E.G. Bella's Blog, page 14

10 Powerful Quotes About Mothers

Happy Mother’s Day!

As Mother’s Day approached this year, I’ve spent quite a bit of time wondering what I should write about today.

Last year, I wrote about some of the many lessons my mother has taught me, such as to give generously, remain faithful, work hard, love deeply, and to trust God, no matter what. While I fully acknowledge that my mom isn’t perfect – as none of us are – I think she’s wonderful, and consider myself very blessed to be her daughter.

This year, I wondered what the focus of this post should be about. Part of me wants to focus on my mother again, and spend more time talking about her qualities and what she’s taught me. But I voiced so much of that last year that while I obviously wouldn’t tire of talking about her, it may be redundant for those who don’t know my mom personally.

And that left me wondering what other people have to say about their mothers, or even just mothers in general. What is YOUR mother like? What lessons have you learned? Or what about a motherly figure in your life? I believe there are women called to ‘mother’ others, even if they never have biological children of their own. God works so greatly through it all.

Motherhood – however it looks – is a great blessing, and also a huge responsibility. It’s something that shouldn’t be taken lightly. I’m not one at this point in my life, but to think of the possibility someday intimidates me. Will I ever be ready? I suspect I won’t ever feel ready. But it’s encouraging to have good role models to look up to and learn from.

As my mother, and many other mothers that I’ve gotten to know over the years, have shown me, being a mother is not easy. But I’ve also seen that it’s worth it. It’s one of the most – if not the most influential – roles a woman can have, just as a father influences his children like scarcely anyone one else can. And I find that awe-inspiring.

Just as our Heavenly Father provides, cares for, and loves us, our earthly parents are called to do the same. And if, sadly, that’s not the case, God is faithful to provide other role models to step into those shoes and help guide us in the ways He wants.

I’ve been very blessed by my mother, who’s always done her best to love, teach, and guide us according to God’s ways. She’s taught me so much and loved me through so many difficult times, and I don’t know how she does it, except that I see her relying on the Lord. And I know that’s what truly makes her an amazing mother. She’s always striving.

So as much as I could continue on, today I thought it’d be nice to look at some quotes about mothers from other people. Other people who also are thankful for their mothers, and have seen the influence and amazing opportunities that mothers have to guide their children. Here are ten of my favorites…

1. “Only God Himself fully appreciates the influence of a Christian mother in the molding of character in her children.”
(Billy Graham)

2. “There is more power in a mother’s hand than in a king’s scepter.”
(Billy Sunday)

3. “A miracle is really the only way to describe motherhood and giving birth. It’s unbelievable how God has made us women and babies to endure and be able to do so much. A miracle indeed. Such an incredible blessing.”
(Jennie Finch)

4. “A mother is a person who seeing there are only four pieces of pie for five people, promptly announces she never did care for pie.”
(Robert J. Quillen)

5. “There’s no way to be a perfect mother and a million ways to be a good one.”
(Jill Churchill)

6. “Motherhood is a million little moments that God weaves together with grace, redemption, laughter, tears, and most of all, love.”
(Lysa TerKeurst)

7. “There are few things more powerful than the faithful prayers of a righteous mother.”
(Boyd K. Packer)

8. “The Christian mom doesn’t love Jesus instead of loving her children; she loves Jesus by loving her children.”
(Jen Wilkin)

9. “The joy of motherhood comes in moments. There will be hard times and frustrating times. But amid the challenges, there are shining moments of joy and satisfaction.”
(M. Russell Ballard)

10. “A mother’s relationship with her child is one that will encompass a lifetime. How blessed is a child who has that anchor of strength and support.”
(Sally Clarkson)

I think it can be easy to overlook the mothers in our lives sometimes. They do so much, often unnoticed and unthanked, and if yours is anything like mine, they don’t go seeking out attention for the kind things they’re doing. They just do them out of love. So let’s use today as a reminder to acknowledge those mothers, thank them for everything they do, and shower them with love- and not just today, but anytime and often.

Did any of these quotes speak to you today? Go ahead and let me know your favorites in the comments, as well as if there is a certain topic you’d like to see more quotes about. While you’re there, I’d love to hear something you’ve learned from YOUR mother!

‘Her children arise and call her blessed;
her husband also, and he praises her:
“Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all.”‘
(Proverbs 31: 28-29 NIV)

1. I shared more of my quote collection in many previous posts, which you can find here.

2. To receive your own printable pages of the above quotes (and the ones used in my other ‘Quotes’ posts), sign up for my email list! Simply fill in the form here, and I’ll send you PDF copies of the quote collections – as well as an inspirational short story. I look forward to hearing from you!

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2022 April Wrap-Up

Hello and happy Wednesday!

(And may the fourth be with you!)

Today’s post brings another summary of the past month of my life – with writing progress reports, reading accomplishments, and general updates!

So without further ado . . .

General Update

It’s May! Can you believe we’re already a third of the way through 2022? I don’t know where this year is going…but I sure am glad that we’re finally in nicer weather, at least where I live. While there are still cool and windy days, the grass is green, the sun has been making far more frequent appearances, and even most of the rainy days are still warm enough to walk in. I’m so glad!

If you read my post at the end of April, you know that I decided to step away from my blog for the last week or so. And while it was a difficult thing to do, it was so needed. Instead of the writing I had hoped to accomplish, I ended up being needed to work extra hours, and not having the pressure of needing to blog at the same time relieved a lot of guilt. In addition, it also gave me the space I needed to refocus my priorities and develop a more realistic schedule for my summer writing (I’ll get to that later).

It’s hard to write about this, as I’m still in the midst of figuring it all out, but I’ve never experienced burnout quite like this before. Over the past couple of months, lingering and confusing physical pain has led to mental and emotional burnout too…and even spiritual. It’s crazy how the Enemy uses all the little hurts, disappointments, and grievances in our lives to cause us to feel distant from God. Long story short, God has been so good to reveal Himself to me, even when I don’t know how to ask Him. I don’t have it all worked out, but I’m getting there, and I’m so thankful for the lessons God is teaching in the meantime.

Fiction Writing

To my surprise, as I looked back at my writing records for April, I found that I wrote 326 words, instead of the zero I was expecting! I’m not sure how well they count though, because I honestly can’t remember what those words were for…Either way, it’s more than March, so I guess I’ll take it, haha. Hopefully May contains far more than that.

As I’ll explain in the next section, my (self-imposed) blogging workload is going to lighten up for the summer, and that, combined with several other writing commitments coming to an end, means I’m praying that the next few months are full of fiction. I didn’t know I could miss writing fiction so much! In addition to finally finishing Cabin Girl, I need to make significant progress on another rough draft by the end of June for a writing conference.

On the Blog

I’m happy to say that I stayed on track with my blog posts last month, and even got a short break too! The final count was 8 posts – a mix of blog tags, writing advice, some things I’ve been learning about life and Easter, and a fun alphabetical short story challenge. This year also continues to be an encouraging one for site views so far!

Originally, I intended to switch to my lighter blogging schedule in June, as I’d like some time to work on fiction again over the summer. But after taking that break in April and realizing just how much I’m in need of a reset, I’m officially starting my new schedule this month.

