Hey guys, sorry I was absent but I’m back today, and we might just end up finishing this challenge before the day is over! My goal is to finish soon because I have two very special Valentines Day Posts to share with y’all!
Day Twenty Five – Your Best Vacation Memory
This may not be my best, but it’s certainly the most interesting! I posted about it in a previous challenge here. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing about it!
Day Twenty-Three: A Book I’d Recommend
As I’ve mentioned before on this blog, I’m a huge bookworm. I love reading to see stories unfold and learn new things. Some of my favorite authors range from Karen Kingsbury, to Neta Jackson, to Charles Dickens, to Emily P. Freeman. I love seeing characters come to life and getting the opportunity to live a thousand lives all from my small, humble bedroom. Nonetheless, in the midst of all of the books that I love, there’s one that stands out in particular.
The Bible.
Topping bestselling charts, the Bible is a piece of literary art. But, it’s so much more than that. It’s God’s written Word—and an account of His faithfulness in so many lives throughout decades of time. It’s His promise and a portrait of grace—promising Salvation to all who believe it and follow it. Mixing history, with poetry, with God’s words—I think even a skeptic would have to admit that it’s one of the most dynamic books of all time.
It also contains all of the elements of a great story—even though it’s a recording of real events. It has action, with Paul’s dangerous missions across the world. It has romance, with Ruth and Boaz. It has raw emotional honesty, as King David’s laments in the Pslams. And, it challenges the status quo, as Jesus reaches out to the most marginalized of His time, bringing hope and restoration.
It also contains literary elements, such as foreshadowing within the Old Testament laws. It’s clear to see with a little bit of study that the sacrificing of lambs was a symbol, one that the people of that time would later understand as they learned of Jesus’ death and resurrection. It also contains alteration, anthropomorphism, and apostrophe—elements commonly found in many great works of literature (I’m geeking out big time here, y’all!)
Most of all, the Bible is a love letter to humanity—professing God’s sacrificial love for each one of us and pleading to adopt us as His children into one big family of believers. God used hundreds of authors throughout history to write this book under His divine inspiration, and it is up to us to accept this call. It is up to us to read the greatest story of all times, written by the Author and Creator of each of our stories.
The Bible is the book of my life. It’s the book I live with, the book I live by, the book I want to die by—N. T. Wright
Day Nineteen: If you could spend fifteen minutes with any celebrity, who would it be and why
I’ll be honest, when I first starting thinking about this challenge, I had no idea how I was going to approach it. I have a couple of celebrities who I like and admire, and just a few short hours ago, I was planning to either write about Britt Nicole or Tim Tebow (Both awesome people, right?). Nonetheless, just now, God revealed to me who it is that I would most like to meet and who I would like to talk about in this post.
Jesus.
If I could spend fifteen minutes with literally any person, I would spend that time talking to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Could you imagine what it would be like, getting to talk to Jesus Christ—in flesh and actually have a conversation? To me, that would be a dream come true.
There are so many things I’d ask HIm. I’d ask about my life. I’d ask about my family line, and those who came before me. I’d ask about my future, and my past—all those I’ve encountered over my years on earth. I’d ask what it was like, coming to earth as God in flesh, and living His life, knowing that He’d die in the worst possible way.
Most of all, I’d stand in awe of Him. I’d stand taken back by the fact that He created the world, and knows each of us by name. How He created everything from nothing, and how He’s written each of our stories before we were born. I’d thank Him for all He’s blessed me with—my family, my friends, my life. It would be an experience too overwhelming to even write about.
The lyrics to the old song by MercyMe, I Can Only Imagine, sum it up best.
Surrounded by your glory
What will my heart feel
Will I dance for you Jesus
Or in awe of you will I be still?
Will I stand in your presence
Or to my knees will I fall?
Will I sing Hallelujah?
Will I be able to speak at all?
I can only imagine
I can only imagine…
How about you—if you had the chance to spend fifteen minutes with Jesus, what would you ask Him? What would you say? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments section below!
