Bad Day(s).

The past few days have been dim and overrun with vexation. Please life, don't give me anymore bad news, setbacks, or disappointments. I think I have had my fill, at least for a week or so...no, make that a month or so. Life, I am declaring a "No Vacancy" on you. You can come back later. For now I'm gonna curl up to a good chick flick and let the past 24 hours fade away.

This Love.

"Been losing grip, oh, sinking ships. You showed up just in time. This love is good, this love is bad, This love is alive back from the dead. These hands had to let it go free, And this love came back to me.

This love left a permanent mark. This love is glowing in the dark. These hands had to let it go free, and this love came back to me."

-T.S.

What Month is it Again?

Even though this is my second December spent in Maryland, I'm finding myself growing in confusion more and more each day.

Inside, I see a fireplace going. It is surrounded by beautiful layers of Christmas wreaths, ornaments, Poinsettias, ect.:

{My workplace has been decorated! How pretty!}

Then I go outside and see sunshine, green grass, flowers, clear skies, leaves, ect.:

{My attempt at some Panoramic action. Don't laugh.}

What on earth?!

And get this! This afternoon I spent an hour outside my workplace...sunbathing.
It is December, right?
I'm sunbathing...in...December...

...I'll take it!! :D

Jehovah Jireh: The Lord Will Provide.

I attend a Bible study at church where we are studying "The Names of God". Despite how large the church is, there is only a few of us women who gather every Wednesday evening. This group is small, like I'm talking 3 or 4 women a week! It does disappoint me how small the turn out is, because they are seriously missing out on an amazing study! But I guess a more intimate group suits my learning style better anyway. A smaller group makes it easier to ask questions and have your questions be answered in a more detailed way.

Lately we have been focusing on the Old Testament which is awesome and it is even more awesome that I even think reading the Old Testament is awesome because: I have a huge confession to make! Up until I was 19 years old I actually thought the Old Testament was irrelevant. I simply didn't think it applied to my life at all. MY life? How selfish does that sound?

And apparently I completely disregarded the verse in the NEW Testament that says "ALL Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness..." (1 Timothy 3:16), even and especially the Old Testament! I was SOOO very wrong!
One of the things that makes me appreciate the Old Testament so much is the fact that it has Jesus written all over it. And Jesus means everything because He is the whole reason for my salvation!

So, anyway! The Bible is filled with several names of God all meaning different things. The name of God that we studied this last week was "Jehovah Jireh" which means "God will see to it" -> Seeing -> Provision -> Providing -> "The Lord Will Provide". This name is found in Genesis 22 the story of God testing Abraham.

I encourage you to read this story! I even provided a link for you: HERE! :)

Genesis 22 contains four amazing references that connect the Old and New Testament all through Jesus Christ!

Firstly, God asked Abraham "take your son, your ONLY son, whom you love--Isaac--and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you".
Sacrifice your ONLY son...sounds familiar, doesn't it?
"For God so loved the world that He gave His one and ONLY son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life". (John 3:16). God sacrificed His only Son Jesus on the cross to pay for our sins.

Secondly, on Mount Moriah where this sacrifice was about to take place, is where Solomon later built the temple. In this temple was a place where many lambs were sacrificed. Who was also referred to as a lamb? Jesus was! John 1:29 states "the next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said, 'behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world'"!

Thirdly, as Abraham and Isaac were preparing to go up the mountain together, Genesis 22:6 tells us that "Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac...".
Carrying wood...that sounds familiar as well. Of course! John 19:17 says "They took Jesus, therefore, and He went out bearing his own cross, to the place called Place of the Skull, which is called in Hebrew Golgotha". Jesus and Isaac both carried their own "crosses" to the place of their sacrifice.

Fourthly, as Abraham reached for his knife and was about to kill Isaac, the Lord told him to stop and not lay a hand on the boy. "Abraham looked up and there in the thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son" (Genesis 22:13). A thicket is a dense growth of trees, shrubs and bushes, usually cluttered with thorns and thistles. The rams' head was caught in these thorns. Before Jesus was crucified on the cross, "the soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on His head..." (John 19:2).
The ram caught in the thorns that God provided to Abraham then took the place of Isaac and was sacrificed; Jesus wearing a crown of thorns was sacrificed.

Realizing the prophetic language in Genesis 22 was such a revelation to me. I had heard the story many times in my life but this time it was like a whole new story. Before I had always found it so insane that God would ask Abraham to sacrifice his only son! But the story isn't so insane after all when I saw how much it applied to my own life and the nature and promises of God.

