E.G. Bella's Blog, page 8

30 Funny Pirate Jokes

Hello and happy Wednesday!

I’m thrilled to say that I’ve been working on Cabin Girl again lately, immersing myself once again in the world of piracy and mysteriousness. And if my brain is swimming with pirates right now, why not embrace it?

Cabin Girl is a pretty serious book most of the time, so I wanted to take a break, lighten things up, and share thirty of the funniest pirate jokes that I could find (none of them are mine). I hope you enjoy!

Warning: extreme cheesiness ahead!

~ I have never heard any funny pirate jokes, have you?
No, neither have ayyyeee.

~ Q. What did the elderly pirate captain say when asked if he was 80?
A. “Aye, Matey.”

~ Q. What do you call a pirate mutiny?
A. A conspira-sea!

~ A pirate goes to the doctor to have the spots on his arm examined. The doctor says: “They’re benign.”
The pirate replies: “no, no doc, there be eleven. I counted them before I came here.”

~ Q. Why type of socks do pirates wear?
A. Arrrrgyle

~ Q. Why did nobody want to play cards with the pirate?
A. Because he was standing on the deck.

~ Q. Why do pirates carry swords?
A. Because swords can’t walk.

~ Q. How do you turn a pirate furious?
A. Take away the “p.”

~ Q. What’s the difference between a hungry pirate and a drunken pirate?
A. One has a rumbling tummy, and the other’s a tumbling rummy.

~ A pirate walks into a bar. It was at that moment that the pirate realized he was wearing his eyepatch on the wrong eye.

~ Q. How do pirates prefer to communicate?
A. Aye to aye!

~ Q. Why does it take pirates so long to learn the alphabet?
A. Because they can spend years at C.

~ Q. What’s a pirate’s least favorite veggie?
A. Leeks

~ Q. What’s the difference between a pirate and a cranberry farmer?
A. A pirate buries his treasure, but a cranberry farmer treasures his berries.

~ A pirate and a sailor were exchanging stories. The sailor pointed to the pirate’s peg leg and asked, “How did you get that?”
The pirate said, “Aye, I wrestled a shark and lost me leg.”
The sailor pointed to the pirate’s hook and asked, “How did you get that?”
The pirate said: “Aye, I fought Red Beard’s crew and lost me hand.”
The sailor pointed to the pirate’s eye patch and asked, “How did you get that?”
The pirate said, “Aye, a bird came by and left droppings in me eye.”
The sailor said, “That’s not as impressive as the other two. …”
“Aye,” the pirate answered. “It was me first day with the hook.”

~ Q. What kind of a ship is most feared by pirates?
A. The Steady Relationship.

~ Q. How do pirates prefer to communicate?
A. Aye to aye!

~ Q. How will you make a pirate furious?
A. Just take away the “p”

~ I was halfway through writing a movie script about a pirate that kept on losing his wooden leg. It turns out there is already a film called “footloose”.

~ Q. What do you call a foolish pirate?
A. The pillage idiot

~ Q. What’s orange and sounds like a pirate’s parrot?
A. A carrot!

~ Q. Which side of a pirate’s parrot has the prettiest feathers?
A. The outside!

~ Q. What lies at the bottom of the ocean and twitches?
A. A nervous wreck.

~ Q. Why do pirates bury their treasure 18 inches under the ground?
A. Because booty is only shin deep!

~ Q. What do you call a pirate with two eyes, two hands and two legs?
A. A beginner.

~ Q. Where can ye find a pirate who has lost his wooden legs?
A. Right where ye left him!

~ Q. Why would you join a band of pirates?
A. Pier pressure.

~ Q. When do pirates remove the anchor?
A. At the kraken of dawn.

~ Q. Do pirates enjoy fighting?
A. Sword of . . .