I’m going to stay flexible and adjust if needed, but you can expect to see 4-6 posts each month over the summer. The plan is to switch every other week between a Sunday Reflections post and a Wednesday writing one, with the occasional blog tag or “just for fun” post on a Friday. I already have a tentative content calendar, but if you have any post requests for the next few months (or are interested in guest-posting), please let me know!

Here are the posts for April (just click on the titles to read them):

~ The Sunshine Blogger Award (#2)
~ 10 Quotes About Failure
~ 2022 March Wrap-Up
~ ABC Tag!
~ How I Plan My Blog Content
~ The “I’ll Get Around to It Later” Blog Tag
~ Don’t Forget the Cross
~ Temporary Blog Hiatus

Reading List

April’s reading list looks almost as pathetic as March’s did – except that I finished several beta-reading projects now that I can’t list. Reading is another thing I’d like to make more time for this summer. Currently, I’m about eight books behind where I’d like to be to reach my 2022 goal. I’m a pretty fast reader though, so I’m not too concerned about it yet.

~ The Bruised Reed by Richard Sibbes
(A friend loaned me this book after hearing of my burnout, and it was just what I needed to read. While the older, Puritan formatting and language took me a little bit to get used to, the content was so deep, convicting, and meaningful. I greatly appreciated the biblical truths in that powerful little book, and definitely recommend it!)

And as always, I’m also continuing The Sacred Search by Gary Thomas (now on week 14 of 18). This is another biblically-sound book I’d highly recommend. The insights and conversation starters have been very helpful to me so far.

I’m also currently finishing a few other books – fiction and non-fiction – and anticipate a much longer reading list by the end of May!

Looking Forward

Like I said at the beginning of this post, I don’t have everything figured out yet. I definitely have goals I’d like to reach, but God’s really grabbed my attention lately, and I know I need to slow down as much as possible and make sure I’m giving Him the space in my life that He deserves. Everything goes so much better when I’m living life in step with Him. It’s not easier necessarily, but much more worthwhile and fulfilling. There’s a sense of peace slowly working its way back into my heart again, and I’m very grateful.

Some highlights of last month included: spending time with loved ones at Easter, attending one of my siblings’ track meets, teaching three more writing classes, celebrating a friend’s wedding shower, game nights with friends, counseling for a weekend at a church camp youth retreat, and serving at a local high school banquet that I used to attend.

This month is a transition month for me, as many things are finishing up and new summer stuff is starting up. Work is staying the same, with a few time changes, but I finish teaching classes, my church’s youth group that I help with is lightening up (meaning worship practices do too), and the Bible study I attend is coming to a close. A couple other things I’m looking forward to include my brother’s high school graduation, a Nerf War, and hopefully getting to write fiction again. We’ll see what all God brings in May!

What was YOUR April like? What kinds of things did you get to do? If you have a progress report on something, or books you read and would like to share, go ahead and let me know in the comments! And while you’re at it, feel free to include what you’re looking forward to and/or hoping to accomplish in May! As always, I’m excited to hear from you!

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Temporary Blog Hiatus

Hello and happy Wednesday!

I have a bit of a different post today, to announce that I’m going to be taking the next couple of weeks off from my blog. I know no one is holding their breath waiting for my posts, haha, but it still feels nicer to let you know before I drop off the face of the earth.

This is a last-minute decision, but I believe it’s a necessary one right now. I had posts planned for the remainder of April, but none of them are finished, so I’m going to wait and use them in May.

The full reason behind this is complicated, but the simple version is this: I’m horrible at having realistic expectations. At all times, my writing to-do list (which is just my list of things to get done outside of working full-time, youth group, and family obligations) is long, and I rarely get more than half the things done. Some days, I hardly do anything.

I want to stop here and say from the beginning that my intention behind this post isn’t to whine. Life is busy for everyone, and many people are battling far harder things than I am right now. I know this, and I know that I’ve been very blessed to be where I’m at.

I’m simply worn out. There’s a reason my growth word for 2022 is balance. This is one of my many attempts at learning that, and though it might sound silly, it’s a big step for me. It’s difficult for me to acknowledge that I just can’t do everything I want to, or that I feel like I should.

I also can’t do as much as I could a couple of years ago. Seasons of life have changed, and it’s good, as the Lord’s behind the changes. But I’ve been trying to hold myself to a 2020, freshly-graduated, home-most-the-time level of productivity, when I’m now in a 2022, working-full-time, rarely-home-a-whole-day season of life. And that’s okay.

Between physical struggles and busyness, I just can’t keep up with my old standards, and the constant discouragement of ‘failing’ at my old goals doesn’t help anything. Thankfully, God’s teaching me – and I’m slowly learning – that if what I’m trying to do is not what He wants, then I shouldn’t even be trying. Of course I’m going to burn out in the process.

Mentally, I’ve been feeling very stretched thin for a while, and now it’s affecting me worse physically again, enough that I know I’m supposed to step back for a little bit and work some things out. To take time to reevaluate and catch up on some things I know I’m supposed to focus on.

I usually only have the time and energy to focus on one main writing area after work. Lately, there’s been blogging, lesson planning, platfrom ‘stuff’, beta-reading, and fiction writing. Usually in that order too. For the past couple of months, I’ve kept thinking that if I can just make enough progress in the first areas, I’ll finally be able to get to the last ones.

But, unfortunately, that just doesn’t ever seem to happen right now. I’ve been able to keep up with blogging, just finished lesson planning, and have done a mediocre job with platform building, but I still have some beta-reading commitments to honor, and then finally I’d like to work on Cabin Girl again. My poor, neglected book child, haha.

My goal has been to have Cabin Girl published by June and at my current rate, that’s definitely not going to happen. But I really want it to happen. I miss working on Cabin Girl, and there are so many wonderful, supportive people that have been patiently waiting to help me with the launch process.

So my aim with stepping away from the blog for a little bit is two-fold:

1. To take the time I usually spend on blog posts and make some good progress with Cabin Girl. Definitely enough that I can send out a proper update to my street team soon, and figure out a realistic publishing timeline. I’m very ready for this novel to be out into the world – now I just need to make sure it’s as ready as I am! We’ve been so close for so long.

2. To take a step back and reevaluate what I should actually expect from myself in each writing area right now. Where should I be focusing my attention? How much time do I realistically have, and what should I aim to accomplish with that time? What’s not so important? I want to make sure I’m being a godly steward with my time and energy.

I’ll still be around and responding to messages, comments, and emails, so please don’t hesitate to reach out if you want! You just won’t be seeing my posts popping up so frequently in your feed for a little while.

Thank you, as always, for being so supportive, so patient, and so understanding. Like I said, as silly as it may seem, this is a difficult thing for me to do, and yet, I think taking the break and giving myself permission to set other things aside and work on my fiction again is going to be very worth it.

Happy belated Easter, and have a blessed rest of April, friends. See you in May!

