Seasons...

So I know I have been away for some time now... But God has been speaking to me and it was a time for me to be still. But that season is coming to an end and its now time to start moving again with a more clear direction. You know our lives are full of seasons but no matter the season you are going through, always trust in God's word. 

Be blessed my friends! 

7 Day Challenge

So I had this idea about a 7 day challenge. 7 days of sharing love and honor. A chance to share how great the people in your life are. Shine a light on them so to speak. I think it would be interesting to see if it catches on. Wouldn't it be great to inspire others and read on how others have been inspired? I like to think so. So here it is.....

God bless! ❤️

Mayra

Romance with God

Romantic, the feeling of excitement and mystery associated with love.  I think that is exactly what our relationship with God is like. There is so much excitement in his love for us. There is never a dull moment with the Lord and the mystery is endless! He has so much he wants to share with us, show us and do for us. But a lot of the time we try to think logically because that is how our mind works. We try to break everything down and analyze it. When it comes to God we will not fully understand till we are joined with him. All of that analyzing takes the romance out of our relationship with God. Instead of just enjoying the mystery and excitement, we cause ourself stress, worry, doubt.  We see what God does for us but we can't always see why he is doing it. He sees the big picture, the grand plan, but we can't. We want things to go as we think best, but the truth is God's best for us is far greater then we could ever imagine for our self. Ephisians 3:20 "

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us." We need only trust in his love for us. Enjoy the romance, enjoy life, love God and share his love. Have faith that he wants only the best for us. Jeremiah 29:11 "For the I know the plans I have for you says The Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you. Plans to give you hope and a future." 

Enjoy the Romance!

God bless.

    

Mayra  

BLOG MAKEOVER!

First off I'm so sorry and sad that I just accidentally erased half my old post. But God is good and there are many more to come. I have been kind of m.i.a. with the holidays. And I moved so it's been an adjusting period. However, in this time I have been thinking about the blog and what my focus should be. I want this page to be an all around inspiration for woman, married and single. I believe that God has blessed me with an ability to help people feel better about themselves and their situations. Since I was a little girl, I knew thats what I was made to do. God loves us so very much and want us to be happy, healthy and whole. Spiritually and physically, we need to constantly strive to better ourselves. I hope this page can be the voice that reminds you, you are beautiful, unique, important and loved. Please follow and share, the best is yet to come! 

Blessings, ❤️

   Mayra

Fish Tail Side Braid!

My first ever request! So a dear friend of mine asked me to do a tutorial on fish tail braid. 

They look hard to do but it's actually pretty easy. If you can do a regular braid, you can do a fish tail. So the way I'm going to show you is a side ways fish tail. Its easiest and your not going to have to guess what your doing behind your head. It's a really cute look for summer! Plus once you learn the braid you can always style it other ways. I really hope you can understand my explanation. 

Line 1: Getting started...

- Comb your already strait hair to one side, leave a part if you'd like. 

- I have layers so I choose to clip back the front bangs

- Tie a hair band around your hair. Make sure it's not to tight, just enough to hold your hair together. 

- Part your pony into 2 equal parts

Line 2: The tricky part...

- The 2 parts you have in each hand, with your pointer finger separate 1/3 of your hair on each side.

- Switch the hair that is parted over your pointer fingers, one, then the other and pull tight. 

  You should have 2 strands again. 

- Again part the 1/3 section on each side and cross them over, each to the other side. 

Line 3: Finishing up

- Follow line 2 till it gets to thin to braid

- Should look like this... (Blooper pic my husband took! Lol!)

- Tie a hair tie at the end of your braid. I like to use transparent ones, just looks better in my opinion.

- Slowly pull the top hair tie down over the braid

Line 4: One last thing... Done! 

- After hair tie is pulled down, should look like this..

- Going back to the end, pull down the hair tie, away from the braid. 

- Pull on the braid to loosening it, this will take up the slack at the bottom. 

- All done, looking good! ;) 

Hope you were able to learn the fish tail braid.. Don't forget to share this and Pin It! 

God bless! ❤

Here is a Line 2 close up. :) 

The new way to do a side pony...

 I say this on Eva Longoria and loved it! It super easy, you don't have to see an ugly hair tie and it looks sexy too. Its good for those hot summer evenings, when going to a special event. It keeps your hair down with out it being on your back. Also I think it's super elegant. So here it goes... 

Step 1: curl all your hair

Step 2: brush out the curls 

Step 3: brush all your hair to one side

Step 4: slip the top portion of your hair on a far side split

 ( whatever side is more natural or best for your outfit)

Step 5: use a hair tie and make a low, loose pony

Step 6: comb the rest of your hair back over 

Step 7: mess with it a little making sure to cover the pony and spray it in place 

Step 8: check the back- should look loose and shouldn't see the pony from the back either

Step 9: your done.. Looking good! ;) 

Again super easy and something different! 