~ Long ago, when sailing ships ruled the waves, a captain and his crew were in danger of being boarded by a pirate ship. As the crew became frantic, the captain bellowed to his First Mate, “Bring me my red shirt!”
The First Mate quickly retrieved the captain’s red shirt, which the captain put on and led the crew to battle the pirate boarding party.
Although some casualties occurred among the crew, the pirates were repelled. Later that day, the lookout screamed that there were two pirate vessels sending boarding parties. The crew cowered in fear, but the captain, calm as ever, bellowed, “Bring me my red shirt!”
Once again the battle was on. However, the Captain and his crew repelled both boarding parties, though this time more casualties occurred.
Weary from the battles, the men sat around on deck that night recounting the day’s occurrences when an ensign looked to the Captain and asked, “Sir, why did you call for your red shirt before the battle?”
The Captain, giving the ensign a look that only a captain can give, exhorted, “If I am wounded in battle, the red shirt does not show the wound and thus, you men will continue to fight unafraid.”
The men sat in silence marvelling at the courage of such a man. As dawn came the next morning, the lookout screamed that there were pirate ships, 10 of them, all with boarding parties on their way.
The men became silent and looked to the Captain, their leader, for his usual command. The Captain, calm as ever, bellowed, “Bring me my brown pants!”

(That last one is one I’ve been told at least three times now, so if it’s going to live rent-free in my head, it might as well be in yours too, haha! You’re welcome.)

These were thirty of the funniest pirate jokes that I could find! Do you have any you’d like to add? Please feel free to drop them in the comments below. I’d love to hear them!

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A-Z Bookish Tag

Happy Friday!

What’s this? Another blog tag about books? Yes indeed!

It’s yet another tag I found on KristinKravesBooks, where she keeps a list of fun, reading-themed blog tags. If that interests you, I highly recommend checking it out!

This tag doesn’t have any rules other than to answer each of these alphabet questions with a book or book-related explanation. I loved the creativity of the questions and couldn’t resist trying it out.

Let’s get to it!

A. Author you’ve read the most books from

That would be Nadine Brandes, at least for full-length novels. And what’s more important, I love them all! I’ve yet to read one of her books that I don’t consider a favorite of mine, and I hope that continues.

B. Best sequel ever

Shadow by Kara Swanson. I’m not sure if it’s because this series is a duology or what, but it was a rare instance for me when the sequel was better than the first book. Again, at least to me. The first had a lot of build-up, but the second was action-packed, incredibly intense and moving, the characters were so vivid and interesting, and the themes hit hard. I loved it!

C. Currently reading

The Princess and the Goblin by George MacDonald.

I’ve never read this before, but it looked like such an interesting, potentially sweet, fairytale-ish classic, and I was intrigued! I’m not far into it yet, but it’s been enjoyable so far.

D. Drink of choice

Honestly, water! But especially sparkling water if I’m trying not to be as boring, haha.

I’m also a big tea and coffee drinker though.

E. E-reader or physical book

Definitely physical books. I’ll read e-books if I have to, but I much prefer to be able to hold the book in my hands and flip pages. I have an easier time focusing on the story when I’m holding a physical book too.

F. Fictional character you probably would have dated in high school.

Oh boy, I don’t even know. I didn’t date anyone in high school, period.

Maybe someone like Peter Pan though, specifically from Kara Swanson’s Dust. I was a very angsty teenager.

(How beautiful is that cover?!)

G. Glad you gave this book a chance

The Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins.

I actually had little intention of ever reading these books, as I like the movies and had heard that the books are poorly written. But after giving them a chance, I was hooked, and even finished the first two in one day! I just couldn’t put them down. The third one let me down a little, but all in all, I’m glad I gave them a chance, and will definitely be rereading.

H. Hidden gem

Blank Mastermind by Rosey Mucklestone.

I’ve only talked about this book just about every other time I do a book review tag . . . but it’s just that good to me! I’m thankful I had friends who’d read this and introduced me, because as its an indie book, in a superhero, humor, drama genre, I don’t know that I’d have ever found it otherwise. And I would be missing out.

I. Important moment in your reading life

I’ll say after I found Goodreads! It’s an invaluable tool for me, both for my personal reading and for promoting and getting feedback for my own published stories. I love being able to set challenges, keep track of the books I’ve read and my reviews, and see what my friends are reading. And, of course, I like being able to read others’ reviews of books to see if they’re worth my time. All in all, it’s been a very helpful website to me!