God was testing Abraham to see if he loved God just for who He was, not just because God had blessed him with things. Just like how I want my husband, my family and friends to love me for who I am as a person and because I love them! Not because I do favours for them or buy them gifts, ect.,

God wanted Abraham to show his complete obedience. Just as a parent who wants the BEST for their children, disciplines their children and desires for their obedience, should we as children of God obey Him! James 1:23-25 states that "anyone who listens to the Word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in the mirror, and after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it--not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it--they will be blessed in what they do".

So God asked Abraham to sacrifice Isaac. With Abraham leading Isaac up onto the mountain, laying him down on the altar, binding him, and reaching for his knife to kill Isaac...with all of these things, Abraham had already emotionally sacrificed Isaac. He didn't physically sacrifice him of course, but in his mind he had already given Isaac to God. It was like Isaac had already died.
"By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had embraced the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, even though God had said to him, 'it is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned'. Abraham reasoned that God could even raise the dead, so in a manner of speaking he did receive Isaac back from death". (Hebrews 11:17-19)

For loving, worshiping, and obeying God, Abraham was SO blessed. He was blessed in a way that God saw was good. (Something we need to remember is our version of a "blessing" such as perfect health and stable finances, isn't nearly as amazing as what God sees as a blessing).
Something really cool that I just picked up on was in Genesis 22:20-23, Abraham is told that Bethuel was born and "Bethuel became the father of Rebekah". Who is Rebekah?? She was the future wife of Isaac. So after Abraham obeyed God, he was blessed in the way that his son's future wife was being raised and cared for. Now that is another thing to remember. God is blessing us in ways that we cannot even see right now. We really have no idea what God is orchestrating for us.

So this ended up being a longer blog post than I intended. I guess I just got so excited I couldn't stop! I can only hope that something stuck out to you here or maybe you learned something or was reminded of something! I hope that this Bible study amazed you as much as it amazed me!

I'm going to share a list of practical steps that my Bible study leader shared with me:
1. Practice immediate obedience
2. Learn to trust Him to be fully consistent with His nature.
3. Believe that He is Jehovah Jireh, the God who provides.
4. Place that which is most cherished in your life on the altar, and surrender it completely to Him.
5. Be prepared to praise Him whether He restores your Isaac or removes it.
6. Practice these principles DAILY.

My Top Ten Favourite Taylor Swift Songs.

This is the blog post you have all been waiting for, right?!
This is also a blog post I am hesitant to even publish because it has truly unleashed my inner teeny-bopper, which is only slightly embarrassing...

This list is one that I have spent all last month compiling and simultaneously taking a little too seriously. I mean, who has the time?! Apparently I do...
Alot of energy goes into compiling a list such as this one. First, you have to listen to all of Taylor's songs. Well, not all of them because the Christmas ones simply do not count. She didn't even write them...sooo yeah.

And while listening to each song you have to be fully conscious of the ones that tug the hardest at your heart strings, which songs have the best written lyrics, or which songs you can't stop playing on repeat just because they sound so dang good. Trust me when I say that this list took alot longer to make than expected, because there were certain songs I just didn't have the heart to push ">>" but kept pressing "<<" instead.

So, after nine years of Taylor Swift music infatuation (understatement?), I have finally decided on my top ten favourite songs. Choosing the top twenty was easy peasy. Choosing my LEAST favourites was even easier!! But deciding on the exact order of the top ten was HARD. Even right now as I type this paragraph I am still second guessing the order of some songs. But here we ago anyway! Here's to impulse and gut-based decisions!

1. If This Was a Movie
(Speak Now)
This song totally reflects the view I had on love growing up. Love is supposed to be like the movies, right? You know, how the guy always comes back to his lady in the end, just before the credits start rolling. Yes, I may have watched too many romance movies growing up but half the fun was dreaming along with the leading lady. *blush*

2. Style
(1989)
The beat is so so so good! And even though the music video didn't live up to my expectations IN THE LEAST BIT, this song is still amazing!

3. Come In With The Rain
(Fearless)
"I'll leave my window open, 'cause I'm too tired at night to call your name, just know I'm right here hoping, that you'll come in with the rain".

4. Superstar
(Fearless)
"You'll never see, you sing me to sleep every night from the radio".

5. All Too Well
(Red)
"Well maybe we got lost in translation, maybe I asked for too much but maybe this thing was a masterpiece 'till you tore it all up". Oh Jake, how could you?