Happy curling and God bless! ❤

Some good ol' motivation! ;)

Well I have already told y'all that I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism.. Slow metabolism. That's why it's so had for me to loose weight and so easy for me to gain it. Recently I've been gaining weight and despite my efforts in the gym I have not seen many results. Now I know I can always try harder. The doctor would say its because I'm not taking my medication... Whatever the reason, I'm not giving up. I have this one body that's it! God gave me one body and I have to make it last a lifetime. I just turned 27 and I'm kind of freaking out about it because I always though I would be in the best shape of my life at this age and I'm not. But I guess whatever my age, I need to stay on it. I have so much ahead of me, a husband to care for and someday children too, my life has only just begun.

Obviously we all know how hard it is to stay motivated in this fast food word, but I've been looking at blogs and pictures that have been helping me to remember my goals. And one that I came across really stood out. Not because it was some cut, lean model but because it was an older lady. In this picture I see struggle, determination, commitment, strength, self love and wisdom. All the qualities it takes to push myself everyday to make an effort on bettering my fitness and health. I'm so far from where I envision myself, but I will only get there one day at a time. Sometimes we need little reminders that impact us to get us from day to day. So I thought I would share this one with you all. I have no idea where the picture is from but I just thought it was super cute and loved everything about it. Life is so great and part of enjoying it is not letting your health bring you down. Fast forward 20-40 years from now, how do you see yourself? I know I see myself looking good, feeling good and healthy. So I will keep working towards that, after all, time flies when your having fun and I intend to do just that.

God bless and strengthen you. ❤

Skin care tips for the summer.

Ok I know we all want that summer glow, but lets not forget to make it a healthy glow. While there is speculation of the sun causing skin cancer, I don't believe it's a good enough reason for me to stay out of the sun, although it is a great reason to be more careful. I think of how things were back in biblical time and how everyone lived in the sun, I don't believe Gods intention of the sun was to harm us. In fact our body is strengthened in the sun, it causes us to produce vitamin D which is a vitamin that helps us absorb and metabolize other vitamins and minerals. It also help us fight cancer and other diseases. So it's over all healthy to be in the sun. Unfortunately for us there has been quite a bit of pollution since Moses and that is what I believe has made the rays harmful to us. Our atmosphere is not what it once was. But anyway back to skin care...

There are lots of ways to protect you self from the sun, for me staying out of it is not an option. I love being outside. But the sun can cause dryness in the skin, sun spots and premature aging. That's why I emphasize on a healthy glow. So here are a few tips I know and have come up with to help you enjoy your summer and help out your skin while doing it.

1. Obviously, wear SPF on your face - All sunblocks give you about 80 minutes of protection. The SPF number is the protectant number the higher it is the less it allows the sun in. I think unless its a baby or you have a sun allergy 100 SPF is a bit overboard. You still want the sun to penetrate and allow your body to produce that vitamin D.

2. Wear sun glasses - sunglasses help block the sun from your eyes, so your not squinting. They also help protect that very sensitive tissue around them, so all around preventing crows feet. Wear them!

3. Wear a hat - hats help cover your scalp, forehead and shade the majority to your face. The more shade on your face the longer you remain looking young. Very helpful!

4. When tanning out side still wear SPF - before you shower yourself in tanning oil use SPF as a base especially on your face, neck, décolleté, shoulder, hands, feet and knees. All these areas are know to give away ones age.. Letting it get premature aging or sun damage would be unflattering to yourself.

5. Protect your feet - not only will you get unsightly sandal tan but when you are tanning on your stomach, the bottoms of your feet are exposed to sunlight and are usually not protected. Yes they can get sunburned and Im telling you from experience, walking on sunburned feet is no fun at all. Put a towel over them or put your sandals back on at that point.

6. Don't forget your about your hair - while its sexy to have your hair down at the beach and pool the wind, sand and chlorine do take a toll on it, it's good to always have a smoothing oil, leave in conditioner or detangling spray handy to lessen the blow.

7. Stay hydrated - most of the time you have so much lotion and oil on you don't realize how much you actually sweat while out in the sun, even if your just tanning. Keeping you body hydrated keeps your skin healthy and young.

8. Limit yourself - if your light skinned like me your probably not going to go from pasty to brazil in one day. You'll most likely end up like a lobster. Take in the sun in moderation. Just like when using tanning beds start off with just a little and work your way up. 15 minutes each side, then 20 and so on..

