Major Life Change!

Hello! I know my blog is new so I have no excuses as to why I haven't posted in almost a month! I do have an excuse though! I've been working on a major life change! I got tired of working dead-end jobs and being unhealthy so I made a massive decision. It's something I've been considering for years! What is it?

I'm now in the process of enlisting in the Navy!

I'm 26 and I'm not getting any younger. I need to do something now for my career and my health. The military seems like the best option for me to get on my feet financially. I also want to finish college so the military will be a huge help with that.

What does this mean for the blog? I'm still going to try and keep it running because I really do enjoy writing. I'll start to share fitness posts and information on preparing for the military. I'll also share my journey with y'all. When I ship off, I'll let y'all know so I won't just go silent for two months. I hope to be able to pick back up where I left off with the blog once I'm in and have some time to write.

I'm so excited for this new chapter in my life and I can't wait to officially get things started. I'm waiting on my recruiter to call me so I can go in and start filling out the official paperwork. I took at practice ASVAB at my recruiter's office and did pretty well on it. I'm working to get my math score up and bit and lose a couple of pounds but I'm about ready to get started!

My Tips For Successful Online Dating

I've dabbled a bit in online dating. It can be pretty frustrating. I've had several dating failures but I've also had several dating successes. When I talk about dating success, I don't mean that it ends in a long-term relationship or marriage. I mean, you met the guy and you both want to get to know each other more. I see that as success with online dating. You might go through a few guys before you find the one. That's unavoidable. The good thing is that you can learn from each man you date. Even if the relationship doesn't work out, there is something to be gained. You learn what you want or don't want in a future partner. Now without further ado, here are my tips for online dating success!

• Fill out your profile completely. Stop with that "message me for more info" crap. You won't get messages from anyone decent. I'm not saying you have to say where exactly you live but at least write about what you like to do and what's important to you.
• Leave the negativity off of your profile. I click on so many profiles only to see "I don't know why I am on this site anymore." or "There aren't any real women anymore." Just stop. The reason you aren't getting any messages from "real women" is that you are being negative and we aren't looking for a guy who is negative. You may not be negative in person but remember all we see when we click on your profile is negativity. 
• Make your dealbreakers known. Put that out there what your dealbreakers are and don't let anyone waste your time. Yeah, that person may be hot or nice but if they do something that is a dealbreaker, then you really should just move on.
• Read a person's profile before you message them. I get so many guys who message me without reading my profile. I can tell by what they ask me or if they act surprised when I talk about my faith or something major. You would have known about it if you had taken the time to read my profile.
• Take the time to write a thoughtful message. Don't just type "Hey." Ask questions. What do you have in common with the person you are messaging? 
• Don't be creepy! Stop with the "hey babe" or "I dreamed about being in bed with you last night." messages. It's weird and creepy! I have gotten messages like that before and it's a guaranteed block.
• Don't waste your time (or somebody else's time). It kind of goes along with the above. If you don't have anything in common, move on. If you don't feel a connection after you meet up, move on.
• Don't ghost. This is so annoying when you are chatting with someone or already met them and they just disappear. I understand if you lose interested but at least message them "Hey, I just don't feel a connection with you and I do not want to lead you on." At least say something and inform them that you do not want to proceed.

I hope this helps! Do you have any tips or advice about online dating that I didn't list above?

Scripture Sunday:

"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters..." Colossians 3:23

I love this verse. I find it very motivating, especially when I don't want to work or whatever work I am doing is hard. The basic gist of the verse is to give it up to the lord. Whatever you are doing, stop and thank the Lord. Tell the Lord, you are doing this job for Him. When I do a task without giving it up to the Lord, I find it harder. I also find it harder to respect my bosses or whoever is in charge of whatever I am doing. If I turn to the Lord and work for the Lord, the task becomes easier or at least I find that I have a better attitude about it. This makes me think of a story my mother tells me. Her great aunt Anna used to stop and give everything up to the Lord. When she pulled out the vacuum, she'd pause and say "Lord, I give this chore to you." I love this story and it reminds me to have a joyful heart when doing my chores. I hope this Bible verse and my thoughts on are encouraging for you whether it has to do with household chores or the job you go to every day!

Earth Day From A Christian Perspective And Being Green All Year

I love holidays like Earth Day. It's a great reminder for us to take care of the Earth! As a Christian, it is very important for us to take care of this beautiful planet that we have been given. It's part of our job on Earth! If you want Biblical evidence that it is our job to take care of the Earth, I have it for you.

