Change

There has been such a huge change in me in the past year, it's unbelievable! I've even had people I barely ever talk to say that they notice something different about me. And I love it!
I used to be the most self conscious person ever. Sometimes, I hardly even recognize myself. I used to not even be able to tell the teacher that he missed giving me the worksheet because I was too scared. That was last year! I used to never take pictures because I just hate how I looked. I used to never just walk up to someone and say, "Hey, I like your shirt!" And I never ever would share Jesus in the way I do now. I've got a long way to go, but even just having the sticker "I will go, send me!" on my binder draws attention. It's awesome!! Or wearing shirts that say "Captured By Christ" or "I want to hold the hand that holds the world", it gets people thinking. Ha, even reading my bible in the hallway, oh my word, that is a huge leap for me. God's given me such confidence, it's amazing. My face still turns red as a tomato at the slightest bit of attention, but I honestly can't help it. I'm not embarrassed, not even close. My face just has a mind of it's own, unfortunately. (My face turns so red sometimes that people think I'm gonna pass out...and I can't even feel it!)
One big thing that God's been doing in my heart is changing the way I view myself on the outside. I used to hate being tall, now I wear 3 inch heels because it's fun. I love my height! I used to spend such a long time in front of the mirror. I now spend 10 minutes; put my hair in a ponytail, put on mascara, clean my piercing and go. Ha, I got out of the shower yesterday and I looked  in the mirror after towel drying my hair. My hair was all over the place, and I had no makeup on, and I was like, woah! That's me? I am beautiful. But I am 100% certain that that beauty, that confidence, comes from Christ and Christ alone. Before I was living for him, I thought I was so ugly. So what changed? My entire life. Girls always seem to think that they need to wear tight short shorts and a tight low cut shirt. You know what half of my wardrobe consists of? Big, baggy, band t-shirts. Yupp. And I'm proud of it! People notice that I'm different. When I wear shorts that go to the middle of my thigh instead of shorts that hardly cover anything, people notice. When I wear my one piece bathing suit instead of a bikini, people notice. When I wear shirts that boldly proclaim that I love God, people notice!
God is transforming my life, hardcore. I love it. He's coming back, and I'm suiting up. I know that I haven't been doing all that I can for him, but when's a better time to start than now, right?
God bless,
Ariel