Colour Conference 2016 & My Personal Encounter with God

One of the craziest things about attending Hillsong Church while I'm living in Sydney is the opportunity to be part of a growing movement of people who are so genuine and so passionate about what they do in ministry. And that's not to say that there aren't movements like that back home in America, but it is this movement at Hillsong that is paving the way for so many other churches around the world to be empowered in the cause for Christ. 
One of the biggest movements coming out of Hillsong is empowering women in the church, something that has been discouraged in the past in the Christian community. 

source: hillsong.com

Anyway, so every year, Hillsong hosts a women's conference entitled Colour Conference. It is where women from all ages all over the world come together to be inspired and encouraged by some of the world's greatest speakers to just be a women in Christ. We are reminded of our beauty and value and it's just a great time and place to be to gather with thousands of other women literally from all walks of life. 
I first discovered conference back in 2013 when Hillsong Conference was in LA. I had attended with Darell & little did I know how it would be the first of many seeds planted in my heart and spirit about where I would be today. I'll never forget seeing the flyers for Colour in our seats and me turning to Darell and telling him that I wanted to go and that one day, I'll have the chance. 
Fast forward 2.5 years later and here I am, at Colour Conference IN SYDNEY with a very discounted ticket that I bought only the night before. 
It was really great to be at a conference that really is all about the godly woman. Women are so beautiful and valuable and sometimes in the church, that can be forgotten about. The aesthetics were so beautiful to look at. The speakers were hilarious but all so real in the words they preached. It was such a great atmosphere to be in. 
However, even though everything was AMAZING, my biggest and most powerful takeaway from the whole conference was from day 3. & I'll quote it directly from my journal entry the day after conference: 

"The most powerful takeaway from conference was from yesterday's late morning/early afternoon session with Brooke Fraser, Taya Smith, and a few of the other worship leaders/directors. 
I was so overwhelmed by God's love and goodness that at one point I was sobbing on my knees to the song 'Good Father.' I wasn't completely sure why I was crying at first but all I knew to do at that point was to give praises to our God & King. 
Brooke also gave a beautiful tidbit behind the word 'Abba' that really spoke to me.
She explained that a closer English translation of the word is 'Dada.' & when babies use it to call their dads, all they want is to be close to them, which is how we should be as well. She [then] described how God is with us as a dad..." 
With all of that being said, God had also spoken into my spirit Psalm 3:1-4, which talks about people doubting David but that he is protected by God. It was the perfect comfort to where I was in life at that point, that no matter what happens to me and no matter what people think of me, I am protected and cared for by a God greater than anything on this earth. 
I guess with all of this I am trying to encourage whoever is reading this wherever they're at in their personal journey with God. While I think it would be awesome if every woman gets the chance to attend Colour, I also think more than that I want to say that it is possible to have a crazy and overwhelming encounter with God. 
As someone who grew up in the church, I had always dreamed of having an experience with God so overwhelming that I am brought to my knees, and while I have definitely encountered God before, it was never anything like this. He had never spoken to my heart and soul as clearly as he did here. Just be open to it. 
--------------------------------------- Wow, two posts, two days in a row! I am quite proud of myself considering my blog post track record for the last year or so. But anyway, starting tomorrow I'll be starting a 30 day writing challenge to get myself re-aquainted and to reintroduce myself back into the blogging world, and hopefully after that I can get back to posting some really great content again. Welcome back to my world as I try to live & love it one day at a time. ;)

The Habit of that Sydney Livin'

WOW. It's been about a month & a half since I last wrote. SO MUCH has happened since then & I've had so much I've wanted to write about but just haven't. Let's just say that I'm really enjoying being here, and I've gotten into my own little routine every week. I now have a job, take public transit almost daily, and have made some friends outside of Darell's friends that I now call my own. 
The transition to living here was almost seamless for me, even the public transit, despite almost never taking it back home in California. & although I'm just as paranoid as ever for my safety, Australia is generally safer than LA, no doubt. 
I'm having a hard time writing this post because I'm unsure of whether or not to unload on the last month & a half now or putting it into separate posts, but I'm not sure when's the next time I'll be able to write (my schedule is about to get a ton more busy in the next few weeks). 
But let's see... 

In the last 6 weeks I have:

• Seen an opera at the Sydney Opera House
• Started attending a connect/small group at church (something I haven't been able to do in years)
• Worn colored contacts for the first time as a result from work
• Attended the 20th anniversary of Colour Conference for the very first time, and it changed my life. 

Other than that plus random/lazy days with Darell & our friends, I haven't done too many touristy or crazy adventures simply because I've been focusing on work, finding a job, saving money, etc. 

I'm going to be trying out a writing challenge for the month of April on random topics so hopefully it pushes me to just start writing again. I really miss it, and I really miss being in and apart of the blogging world. If I want to someday work remotely, I'm going to have to get used to working from home. 