6. Blank Space
(1989)
Satire at its finest! And the music video is also one of her best, in my opinion of course. This one is also mine and Jarryd's favourite song to blast in the car together. We have a whole routine where I sing "I got alotta of Starbucks lovers" and he gets annoyed at me. Super fun. ;)

7. Cold As You
(Taylor Swift)
"You put up walls and paint them all a shade of grey,
And I stood there loving you and wished them all away.
And you come away with a great little story,
of a mess of a dreamer, with the nerve to adore you".

8. The Other Side Of The Door
(Fearless)
"I said 'leave', but all I really want is you, to stand outside my window throwing pebbles screaming 'i'm in love with you'". Us women love to say things we don't really mean...Ha!

9. Stay Beautiful
(Taylor Swift)
"You're beautiful, every little piece, love. And don't you know, you're really gonna be someone, ask anyone". <3

10. Forever and Always
(Fearless)
Oh my goodness. This song was my own personal anthem in my high school years. No, not the most uplifting, but it was the perfect angsty song to get me through my angsty broken-hearted days. ;)

In conclusion, you can see that I have at least one favourite song from each album! I thought that was pretty cool! Also, most of my favourite songs come from the album "Fearless" which is funny because her "Fearless" tour was my one and only T.S concert experience. (Not to mention, it was also the year of her best hair! Am I right or what?!).

{An old photo from 2011. I ask myself now in 2015: "would I buy a Taylor Swift calendar now"? Ha! Not a chance!}

I just know I'm gonna get a bunch of flack for some of my choices or perhaps even my lack of choices...

Flacker: How could you not put "I Knew You Were Trouble" on your list?!

Me: Because that song is the worst. That's why.

Flacker: What about Bad Blood? I am so offended that this didn't make the cut.

Me: Ew. And as for the music video, I can't support that kind of thinking!

Case closed. :)

Now that you know MY favourite T.S songs, what are some of YOUR favourite T.S songs?!

Or do you even have any?!

Or better yet, which is your least favourite? ;)

Tell me everything!

Love Anything.

There is no safe investment. To love at all is to be vulnerable.

Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly be broken.

If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal.

Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness.

But in that casket – safe, dark, motionless, airless – it will change.

It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable.

The alternative to tragedy, or at least to the risk of tragedy, is damnation.

The only place outside Heaven where you can be perfectly safe from all the dangers and perturbations of love is Hell.

I believe that the most lawless and inordinate loves are less contrary to God’s will than a self-invited and self-protected lovelessness…

-C.S Lewis (The Four Loves)

Preparing For My Second American Thanksgiving.

My little tree looks goooood next to my giant Alabama pinecones!

This is about the extent of our Christmas decorating situation...currently.

I'm not too big into seasonal decorating. It is hard for me to spend alot of money on items that I'll only be showing off for a few months and then packing them away into a closet for the rest of the year. (Although, I am going through deer phase where I just want to buy every single deer picture, mug, trinket, salt & pepper shaker, and book end that I see).

I'd rather spend my chedda-cheese on something I can display all year round! Do you get me? Or food! I could easily spend all of my money on food if I wanted. Like popsicles and chips.

Perhaps one day when I am drowning in cash I'll feel differently about the whole thing... (Heh..).

But this little tree was definitely an exception. I found it at the grocery store, on sale, and I couldn't say no. I think it was the plaid that had me at hello...and the gold sparkles...and the tiny pinecones...or just the entire thing itself. Ha!

(American) Thanksgiving is this week and I'm feelin' good! Did that come quickly or what?! It will be my second Thanksgiving spent as an American resident, and I suspect it'll be better than the first!

Here is a picture from Thanksgiving of 2014. This just brings back a flood of memories for me!

I remember the day-to-day facts:

...Baking my favourite carrot cake recipe in the world for the in-law Thanksgiving dinner, and how it turned out perfectly! Can we say, PHEW?

...Finding holes in just about every package of food along with droppings in our pantry closet, and eventually catching the mouse the following day. (Thank. Goodness).

...Sharing a potluck dinner with close friends, and spending an evening at a pub with more close friends!

But I especially remember the emotion I was feeling at that time.

I remember feeling unsettled.

I could stare at a Thesaurus all day but "unsettled" is really the perfect word to describe it. Unsettled with the stress of the visa process, being jobless, lack of finances, homesickness for my friends and family, and experiencing a lack of belonging in my new community.