• "Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” -Genesis 1:26
• “If you come across a bird's nest in any tree or on the ground, with young ones or eggs and the mother sitting on the young or on the eggs, you shall not take the mother with the young." Deuteronomy 22:6
• "Whoever is righteous has regard for the life of his beast, but the mercy of the wicked is cruel." Proverbs 12:10
• "You visit the earth and water it; you greatly enrich it; the river of God is full of water; you provide their grain, for so you have prepared it. You water its furrows abundantly, settling its ridges, softening it with showers, and blessing its growth. You crown the year with your bounty; your wagon tracks overflow with abundance. The pastures of the wilderness overflow, the hills gird themselves with joy, the meadows clothe themselves with flocks, the valleys deck themselves with grain, they shout and sing together for joy." Psalm 65:9-13

This is just a small sampling of what the Bible says about being good stewards of the Earth. To litter, hurt animals, and defile the Earth is to disrespect God and what he has created. As a Christian, I think it is important to take care of the Earth. It is good stewardship. Here are a few things you can do to take care of the earth all year long.

• First, it's important to be kind to animals always. Don't hurt an animal just because it is a stray. I've seen people kick at animals they don't like and that's so wrong!
•  If you hunt, stay within hunting laws and don't hunt for the trophy. Use as much of the animal as you can in practical ways. Don't be wasteful!
• Take your trash with you. If you are out in public or somewhere where there is no trash can, carry your trash with you and throw it away when you can. Don't just throw it on the ground. Not only is it harmful to the environment but it also makes the landscape ugly and not as enjoyable for other people.
• Use reusable products as much as you can. Carry a reusable water bottle with you instead of buying bottled water. Carry your lunch in glass containers instead of buying plastic packaged convenience food. It's cheaper anyway. Try not to use straws.
• Leave a place better than you found it. If you go camping, make the campsite look pristine before you leave even if it wasn't when you arrived. It's just a nice thing to do for the next person who comes along.
• If you have a garden plant wildflowers and plants that attract honey bees. They are an endangered species and important to life on this Earth so it's good to attract them and give them a nice yard to buzz around in. I know a lot of people don't like bees but honey bees typically aren't aggressive and will leave you alone. 
• Educate others about being green. When others notice you carry reusable products or are planting honeybee-friendly plants, tell them about it. Explain to them how it helps the Earth. You'll be surprised how many people want to be green but just don't know how to.

I hope this helps you to be green all year long and gives you a new perspective on why it's important to take care of the Earth. Do you have any tips for being green? I'd love to hear from you.

5 Things About Me

Hello and welcome to my brand new blog! I'm excited to jump into some content and I have the day off from work today so I will be working on my blog today. I'm going to be writing and scheduling posts and working on my About Me page. Stay tuned! I thought I'd introduce myself a little more by telling you five things about me. Everything I tell you will probably appear later in my blog in some form or another.

1. I love adventure! I love to travel and explore new places. I didn't get to travel a lot growing up but when I did travel, I loved it. I'm starting to travel more as an adult and I have a lot of places on my travel bucket list to visit.
2. I'm a farm kid! I grew up on a small farm in Virginia. I don't plan on having a farm of my own because I want to travel but I love living in the country and I love animals. I wouldn't trade my childhood for anything else.
3. I'm a Christian! I am a believer in Jesus and you will see a lot of Christian themed content on my blog. On my old blog, I used to do scripture Sundays where I wrote about a Bible verse and what it meant to me. Look for that on this blog too!
4. I'm adopted! I was adopted when I was three years old. What does this have to do with my blog? Well, I am in contact with my birth parents and I've always been interested in my heritage. I want to explore my heritage a little more and possibly share my findings with y'all.
5. I love to cook! I've always enjoyed cooking and mom started letting me cook when I was pretty small. I would love to share some recipes and some of my creations here on the blog so check back for some food-related content too.

I'd love to hear from you. Tell me something about you! Do you post about it on your blog?

Welcome To My Blog!

Hello and welcome to my blog! I just wanted to start with a short introductory post. I will go into more detail in upcoming posts. My name is Kiersten and I am a twenty-six-year-old single girl from southeast Virginia. I am a farm kid and I love animals and the outdoors. I am also a Christian and my faith is very important to me. This blog is going to be all about the twenty-something lifestyle. I hope you still around and subscribe! Comment below and tell me about yourself!


Follow my blog with Bloglovin