Be Excited.

There have been several days in my life when I have actually been excited to wake up.

Every Christmas since I was 5.

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Take your daughter to work day in Elementary School.

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Field Trip days.

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Softball tryouts.

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The day after Matt asked me to be his girlfriend.

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Graduation.

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When Matt asked me to marry him.

...And some more. But you get the idea.

The one I really want to focus on is when Matt asked me to marry him!

The day after he asked, I was sure I would never have a hard time waking up every again.

I thought the excitement of being engaged to the man I love would never fade and waking up everyday would be a privilege not a long, dreaded, process. 

(And I had to get up at 4 the next day!)

But as the days fade into weeks--then into months I realize that I am back into a slump of hitting the snooze button (over and over and over).

Not because I am not excited (because TRUST ME, I am).

More so because the euphoric feeling of being excited, thankful, and blessed has faded a bit (at least at 6 in the morning).

It seems easier to see the hard parts of life and I too often let them overshadow the good parts.

I was thinking about this last night thinking about having to wake up in "not enough hours," and I realized, why is every day waking up not exciting?

The fact that I am waking up at all should be considered a blessing in my eyes!

I should be thankful for my life even at 6 in the morning!

I am a daughter of God.

...

At an incredibly privileged university.

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With the most amazing fiancé I could (and will) ever have!

If I had only one of those things to look forward to each day I should be bouncing out of bed excited to start a new day!

It excites me to think about what is in store for me every day when I think about it like this!

So my goal (and I'm saying this publicly so you all know I'm serious) is to wake up each day with an attitude of excitement, honor, and love.

I can only imagine that the rest of my day will follow suit!

Who's with me?

Question: What in your life should excite you every day, even in the morning?

Happy Monday,
xo/Austin

Second|Corinthians 4:18.

This morning during my quiet time reading my bible, I was reading in 2Corinthians..

This was the verse what really stood out to me today--

"...because we look not at what can be seen but what cannot be seen; for what can be seen is temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal."

This really got me thinking. This specific verse is referring to heaven. This chapter of Second Corinthians is a lot about looking toward eternal life with God. But beside that, how many things can you think of that are everlasting that we cannot see?

1. The Lord.
2. Heaven.
3. Love.
4. Memories.
5. Hope.
6. Faith.
7. Integrity.
8. Compassion.
9. Joy.
10. Trust.

These are only ten of the hundreds of unseen treasures we are blessed with, but I don't think anyone would arugue with me when I say these are some of life's biggest blessings.

They say "The best things in life are free.." In a way, yes, I agree. The best things in life don't cost you money a lot of the time.

God loves you for free, but it's hard to give love freely--unconditionally.

God promises to be faithful--but its hard to have faith in someone other than yourself.

God provides you with compassion--but you must learn how to have compassion on others.

I could go on forever. The thing is, life itself and the afterlife--aren't completely free

They are offered to us freely, but like anything in life, we have to act to recieve these free gifts.

You aren't going to take a beautifully wrapped present from someone and then set it in your closet and never open it, are you?

Life is never a stand-still. With any of God's greatest gifts, you don't have to do anything to deserve it. But you do have to act on it.

You have to take the gift, and open the gift.

"...because we look not at what can be seen but what cannot be seen; for what can be seen is temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal."

Open the gift.

xo/Austin