My Journey: Here to There And Everything In Between

2019 is obviously upon us...it's a new year, hopefully of new things. I want to do new things. I want to try new things. I want to sing new songs. Meet new people. etc. etc. I'm excited to see where 2019 takes me and the special people in my life. I'm looking forward to seeing how God works in and through me! I want Him to use me in any ways He sees fit. I want Him to use my music, my blog, and my youtube channel for His glory. I have some goals and hopes for this next year, and I just wanted to share some of those with you. So the first thing that I am setting as a goal for 2019 is to simply "trust more. worry less." I often find myself worrying about all kinds of things, big and small. I want to trust Jesus more and worry a WHOLE LOT less. I don't want to worry about school, church, music, or anything. I want to learn to be more fluid and flexible. I definitely want to just release stress over things and just breathe. I want to be more in the moment and ...

This is a post I have avoided doing thus far, simply because I was scared. I am still kind of scared. I afraid of just putting it all out there and everyone kind of seeing who I really am, whether they already know me or not. This is a big step of faith for me, and I'm hoping that it reaches someone who needs to hear it and needs love! This is my testimony and story and this is what Jesus has done for me. So I was born in Knoxville, TN, but I moved to North Carolina when I was five, so that my dad could go to seminary. When I was six or seven, I told my dad that I wanted to ask Jesus into my heart. I did and got baptized about a month later by my dad, and my whole family traveled six hours to see it.  Well as I grew up, we moved back to Knoxville when I was 9, and sometime around age twelve I realized I wasn't saved like I thought I was. So, I asked Jesus into my heart for real this time and my dad baptized me again.  During this time, I was diagnosed with anxiety arou...

Somedays, I'll get in these weird moods, where I'll just be sensitive, I guess you could say. I'm not exactly sure how to explain it, but I just cry a little easier and I just kind of want to sit and talk to my best friend all day. They're weird, I know. Am I the only one who does this? People will often tell me I'm "too sensitive," or I need to "get it together," or whatever, but in this time in our world, I'm not sure that I can be "too sensitive." I find myself often getting upset over something someone might say or do, or something I see on social media. But, these things are heartbreaking at times. This morning I found myself fretting over things that needed to be done and things that we're on my mind. I began to worry too much and was getting upset easily. I was then quickly reminded that today was just two day's until Christmas and that Christ came for the me that is easily upset somedays, the me that is worrying a ...

There is an extremely long list of people who have impacted me. In one way or another, big or small, good or bad, everyone I know has impacted me. But there are a few people who have impacted me in very large ways and have differences in my life and growth, that I will never forget. The first person who has impacted me really big, is my mom. Both of my parents have impacted me largely, obviously, but my mom has impacted me in a way more as my friend in this situation. So, many of you know that my mom has had a lot of health issues over the past eight to ten years, and has had to go through a lot of surgeries. Watching my mom go through those has been super cruddy, but it has impacted me and made me a stronger young lady than I probably would've been. It's simply just the joy that my mom finds in being healthy, (even if it isn't super healthy), has taught me to find joy and peace in situations that I would've been upset with or concerned in. Being with here through all...

Hello lovely people!!! Today I just felt like some people needed to hear this. I think someone needs encouragement and to know that someone else struggles too. I have been delaying this post as long as I could, because it is definitely not an easy one, but it's been on my heart. I think it's something that either I need to share to be encouraged or that someone else needs to be encouraged by. So here we go... You are gorgeous. You are absolutely stunning. You are loved. You are worth more than you can even imagine. You are doing an amazing job at life. I do not care what someone told you were or weren't. You are not the numbers of your GPA, jean size, or social media followers. It really doesn't matter if you had four likes on that last selfie, or four thousand likes. Believe it or not, likes, followers, GPA, and jean sizes probably won't matter in ten years; or more importantly, when you arrive at the gates of the Kingdom. Why am I telling you these things? We...

If you know me, you know I am not a big fan of reading books for fun. I will read when it's required for school and things like that, but I'm not too much for just reading big books to entertain myself. But I often find myself reading books that are biblically based. Books from Louis Giglio, Sadie Robertson, Levi Lukso, Greg Laurie, etc. But even the help and knowledge I gain from these books, doesn't compare to reading the Bible and finding encouragement straight from Jesus. So these are just some verses references I found written down and I hope they help you and encourage you as well. I recommend writing them down in a journal or notebook, or even just highlighting them in your Bible so you can see them when you run back over that page. :) ~One Word Resolution~ ABIDE:                                                BELIEVE:           ...

