friends are family

five minute friday's. we write for five minutes, and five minutes only. there's no editing (oh my goodness!), no over thinking and absolutely no backtracking (i hope i can do this!) i'm linking up with The Gypsy Mama again today.
the writing prompt:"friends"
GO!

(me and my dear friend 'Saint Pat')"Friends are the family you choose for yourself." Melanie Matson
The quote above is so very true. 
Truth be told though I've never really found my friends. God has always been the one who has brought my friends to me. He's chosen those friends for me that have become my beautiful extended family.
My friends, over the years, have flooded in and out with the passing seasons. And God has been faithful to place a new friend into my life just when I need them and just when they need me most. I miss the friendships that have now faded away, but I know that they shaped me nonetheless.
I am so thankful that I have my dear friends in my life, online and in-real-life. They push me towards the face of God more and more with every passing day and challenge me in ways I could never have seen myself being challenged in before. 
They challenge me in my walk with God. They make me laugh until I cry. Tthey shape me as a daughter of the king. They push me in my writing endeavors. They hold me when I am weak. They make me a stronger and more beautiful soul.
Thank the Lord for the gift of friendship! 
STOP!

new morning mercies i do see

{image via: etsy.com}

"You're blessed when the tears flow freely. Joy comes in the morning."

Luke 6:21

Yesterday was an extremely rough day for me. And last night I wept like the scared child I once was.

She cast her hurtful words onto me...back to back...without a second thought. She didn't know that her words so harshly breathed life to the versed daggers she threw towards my heart. They cut me deep right at the threshold where my seeming inadequacies and childhood fears collided.

...morning by morning new mercies i see...

This morning I woke up with a new attitude. My heart wrenched and opened in new ways that brought forth joy-filled life. It is a new day. A beginning of new mercies, forgiveness, the releasing of fears and torments that have for some time now held me.

Today is my gift from Him. I may have felt faint and wounded yesterday, but He was there all along. He will mend my heart. With Him my heart shall faint not.

...yesterday is gone and new mercies abound.

I sat there amazed this morning reading this story...HIS STORY...it was sitting before me waiting to be soaked up and lived out. It was a grand story. A story that told of fullness and of a King who wants good things and has nothing but love for His children. It spoke of the fruit that will become ripened when sought after, and a love that is never ending. His grace and mercy. He is unfading. His words do not wound, but love.

This is why I am thankful for new mercies. He makes all things new. He takes away my fears and pain. He makes this seemingly broken daughter whole once more. He is mercy and grace and love entwined.

it is a new day...with no mistakes in it.

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If you've struggled this week with your past fears creeping up on you, or feeling like the life you are currently living isn't enough, know this: You're not alone. The One who created you and I grants new mercies every morning to us. He gives freely of His grace and love. And He is the only one who can make you WHOLE.

Getting To Know YOU

via

Hi there blogger lovelies (and beastlies)! ;)

Well, we've had quite a few new followers join us here on Daughter of the King recently. *YAY!* That said I thought it would be super stellar to give all of you newbies and already faithful following lovelies the chance to introduce yourselves to not only myself, but to the rest of DOTK's readers too!

So...

Here are some ice-breaker questions for all of you:  

{1} 

Do you blog? If so where, what and why do you write?

{2} 

What made you want to follow us here on DOTK?

{3}  

What is one completely random thing about yourself?

{4} 

What is your fave book or author?

{5} 

Would you consider telling us a few more blurbs about yourself?

WELCOME TO DOTK!

The POTO Tickets Have Been Purchased

Yes, I am going to see the Phantom Of The Opera 25th Anniversary Live show at the *movie* theatre mah dears! To say that I am excited about Jared taking me out on a date to go see THE PHANTOM is hugely understated because truthfully I am beyond excited right now!

I've dreamed about seeing the actual live musical production for so many years now, that this is honestly a dream come true. And while I know that this is not LIVE it's live and that is seriously good enough for me. Maybe one day I will be able to see the production in London (for real) or even Paris. That would be heavenly. Until then though this - going to see it live in the movie theatre - is the best thing ever!

my beloved poto program and audio tapes

When I was around 8 I had the opportunity to go see the actual live production of POTO in Raleigh, NC, but sadly I thought that the phantom might have scared me a little and I backed out of going at the last minute. My mother went in my stead and brought me back a lovely production program and booklet. I have held onto that program booklet and cherished it for many many years, flipping through it's beautifully haunting photographs.

