road to the Calgary area for my Grad…but we have to leave at 5am so I can go get my hair done for when the salon opens. Then the whole day will proceed and by the end of the day I will be a graduated person. (Who has yet to finish some of her exams.) and I’m beyond excited! That is going to be a wonderful day! Though I am slightly terrified because my friend Morgan (who is an absolute doll by the way! I love her to bits! ❤ )found out my 19th birthday is on Graduation Day and I’m afraid she’s gonna do something or whatever cause she is known as the Queen of Birthdays… I’m trying to decide if she is just scaring me or not. I’m not really sure….

BUT WIAT! WE’RE NOT DONE!

After graduation I will still have some studying to do and my friend will be here till the middle of that following week…. Then my friend goes home then two days later I’m going to stay at my friends place for a few days for HIS grad!! I’m super excited for that as well. Its gonna be great.

Then, even though I’ll be graduated by then….I will still have yet to complete my Diploma Exams which are like the middle of the month. The whole thing is like ‘Let Celebrate being done school!! — Oh wait! Jokes on you suckers! Cause if you fail your diplomas I’ll see you again next semester…”

Riiiiiiiight… Funny how that works…

But OH WELL I GUESS. What ya gonna do, right?

 

What God Has Been Teaching Me Lately

Alrighty. Lets see if I can get this write without being too vague or sounding like I’m complaining about all my problems cause that really isn’t my goal here.

Okay. So basically God has been teaching me a LOT of things lately so I’ll kinda just list off what they are and why (if there is even a clear ‘Why’ to it)

The Power of Prayer and just how IMPORTANT prayer is.

Patience

Peace

To Trust Him – This is a big one for me that kinda links all the things I listed together. I stress a LOT and am one of those people that will often talk out my problems to others and get their council and thinking out loud helps me sort out things. So lately this quote has been jumping in my head that says. “Have you prayed about it as much as you’ve talked about it?” and sometimes I just get this prompting from God like ‘Adriana, you gave your problems over to me so stop taking them back. Let me deal with this. I’ve got this. Trust Me.“

Does that mean I can’t talk about my problems? Absolutely NOT. But God is just showing me that I just need to stop and pray about it more and trust that He has got it. With that God is also showing me Peace and Patience in that I need to have Peace and try not to stress. and also Patience because I’m the kind of person who just wants things fixed right here, right now…and thats not always what God has in mind.

My Favourite Music Right Now AND My Song of the Year

So this year, I kind of have a song for the year and that song is called ‘Verge’ by Owl City (feat. Aloe Blacc).

Not only is the music video amazing but I LOVE the lyrics!

I ain’t too sure what I believe in
But I believe in what I see
and when I close my eyes
I see my whole life ahead of me
These are our hours (These are our hours)
This is our time (This is our time)
This is our time
These are our hours (These are our hours)
Out on the verge (Out on the verge)
Out on the verge of the rest of our lives (The rest of our lives)

Out on the verge of the rest of our lives tonight
Top of the world and we’re dressed to the nines tonight
Edge of the earth and we’re touching the sky tonight
Out on the verge of the rest of our lives

From now on
There’s no looking back
Full steam ahead
On this one way track
From this day forward
I will make promise
To be true to myself
And always be honest
For the rest of my life
I will do what’s right
I will do what’s right
When I step out on the

Out on the verge of the rest of our lives tonight
Top of the world and we’re dressed to the nines tonight
Edge of the earth and we’re touching the sky tonight
Out on the verge of the rest of our lives (The rest of our lives)

The rest of our lives
Edge of the earth and we’re touching the sky tonight
Out on the verge of the rest of our lives

Its one of my favourite songs right now. Why I’m not sure but its kinda like an empowering ‘YEAH YOU CAN DO THIS’ kind of song and I LOVE it to pieces. Also, I mean how can you NOT love Owl City? I mean really.

Aside from that song. I have a LOT of worship songs I’m in love with right now but I will have to say my top favourites right now are:

Holy Spirit by Francesca Battistelli

Good Good Father by Chris Tomlin

Beautiful Things by Gungor

Jesus, Healer by Bluetree

I mean there are a LOT more but right now, those are my favourites. I just love the words. So powerful and filled with meaning and they just speak to me and I love them!

If you want a HUGE playlist of Worship Music to listen to, I got your back! So feel free to go listen to it HERE or leave it be. Whatever you wanna do. But its there if you want. The songs I just listed are also there if you have never heard them and wanna listen to them or whatever.

SO. Thats my post. Usually these kinds of posts won’t be freakishly long or they will be done sporadically in different parts as things unfold but I have so much to look forward to so I wanted to talk about it all here and now!

Thanks for popping by! Until Next Time

Adriana G.