J. Just finished

Operation Lionhearted by Maribeth Barber! I’m so thrilled to have finally read this amazing story! Science fiction isn’t my typical genre, but I really enjoyed this one. While the plot was twisty and action-packed, it was also very character-focused, and I love those kinds of books. The rich characters, clean romance, twisty action, and deep themes made it great!

K. Kind of book you won’t read

Erotica, for sure. And most horror books as well. I just don’t have the interest.

L. Longest book you’ve read

Looking at page counts, besides the Bible, it would be Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix at 766 pages. That surprises me, because my usual answer is The Help by Kathryn Stockett at 524 pages. I didn’t realize just how huge those Harry Potter books are!

M. Major book hangover because of…

This may sound silly, but I’m going with the Jedi Apprentice book series by Dave Wolverton and Jude Watson. I read the first one with my brother before he passed away and we both loved it. Afterward, I found the other 17 books, and by the time I finished the last one, I was super attached and wished the series could just keep on going forever. I’m sure the connection with my brother had an effect, but the series was genuinely well-written.

N. Number of bookshelves you own

Two! One is double-stacked though (two row of books on each shelf, one in front of another), and the other only has one shelf of books (the rest are notebooks).

O. One book you’ve read multiple times

Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson. I remember my dad reading this to me and my siblings when we were young, and I’ve read it multiple times on my own since. It’s a great, classic adventure story, and I believe it’s one of the reasons I like pirate stories so much.

P. Preferred place to read

Currently, that would either be on our couch in our living room, or in the comfy chair in my work space. Laying on the bed makes me too sleepy, but sitting upright on hard chair isn’t cozy enough for long reading sessions (to me).

Q. Quote that inspires you

There are so many! But here’s one I especially like:

“Isn’t it nice to think that tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it yet?”
~ Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery

R. Reading regrets

I’d say I regret not keeping track of the books I read sooner. I think it would be very neat to look back and see all the different books I’ve read in my lifetime – or at least throughout middle school/high school. Especially if I’d written what my thoughts were on them. I used to read so many books in a year!

S. Series you’ve started and need to finish

The Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini. I’ve started Eragon and never finished it (I’m sorry, I’ve just never been able to stay interested in it yet), but I’m determined to. I have the second book, Eldest, as well, and trust I’ll find the remaining two eventually. Have you read this series, and if so, what did you think? I hear such mixed reviews.

T. Three of your all time favorite booksThe Bible (a cheat, I know)Wishtress by Nadine BrandesHinds’ Feet on High Places by Hannah HurnardThe Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling (bonus series for the cheat)U. Unapologetic fangirl

In general, I’d say Star Wars. I have so much random knowledge from the Star Wars universe that is probably useless, but

V. Very excited for this release more than others

Hmmm . . . this shouldn’t be that hard, but it is! I honestly don’t keep up with new releases as well as I should, so there aren’t many coming to mind. Although, Nadine Brandes does have some new releases expected to come out in 2024 . . . .

W. Worst bookish habit

Either reading the ending ahead of time, or leaving books open and upside down on something when I need to take a short break, but don’t want to lose my place (I never seem to have bookmarks around).

X. X marks the spot: Pick the 27th book from the top left shelf

That would be The Maze Runner by James Dashner, in a boxset with The Scorch Trials, The Death Cure, and the prequel The Kill Order.

Y. Your latest purchase

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens. I found this at my local thrift shop and have heard good things about it, so thought I’d give it a chance. I haven’t read it yet, but it’s on my TBR!

Z. Z snatcher–book that kept you up way too late

Despite my conflicted feelings about The Fault In Our Stars by John Green, I read it all in one sitting, staying up way too late one night. It was somewhat predictable, a little cringe-y, and featured some content I didn’t appreciate, but it was real. The emotions and tough questions were sincere, and I couldn’t put it down until I’d finished it. And then I cried.

Thank you so much for reading this long and bookish post!

What would you do for this tag? I’d love to know how you’d answer these questions, so please feel free to let me know on your own blog, or right here in the comments. I can’t wait to learn about your favorite books!

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My Favorite Bible Verses

We’ve been given a wonderful gift.

A gift full of true stories that are inspiring and informative. One full of encouragement and comfort for saddened hearts, and guidance and wisdom for lost ones. One packed with truth and reminders of what really matters in life.