Sarah Brightman and Michael Crawford 

via

My not having attended the best live musical on earth ever, I fully admit, is a day that I regret wholeheartedly. Ever since I had missed my chance to go I've listened to the old original London cast audio tapes from 1987 of POTO, the one with Sarah Brightman and Michael Crawford. (Actually I am listening to the tapes right now.) I think listening to the tapes is what has kept me sane for all of these years! 

I've dreamed a dream and thought of it fondly....

I was the little girl who belted the songs from Les Miserables, Phantom of the Opera, Cats and Rigoletto out loud for all to hear from within the shower...loud enough surely for the birds outside to have wanted to cover their ears! Yes, I am a musical lover and enthusiast. 

Random things about the Phantom and me:

• I can play Think of Me and all of the other songs on the piano.
• I can also sing them in French.
• I still listen to the audio tapes...surprisingly they haven't died yet!
• Organ music gives me the shivers.
• I own the novel by Gaston Leroux, but sadly have never read it all the way through.
• I still sing POTO songs in the shower.
• The POTO program is one of my most prized possessions. 
• Joel Schumacher's The Phantom of the Opera is brilliance.
• Secretly I want All I Ask Of You to be played at my wedding.
• Lon Chaney as The Phantom is scarrrrrrryyyy.
• I've watched the movie version in French, Italian and Spanish.

Thanks for listening to my long winded Phantom rant ya'll! I'm so excited and October 2nd cannot come quick enough! (I'll make sure to tell you all about it!)

So, what are your favorite musicals? Are you a fellow Phantom Phan?

I'm full of JOY today

it's five minute friday! we write for five minutes, and five minutes only. there's no editing (oh my goodness!), no over thinking and absolutely no backtracking.  i'm linking up again with The Gypsy Mama today.
the writing prompt:"JOY"
GO!
Today I am totally joy-filled. I've been able to laugh out loud without reservation with my momma and sister by my side. Sing out loud obnoxiously at the top of my lungs. Wash cars out in this 59 degree blissful weather. Heck, my toes are frozen at this very moment and I am still super joyful!
I have many questions about joy...
Is joy an electric feeling that zaps you and leaves you giddy, or is it a choice to be that way? Full of joy. Are we just more joyful than some others because of our circumstances, or is it that we can choose to be filled with joy no matter our station in life? Is joy just a simple choice, or is it an invitation? An indwelling of HE who is love bursting within ourselves...from the seams of flesh and bone that cry out I AM LOVED!
I think...
Joy is electric. It is a choice. It's love and it's bliss.
STOP!

Choosing to Stand, Sword in Hand

I only just finished reading Kim Meeder's book Fierce Beauty this morning and I stand amazed, my sword in hand.

This was not just a small 182 page book about seeing yourself as a beautiful person. It was a book that taught about being beauty in this world...becoming a beautiful vessel for our living God. These pages held many truths and lessons, simplistic and the-harder-ones-to-learn about how to truly live beautifully for Him and in such a way for others to glimpse that beauty within us daily.

Meeder speaks through her many life experiences, adventures, trials, sufferings, joys and even the animals in her life, wild and domesticated, to speak boldly about what it means to choose to stand for what matters most. And what matters most in this world is to take a stand, living courageously and beautifully for Him.

From snakes to sea turtles and from scary mountainsides to skiing for her life at all costs Meeder's stories are engaging, humorous and insightful. I thoroughly enjoyed how poetically she wrote throughout the whole book, and I also adored how every chapter told a chapter of the author's own life and then at the end of each chapter everything was neatly wrapped up with a small chapter and word from the heart of God.

If you are a lover of The King and of animals then this book is for you. If you are seeking to live a life of beauty that is not about how you look then this book is for you. If you are struggling with an untimely death, thoughts of suicide, anorexia/bulimia or learning to possess a heart of forgiveness then this book, my friend, is indeed written for you.