“Come to me, 
all you who are weary and burdened,
and I will give you rest. 
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, 
for I am gentle and humble in heart,
and you will find rest for your souls. 
For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
(Matthew 11:28-30 NIV)

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Don’t Forget the Cross

Are you a forgetful person?

Like me, are you often misplacing things, forgetting your schedule, or having trouble recalling which name goes with each person’s face?

Thankfully my most extreme moments of brain fog and forgetfulness don’t happen all the time, but in general, I do tend to forget a lot of little things. The amount of times I’ve walked into a room to do something and then couldn’t remember what it was, or started asking a question and then forgot what I wanted to ask is a bit frustrating.

Usually, the instances are small enough that I – and whoever else is with me – can just laugh at it. But sometimes that forgetfulness can lead to a lot of trouble.

Maybe I’ve forgotten to meet someone somewhere and caused them to spend a large chunk of their time waiting for me. Maybe I’ve forgotten to pay someone back for when they covered for me at some event. Maybe I’ve forgotten to return something I borrowed.

Letting someone down because I forgot something is not fun. To understate it. But there are even worse things to forget than appointments, payments, and debts.

Far too often, I forget my largest debt of all – and how it was paid so graciously for me by my Savior.

Today, on Easter Sunday, I’m reminded of it more than ever. Today, Christians celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the One who willingly chose to suffer and die on a cross for us, to pay the price for our sins, and to bridge the gap between us and God. All we have to do is accept and trust Him.

In the hustle of everyday life, it’s very easy to forget the magnitude of what Christ did for us. How His sacrifice affects us can slip to the backs of our minds in the midst of mundane tasks, hectic deadlines, and filled-to-the-last-minute schedules.

But that’s the last thing we should allow to happen.

Instead, the truth of Christ’s death and resurrection should stay with us all throughout each day – strengthening us, humbling us, encouraging us, and motivating us to keep all things in perspective. Everything changes when we realize that we have a Savior who gave everything up for us. He loved – and still loves – us that much.

I know the title of this post says ‘Don’t Forget the Cross’, but to clarify, the cross itself is nothing special. I don’t want to cause confusion or start arguments by appearing to suggest that the cross had special effect on what happened that day. The cross that Jesus died on was nothing more than wood; just a tool used to accomplish God’s perfect will.

It’s also a symbol to us now. Personally, seeing a cross reminds me of Jesus and what He did for me. I don’t hold the cross itself in high importance, but it brings back to mind what Jesus chose to suffer through for me. For you. For each and every one of us.

Jesus was stripped and humiliated. Brutally flogged using whips braided with glass shards and bone fragments. Beaten, bruised, dragged through dust and dirt, and nailed to that cross through His wrists and feet. Betrayed by His closest friends and saddened by the pain in His mother’s eyes as she watched Him die. He ached, bled, struggled to breathe, and died.

In the hours before Jesus’ death, He suffered unspeakable pain – physically, emotionally, and spiritually. And He did it not just for people who’d been loyal to Him, but for all who’d actively ignored, hurt, or mocked Him as well. And we’ve all done that, many times.

Would you be willing to go through all that Jesus did for someone who hated and repeatedly hurt you? Perhaps we might volunteer to die for someone we loved dearly and who loved us in return, though it’d still be incredibly difficult to willingly suffer so much.

But Jesus died for even those that couldn’t care less about Him. For those that betrayed Him, disappointed Him, ignored Him, hated Him, mocked Him, wounded Him, and caused Him great grief and heartbreak. Not because He was forced. But because He loved each and every one of us that much. Even if we haven’t reciprocated any of that love back to Him.

Every year, around Easter, I make myself watch The Passion of the Christ, a film by Mel Gibson. No one knows every exact detail of what Jesus suffered on Good Friday, and of course the movie is only Gibson’s educated interpretation. But his purpose behind the film, to portray and bring to life what kinds of things Jesus endured for us, is something I’ve always appreciated.

It’s an incredibly graphic and heart-wrenching movie, and I still have to look away at some scenes. I always end up crying over it. But I’m grateful. I sometimes struggle to really understand and remember the depth of what Jesus sacrificed for us. But I’m a very visual person, and seeing an example, so real and vivid, is always so humbling for me. The reminder makes me even more thankful to my Savior.

The movie ends with just a glimpse of the first Easter morning, as a resurrected Jesus exits the tomb. He suffered and died for us, but it didn’t end there. He conquered death and rose again after three days, and it’s because of this that we have the assurance that He was who He said He was – the Son of God, and our Savior. And if we accept that, we also have the assurance of eternity in Heaven with Him. All because He loved us so much.

That’s what we celebrate today. We celebrate hope. We celebrate love. We celebrate victory over pain, fear, discouragement, and even death. That truth should be enough to bring us unspeakable joy and peace. But we have to remember it.

It’s hard to keep the truths of Jesus’ love and sacrifice close to our hearts, especially when our lives are hectic and stressful. But it’s so vital to remember. Not just at Easter, or Christmas, or those times that emphasize it, but every day of our lives.

How much would change if we lived out each moment remembering how much our Savior loves us, and what He did for us? For myself, I know I experience a lot more peace and assurance when I keep this in my thoughts, no matter what else is going on. It doesn’t mean life is easy. But it gives us hope, perspective, and a purpose in the midst of it.

Today, I pray that we’d all take the time to truly remember what we’re celebrating, and to let the truths of Jesus’ love sink into our hearts. No matter what we’re dealing with, no matter how stressed we are, no matter how dire the world looks right now, Christ overcomes. And He’s always with us.

Hallelujah!

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The “I’ll Get Around to It Later” Blog Tag

Happy Friday!

Yes, I’m back with yet another short and entertaining blog tag! This one was recently created by Liesl Brunner over at Quote, Unquote, and it looked too fun to pass up.

As you can tell from the title, this tag is centered around things I mean to get around to at some point – specifically books. And boy, do I have plenty of those that I’d like to read some day.

Let’s jump in!

First, the rules:

Link back to the original post at Quote, Unquote so the creator can read your answers. (Her post is right here!)Link back to the post of the person who tagged you and thank them. (Liesl left her tag open, so I nominated myself, haha. Thanks for keeping it open, Liesl!)You may use the included graphic anywhere in your post, but you don’t have to. (See below)Fill all seven categories.You can either leave this tag open so anyone can do it or tag up to seven people.Here’s the lovely tag graphic!

And now for the categories…

1. A classic book that you have been meaning to read forever but haven’t yet

I’m going to have to say The Count of Monte Cristo for this one. It’s just so huge! I’ve started it several times, but haven’t gotten invested in the story yet, and also haven’t had the grit to push through and finish it anyway. It’s on my book ‘bucket list’, but I’m not sure when I’ll finally decide to try again.

2. A book on your shelf that you haven’t read yet

Hmm, I’ll say Unblemished by Sara Ella. I’ve had this one for a little while, and just haven’t read it yet. It does look interesting though, and from what I keep being told, it’s a good one, so I’m excited to get to it – hopefully soon! And even if the stories aren’t my usual reads of choice, I’m always eager to try out books by fellow Christian authors!