Day Seventeen: What Makes You Laugh?
Oh, how many ways I could answer this question. Honestly, as serious as I can sometimes let myself be, I love laughing. When life is hitting the ceiling fan and everything is going crazy, there’s no better feeling than allowing yourself to laugh. Because I could honestly answer this question with So. Many. Things. I’m going to make a list. Hopefully, at least one of these things resonates with you.
1. Sit-coms
Admittedly, I’d don’t watch a lot of modern day sit-coms, but some of the old ones were pure gold. Shows like Friends, Full House, Everybody Loves Raymond, and Boy Meets World always have a way of cheering me up. The characters are unique, the plotlines are original, and the comedy is on point. Plus, we learned a lot of great lessons from these shows, like that a break doesn’t mean breakup, what a phalangie is, and that Joey doesn’t share his food!
2. My Friends
I think everyone has that one friend. In my case, that’s pretty much the majority of my friends. They also know how to make me laugh and keep me entertained simply by being their quirky selves. I’m honestly convinced that if someone followed us all around with a video camera, we’d get our own reality show. Or get put in an insane asylum. Whichever comes first.
3. The Internet
The internet always has a way of keeping me entertained—for better or for worse. Typically, on sites like Twitter, you can find anything from cats, to baby memes, to politics—all which are entertaining in their own way. If you want to hear people shout their opinions as loudly as possible, go on the internet. It will make sure you’re entertained.
4. Life
As an author, I spend a lot of time observing the world around me. As mom often jokes, I see life through the lens of a movie or novel, always looking for the next great plotline. When you spend that much time observing life, you notice a lot and the mundane can often become downright fascinating. Like, who invented the fork, and why? How do our brains grasp such abstract concepts? What did people do before our simplest inventions existed? If no one could talk, what would life even be like?
Yes, I actually think about these kinds of things.
5. Myself
Sometimes, in the midst of everything, and all of our quirkiness, we just have to learn to laugh at ourselves. After all, laughter is the best medicine, right?
How about you? What makes you laugh? I’d love to hear about it in the comments below!
Day Fifteen: Something I miss
Life is an interesting thing. Sometimes, when we’re younger, certain needs are so easy to fulfill. When you get older, you have to actively search them out.
This was a bit of a difficult prompt for me to come up with, but after a lot of thinking, I’ve figured out what it is that I most miss right now: Fellowship. Throughout my faith journey, I’ve nearly always been able to find fellowship one way or another, but lately with college and the lack of programs for people my age, it’s become ten times harder to find fellowship among fellow Christians.
When I was in middle school, I was heavily involved in a youth group that I loved. It was fairly small for a youth group, with a handful of students who were unusually close knit. Every Wednesday night, I got to see a group of friends who I quickly bonded with, after only a couple of meetings. I enjoyed going and saw this youth group as my primary means of fellowship. I’m still in contact with some of these old friends today, through Facebook, Instagram, and texting.
When I was in high school, a lot began to change at my church, and I sort of lost this close knit group. Nonetheless, during this time I was involved in Christian honors classes three days a week, and ended up with another group just as close as my old friends from youth group. Many of the same students came back every year, so I got to see some of my closest friends throughout my week and grow up with them. These are some of my best friends to this day.
Now that I’m in college, it’s a lot harder to find this fellowship. Many of my friends are busy with classes and it’s a lot harder to keep regular contact. I’m still in touch with everyone through email, social media, and text, but it’s not quite the same as seeing practically all of my friends over a period of three days. Nonetheless, tonight I’m attending my first night of a local Christian college group near my house. Thus, I believe and hope that God will bring back regular fellowship as I both meet new friends and keep my old. In addition to this, my best friend is starting a Christian group called “CIA” (Christ In Action), with a group of her friends, which should be launching soon. Between these two things, I should be seeing more fellowship within the next couple of weeks and months.
How about you? Has it been hard for you to find fellowship? If not, how have you found it in your life? I’d love to hear from you in the comments!