9. Moisturize - when exercising a tanning routine it important to have a moisturizing regiment. You will never get a healthy glow if its all heat, you need to put back into your skin.

10. Take your vitamins - it's important to understand that a tan although it looks great takes a toll on your skin. Your skin is the largest origin of the body and also the last to get nutrients. A tan in not color magic, your skin is actually protecting itself from the sun. Doing this takes energy and our bodies energy comes from our nutrition.. Don't a can of red bull. ;)

Well I hope this will help you be a little more aware of your skins health, as you start your summer routine.
I know these have all helped me.

Have fun in the sun, God bless and Glow on! ☀

Enjoy the ride!

Life is full of curves, ups, downs and loops. While sometimes it's scary not knowing what's next, it's important to not stress it. You never know what is coming, so don't bother worrying about it or trying to plan to much ahead. After all as the saying goes, we plan and God laughs.

Just like a ride all the twists and turns, keep us on the edge of our seats. Life is easiest when we find the excitement in this, rather then if we tense up always expecting the worst. When things are bad for me, I thank God, I might cry but I also laugh. I know God has allowed whatever is happening in my life to happen for a reason and that reason is good. (Romans 8:28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.) I know in this season He has planned for me to learn something new. So yes, I laugh, I know God will pull me through. The sooner I learn the lesson the sooner I will be out. If I was fearful, anxious, worried or hateful then my emotions would be to busy to see what it is God is showing me. I would be stuck in the season longer then what He had planned for me to be. Sometimes that happens to us because we are not listening to God but to our mind and emotions instead. (Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.) if we are to busy fearing we are not acknowledging His presence in our circumstance. So He can not guide us in the right direction or show us the exit to our circumstance. We end up stuck. When you realize that all God wants is your trust, life becomes a lot easier. No matter the situation, trust in Him and you will soon see it pass. Know with all your heart that God loves you. What you are going through is not a reflection of His love for you but a time for you to reflect your faith in Him. Never doubt in His way of working, it's to complex for our minds to comprehend but it is always for our good and for His glory. So with that being said, I will finish with this... (Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.) Be attentive to the voice of God and have faith. He loves you and He wants you to be prosperous. So fear not and enjoy the ride!

Don't stress, God bless! ❤

Blog viewers, I thank you! ❤

I'm so excited to announce that in less then 2 months time the blog has reached over 1,000 views.
I am so thankful to those of you who follow, read it and share it with your friends.
When God put this blog in my heart, it took me almost a year to take action. I was questioning whether or not it would even have views, so 1,000 views is great. I know God has a purpose here and it's just the beginning. So I just thank the Lord for giving me peace and confirmation about the blog. I do enjoy doing this for His glory and for all of you that follow. It's been fun so far and I know it will only get better from here. Thank you again for following, keep sharing it with your friend and loved ones. Everything on this blog is to lift you up in some way, to make life a little less stressful and to just have fun because we can!

Thank you Lord for your promises.
God please bless each one of the readers,
Let their days be full of joy and their hearts be filled with love,
Let each blog I post come across in your wisdom and light.
That those who read it will be lifted up and touched by your great love,
And let all that I do be for your glory!
In Jesus Holy name, Amen! :)

Thank you all for reading, I do hope to keep you entertained and always coming back! ❤

Be happy!

Even on your worst of days
be happy.
The Lord loves you
He wants you to live life in abundance,
full of love, joy, peace and hope.
Trust in Him
and let your light glow.
He wants you to shine for Him,
shine so bright for all to see.
Let them see that you are free
God has taken your burdens
He tossed then in the sea.
Let them see God can intercede
for them as well..
If they just believe.
Poem By: Mayra Taylor

Just a short little poem to put a smile on your faces!

Lots of love and God bless! ❤

Going through hell?

Everyone has hardship. Life is full of ups and downs and everyone's struggles are different. You might occasionally meet someone that has been through what your going through but even like that its still never the same. We each have our journey. Sometimes out path takes us through beautiful paradise and sometime it's seems like we're walking straight through the pit of hell. Either way, good times or bad, we should always put our faith first. In our thoughts and conversation, it's important to keep God at the center. Our minds and our tongues have so much power over our emotional and spiritual lives. If we are going through a struggle and let if fester in our thoughts and its constantly coming out of our mouths then it will never change. We keep claiming these things in our lives.
(Proverbs 18:20/ From the fruit of their mouth a person’s stomach is filled; with the harvest of their lips they are satisfied.)
If you keep saying your struggles, you will keep living in them. You must feed yourself with godly positivity when you are down.
(Proverbs 12:25/ anxiety weighs down the heart but a good word cheers it up.)
Feed your faith and let that be what comes out of your mouth. Keep praise flowing out, praise Him in the storm, so to speak. When you start to praise God in your struggle, it starts to scare the enemy away. As long as you keep feeling sorry for yourself, he still has domain. When you thank God for everything, the good and the bad, its your way of fighting back. Like throwing punches till you knock him out. Have faith and hope in what you speak and pray for. Claim it over your lives and believe it.
(Mark 11:22/ “Have faith in God,” Jesus answered. 23 “Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them. 24 Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.)
So don't focus on the struggle that's around you but on God that surrounds you. Who works all things for the good of those how love Him. Just keep speak in faith and you'll be out of that hell before you know it.

