Thursday February 5th, 2015

Fashion

Happy Thursday! Today I’m wearing a sweater that is a little crazy… My cousin Bailee bought this sweater over a year ago at Canton Trade Day’s and never wore it. So the other day she offered it to me. I probably would’ve never bought this sweater but I love it! It just goes to show that sometimes you have to get out of your comfort zone to try new things! Cream and sweaters are two of my favorite things! Perfect combo.

Also, if you live in the Dallas/ Fort Worth Area you need to check out my amazing hair stylist Bailee! She always keeps my hair looking great. Call Shelton’s Salon in Fort Worth to schedule an appointment with Bailee. 🙂

Photography: Abbey Burge Photography

Sweater: Canton Trade Days- can’t remember the shop name / Jeans: Topshop x Nordstorm / Shoes: Steve Madden / Purse: Celine / Watch: Michele / Sunglasses: Ray-Ban Aviators 58mm / Lipstick: NARS in ‘Roman Holiday’ -my new favorite lipstick! / Lipgloss: Bobbi Brown in ‘Petal’ -my new favorite lipgloss!

Wednesday February 4th, 2015: Sometimes Life, and Most Times I, Feel Just Like A Sailboat.

Devotions

Happy Wednesday! I hope everyone is having a good week so far. If you read my blog often you’ll know that I like to write posts inspired by songs and today is one of those posts. I wanted to talk about something that I struggle with constantly. And honestly if you’re a human being, you do to. Sometimes I feel like I’m just walking around aimlessly with no end in sight. No matter how hard I try there seems to be no direction. Ben Rector’s song Sailboat captures this feeling perfectly.

I feel just like a sailboat
I don’t know where I’m headed
But you can’t make the wind blow
From a sailboat

I have seen the sun
Felt the rain on my skin
I’ve been lost and found
But mostly I’ve been waiting

Oh I’m out in the waves
I’m hoping and praying
Please let this wind blow me home
Night after night there’s an empty horizon
And my God do I feel so alone
Sometimes life, most times I, feel just like a sailboat

I’m pretty sure I’m heard
At least I know I’m speaking
But I feel like a fool
Cause I can’t hear you listening

But I’m not giving up
Oh I will move on forward
I’m gonna raise my sail
God knows what I’m headed towards

The only change I see
Lost or found, let’s see
The only difference is believing I’ll make it in

Sometimes I just feel like a sailboat. I don’t know where I’m exactly headed. I try to figure it out in my own human strength but I can’t figure everything out perfectly (hello I’m not perfect so how could I orchestrate something to be perfect… that’s for another post!). I’m out in the waves of life hoping to be saved, feeling alone. It’s not because I’m a depressed person. It’s not always because of any particular reason. It’s sometimes just life.

“But when he saw the strong wind and the waves, he was terrified and began to sink. “Save me, Lord!” he shouted. Jesus immediately reached out and grabbed him. “You have so little faith,” Jesus said. “Why did you doubt me?” When they climbed back into the boat, the wind stopped.” Matthew 11:30-32 NLT

Do you act like Peter when you see the waves? Do you start to sink? Well the good news is, Jesus reaches out to grab you. You have to have faith though. If you can’t trust God in the storm you might just sink!

“Look up into the heavens. Who created all the stars? He brings them out like an army, one after another, calling each by its name. Because of his great power and incomparable strength, not a single one is missing. O Jacob, how can you say the Lord does not see your troubles? O Israel, how can you say God ignores your rights? Have you never heard? Have you never understood? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of all the earth. He never grows weak or weary. No one can measure the depths of his understanding.” Isaiah 40:21-26 NLT

He may seem far off in the distance laughing at you while you suffer, but He is right by your side. He knows your name. He knows your situation. He hasn’t lost you like a mom loses her child in Walmart (y’all know what I’m talking about.) He sees your troubles, hears your cries and it not scared by them. He understands you. He has not forgotten about you.

“For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I myself will search and find my sheep.I will be like a shepherd looking for his scattered flock. I will find my sheep and rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on that dark and cloudy day.” Ezekiel 34:11-12 NLT

If you feel like me sometimes, aimlessly walking around with no end in sight, don’t worry! There is an end in sight, it’s called Heaven! (can I get an Amen to that!) Don’t feel like a sailboat without hope. You’ve got the greatest hope and His name is Jesus!

Always,

Hannah

Prayer requests can always be sent to thatotherhannahblog@gmail.com

You can download Sailboat here and watch a music video here! 🙂

Monday February 2nd, 2015: I’m Back!

