Change is Upon Us

My life will forever be changed in the next 2 months. I'm finally getting used to being married :) I will be graduated from Texas Tech with a Theatre Degree and I will be a Mary Kay Sales Director! how exciting is that :-) Another really big thing that happened a few days ago was when I was driving in the car I felt such peace. Anybody that is a Christian you know what I'm talking about. It's not just when you feel good or content, but it is literally like everything around you is peaceful.

God is showing me great ways to have peace even when events that require a lot of your time.

As I was basking in the presence of God and pondering about my times in the Czech Republic. I heard a small voice saying, "It's time to GO back." I got very excited, but then I started to think, well God when are you wanting me to? I didn't get answer, but I did start planning on paper how to make Drew and myself GO again to the place where we got engaged and the place that helped us to love other people.

So, here we go!

I also have started to fall in Love with God again. Like true love where I want to impress him! My name Tiffany means "God Showing Off." I think that is very fitting name for me, because everything I do is usually pretty crazy! He has started showing me wonderful things through this book called, "Hinds Feet On High Places." It is amazing!

Lately I have had so many people come to me for prayer request. It was too many people to keep up with in my mind so I started a prayer journal that I can just keep a list of people going and prayer for them every single day.

My challenge to everybody today is to fall in love with God again and let him show you some BIG dreams again :)

Married Life as Mrs. Tiffany Parsley

Well this is it! I'm married! After over 3 years of waiting for it to be the right time, me and Drew finaly tied the knot!!!!

Many people have come up to me and asked "How is married life?" the only answer I have for them is, "It's awesome but really weird!" I mean if you think about it, you are completely dependent on yourself for 22 years and then all of a sudden you are mushing these two lives together. Instead of talking about what you want to do that night, it's more of, "Hmm How about we go get Life Insurance." Haha completely crazy! I felt like a really old person yesterday when I was getting life insurance and changing my insurance from my parents to mine.

I think the craziest thing about getting married is that you realize how much you don't really know about anything :)

I will say that it is quite amazing thought when you have those moments that you have together and it all makes sense of why you got married. The things you love about them is the things you want to rip their head off for.

My biggest fear of getting married was the scary fact that I might lose myself during this process. I was scared that I would become the "Married Couple." Well we are a married couple, but it has been so cool to be able to still be who I am.

My business has been booming and I couldn't be happier to be almost graduated and be able to be a "working house wife." It's so strange how all of a sudden you want to please the person you are married to. You truely want to try and keep the house clean...even though that doesn't happen. lol I love being able to make him feel important.

...and as I am entering a new journey in my life God has been speaking to me more about women than anything else. I have begun to read the book of Ruth. I am so excited about this because I have never read the entire thing. Can't wait to write all about it :)

Queens have flaws too....

It is so wonderful when things line up together. In January God showed me this beautiful picture of being the Queen of Lubbock in Mary Kay, but there was a 2nd part to that. The first thing she showed me is that I don't like to listen to other people that much and second I am more concerned with popularity. Before January I had already been working on smashing my thought process of status. Status is a huge deal in America. You are either poor, middle, or high class. You have no choice but to be in one of these three classes, but through Mary Kay I have been revealed that you can be whats called the world class.

World class people view the world differently than we do they look at an obstacle and view it is a stepping stone to climb higher. There way of thinking is bigger. I also learned that God has created your obstacle specifically for you! They are also people that are very open minded. They check their ego at the door. They know that adversity is the catalyst of mentally toughness. World class thinkers also when they are in a bad situation they say to themselves, "compared to what?" What that means is if you say, "I had the worst day of my life!" You would say, "compared to what?" So even though you are forced to be in a certain class in the US everybody has the choice to be a world class thinker and to stay mentally tough, but whats really cool is when you learn how to be mentally tough and you do all these things you can change your circumstances!

The second thing God showed me that I need to work on was my listening. I have been making a conscious decision to ask more questions about other people rather than spilled out my "wonderful knowledge" on them.

Both of those things I thought I heard from God on, but sometimes when your mind is so consumed with other things aka wedding, sometimes you don't know if you have missed the mark with God! Yesterday all of that was verified-at our Steppin' Up training we were learning all about the different personalities what strengths they have and what weakness I have. My personality trait is a "high I" which means we are very people oriented, we love recognition, their fear is rejection and working alone, they loved prizes, and have a big impact on people, but their three main down falls are 1. not paying attention to detail (I actually love detail so this one doesn't apply to me.) 2. Popularity and 3.Listen when convenient. When I heard those 3 things, tears almost started going down my face. It was a little embarrassing, but it was also really amazing to hear that I heard God through all of these distractions :)

6 days here we come........