God bless and keep the faith! ⚓

Contour and highlights!

Before I show you how I contour and highlight my own face, I made this so you can understand how to contour and highlight according to your face shape. That way you can change it to match your own. There really is not much difference, but you would be amazed what doing it right for your own shape will do.

There are about nine different shapes of the face, however most of them are just variations of the basic 5... oval, square, round, diamond and heart. You can have mixtures of any two and also any variation with long. I didn't make long because it dosent necessarily have a certain shape, just one of these shapes but longer.
Did you know that an oval face is believed to be most pleasing to the eye? The whole point of contoring your face is to make it seem more oval. You are darkening the out most parts of your face to slim it into seeming oval. The hightlights are for making those parts of your face stand out making the darkened contoured parts seem to fade out. Its a well practiced illusion.

This is the easiest way to distinguish in faces shape..

Heart- usually the forehead is the widest part tapering into a narrow chin
Round- the face is as wide as it is long
Square- the forehead, the cheek bones, and the jaw line are all the same width
Diamond- widest at the cheek bones with a narrow chin and forehead
Oval- the face is fairly narrow but longer then it is wide.




Here are some examples of the 5 basic face shapes...



So did you find what shape you are? Keeping in mind it can be a little of both. I am a diamond and oval mix but mostly a diamond because my cheek bones are the widest part of my face.
So when I do my make up I do it the diamond way because it comers up the wideness of my cheeks

So here it is find your shape and practice...




I hope that I helped you learn something you didn't already know.
Have fun and God bless! ❤

Heels have names too...

So my great friend saw this and passed it on to me..
The proper names for our high heels!
I know my favorite is platform wedge and platform pump...
What about you?

Be blessed! :)

Don't let the mirror lie to you...

Ever look in the mirror and ignore the negative? Try it! It's the best way to stay in love with yourself.. Instead of looking at the bumps and lumps, the this is to big or that is to small's. Look at what's great about you. Your hair, eyes, smile, your great completion, your unique features.. All this and more!

We are supposed to see others through the love of Christ, yes, but more importantly we must see ourselves through His eyes first. When we love ourselves and what God gave us we are freed from our own hurtful thoughts, free from envy. We will be satisfied with what God has given us, not disliking our self or coveting others looks or shape. Enjoy what God gave you. God made you unique, there is no other you in the whole world and all it's history. That is something to feel special about. We are all beautifully made by a wondrous Creator. Let that shine in your smile and confidence. Know that you are second to non when it comes to God. No matter how you are, you were made perfect. When we love ourselves we take better care of ourselves and make all around better choices, better eating habits, working out, feed our minds with more positive things and thoughts. So look at yourself in love and don't let the mirror lie to you anymore. You are so beautiful, tell yourself this, believe it and receive it. It will change your life. ❤

All God's love and blessings!

Hold on to each other...

I thought this was cute.. A quote to live by. :) have a great weekend and spend it with the ones you love. God bless!

Sparkle On!

Zachariah 9:16 The LORD their God will save his people on that day as a shepherd saves his flock. They will sparkle in his land like jewels in a crown.

The day we were saved was the day of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. All the sins of those who believe this, were washed away by His blood and on that day everything changed. I know I for sure I am so thankful to God for sending His son to die for me. I could not imagine how life would be without His sacrifice. I think the whole world would be different. But He did come and He did resurrect from the dead and it's not just written in the bible but its written in history. Before Jesus was crucified he said that He was the light of the world and after His resurrection He then gave it to us saying ...

Matthew 5:14 You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid.

  Matthew 5:16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. 

So hold your head high, we have a gift. A gift that we must share with those around us. We must show our GOOD deeds for Gods glory. We have to shine, this is still all about saving souls. So be that light, that people may see us in their darkness. We must light to way to the feet of The Lord.

