A Letter To The Girl Who Is Struggling With Her Identity

Hii darlings! Today’s post is one that I am fairly excited about, it is a letter to the girl who is struggling with her identity. I’ve been wanting to write a post that is a letter to the girl who is struggling, and I’ve been wanting to turn that into a series. So! I guess you all will be seeing another post like this next time I feel like it might encourage one of my readers out there. So without further ado, here is the letter. I really dearly hope that this encourages someone who needs to read it <33.

(I got the idea for this post from this post) 

Dear Girl Who Is Struggling With Her Identity,

Hey. If you’re reading this right now, I have a feeling that you’re really struggling with identity. I really am hoping that I am able to encourage you today. This post is merely words strung together, but maybe I will be able to string them together in a way that you need to read. I have prayed for the right words to say, and I dearly hope that these are the right words to say. 

Identity is one of those things that is your very essence. Your identity is one of those things that you discover in your teenage years. Not knowing your identity is one of the scariest things ever. You feel that you ought to know who you are, after all, who knows you better then you do? You have undoubtedly tried to find identity in everything possible (theater, boys, good grades, popularity, etc). Maybe you think that your identity is in the mistakes that you have made in the past. Maybe you’ve even tried to find identity in religion. But here’s the thing, no matter how many of these you have tried, you always feel drained and lost. You’re probably getting close to a breaking point where you just feel so infinitely lost that you don’t even know if finding identity is possible for you. 

I want you to stop and just pause to soak in what I’m about to tell you. Put down your computer or phone or tablet and just stop for a second. Read what I am about to say multiple times, and just allow it to soak in.

Your identity is not rooted in earthly things. Your identity is rooted in Him who created you. Your identity is rooted in God. He created you, He knew you were going to exist before you were even a blip in existence. He knew that He was going to create you before the universe had even existed. He adores you, He loves you far more then you could ever imagine. You are His daughter, His beloved creation. He is your identity. 

Allow Him to be your identity. 

All those things that you thought were your identity (theater, music, your pet hamster, etc), those are not your identity. But! They are definitely a part of who you are. I call these secondary identities, because quite honestly, while they are a fraction of who you are, they are not who you are. Please never lose sight of your primary identity. It is the only identity that matters.

One day, all of those ‘secondary identities’ are going to pass away. And here’s the thing, they will no longer matter to you. Because, if you belong to the Lord, the Creator of all creation, your Heavenly Father, He is your primary identity. He is the only identity that will still matter at the end of everything. He is the only identity that can sustain you and protect you. He is your identity. HE IS YOUR IDENTITY. 

Can I just encourage you that your identity is in Him who created you? I want to you stop right now, and just rest in the fact that He is your identity. If you are His, your primary identity has already been figured out. I know that our current culture promises identity in so many other things, please do not buy into this lie. I want to encourage you with this. If you only take one thing away from this letter, take this.

HE IS YOUR PRIMARY IDENTITY. 

Keep reminding yourself of this in whatever way it takes. Set a reminder on your phone. Write it on a sticky note and put that on your desk. Make it into a poster. I don’t care how you keep reminding yourself of this. I just care that you keep reminding yourself. You are far too special to get caught in the lie that your identity lies in earthly things. Please, PLEASE, believe me on this. 

I dearly hope that this was able to encourage someone out there. If you’re enjoying this post and/or my blogs, please don’t forget to like, comment, and subscribe.

I hope that the rest of your day is blessed by God,

Liesl ❤

My Quiet Time With Jesus <3

Hii, darlings! I am so excited for today’s post!! It’s all about my quiet time with God. I really enjoy reading about other bloggers quiet times, and so I figured that I’d give you guys a peek into mine. Please note that I have been experimenting a lot with different styles of quiet times (something I will talk about in this post), so this routine might not remain as my quiet time haha. Anyways, I dearly hope that I am able to inspire you all through this post <33.

I started doing regular quiet time around October or November (?) of 2020, up until then I hadn’t really been doing much of anything to study God’s word and to spend time with Him. I had made attempts in the past, but this was pretty much my first consistent quiet time. I think that beginning quiet time was one of my first actual attempts at taking charge of my faith, instead of just relying on my parents faith. Anyways! This quiet time was exceedingly simple, it was literally just me doing devotionals from The Bible App (I would do around 9 or 10 a day). However! I did learn a lot from it. Honestly, this short quiet time helped me figure out what I like in my Bible time. Afterwords, I ended up experimenting a lot with various styles of quiet time. And! I think I have finally found one that works for me. Which is super exciting!

I adore my current routine, it is very extensive and long and makes me feel very refreshed afterwords. I didn’t really understand what it’s like to feel spiritually refreshed until this routine. I really also just feel ready for the day when I do my quiet time. It’s just,, amazing. But you guys probably don’t want to read more of my ramblings. I should probably get to the actual routine haha. 

I almost always start with a worship song or hymn. This just sets the mood and really helps me to worship God. Music has amazing vibes and is really helpful for this. I got the idea from the fact that my church always begins with worship music (I think so, I might have gotten the idea from something else random though). I try to avoid Christian songs that just about me and not God (this is a shocking amount of Christian songs. A lot of them are extremely self centered). I downloaded a Casting Crowns hymns album and that has lately been my go-to. 

Once I get through the song, I begin my Bible time. This is the only part that I always do (it is the most important part). What I’m reading changes frequently (as it should), but lately I have been reading from the Psalms, Proverbs, and whatever the verse of the day from the Little Faith Bible Plan is (yes, all in one quiet time — it’s actually really enriching). I try to read through the passage at least once so that it can soak into my brain (that’s a gross metaphor). After reading the passage once, I use my favorite highlighter to highlight passages that I enjoy and also I take notes in the margins + sum up the verses (if needed). Today I tried color coding/annotating my Bible with highlighters and shapes. I did not enjoy it all that much, so I guess I’ll keep up with my own system (it’s great if annotating/color coding works for you though). 

