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WE MOVED! :)

Please visit www.arielmasquerade.wordpress.com for Masquerade's new website, or feel free to browse here for awhile.
Thanks for the support and love!
xoxoxoxo,
Ariel

Moving!

Oh, my readers. You guys have a very special place in my heart! I started this blog 2 years ago in a week. When I started this, no way in a million years had I imagined it would become this. Never in my wildest dreams did I think that I would have over 100 people like my page on facebook, or that I would get so many encouraging comments and emails, or that I would have viewers from so many different countries in almost every continent on this earth, or that I would end up having 4732 page views in the lifespan of this blog. You guys have blown my mind and made my heart swell so much!
You guys have been with me on this journey and you've been the biggest blessing ever. I'm excited for the next step that we're taking with this blog! And I want to take this step together, no one left behind.
Lots of you have heard the big news that we're moving!!! I'm so excited for this! I've decided to move the blog to Wordpress. Blogspot has done so much for me, and I'm so grateful for this website because this is where I began. But just like businesses outgrow their buildings and have to move, I feel like I've outgrown Blogspot. I really like the layout I have on Wordpress and (this part I'm very excited about!) I can now have different pages other than just the blog. I have pages like "The Fingers Behind the Blog", "From the Mouths of Strangers" and "For Your Viewing Pleasure". I'm so pumped to be able to reach out to you guys in this way, and I'm hoping that you will continue to follow the blog, even as I'm not in the same place.
The new web address is: http://arielmasquerade.wordpress.com/
I'm just working on the finishing touches right now, and the new website should be launched sometime this evening! Keep your eye on the facebook and twitter page :)
I love you guys, and I hope you'll continue walking with me in this crazy journey!!
xoxoxo
Huge blessings!
Ariel
P.S. I'm not deleting this website! I will leave it here because there are many posts that people still read, that still get people thinking and that still help people. I don't want to take this away if God still wants to use it! So please feel free to come back here and visit :)

Love.

Today is World Suicide Prevention Day. So we support it by wearing yellow, writing "love" on our wrists and maybe a name, a name of someone who has been effected by suicide. But is that all we do? Is that honestly all we're going to do? Wear a certain color, on a certain day? Tell me, what is this going to help? Yes, I am wearing a yellow hoodie as we speak, and I have "LOVE" written on my wrist. Why? It's a step. It's a movement. But that's just the beginning. If tomorrow we don't take another step, and another, and another, is anything going to change? It's not. That's just not the way life works.
I am so grateful for life. Yes, I am frustrated and angry at life, but it really is a beautiful thing. I'm frustrated and angry at the situations I've been put in in my life. But if I hadn't gone through that stuff, I would be nowhere near the person I am today. I hold tight to Romans 8:28, "All things work to the good of those who love the Lord." To be completely honest, this world sucks. A lot. And a lot of the time, I hate it. I hate living here and I just want to go home to be with my Daddy. There's sexual assaults, sex trafficking, murder, theft, abuse, wars, the list could go on and on. This world sucks. BUT, there is this thing called love, and from it branches so many other things. I truly believe that love is a verb, because you cannot love someone without acting towards them in love. When love is poured out, that's when things change.
I know for a fact that if I did not have the hope that I have, I would be long gone. See ya! Adios! Sayonara! Au revoir! Why would I want to live in such a disgusting world if all that happens when I die, is I get put in the ground, and that's it? What is the point?? There is no point to that, at all! Why would I want to deal with depression for any longer than I have to? That's been my reality for 4 years now. Praise God, it's not as severe anymore. Why would I want to work through the pain of my past and heal when I could just end it? But there is so much more at stake. We live for a reason. We have a purpose. What is that purpose? To love as Jesus loved. Let his love fill you, but not only that, let it spill, let it overflow onto those you come in contact with. I've had kids see me and yell, "Madame Ariel?!" with a huge gasp and a running hug. I've had people send me random messages on facebook. I've had people thank me with such sincerity and meaning for something that I've done for them. I've had people write me little notes. I've had people give me random gifts that seem little but mean the world. I've had people care enough to talk to me when I'm losing hope. Those moments of love impacted me so much. They kept me going. Never underestimate the power of your words, your actions, your love. It's needed!
So what do we do now? It's time to act. Take that next step. Be a part of the movement. What that looks like for you, I don't know. Maybe it's giving someone a hug. Maybe it's saying hi to someone in the hallway who you're not a fan of. Maybe it's sitting and listening to someone who's going through a hard time. Maybe it's holding your tongue when you feel a snarky comment on the tip of it. Maybe it's going and feeding the homeless. Maybe it's hanging out with a certain kid who just needs some extra attention. Whatever it is, go. Move. Be the change that you want to see in the world. Yeah, it starts with a bunch of little stuff. If you put $1 in a box, yeah it's small. It doesn't look like much. You can't really do anything with it. But if you put $1 in that box every single day for 30 years? That's $10,950. That's a lot bigger of a number than 1. That one dollar made a difference. It may take a while, but it will be so worth it.
And to those of you struggling with thoughts of suicide, I say this: you are SO worth it. You weren't a mistake, not even maybe. You were put on this earth for a reason. Yeah, things may suck right now, but please keep fighting. Down the road, there may be a person you meet who is struggling with the same things that you were, and you can help them. You can make a difference. Your story holds SO much power! You have the ability to change the world, so please, please don't give up. You're loved more than you know. Kick at the darkness until it bleeds daylight. Keep fighting. It'll be so worth it.
Love you guys,
Ariel

Dear Camp Family

Jesus said, "My kingdom is not of this world." ~ John 18:36a
This summer was absolutely incredible. I can hardly believe that it's coming to a close and that school begins next week. I have mixed feelings. I'm both excited and sad to turn the page. This summer, I saw God move in so many ways, in both staff and children. I grew so much, and I learned so much. There's always one thing about summer camp that I cannot shake, and that's my camp family. So this, my family, is for you.

