Words of a Belle

I’ve heard it said that “it’s funny how much you think back on the year when a new one comes around.” I don’t know about you, but I can relate to that. I tend to think about what things I’m glad I accomplished, things I might have done differently, and even what I want to change in the coming year.  When it comes to what I want to change in the coming year, I’ve found that if I label a goal as a resolution, it tends to get lost in the craziness of everyday life. To me, when I hear “resolution” I think that if I miss even one day if the goal I’ve set, I mess up.  That’s definitely my perfectionism kicking in  🤣 So instead, this year I’m challenging myself to keep routines I know are good for me. Not just anything, but ones I know will be benefit more than just my physical health. Like continuing to grow more in my faith.  Challenging myself to continually grow not just in the new year, but every day, is worth working towards.  How will you challenge yourself to grow this year? 

Have you ever had a bad day? Not just any bad day, but the kind that could be turned into a movie?  It might have gone something like this: after waking up late because your alarm didn’t go off, you didn’t have time to eat breakfast. So, you make your favorite quick breakfast drink. On your way to work you spilled your drink while checking your email & walking down the hallway.  Then, you have a meeting but didn’t have time to go home & change. So, while attending the meeting you try to send a quick text to someone to bring you a change of clothes fast, because you need to present at another meeting. But your friend can’t help ya out. So, you head to the ladies room to clean up.  As you try to clean up, you end up getting little bits of paper towel all over yourself & it looks much worse. That’s not all, though. You decide that since your outfit is at it’s worst, you could at least freshen up your makeup. As you get the makeup from your purse, the unthinkable happens—your m

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how we as Christians sometimes try to hide our humanness.  We try hard not to show when we mess up. We want people to see Jesus in is. Not our messes. Yes, it’s true that we need to follow God’s commands & Love Him as well as love others. I’ve been thinking about what this means. Believe me when I say I’ve messed up <plenty>  ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• To truly love others we have to not only be willing to point them to Him, but show them what it’s like to reconcile. That Doesn’t mean everybody has to see every dark detail of the mistakes we make. However, it seems to me that if another person DOES she it, we need to help them see how important making right a wrong is.  I guess I’m trying to say we shouldn’t try to hide our humanness but remind ourselves that our battles truly are not against flesh and blood.  ———————————————————— This is in response to the question on my Instagram stories awhile back when someone asked

I’ve been thinking a lot about gifts.  Christmas gifts  Birthday gifts  Baby shower gifts  And most importantly,  God-given gifts.  When I pick a gift for someone, it’s because I know what they like, need, or could use. It struck me that God does the same with us. When He gives us gifts, it’s important to remember that we will have opportunities to use them.  That got me thinking a lot about the gifts God gives us. Specifically, 1 Corinthians 12. We see there that each of us is gifted uniquely. We also see that not everyone has all gifts.  If that’s the case, what should we do with them? These verses came to mind:  Mathew 5 13-16    “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. 14  “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden.  15  Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, an

 Social  media. Those two words can hold a lot of weight. It’s something that many people use to stay connected. Yet, somehow at the end of the day feel more isolated   For me, it’s a daily intentional choice about how/what I use it for.   I tried not using it altogether. Epic fail. I found that for me, it was pretty much impossible. Daily tasks I complete required me to use it. So, what could I do to complete these tasks, stay connected, & not feel drained from using it for hours because of FOMO? (Fear of missing out). Lock my apps so I couldn’t get to them? Tried it. Again, another attempt not thought through. It’s a long story, but locking them in batches just didn’t work for me.  Hmmm...Maybe if I tried screen time, I’d see how much time I spent & want to scale it down. You guessed it.  Fail. Yes, it did help me see how much time I was spending. Also, I started to cut back quite a bit after online schooling was over. Then, after graduating, I realized that (at leas