3. A book that you got recently that you haven’t read

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr. I’ve heard a lot of good things about this one, and as someone who enjoys (well-written) historical fiction, the World War II setting intrigues me. I found it at a local thrift shop recently, but it hasn’t made it to the top of my reading priority list yet. On a somewhat unrelated note, I really love the cover too!

4. A book that you’ve had forever but haven’t read

The Giver by Lois Lowry. I know, I know, this is considered a classic, and in my defense, I’ve started it! But, confession: my attention span is very short, and if a story doesn’t get me invested quickly and I have a lot of other books on my TBR list, then I’ll usually just stop and come back to it later when I have interest again. So far, this has been one of those books. But it is on my list for 2022, and I do want to read the whole thing soon!

5. A book a friend recommended that you haven’t read

Lest Innocent Blood Be Shed by Philip Hallie. The only reason I haven’t read this one yet is because I don’t own it, and I’m trying not to let myself get any more new books until I’ve read all the ones I have (with rare exceptions). But I’m excited to get to it at some point! The premise is super intriguing, and it’s also set in World War II, which is a period of history I like learning about. Thanks for the recommendation, friend (you know who you are)!

6. A book you’re procrastinating on

Don’t hate me…but I have to say, The Lord of the Rings (by J. R. R. Tolkien). No, I haven’t read that series yet. I’ve seen the movies and love the stories, but each time I’ve tried to read the books, I only get partway in and then lose interest (my short attention span strikes again). I’m determined to get through all the books the next time though, so I’m currently procrastinating until I have the time to commit to going straight through the entire series.

7. The next book on your TBR

A Time to Speak by Nadine Brandes. Last month, I read the first book and really enjoyed it (so far, every book I’ve read by Nadine has made it onto my favorite books list), and I’m excited to dive into this second installment of the series. It definitely has me hooked! Also, I have several beta-reading projects that I’m working on for fellow authors right now, so my reading of other books has slowed down. I’m enjoying all those stories!

This was a lot of fun! And it’s also made me want to read more again… There are so many books I’d like to get through soon. Thank you again for creating this tag, Liesl!

Instead of nominating anyone specific, I’m going to leave this tag open for anybody who would like to do it! So how would YOU answer these questions? Have you read any of the books I mentioned? If so, what did you think? I’d love to find out, so feel free to let me know on your own blog, or in the comments below!

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How I Plan My Blog Content

Hello and happy Wednesday!

It feels very strange to be writing this post.

When I first starting blogging, I was mostly lost as to what content to create. My own inspiration gave me a few ideas, but writing on a whim wasn’t giving me as many ideas for posts as I wanted to publish. Especially just starting off and wanting to build an audience.

My blogging wasn’t consistent and growth was slow for the first few months. Then I started to make an intentional effort to see what other successful author/bloggers were writing about. Not to copy them obviously, but at least to see what sorts of topics worked for them. I started paying closer attention to what kinds of writing questions people asked, or what the readers of those blogs commented that they wanted to see more of.

I investigated the calendar and made a list of all the small, special days that interested me, such as ‘Tell a Fairytale Day’, ‘Library Lovers’ Day’, ‘World Poetry Day’, and even ‘Pencil Day’, as well as some others that weren’t reading or writing related, but inspired purely fun posts. Looking through them gave me more ideas.

When events – like NaNoWriMo – or holidays – such as Christmas, Veterans Day, or Thanksgiving – came up, they also brought ideas and topics to write about. Special milestones in my personal writing journey – like publishing or having blogged for one year – meant even more special ideas.

But mostly it was the ‘regular’ days that kept stumping me, especially as I ran out of the ideas I’d come up with before starting my blog. Thankfully, as I researched what other people did, and what methods worked best for coming up with post ideas that were in demand, but not overdone or contrary to my beliefs/brand, I figured out what works for me.

Now I’m glad to say that my biggest problem with posting now is simply finding the time to write the posts! But I have plenty of ideas, and have learned what’s most helpful to me in coming up with those ideas.

Lately, I’ve gotten quite a few questions about my brainstorming process for this blog. And again, it feels very strange to write this post – the type of post that I was looking up and reading on other people’s blogs just a couple of years ago, but I’m also happy to hopefully help someone else the way those other blogs helped me!

This is just my personal way of doing it. It works for me, but everyone has different methods and styles. My goal is just to share what I’m doing, and if it also works for you, or you just need to give it a few tweaks, then that’s great! Or if your ideal process is completely different, I’d love to hear about it, so please stick around to the comments!

(This video by Bethany Atazadeh was a huge source of inspiration for me, and jumpstarted my own process. As a result, mine is very similar to hers. I highly recommend her videos!)

An Overview

Something the above video taught me was to start my idea brainstorming by doing an overview of my goals as an author/blogger. What did I want to be known for? What was I already known for? What was I trying to do by posting? What’s the purpose, who were my readers, and what would benefit them while I still remained true to who I was?

Personally, I mainly use this process when it comes to my website and blog posts, and that’s how I’m going to address it for this post. But this also can absolutely work for any of your social media platforms that you need to brainstorm content ideas for. So whether you’re needing ideas for your Facebook, Instagram, Youtube channel, blog, or anything else…just have that platform in mind.

Then I decide how often I’d like to post – ideally. Plans can change and that number can be adjusted if needed, but it helps me to have a rough estimate to aim for, so I can stay as consistent as possible. For me, that’s 1-3 times weekly, or anywhere between four and twelve posts a month. I try to tailor my posting schedule for the month around other life obligations coming up. Some months are lighter, some are heavier, and both are okay!

And here’s where it starts to require more thought…What are your categories? What sorts of topics do you either already cover or want to start covering? What kinds of posts would be helpful to your readers and enjoyable to you at the same time?

I typically only post content on Sundays, Wednesdays, and/or Fridays. My aim is to always post Wednesdays, and then usually either Sunday or Friday, as well. So for me, the category step is two-fold. First, I have a general category for each posting day. For example:

~ Sundays are my reflection days. This is where I talk about life, what I’m learning, what I’m thankful for, thoughts on Christianity…basically, it’s where I let myself ramble more than usual, and get poetic and thoughtful about the events going on around me. I try to keep Sunday posts deeper, more personal, and faith-centered.

~ Wednesdays are my writing-related days. Here’s where I cover anything having to do with writing. Advice, my journey, my process (notice this is posted on a Wednesday!), my experiences with writing, editing, publishing, cover design, etc…whatever I think others might be interested in – either about my own writing, or tips to help them with theirs.

~ Fridays are my ‘fun’ days. Of course, I enjoy writing posts any day of the week, but Fridays are for being random. These are where I hop in on blog tags, do book reviews, interview authors, guest posts, share some of my favorite non-writing related things, and basically just let myself be a bit more scattered with the type of content than I am on other days.

Then, with the general categories figured out, I dove deeper and came up with some more specific categories of posts for these days. Topics I liked, had legitimate advice or experience with, and also could see coming in handy or being enjoyable for other people.

The goal was 8-12, and I ended up finding twelve total. You’ll notice in the picture below that the number of categories within each day aren’t even and that’s okay! (I have twice as many categories for Wednesday, but I also post far more often that day so it balances out.)