Dear Camp Family,
I cannot even explain to you how much you mean to me! It's so cool to see how each person comes with different lives and gifts and walks, yet we all come together as one team, one body, one family working together to further God's kingdom. I'm going to miss the late nights in dorm with my roomies, talking about boys, and life, and stories, and boys, and eating junk food, and making bracelets, and talking about boys ;) I'm going to miss crying and praying with you. I'm going to miss the late nights and early mornings and being way overtired to the point of being delusional. I'm going to miss seeing you all using your gifts in this ministry and being so incredibly selfless in order to serve these kids. I'm going to miss seeing all of your faces! Your amazingly wonderful faces that Facebook cannot do justice. I'm going to miss your hugs, and feeling your love around me all the time. I'm going to miss opening up encouragement notes that make me smile, cry, or laugh to the point of tears. I'm going to miss writing you guys encouragement notes! Can you guys imagine how much the world would change if people encouraged each other like this all the time? Instead of insulting each other and calling names or pointing out flaws, to point out the good things and encourage them with where they're at, and with where they're going? Life would be so different. Those notes have made my life so different. To encourage and to be encouraged is one of the things I've learned to value most in life. I will never forget the reactions to some of those notes, and how much they meant to you, and how much a small act of kindness like that could change some one's entire day. I'm going to miss our Sunday night meetings. When a group of friends come together to worship Jesus together, something strange happens. They're not friends anymore, they're family. Brothers and sisters joined together by one Daddy. I would ten times rather worship Jesus with you and pray with and for you than have all the money in the world or party night and day or whatever the world says will make you happy. Those Sunday nights, I looked forward to them every week. The prayer times we had together showed me what the body of Christ should be doing all the time. I felt so much love in those times. Now we can go out, and pour that love onto others. I'm going to miss how absolutely insane you all are. From mud fights to food fights to pots and pans baseball to giant dutch blitz to glow in the dark hocker to seshing up...I love it! I catch myself about to do stuff all the time, and have to remind myself that I'm not at camp. At Corn and Apple I had a water bottle in my hand and saw one of my friends, I was about to pour the water all over her until I remembered that I was not at camp anymore. Ha, it was moments like those with you guys that made this summer golden. The thing that I'm going to miss most though is not the fights of various kinds, it's not the random things you say when you're way too tired to be letting anything come out of your mouth, it's not watching you sesh up, it's not the activities, or the sites, or the videos, or the chapels, or the meals...the thing that I am going to miss the most is you. My family. I've been home for not even a week, and I just want that community back. I wish that everyone loved Jesus as much as you all do. I wish that all of my friends wanted to have praise and worship sessions and pray together. I wish that the world could have community like camp does.
Yeah, I'm going to miss all of this stuff like you wouldn't believe, and I'm going to miss all of you even more. But I'm excited. I'm excited for what life's going to bring. Now we've all just charged our batteries for a solid 2 months. We're way stronger than what any Energizer Bunny could ever give us!! And that makes me excited. We were all together for 2 out of 12 months. We have 10 left to make up a year. We're all going to different places...Winkler, Morden, Winnipeg, New Bothwell, Steinbach, Altona, Los Angeles, Australia...we are going all over the place! When you get a plate of fries, what do you do? You put salt on them. And then you eat them. The fries where the salt lands are always the better ones, the most flavorful. We are called to be the salt of the earth. We're being shaken out from Winkler Bible Camp and we're landing in all different places. We're giving where ever we happen to land a new taste, new life, new experience. I want to encourage you with that. You have the opportunity to change lives! You did it here at camp. Follow where God leads. Listen to him. Don't be afraid. For someone who's never had fries with salt before, they might be surprised by the taste. They might find it strange, interesting, they might love it or find it disgusting. Either way, we have the awesome privilege to influence people where ever we are, and where ever we go! Take advantage of that privilege.
I love you guys, so much!!
Ariel


Meet my crazy, absolutely wonderful family!

Enjoy :)

Out Of This World

Hello all! As you've probably already figured out, I'm back at camp for the summer. For those of you who don't know, I've worked at a bible camp for the past 2 summers and am now back for my third. And I'm loving it! God's doing such cool things here, you cannot even imagine! I'm actually just so pumped to tell you guys about it.
Camp for me in a nutshell has been this: Week 1-Food Prep, Week 2-Dishes/Program Help, Week 3-Ropes Assistant, Week 4-Dishes/Program Help/One on One, and this coming week, Week 5 is Ropes Assistant again. The theme this year is Out Of This World from the verse "Jesus said, 'My kingdom is not of this world.'" (John 18:36a) It's been such a blast. I've noticed this year that the staff are being put in a lot of roles that we wouldn't normally be put in. Like people who've been counseling mostly are being put on dining hall or custodial. Stuff like that. I counseled the majority of the summer last year, and this year I've been in the kitchen a lot. It's been cool to see how God's used this to his glory even when I couldn't see how doing dishes could possibly further his kingdom. I've gotten encouragement notes from countless people telling me how they think it's so awesome how I continue to be willing to serve God in any position, and always with a smile. All glory to God! My smile is from him, and it's to bring him glory.
I want to tell you guys about week 2. Ha, oh week 2! It was absolutely crazy. I have so many stories, so here we go!
It was Thursday night and my friend C, who just so happened to be my "boss" as the Dining Hall Coordinator that week, was having a rough night emotionally and physically. All week she had been having problems with her foot and had been limping. Thursday she messed it up in chapel by jumping and had shooting pain every time she took a step, so instead of limping, she hopped. So she came back to dorm, and we were talking, and J comes to our room and says that God was leading her to talk to C. We ended up praying for her, and J prayed for her foot, and C got up and started walking around...normally! I had not seen her walk normally all week. Then she started jumping and dancing! It was incredible! We went and told the connectors who were in the lounge in dorm, and they said, "C, you need to go pray for B's knee!" And so we went into another room, they had their lights off already, and we told them that we had to pray for B's knee. Prayed, healed, bam! Then we prayed for K's leg which had been giving her almost unbearable pain all week. Healed! This was all on Thursday evening from about 11:30-12:30 at night. It was so random, but so, so, so good!
I thought that Thursday was like, the cool day of the week where God was working and that things were just gonna be done the next day. So on Friday morning at breakfast, R's feet were giving him a lot of pain since he's not on his feet that much normally. A group prayed for him outside, and as I was walking down the road, I heard yelling and screaming. First thought: He's healed!!! Yeah baby!
This other girl who hurts herself a lot had almost broken her toes that week and was on crutches. A few people prayed for her, and she walked out of the chapel without crutches. People were going nuts! We were so excited! She went outside and her campers were like, "Where are your crutches??" Her response, "Guys, I don't need them, God healed my foot!" The campers were so pumped.
At lunch we were sitting at a table talking, and I heard about this one on one camper who lead 4 other campers to Christ! What?!?! God is so crazy!!!
There was a camper who broke her elbow that week and couldn't make her arm go straight at all. She was prayed for at archery, healed! She was blown away. She had full movement of her arm. Insane!
At the next activity of archery, there was a group of boys there. One boy had an ear infection, and so the other campers started praying over his ear. I saw them walking back from archery, about 5 boys, laying hands on each other and praying while they were walking back to their cabin. I ran into the Cove and was like, "You guys will NEVER guess what I just saw!!" This was honestly the coolest thing ever, because at the start of the summer, the summer camp director was talking about how cool it would be if this summer, campers were praying for other campers. And then, BAM! God shows up!!
This other staff member's wrist had been messed up for about a year, she was prayed over, healed!
Another girl, N, sprained her wrist. Prayed over, healed!
One of the coolest things I have ever witnessed was this: at one of the last chapels, the speaker went up to dismiss them, but first he said, "Okay guys, in a few seconds, we are just going to let out the biggest cheer we have for Jesus!" He counted down, and then whole chapel just went nuts! Usually when they tell the kids to give a shout for Jesus, it lasts like, 10 seconds. This time, they would not stop! I kid you not, they were just screaming for Jesus. And it was awesome! It was a glorious sound.
We've also had so many kids accept Jesus as their Savior. It's so sweet! During week 1, the count for kids who became Christians was 21. Week two was 18. We're now half way through summer camp, 4 weeks down, and in those 4 weeks, 70 kids have accepted Christ! How incredible is that?! And we're only half way in!! God is so good.
Please continue to keep camp in your prayers, for both the campers and staff. I know that God is going to continue to work in awesome ways. If you guys have any prayer requests, shoot me a comment or an email (xo_arial_xo@hotmail.com) and I would LOVE to pray for you! I've got a prayer list on my iPod, and I would be more than happy to add you to it.
Huge blessings! Love you guys!
Ariel