Devotions

Hello! I am so glad to be back after a little hiatus. 🙂 I don’t know about you but my soul needs a break from social media every once in a while. It’s so easy to get caught up in the world of social media… But anyways! It’s about to get real so hold your britches’ (as we like to say in Texas.) 😉

This year has been off to a pretty rocky start. Actually it’s sucked (stay with me, there’s a good ending!) January 2^nd my grandma fell and broke her femur. The hardest bone to break in the body, fyi. So to fix that, they inserted a plate and screws to repair the break. Two weeks later she went in for a check up and they discovered her body literally rejected the plate and 8 screws, which the surgeon had never seen. Then they find out, her leg is infected, with Staph nonetheless… So we had two options. Take out her knee, part of her femur, and part of her tibia, then place this cement ‘spacer’ in until her infection clears up OR amputation. So on January 23^rd she went in for the removal of her knee, part of her femur and tibia. In surgery they found out the infection was worse than first thought. So the next step is clearing up the infection then we can move on to a total joint replacement. But if her infection doesn’t clear up our only option is amputation.

It’s almost laughable. I mean she came in with a broken femur and now we’re talking about possible amputation?? How did it get this far? How did we get here? This wasn’t our plan.

I was listening to the City Church Podcast (one of my favorites) the other day and Pastor Judah was preaching a message called The Problem With Hope. The message is essentially saying without Jesus there is no hope. Without Jesus I have to reason to be positive. Without Jesus life sucks.

The point is that without Jesus as my rock I wouldn’t be able to make it through all this. Without Jesus in the waiting rooms with me I would be a mess. Without Jesus to put my trust in, I’ll be stressed out of mind worrying about what could happen. Unbelievers can try to be all positive or optimistic but let’s be honest; apart from Jesus there is no hope for a better tomorrow. Whenever I meet an unbeliever I wonder how they make it through the day. Seriously. Hebrews 6:16-20 says this,

“People swear by someone greater than themselves, and the oath confirms what is said and puts an end to all argument.Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, he confirmed it with an oath.God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us may be greatly encouraged.We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where our forerunner, Jesus, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.”

Because of God’s nature, He cannot lie. It’s impossible for Him. And because He can’t lie we know that when He sent Jesus, the hope of the world, He wouldn’t leave us without hope! Jesus is the anchor for our soul that is firm and secure.

I share this because even if you don’t believe in Jesus, you may be a “positive person,” but that isn’t enough. You NEED an anchor for your soul. You can be a “good person” but you NEED an anchor for your soul. You NEED a firm and secure HOPE. Being positive is a bi-product of a relationship with Jesus.

As I sat in the waiting room while my grandma was in surgery I started to think about this. I would be a mess without hope in Jesus. He calms my storm (Psalm 107:29.) He brings peace that surpasses ALL understanding (Philippians 4:7.) What are God!

If you don’t have a relationship with Jesus and have any questions email me at thatotherhannahblog@gmail.com. Also if you have any prayer requests email me at thatotherhannahblog@gmail.com. Happy Monday!

Always,

Hannah

More verses about hope:

“For the Lord your God is living among you. He is a mighty savior. He will take delight in you with gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.” Zephaniah 3:17 NIV

“Many are saying of me, “God will not deliver him.” But you, Lord, are a shield around me, my glory, the One who lifts my head high. I call out to the Lord, and he answers me from his holy mountain. I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because the Lord sustains me. I will not fear though tens of thousands assail me on every side.” Psalm 3:2-6 NIV

“Through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die.” Romans 5:2-7 NIV

Saturday December 27th, 2014: Blessed Assurance

Devotions

Today I’m sharing a post that was inspired by one of my favorite songs, Blessed Assurance. As I started to do some research on this song and just what the Bible says about this topic I found some interesting articles and passages in the Word!

This article I found really made it click,

“Even though the heavenly Father disciplines us for our good, that we might share His holiness, He does it out of love (Heb. 12:6, 10). He wants us, as His children, to be assured of His great love for us. John begins chapter 3 by exclaiming (3:1), “See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are.” God wants His children to feel His arms of love around them, even when they go through difficult trials.”

Hebrews 12:6, 10 says: 6 “For the Lord disciplines the one he loves and chastises every son he accepts.” 10 For they disciplined us for a little while as seemed good to them, but he does so for our benefit, that we may share his holiness.”