Castle of Sighs Blog Tour! Book Review + Quote Stop

Hello Readers!

Welcome to the blog tour for Jennifer Murgia’s Castle of Sighs! In today’s post I’m gonna share some info about Jennifer’s new upcoming novel, my own mini review, some other praise for the novel, a giveaway, AND more bog tour related stuff. It’s cool and you are gonna want to stick around for this.

~Adriana G.

 

ABOUT THE BOOK
Castle of Sighs
Author: Jennifer Murgia
Release Date: September 15th, 2015
Publisher: Spencer Hill Press

 

SYNOPSIS:
In this sequel to FOREST OF WHISPERS, Some secrets cannot be kept—in life or in death. Months have passed since Rune has heard a single whisper from her long-dead mother, the great witch of Bavaria. But the absence of one evil has only made room for another.
After rightfully inheriting her ancestral home, Pyrmont Castle, Rune settles into a quiet life taking care of two orphans left in the wake of the terrible witch hunt that claimed dozens of lives in the nearby village. As the days grow colder, the castle’s secrets beckon and Rune finds herself roaming where no one has set foot in a long time. In the bowels of the fortress is a locked room full of memories that hang like cobwebs—shelves stacked with jars, strange specimens, putrid liquids, and scrolls of spells. Rune is undeniably drawn to what she finds there, and she begins to dabble in the possibilities of magic, hoping to find a cure for the strangeness overwhelming the castle.
As secrets unspool, the delicate thread of Rune’s world is threatened when she realizes the key may lie in the dark forest she once called home and the boy she thought she knew
BOOK LINKS
Goodreads | Amazon | B&N

 

ADRIANA GABRIELLE’S REVIEW

What a wonderfully chilling sequel to Forest of Whispers!!

This book gave me a crazy case of paranoia related feels and many chills. There were many times I would actually glance over my shoulder just because the chills I got from this book are simply unreal. If you want a good Halloween read with witches and ghosts, this is your book.
I’m still just as in love with the characters as I was in book one. One element I loved in this story wasn’t the creepiness of the story but the stronger element of mystery. I liked how even though not always in the spotlight that sense of mystery remained in the novel and I feel it just added to the creepiness and suspense of the whole witches, plagues, ghosts and other horrors much more than with Forest of Whispers. I applaud Jennifer Murgia for another chilling, brilliantly written sequel.

 

QUOTE STOP!

PRAISE FOR FOREST OF WHISPERS
“Murgia’s dual narration makes this historical fantasy a compelling read. The plot-driven text quickly moves the story forward, and the vivid descriptions of 17th-century southwestern Germany pull readers in . . .  the pacing and narrative are absorbing. A solid novel for fans of historical fantasy that are looking for a fast-paced, action-filled tale.” ~ SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL

“FOREST OF WHISPERS drew me in from the very first page! Rune is a capable and empathetic heroine who had me rooting for her from the start. Fans of witch and rune-lore will enjoy this darkly woven tale.” ~Amalie Howard, author of critically acclaimed Waterfell, The Almost Girl, and Alpha Goddess, a Spring 2014 Kids’ INDIE NEXT title.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jennifer Murgia writes moody fiction for teens—from paranormal fantasy (Angel Star, Lemniscate, The Bliss), to contemporary gut-punchers (Between These Lines). Her latest, Forest of Whispers, a 17th century historical mystery (about witches!) was a School Library Journal Fall 2014 HOT TITLE, and a 2014 Moonbeam Children’s Literature Award Winner. Look for the sequel,​Castle of Sighs, to hit shelves 9.15.15 from Spencer Hill Press. In 2012, Jennifer Co-Founded YA FEST with YA author/friend, Cyn Balog. She coordinates this unique annual festival, bringing teens and fellow Young Adult authors together at her hometown library in Easton, PA.
WEBSITE | EMAIL | TWITTER | INSTAGRAM | FACEBOOK | PINTEREST

Publicity inquiries: brooke@spencerhillpress.com

 

GIVEAWAY
1 Winner will get a $20.00 Amazon Gift Card + Kep Necklance

Must be 13+ To Enter | Open Internationally

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/3cb06a6e363/

 

 

Tour Schedule
October 12th: A Leisure Moment ~ QUOTE STOP
A Dream Within A Dream ~ REVIEW
October 13th: The Librarian Files ~ REVIEW + QUOTE STOP  <— THAT’S HERE! 😀
October 14th: Me, My Shelf and I ~ QUOTE STOP
October 15th: Her Book Thoughts ~ REVIEW + QUOTE STOP
October 16th: Books Are Metal ~ QUOTE STOP
Zach’s YA Reviews ~ REVIEW