Our staff t-shirts!

Do You Remember...

I cannot stand it when adults say to teenagers, "You don't have any problems yet, just you wait." Or, "Oh, being a teenager isn't that bad. It gets worse once you get older." Or, my personal favorite *eye roll*, "You don't even know what stress is yet." Being a teenager may be one of the most difficult points in your life. Do I know from experience? Of being a teenager, yes. Of being an adult, no, however I have talked to adults who've confirmed this. I understand that adults often forget what it's like to be a teenager, to be in high school, to try to figure out who you are, to have the stress of school and jobs and thinking of the future and saving money and having a social life all at the same time. And if that's not enough, what about the family problems and drama with friends. If that's all not enough to stress a teenager out, what about that teenager who was beaten as a child and is still dealing with the stress of being terrified of going home? Or the teenager who was raped and now has to try to heal from the damage that was done without letting on to anyone that anything is wrong? Or the teenager who made one wrong choice and is now pregnant and has to give up her education and possible success to raise this child. Or the teenager whose mom just got diagnosed with terminal cancer, yet he still has to go to school and work and pretend to be strong. Or the teenager who has been made fun of so much that he needs to cut himself every single day just to be able to wake up the next morning? Or the teenager who looks in the mirror and sees only fat, fat, and more fat, so she starves herself to be accepted. Or the teenager whose parent's just announced that they're getting a divorce and they now have to decide who to live with, what town they want to live in, whether or not to leave their friends and all they know. Or the teenager who feels like they're walking on eggshells at home because their parent is an alcoholic and will snap at the smallest thing. Or the teenager who has so many secrets bottled up inside that they just might burst. Or the teenager who is friends of people who are going through stuff like this and they feel the need to be strong for their friends, meanwhile they're breaking inside for their friends. We, as teenagers, have incredible things and opportunities in our lives, not gonna lie. But we also have so much to deal with, and it really does not help when the adults around us have no sympathy whatsoever. As an adult, think about what you went through before you entered into adulthood. Were you sexually abused? Were you bullied? Were you going through family problems? Before you speak, think about what the teenager you're talking to might be going through. For some, an adult telling them that they don't know what stress or problems are might just be the breaking point between life and death for them. Teenagers are at this raw, precious age where we're figuring life out. Who we can trust. What we like to do. What we want to do for the rest of our lives. What we're good at. What love is. Who we are in general. What we need is godly men and women coming along side us and mentoring us, loving us, and being there for us. Please be that for a teenager in your life, we need it more than you know.
Blessings,
Ariel

Picky Eater

You know what bothers me? Picky eaters when it comes to the bible. They pick and choose what they like and talk about how good the food is and are so thankful and satisfied with it. But then they see food in front of them that they don't like. So they push it to the side and continue on with the other food that they do enjoy. Maybe this food they didn't like was too spicy. They didn't want to try it out in small helpings at first and then keep escalating when their tastebuds could handle more heat. It was too hard, too much work, so they just push it aside.
  So many people do this with the bible. They love the stuff where Jesus is performing miracles or when Paul is telling the church in Thessalonica that through their perserverance and faith in their suffering, they have become examples and are spreading the gospel in 1 Thessalonians 1. But wait, then they get to chapter 4 and they get a different taste in their mouths, one they're not sure of they like. 1 Thessalonians 4:3 says: God wants you to be holy and to stay away from sexual sins. Pretty straight forward right? But then they start thinking, "But...if I stop having sex with my boyfriend he might break up with me...plus, I like sex...it'll be too hard to stop now...and we're going to get married eventually anyways...ah, I'm sure it's fine. God won't care. It's just sex. Everyone has sex!" And so they push the food aside. They still love food, just not that food. This, of course, isn't a problem with real food, but when it comes to spiritual food, you can't just pick out the parts that you like and leave the rest for whoever wants it. You need all of it to stay spiritually strong and healthy. Will some of the stuff that God tells you to do be hard? Heck yes! Will you always want to do it? Nope! But does Daddy know best? Always. He's the author of the world, do you think that just maybe, just maybe he knows what he's talking about?
Blessings,
Ariel