The holidays can be difficult for some people… Maybe it’s feelings of loneliness or regret or shame. A few months ago my boyfriend, of two years, and I broke up. I’m not going to lie and say that I haven’t been feeling a little lonely… Don’t worry though… I’ve had plenty of chocolate to make up for it. 😉 (totally kidding!!) The reason I’m sharing this is because without the blessed assurance I’m promised in John 3, I wouldn’t be able to move on and have joy in my life! After spending two years with someone it’s a huge change to not have them in your every day life.

Without God’s love wrapping me up, I wouldn’t have been able to move on.

Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!
Oh what a foretaste of glory divine!
Heir of salvation, purchase of God,
Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood.

This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Savior all the day long;
This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Savior all the day long.

Perfect submission, perfect delight,
Visions of rapture now burst on my sight:
Angels descending bring from above
Echoes of mercy, whispers of love

Perfect submission, all is at rest,
I in my Savior am happy and blest;
Watching and waiting, looking above,
Filled with His goodness, lost in His love.

The reason I love this song is because no matter where you are, it promises you that God is with you! His love is everlasting and endless. Because we are assured that God will NEVER leave us or forsake us, and because of this we should be praising His name! This should be our story AND our song!

I pray that whoever is reading this knows just how much their Heavenly Father loves them! Perfect love that was purchased by the King of ALL Kings is for you and your very imperfect life! So don’t worry that you don’t have it all together… You don’t need to be perfect! Don’t worry if you’re the worst person you know… God still loves you! Come to Him and get filled with His goodness so you can get lost in His love! He loves you so much!

Always, Hannah

(Sidenote: My ex-boyfriend and I had a great relationship and broke up on good terms. We both had some things going on in our life that we needed to work on separately with God and decided to be friends. He is an awesome man of God and I’m so thankful for the two years we had together!)

The article I got the passage above from was awesome and worth a read! https://bible.org/seriespage/lesson-17-blessed-assurance-1-john-319-24

Thursday December 18th, 2014: Love Simply Does

Devotions

Happy Thursday! I’ve been extremely busy (which isn’t an excuse) and I feel so bad that I haven’t been posting as often… I read an article about how we get so focused on posting on social media more than just enjoying the moment. So since then I’ve been trying to simply enjoy the moments. But today I wanted to share something that’s really been heavy on my heart. I shared a book, a few months back, called Love Does by Bob Goff and honestly I can’t stop thinking about that book! I’m telling you it was one of the simplest books I’ve ever read but so inspiring! The whole book is based on this statement,

“In the end, love doesn’t just keep thinking about it or planning for it. Simply put: Love Does!”

Love just does. Love is an action. Love has feet, and arms, and ears, and hands, and hugs, and words. And here’s the crazy thing about it, you’re supposed to share it! You’re supposed to display it to others. You’re supposed to hug someone when they’re down. You’re supposed to lend an ear when someone needs to be listened to. You’re supposed to offer a hand to someone who needs it. You’re supposed to encourage someone when they’re down.

“Jesus replied:” ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. ‘This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” Matthew 22:37-39

You see we all have a choice to make each and every day… Are we going to embrace love full speed by spreading it to every person we meet or let other people dictate our love? Here’s what God has to say about this:

“But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.” Luke 6:35

Ouch.

This time of year is so bittersweet. It’s like it either brings out the worst or the best in people. I work part-time at a mortgage company. One of the things I do there is call past clients to check in with them. So I called this man a few weeks back and honestly it took everything in me not to start crying. I mean this man was just plain mean! I was so sweet and just took the insults he threw at me. Then at the end of the conversation he says, “Now I want you to have a very merry Christmas.” Say what? After you were so rude to me you want to wish me a merry Christmas?! I had a choice to make… Was I going to be kind and loving to him or tell him off after he had insulted me for five minutes? I simply said, “No you have a merry Christmas.”

So how are you actions pointing those or Christ, or not pointing them to Christ? Today, make love an action! Love simply DOES. 🙂

In Christ,

Hannah

Thursday December 4th, 2014: Shero Brianna Castillo

Shero

Meet Brianna! Brianna is truly a light to anyone who meets her! I’ve known Brianna for a few years but I reconnected with her to capture my senior pictures. I could not be more pleased with them! She totally understood the look I was going for and they turned out AMAZING! If you need pictures taken in the DFW Area contact Brianna because she ROCKS.

Brianna is todays SHERO! If you haven’t seen the first Shero post it’s here!