Pardon my messiness, haha!

So my categories ended up like this:

Sunday Reflections
~ What I’m Learning…
~ Life/Christian Reflections
~ QuotesWriting Wednesdays
~ My books (published & WIPs)
~ Writing tips
~ My writing journey/process
~ Blogging tips
~ Publishing
~ Wrap-Ups/RecapsFun Fridays
~ Blog tags
~ Author Interviews/Guest posts
~ My Favorites

When coming up with your own ‘categories’, don’t worry about being too exact. As you can see, some of mine overlap strangely, some are very specific, some are more broad…it’s all just so you can see what types of topics you’re going to aim to post about. So organize and word things however is most helpful to you.

The Ideas

And now is when I move into each specific category and spend some time thinking through post ideas for each. This is the time for rampant imagination and letting myself jot down any and every idea I can think of. (Note that I took the images below partway through my brainstorming session…an author can’t reveal all her secrets, haha!)

Will I use all of those ideas? Most likely not. Oftentimes, I’ll write down ideas that may sound good at the time, but later on, I realize that I’m not qualified for them, or just don’t see any point to them any more. But even those ideas could spark others that I will use, so I still consider them important.

And sometimes, as I keep coming back to my lists of ideas, I’ll come across one that wasn’t right at the time – months ago – but is perfect now. We can never know just how or when our ideas will come in handy, but it sure is nice when they do!

I’ll admit, some categories are harder for me to brainstorm for than others. For example, my Sunday posts. Because the majority of them are centered around events and lessons I’m learning in my personal life, it’s difficult to think of them ahead of time. Most my Sunday posts end up being written in the midst of some lesson, encouraging event, or trial.

So if you have categories that are much harder for you to brainstorm for, that’s okay. It happens. Maybe it’s because they’re more ‘on a whim’ types of posts anyway. Or maybe that’s a sign that it’s not truly enjoyable or interesting for you, or that you need to do more research into that topic. In general, reading others’ posts in similar categories, and intentionally learning about those topics really helps jumpstart creativity.

My Friday categories can also be harder to brainstorm for ahead of time – not because I don’t have ideas, but because they’re usually blog tags or other similar posts that I can’t exactly plan for, as I don’t know they’re coming. As you can see below, the ‘My Favorites’ category is the main one that I can actually plan for, so it has more ideas. I do have a few ideas for the ‘Author Interviews’ and ‘Guest posts’ categories, but I’m hiding those…

The Wednesday categories are where my brainstorming really needs to kick in. I post the most in these categories, so I need plenty of ideas. Thankfully, I can plan these as far in advance as I want, and as I love writing, I don’t mind searching for ideas at all. I’ve noticed that once I start coming up with ideas, it becomes easier and easier to find more.

When it comes to these categories, I like to think through a few questions:

~ What am I working on right now? Am I editing? Writing? Character developing? Even if I’m not posting about my specific project, just being in the midst of the topic can help keep me interested and also help me to provide fresh tips and experiences.

~ What has helped me most in the past? On the flip side, time can also bring clarity, and looking back at past projects or experiences can be a valuable tool for finding material to post about. What advice has helped me get here? What have I learned? What would I change if I could go back?

~ What do I enjoy? This may seem unnecessary, but I truly think that writers should enjoy what they’re writing about (at least if it’s on our own blogs). It doesn’t have to be our favorite topic, but we should at least be interested in it. Others can tell when we’re writing about something we don’t have our heart in, and we will struggle to write it anyway.

~ What would be helpful? Blogs are meant to be read, after all. So what types of questions might your readers want answered? What might they find interesting to learn about? Are there events going on that you could provide helpful tips about (ex. NaNoWriMo), or fascinating holidays you could talk about? Helping can simply mean being an escape or source of entertainment, too. Don’t feel pressured to provide tips and how-to’s all the time.

~ What type of content has worked well before? Every so often, I like to look back at my past posts, and see what types of content have gone over well, and which haven’t so much. This is tricky though, because if you truly feel passionate about a certain topic but your previous posts about it haven’t gotten much engagement, I don’t think you should give it up. But it’s still helpful to keep in mind and consider what’s worked best for you before.

When in doubt, I just highly recommend sitting down and trying to make a list. Whether you get as in depth as my process above, or whether you just try to brainstorm a simple list of ideas, I’ve found that getting started is the hardest part. Once you manage to come up with a few, more will usually follow, getting easier and easier.

Obviously the ideas for your specific blog posts are going to vary greatly depending on your blog, your platform, your experiences, your goals, and the topics/categories you pick. I hope this glimpse into my brainstorming process has at least been helpful in some small way. My biggest piece of advice would be to set aside some time for mass brainstorming, rather than debating over each post one at a time. That step alone has saved me so much time!

I’m very thankful to have an easier time brainstorming ideas these days, and glad that I had help figuring out my ideal process. I feel like this post probably wasn’t as helpful as I mean for it to be, but hopefully I’m wrong! It can be difficult to come up with good ideas, but in general, I’ve found that just keeping our eyes open for those ideas makes a huge difference.

What does YOUR brainstorming process look like? Are there any ways that it’s similar to mine? How is it different? I’d love to hear what works best for you, so let me know in the comments below!

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ABC Tag!

Happy Friday!

Okay, this may be the hardest blog tag/challenge I’ve tried yet. The ABC Tag challenges you to write a story with 26 sentences, each sentence beginning with a letter that’s in alphabetical order to the one before it (…if that makes any sense. Bear with me).

Grace Johnson tagged me for this one recently, and as I’m not one to easily pass up a challenge, I’m going to try it! Might I regret it? The chances are high, yes. But here we go!

The tag graphic!

First, the rules:

Thank the person who nominated you and link back to the original blog! (Thank you once more, Grace!)Include the hastily constructed graphic in your post! (lol)You must write a 26 sentence story each sentence starting with a letter from the alphabet. (Example, first sentence starts with a, second with b, third with c, and down through the whole alphabet!)Nominate 7 bloggers or writers to do the challenge!Have fun! (And try not to get stuck on x and z….lol…)

And now to attempt the story…

The Surprise

(Genre: contemporary/romance)
(I know, I didn’t expect this genre either, haha)

“About time!” Becky spun to face me, arms crossed, as I stepped into the living room. “Couldn’t you at least have told me you’d be late?”

“Didn’t…didn’t you get my text?” Even angry as she was, I prayed she’d cool down once I revealed the reason behind my lateness. Feeling the small, square bulge in my pocket – and picturing what her reaction would be when I showed it to her – was torture. “Getting home took longer than I expected, I’m sorry. ”

Her shoulders drooped slightly, the only part of her to relax, as her expression remained rigid. “I thought you’d gotten into an accident or something. Just picturing you out there…with who knows what having happened… Kind of hard to focus on anything.”

“Love, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to worry you.” Moving toward her, I reach for her hands and pull them to my face, brushing a light kiss on each of her knuckles. Nerves send butterflies through my stomach. Of course she’ll like the surprise…won’t she?