Fight

I think that many of my days lately have started out with the thought, "God, you are absolutely insane!" And he is! But that's obviously why I love him :)
My friend Julie and I have had the incredible opportunity to help some friends of ours out with a petition asking the Canadian government to create an action plan to combat human trafficking. I heard about the petition about 2 weeks ago, and a week and a half ago started working to get signatures. So far I have spoken to 3 high school classrooms, individuals and 6 grade 8 classrooms about human trafficking. WOW! God is crazy. Absolutely insane!!
"One who is the property of, and entirely subject to, another person, whether by capture, purchase, or birth; a servant completely divested of freedom and personal rights." This is the dictionary definition of human trafficking. So, in simple terms, people are bought and sold against their will, they have no rights and no freedom, they are treated horribly and forced to do work with no pay. These jobs can include working on farms, in factories, in the drug trade, in the sex trade, as housekeepers, in restaurants, etc. As you can see, there are both physical labor and sexual labor. Unfortunately, a large percentage of human trafficking is sex trafficking.
The thing that I hate about sexual abuse in general is that God created sex as a good thing. A really good thing! It's where two married people would become one, glorifying God, and be intimate. But go figure, Satan uses God's gifts and twists them to hurt and disgrace people.
Most people assume that human trafficking is not an issue in North America. We usually think that it's only an issue in India and other places overseas. But it's not. It is a very at home and real issue in Canada. In every single grade 8 classroom we went to, we asked the question, "Do you think that human trafficking is an issue in Canada?" and the majority of the answers were a very strong, "No." When we told them that people are trafficked into Canada from overseas, out of Canada to other parts of the world and that Canadians were trafficked inside of our own country, they were all absolutely shocked. They could not believe it.
The Canadian government has taken steps to combat human trafficking. They've signed a number of treaties with the UN. They have agreed to create a National Action Plan (NAP) to deal with human trafficking in 2007 and the House of Commons agreed. However, today, 5 years later, they still have not created an action plan. In fact, they don't plan to. The organization (IWGTIP) that they were working with to create this action plan no longer has orders to do so.
This is not okay. Canada made a promise to its citizens that they were going to combat human trafficking, and that they would create a national action plan to deal with it, but they have not followed through. By signing the petition, basically what you're saying is, "I'm a Canadian citizen who knows about and is concerned about human trafficking in our country. I want to help and protect the victims and see this form of modern day slavery abolished. As a citizen of Canada, I care about this issue and I want to see the government create an action plan as you promised." The approach that Canada would take is the 3 P's: Prevent [human trafficking from happening], Protect [the victims of human trafficking], and Prosecute [the traffickers].
I told the grade 8's about a specific story of human trafficking in Canada. A man trafficked a 15 year old girl for 2 years. He was caught and went through the courts. He was sentenced to 3 years in prison, however they reduced his sentence to 14 months. That is less time in jail than he spent trafficking this young girl. Another man trafficked a 17 year old girl for 2 years, got caught, went through the legal system and got sentenced to one week in jail. This is where the kid's jaws dropped. They know that this is not okay, that it is not acceptable, and that it needs to stop. This is where the "prosecution" part comes in.
The government must reply within 45 days of us sending the petition in. Since they have already signed treaties with the UN and have said they would create a NAP, it is likely that they will respond to the petition by following through with this promise after seeing that their citizens care about it.
Our goal is to get 100,000 signatures. So far, from 2 weeks, we have 1450 signatures! We have such power to create change in our world, you guys! Please, if you live in my area, ask me about this petition!! I would be more than happy to talk to you about it.
Stats:
27 million people are held in slavery world wide
Human trafficking is growing, faster than weapons or drugs
Every 30 seconds, another person becomes a victim of human trafficking
Children as young as 4 are sex slaves
This affects both men and women, boys and girls
They are forced to service up to 40 men a day
[Source: A21campaign.org]
We can be the change, you guys. We hold power.
God bless!
Ariel

Surrender

I had the privilige to go to YC Manitoba this past weekend. Let me tell you, I didn't really expect anything extravagent out of the weekend, but God had other plans! He just absolutely blows my mind. Blows. My. Mind!!! I find that when you expect something to happen, it usually doesn't, so I am so glad that I didn't expect this! This weekend was just a time of total healing and restoration for me.
We were listening to the speaker, Elijah Waters, on Friday evening. We had just finished worship with Unhindered, which was amazing as per usual. As I had said before, I hadn't really expected anything that huge out of the weekend. I went through a really hard month in April, and I was pretty much done for. And God knew that. Ha, he's sneaky, let me tell you! I had been struggling with a really difficult past event in my life just pounding me down this month. So Elijah, in the middle of his message, out of the blue says something incredibly specific to my situation, and says that there is hope and there is healing. (I'm trying to be as detailed as possible with still keeping my private matters private, I would really love to tell you the exact phrase, but this is personal, after all.) Funny thing I realized later was that he was actually standing on the side of the stage nearest me. My heart stopped. I kid you not, I swear it stopped, even if just for a millisecond. Tears came to my eyes, my jaw dropped and I just froze. I could not believe what had just come out of this stranger's mouth. No one else was really reacting to this except me. And the weird thing is that it felt as if he was speaking directly to me, I just had this gut feeling that what he said was said to me. I had never experienced this before, I was just so baffled by it. Go figure, God decided he was gonna grab my attention on the first day of the weekend. I love him :)
On Saturday afternoon I went and found Elijah. I knew that I needed to talk to him about this. I told him the quote, and he said he remembered saying it. I told him that I just thought it was completely out of the blue and asked if he had planned on saying it or what. I just wanted to get down to the bottom of this. He told me that he hadn't planned on saying it, and that it was probably about as random for me as it was for him. He said that God told him that someone in the crowd needed to hear what he said on Friday night. Again, just complete shock overwhelmed me.
Isn't it so amazing how God loves me and cares about me, ME, so much that he chose to, out of over a thousand people, single me out to tell me that one thing. Isn't that AWESOME?!?! Man, I still cannot get over it. I can't believe that he could love me that much. Ah!
After 3 workshops I went back to the hotel. I was going to change so I went into the bathroom. Apparently changing my clothes was not all God had planned for in that bathroom. The theme of the weekend was Surrender, but I really hadn't expected to surrender. I mean, yeah, it would've been nice, but I just didn't think that would be me. But man, in that tiny, cramped little hotel bathroom, I just started worshipping God like never before. I was raising my hands, praying, ultimately, I surrendered. I surrendered my life to my Lord in a tiny hotel bathroom. Ha! And who says God doesn't have a sense of humor? I noticed a complete 180 in me. All of a sudden, worship with Unhindered was...changed. I have never worshipped like that before. God's spirit just washed over me. I gave it all to him. I heard his voice more clearly and felt little nudges from him. I had the courage to go up to someone and pray for them when I never used to pray for people. I just...changed. And it was and still is amazing!! God is so good! Wow. Praise the Lord!
When I was surrendering in the bathroom (ha :) ) on Saturday, I told God that if I saw this one guy whose workshop I went to at YC again that I would ask him to pray for me. In Trevor's session he had talked about something that was, again, very specific to me. So I wanted him to pray with/for/over me. I was expecting to see him on Sunday because he had another workshop then, but no, of course God had other plans and I saw him on Saturday evening before the Group 1 Crew concert. I was like...God...? So eventually I got up the courage to go talk to him. I told him my story and told him what I wanted him to pray for. He got this volunteer to come pray with us and also his daughter. Before he prayed for what I asked him, though, he led me in a prayer of forgiveness for the people who had hurt me in the past. That part I was not expecting, but it was totally and completely part of God's plan for me during that weekend!! This provided so much healing to me I can hardly believe it. I feel forgiveness for the first time in years. I feel freedom. I am free!
On Sunday, there was a girl sharing her testimony at the last worship concert with Unhindered. Her story didn't connect with mine, but she did say one thing that just totally broke me. And when I say broke, I mean broke. I hadn't gotten so emotional to the point of crying all weekend. Sure, I had tears come to my eyes, but it wasn't hard to blink them back. So here I am in the middle of this huge crowd of teenagers, with no friends around me, and I just started bawling. I couldn't stop. The floodgates opened, and the tears just flowed. Through the rest of her story, through her prayer, and through the rest of worship, I just cried and prayed and worshipped God. But you know what? It wasn't a bad cry. It was a cry that I needed. A cry that healed me.
God is amazingly good. He worked this whole weekend together for way more than I could've ever imagined. Three days later and I am still just blown away by what he did, how he cares and loves. Like, wow!!! God is so good. So, so, so good!!
And by the way, I didn't just "surrender"...it was a SURRENDER. I am just craving God and thirsting to learn more about him. I'm leaning on him. I want to read my bible all the time. I just want to be with him. I love him more and more every day!
God is incredible!! I truly have the best Daddy possible :)
God bless,
Ariel


