So I opened a Society6 Store.

I've been wanting to do it for a while. And then I got all excited and went through my pictures and found ones that I thought would work well. And then I got excited more.
And then it actually happened.
And, hello there. There are mugs and pillows and bags and art prints and iPhone and iPod cases and skins and clocks and more. It's awesome.
Go check it out! And feel free to pin things. Actually, please do. And pin Tane's while you're at it (she's brilliant, isn't she?).
And if you didn't click my store link, maybe this will help you out a bit. Because I really like this pillow. Like, I want one. Or a thousand. (Okayokayokay not a thousand.)

(go look. now.)

Doesn't this one look pretty cool too?

Have a wonderful night, my dears.
♥
Bekah Joan

thoughts on destressing

Stress. It gnaws at my soul, shading my eyes so this world appears grey instead of colorful. When I let myself fall into it, life is difficult. There is so much that needs done. My head gets crowded with ideas and to-do lists and places to go and people to keep in touch with and, honestly, I get so overwhelmed that I can't handle it anymore.

Part of that is because I'm introverted. Part of it is because I'm not letting myself de-stress. Most of it is because I don't fully rely on God (yet). But right now I want to talk about de-stressing. About ways to gently take care of yourself. Reminding yourself of who you are in God and what he can do for you.

get up and relax. It sounds so strange, I know, but it can be helpful. Get out of bed and spend a few minutes stretching or staring out your window or watching the sunrise or praying or reading your Bible (although I prefer to do the latter two after I'm slightly more awake). You know you best. What relaxes you? Do it right away.

take little breaks. Whenever you have time, take a few minutes and just breathe. Think. Pray. Close your eyes and remind yourself that you are a child of God, and he can do anything through you. He can get you through the day.

get a good amount of sleep. I think this one is pretty obvious. If I'm rested, I tend to be less emotional, which means I don't get as anxious. So if you like staying up late, stay up late and sleep in. Although this doesn't work if you're in school. If you like getting up early like me, get to sleep earlier and rise earlier.

be with people. Introverts, trust me on this one. Please. Yes, I agree we need our time to ourselves to regain our energy. But if you isolate yourself completely, you're actually going to drain yourself. Humans were made to need humans. We need community. People encourage us. They love us. And we do the same to them. I used to try to completely isolate myself. And guess what? It led to a not-so-good part of my life. So get together with friends and love them.

make something beautiful. We were created by an amazing God. Obviously, we can't make something anywhere near to what he's created, but we can still use art to point to him. So try making something. If you're a perfectionist, keep it simple so you don't get irked when you mess up. But remember that God created beauty. So we should as well.

don't be so hard on yourself. You do not need to beat yourself up for every mistake that you make. God created you the way he wants you. You are growing in him the way that he has planned for you. He is in control of your life. That means that no matter what you have done or will do, God will make it work out for the absolute best in his plan. So remember that you do not need to punish yourself. You need to love yourself. Because if you don't, you can't accept love—from God, or from others. And that, my friend, can lead to terrible thoughts and dark nights.

So remember these are you start the school year or continue with life. You are a child of God. He loves you. If harm will come to you, it will be for a more beautiful you. Do not let the grey of life smother you. You are here for more than to be stressed out. You are here to grow.
So, my friend,
grow.

♥
Bekah Joan

Received

I cut myself today,
But all I bled was black.
You said that I'm perfect,
But trim back the roses
And my thorns will attack.

Outside, I'm beautiful.
Inside, I'm terrible.
Am I truly Your bride?
I have acted cruelly,
Yet we're still united.

You are my redeemer,
And I am your beggar.
I come to your doorstep
To become your daughter
And to drink your water.

Your light shines on my face,
Blinding my weary eyes.
The door shuts out the lies.
I thought You'd abhor me,
Yet you welcome me in.

I have been received in
To the house of no sin
Where my blood will flow pure.
My thorns will disappear,
And love will adorn me.

New York City

It was packed with tourists and colors and (mostly appalling) smells. The noise never, ever ended. It was thrilling and terrifying and fun and hot and rainy and sunny and pretty darn cool.

I saw the Statue of Liberty. I was in the Empire State Building. I didn't go up to Olympus due to time issues, but I was there. We stayed at a hotel right on Times Square (which, by the way, is not a square). We went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, which thrilled me most. When I was little and still doing ballet, I watched a movie on Degas. Forgetting how accurate it was (I have no idea, by the way), I fell in love with Degas and his The Little Fourteen-Year-Old Dancer sculpture. So imagine my happiness when I found it, standing there in the center of one of the many rooms. I was giddy. Elated. Ecstatic. There was also a photography section on Garry Winogrand. (Check out Artsy's page on him here.) This made me super duper happy. The architecture in the city? Beautiful. Gorgeous. Amazing.

BUT. I would never ever ever ever ever ever want to live there. I'd go back. But living there? Nope. Too busy. Too noisy. Too many people and terrible smells (although if you walked by the right places, it was heavenly) and you just feel so enclosed. It's like you're inside when you're outside. Unless it's raining. And then you're outside.

But it was beautiful in its own way. I've always loved cities because the country shows us nature, but city shows us man. And I like seeing personalities come out through architecture and art and people strolling by.

Overall, it was fun. And great. A wonderful experience. My favorite part was absolutely the Met.

Obviously.

♥

Bekah Joan