So when your finding it hard to sparkle and life is dimming your glow, just remember who your God is... The making of all things, who can fix all thing. Who sent his Son Jesus to wash away the sins of the world and to bring light into this darkness. Who loves us enough to entrust us to be that light until He returns again. So stand firm, think on these things and be that jewel that sparkles so beautifully no one can resisting it! 

God bless and Sparkle on! 

If you don't already know, I set up a Facebook Page (Crown Jewels 9:16) that is based on this exactly. It's to keep woman like ourselves motivated and inspired! Check it out and Like our page to receive daily verses and up lifting words. ❤

Crown Jewels 9:16 Facebook Page

My time with God.

We always have special time for special people in our lives. Girl time, me time, time with the kids, time with our husbands and family time but what about God? I'm not talking about church either? I live in North Carolina with my husband, far away from Texas where were from. So I don't have my friend time, or family time. I have husband time and when he's at work I have me time. That's when I get to squeeze in my tv shows, clean house, paint my nails and most importantly thats my God time.

This is my favorite time! I put on my Hillsong or Kari Jobe radio and turn up the volume. Seeking his presence daily is my addiction. It's the best feeling in the word! I can read the word, pray, listen to preachings but there's nothing like praise. 

The bible says that God inhabits praise (psalm 22:3) that means that's where he lives. I believe and feel his every time I start to sing. Thats how i know God is real, I feel him. It's very important for our spirit to feel, its part of what keeps our faith strong. When I feel his presence it's peaceful yet overwhelming. I usually cry, laugh or just smile while I sing. It's a kind of release to me. It's freeing. You know that moment everyone desires to feel at some point in there life, where its just you and Him and the whole world fades away, well this is that moment and i get it time and time again through praise. Its beautiful. A form of expression, sometimes I even dance. It's all in how you want to praise him, to lift up his name and just let it comes out. 2 Corinthians 3:17 "Where the spirit of The Lord is there is freedom". I encourage you to take time everyday to enter in his presence, it will change your life! If you have never done it or its just been a long time, find a christian song, sing along if you know the words, lift up your hands and voice and just thank God for his amazing love. Invite him in to where your at, and just be and allow him to move you. God's is waiting for you all the time and he can only get as close to you as you'll let him. 

God bless and I hope this encourages you to seek him more and more. 

This is one of my favorite songs that I use in my God time.. Thought I would share it in case you don't know of any. :) happy worshiping! 

            Hosanna- hillsong united

Positivity!

Now and days it seem like everyone has a chip on there shoulder. So easily angered and annoyed. I to use to be like this. I was always wearing a frown, even now because habit my husband reminds me to smile. I was so angry and so annoyed by the littlest of things. Now that I truly know the Lord, all my anger is gone and past and my patience is getting a whole lot better through prayer and practice. But look at this backward society, people think it's a sign of strength to be angry, hard or have a bad attitude. Constant telling people off or trying to belittle others is a way of showing strength to gain respect, cursing things and people that have crossed them. I see it everywhere. Its almost as if to try to prove something, this is a deeply flawed way of thinking. Anger is a very powerful strength and it is easily triggered, but joy, now that it true power. Have you ever just smiled at someone random, they mostly always smile back. That is all it takes to spread joy, negativity however, takes so much emotion and energy. When you are in a bad situation it's so easy to let it get the best of you. You feel it rising almost as a heat or a fever, but the true strength is in stopping it. Keeping your mindset regardless of your circumstance. Emotions are like waves they come and go, our mindset is a huge rock that shouldn't sway with the crashing of the waves. If we focus on the good, on love, on grace, on how blessed we are, then when these waves hit we will not loose our ground. Being Christian we must be examples of character, not just any character but of godly character. I know that and see that now. We stand on the rock of salvation and no matter the circumstance we should not be shaken. It's killing the fleshly desires to keep Gods desires. It's so easy to snap our tongue and give people an emotional reaction but what good does that do? Then what, back and forth, hurt and hate? It's harder to walk away from these situations then it is to entertain them. Yet knowing what I know now it's makes it all worth it. You see if anyone does me wrong, I know God will make things right for me, I have peace and stand firm on this. I don't waist my energy on a negative attitude. Negativity is a cancerous weight to carry. I choose positivity something that is harder to do but with each time I choose joy, it builds endurance and I am all that stronger for it!

Ephesians 4:31-32 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

God bless!

A powerful reminder of humanity

I just had to share this.. It almost brought tears to my eyes, maybe its because I admire this star or simply because its true. This is a great example and quote of what humanity is about. No matter how rich or accomplishes we may become we were all equally made in God's love. I think sometimes we need to see things like this to remind ourselves of how blessed we truly are and how we must pass our blessings on to those in need.

I hope this touched your heart as it did mine!
God bless you and don't forget to bless others!