The Bible is so easily accessible in our western culture now, and it’s a huge blessing. Nowadays, Christians can buy Bibles from countless places. There are free ones in hotels, and given away at conferences. We can pull them up on free apps and websites on our devices.

All this wisdom and truth that God’s left for us is right at our fingertips.

The title for this post isn’t as accurate as it should be, as I don’t think it’s possible to pick favorite Scripture verses. I don’t think we should try either. The entire Bible is there for a reason. It’s all important and, depending on where we’re at in our lives and spiritual journeys, different verses will speak to us more at different times.

So the better way to describe the following verses I’m going to share is that they’re some of the verses that have made the most impact on my life so far. They’re ones I’ve turned to repeatedly to gain wisdom, courage, and encouragement.

The more I read the Bible, the more treasure I discover that I wish I would have paid attention to sooner. But here are a few of the Scripture passages that have made the most difference in my life so far.

What are some of yours?

Matthew 11:28-30

“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.”

This is one that I come back to often. Any time I’m feeling especially tired, weak, overwhelmed, or inadequate, I remind myself of this verse and Jesus’ reassurance that He’s here to help us shoulder the loads of life. It’s hard to find rest in this world, physical or emotional. But time and time again, Jesus has provided that, and I’m so grateful for it.

John 15:4-16

Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself;
it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him,
he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.
If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers;
such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.
If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love.
If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love,
just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love.
I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.
My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this,
that he lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command.
I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business.
Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit–fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name.

This entire passage is one that I’ve reread countless times. I love the imagery of bearing fruit for God and the reminder that we need to stay connected with Him if we’re to do anything worthwhile. And of course, to love one another as God has loved us – which is an awful lot! Lastly, the last couple of verses always encourage me, with Jesus calling us friends, choosing us and appointing us, and promising us that God will provide for us.

Romans 8:28

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him,
who have been called according to his purpose.

This was on repeat in my brain all throughout 2020, as my graduation year turned upside down and a lot of things changed. Just reminding myself that God works all things out for good, no matter how scary, confusing, painful, or disappointing they seem kept me sane. And it continues to encourage me, as this is the first verse I think of any time something doesn’t go the way I expect it to. God is always working!

Matthew 6:25-34

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink;
or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food,
and the body more than clothes? 
Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns,
and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. 
Are you not much more valuable than they? 
Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?
And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow.
They do not labor or spin.  Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? 
So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’  
For the pagans run after all these things, and your
and all these things will be given to you as well. 
Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.
Each day has enough trouble of its own.

I’ve yet to meet someone who doesn’t struggle with worry at least occasionally. I definitely wrestle with it more than I’d like. So this passage has always been helpful to me, reassuring me that God has everything under control. If He cares for us so much, why do we doubt that He’ll take care of us? It goes right along with Romans 8:28 – He is in control and working for our good all of the time, even when we don’t see it.

Psalms 62:1-2

Truly my soul finds rest in God; my salvation comes from Him.
Truly He is my rock and my salvation; He is my fortress, I will never be shaken.

I love the Psalms in general . . . they’re just so beautiful, real, and honest. But this passage in particular always touches my heart. The imagery of God as our rock, our salvation, our fortress, and our source of rest is very comforting to me. We may feel shaken, but if we put our trust in God, we won’t be. God is steadfast.

Isaiah 40:28-31

Do you not know?
    Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
    the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
    and his understanding no one can fathom.
He gives strength to the weary
    and increases the power of the weak.
Even youths grow tired and weary,
    and young men stumble and fall;
but those who hope in the Lord
    will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
    they will run and not grow weary,
    they will walk and not be faint.

This verse reminds me of two things at once. First, God’s amazing power, strength, and wisdom, and how He will never stop having and using all of those things in our lives. And secondly, the promise of His provision and the ultimate reward of Heaven, where our new bodies will be perfect and untiring. Those are both things to be very, very thankful for!

Psalms 51:10-12

Create in me a pure heart, O God,
    and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me from your presence
    or take your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation
    and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

This is always my go-to verse when I’m trying to either learn good habits or get rid of bad ones. It’s helpful to me to remember that God is ultimately capable of cleansing me and helping me to have a pure and willing heart. And the joy of His salvation is something I always want to be full of, but struggle with. I never want to forget that He can help!