To all those out there who feel like they need to have it all together.  Dear Happy Girl,  It seems like everything is different right now. At least, different than your “typical“ norm. Everything has changed in an instant for you.  I think I speak for most of us when I say that it’s easy to get anxious about what’s next. I came across this verse today & it brought some things to mind.  “do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”  Philippians 4:6-7 ESV Giving us feelings wasn’t an afterthought for God. In fact, Jesus himself had them. It’s what we do with each one that’s important. When it comes down to it, we have 2 choices about how to handle them We can process them with those we trust, though prayer & Bible study, giving each concern to God. Thus

https://www.facebook.com/boldandnewdesign/ Hey everyone! 😉. I realized recently that some of you have probably seen this link being shared or gotten an invite to like this page, but might not know exactly what it is.  In short, it’s the start of my new business.  I graduated in December with a degree in business. I didn’t know what I was going to do with my degree when I was in school. I didn’t have any particular plans. I just knew I wanted to use the skills I’d obtained, as well as do something I was passionate about.  I slowly started looking for a job in mid January, while at the same time I kept an idea in the back of my mind. “What if I opened a business?” I knew it couldn’t be just anything, though. After a lot of prayer, lots of research, and encouragement from my family, I finally decided to go for it.  I got what I needed to start the business the end of January. After teaching myself how to use it, I officially started selling products in March.  I

Some of you may have noticed that I have taken a break from the blog. This is because of my new business venture. While the business itself has a story behind it, I wanted to explain the message that one particular tote I’ve created.  Every time I scroll through social media, I see girls & women who seem to seek instant gratification via a post like or comment. It’s completely human to want to be seen by others. It’s the way we go about it that matters.  My inspiration for the “Hello Beautiful” totes came at the beginning of the new year. I wanted to have something that would remind those around me (including myself), that no matter what others say about them, they are beautifully designed.  https://www.facebook.com/boldandnewdesign/ 💗 Kelly 

I love this. I’m not sure where I found this photo but it speaks volumes.  Although, I’d probably change the word to courageous. Being courageous in a pursuit gives you the permission to feel fear; While at the same time giving you room to shake it off.  Fear is a real emotion, but it’s not something that has to control us. How we respond to fear, shows how much room we give it to rule over our actions.  C H A L L A N G E: give yourself room to feel the emotion of fear. Then speak to it with God’s truth & kick it down by releasing it to Jesus.   Joshua 1:9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid;  do not be discouraged,  for the  Lord  your God will be with you wherever you go.”

I wasn’t sure what to write about this week. With my recent graduation from college, I’ve been thinking a lot about how excited I was to graduate high school. Then, I was amazed to see where life took me on my college journey.  From online learning to being on campus twice, then back to online learning, it was an interesting journey to say the least! In each of those stages, I met amazing people, had some amazing experience, & set goals.   I don’t want that to stop just because I’ve ended my academic journey. I want to learn & grow in every stage of my life. Because if I do that, I not only benefit myself, but every person I’ll come in contact with over my lifetime.  If you’re reading this & you’ve been on this journey with me, thank you. Thank you for reminding me why I did it. Thank you for encouraging me to keep going when I felt like giving up. Thank you for being you.  💓

Since I’m a little under the weather today, instead of a typical blog post, I wanted to let you know how @wordsofabelle got started.  ♥️ I started it as a creative outlet in 2018. I wasn’t sure how many people would be reached by it, but I wasn’t concerned with numbers. I wanted to write about things that were on my heart & hoped other people would relate, too.  ♥️ it’s turned into something a lot bigger than I ever thought it may have in its beginnings. I hope it will continue to help me to connect with people on a deeper level in #2020.  ♥️ R E A S O N  There have been many times I’ve felt completely uninspired or unmotivated. But I truly believe I’ve been inspired by God to start this to share my story with others who can benefit from it.  ♥️ F U T U R E  Although I don’t know what’s in store for this in 2020, I hope it continues to reach new lives in new ways.  ♥️ Thank you to everyone who has followed along & given input. You’re the reason