Boyfriend Appreciation Post: Thank God for Conflict Resolution

Valentine's Day is definitely over, but that's okay because love should be celebrated every day. I think days like Valentine's Day are meant for us to make sure that we take a step back and really acknowledge the love we do have in our lives, but like what most guys (including Darell) tend to say, it really is only just a day. If you're doing it right, you're appreciating your loved ones every day of the year. 
& that's what this post is about. I just want to take some time to appreciate Darell on a normal day for no other reason than "just because." 
Over the last few months while I transitioned from California to here in Australia, I hit a lot of road blocks, but through it all Darell was my biggest supporter, my biggest cheerleader. He always encouraged me to keep fighting the good fight & that everything would pay off in the end. He comforted me the whole way through and always knew that I could make it happen, one way or another. 
I've talked about my relationship on here in the past, but I don't think I talk enough about the struggles with it. Well, we recently got into a really big fight, and our first major fight since being in Sydney and honestly since before Darell moved too. & as I reflected on the last 5.5 years, I've been thinking about everything we've been through & how far we've come. 
Why do I mention our really recent fight? Well, as he & I were talking about what had happened & were trying to work through it, after we had both calmed down from being very angry and sat down to really talk about the root of the problem, I noticed how he handled himself. 
He was very patient with me, and he let me cry out everything I was feeling (he even let me cry onto his shirt & get stuff all over him haha). He was gentle and hugged me in a way that made me feel protected & safe with him. 
You might read that & think, "Well, he should've been like that to begin with!" or "Was he not like that before?!" or something along those lines. But if you look at our relationship, you have to consider the fact that I was 15 & he was 17 when we first started dating. We've come a longgggggg way since then. 
Because Darell grew up around not very many women other than his mom (he has one other brother plus his dad), it took him a very long time to get used to how to care for and even understand the emotional needs of a woman. He definitely grew up in a guys' house. & because of other factors in our lives at the time (another very long story for another day), he & I had a lot of issues in the beginning of our relationship, especially with the way we communicated with each other. It wasn't healthy the way we handled conflict. 
However, as the years went on we both learned how to communicate better & we are both much better at facing conflict head-on. Sometimes, I think he handles conflict better than I do now, haha. 
All that is to say that I'm thankful for him. Lately, he has definitely been my rock through everything that I've been going through. He's kept me level-headed while still encouraging me to keep pushing forward and having faith. Especially in this season of life that I'm in right now, I don't know what I'd do without him. I'm very thankful every day that God has brought him into my life. 
So Darell, I know you're reading this right now because you're always the first to read my new posts, but I just want to tell you thank you for being you. Thank you for your heart, thank you for your willingness & openness to grow & learn, and thank you for your encouragement. I feel at home when I'm with you. I love you. 

Greetings from Sydney || Initial Thoughts

By the time this post is published, I will be in Sydney! I am currently writing this post on my flight while most people are still sleeping around me, but my flight has no wifi, so you guys will be reading this post while I get settled into my new home.

My life since my last blog post has been all over the place, but I guess I’ve been saying that a lot for the past year.

Life is full of surprises. That is one thing that I have learned from this experience and I don’t think I’ll ever fully get over that fact. Another thing that I’ve learned is that God truly moves all of a sudden. I’ve had a lot of things work out unexpectedly or at the last second, and I can’t think of any other way for it to have worked out the way that it did except God.

I’ve also had to really stand firm in my faith, not just in God, but in myself. As with any big decision, this one has come with opposition, with all of it being from people in my family, people so near & dear to me. I understand their concerns completely, but no matter what I say or how many years I’m away, I don’t think they’ll ever fully understand why I decided to pick up & leave when I did and the way I did.

Yes, I want to explore the world and travel and yes, my boyfriend is already here, but what pushed me over the edge to make this decision is bigger than myself. I have a God that calls people out into the unknown, sometimes asking you to take a step when you can’t see anything in front of you.

& trust me, it’s not easy. Regardless of what is motivating you to move forward, it is never easy to not know everything going into it. But at the same time, isn’t that life? When you go to college, you don’t know exactly how things are going to play out. When you get into a relationship, you also don’t know how things are going to play out. When you move anywhere--whether it's to another country or across the street, you don't know how things are going to play out. With anything in life, you really never know. But I think that is the most terrifying & beautiful part.

Okay, so I didn’t mean for this post to get super cheesy & cliché, but at the time that I’m writing this in my seat (I actually have a whole row to myself haha #winning), it still hasn’t completely hit me yet, so I’m reflecting on the last few weeks. They have been so hard and so emotional for me, but God is so faithful. I’m sitting here looking at my tv screen, and I can’t believe that I’m 4 hours away from Sydney at this point. This is of course different than the last time I was heading there because this isn’t a visit or vacation, this will be my new home! The fact that I bought only a one-way ticket and am not completely sure when I’ll be back in LA completely blows my mind.

Anyway, before I start rambling I will leave this at this. As I start figuring out what my next steps will be here, here is a quote from one of my favorite movies, A Cinderella Story:

“Never let the fear of striking out keep you from playing the game”

#BeBrave2016: Post Grad Plans + I'm Moving!

