Book Review: Hiding in the Light

Do your parents ever have books for you to read for them? Like they’ll say, “I don’t have time to read this, but you like reading, so here! Read this book and tell me about it!”? My father does that to me all the time! This was kind of one of those books: He told me about it, and it sounded interesting, but I wasn’t really planning on actually reading it…until he bought it for me to read! Nonetheless, I thoroughly enjoyed this book, in a way that I highly suggest everyone to read it because of how important it is.

Book: Hiding in the Light
Author: Rifqa Bary
Rating: PG-13 – this is non-fiction, people. It’s intense. It’s got religion and some sensitive incidents.
Score: 10/10

Summary:
This is the true story of Rifqa Bary. She grew up in a Muslim family, but converted to Christianity at 12, secretly. This is her story of how she came to follow Jesus, how she had to run away once her family found out she was a Christian, and what God has done in her life.

Review:
Ohhhh, this is definitely one of the best books I have ever read! Ms. Bary’s story is absolutely captivating and convicting, from cover to cover. It is an absolute must-read if you’re a Christian, and I would still strongly recommend it to anyone, no matter their religion! It is such an inspiring story, and addresses topics that are, in my opinion, not addressed enough. She truly sets an example of how much we, as Christians, give up, or should want to give up if the situation came up, to defend our faith and follow Jesus.

Please, please, please read this book! This is a message you need to read; this is one of those life-changing books! And if you ever want to talk about this book or Christianity (or just want to talk about anything!), please comment or send me an email!

Why Friends Are AWESOME

I’ve been wanting to talk about friends for about a month, so I looked up National Friendship Day, cause that would be a good day to do this kind of post, right? Except I think it’s in August, and I just got so excited about this post that, uh, no way could I wait another four months!

So anyway, have you ever really thought about how awesome your friends are? Not like, how they are awesome friends, but how, as a person, they are so. amazing. One of my best friends runs a great blog (*cough* idesignsbysophie.com *cough*), another is going to INDIA to be a foreign exchange student, another has already been recruited to a college (she’s a sophomore in high school), and another is a future food critic/actress/surgeon! That’s definitely not all, but I just wanted to make a point, not bore you 😉

And then you realize just how blessed you are to have these future/present superstars as your besties, the ones who will always be by your side- what did I ever do to deserve this love? But you didn’t do anything specifically, you were just you, so that means that you’re awesome, too, and your amazing friends are thinking about you the same way you’re thinking about them. And you’ve [I’ve] realized, everyone in this world is amazing! We’re all blessed with extraordinary gifts by God (1 Cor 12:7, Rom 11:29) and immeasurable love (John 3:16)!

That makes me happy 🙂 What are some qualities that make you and your friends amazing? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Rock & Worship Roadshow 2015

Hey hey!!! I went to the Rock & Worship Roadshow recently and all I can say is BEST. NIGHT. EVER. It was absolutely unbelievable!

There were so many amazing artists and performances-definitely something for everyone!

Jamie Grace because um YES

Basically what it is is a concert tour with 8 bands/performers. All Christian music, all amazing! The bands that were there were Mercy Me, Matt Maher, Jon Guerra, Tadashii, Jamie Grace, David Crowder Band, I Am They and Group 1 Crew. Each artist performed 3-5ish songs. It was $10, general seating.

It was $10 well spent!!! I took two friends along and we had a total blast! Afterward, we got ice cream so that’s cool too. My favorite person was Jamie Grace. She was so likable and had the best personality, plus she is an absolutely amazing singer and so beautiful! I also really loved David Crowder Band because it was seriously country which was fun. There was a cellist and violinist in that performance, and they were jaw-droppingly amazing! I also really loved Mercy Me…

I would DEFINITELY recommend going, no matter who you are there’s something for you- like rap? There’s Tadashii. Country? David Crowder. Techno/hip-hop? Group 1 Crew. Bright Pop-Country? Jamie Grace. But get there early, as in, before the doors open, because we got there about 15 minutes after doors opened and I’m pretty sure the line extended half a mile outside the door…so yeah. We ended up in seats that were almost behind the stage, but we were lucky to even get that! There were so many people that some didn’t even have seats!

See how we’re behind the stage and projector?

If you ever have the opportunity to go to this (it’s almost over this year, if it isn’t over already) DO IT!!! It’s one of the most spiritual and fun events ever! SO. AWESOME. Yes.

SWITCH Students and Happy St. Patty’s Day!

Hope you had a good St. Patrick’s Day! …We’ll come back to that later…

But first, on an unrelated note, I want to introduce you guys to a really good reference for, basically, life. My church has this fabulous youth group called SWITCH Students, and something new they’re doing this year is a blog to post all the sermons. And the lessons are GREAT! I’m not sure how often they update it (the most recent post is from February but we meet every week), but the posts that are on there now are, in my opinion, super important for teens (and everyone!) in this modern day to read!

You know what the best reference is? Yeah? The Bible. UMM YES! I know, it’s challenging (but totally worth it), so look at the SWITCH page for some awesome ways to implement the Bible in your life!

Now I’d like to show you the bracelet I made for a little green accessory 😉 It’s kind of like a charm bracelet, so I think I’ll just make new charms for each holiday!
You just need: jewelry wire, fabric paint, and metal file (optional)

If you want to read more awesome and easy DIYs and craftsy stuff, be sure to follow the blog and subscribe! PLUS, when you subscribe you get a free password organizer, and a free font each month! Whoo!

What’s your favorite holiday craft?