20 Days and counting...

Holy cow! finally we are approaching a number that has a 1 in front of it!!! It is so much fun to get to join two families together. This weekend I got to spend time with my two future sister in laws and even though I'm allergic to their silly cats and dogs it was still so great to spend time with them! It is also quite amazing that in 20 days I will finally get to have a grandmother again after 14+ years!!! Yay!

Even in this very busy time-God has still been showing me so many wonderful things about myself and my business. Last night while I was trying to get the cat hair out of my nose lol-God showed me the picture again of being the Queen. I have never been the Top at anything I have ever done, so for God to show me something like this is a tad intimidating. :) I don't know when I will I finish out becoming a director in Mary Kay, but all I can say is-it's going to be amazing when I do finish it!

While I was gone this weekend I was so excited to get back to my work because of how much power God is putting behind my business.

God is so amazing

Last night God came through for me in a BIG way in my business! He helped me break some belief barriers.  About mid January I saw a vision from God in my dream. I know that i was something bigger than just a little dream. I was so down on myself for not hitting a goal that I had set for myself in my business. That night I had a dream that I was on the court of recruiting at Jan Thetford's event center. For any body that is not in Mary Kay that's a really cool and big thing! But, not only was I on the court, but I was the Queen of Sharing. I never saw which Quarterly event that was, but I am going to work super hard for this Quarter! Up until that moment and last night I never thought that I could finish DIQ (director in qualification) up until NOW! I now truly believe that I am supposed to become a FREE Car Driving Director.

Thank you God for healing my heart against people that I have been angry with. Thank you for unity for our area!

The 6 D's of Faith~A God Given Dream

I'm not sure who wrote this, but it is quite amazing! My Sales Director shared it with me a couple of months ago. After reading this again, I know that I am just at the "delay" portion of this cycle.

6 D's of Faith

1. Dream Itself
-Eph 3:20
-This dream seems almost impossible!

Dedicate yourself to the dream
Resever time alone with God
Evaluate your abilities and gifts
Associate with other Godly dreamers! (Like in Mary Kay!)
Make your dream public!

2. Decision
-Your letting things go
-when you choose to go for it!
- Heb. 11:6

3. Delay
-don't freak out! Your getting closer!

4. Difficulties
-major set backs

5. Dead End
-You are sooooooo flippin' close!!!!
-you mut make the desicion if you are going to hit the wall one more time or stop

6. Deliverance- 2Cor. 1:10

"And he did rescue us from mortal danger, and he will rescue us again. We have placed our confidence in him, and he will continue to rescue us."

So I challenge you today! What is your God Given dream?

*Directorship*

Oh My Goodness! I am so excited! This has been nudging at me for so many months now! I finally am ready to take the plunge at becoming a Sales Director in Mary Kay! Oh exciting!
Here is the line up....

1. Jan.-Feb. 29th finish being a Ruby Star Consultant for the Quarter & impact 4 more lives with this amazing company and Two Power Starts! Really, really work on keeping my life balanced with my priorities in line! Spend more time with God and focus on eating healthy! This month and half will be all about lining up my team to succeed by themselves in Month 1!

2. March 1-Submit for Directorship/ Month 1 of DIQ (while getting married-I'll be gone for a week for my honeymoon.)

3. April 1-30- 2nd/Lash Month of DIQ

4. May 1- Debut as a NEW Mary Kay Sales Director

Love & Marriage

Below I have listed the top 10 reasons why it's fun to get married!

10. It's an entire day about y'all as a couple! There is very few times a year that couples are celebrated.
9. You get to look amazing! If your dress is super expensive or discounted you still will look like a princess and get to marry your prince. :)
8. You always have a Valentine and New Year's Kiss. :)
7. You always have support from the other person. (Even f it takes a good fight to get there.)
6. You get a Second family! I have a great family, but if you don't like yours than when you get married you get to have a second shot at it! haha :)
5. You get double presents at Christmas and birthday time!
4. Your future spouse will push you to do NEW things that you have never done before, and it brings you closer together. :)
3. You really get to see God at work in your relationship. You also see that your marriage will be completely different than your friends or relatives.
2. You get to cook & gt to the grocery store together!
1. You know have somebody to DREAM with you! :-)

Independent

The last week has had so many changes. I have starting moving a lot of my decorations to Drew's apartment so I don't have to move all of it at once. My friend Julie was with me moving my stuff, and we both just stared at the walls. We were a little freaked out. I haven't been out of that room in 10 years. All of the different moments we had growing up together were flashing before our eyes. I have all of my Mary Kay business supplies with me and a plant in my room. To my right is my wedding dress and a box bellow it full of wedding supplies. I started having a freak out moment! I just wanted to throw up! It's not that I don't want to marry Drew it's the fact that I'm going to have to become Independent for the first time.

