Thus Far

  I’ve been praying for something for a long time. Original Photo by  Aaron Burden  on  Unsplash Well, I’ve been praying for a lot of things actually. A lot of the same prayers cycled and recycled depending on urgency for the past several years. At first, it was a simple “Lord, I ask that You would make a way for x to happen, so that I would be able to do y . Thank You so much, Amen. 😊 ” And I’d go about my day, believing things would start to happen. But the more I prayed, the farther away my requests became. It went from praying for a natural path to these things to daily begging God for a miracle—because no way could I  see any of this working out without one. I felt like I’d put in an application at the Office of Miracles, complete with my resume, measure of faith, time spent in prayer, good works performed, etc. To be frank, I felt like I qualified for a miracle. I stood kinda twiddling my thumbs as the Angel at the desk put on his spectacles and gla...

Picture Credit Recommended Listening 6:20 : My phone chimes, a gentle melody with a light buzzing—it’s the vibrating that shakes me awake. I turn quickly to stop the sound before it wakes my roommates (aka sisters), and then I lay for a few minutes, enjoying the cozy morning coolness under soft, sherpa blankets. It takes a little time to coax the sleep from my limbs and my body from the bed, but eventually, I make my way up. I pad across the room and fetch a water bottle, my Bible, notebook, and pencils from their place on my mantel. Wrapped in my favorite hoodie, I crawl back under the covers, arrange my pillows into a comfortable chair, and then open God’s Word to have some Just Us Time before the full day begins. I finished the book of Micah earlier this month (the prophets’ books are always so fascinating), and I think I have a new favorite verse from it. Picture Credit I turned that picture into my laptop background to keep that reminder close over these next few weeks. 🥰 7...

 A bit different than my normal posts I know, but I was talking to my sisters the other day about the people who give the best holiday gifts. Those who seemed to look right into our minds and see things we didn’t even know we needed but were the perfect gifts for that year. Then I thought about the times I’ve been able to give gifts that were well-appreciated and came up with a few tips from my giving strategy for the Christmas season. Hope you enjoy! Tip Number 1: Listen Throughout the Year Sounds a little late, haha, but you can still start this today! Pay attention in conversations: what are others’ frustrations? What would make life easier for them? What’s a wistful thing they wished they could have or do (experiences make great gifts!) but either aren’t able to or feel they can’t justify the money for? As an example, my dad started working from home after COVID-19, but since then, because of his desk setup, he’s had some neck pain from looking down all day. Last Christma...

As of today, this blog has been live for a whole year! A nd I have not posted nearly as much as I intended, haha . Honestly, it feels like I just started blogging again, and I can't believe we're creeping up to the end of 2022. This year has flown by. But on the bright side, it is  Fall again, my favorite season, and that does lift the spirits. Praise God for Autumn days <3 Source:  https://contemplatingoutlander.tumblr.com/post/188069902172/welcome-october-from-anne-of-green-gables Since my last post, I’ve been doing a lot of writing. I hit some snags in my WIP, a Cinderella reimagining called The Second Prince , which have taken all my focus and brainpower to work out. In truth, they’re not totally resolved, but I’m trying to take some steps back, get the fresh opinions of fellow writers, and then see what I might be able to work out. If you’re interested, here’s the concept for the book: Prince Sirion knows that his actions in the Island War have disqualified him fro...