Words of Kindness

Hello hello! How has yours been? Mine has personally been pretty busy and good. I've just been training, doing some community service, and studying for the most part. What is your favorite part of this past week? Let me know in the comments below!

So this morning I was struggling to wake up when I saw that I had gotten a new text from a friend. It said:

Hey, I just wanted to tell you: you are an exceptionally nice girl. I never even had to question whether you would be there for me if I was feeling lonely, and you always had a cheerful attitude to brighten anyone's day when I saw you. You are very faithful, and regardless of different beliefs or traditions, I think God will do amazing things with your life. But most of all I wanted to remind you that you are loved above all things because you are loved by He who created all things. God bless, Riley.

Usually the texts I get are short and I tend to take them for granted, but there was just something about this text that was encouraging and sincere, and it really gave my day a good start.

Kind words mean a lot to people, guys--infinitely more than we may think. This week, I want to challenge you guys to write one or two long, sincere texts that carry inspirational and/or meaningful messages to some of the people that mean the most to you. Thank people for the difference they've made in your life, and something as simple as that will make a difference in their lives too. We never know when someone may need some extra love or joy, so just take a little bit of time to spread these!

thedailyquotes.com

Take care,
-Riley XO

Mother Teresa Quotes

Good morning all! Hope everything has been going well for you! Today I just needed a break from my own words and wanted to dedicate this post to quick words of wisdom by a woman who holds a lot of my respect. I hope you can pick out one or two from this compilation that you write down and look at for the rest of this week. Enjoy!

Take care,
-Riley XO

Note: All images were found on Google. I do not take any credit for the words or images in this post.

Be One

Hello! Has life been treating you well? This week's post is a little belated because I've just been getting busy with training for Taekwondo Collegiate Nationals and studying for midterms! I was also elected to be secretary of my pledge class (I joined a non-Greek, co-ed service fraternity called Alpha Phi Omega this semester) and was also trying to figure out my schedule this week.

Buuut at least there is still a post this week, eh? I am hoping to find time to film a video for a future post and the topic is something that has been on my heart for a while, so I will do my best to make it a quality video for you guys. That is one thing to look forward to!

Anyway, today is about kindness and gratitude. I found this picture from emilysquotes.com, and I think that just taking a look at it and basking in its meaning.

I saw this picture early this morning and knew it was something that you would appreciate! 

Guys, I can truly say from as little as 18 years of personal experience that there is a lot of darkness in this world. But it is up to only you if you become a part of this darkness, or if you become something greater. Although this post is pretty short and quick, I hope that it inspires you to go out of your way to do something kind today, or to look for kindness and feel your heart be filled with empathy. (Maybe even both?)

Have a wonderful rest of your Friday!

-Riley XO

Embrace Your Inner Cog!

Hello! How have you been lately? What's your favorite part of the day so far? Let me know in the comments! Personally, I've been going through ups and downs but lately my heart has been on its journey to being where it will be happiest, and sometimes that's just all a girl really needs to keep trekking on.

And that's a little bit of what I wanted to write about today. I know the title sounds pretty goofy, but sometimes there can be a lot weighing a person down--even the happiest people go through experiences that make life become tedious, difficult, and mundane for a period in time.

I remember at high school graduation, one of the speakers told us that although people often tell us that we are unique, amazing individuals, we must also remember that we are essentially cogs in a machine.

Cogs in a machine? What? Why would anyone want to think of him/herself as something like that? I get what you're thinking; initially, it sounds somewhat depressing to think of oneself as a cog in a machine, probably most likely because it's a bit on the dehumanizing side. It's not very exciting and, well, it's boring. People aren't really boring.  

However, it is essential to embrace your role in the greater purpose. You may feel like an insignificant cog, but without one single cog--even if it's the tiniest one that goes missing--the machine cannot function properly.

One piece gone, and it stops working.
creativeoncall.com

I sometimes struggle with this concept. There are certain days when life is completely hopeless. Have you ever been in one of those sad moods--without really knowing what's made you sad in the first place? It's on these days when I lose sight of my role in life. I lose sight of my purpose. I feel like a boring little cog, that just spins on and on without seeing much of a point to it. Have you ever felt anything like that?

Well, even though it gets difficult, I try to pray, that God will remind me of my place. I guess you could say that a cog isn't on the same level as the operator, but the operator still cares about each part of the machine. And when the "machine" is the world, my purpose doesn't sound so bad anymore.