After my Bible time (which usually takes up the most time), I like to journal. Mind you, I’ve only been journaling regularly for three or four days so what do I know haha. I typically write a verse or quote at the top of my journal page, and then I begin writing out my prayers and thoughts. Lately, I have been trying to write my entries to God, and it actually is going well. I expected to dislike it, but it helps me focus on praying. Seriously, guys, if you struggle to focus on praying, I highly recommend praying on paper. It really is helpful. 

Once my journaling is over, I will sometimes do a quick praying session (it has to be quick because of my short attention span). During this I typically just pray about the upcoming day and anything else. I want to get into the habit of praying a decade of the Rosary during this though, or at least doing Catholic morning prayers. 

Once I finish that, I like to read a bit from the Christian books that I am reading. At the moment, I am reading Story Of A Soul, by St. Thérèse of Liseux and Live, by Sadie Robertson (I recently finished All Along You Were Blooming, by Morgan Harper Nicholes and that was just such a lovely read). Story Of A Soul is definitely a book that I would recommend to anyone. I found out about it from Clare Marie Therese’s blog @EverythingIsGrace. And I am so glad I did, Story Of A Soul is such a wonderful read and is written in a very welcoming style. You literally will feel like St. Thérèse is right there telling you her story (of her soul). And as for Live, I just purchased it yesterday at a bookstore. I really like the photography, the entire book is gorgeous. But as for the writing style, it so far feels kinda forced? But maybe it gets better? I don’t know. I really like Sadie Robertson’s stuff, but I am enjoying Story Of A Soul much more. 

And that kinda concludes my quiet time!! It’s about 45 minutes long and is just so enjoyable. It sets the mood for my entire day and keeps my eyes on Jesus. I absolutely recommend doing your own quiet time if you don’t already, it’s life changing. 

What does your quiet time look like? Let me know in the comments!!

If you enjoyed this post, please feel free to comment, click like, and follow me for more content similar to this.

Have a lovely blessed day and keep your eyes on Jesus,

Liesl ❤

musings about june & plans for july

hii darlings, i hope that you all have been doing well <33. i cannot, absolutely cannot believe that june simply went by in a *poof*. it’s insane. i don’t know what else to write for this introduction haha, so i guess just,,, enjoy this post? and go check my book blog, stars and stories, for a bookish wrap up of my month? it will be there about ten minutes after writing this post. so,, yeah. enjoy <3.

this month was,, a rollercoaster to say the least. i had days where i was really excited and hyped up over nothing, days where i was such an anxious mess, and days where i felt really messed up. the high school that i got into gave really intense summer assignments, and i haven’t gotten much of a summer vacation. i felt super creative and yet super burned out at the same time most days. i watched a lot of disney channel, because sometimes that’s the only non triggering thing out there. i fell out of my quiet time with God, and really struggled to get back into it. i didn’t post a lot, only because finding motivation was hard. i found quite a few songs that made me emotional. something really scary happened in my neighborhood that definitely terrified me, even though nobody was ever in danger during it. i cannot say what it was though, because it could potentially give away my location. 

on a more positive note, i did have some wins this month. for one, i found a few new hyper-fixations, tv show wise. notable shows i watched include phil of the future, once upon a time, jonas LA, and good luck charlie. i also read some lovely books, which i will be discussing in my monthly wrap up for my other blog. i wrote my first book review that wasn’t for school, you can read it here. i got camp nanowrimo all prepped (i’m writing a romance about rival pumpkin patches, am finishing up my fantasy novel, and attempting at writing flash fiction, using these prompts). i began going to a support group for girls with autism and ADD. that went really well, and although all the girls (there are three of them) are sixteen or seventeen, i don’t feel that much younger. i’ve finally found a place where i don’t feel like i’m being silently judged, so that’s lovely.

lately, God has really been putting this message on my heart: when you arrive in heaven, are you going to hear a well done my good and faithful servant, or a depart for i never knew you? i’ve been thinking a lot about my actions and their ramifications, along with this: woe to those who call good evil and evil good. both of these are things that i really think that God has been placing on my heart.

podcast: have you heard, with emma mae jenkins

book: story of a soul, by st. therese of liseux

song: remains, by olivia georgia

• be more positive
• start doing a longer bible quiet time with God
• pray a decade of the rosary every day
• try to post more faith building content here
• do an act of kindness each day
• do a mini ‘lenten’ two weeks before school starts to spiritually prepare myself for high school
• get 100 followers on this blog

rosy @rosyswritings posted her july bullet journal spreads and i love the watermelon theme of the spreads so much

madi @delightfulworldofdolls celebrated her 18th birthday at the AG store!! 

miriam @insidemiriamsmind posted about her favorite bullet journal supplies, and as a fellow bullet journaler, i really enjoyed reading this post

laurel jean @laureljean wrote a really hard hitting piece of flash fiction that has such a shocking ending ahh

heaven @glorifychristblog posted about being witnesses for the gospel 

rachel @joyfulcreations wrote about falling away from Christ vs continuing in his kindness 

megan @notsoperfect posted about what a friend we have in Jesus and just,, wow this was the post i needed to read

hannah @thestripedplaid posted advice for making etsy shop sales and as someone who is starting an etsy shop soon (hopefully) i really found it helpful

this post was mostly just my rambling, i dearly hope that despite that, it was able to encourage you. have a lovely month <3.