1 Corinthians 13:1-8, 13

If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love,
I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 
If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, 
and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 
If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship
that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 
It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, 
it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 
It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease;
where there are tongues, they will be stilled;
where there is knowledge, it will pass away.
And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. 
But the greatest of these is love.

This is the exact same passage that my husband and I had read at our wedding, as we liked it so much. And not just in a married love setting. The word ‘love’ is thrown around so much nowadays that I appreciate being reminded often of what love really is. What God’s love is like. What love we should be showing others. This is such a beautiful picture of God’s intention for love.

Philippians 4:13

I can do all this through him who gives me strength.

I think this might be the first Bible verse I remember memorizing. It’s said so often by Christians, but I don’t think we always stop to think about what it really means. And although it gets misinterpreted, it’s one of my favorites. Not because we can do anything we want with God, but because we can do anything He asks us to do in His strength. That’s reassuring to me, that as long as I’m following His will, He’ll give me the strength to do it.

Revelation 21:3-4

And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying,
“Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. 
They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 
‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ 
or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

The longer I live, the more I long for Heaven. Especially as I look forward to seeing more and more people again there, and yearn to have an even more intimate relationship with God. God Himself will dwell with us! What an exciting thought. And along with that, there will be no more hardship and pain and grief, like there is here today. I can’t wait for that. This verse is an encouragement and comfort to me when I’m having trouble being patient.

I’m so thankful for the Bible. For all of the wisdom, guidance, encouragement, teaching, and peace God’s placed inside it for us to discover. The entire book is so important to our lives, but these were just a handful of Scriptures that have made a big difference in my journey.

Do you have any Scriptures that have made a bigger impact on you and your life? What are your go-to verses when you’re needing comfort or guidance? I’d love to hear from you, so let me know in the comments!

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5 Life Skills I Want to Improve At

Hello and happy Wednesday!

On this site, we talk about writing a lot. Like, a lot. And while I love talking about writing, books, reading, and the like, I wanted to take some time today to think about some other hobbies and skills. Specifically, five different skills I’d like to improve at.

And I’d love to hear about the skills you’re hoping to develop further! The title of this post says ‘life skills’, but any kind of hobby that’s possible to get better at counts (that’s nearly all of them, as far as I know).

I wish there were more hours in a day, but right now, my days are mostly work, time with husband, random chores around the apartment, and writing when I have the opportunity. If or when I suddenly have lots of extra time though, here are some things I want to get better at . . .

Cooking/BakingAccurate representation of me in the kitchen

I’m not a natural cook, as much as I wish I were. Thankfully, I’m not helpless. I can make meals and I do very often. But nearly every time I’m in the kitchen, I hurt myself on something. Cheese grater, food processor, corner of the counter, frying pan . . . etc. Also, I don’t seem to have the same intuition as someone naturally good at cooking (like my mom!).

I did have a big cooking/ baking phase a few years ago and tried out some fancy pastries, and that was fun. Cooking and baking just aren’t something that usually relax me, and I think it’s because I’m not the best at them. So I want to keep practicing and trying out new recipes, with the hopes that I can get a lot better and have more fun in the kitchen!

My current favorite recipes to make right now are casseroles (for cooking) and gluten-free brownies (for baking). What do you like to make?

Crafting

At first I was going to say crochet, as I used to crochet all the time and want to get better at making more complicated patterns. Then I realized I’d like to just get better at crafting period. So yes, I want to up my crochet skills (and hopefully not get so frustrated at it), but I also would love to start making some other crafty items.

I’m not even sure what. But I love seeing others making candles, clothes, bookmarks, jewelry, blankets, baskets, tie dye, flower arrangements, etc., and I’d love to find a fun yet practical niche like that. Crochet has been nice, and I’d like to continue, but it does get hard on the wrists after a while, so maybe I can find something to mix it up a bit.

Do you do any crafting? What do you make, and what’s your favorite thing about it?

Singing

This one is for no practical reason, just me selfishly wanting to sound better. Singing relaxes me like few other things, and of course, I feel better about doing it when I can tell I don’t sound awful. From 7th grade until I graduated, I performed in local musicals and my voice stayed pretty consistent from all the practice. Since I’m done now, it’s definitely rusty.