Little tidbits from the weekend :) Top left-Rapture Ruckus; Top right-Sean Quigley; Bottom left-Pat Barrett from Unhindered; Bottom right-Group 1 Crew

I have a mustache!! :) Top left-The Panic Squad (notice Andrew using my hair as a mustache! xD); Top right-Mike Love (creator of YC); Bottom left-Pat Barrett (his face!! xD); Bottom right-morph suits!!

It Is Finished

Thanks to youth I've made it a tradition for this year and last, and in the following years to watch Passion of The Christ on Good Friday. Last year was the first time I had ever seen it. I was pretty overwhelmed, to say the least. It made the crucifixion real. It made the sacrifice real. It made the pain real. It made the abuse real. It made the suffering real. It made Jesus real. It had never registered in my mind that Jesus being persecuted and brutally beaten and killed on that cross was all real. That it really happened. I could never comprehend it. I always knew that it happened...but it was just head knowledge. Kind of like knowing that a family member is going to pass away soon, you know it's going to happen, but it doesn't really click until they're actually not there anymore and you see them in that casket.
So last night, I watched it for the second time with the same youth. Let's just say that this time around there were many more tears I had to attempt to fight back. There wasn't even a point in fighting them though when he was up on that cross. The flood gates definitely opened then. And you know what? That's not a bad thing either.
As I was watching Jesus get beat, whipped, his flesh get ripped from his body with the cat of nine tails, his red blood replacing the color of his skin, being spit at, being laughed at, being hated...I yelled at him and said, "You shouldn't have done that! Why would you do that?!" It's just not fair. I was actually so mad at him. I'm the type of person who hates watching other people go through hard stuff. I would much sooner say, No, I'll go through that, give it to me, I can handle it...but that person, they don't deserve it, let them be free. And there I was, watching my Lord being treated like dirt. Taking all of my sin onto himself. Past, present and future. He knew that I was gonna screw up bad, he knew that I was going to need a lot of work, he knew everything that would become apart of me and my life and he still went through with it. If I was the only person on this earth, he still would have gone through that torture. He still would have died in the most painful, humiliating, disgraceful way imaginable. He wanted me. This just blows my mind. How the God of all the earth, who made everything and everyone, who knows all my thoughts, troubles and temptations, who could have easily said, "Nope, they're not good enough for me anymore," wanted...me. Me! Of all people...wow. Just wow. Personally, I think he's absolutely insane...but I don't mind. :) I wouldn't change him for the world!!
At the end of the movie, I again said to him, "You shouldn't have done that." This time, in a quiet, sad voice. And you know what he said to me? "I already did." And there's nothing I can do about it. No matter how much I want to fight with him, no matter how much I wish he didn't have to go through all that horror, he already did. It's done. It's finished. It's accomplished. He's already bought, wrapped and given us this gift. This gift of salvation. This gift of himself; his love, his peace, his joy, of life. He took our sin. All of it. He carries it now. And you know what? It's not a burden to him because he's defeated sin. Now comes our part. We have to decide if we're going to open this gift. Some people just take the wrapped gift but never open the wrapping paper. They just let it sit, unopened in their hearts and lives. Some people will take the wrapping paper off and open the box but are too hesitant to take the gift out. And then there are those people who really use this gift. They rip that wrapping paper off and they tear the box open and they use that gift. They talk to God, they read their bibles, they witness to others, they go out and be the hands and feet of Jesus Christ. Who do you think has the more fulfilled, joyful life? The one who puts the box in the corner of their room, hardly touched or even looked at, or the one who dives into that gift? It's your choice. He's waiting for you.
God bless,
Ariel

This Is Me

I don't wear a lot of makeup. I don't have big boobs or a butt or any curves for that matter. I don't wear bikinis in the summer. I don't let my back show when I bend over. I don't wear low cut shirts. I don't wear shorts so short that they could easily be mistaken for underwear. I don't let my bra show, not even my bra straps. I don't give the middle finger. I don't swear like a truck driver. I don't pose seductively in pictures. I don't let my cleavage hang out. I don't drink. I don't smoke. I don't party every weekend. I don't do drugs. I don't go against my parents. I would take a Friday evening of feeding and hanging out with a bunch of homeless people over going to a party any day. I don't flirt with every guy I come in contact with. I don't say yes to just any guy. I don't hang all over guys. I won't take pictures of me and my boyfriend making out. I won't let him take advantage of me. I won't have sex with him until he puts a ring on my finger. I won't even give him a chance if he does not love God more than he loves me.
And if all that stuff that I do or do not do makes me undesirable, then so be it. I am sick and tired of seeing the girls who wear layers of makeup and not enough layers of clothing having all the guys wanting them. I'm not like those girls, and I don't want those guys. But does that mean that I don't like to feel wanted? I'm still human. I'm just sayin', this is me, this is who I am. I am the daughter of the most high King, that makes me a princess. So if all these qualities I have makes me undesirable or not attractive or unwanted, then so be it. One day, my prince will come.
God bless,
Ariel

I'm not the prettiest, I'm not the most fun to be around, I'm not the coolest, but hey, I'm not changing for no one. This is what we've got, and God doesn't make any mistakes. This is me.

