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
September 24, 2012
September 21, 2012
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 :)
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 :)
September 10, 2012
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
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
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