Just so you can get to know Brianna a little better…

(I pronounce it bree-ann-ah, not bree-ah-nuh). Photography is my passion and I feel so blessed to be able to pursue my passion full-time! For as long as I can remember, I’ve always been drawn to photography. When I was about 8 years old I would set up a mini studio with random knick-knacks from around the house, a white blanket as the background, and entertain myself for hours with a point-and-shoot camera.

I love photographs but what I love even more are the people photography allows me to meet. Getting to be a part of my clients’ lives and capture such special moments that they will look back at for years is what I love most.

In every area of my life (especially photography), I am in a perpetual state of learning. I haven’t reached a level where I think I know it all, and I never will. I love trying new things and am always open to ideas!

Another passion of mine is adventuring. Check out #CastilloAdventures on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter and you’ll see what I’m talking about. Although I live in Dallas, Texas, you never know where I may end up…I don’t even always know! I have strong roots in Minnesota and travel there frequently, often shooting some sessions while I’m there. Tell me where you’d like me to be and we can probably work it out.

Brianna and her husband Oscar

What do you like to do in your spare time?:

I like to spend time with my husband and friends. We like to have people over for dinner as often as possible. It’s our ministry together. I also like to run.

Looking back, would you have ever seen yourself where you are now?:

Part of me wants to says yes… As a kid I would say yes, but as a young adult I finally got back to what I wanted to do, photography, my main passion.

What’s the biggest lie the enemy tells this generation?:

I think the biggest lie the enemy tells this generation is to put your value and worth in the wrong things and to loose sight in your value and worth.

Any advice for young girls?:

Keep your focus on what’s most important to you. You need to decide what is most important to you (God) and you need to focus on that. You need to base everything off that. When you try to do what the world tells you instead of what God tells you, you will fail!

If you could go back and change anything, would you?:

I want to say yes, but no. I know that all the mistakes and wrong choices I made, make me who I am. If I could go back I wouldn’t be who I am today. We can’t live life wishing we could change the past. It’s made me who I am and I’m so thankful for that.

What’s your favorite scripture?:

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him and He will make you path straights.” Proverbs 3:6

If you focus on him and that’s your reference point, everything else will be okay.

“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” Romans 12:2

Keep him the main focus and don’t let yourself be influenced by the enemy.

Here’s a few of my favorite pictures Brianna captured for me!

Follow Brianna on Instagram and Like her Photography Page on Facebook!

Also email Brianna if you have any questions! brianna@castillostudios.com

Always, Hannah

Tuesday November 25th, 2014: Briana Chambers Two Are Better Than One

Devotions

Happy Tuesday! I’ve been at my grandmas for a few days just relaxing and it’s been so nice! Everyone needs a break every once in a while. 🙂 A few weeks I asked my friend Briana Chambers to write a little something for my blog and here we are! Briana has one of the biggest hearts and I’m truly blessed to call her a friend!

(Sorry Briana I had to post this!)

Community- “a social group of any size whose members reside in a specific locality, share government, and often have a common cultural and historical heritage.”

I bolded the last part of that definition because of it’s significance. There are so many varying personalities in this world full of people, but if nothing else, one thing we all have in common is our heritage. Where we came from. Who created us—our origin. And that’s how we create a community—by forming relationships with all types of people. In fact, we’re wired FOR relationships! The first thing in the Bible God declared bad was loneliness! Genesis 2:18 says it is NOT good for man to be alone; so Eve was the solution. And what Eve represented was a relationship. We’re MADE for each other. However, everyone benefits from relationships. Specifically, in three ways..

#1: We learn accountability

Galations 4:9-10

“Two are better than one,
because they have a good return for their labor:If either of them falls down one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up.”

Having a council of close companions to rely on and seek wisdom from is GOOD. Better yet, it’s encouraged! Being accountable to others shows responsibility and maturity. Watching each other’s backs is crucial. We are called to support everyone—especially those we’re in relationship with.

#2: We learn / gain wisdom

Often times different personalities and perspectives can teach us things we never would have thought of. For example, look at the Gospels. Matthew, Mark, Luke, & John were four different men, with four different personalities, and four different perspectives. Yet, the exact same story was written of in their books. How cool is that? We read about the same Gospel, just from multiple vantage points. What an awesome opportunity to look at the same thing from a different angle! Learning means changing the way we look at things so that we can become more aware of what we’re looking at.

