Note to self: Never talk the entire time on a date. Laught a lot. Be confident. It's ok to wear that wrap you got from South America that reads Brazil in bold letters... given the fact that you are fifty. It's ok to wear your capri overalls and go to your favorite coffee shop.

And finally...
It's ok to talk to the stranger next to you in the nail salon and show just as much enthusiasm for their wedding as they are.


Do you ever go somewhere that is so familiar, yet you feel like just another name on the shelf? How do you change your perspective to one that looks for the interest of the other people surrounding you?

Psalm 130:5-6 says, "I am counting on the Lord; yes, I am counting on him. I have put my hope in His word. I long for the Lord more than sentries long for the dawn."

I thought a lot this past week and weekend just about life in general. I have discovered three things that I will be working more on...

1. Confidence
- Be the confident one. Don't let your past moments kill your spirit.
2. Perseverence
3. Patience

Quote from church this past weekend... "If you have a dream and it begins to die, maybe God is asking you what is more important...Him or the dream."


I call him dad.
He calls me Mal.
I love him.
Happy Father's Day 2010


Today is a day to live.
Strong words for someone who is weak.

Have you ever woke up from a restful sleep and had no idea what you were going to do for that day? For some, this brings a fear that they just want to hide back under their covers. I sit here and ponder that question. Do I really just sit there in the morning wondering what will happen for this day? Or do I say, "Lord, here I am... may I be still and know that you are God. This is your day. I give it to You."

I think a lot of the time we get wrapped up in everything we have to do. We already made a list for the list that we taped on our alarm clock so that we would not forget to call such and such for that very important appointment. How often do we... how often do I just still and be still. God gave me today to live for Him so I should live today and let him guide it.

I often over analyze everything, and for once I want to give that control of lists over to God so that he can handle today.

How will you control your "today"? Will you let it be a fear that controls you? Live today for Him because today is a day to Live.


Do you ever run into dry moments in your life? You get to that point where nothing good or bad is going on. You are just kind of stuck on the "or". Something that I have been learning lately is that sometimes you can be surrounded by dryness, but it is what you make of the surrounding that effects your life. Right now, I am just doing a lot of listening. I am seeing where the Lord takes me next and what exactly He wants me to do. I do not want the dryness around to effect the overflowing power He has!


Have you ever just sat and thought? You know, you're sitting on your bed with the lights dimmed or you are at Barnes N Noble enjoying your iced caramel macchiato and you are just thinking? Today I am sitting here at Barnes N Noble, and I watch the fellow readers read their huge novels and the bloggers click away on their laptops. Sometimes I wonder about the full time bloggers life. What exactly do they do? Do they sit on their computers all day doing "research" and finding amazing articles about the most creative and innovative things so people like me read them daily? I mean, what exactly gets me hooked on a person's blog where I enjoy to read each on a daily basis? I love the field that I am going into, nursing, but I learn that I have enjoyments in my life that are more than just working in a hospital. Don't get me wrong... I am very excited to one day be working in a hospital helping people (I love the thought of that), but I am also excited to see where each new day will bring me.

I love the thought that I can wake up tomorrow and it will be a new adventure... it's a new adventure that I get to take on. I love that.

Here are a few other things I love...
1. Jesus
2. My family (especially my momingo time with my madre)
3. My Roommate (we've been roommates since our freshmen year of college; no we did not know each other prior. the Lord completely blessed that friendship and continues to do so daily)
4. Traveling (like I said, I love taking on a good adventure)
5. A creative energetic blogpost (I enjoy pulling ideas from all over the place and compiling them into thoughts that may become my own)
6. Music (I did not find true appreciate for this until I met my roommate, but I love to sit back for a simple Sunday drive and listen to the beats, the lyrics, and the heart behind a song)
7. Being Outside (can you go wrong? I do not think so. some of the greatest adventures have been comprised outdoors, and that simple thought drives me)
8. Photography (the thought that I am getting to experience memories in the making with the simple click of a photo is where I pull much of my creativity. I hunger to capture more and more images every single day)
9. A Good Cup of Coffee (I have had many good cups of coffee, but I have to throw the props out to JUDES which has inevitably providing me probably the best cup of Joe I have experienced)
10. Finally, but not lastly, Antiquing (this has been something I just started to pick up on the last couple years, but you know... I love it. People ask, why do you love it so much? I love it because it provides some of the most incredible history you will ever receive. It is more than just collecting dusk grabbers or becoming a hoarder, NO THANK YOU, it is the stories behind the simple treasures you find... that is what gets me each time.