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.


Please rank my review of this book below! Thanks.

What if...

{via}

What if we woke up with only the things we thanked God for yesterday?

What would you have left? Who would you have in your life? 

Would you be happy with all that HE has given you?

BE 
THANKFUL 
FOR
TODAY


P.S.
I'm thankful for my Jesus, my family, my love, my job at the bookstore, for words, for autumn, for my many books, for my camera, my piano, for long mountain walks, food, water, my bible, pens, fresh notebook paper, new starts to new days, hugs 'n' kisses, laughter, a voice with which to sing and speak, 140 blog followers (you all are super awesome!), the sound of humming bird wings thrumming against the wind, rocking chairs, music, etc...

in real life

five minute friday's. we write for five minutes, and five minutes only. there's no editing (oh my goodness!), no over thinking and absolutely no backtracking (i hope i can do this!) i'm linking up with The Gypsy Mama today for the first time ever!
the writing prompt:"in real life"
GO!
real life is messy. it's full of wonder. it's full of stresses. it's full of laughter. it's the chaos in the calm. it's deciding to look around you and to make the best of things. i mean, isn't our every day life meant to be lived so as to glorify Him? 
most days i choose to look at my life with the intention that i will bless others and to seek to be inspired and to inspire others. 
then there are those days that are a real pain. the days where the world seems too heavy. and it's in those types of days that i know i need to draw closer to Him. it's those days when i have to look for laughter in the little things... these days that are not perfect, the real life days, well, those are my favorite kind. it's in the imperfections of real life that make it really quite amazing.
each day in life is a gift. it's a gift that is supposed to be used to glorify Him. it's a gift that is given to us to bless one another with. it's the stressful moments in day to day life that can teach us the most about ourselves if we'll but just look at it with open eyes.
STOP!

And The Winner...

of the My Memories Suite v2  digital scrapooking software  ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................according to random.org is ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 

#9 - Lauren Nicole
I'll be sending you an e-mail soon m'dear for instructions on claiming your prize! 


 Thank you to everyone who entered into my giveaway! Please, don't forget that you can still use this coupon code STMMMS36772 at the checkout anytime when ordering your copy of the My Memories Suite v2 digital scrapbooking software to receive $10 off!  (I get $20 when you do! ;))


Also, I want to give a HUGE thank you to Liz of My Memories Suites for contacting me and allowing me to host this wonderful giveaway on my blog!

A Little Sunday Reflection Bliss

Sunday. Rest. Laughter. Love. Bliss, indeed it was. Sigh.

     I had the lovely pleasure of spending all day Sunday with the most handsome young man on planet earth (okay, so I may be a teensy bit biased!) Really though, my Fisher is the most super handsome man and he is also my best friend in the whole world! I thank my King for him every day! I'm a blessed young lady to have him in my life. And luckily for me spending all this time with my guy on Sunday has made me reflect on just how much, and why I love him like I do.

And here's where I reflect, okay?

     I love spending time with him. Honestly, I never get sick of spending time with Jared. Actually each time I get to spend the whole day with him my heart only grows that much fonder of the time we have together, and every second is filled with more joy and love than the last second could have ever held! Being around him is like drawing closer to a kindred friendship, awakening and deepening each and every time we are together. 

     Not only is his outer shell extremely handsome, but his heart is too. He also has the tendency to make me laugh and rest like no one else can. Which I adore. Through him and the way he loves me I've learned to calm down and to enjoy life more fully...even in the quiet moments, which I used to hate. What can I say? I push him to be more outgoing and adventurous and he usually reigns me back in and helps me to reflect and reside in peace for a spell now and again. In our differences we are perfectly matched to be help-meets for one another. And thankfully we share many of the same tastes and likes which helps us from having polar angsty collisions, but we are very different nevertheless. I'm glad we're the same and yet completely complimentary all at the same time.

      He is truly a set apart young man. No one, with the exception of God, understands me and knows me the way that he does. I am so thankful for that! When I'm with Jared my heart and mind are found at the epitome of peace. I'm not daunted by the world around me, but rather inspired instead. Nor do I feel isolated like I do when we are separated by the many miles that stretch between us. He brightens life, always.