“Promise next time you’ll call or something, Xavier.” Quiet and trembling, her voice breaks, and she meets my gaze with watering eyes.

Relief floods through me, and I nod and pull her into a hug. She’s not angry any more; she was just worried. That I can help with – by showing her exactly why I took so long getting home. Using my right hand, I reach into my pocket and pull out the small box, stepping away from her. Violet sparkles reflect off the walls as I inch open the box and reveal its contents to her. “Will you forgive me for being late?”

“Xavier,” she whispers, her gaze glued to the locket, “what am I supposed to do with you? You didn’t have to get me a replacement…but of course I forgive you, and is there even a way to show you how much that means to me?”

“Zero…except to put it on and show me that beautiful smile of yours again.”

I’d like to tag:

1. S. K. Jacklyn
2. Jordyn Hadden @ Indie Edits By J
3. Kristina Hall
4. Kristianne Hassman @ Whimsical Wanderings
5. Raina Nightingale @ Enthralled By Love
6. Libby @ Thoughts From a Stumbling Saint
7.…and YOU!

Wow, I don’t even know what just happened with that story, haha. It’s probably even cringier than I think (and I think it’s pretty cringy haha…me writing a contemporary romance drabble?), but at least I managed something! And it was fun too, so that’s a plus of course. Thank you for sticking around and putting up with the scarcely-edited mess! (And for hopefully forgiving my possible cheats with some of the trickier letters…)

What kind of story would you write? If you have a blog and want to participate, consider yourself tagged! Or if you want to give this a shot in the comments below, feel free to. I’d love to read your alphabetical creations!

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2022 March Wrap-Up

Happy Wednesday!

Today’s post brings another summary of the past month of my life – with writing progress reports, reading accomplishments, and general updates!

So without further ado . . .

General Update

It’s now officially Spring where I live! And in a cruel turn of events, it’s almost felt more like Winter than February did, haha. There’ve been a lot of cold winds and even some snow on the last day of March. Thankfully, I believe we’re finally turning a corner into blue skies, green grass, and warmer air. I’m very ready for long walks in the sunshine again (I’ll brave the mud and rain far easier than the cold and wind)!

Just like February, last month was not one I’d consider productive – at least by my expectations. A painful stomach bug spent almost the entire month working through my family, which meant the schedule (or lack of one) went up in smoke, and after my turn to be sick, I was wiped out. So while I did make progress here and there, it was mostly on smaller misc. things, and not on the bigger projects I’d intended to finish. Once again though, I am so grateful for the lessons that God’s teaching me. They’re not easy for me to learn, but I know they’re necessary.

I certainly wouldn’t have organized March the way it turned out, but there were so many blessings amidst the hardships, and I’m trying hard to seize the many opportunities to trust God and be thankful. A few things I was especially thankful in March included: having coffee with a dear friend I haven’t seen in months, watching a hilarious play that my siblings were involved in, Bible study, attending a church choir concert, sparkling water, walking with several other friends, piano, and supportive loved ones that took care of and encouraged me when I wasn’t feeling well.

Fiction Writing

I had every intent of having March be another pirate-y month focused on writing Cabin Girl, but instead I wrote a grand total of 0 fiction words… Yikes. Am I disappointed? Yes. I’d really hoped to make grand progress, but instead the month felt like a rollercoaster, and my extra focus and energy just went toward trying to keep calm among the craziness. However, am I letting my disappointment derail me? Not if I can help it!

Life is unpredictable, and I’m continuing to rely on God to learn how to balance all its different aspects better. Last month was not a writing-focused month (either fiction or blogging). Instead, my focus ended up going toward health, family, lesson planning for the class I’m teaching, and some technical aspects of my platform – such as my website and email list. It wasn’t what I’d planned, but I see God working in the midst of it, and that’s good enough for me. And hopefully, this month contains some fiction writing.

On the Blog

Well, I fell behind on posts last month, but considering everything that happened, I’m pretty happy with the fact that I managed five posts. And, much to my surprise, March continued the streak of receiving a higher number of views and visitors than any month in 2021. And there were only five fewer views than in February of this year! Which is pretty cool to me.

Here are the posts for March (just click on the titles to read them):

~ The Reading Habits Book Tag
~ 2022 February Wrap-Up
~ The Bookworm’s Tag (Take 2)
~ Writing Advice: Remember All the Senses (Not Just Sight)
~ Blogger Recommendations Tag

Reading List

My reading was absolutely pathetic last month, but at least I finished one fiction book! I’m also currently working on several beta-reading projects, so even though I haven’t finished those books yet and won’t list them, I’ve managed to work on more than just one book.

~ A Time to Die by Nadine Brandes
(I’ve been meaning to get to this series for months, and am so glad I finally jumped in! I’ve yet to read a book by Nadine that I don’t like. This one kept me glued, and I read the entire thing in a day while I was recovering from the flu. The plot twists, the relatable characters, the intriguing worldbuilding, the moving themes…oh, and her writing style as always. I’m so excited to continue with the series!)

For non-fiction, I’m also continuing The Sacred Search by Gary Thomas (now on week 11 of 18), and so far, I think it’s gotten better every week! If you’re looking for a biblically-sound, insightful book on dating relationships, I definitely recommend it.

Looking Forward

I’m cautiously optimistic about this month (as far as productivity goes, haha). There are several events coming up, but nothing too crazy, and I’m hoping that with the weather calming and the germs dying out, that I’ll feel much more equipped for getting stuff done. I keep telling myself that any progress is better than no progress, so my aim is to just finish something. And in the meantime, I know God will continue to provide.

Non-writing highlights this month include: Easter, teaching four more classes, youth group and worship team, getting back into the full swing at both jobs, walking more often, a weekend church camp event, games with friends, attending several of my siblings’ track meets, Bible study, serving at a local homeschool banquet, growing stronger, hopefully reading several more books, and continuing to make prayer more of a habit.

Writing-wise, April is a Camp NaNo (a smaller version of NaNoWriMo, where instead of writing an entire novel in a month, you set your own goal and work at it), so I’d love to use it to make a lot more progress on Cabin Girl. I’m finally ahead in lesson planning, so the hope is to use that extra time for fiction again. I’ve also worked ahead to schedule more blog posts this month. There are only a couple more months before the craziness of summer, and I have big fiction goals to accomplish before then – so we’ll see what ones are actually meant to happen!

As always, thank you for your patience, and for supporting me on my writing journey!

What was YOUR March like? What kinds of things did you get to do? If you have a progress report on something, or books you read and would like to share, go ahead and let me know in the comments! And while you’re at it, feel free to include what you’re looking forward to and/or hoping to accomplish in April! As always, I’m excited to hear from you!

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10 Quotes About Failure

Failure isn’t fun.

Forgive me for stating the obvious. Of course none of us believe that failure is fun. Failure is hard, painful, disappointing, discouraging…we’d never wish for it to happen to us. But it does. And often.

We’ve all experienced it. At this moment you can probably think of many instances where you feel that you failed at something. It’s an unfortunate part of this life, and it really doesn’t get any easier the more that it happens. We would much rather succeed at things.