In preparation for my senior year musical, I worked through the Singing Success program by Brett Manning and can’t speak highly enough of it! My range was so much better and that musical was a lot of fun, exploring all the things I realized my voice could do. So maybe I’ll try to work through that program again and see what happens. Singing is just plain fun.

Do you sing? If so, is it for relaxation or do you perform? Do you enjoy it?

Piano

Like singing, piano is a skill that I don’t plan to use to make money with or turn into a career or anything like that. It’s purely for my own enjoyment and relaxation. But that doesn’t mean I don’t want to improve at it. I’ve been playing piano since I was around eight, and I took piano lessons for about three years, but all I’ve done in the past few years is accompany youth group worship with chords.

We have a keyboard at our apartment and I’ve been playing around on it again, remembering how much I enjoy it. But I’ve definitely gotten rusty at it too. Cue a lot of practice! My piano teacher was our pastor’s wife, so every Sunday that I watch her play for the service, I’m always re-inspired to practice. She plays so beautifully!

Do you play an instrument, and if so, which one? Do you enjoy it?

Public Speaking

This one is more practical! I don’t plan on becoming a politician or the like, but public speaking skills are useful pretty much everywhere and I’m bad at it. I taught a high school fiction writing class last year and that definitely helped me get more adjusted to standing up in front of a group and communicating well, but it made me nervous every time.

I actually enjoyed teaching about writing more than I thought I would, so I’d like to improve in case I decide to do it again in the future. And just so that I can be better at answering phones for my work, ordering food in restaurants, starting conversations with strangers, and all of the random things public speaking skills help with.

Does public speaking come naturally to you, or do you want to improve at it too?

There are so many things I’d like to try out and get better at, but these are five of the biggest ones right now!

What about you? Do you have skills or hobbies you’re hoping to improve at? Which ones? Feel free to share them in the comments below! I’d love to hear from you!

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What’s On My Bookshelf Tag

Happy Friday!

I’m back again with another fun blog tag from KristinKravesBooks! Though she didn’t officially tag me, I’m continuing my quest through her blog tags page (which you can find here – it’s amazing!), and thought this would be a fun one to do.

I’m also hoping to see some bookish answers from you guys, so please feel free to join me if this tickles your fancy!

The Rules:
– Link back to me so I can see everyone’s answers! (Naty’s Bookshelf)
– Also link back to the person who tagged you!
– Name one book for each category; try not to repeat books to make this more fun!
– Tag at least 5 people

Let’s get started!

A Library Book

Well, I don’t currently have any library books borrowed (I miss the library!), but I do have one on my bookshelf that came from a library indirectly. I found it at my local thrift shop, but it still has the nearby library info on the inside. That’s The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater, one of my favorites due to the engaging storytelling and beautiful writing style.

A Book You Got as a Gift

Operation Lionhearted by Maribeth Barber (Albritton)! My aunt gave this book to me for our secret Santa gift exchange last Christmas, and in the busyness of wedding planning, I still haven’t read it. It’s one of the very next ones on my TBR list though. The author is such a talented and sweet friend! (You should definitely go check out her site . . . right here.)

A Childhood Book

I use to devour books like The Boxcar Children, Mandie, Magic Tree House, and American Girl, but I don’t currently have any of those on my shelf. What I do have is Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson, and while it’s drastically different than the aforementioned books, it was one that I read often in childhood! It was one of the first books that struck me as real.

A Magical Book

I could use Nadine Brandes’ book, Wishtress, for so many of these categories, as it’s one of my favorite novels! In general though, Nadine is amazing at weaving magic through her books that aren’t just stereotypical abracadabra magic. Her magic systems are very unique, fascinating, clean, and never fail to draw me in. Wishtress was one of these wonders!

A Romantic Book

It wasn’t my intention to use Nadine’s books twice in a row, but oh well!

My pick for this one is Romanov by Nadine Brandes. I don’t read many romance books, as there are too many with content I’m uncomfortable with. But this one was such a sweet, well-written historical story centered around the myths of Anastasia Romanov, and included an innocent and touching romance that I thoroughly enjoyed.