I like taking on a good adventure. Use each new day to conquer something new. It does not have to be this huge adventure that you have had planned out for months (although that is ok). It can simply be something that is good. Something that is good for you.

Take on a Good Adventure.


The best thing to hold on to is each other...

I sit here and glance and see that quote. It is something that was given and received. Today I wanted to be a simplest. To be able to have an open loft or a simple cottage with just a few of your most treasured items would be sustainable. It would be refreshing.

Those things though won't always be anchored into you. They will not be built into our lives as the best thing to hold on to.

Sometimes the best thing is just having someone dear to you right by your side. Someone that makes you laugh, enjoy silence, speak words of wisdom... Sometimes the best thing to hold on to is each other.


Everyday brings something different. One day you wake up and eat your oatmeal and whole wheat and then the next day it may be eggs and bacon. I have been trying to have this philosophy to just wake up and let God lead each day. I mean... why try to control the simple moments of life when I know that they will not go my way if He is not in control. The other day I found out that my brother and I both graduate on the same day. May 14, 2011. How is that possible? My school just happened to move graduation one week later than normal, and his school decided to move graduation one week earlier than normal. We have been in the same place for the past four years, and all of a sudden they decide to change it.

Everyday brings something different.

What am I suppose to even feel? Sad? Mad? Disappointed? No one did anything wrong, yet I get frustrated about the situation. It makes me sad because I am torn on where to be. What does this whole thing mean? I just keep going back to the thought that this is such an interesting situation I am in and I do not even know what to do.

What would you do?

Everyday brings something different.


That seems to be my motto these days... "Life is for Living". I say it a lot because I think it is important for us to realize that we need to live life to the fullest everyday. I don't want to be that person that walks around with regret because I did not do something or because I had stumbling blocks in my way. Move those blocks over and go for the dreams, go for the goals, and push yourself! It will be worth it! Ya, it may not always be easy, but I truly believe that you have to go through tough stuff to learn and see some of the greatest things!

God did not call us to walk in fear, but to walk in faith! We have a choice to let the bogginess of the world drag us down, or the joys of the Lord lift us up. You may not be 100% happy where you are right now, but take where you are and do something with it! Your life may change because of it! Now wouldn't that be awesome.

Here's a few things I will do (and someday soon!):
- ride a hot air balloon
- ride in a vintage yellow vw beetle through the mountains
- own a moped
- ride in an airboat
- see the northern lights
- pick cotton from a cottonfield
- run a 5k
- go to oregon & washington
- go guerilla gardening


"...and so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will be given what you ask for. Keep on looking, and you will find. keep on knocking, and the door will be opened. for everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And the door is opened to everyone who knocks." Luke 11:9-10

I have always done a blog for my photography (http://www.wix.com/NellesImages/Nelles-Images - temporary site), a blog for my portfolio/graphic design work, and a blog for whatever other random stuff... but I never have really sat down and done a blog to put my thoughts on everyday life. You know, the thoughts that encourage you, the thoughts that bring emotion, and the thoughts that just make you wanna laugh. So I thought... hey why not start now? Why not put my little fingers to the test... I have always been the type to pick up a pen a jot a little note down or pick up a pretty journal and "try" to write words of wisdom. But let's face it... I can type faster than I write and when my mind is going and running, I want to catch every part of it. Does that ever happen to you?

Luke 11:8... It's basically been a verse that has stuck with me this past year with the different trials that I have gone through. I must say... everything I have done and gone through has been for a purpose and a reason. I may find out one day what that reason is, or I may never know the purpose, but I know God has a reason for it all. So that is why I have decided to call this Shameless Persistance. This is for those times where I just want to encourage others to laugh a lot and try to live each day to the fullest!

So for the start... I think I did pretty good. I mean hey... you read it didn't you? :)

P.S.
Wanted to leave you with these beautiful words by Brooke Fraser...

There's distance in the air and I cannot make it leave
I wave my arms' round about me and blow with all my might
I cannot sense you close, though I know you're always here
But the comfort of you near is what I long for

When I can't feel you, I have learned to reach out just the same
When I can't hear you, I know you still hear everyword I pray
And I want you more than i want to live another day
And as I wait for you maybe I'm made more faithful

All the folly of the past, though I know it is undone
I still feel the guilty one, still trying to make it right
So I whisper soft your name, let it roll around my tounge,
Knowing you're the only one who knows me
You know me

Show me how I should live this
Show me where I should walk
I count this world as loss to me
You are all I want
You are all I want