Hey guys, it’s day thirteen of the blogging challenge! It’s also Martin Luther King Jr. Day—and because today’s topic is “Someone who fascinates you and why” I decided to make this post a dedication to the civil rights activist whom this day honors.
As you can probably guess by the name of my blog, I was born long after his death. Nonetheless, even as a girl who’s skin fries after an hour in the sun, I’ve been impacted by this man’s legacy. Few people can take claim to an annual holiday, or have made such a huge impact on the world that we live and breathe in today. Few people have had the courage to follow a dream in the face of nationwide opposition. Few people have had the courage to risk death for their ideals.
I also find it interesting to know that he was a Christian—a minister, in fact. In addition to doing world-changing work in the area of racial equality, he was consistent about speaking out about his faith. I would imagine that he’d be an outstanding pastor to listen to, with memorable quotes such as the one below.
“We need to pledge ourselves anew to the cause of Christ. We must capture the spirit of the early church. Wherever the early Christians went, they made a triumphant witness for Christ. Whether on the village streets or in the city jails, they daringly proclaimed the good news of the gospel.” Martin Luther King, Jr.
The things he fought for were integral to to the message of the Gospel—absolute unity in Christ, as God’s beautiful creations. God never meant for us to be divided by things like race or gender. God’s dream for humanity is unity—something that Dr. King fought for until the day he died. If it weren’t for his legacy, we may never have met close friends, family members, and neighbors who were previously kept separate simply because of their outward appearance. It is very improbable that without his legacy, and the legacies of those like him, that we would ever have friends of a difference race or ethnicity.
God has a dream for each one of us. Martin Luther King found his in bringing greater racial reconciliation to America. Ours may be in any number of vocations—from ministry, to advocacy, to teaching, to raising a family. It’s very likely that God has plans for us in a number of different ways, as He uses His children a little bit closer to Himself and to each other.
Today, let’s continue to honor Martin Luther King Jr. and live fully into God’s plan for our lives.
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” – Hebrews 12:1-2
Hey everyone, I’m finally back for the blogging challenge!
Nonetheless, I’ve found that with what I have going on right now, I’m not going to be able to blog every day. I will continue with this challenge, but it may be a little more sporadic than I had originally planned. Like my friend Emily at Fearfully Wonderfully Me, my life has gotten a little busy lately.
Now, today’s challenge is about my favorite movie. Truth be told, like with TV shows, I have a lot of movies I like. Because I can only talk about one movie that I like, I’m going to review a movie that I saw just recently called October Baby—which is easy one of my new favorites.
The story opens with a girl named Hannah, who has been dealing with various health problems over past nineteen years. After collapsing in a play from an unforeseen seizure, she finds out the truth: She adopted, and the survivor of a failed abortion. This news leads hr to unimaginable turmoil, as she tries to make sense of her life in light of this new information. Who is her birth mom? Where did she come from? What are her roots?
Before long, she’s faced with the opportunity to find out about it all—after her Jason invites her on a spring break road trip with his friends, where they’ll pass through Mobile Alabama—the place she was born. Despite her parents advisory not to, Hannah joins her friend on the trip, where one event leads to another, sending her on a full on search for her birth mother—finding hope, redemption, and forgiveness where she least expects it.
This movie had various emotional scenes, as well as a couple of comic ones, and an awesome soundtrack. It’s a movie that’s not primarily about adoption or the emotions surrounding it—it’s about redemption. Throughout the movie, messages are weaved subtly, so it feels authentic rather than forced. Many female viewers will also appreciate the subtle love story between Hannah and her lifelong friend, Jason. All and all, I’d give this movie five out of five stars and recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good inspirational story.
You can find the trailer here, if you want to get a sneak peak into the content of the movie!
Day Ten: How important you think education is
As a lifelong bookworm and aspiring writer, I believe education is a very important part of life. I believe that both formal education and informal education can enrich our minds to help us become more intelligent, well rounded human beings. God gave us a brain for a reason, and I believe it’s our job to be good stewards of it, making the most of each opportunity to learn and become better equipped to serve our Lord and Savior.