Photo credit: Jonny Hargrove 

I think that with my first post of 2016 talking about my goals and being brave, I think that it's about time that I update you all with my life lately.
As you know, I graduated with my Bachelor's Degree last month. I had a really rough last few weeks of school but I made it out alive (barely haha)!
Of course, the first thing everyone wants to know after someone finishes college is: what now? 
If you asked me this question a year ago, I would have said that I was going to get a job and work/save up to be able to travel and start saving up for my future. I was also thinking about working to make it so I could work for myself by the time I graduated.
If you asked me this question 6 months ago, I would have said "I don't know." I was thinking about probably going to get a job and work until Darell moves back from Australia then seeing what happens from there // or just moving to somewhere like Seattle, Washington and doing social media marketing there // or try to make it so that I can work for myself by the time I graduate. 
If you ask me this question today, I can give you an idea of what I will be doing in this season of post-grad, but there is nothing for sure. And it is definitely nowhere from where I imagined myself to be right now. 

2016 - Be Brave

HAPPY NEW YEAR! Wow, I can't believe it is 2016, but you know what, I am ready for it! I kicked off the new year lying in bed because why not (I also have work on New Year's Day) and I'm not mad that I did. It was actually nice for me to chill & relax by myself. 2015 was a very hectic year and I want to embrace the rest that I can get before going into full swing for 2016.  Anyway, it's a new year, so that means new goals! Here is my plan for the year:  Blog Goals:  [] Get back to at least 2 posts per week  [] Send out a biweekly newsletter [] Have Instagram following hit 1500 [] Have Twitter following hit 1k [] Meet up with at least 4 other bloggers/influencers [] Start selling something (whether physical or digital) [] Make the move to self-hosted [] Pose in at least one full-on photoshoot (with a makeup artist/hair stylist, photographer, etc) 
Personal Goals: [] Go on a road trip with friends (carry over from last year) [] Take at least two major trips (domestic or international) [x] Move. away from SoCal (;  (I will talk more about that verrryyyy soon) [] Read at least 6 novels for pleasure [x] Go on a trip with Darell to anywhere [x] Become fully self-sufficient (parents do not financially support in any way at all) [] Take some kind of creative class (dance, crafting, etc) [x] Regularly attend a small group B E  B R A V E. Last year, having "pursue" as my word of the year was something that I didn't fully realize until about October. It wasn't until very late in the year that I realized just what pursuing God was doing in my life. I was planting seeds for the whole year and I started seeing them flourish, funny enough, during the time of harvest.  This year, I am deciding to have the word "brave" as my word of the year, but my phrase of the year will be to "be brave." This year is going to be a huge deal for me, especially because this will be the first time that I am not in school since I was in kindergarten.  There are a lot of things happening in my life and I will be sharing them soon, but this year I need to be brave in everything that I do. Not only do I need to just do what I set out to do, but I need to silence the noise around me that is only tearing me down. I just know that there are things that will happen this year that will be unconventional in many ways and that people will have their own opinions on (good or bad), but I need to be brave enough to seek God and go wherever He leads me despite how crazy it sounds. As a people pleaser, this phrase will really test me this year (not to mention, it will also help me accomplish all of my goals on the list above!).  If you want to follow along on my journey or if you want to join in and "be brave" this year, I'll be using the hashtag #bebrave2016 on social media throughout the year. I hope to see you join in on this movement with me this year!  And with that, I'll end this post for now. Don't forget to #bebrave2016. 

2015: The Year of Making Things Happen - Review

Can you believe it?! 2015 is already coming to a close! This year has been such a rollercoaster ride in so many ways & I honestly cannot believe that I am where I'm at, at this point in my life. Through it all, God has remained good and faithful to me & I already know 2016 is going to be AMAZING.  The end of a year always brings upon some reflection so I thought I'd look back at the goals I set for myself this year & see where I came out of it and how much I really accomplished.  Blog Goals: [x] Rebrand/redo the blog design (only tweaks, not a complete overhaul :) [] Get back into #ootd posts, at least biweekly [] Host at least one giveaway every quarter [x] Have Instagram following hit 1K [] Have Twitter following hit 1K  [x] Attend at least two blogger events [x] Develop at least 2 new blogger friendships [x] Collaborate with more local brands and shops [] Launch my two projects I'm working on by June of this year :] [] Participate in at least one full-on photoshoot (with a hair stylist, makeup artist, a stylist, everything) [] Get published in a large publication (online or print) [x] Host my first blogger event
Personal Goals: [] Go on a road trip with friends [x] Get my own apartment! [x] Learn to cook a Filipino dish that isn't lumpia [x] Travel out of the country [] Find a job that will give me a stable income (or at least have my current job give me a more stable income) [x] Turn 21 haaaay  [x] Have my first legal drink (after I graduate and am off contract from my school, of course #Vanguardproblems) [x] Witness Darell graduate & receive his AA!  [] Have a GPA of at least a 3.5 or higher for my last two semesters of college [x] Go to Camp Whittle  [] Go back to Royal Family Kids Camp [] Read at least 6 novels for pleasure (since 12 didn't work last year) [x] Go on a date with Darell where we look like tourists/too rich for our own good haha [x] GRADUATE COLLEGE Honestly, I could not be more ready for 2016. I think that things can only get better from here. It was a great year, but I believe that 2016 will be better. Happy New Year, everyone!