I'm a planner. I always have been and I probably always will be. I am not very good at being super fluid and spontaneous. I like to have a plan and I take pride in being prepared according to that plan. I mean, I probably have 30% of my life or so planned out on Pinterest. :) Recently, I have come to learn that life does not always go according to plan. Lets be real, it doesn't go according to plan more often than it does. I had all kinds of plans to graduate early and move on with life quickly, but thanks to God stepping in and using some people in my life to advise me differently, those plans have changed. Sometimes it's not just life that doesn't go according to MY plans. Sometimes, okay...99% of the time, God has different plans that are way better than my little brain and imagine or comprehend. Whether or not I am frustrated with them at that time, does not change how perfect of plans they are. Me graduating early is just one small example of God using other peop...

As many of you know, especially if you've read previous posts, I love music. I don't take the term "love" lightly when I speak about certain subjects; music being no exception here. I listen to music from the moment I wake up til the moment I go to sleep. Whether I am getting ready, doing school work, driving, cleaning, showering, or just chilling, I search out new music to listen to and enjoy. So this post is just simply some of my favorites from this past year. Not all of these songs are new. Some of them are brand new, some are new to me, and some are just songs from years ago that have helped me through different stages this year. I hope you enjoy and find some new music to jam out to! I'll link my Spotify playlist as well. :) Just click the "My Worship Favorites" and it will connect to my playlist! My Worship Favorites:   this is my constant playlist Worship Music:  Extravagent- Steffany Gretzinger, Amanda Cook, and Bethel Music Yes and Am...

So back in my "getting to know" me post, I talked a little about who I am and how I want to pursue music more in the future. So, I decided as part of my 12 days of blogmas, I would share an extended post of what I what to do with music in the future and dreams I have in the music world, that may or may not ever happen. The first thing I know I want to do with music in the near future is to be in a choir. I know for sure that I want to be in a choir/the choir when I get into college. I would love if it is a traveling choir, but just being back in a choir will be so great! I was in the choir from the time I was in the fourth grade until freshman year, when we started homeschooling. So being in a full-time choir is something I miss greatly. I love to sing on my own and with the worship team, but there is just something extra special to me about being in a choir and the community that comes with that.  I have been looking into getting involved in a local choir but I will save...

As I think back to last November...November 28, 2017, to be exact, all I remember is the fear I felt and the way I was wrestling with God. We loaded up the moving truck that day and I had never been so frustrated, excited, angry, and worried all at once. My mom had just recently gotten out of the hospital and was still sick as she was preparing for another major surgery less than a month later. I was more than worried about her health and the things that were to come with that. It left us with a lot of unknowns about her future condition after the upcoming surgery. I was angry and frustrated with God because I still did not understand why He felt the need to move me away from my family and friends and the life I had come to know over the last six and a half years. I did not want to go somewhere new. I thought I was content with where we were at, but my attitude showed otherwise. The enemy had gotten into my head and told me that God's plans for my family were not good and not sec...

We all face battles that no one else sees. Whether it simply be the battle of just wanting to sleep in instead of going to church, or the battle between joy and depression. I don't know what your battles are, but I do know that you're not alone. I know you've probably heard that a thousand times. But when I say it this time, I say it with a slightly different perspective than I've ever considered it before. First, you're not alone because the God you serve walks beside you and never leaves you on your own. Second, you're not alone because there is at least one other person who has struggled with that before, who is struggling with it now, and who will struggle with it in the future. But lastly, and to me the most important, we're all fighting at least one fight that no one else knows about. They may never have imagined you fighting it, but I've learned in almost 17 years, that when you open up about that battle, is when you not only help others and encou...

Hi, I'm Izzy and this is how I'm documenting my journeys in life. I wanted to document and share my life from right now until I decide to move on. I'll document and share big announcements and small ones too! Most of you know me, but I want to share a little about myself just to get things started. So my name is Izzy. I'm 16 years old and I'm finishing up the first semester of my junior year of high school. I am currently singing and playing keys for our worship band at church. I've come to find music as passion and see myself involved in it long term. I have many dreams and goals in my music but I'll share some of those in a later post. I currently have a Youtube channel that is only a month or so old. I'm enjoying making videos for it and just sharing who I am with the rest of the world. Maybe someday I'll be someone up and coming in the Youtube world but that decision is up to the Lord and my viewers. As I mentioned church earlier, it is probab...