     Ah, I just love him so very much! I can't get over how awesome the last nearly 2 years have been with him. Like I said before, I count myself beyond blessed! Jared is the man of my dreams. I love him to the moon and back again. I truly do. *blushes*

On a Sunday there is nothing I love better than...

• Introducing myself as "Sarah the Sesquipedalian (user of long words)" at the College/Career Sunday School Class.
• Singing to the Lord while standing next to my love in Church. 
• Getting stung by a yellow jacket  on the very top of my foot and then being babied by my super cute guy...minus the sting part of course! 
• Eating pizza and drinking orange soda on the back porch together during a thunderstorm.
• Talking about our novel's characters together and watching as they dance vividly before our very eyes in joyous back and forth ping pong style conversation.
• Leaving the house in a rush to get to the bookstore before it closed to buy some Nicholas Sparks books. Yes, it was a random, spur of the moment trip and it was wonderful!
• Saying 'I love you' a bazillion times and meaning it even more each and every single time the syllables that make up that sweet trio of endearing words dance upon my tongue.
• Him holding me in his strong and warm embrace, that doesn't want to let go.
• Laughing so much in one day that I honestly could not stop smiling.

     There are so many more things that I love about my boyfriend. I could probably fill a whole novel full of just the simple small things that I love about him. It's the simple way that Jared sees people and the world that makes me slow down and appreciate each and every breath I take a little more each day.

I love you Jay! It's not Iceland, m'dear! *wink wink*

With Love, Your Red

words, words, words and some quote love

{all images via: weheartit.com}

Words are power. They are beauty. They set us free. They make laughter dance to and fro in the soul. They leave a longing in our hearts. They inspire. They tell a story when strung along together. They set us aflame. They speak. They moan. They leave footprints whether written or spoken. They cause our souls to faint not. They become alive within, digging into crevices that need filling and feeling. They resonate and ramble throughout our dreams. They find us and leave us breathless...wanting more.

words are a powerful possession to wield. use them wisely.

communication. a spoken love. free speech. microscopic words. extravagant brobdingnagian words. sweeping poetry. 26 little letters. uppercase and lowercase. profound movie lines. humoresque humor. "i do." collision of cultures. taking us to distant lands. beckoning. commandments. asking for forgiveness. they are ongoing, spherical even. 

There's a circadian rhythm to life and heart, when words are involved in jumbled lettered collisions. It's a thing of bliss. When we let them intrude within our souls they break loose the dark wreckage. The light streams through and brightens the dampened soul They are a way of life. 

I feel like I have been falling in love with words all over again! The more I read and write the closer I draw towards the beauty that is many words to behold and treasure and to share with the world. I am the keeper and crafter of one of the finest expressions of human emotion that nature ever invented! 

they  are  everywhere, so  look  around  you  please

words.  love.  writing.  read.  heart 

It seems that other people's words have been the driving force in all that has been inspiring me in this moment. They have been the fuel that has been firing inspiration withing my mind late at night as I toss and turn. And so I will share these words that have held my thoughts captive and tugged strongly at the strings of inspiration balloons in my frazzled writer's mind as of late. 

"No matter how carefully you plan your goals, they will never be more than pipe dreams unless you pursue them with gusto." 

W. Clement Stone

"I like nonsense, it wakes up the brain cells. Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living." 

Dr. Seuss

"Raisins are just humiliated grapes." 

Joon from the film Benny & Joon

"The good God is everywhere and provides in everything with love."

St. Maximilian Kolbe

"A lily does not try to resemble or imitate the thorns around her. She is focused on being who she was created to be...completely set apart for her heroic lover."

Leslie Ludy

"I want to be the type of woman who when my feet hit the floor in the morning Satan goes, 'Oh, no! She is up!'"

Jen from Love Unawakened

What quotes or movie lines have touched your life, spoken to your soul or made you laugh so hard you cried? Share them with me, will you? I'm thirsty for words to ingest and digest. I'm ready to be inspired further.

P.S. Don't forget to enter my giveaway! It ends at midnight on labor day.