My Open Diary

Mothers, daughters, wives, sisters, nieces, aunties: Happy International Women's Day!!  From the single mothers to our female teachers to busy business leaders and to stay at home mommy's; here's to you all!  You are all significant and you are all blessed.    There are so many amazing women out there who made such a positive impact on the world that I believe we should take into account for.  Living in a westernized culture, we are able to attend school and further our education, no problem.  However, in strict middle eastern cultures that isn't necessarily the case.  Malala Yousfzai, a young Pakistani lady, was shot in the head for defending the rights for girls to receive an education against the Taliban.  Rosa Parks and her bold refusal to give up a bus seat because of the color of her skin, which eventually lead to significant civil rights legislation's.  Anne Frank and her diary she kept while documenting her life hiding from ...

If you know me at all, you'd know that one of my favorite books of all time is The Shack written by the brilliant author William Paul Young.  This is a realistic fiction story about the main character, Mack, who undergoes a horrible, horrible tragedy involving the kidnap and murder of his youngest daughter, Missy.  I won't exploit too much, but the story progresses by describing Mack to be drowning in his sorrow, guilt, and shame.  He not only blamed himself for the entire tragedy but blamed God.  After that incident, he was filled with so many questions: Why did God let this happen?  Where was He when I needed Him?  When Missy needed Him?  How good does He claim to be?   For me, this book really put things into a fresh perspective on who God is and why we go through such hard tragedies, perhaps similar to the one Mack experienced with his daughter.  It helped me understand the trinity of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and how the u...

Just like what the title states; that was me for the longest time.  I messed up countless times.  Repeatedly.  Over and over and over.  Heck, I still mess up like it is my job.  Being that person who seemed to make mistakes left and right, I found it very difficult to move forward with my life.  I had a difficult time trying to forgive myself.  Yeah, yeah I know the "make mistakes, learn from them, build your character" saying.  But to be frank, that didn't minister to me that well.  I mean, I suppose it did but that was only temporary.  Every time I tried to move forward, something would happen that reminded me of the past and I felt that fresh sense of shame as if it happened that day.  Every time I felt like I took a step forward, I was really taking a huge step back.  For my entire life, I have been going back and forth with no real sense of direction.          I thank God for Jesus. ...

I have always been obsessed with Valentine's Day every since I was a little girl.  There is just something about devoting time to make mini valentines for the people that were in your class and handing them out and watching everyone smile as they open up the Scooby-Doo card and box of heart candies.  It's the tiny and warm feeling you get in your heart that makes it special.  It was one of the few occasions where even though you didn't talk to half the people in your class, you still acknowledged them and loved on them in the smallest but most sentimental way.  As I got older, however, I began to notice that people used the idea of Valentine's day from being a cute little Hallmark holiday to a derogatory, depressing, and "forever alone" kind of day.   I know what you may be thinking: Who cares?  It is so overrated.  I don't have a boyfriend or girlfriend so why should it matter? Yad-yada-yada... Well, I feel as though we should view this...

February 10, 2017, on a very chilly Friday night, I had the privilege to be apart of an amazing time well spent.  At Faith Church, the Tim Tebow Foundation held their annual, A Night to Shine prom!   Princes and princesses arrived at 6 p.m. to walk down the red carpet.  They were garnished in beautiful gowns, sparkly shoes, and suits and ties all over.  Each and every person who attended not only looked stunning, but the look of unfathomable joy expressed on their faces overpowered it all.  Their smiles radiated a contagious joy and touched many hearts that night; including my own.   Different Does Not Means Less Than We live in a world that is so accustomed to the flesh.  We see the flesh for what we think it is, but when will we start to see beyond that?   As human beings, we are all equal as we fall under that covenant.  Intellectually, mentally, physically, and spiritually- we all have the same needs in these four cat...

Good evening awesome people! So, recently I began to notice a change in myself.  I have been paying close attention to my skin... a little too much attention I should say.  My skin has been breaking out in pimples and spreading like wild fire.  It's as if every morning I would wake up and find a new buddy that decided to make its home on my face.  My face turned into a poppin' residency to say the least, haha! But seriously, I went from not caring to noticing, to noticing a bit more the next day, to eventually devoting hours at my laptop searching for ways to combat this acne that is developing on my face.  Disclaimer:   I have nothing against taking care of your skin.  I encourage it! :)  However, when something becomes an overwhelming factor in your mind that begins to hold you back to a particular extent, that is when it becomes an issue.  Anyways, my skin kept on spiraling downhill which eventually bummed me out.  But I ...

Good evening everyone! WOW.  It has been a hot minute since I wrote on here!  Between my travels to Israel (which I will be sure to write about in a future post-stay tuned) and catching some sort of flu the week I got home, I had a difficult time getting around to the computer to write.  But praise the Lord I'm back on track! Sooo, I'm going to be real with you guys.  I had that spiritual high my entire time spent in Israel.  I had my nose dug into the Word everyday and I just felt God revealing so much to me.  However, the second day I got back, I felt this heavy weight on my shoulders.  I felt a lack of intimacy with our Lord.  The conviction was real, guys.   I don't find it necessary to type the entire ordeal on here, but what I will say is that although beating around the bush may seem harmless, it is still not okay.  Not to your loved ones, to yourself, and definitely not in the eyes of our God.   God really ope...