Demon’s Inside Sometimes, I feel like there are these little voices inside of my head. They whisper to me right after I’ve worked out and realize that I still don’t have a six pack, or a super tiny waist. They whisper to me when I go to dance class and see that I am a good three inches shorter than all the 5’9” girls in there. They whisper to me in the clothing stores when I realize that I can no longer wear a 000 (like who even knew sizes could come that small). But you know what they don’t do? They don’t tell me that I work my butt off to try to have a six pack every single day. That I love to work out because I am working on bettering myself. They don’t tell me that I am beautiful the way God made me and that if 5’6” is the tallest I will ever get it is okay. They don’t tell me that most of the girls who can fit into that 000 size are starving themselves for the worth of a size on a price ticket. And that when I was tha...
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The Prince Charming Complex (Photo Credits Belong to Photographer: Amber Ginter. Yes this is my parents, because my love-life is nonexistent and rather than show you no picture at all, you get this lovely gem of them. Insert the "Awww") When I was about fourteen years old, I began constructing a list of what I wanted to find in a future boyfriend/ husband. I diligently read my Bible and what it said about finding this type of person, as I created my own qualifications. Taller than me, can play piano/ guitar, can sing, brown hair, funny, romantic, kind, loves Jesus more than he loves me, enjoys running, working out, dogs, etc., the list went on and on. And at the time, I didn't see anything wrong with this list. In fact, I was sure that I would date or marry someone that embodied these characteristics. But then, I grew up. I reached ages fifteen, sixteen, and seventeen without finding this person, let alone dating them. And slowly, God began to reveal t...
It is OKAY to lose yourself (Photo Credit Belongs to Photographer: Amber Nicole Ginter) I remember a time in my life when I lost myself. Who I was. What I enjoyed doing. How I entertained myself. Where I could be found. Who I saw and valued through the girl looking back at me with tear-stained eyes and a scattered, yet shattered perception of what I’d become. This was a time of my life that today, I would not coin as treasured and favorite moment. In fact, my favorite way to recall its series of unfortunate events is not at all, often held at the deepest back of my mind and blackest hole of my insecurities. It was a time where I allowed others views of who I was, to morph into all I cared about. A time where what I enjoyed doing revolved around guys I wanted to impress, or friends I wanted to make (beg for). One where my entertainment and location became less about being healthy and having fun, and more about isolati...
A Year of Gold: 2016: The good, the bad, the blessed, and the unfortunate (Photo Credits Belong to Photographer: Amber Nicole Ginter feat Buddy) The year of 2016 has been quite an adventurous and strange resolution for this old-fashioned soul of mine. I have experienced some of the worst things that I could never imagine possible, but considering those turmoil’s, I have also treasured some of the most loving and life-changing events God could ever bless me with. It has been a year of self-discovery, love, loss, and bravery, but also denial, questioning, confusion, and fear. Yet as the old saying goes, "Good times become good memories, and bad times become good lessons" meaning that everything we go through in this sometimes hectic and chaotic world, is for a reason much greater than we may comprehend at the time. Beginning with the start of the year, for instance, 2016 didn't have the most eloquent and desired kickoff. In fact, I was probably the mos...
Winter Snow (Photo Credit Belongs to Photographer: Amber Nicole Ginter) This article is based on the song “Winter Snow” originally written and performed by Chris Tomlin feat Audrey Assad, as I was asked to sing a song for the Christmas Eve and Christmas services at my Church. If you were to describe the condition of Christmas now days, most people would say rushed, noisy, stressful, and jam-packed, as just a few of its descriptions. Yet was this beautiful season always mentioned as so? Take a look back into memory lane as the birth of Jesus and the very first true Christmas were to occur. Was it noisy? Was it stressful? Was it jam-packed with our planners bursting at the rims? Of course, not, because that is not what God had in store. In an elegant entrance that was quiet, soft, and slow, Jesus made His way into the world. Yet not elegant as in how we see the flattery of cheap array today, but in the simple fact that His hum...
The Pursuit of Waiting (Photo Credits Belong to Photographer: Amber Nicole Ginter) Recently, I just completed a three-day Bible Study on the concept of waiting, and to be honest with you, it most certainly wasn’t what I wanted to hear. The Author spoke about how many characters in the Bible had to endure waiting, because it was during those times that God allowed them to grow in their faith the most. From Mary and Joseph, to Abraham and Sarah, and Hannah and Elkanah, each had to endure tremendous times of waiting, often not understanding their wait at the time, but being brought to completion through Christ after their long awaiting was ceased. Hannah, for instance, was a woman who waited well in her calling. Having no children, but desperately wanting to be blessed with some, Hannah cried out to the Lord and began her long, but endured journey of hope amidst the waiting. And through her brokenness, confusion, doubt, and failed circumstanc...
The Estate of Love (Photo Credit belongs to Photographer: Rachel Barnitz) We have cheapened the estate of love. We have turned it into a thing to obtain, rather than a state to be. We have exchanged its true meaning of purpose, value, and life, for that of one night stands, unintentional flirting, and hearts being led along on a string. (Photo Credit belongs to Photographer: Rachel Barnitz) Through tear stained eyes I see girls giving up who they are just to make a guy like them. Through the fake teeth smiles of filters and camera angles on Instagram photos, we try to portray a “presentable” image of ourselves where guys can scroll as they please, and girls can plunge deeper into self-denial. We begin to teach ourselves that this state of being is normal, and in fact detrimental if we ever expect to fulfill the love we crave. But you see, I think that this is where we as a society have gotten this concept of love entirely wrong. ...