Never Grow Up

Innocence. Some call it naivety. I call it purity.

Let me explain. Firstly, read these lyrics below by Taylor Swift.

Oh darling, don't you ever grow up
Don't you ever grow up, just stay this little
Oh darling, don't you ever grow up
Don't you ever grow up, it could stay this simple
No one's ever burned you, nothing's ever left you scarred
And even though you want to, just try to never grow up

This song epitomises the beauty of purity. No one has burned you, hurt you, rejected you. You don't have any physical, mental or emotional scars to show.

I am glad I have grown up because there is a lot of joy in life. But sometimes I wish I could go back to that point when I had no scars and no rejection. Because this pain is something that you are always fighting against for the rest of your life.

Without the restoration, the renewal, the love and the forgiveness of Jesus I no longer have to be bound by these scars. I can be free.

I like the sound of this song because I want to live in a world without pain. When was the last time you were set free of these bondages?

Film Review: Conviction

This is a powerful story. And it's a true story.

Hilary Swank stars as Betty Anne Waters who goes to Law School to free her brother, Kenny Waters, played by Sam Rockwell from a crime he did not commit.

The film flashes between past and present moments of their lives telling their moving story. Sometimes when you watch films that contain flashbacks, it's really noticable. In this film, the flashbacks are succint and smooth - you don't even realise they're happening until they are upon you.

This film moved me to tears as the story follows two siblings who grew up in abusive household. To escape from the horror, they broke into people's houses so they could pretend to have a normal life - to pretend that their Mother wasn't a prostitute.

Eventually their Mother was seen to be too unfit to take care of them and both Betty and Kenny were taken to separate foster homes.

When I look at his life, I think no wonder he ended up there. It's amazing how our family upbringing can change the course of our lives. His parents were troubled and so was he. But did he deserve 18 years in jail?

This film was a powerful experience for me. I really felt the weight of their experience on my shoulders while watching the film.

The thing I realised the most is that young people can grow up in horrible, abusive and restricting homes. We need to be mindful of those who don't have a happy home life. We need to strech out a hand to help those who don't have a caring, loving and joyous home life.

Do you know someone in this situation?

Fairytale Dreams

Did you know Sleeping Beauty's castle was inspired by this castle? 

It's called Neuschwanstein Castle and it was built by a crazy man known as King Ludwig II. Yes he was known to be a bit mad but also mad awesome for building a fairytale castle!

Many people have told me that fairytales don't come true - that guys don't bring you flowers just because or they don't surprise on a romantic date.

They're wrong. My husband does these things for me all the time. Now, I'm a hopeless romantic and I feel so fortunate to have ended up with another hopeless romantic.

But you deserve this too. You deserve to be treated like royalty. Why? Because your worthy enough to be loved.

"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails."
-1 Corinthians 13:4-9

I feel all these things with my partner. Have you ever felt this way with someone before? 

Make your mark

Today is International Women's Day. So I think it is appropriate to honour this inspiring woman from history.

"Everyone has inside of him a piece of good news. 

The good news is that you don't know how great you can be! 

How much you can love! What you can accomplish! 
And what your potential is!"

-Anne Frank

When Anne Frank turned 13-years-old in 1942, her parents gave her a diary. It was this diary that gave her a voice to the world for years to come.

A few short weeks later, their family received a notice from the Nazi SS to report for work at a labour camp. On July 5, 1942 Anne and her family moved into hiding at the "Secret Annex" adjacent to her Father's former office - a place he had preparing for quite some time.

When Anne went into hiding from the Nazis, the diary came with her. She called it Kitty and for the two years she spent in hiding she wrote her thoughts, feelings and inspiration while living in troubling circumstances.

For two years Anne wrote while hiding in the attic above the store, but it ended on August 4, 1944 when their hiding place was made known to the Nazis. When they were arrested the Nazis searched their belongings to find valuables and scattered Anne's diary pages across the floor. However, two women knew about her diary and picked them up for safe-keeping.

Anne and her Mother ended up in the Bergen-Beisen camp in Germany. As starvation and disease swept through the camp, Anne's Mother developed typhus and died. A few days later in April, 1945 Anne passed away a few weeks before the camp was liberated by the British. She was just 15-years-old.

While Anne lever lived to be 16, her diary has lived on as a memory for those who suffered under the hands of the Nazis during World War Two.

Anne made her mark by inspiring generations of people with her faith and hope during terrifying circumstances.

How will you make your mark as a woman?

Life is Beautiful

"Life is an opportunity, benefit from it.
Life is beauty, admire it.
Life is a dream, realize it.
Life is a challenge, meet it.
Life is a duty, complete it.
Life is a game, play it.
Life is a promise, fulfill it.
Life is sorrow, overcome it.
Life is a song, sing it.
Life is a struggle, accept it.
Life is a tragedy, confront it.
Life is an adventure, dare it.
Life is luck, make it.
Life is too precious, do not destroy it.
Life is life, fight for it."
— Mother Teresa

Trend Watch: Which shoe are you?

Which shoe are you? Wedge, ballet flats, slingback, stilettos, sandals, thongs, ankle-strap? And the list goes on.

If I was to describe what shoe I am, it would definitely be white ballet flats with flowers on top. Oh wait, I pretty much described my wedding shoes. Well, almost.

Now don't get me wrong. I love heels. I particularly love the feeling they give me when I walk into a room - they give me confidence, plus I feel tall. The only reason I prefer not to wear them is because they give me back pain - sad face.

Shoes can say so much about who you are. When I showed my wedding shoes to a select few people before my wedding, they all said, "Oh they're so you".

And it's true. I love bows and flowers. I recently bought a pink skirt from Forever New with a massive bow on the front. And then I matched it with a pink flower in my hair.

When I got back from London, I received so many comments about the two pairs of shoes I bought at Top Shop (cute London store by the way). The first pair were a beige colour with flowers on them and the other pair are black, strappy flat shoes with a line of pearls running down the middle.

When I wear these shoes I get so many compliments, even from people who would never wear them because it's not their style.

That's the thing. When you define your style, there is a confidence that just pours out of you. I always feel so much more confident in situations where I am comfortable in the way I dress. I like pretty, girly things so that's what I wear.

So next time you put on a pair of shoes, ask yourself, what do my shoes say about me?

When people disappoint ...

Have you ever been let down by someone before? Has a friend made fun of you at school? Have your parents told you they would come to your ballet concert but didn't? Has your boyfriend flirted with someone else right in front of you?

I know I have. Time after time I have been let down by friends. Like the girl in the picture above, when someone disappoints me I go and hide from the world.  When I'm upset, I bury my face because I'm ashamed to show my pain.

I've been in situations where I've been humiliated publicly and I tried to hide my face, but couldn't because people were staring.

Sometimes it seems easier to hide your pain than confront - sometimes it hurts too much to confront it. I have found that sitting in your own pain actually makes it worse. It makes you hate yourself more and it makes you hate the world more - it convinces you to never trust people again.

When someone breaks your trust, it's not easy to give it back and sometimes you shouldn't because they are the type of person to abuse it again. But if you sit in your world of pain, you will never move on and you will never trust people again.

The key is to forgive. Forgiveness works two-fold: to be free you must forgive not only that person who hurt you, but you must also forgive yourself. In other words, don't judge yourself in the way someone already judged you.

Romans 8:1 says, "Therefore, now there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus."

Do not condemn [judge, criticise, ridicule] yourself as others have condemned you. For Jesus sees you in perfect light, without imperfections and flaws. He will never let you down. He will never disappoint.