Many Christians have become critical of education (particularly colleges) in recent years, due to increasing secularism in school curriculums, but I do not believe that education itself is to blame for this. True knowledge will always lead us back to knowledge and as Christians, it’s our job to answer through a Biblical lens the age-old-question—what is truth?
Some of us have had the opportunity to go to Christian schools and colleges and I think it’s awesome that option exists. Due to the great minds of many believers collaborating for the purpose of creating a Christ-centered Christian learning environment, there are many fine and prestigious Christian schools available to us. Others of us, have landed in secular schools. While this is definitely the much more difficult option (I was at a secular school last semester for the first time in my life), God can use us even in those situations. Wherever we are, it’s important that we always work hard and glorify God as we strive to make the most of the brain that God has given us.
We also need to, in the midst of pursuing an education, make sure we’re well rounded. It can be all too easy to center your life completely around schoolwork, which I believe is unhealthy and unbalanced approach. School is important, but so are family, friends, and faith. Those things should always come first for us, no matter how demanding the school we attend is. We need to be sure to set aside time in our day for other things besides just school in order to live healthy and balanced lives.
How about you? What are your thoughts about education? I’d love to hear them in the comments section below!
Day Eight: Write fifteen interesting facts about yourself
Hey everyone, I wrote this yesterday, but I guess it didn’t publish. Thus, here it is today!
1. I learned how to sign to John 3:16 in middle school
2. My middle name derives from my grandma’s first name
3. I’m fairly decent at basketball
4. I didn’t get my permit until I was seventeen
5. I decided to start this blog after discovering a good friend of mine blogged
6. I’m part Italian
7. I have seven cousins, all on my dad’s side
8. I used to take ballet as a child and stunk horribly at it
9. Becoming a successful author has been my lifelong dream
10. I’ve worn glasses since I was eleven years old
11. When I was a kid, I used to swallow my vegetables whole
12. I prefer winter to summer
13. I’m an only child
14. I’m currently listening to Mary’s Song by Taylor Swift as I write this.
15. It’s currently exactly 8:30 as I type this sentence out.
I’ll see you back tomorrow for day nine! Until then, be sure to keep following my friend Emily as she partners with me in this challenge! You can find the link to her blog in my previous post!
Day Seven: Somewhere you’d like to move or visit
Hey everyone! I’ve finally gotten around to writing out a blog post, rather than reposting an old one. Sorry I haven’t been super word-y over the past couple days—I’ve been super busy with various things, including that longtime series that I’ve told you guys about!
Nonetheless, I’m finally back and ready to blog!
Today’s writing prompt is about a place I would like to move or visit. In all honesty, there’s no where else I’d rather live than my home town, because my current state is where most of my family and friends live. There is, on the other hand, one place I’d like to visit someday.
You guessed it—New York, New York!
As a girl from a fairly southern state, I’ve always been a tad curious what it’s like in a place like New York City. I love the hopeful looking skyscrapers that you always see in pictures, and would like to visit some of the historical landmarks, such as the Statue of Liberty.
I also have always had a serious weakness for lights—no joke. I love the way that New York looks when all of the buildings are lit up in pictures and movies. I’ve always said that it looks a bit like a million Christmas trees when it’s all lit up at night. Furthermore, despite my nearly paralyzing fear of heights, I would love to stand on the top floor of one of those buildings and take an Instagram-worthy picture of the city from up high.
My interest in visiting New York City may very well be at least partly inspired by shows like Friends, but to me, it looks like a very fun place to visit someday—especially during the month of December. If I ever go, I’ll be sure to take some pictures for you—and document the whole thing from the perspective of a southern-born girl used to the suburbs.
Until than, I guess I’ll just have to live vicariously through pictures.😜
How about you? Where would you like to live or visit? Please share your thoughts with me in the comments section below! ⬇️
1 Timothy 4:12 Girl 