"I Do"

I see a generation rising up to take their place with selfless faith, with selfless faith. I see a near revival stirring as we pray and seek, we're on our knees, we're on our knees.

Amen. I am believing for this generation to rise up. I am believing for a revival. I am believing that God will shake this generation up with his spirit, and we will fall on our knees before the Father.
There are many people in this generation who will not get married. Why? Because they've seen that marriage results in heartbreak and failure. They've seen that the promise they made at the alter meant nothing. They've seen that there's no point in getting married, because marriage has turned out to be just the same as dating: you get tired of each other and break up. They have seen all of the break ups, the fights, the marriages gone wrong, the pain caused to the family. And they haven't seen love and commitment. Isn't that what marriage is? Isn't that why people get married? Because they love each other? Because they want to be with that person for the rest of their life? Because they're willing to be selfless? Because they're willing to put in the work? If I was taking these marriages, or looking and Katy Perry and Russel Brand's marriage, or looking at some of my friends relationships/marriages, I would never get married. Not in a million years. Because looking at that aspect of marriage, it doesn't look appealing. Not at all. But then I go and look at the marriages of other friends, or of Mark and Grace Driscoll, people who have worked hard, who haven't given up, who made a promise and kept it, and I can't wait to get married. I can't wait to have that.
But what the previous generation has been showing our generation is failure and giving up. Yes, we have the freedom to do whatever we want. We can have sex if we're not married. We can be intimate. We can live together. We can have kids. Don't you think God created marriage for a reason, though? Let's look at sex for a minute. Sex has always been meant to be within the commitment of marriage. Why? Because it creates and builds intimacy that only a husband and wife should share. There is a vulnerability, but also a trust. It's that special thing that only you and your husband or wife can have. What about living together before you're married? Studies have shown that couples who live together before getting married have a higher divorce rate than couples who get married first and then move in together. Does that not just scream "God made it this way for a reason!!!!!!!" to you?? And, if you're living together before you're married, you're probably sleeping in the same bed, which means you're probably having sex out of marriage, which God specifically told you not to do. This means that sex is an idol. You're putting the desires of your flesh before what God wants for you. Don't you know that your Daddy knows best? Having kids outside of marriage...that's a big one. I have many friends who either have been pregnant, are pregnant or have kids. I've seen what it does to a relationship outside of marriage. Chances are, the pregnancy is unexpected. This creates an automatic stress between a couple. It creates more fights. It creates almost an obligation to stay together. After the baby is born, there are two people who haven't really discussed being parents before because they didn't expect to be parents, trying to raise this child. They start to just hate each other because their parenting styles are different, or one does more work than the other, or one is a "part time parent". But yet, they stay together for the "good of the child". So much damage is done by enjoying the benefits of marriage outside of marriage. So much damage.
My prayer is that the men will rise up. That they will rise up to be real men who love Jesus first, and their girlfriend or wife after. Who are selfless. Who value their woman too much to pressure her, force her or disobey God. Who doesn't get caught up in the desires of his flesh. And who will rise up as a father and teach his sons to be that kind of man as well.
My prayer is that women will see their worth and their beauty. That they would know that their Daddy has the best plan imaginable for them. That they would find joy and happiness and beauty in their marriage and children. That they would serve their husband and family. That they would have strength.
I'll end with this:

We need to teach our daughters the difference between
a man who flatters her and a man who compliments her;
a man who spends money on her and a man who invests in her;
a man who views her as property and a man who views her properly;
a man who lusts after her and a man who loves her;
a man who believes he is God's gift to women and a man who remembers a woman was God's gift to man,
and then teach our sons to be that kind of man.

God bless,
Ariel

Drowning

I have been humbled. Last week was just the worst week for me. Have felt that feeling like you're pushed under water, and then you finally get up and breathe, but then you just get pushed back under again? Like you're drowning, and when you finally get that joyous breath of air again, you think everything will be okay, you feel alive! But of course, the waves sweep you up again and pull you back under. You can't breathe, you're frustrated, you're scared, you're tired, you don't wanna fight anymore, you wonder if this is all there is. You give up the fight, and slowly start to drift into unconsciousness, and soon your heart stops beating. And then all of a sudden you wake up, coughing out all of the water and gross stuff you swallowed, you see the sun, and the wonderful person who saved you. He helps you back to your feet and supports you as you walk to where you need to go. You're alive again! That's what my week has been like.
I hope that that illustration made sense to you...as I started writing this, I was like, "K God, I don't even know where I'm going with this...you can just take over!" I think that the most wonderful feeling ever is when you wake up, and you see Jesus' face and feel his love and his touch.
What humbled me this week was the grace of my incredible friends. Of people that I didn't even know asking me if I was okay and showing me compassion. It was amazing. I didn't deserve it one bit. Not one bit. But they were right there, ready to not only offer kind words, but support me. And I thank you, all of you who were there for me this past week. I cannot express how thankful I am to have such amazing people in my life!!
I started thinking about my funeral this week. When I feel like I just want to give up, and like no one cares or likes me or loves me, that's what I do. I imagine my funeral. Because it hits me like a brick every single time. To see the people who are there. The people I have impacted. The people who love me. To hear the stories. To see the loss they're experiencing. To see their faces. To see their emotions. To see this incredible family I have gained through Jesus Christ being my Daddy. I want to be the kind of person that when I die, at my funeral will be some people I hardly even knew, but I had an impact on. That when people see the life I've lived, they won't see me, but they'll see Jesus. That's what I truly want. I want to impact people. I want to bring people to Jesus. I want people to see the fire in me, to feel compassion from me, and love. I want people to not be sad over my death, but to rejoice in the life that I got to live for Jesus and the life that he gave me.
My heart is swelling with love for you guys. Thank you for being who you are. Thank you for your love. Thank you for even just taking the time to read this blog. Thank you for being interested in me. And most importantly, thank you for loving Jesus.
God bless,
Ariel