#3: We learn about Christ

To study man is to study God. He made us in His image and set us apart. His handiwork is seen in all of creation. When we examine the creation we realize that the characteristics of Christ are imprinted into all He’s made. Looking at the positive traits of our friends or family members reminds us that we have them because Christ has them. He gifted us with different things: honesty, patience, love, gentleness, kindness, etc.. All of these traits can be traced back to where they originated: Christ. However, every single one of those traits is made perfect in Him! We can also see Christ in our negative traits—our weaknesses. When we are afraid, anxious, or impatient, Christ can be seen shining through us giving us the strength we need to carry on. WE are made strong in Christ.

To sum it all up, God is intentional with who He has placed into our lives. We need not to worry when the Creator of the Heavens and Earth holds our lives in His hands. We are cared for beyond measure. The people in our lives are there either because we need them, they need us, or both! We should praise God that He would think of every detail of our lives. The only way to repay His immense goodness is to give the entirety of our lives over to Christ to use and make beautiful. Community prospers when our relationships thrive. We have the choice everyday to ignore others or acknowledge them. So what will you choose to do to benefit your community?

Thanks again to Briana for sharing this post!

Follow Briana on Twitter @baby_bri03

Oh and here’s a candid of Briana and I at homecoming two years ago 🙂

Tuesday November 18th, 2014: Acts 17:27

Devotions

Hello! I’ve been reading Relentless by Jennie Allen and it is SO GOOD! I would highly recommend checking it out! If you know me, you’ll realize that I turn just about anything into a life lesson… Yeah I’m one of those people. So Jennie said this and it really got me thinking, “He is after the people around you, and he pursues them through us.”

“God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us.” Acts 17:27

Maybe the reason God placed you in that person’s life, is so that He could pursue them through you… Sometimes we get caught up in the “why” and never move on to “use me.” So what would happen if instead of wondering why God has us in the situation we are in, and just said “use me?”

Sometimes our lives seem so random and all over the place that God couldn’t possibly be working in it… This could not be further from the truth! God has His hand on your life. He is with you at all times! He will never leave you nor forsake you! So like the verse above says, He is not far from any one of us!

So when you understand this you have to accept that He is using YOU to pursue the people around you. This applies to your family, friends, co-workers, and ANYONE you meet. I believe God sets up divine appointments… So what are you going to do about that? Are you going to positively influence the people around by pointing them to Christ, or not do anything about it?

Today I’m going to challenge you to take advantage of your situation… Listen to His voice. Is He trying to speak to your friend through you? Has he placed you in someone’s life to point them to Christ? Pray that God can use you today! I’m telling you there is no better feeling than when you realize that God has you in someone’s life for HIS WILL!

Happy Tuesday!

Hannah

Thursday November 6th, 2014: Together We’re Better

Devotions

Happy Thursday! On Tuesday I shared part one to this topic. Check that out here! Over the past few weeks I’ve been spending a lot of time investing in relationships. I’ve been intentional about spending time with my friends. I’ve been intentional about spending time with my parents. I’ve been intentional about spending time with God. Why? Because relationships are CRUCIAL!! They are so important to life. In fact they are vital!

“And the Lord said ‘It is not good for man to be alone. I will make a companion who will help him.” Genesis 2:18 NLT

This isn’t just talking about marriage. God clearly states that it’s not good for man to be alone and that we need companions. Why?

“Two people can accomplish more than twice as one; they get a better return for their labor.” Genesis 4:9 NLT

We can accomplish more together!

“Then make me truly happy by agreeing with each other, loving one another, and working together with one heart and purpose.” Philippians 2:4 NLT

We make God happy when we agree with each other, love each other, AND work together! God loves to see us in relationship with each other.

So are you going to be intentional with your relationships today? Are you going to agree with each other, love each other, and work together? I challenge you to call, text, or message someone you haven’t talked to in the past few weeks or months. Try to restore that relationship or just simply offer a sweet word of encouragement. Relationships are important to life and you NEED them! Remember that. 🙂

Tuesday October 21st, 2014: I Need Some Faith

Devotional

Happy Tuesday! I’m sharing something that I have to pray OFTEN. Have a great Tuesday.

“What do you mean, ‘If I can’?” Jesus asked. “Anything is possible if a person believes.” Mark 9:23 NLT

Lord… I need some faith. It’s hard to live in such a dark world. There’s disease, pain, and hurting people all around me. I see people everyday claim to love you yet live completely different lifestyles. I don’t know if I can do this anymore. I need you. I need faith in you. You are the only one who can save me from the disease, pain, and hurt…

Lord I pray that you would reach down to me today and give me faith… Faith that you are in control and I am not. Faith that you can do miracles. Faith that helps me love the unlovable.

“We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1 Thessalonians 1:2-3