This year, 2015, is different. I don't feel unsettled. In fact, I feel sure and excited. And it's not just because I have the things I was lacking before, like my Green Card, a job, a more steady income, less homesickness, and more belonging. I think it's from spiritual growth and to be blunt, an attitude change. Well...most days I feel like I am better off than I was last year. :P I still have my special moments of crankiness.

Of course having all of those things in my hands does in fact give me a feeling of stability, I mean I am human! But they don't define my identity. I am more than a Canadian-living-in-the-US and I am more than a cook.

The Bible tells me that because I believe in Jesus Christ and have received Him, that I am a child of God. Says John 1:12 to be exact. :) It feels so mundane typing that out on my keyboard. How do I magnify its significance?! Put it in bold? Underline it?! Increase the font size?!

OK...too much coffee for me this morning.

So all in all, I am really excited for this week's festivities because God has been the orchestrator of my whole life, and He is the reason I am here, and He is good. And also besides those amazing things, I get to do so much cooking and baking this week and see so many out-of-town friends!! YAY! :)

Noel.

My Father-in-law showed this song to me yesterday and it gave me the shivers and chills (not the horrendous Canadian winter kind...the awe-inspired kind)! Lauren Daigle's voice is fantastically powerful.

Everyone, listen to this song! As for my American friends, I know you haven't celebrated your Thanksgiving yet so I knooooow anything Christmas-related before the last Thursday of November is a big no-no. But I plead with you that you will make this one song an exception. ;)

Then again, who said Christ's birth could only be celebrated during our designated Christmas season?

Then again, this song doesn't sound like your typical Christmas tune.

So then again, listen to it!

Enjoy! :)

Love incarnate, love divine

Star and angels gave the sign

Bow to babe on bended knee

The Savior of humanity

Unto us a Child is born

He shall reign forevermore

Noel, Noel

Come and see what God has done

Noel, Noel

The story of amazing love!

The light of the world, given for us

Noel

Son of God and Son of man

There before the world began

Born to suffer, born to save

Born to raise us from the grave

Christ the everlasting Lord 

He shall reign forevermore

Noel, Noel

Come and see what God has done

Noel, Noel

The story of amazing love!

The light of the world, given for us

Noel

Rainy Day Baking.

The weather the past five days or so has been killing me. When I wake up in the morning and pull the mini-blinds back up and draw the curtains aside, this is what I see:

It was actually a beautiful sight the first day, mostly because rainy skies always give me an excuse to stay inside and wrap myself in furry blankets. Ahhh the comfort of it all. :)

But four days later I wake up to find that my spirits have slowly withered away. So no, Seattle, I cannot live in you ever. And England? Forget about you! And Ketchikan, Alaska, the city that rains 360 days out of the year? You don't even deserve to be mentioned in this post, so I'm not sure why I haven't hit the backspace key yet... ... ...ANYWAY.

If there is one thing I know, it is that baking can raise my spirits in no time! Baking is like baking powder/yeast/baking soda/and any other leavening agent for my mood. But in my humble opinion, the following conditions need to be met in order for baking to reach its optimum level of "Awesome":

• A clean kitchen. Nothing beats working on ample amounts of sparkling clean counter-space.
• Great music. On this last baking adventure I had some Rend Collective playing. I was in the mood for something uplifting and inspirational, (obviously).
• Hair up. I reeeeeally cannot stand my hair being in my face while I'm baking.
• Apron. I have a tiny collection of somewhat "pricey" aprons, but my favourite in the whole world is my little red and white checkered tie-around-the-waist apron. I bought it at a thrift store for $0.75, and I love it so much! And believe it or not, I actually use my apron, I'm constantly wiping my hands all over it.

A few months ago I wrote out a "Baking To-Do" list, cakes, cookies, tarts, pies, pastries, ect., that I have always wanted to try at home on my own. And FINALLY I can scratch something off the list:

White Chocolate Chip Macadamia Nut Cookies!

If there is any cookie recipe that I could recommend for its true simplicity and delicious outcome, it would be these! And I of course doubled it, because that is just what I do. ;)

I baked these yesterday afternoon and to my pleasant surprise, when I took one from the cookie jar (a.k.a. the dollar store tupperware container) they were still super soft. I love that!