So if you're a student, do your absolute best to study hard. If you like playing an instrument or a sport, practice every day. If you're a son or daughter, tell your family you love them. If you have a job, do your best to be kind to the people around you and to do your work well. If you have a dog, take him/her out for a walk. If you like to cook, share a meal with your neighbors. And when you're doing all of this, smile and know that you are living the life that was perfectly handcrafted for you!

It sounds awfully cheesy, but yeah--EMBRACE YOUR INNER COG! Start by having a good rest of your day. :)

Take care,
-Riley XO

P.S. The photo of the cogs that I found reminded me of this song. (Because the cogs are golden.) I find that it puts me in good spirits and relates quite a bit to this post so I hope you like it too!

Take Flight

Hello hello! Do you ever follow any of those Earth Porn, World Porn, or Food Porn sites on Facebook? Well, I think that Earth Porn is the best type of porn there is, and hopefully one day it will be the only type of "porn" that anyone looks at! I just love scrolling through my feed and seeing pictures like this to start or end my day:

Crater Lake
"Like" the Earth Porn page by clicking here!

It is wonderful seeing all of the beauty that surrounds us in this world.

Yesterday morning, I saw this image from a World Porn page and it sort of made me stop a bit and think for a moment, so it became something I wanted to share with you.

It personally made me think specifically about what goals I've set in place--where I want to go in life. We truly have everything that we need to chase and achieve our dreams, even more so with technology. One of my dreams is to hopefully help brighten someone's day, or inspire another person, and look, this blog has allowed me to do so right now (you're reading this, aren't you?). 

Don't just have dreams. Don't just use your wings to get up a tree--use your dreams to fly to great places! 

Set a new goal for yourself today, or refresh your resolve to continue pursuing a goal that you've already made. Write down the steps you're planning to take to reach that goal. 

Where do you plan to fly? Please share in the comments!

Fly high and do great things,

-Riley XO

What Would You Do?

Hello there, are you doing well? Thanks for visiting, and just for a little bit of background: I had this faith-based experience last Thursday. I can't say that I am the strongest Christian (or am even a strong Christian, for that matter), but this little anecdote just really resonated with me and I wanted to share it with you because it presents a challenge for Christians fairly well and I thought it was pretty cool. I'm a part of the Navigators, which under my interpretation is basically a Christian ministry that is focused on sharing God's love with others. The Navigators have a presence on campus, and I attend their Bible study groups and enjoy listening to some of their talks.

Today, I just wanted to share with you about the last session I attended with the Navigators. The topic was basically on being a laborer for Christ, but the speaker surprised us with a common topic that I hadn't seen framed in this manner before.

He asked: "What would you do if Jesus walked right through there and came to this room, right at this very moment?"

This wasn't a rhetorical question, though. He wanted answers. What would you do if Jesus came for a visit? I thought that I would be absolutely shocked, and then fall down to my knees. It sounds somewhat dramatic, but I feel like it's actually the opposite... These actions reflect my brain drawing a complete blank.

Then, the speaker continued on with his hypothetical situation. "Let's say that Jesus walks up to Taylor and says, 'Hey, how you doing, Taylor? I haven't seen you in a while. I was thinking maybe I could buy you some coffee tomorrow morning so we could catch up. Would you like to meet at Starbucks before your classes?' What would you to say to that, Taylor?"

"Of course!" exclaimed Taylor.

What would you do the next day when you saw Taylor after lunch? What would you ask her?

But he wasn't done with this little string of situations and questions yet. "What if the next day, you see Taylor at the dining hall, and ask 'How was it? What did he say? What was he like?' but then Taylor says, 'You know, I was really looking forward to it, but I forgot to set my alarm last night and overslept... Then when I got up, it was already time for class so I just couldn't make it.'"

An awkward silence fell around the room.

He captured the thoughts that were running through most of our minds. "What were you thinking? How could you do that? What's wrong with you?!"

"But you know what," he continued. "This is happening to us. Don't you see that God is inviting you to listen to him every morning? All you have to do is open his Word, and discover all he has to say."

Now is the chance to open up your Bible and spend some quality time with Jesus, the best friend a guy or girl could ever have. I hope this post challenges you to remember that meeting with God doesn't have to be taken for granted.

Take care,
-Riley XO

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