I usually get very discouraged and upset with myself when I fail at something. It doesn’t matter what it is – if I’ve messed something up, it takes a lot of effort to keep from beating myself up about it. Even if I had very little to do with the actual results.

And it gets much worse if it’s something that others were counting on me for. Making something for someone, doing a task, setting up a date or event…if I fail at something that another person asked me to do, the guilt and shame at failure multiplies hugely.

Failure is tricky. Sometimes it happens because of something we did – or didn’t – do. Other times it couldn’t have been prevented. Life is full of failures, whether we caused them or not. We deal with many of them throughout our daily lives, big and small.

Sometimes these failures truly are our fault. We could have tried harder, worked smarter, made better choices…and our errors caused something to happen that could have been avoided. That’s never a pleasant realization, but at the very least, we can learn from it.

Other times, these failures have nothing to do with us. They may have been goals that were assigned to us, or that we set for ourselves, but they were never God’s plan, and so they don’t happen. And in that case, I don’t believe they’re true failures. We may have failed at what we wanted to do, but it’s a good thing that we did. We were meant to fail.

It can be very difficult to know the difference. No one likes to either mess up at something we could have done better at, or have something that we wanted to happen fall apart – even if it’s ultimately a good thing that it does. In either case, failure is painful.

In my experience, the only thing that helps is realizing and remembering that God is still in control. No matter how badly I mess up. No matter how upset I am at myself, or someone else is at me. He’s still in control, and as long as I tried my very best, dwelling on the past and remaining trapped in guilt and regret is only going to keep me from doing His will in the future.

Many of my most valuable life lessons have been learned through failure of some sort. Either because of something I could have done better at (I should have paid better attention, been more careful, showed more compassion, etc.), or because I didn’t listen for God’s leading and rushed ahead with my own plans.

Through failure, I’ve learned to slow down and listen to all the directions before doing something. I’ve learned to think through what I’m about to say, and consider what another person is going through when they say or do something hurtful. I’ve learned to be more diligent, more observant, more honest, and more vulnerable.

I’ve also learned that it’s always – always – better to seek the Lord’s direction before acting. Even if it’s for the smallest decision. Though I can only say I’ve heard Him speak in obvious ways several times, even just the choice to slow down and listen for His guidance helps me to think through my options before choosing. And I believe that’s one of the ways that He helps us determine what to do. It’s not often in big, dramatic ways that He speaks.

We may not always know whether we failed because of something we did wrong, or simply because God knew we needed to learn a lesson. But with every failure comes a choice: will we trust God in the midst of it, or not? When our plans don’t work out, will we choose to believe that God is still in control and that His plans are unchanging? Or will we panic and stress and continue to try and work it all out on our own strength?

As long as we’re taking the time to consult God before acting, I believe that it’s better to try to do what we believe is right and fail, than hide and never do anything for fear of failing. That’s hard for me to say, as I hate messing things up. But if we never try, how will we learn?

In addition, what we consider to be failures isn’t always the case. It may just feel like a failure to us because we had plans that weren’t God’s. In reality, God may have wanted this to happen and planned it all along. We might not ever find out the reasons behind it or the impact it has on others, but we can always seek to learn from it. We can always use it as an opportunity to grow in faith and trust Him even more.

To me, whether failure happens because of something I could have done better, or whether it’s because I tried to carry out plans that weren’t God’s, the only consistent option is to trust God with it. I need to do my best to determine what the right course of action is, and give my all to that course – but if I’ve done that, the results are up to God.

Maybe I’m meant to learn something. Maybe someone else is meant to learn something. Maybe my ‘failure’ is keeping something horrible from happening. Maybe what I’ve experienced will come into play years down the road and impact someone’s life for the better. Rarely do we know exactly how God is using the disappointing events.

Isaiah 55 says of God: “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

God is in control of every aspect, every detail, every moment of our lives. Whether we feel we’re succeeding or whether we feel we’re failing. Whether life seems to be going smoothly, or whether it seems to be falling apart. Whether we think we know what we’re supposed to be doing, or whether we don’t have the faintest idea. God always knows, and He will never allow anything to happen that can’t ultimately be used in His perfect plan.

That’s encouraging to me. Even though that means I have failed (or at least felt like I’ve failed), and will continue to. It gives me peace knowing that it’s not up to me, and that as long as I do my very best to follow God’s will, I can’t ruin His plan.

It’s tempting to me – especially in months like I’ve had recently, where nearly nothing I’d tried to accomplish actually happens – to feel like a big failure and give up. But remembering that God is ultimately in control motivates me to continue seeking His will, trusting Him, and surrendering my own plans enough to be okay with whatever happens.

He’s always going to be there to help us learn, grow, and do His will. He’s not expecting us to figure it all out on our own, be completely perfect, or make the plans. He’s only asking us to remain close to Him and give it everything we can. As long as we’re doing that, can we actually even fail? I don’t believe so.

As with everything in life, I still have much to learn about failure. Especially as it’s something that occurs pretty much on an every day basis. But I’m doing my best to keep growing in knowledge and faith, and today, I wanted to share some of my favorite quotes about failure, as they’ve helped remind me to keep trusting God in hard times. I hope they inspire you as much as they inspire me.

1. “Failures are finger posts on the road to achievement.”
(C. S. Lewis)

2. “Our greatest fear should not be of failure but of succeeding at things in life that don’t really matter.”
(Francis Chan)

3. “What is God’s remedy for dejection at apparent failure in our labors? This – the assurance that God’s purpose cannot fail, that God’s plans cannot miscarry, that God’s will must be done. Our labors are not intended to bring about that which God has not decreed.”
(A. W. Pink)

4. “One who faces his own failures is steadily advancing on the pilgrim’s way.”
(William Temple)

5. “To dwell on the past simply causes failure in the present. While you are sitting down and bemoaning the past and regretting all the things you have not done, you are crippling yourself and preventing yourself from working in the present. Is that Christianity? Of course it is not.”
(Martyn Lloyd-Jones)

6. “Admit your mistakes. Your primary instinct will be to downplay the failure, but instead, choose to be honest about who you are. Failing to admit your mistakes will create false illusions for yourself and those who know you. If people are going to recognize God’s work in your life, they have to see the work of Christ in you in both the ups and the downs.”
(Dr. David Jeremiah)

7. “A dead-end is only the end of your road if you fail to turn around. Too many people needlessly waste time and energy trying to find a way across a dead-end street. Stop, turn around, and ask God for directions to get to where you were going in the first place. Recalculate!”
(Katherine Walden)

8. “Failure means I dared try.”
(Jack Hyles)

9. “We can rest in knowing that God will never fail us when we walk with and look to Him.”
(Danny Gokey)

10. “It is easy to lose heart when you face trials, setbacks, and failures. But failures in life do not need to define you. Rather, you are defined by your God-given identity of disciple. As long as you remain in Him, you continue to be defined by Him, not by any failings.”
(Dr. David Jeremiah)

As much as I wish it wasn’t, failure is a regular part of our lives. We all experience it, we all have to work through it, but – thankfully – we are all children of a God who will never leave us to deal with it by ourselves. We may fail and experience disappointments, but He never fails, and nothing happens that He hasn’t allowed for His purposes. My prayer for us is that we’ll always trust and remember that He’s with us – no matter what’s going on in our lives.