If there is one thing I would change about this recipe though, it would be to substitute the almond extract with more vanilla extract. There is something about almond extract that I just...don't fancy. The smell, maybe? This is all personal and subjective opinion of course!

Oh, and Jarryd LOVED these--lucky for him because they're going in his lunches for like the next three weeks. :P

I found the recipe for these cookies Here at AllRecipes.com by a wonderful person named "Mary".

My golden rule for finding the perfect recipe online whether it's for cooking or baking, is type into Google search: 

"____(Name of Dish You Want to Make)____ allrecipes".

You will find results from the AllRecipes website that have ratings of 4/5 stars with hundreds if not thousands of reviews. THOSE are the recipes you want to make, because they are the tried and true ones. They are the recipes that have been tested out in thousands of home kitchens by thousands of people. If the dishes turned out amazing for that many people, then it will turn out amazing for you too! This is why I rarely use recipes from Pinterest because they haven't been tested out by the masses; and personally, I just don't have the energy nor finances to cook/bake a meal that has a high chance of failing.

(Also, AllRecipes includes professional helpful step-by-step videos with all of their popular recipes)!

So in conclusion, if you're in the mood for a little baking, you should take this recipe out on the town! These cookies are so so so good! :)

The Calamities & Joys of an INFJ.

The realm of psychology (the scientific study of the human mind and its functions) has always been fascinating to me. I remember the first time I ever heard the terms "extraversion" (which is being concerned with obtaining gratification from outside the self) and "introversion" (which is being concerned with gratification from inside the self via introspection). And I couldn't help but notice right away that I was an introverted soul.

It totally explained why I never looked forward to basketball practice or choir practice after school, because I had already spent 7 hours at school surrounded by people. I just wanted to go home, be alone, and regain my energy after so many hours of social interaction. It also explained why I loved being home alone as a kid because I could just be totally by myself for once and have free reign! I could focus on myself, work on my skills, and write my little heart away! It was rare but it was wonderful!

And then a few years later, I took the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator Test. If you've never heard of this before, I'll explain it the best I can. Basically in this world there are 16 personality types based on 4 divisions:

1) Do you prefer the outer world or the inner world? (Extraversion or Introversion?) 

2) How do you process information? (Sensing or Intuition?)

3) How are you with decision making? (Thinking or Feeling?) 

4) How do you deal with structure? (Judging or Perceiving?)

My result was of course:

I: I'm introverted. I gain energy by being alone and indulging in much introspection. :)

N: I take in information using my intuition more than I do with my 5 senses. For example, when I remember a past event, I remember the impression of it more-so than the facts. I sense patterns and trust my gut-feeling.

F: I am a feeler. I am community and relationship oriented, and want nothing more than complete harmony in every situation. If I see someone having a bad time I will notice right away and try to make them feel better.

J: I approach life in a structured way. I love to make lists. I get anxious when there's no plan, and I'm definitely not a huge fan of "surprise visits" or out-of-the-blue phone calls.

After I read my personality description I felt...amazing. It was as if somebody dissected my whole being and wrote it out in bullet points. I finally felt understood, like I wasn't weird after all. (Well, I am pretty weird, but a good weird. :P) I know there is a certain population of people who detest learning about personality types because they don't want their whole being to be dwindled down into a box. I'm the total opposite! I get so excited reading about my results and being described so perfectly. I love being "put in a box", labelled, and shipped off to an exciting land of belonging.

What was even more fascinating was reading that the percentage of INFJ's in the world is a super small number; we're talking less than 3%! How unique am I?! Hee hee. Not gonna lie, I love being considered a rare personality. But at the same time I love thinking about the tiny little community of us. I may be a rare one, but I'm not the only INFJ. In fact, the other day at work, after meeting a girl, having one of the most effortless, flowing, and in-depth conversations, we discovered that we were BOTH INFJs! We got SO excited and wanted to hug but that would have been physically awkward as we were sitting across from one another at a table. It was the first time I had ever met the same personality type as me. I even told her, "I feel like I'm talking with myself right now!" It was as if an instant bond formed between us. :)

I also found this blog called "Introvert Dear", which just feels like home to me. The articles are informative and meaningful, and the comics are just plain humorous in a I-TOTALLY-RELATE-TO-THIS sort of way. I highly recommend you checking it out!

I think I have mentioned this before in previous blog posts, but when I mention to someone that I am indeed introverted, it always seems to surprise and catch them off guard. "Are you serious? But you're not shy, you're lively and you converse with us, and you actually went out of your way and said hello to me first!"