You Are Beautiful

I think we as a society have a very distorted image of beauty. We'll look at houses or old brick buildings and say, "What a beautiful building!" But what about the beautiful trees and grass they destroyed to create that building? Was their beauty not adequate? Or we'll look at someone who might be overweight and insecure about themselves, and so they start working out and eating healthy. That's a great thing! But we only acknowledge their beauty once they start to lose weight, instead of making sure that they know they're beautiful no matter what their size. Let's look at this contrast: a girl walks into a restaurant wearing jeans that flatter her body, new heels, a fancy shirt, jewelry, hair curled and makeup done perfectly vs. a girl who walks into the same restaurant wearing sweats and a t-shirt. Which one do we automatically think is beautiful? The girl who is all done up, "perfect". Or what about girls who wear low cut shirts, showing off their cleavage constantly vs. girls like me who wear tops that do not show my cleavage or big, baggy t-shirts? Which girl are the guys going to look at and think is attractive? The one wearing close to nothing or the one who is trying to be modest? Chances are, they would pick the girl with cleavage over me. And I'm fine with that, because I believe that you get who you dress for. If you dress like a slut, you're gonna get a guy who wants a slut. Let's weigh the options of makeup. I don't wear a lot of makeup, mascara is it, but one day I decided to wear eyeshadow and eyeliner as well. And you know what happened? I got so many compliments on how pretty I looked that day. And it made me upset! What happened to natural beauty?? When did our view of beauty stray so far from what actual beauty is?
I wish that we lived in a society where everyone thought they were beautiful. No, where everyone knows that they are beautiful!! Do you know how much the rates of anorexia or other eating disorders, teen pregnancy, cutting, suicide, depression, anxiety and heartache would go down? Maybe that girl who everyone sees as "plain" because she's a normal body type so no one tells her how beautiful she is won't stop eating because she thinks that being skinnier will make her more beautiful. Maybe that girl whose boyfriend only ever tells her how hot or how sexy she is but never calls her beautiful will stop trying to please him by having sex with him to keep him interested in her because she thinks that she's not good enough. Maybe that girl that suffers from constant depression and anxiety from the words that people say, or don't say, will stop cutting her wrist to turn the emotional pain into something she can physically feel and see. Maybe that girl who has a different boyfriend every week would gain confidence in herself and who she is to the point of waiting for the boy who will love her forever, and not just until he sees another girl walk by. Maybe if we all regularly heard the words "You are beautiful" on a regular basis, all of these things could happen. Maybe if we saw beauty for what it really is, and not for the fake mask we've put on the word "beauty", all of these things could happen.
So please, I beg you, tell someone they're beautiful today. And always remember, that you are beautiful, always.

God bless you, beauties.
Ariel

Done?

I'm just gonna come right out and say it. I am considering shutting down the blog. I have been very discouraged about it lately. I feel as though I am not reaching anyone anymore. The amount of people that like the blog on facebook and the amount of people who actually read it is very different. There is no feedback. I don't want to keep this blog going for selfish reasons. If I am not reaching people or helping people, why do I still blog? It's been something that I've struggled with for a while, I strive off of feedback, and I haven't been getting all that much. I'm not sure at this point what I will do, but I would appreciate your guys' feedback.
Love you all.
Ariel

Bless YOU!

Alright, I have been wanting to do a give away for quite some time now, I just never knew what to give away! I'm calling this give away Bless You, first of all because I think sneezes are funny, and second, because I do want to bless YOU for blessing me!
The blog has been at a pretty steady number for facebook page likes for a while now, and that number is 119. Wow!!! When I started this blog, I was excited when 10 people liked it! You guys are awesome!! (To like Masquerade on Facebook go to http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Masquerade/163939533629678) The blog itself has 20 followers right now. You guys, as well, are awesome!! It brings a smile to my face every time I have a new follower :) The total page views for my blog since it has started is 3,465. WOW!!! Blown away. I feel so much love for you guys, really. On twitter, I currently have 27 followers. Again, did not expect to get that many! Love it. (You can follow me on twitter at @arielmasquerade) On Instagram (arielmasquerade) has 27 followers also. I have fallen in love with Instagram!
So why did I tell you all this stuff? Well, here's where I get you involved. I want you to share this page with your friends. I have gotten many emails, facebook messages, and comments telling me how I inspire people, or that one of my posts helped them, or how they agree with me, or that they're praying for me, or someone asking for prayer, or even just encouraging me! I love, love, love these emails! With all my heart. Please, don't stop sending them! I love hearing how my words helped your day, because I truly believe that God uses me and my words (really, his words) through this blog. I want to gain a bigger audience, not for my own personal gain, but because I share Jesus on this blog, and because I share encouragement on this blog, and because God is using this blog. I want to further God's kingdom! This is one way that he has chosen to allow me to do that, but giving me the gift of writing.
So, here's how the contest works. When I hit 170 page likes on facebook (that's 51 more than I have now) I will give away this 5 pack of stickers from To Write Love On Her Arms. I will select someone who has liked the facebook page randomly.

The second way to win is to follow my blog! Once I get 25 followers on the blog itself, (that's 5 more than I have now) I will give away this Fears vs. Dreams sticker pack from TWLOHA. The winner will be selected at random from my followers on the blog.

The third way to win is by reading the blog! Which is something that you're doing right now, so it shouldn't be too hard ;) Once I get up to 4000 total page views on the blog, (535 more than I have right now) I will give away this pack of seven buttons from TWLOHA. To win this one, I will post a blog once the blog has reached 4000 views. I will give you an opportunity to send me a story of how one of my posts has impacted your life, through facebook message, commenting, or emailing me. After about a week or so, I will take all of the stories and select which story impacted me the most from hearing it. The stories may be shared on the blog, with your permission, of course.

The fourth way to win is once I get 50 followers on twitter, (that's 23 more than I have right now) I will tweet a cue for you to tweet about my blog. Simply tweeting for people to check it out or follow it, hash tagging it #masquerade and including me in the tweet (@arielmasquerade) will enter you to win. The winner will be chosen at random. The prize will be these dog tags from TWLOHA.

The final way to win involves a bit of creativity...:) Once I hit 50 followers on Instagram, I will cue through the blog and through a picture on Instagram from you guys to enter. What I want you to do is take a picture of one thing that when you look at it, you know without a doubt that God is 100% real. This could be a person, this could be nature, this could be a quote. Anything that comes to mind. I look forward to seeing them all! Don't forget to hash tag #masquerade and mention me @arielmasquerade. The winner will get a TWLOHA bracelet (choice of blue, pink, white or black).