Did any of these quotes speak to you today? Go ahead and let me know your favorites in the comments, as well as if there is a certain topic you’d like to see more quotes about. While you’re there, I’d love to hear something YOU’RE learning about failure!

The Lord makes firm the steps
of the one who delights in Him;
though he may stumble, he will not fall,
for the Lord upholds him with His hand.
(Psalm 37:23-24 NIV)

1. I shared more of my quote collection in many previous posts, which you can find here.

2. To receive your own printable pages of the above quotes (and the ones used in my other ‘Quotes’ posts), sign up for my email list! Simply fill in the form here, and I’ll send you PDF copies of the quote collections – as well as an inspirational short story. I look forward to hearing from you!

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The Sunshine Blogger Award (#2)

Happy Friday!

I have another fun series of questions today, from Saraina Whitney, who did this tag on her own site a little while ago and kindly left it open for anyone interested! Her questions were so fun and creative that I decided to jump aboard. I’d love to find out your answers too!

If this looks familiar, the last time I did this blog tag was back in May of 2021 (you can read that post, here).

First of all, the rules:

Thank the blogger who nominated you and link back to their blog (again, I legally robbed this from Saraina Whitney. Thank you, friend!)Answer the questionsNominate eleven bloggers and ask them eleven questions

And now for the questions…

1. What would be on your bucket list if you were invisible?

Wow, I’ve never even thought about this…There are so many things I could do (mess with my siblings), so many things I probably should do in that case (be a spy or something), but in reality, I’d probably end up just taking it for granted and doing silly things to make people laugh (like wearing sunglasses and/or a hat while I do everything because it looks funny). I really don’t have a good answer for this one, haha.

2. What word do you overuse?

There are a few that come to mind, but I think the biggest one at the moment is the word ‘honestly’. I catch myself saying that all the time and at this point, it’s become a habit. I just use it for emphasis, but I’ve had some people call me out on it, asking, “so, if you don’t say honestly before you tell us something, does it mean you’re lying?” Definitely not, haha!

(Honestly.)

3. Would you like having a child named after you?

This would depend. My name isn’t very common, so I always enjoy meeting other people that share my name. And I would be so honored if someone else intentionally named their child after me (although talk about pressure, wow – haha). I wouldn’t want to name one of my own children after me though. A middle name would be okay, but I’d personally rather name my own children after other people that have made a difference in my life.

4. What’s the dumbest way you’ve been physically hurt?

Well, when it comes to being in the kitchen, I’m that clumsy friend. I can’t even think of one especially memorable dumb way I’ve gotten hurt while cooking, but there have been countless instances of me burning myself (and food) on anything and everything, cutting myself, grating my hand, breaking glass casserole dishes, breaking anything for that matter…I can actually cook fairly well, provided I survive the experience, haha!

5. Which word would you use if you could only use one for the rest of your life?

I could spend way too much time thinking about this (I love words, what can I say?), so I’m going to go with the very first one that came to mind: beautiful. I could communicate a lot with that word, depending on tone. It’d let me compliment a lot of people and anything they made, or I could say it sarcastically (for ex. someone asked me how my day has been and it’s gone horribly, haha). Although, hopefully having to say the word beautiful would remind me that every day really is, simply because God’s made it. Plus, it’s just a nice word.

6. How many times a day do you have to ask people to repeat themselves?

In-person, I don’t actually have to ask that very often. When I’m answering phones for work though, it happens a bit more, and I always feel bad, especially when I have to ask someone to repeat what they just said multiple times. I’ll admit though, more often than not, I’m the annoyingly quiet one that needs to be asked to speak louder…I’m sorry, I’m working on it!

7. What song is playing in your mind right now?

Okay, okay…first, disclaimer that I can’t vouch for the content of this musical/movie, and I don’t agree with many of Ben Platt’s beliefs. So do your own research on Dear Evan Hansen, but the song currently in my head from that musical is Words Fail (this one doesn’t have questionable content, although it may not make sense out of context). I’m a huge fan of musical theatre, especially really emotional songs, and both this song and Platt’s voice are so full of emotion. So now you know what’s going through my mind as I write this, haha.

8. On a scale of 1 to 10, how much fun do you have actually writing blog posts vs brainstorming ideas for them?

In general, I’m always more excited to come up with ideas. It’s the sitting down and writing them that gets tricky sometimes. But when my ideas are ones I’m really interested in, it’s a lot easier. I’d say, as long as I’m in the ‘blog post writing groove’, that I’d rank it at about a 6 or 7? And brainstorming probably sits around 8 or 9. (With 10 being ‘I absolutely LOVE this!’) It varies a lot according to my mood and how intensive the blog post is.

9. Bubblegum or pistachios?

Definitely pistachios, although I honestly (see, there’s that word) don’t have many of those either (they’re expensive!). I just prefer them to bubblegum. My teeth are really sensitive, so I don’t chew much gum or they start to hurt, and also….I can’t even blow bubbles with it anyway. I’ve tried. Just like I can’t raise one eyebrow, whistle, or curl my tongue. Goals, guys.

10. Which is less risky, in your opinion: choosing truth or a dare?

It’s true, I’m a coward when it comes to Truth or Dare, so I don’t think I’ve actually ever played a real game of it. But I’d be far more prone to choose truth. The questions could certainly be embarrassing, but to me, it’d be better than having to do something dangerous, inconsiderate, or just plain humiliating. Although, if I was dared to do something that truly shouldn’t be done, I just wouldn’t do it (which is probably why I’ve never played it, haha).

11. If you were a color, which color would you be?

I’m so bad at these types of questions. My favorite colors are like the sky: sunshine yellow and sky blue. And I think a blue would probably fit me pretty well? I’m usually pretty laid-back, quieter, and prone to ‘deeper’ conversations and friendships, but have a sarcastic, witty, and sometimes ‘do whatever it takes to make someone laugh’ side that pops up when I’m most comfortable. Here, I’ll ask your opinion…what color do YOU think I’d be?

Thank you for sticking around and joining me in this fun activity! I hope it’s managed to bring a smile to your face today. I definitely enjoyed it!

Here are my questions:

1. Where was the last place you’ve been (besides your home)?
2. What’s the most ‘useless’ skill you possess?
3. Hot chocolate or chocolate milk?
4. If you could meet anyone in the world, who would you choose?
5. Did you have a favorite toy/activity as a child? What was it?
6. What’s one song that you can’t help but sing along with?
7. Which time period would you travel to if you had a time machine?
8. If you had a pet salamander, what would you name it?
9. Do you have a favorite scent? If so, what is it?
10. Biggest pet peeve?
11. What’s your idea of a perfect Saturday?

I’ve been doing a lot of nominating over the past few weeks, so I’m going to continue my rebellious streak and leave this open for anybody who wants to hop in! How would YOU answer these questions? Feel free to answer them on your own blog, or in the comments below. I look forward to hearing from you!

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