My response is always the same: "I'm an introvert through and through. I love to be alone and I am pretty shy. But just because those things come natural to me doesn't mean I let them control me..."

I am a fallen sinner, and I always need God, but this is ESPECIALLY where I need God's strength and help.

For example:
I: I'm introverted and I'm really good at being shy. Therefore, if I didn't challenge myself to start conversations with others or put myself out there...I'd never leave my apartment or my own head for that matter. I can become comfortable by myself way too easily, which is dangerous. How can we be of any help to others or spread the Gospel of Jesus by never giving other people the time of day? It is a conscious decision that I have to make consistently.

N: I rely on my intuition. This is something I have to be really careful about because many times my intuition has been wrong, especially when meeting someone for the first time. I'm more incorrect about somebody's first impression than I am right about it. In the past I have trusted my intuition more than I have trusted God's voice. I may be a really good listener, but for some reason I don't listen to the things that God is trying to teach me.

F: I rely on my feelings...alot. I'm "highly sensitive" as they say. I can easily turn somebody's loving criticism into an attack on me. This is an area where God has really done some great work, to say the least. I used to let my feelings control me. If somebody said something mean to me in the morning, my entire day would be a mess, and I would negatively effect the people around me. I don't mean to say that I've totally escaped from this weakness, but I've certainly learned how to deal with it in a healthy way. One of my favourite quotes in the entire world is by an amazing woman named Lysa TerKeurst who said,

"Feelings are indicators, not dictators. They can indicate where your heart is in the moment, but that doesn't mean they have the right to dictate your behaviour and boss you around. You are more than the sum total of your feelings and perfectly capable of that little gift...called self-control".

As Galatians 5:22 tells us, one of the fruits of the Spirit is indeed self-control, and this is what I strive to have.

J: I love having structure and routine. I appreciate going to bed at night knowing exactly what is going to happen the next morning all the way until I go to bed again because it gives me a sense of confidence. I fear the unknown and I always have. Structure is a great thing, but how often have I denied people because they don't fit in with my cozy comfortable routine or plans? How often have I had a bad attitude when those surprise visitors show up at the door? 1 Peter 4:9 states: "show hospitality to one another without grumbling". Does it get any clearer than that?

Last night I got Jarryd to do the Myers-Briggs test. Apparently I know him REALLY well, as many of the questions I could have answered for him. Haha! It's also funny how I don't understand how he could answer a question a certain way and he doesn't understand how I could answer a question a certain way. For example, one question asked something like: "how are you with giving others constructive criticism?"

Jarryd: I am very direct and honest, not afraid of offending anyone.

Me: Well...I avoid hurting people's feelings at all costs...

Jarryd: ...Hahahaha!

Anyway, :P ... Jarryd's personality result was: ENTP.

I immediately died of excitement because INFJ's and ENTP's are one of the best relationship matches. (Google it! It's a known fact!) I obviously didn't need Myers-Briggs to tell me that, because I have always felt like Jarryd and I's personalities mix so well, but it was certainly awesome validation! We are opposites (which I love!) on every Myers-Briggs dichotomy except for our intuition skills. And I think this aids our relationship because we can ALWAYS sense when the other person isn't OK. We just plain "get" each other and it's awesome.

INFJ to ENTP: "You are fantastic conversation partners. We both like ideas, concepts, and value each others ideas. If we weren't both major procrastinators we would already rule the world".

ENTP to INFJ: "We enjoy figuring people out. Us INFJ's embrace the fact that we have a minimum 9,032 layers and are going to take our time letting you (ENTP) get through to any of them".

INFJ to ENTP: "You are witty and funny and can keep up with our total smartassness". 

{via}

I think one of the best parts about being married to someone who is so different from me is that aside from balancing each other out, we are fascinated with each other's personalities. I tell Jarryd all the time that I love his personality of fearlessness and passion and how I sometimes wish I could be that way too! And Jarryd really admires my personality because I'm so calm, patient, and stable...(but everyone knows that INFJ's are tornados on the inside, haha)!

If there's anything I could say to a fellow INFJ or an introvert for that matter (AND myself!), it would be: Challenge yourself once in awhile. Step out of your comfort zone but also take the time to step back into it to get some rest and recharge. Seek God in all that you do and be thankful for the unplanned and unexpected bumps in the road. It's the moments you don't plan for that have the potential to shape and grow you the most, if only you'll let them. :)