The United States is dominated by this thought of being Independent. We never have one thought of leaning on somebody else or asking for help. There has to be a nice middle to everything. We don't want to be mooching off of other people, but we don't want to be so Independent that we don't let God ever step in.

I believe that in order to become Independent you must also at the same time become Dependent. God wants his children to be smart with their money, but he also wants to give them blessings too. God also wants us to lean on Him when out of the box days happen.

Proverbs 3:5-7

Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take. Don't be impressed with your own wisdom. Instead, fear the LORD and turn away from evil.

Provers 3:9-10

Honor the LORD with your wealth and with the best part of everything you produce. Then he will fill your barns with grain, and your vats will overflow with good wine.

Endurance

When I think of endurance, I think of the many brutal workouts that I have done in the past 6 months with crossfit. Your endurance is tested when you are at a the breaking point of either quitting or pushing through the pain and finishing your workout. One of my favorite shows is, The Biggest Loser, when they first come on to the ranch they have no idea how hard it will be. Most of them have never pushed their bodies to a breaking point.

It is just now in the past couple of months that I have realized that endurance is part of my every day life not just in the gym or in dance. God gives you endurance when you are at the breaking point. I have started to figure out what is my God given races. What are the races that God truly wants you to finish?

An obvious more literal race is when I do workouts or conditioning for dance. I know that God is having me learn how to take care of my body. Another race he has me on is my business. My business is a breaking point. I am right now in the fire of wanting to quit, but I know that his blessing is so close! He is giving me endurance through my close Mary Kay friends. I have a stronger team then I ever have, but my muscles still are in pain. Another race I'm on is with short term missions. Since, I am getting married I am trying to figure out how those two loves go together. My heart loves missions. The last God given race that I'm on is with Drew. Any body that has known us through our entire relationship has seen the growth that we both have made. We are now starting to honor each other and love each other through our differences. On New Year's Eve @ midnight we both looked at each other (after kissin' of course!) and agreed that we have finally come to a place in our relationship that is good, really good.

Since those races are "God Given" He is giving me the endurance that I need to finish them!

What are your God given races?

"So let us run the race that is before us and never give up. We should remove from our lives anything that would get in the way. And we should remove the sin that so easily catches us. Let us look only to Jesus." Hebrews 12:1b, 2a

Courage

Courage- I just love that word. Many years ago when I was probably in 7th grade. I began to have serious problems with my breathing, my heart felt like it was going to beat out of my chest. I went to a Wednesday night service and the pastor said, "Is there anyone here that is having a problem with shallow breathing and it is scaring you? You think that there is something seriously wrong medically, but it's anxiety." I hesitated for several minutes because I didn't want to be the weird girl going up to the front, but I realized that if I didn't find enough courage to go up there then I might not ever be healed of this. I went up to the front and it was an instant miracle. I could feel my body literally changing inside.

Courage is something you have to have when you are terrified. Courage can cure people that our living with depression and anxiety. There is moments everyday that God truly wants to heal you. God always wants to heal you, but sometimes he wants to heal something inside first. A lot of times the thing inside of you that he wants to heal is something that you have covered up for many years.

I love this verse, "Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts." Psalm 139: 23

A New Year-a New Awakening

Happy New Year!
I have decided to start a blog in hopes of documenting all of the different ups and downs I will face in the next year! I have always enjoyed writing, but I am super bad at gramar. :) Hands down this will be my biggest year to date. I'm super nervous, excited, and kind of feel like throwing up. :) I will first become a wife on March 10, then graduate from Tech in June, and then become a full time Mary Kay lady! Weeeeeeeeee!

When I get married- that will be the first time I will be living without my parents. In order to save money I have lived with them through school. Drew has moved out of his parents house several times, so it is no big deal to him. My plan is to think of it like a really long vacation haha.

I think the scariest thing is not knowing if I will be able to travel as much. I want God to use me just as much being married! Drew loves Europe too, which is so great :) I think out of any place in the world I could see myself living--is Europe.