To be completely honest, I would love to just get all of these items for myself. But I would love for you guys to have them even more!! I'll let you know when you can enter by facebook, twitter, the blog, and Instagram. I'll get ahold of you by email or facebook when you win. I'm really excited for this!!
I will be writing another blog later on why I chose To Write Love On Her Arms, but for now, I'll let you get on your Facebook, Tweet, Blog, Instagram, Email, Snail Mail, Note, Call, Text, Tell, Whisper, Yell, Billboard, Poster, or anything else away to invite people to check out Masquerade.
God bless you guys! Love you all.
Ariel

Say What?!

Wow, you guys, there are some exciting things going on that I just have to share with you! God has just captured me. Without him, none of this stuff would make sense!
Over the past week or so, I've been praying about a few key things. One of those things is baptism, and the other is YWAM.
Before just a little while ago, I was completely set on not going to YWAM (Youth With A Mission). I had a bunch of excuses. It's too risky. It's too far away. It's not for me. No one would like me. I won't like it there. I'll be too out of my comfort zone. It's too expensive. And, overall, I really had no desire to go. I've been talking to my amazing sister, Jenny, a lot lately. She's doing a DTS (Discipleship Training School) at the Perth, Australia base. She's currently doing her outreach in London and the Philippines. Now, even at first when she went there and was telling me, "Ariel, you have to do a DTS! It'd be so good for you! You'd love it!" I would say maybe, but in my heart I knew that I didn't want to. I just had no desire at all to go to YWAM. Well, I don't know what happened! I have no idea what God was up to in my heart while I wasn't paying attention to him, but he was working even while I was off doing my own thing. He is crazy. And I love Him! I was praying a couple days ago for God to show me which base to go to, because there are so many to choose from! I looked at the YWAM map and I was instantly overwhelmed. I didn't have the slightest idea of even which continent to go to! So yesterday, instead of finishing my homework in class, I decided to go look at the YWAM map again. I had one of my good friends there, so I knew I could get her input. I had this picture in my mind...somewhere green and sunny and joyful. I could sense the joy in the picture. I decided to look at bases in South America. So I went to that tab on the map. It was a lot of fun saying the names of the places in South America (like Venezuela, Bolivia, Uruguay, you get the idea) but I soon learned that it would be difficult to find a base there, as their main languages are Spanish and Portuguese, and I don't speak either of them. In the same tab I saw "Caribbean", so I clicked on that one. I was scrolling through the different countries and my friend noticed Jamaica. She started talking about Jamaica and how I should go there. At first, I wasn't sold on it. But something happened. God softened my heart. As I started thinking about YWAM Jamaica more, I began to fall in love with it. In looking at the website for Montego Bay, I feel that it's the place I'm being called to. Now, I'm only half way through grade 11, so I have plenty of time to pray and decide. But you guys, I am getting so excited for this! To jump from being completely against going to YWAM to being so super excited about it is amazing. I'm stubborn, I don't jump that easily. This is completely a God thing! I'd like to ask you to join with me in praying over this. I want to be sure that this is where God wants me to go, because as I said before, I'm stubborn, and once I get an idea in my head, I generally don't change my mind that easily. So this is where you come in! I would like you to pray with me. That God would send people into my life and situations into my life that would confirm that this is where he wants me. I am so excited to see the way this plays out! Jesus is taking me on a wild ride, and I love it! This is definitely more than I ever imagined for my life, and I'm not even there yet!
The other thing that has been on my heart lately is getting baptized. For about a year or two I've been thinking about getting baptized. Last year when I had the chance, I just didn't know what it meant for me. I didn't know what it meant at all! Just recently, in the past little while, God has been showing me what it means. He's been painting me pictures, because he knows that's the way I learn. He's been giving me metaphors to teach me. He's shown me that baptism is like a marriage. We are the bride of Christ, and just like a wedding, getting baptized is a public show that you are committing your life to Jesus, that you love him and want to live for and with him. I often think of my purity ring as my wedding ring to Jesus. It's been helping me a lot to think of Jesus as my husband, because it reminds me to talk to him like I would my husband. I wouldn't go days without communicating with my husband, so why would I go days without talking to Jesus? I miss him when I do that! Also, just like marriage is taking that next intimate step in your relationship, getting baptized is taking that next step in your relationship with Jesus, where you become more intimate with him. I've learned too that when you go down into the water, it's like dying to your old, sinful self, and you come up a new person in Jesus Christ. This makes me very excited! Jesus knows my chains, and he knows I need to be made new in him. Last night, I had just been talking to him about YWAM and getting a car and stuff like that. (I have been learning that Jesus cares about the little things too! I had never thought to ask him for help with a car, but I am slowly learning to talk to him about everything.) I hadn't even touched on baptism at all when I opened my bible. I opened it to a random spot, I actually can't even remember where, but it opened to a passage about Elisha talking to these people and at the end he says, "What is stopping these people from being baptized?" And all these people are baptized. I was like, woah! I hadn't even talked to you about being baptized yet! It hadn't even crossed my mind in that moment, and I was not expecting it. That was kind of a confirmation that it is time to take that step in my faith. I've already got my engagement ring, now I just need to be walked down the isle ;) (Yes, I know I'm a cheese ball!)
I am so incredibly grateful for all of the amazing people in my life who have loved Jesus, listened to him, been a part of my life, and have lead me closer to him. My family at camp, wow. I can't thank you guys enough! I love you all so much, you have no idea! In 2010, when I went to YC, the seed was planted. God used LDP and working as summer staff to water and grow that seed into the love that I have for him now. Without you guys as my amazing family in Christ, I would not have come this far. With you guys listening to God's call, you impacted my life in a huge way. I have no doubt in my mind that it was God's plan for each and every one of you to be a part of my life and my story. My incredible sister Jenny, I love you so much!!!! You are a huge blessing in my life and I can't even imagine where I would be without you showing me God's love every single time we're together! You are a huge inspiration to me and I love seeing Jesus through you. There are so many people I could thank and love on, but that's another blog post. Just know, that if you are in my life, you have played a part in God's plan for me, and I am eternally grateful for that! I love you all! Please keep me in your prayers and stay tuned to see where God takes me! I don't know about you, but I am so incredibly excited for where he's taking me!!!!
God bless!
Ariel