Summer Hair Inspiration!

It's hot out and that always makes me regret having long hair. Here are a few cute hair ideas for summer, for the bold girls who want to chop it off or for the faint of heart who just want to pull it back!

Attention!

Hey guys! It's Jessica and I am making an announcement. We are looking for writer(s) for the magazine! If you would be interested in writing articles, as a guest or on a regular basis please e-mail me or comment below. If you have any ideas for articles you would like to read, just let me know! Thanks everyone!

Dealing with Persecution

Life as a Christian is hard. It's not only giving up things in life that are wrong, turning away from our sins, and trying to live right that makes it difficult. One thing in particular makes it hard. That is the people that will try to bring you down or persecute you. What is persecution? Well, I looked the word up in the dictionary: 

per·se·cute

 [pur-si-kyoot] 

verb (used with object), per·se·cut·ed, per·se·cut·ing.

1.

to pursue with harassing or oppressive treatment, especially because of religion, race, or beliefs; harass persistently.

2.

to annoy or trouble persistently.

Persecution can be a physical thing, but in this post, I am talking about verbal persecution. An example is when someone judges you for trying to do only what is right, calling you names because you try to live a sinless life. If you have tried to live in a way pleasing to God, you have most likely been persecuted. It hurts. We should always remember though, that in the end, what God thinks of us is SO much more important than what the world thinks of us.

5 Modest and Affordable Swimsuits

It's that time of year again! Hot, hot, hot! Time to break out the sunscreen and swimsuits and head to the beach, or the pool and cool off! The last several years it seems like the less covered up you are, the better. Swimsuits have become more and more revealing. I have been relieved to see that some more modest looks are popular this year! Here are some of the cutest I have found, all one-piece and under $50.00!

One Week's Worth of Healthy Lunches

This year, I've been putting forth more effort than ever to lose weight. I joined the local YMCA and have actually been going 2-3 times each week for 35+ minutes. I've cut out sodas and coffee. I've been limiting my sugar intake. I'm thrilled to say that I've already lost about 15 lbs.

But besides going to the gym regularly, the change I've made that's been most influential on my weight loss has been taking my own healthy lunches to work, Monday through Friday. Each evening, I get out my handy multi-compartment Ziploc container and fill it with the next day's lunch. Then the following morning, in that mad rush to get out the door, all I have to do is grab my ready-to-go meal from the fridge and throw it into my lunchbox with an icepack. So convenient.

This week, I decided to take pictures of these colorful power lunches and post them here for the world to see. May the following images inspire you!

#1 - Monday

Homemade egg salad with dill over a bed of iceberg lettuce and diced cherry tomatoes, a row of sliced cucumber, low-calorie colby jack string cheese, peanut butter celery logs, and carrot-pineapple-orange salad.

Tenth Avenue North - You Are More