A Steamy Book

I was going to say I don’t read or own any steamy books, but I’m going to be honest, I think The Fault In Our Stars by John Green falls under this category, at least by my standards. I read it once, and wasn’t comfortable with much of the content, so I haven’t read it since. However, taking out the icky stuff, the rest of the story hit me hard, so it’s still on my shelf.

An Old Book

I’m going to go with My Utmost For His Highest by Oswald Chambers, originally published in 1924 (almost 100 years ago!). It’s such a powerful collection of Christian devotions, and I enjoy all the wisdom in its pages. Biblical truths are timeless!

A Book that Makes You Happy and/or Laugh

Blank Mastermind by Rosey Mucklestone. Full disclosure, this isn’t what I’d call a comedy story. It definitely has its share of deep themes, dark moments, and difficult plot twists, but the narrative voice of the main character has such wit and character that I find myself smiling often. Supporting characters also have amazing senses of humor. I don’t often laugh out loud while reading, but this novel got me numerous times!

A Book that Makes You Emotional

Hinds’ Feet on High Places by Hannah Hurnard. It’s not a particularly sad book, but it is a very powerful illustration of Jesus and what He does for us on a daily basis. Being reminded of those things so vividly always makes me emotional, and so thankful for our Savior!

A Book Whose Ending You Dislike

The Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials by James Dashner. I’m not going to give spoilers, but fellow fans of the book series understand (the movies are structured very differently but still have many of the same elements). That’s such a painful book to read, every time.

A Book You Wish Had Illustrations

Ooh, quite a few! But I’ll go with Fairest by Gail Carson Levine. Though I believe it’s aimed for more middle-grade readers, I’ve read this story several times and can always picture the unique fairy tale setting so well. I’d love to see illustrations of what the author envisioned the characters and world as. Illustrations would fit in really well with the style of story it is.

A Book or Genre You Love Reading When It’s Raining

Anything. But if I really want to get into the “it’s raining, I must be cozy yet melancholic” mood, I’ll pick up a classic, literary fiction, or dystopian novel. Classic or literary fiction because it just feels right for some reason, as if I’m sitting in my cozy cottage reading the arts, and dystopian because I just love that book genre, haha. Dystopians can be melancholic, right?

Thanks for joining me for this fun tag!

How would you answer these questions? I’d love to see what books you find! Feel free to let me know what’s on your bookshelf on your own blog, or in the comments below!

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My 2023 Growth Word

I’m writing this post a bit later than I usually do.

For the past few years, I’ve chosen a new growth word every year. This word is something – a trait or quality – that I’ve prayed about and want to get better at, or focus on more during the next year. And I usually share that word with you guys in January, at the start of each new year.

In 2019, it was love. 2020 was trust. 2021 was courage. Last year, 2022, it was balance.

This year, in 2023, my word is peace.

And the reason it took me so long to share was because it took me longer to decide on. There was a lot going on at the end of 2022 and the beginning of this year, particularly wedding stuff and preparing to move. I was nearly always overwhelmed with something.

I also knew this year was going to hold a lot of new experiences and roles for me, and I wasn’t sure what I should be focusing on most. I thought of choosing patience, just because I’m notoriously impatient. But that didn’t seem right, considering one of the things I’ve been waiting most for was to get married, and I was actually going to see that fulfilled.

That’s how it goes some years. Some years, the word I want to focus on is obvious and comes to me right away. Some years, it takes a little longer, as God speaks through different circumstances that come up.

This year, the word peace was floating around in my mind, but I didn’t know if it was the word God wanted me to focus on or not. And to be honest, I was a little nervous if it was.

There’s the saying that if you pray for patience, God isn’t going to give you patience. He’s going to give you opportunities to learn patience. And that seems to be true of practically any character trait or quality. God leads us into situations where we need to practice those qualities in order to improve at them.

So, selfishly, I was a little scared to ask for help learning peace. By now, I’ve seen over and over again as God has brought opportunities into my life for me to show love, learn trust, be courageous, find balance, and now . . . grow in peace.

I knew that to learn peace, God was probably going to allow situations that I’d need to learn to have peace with. And to have peace, by definition, means to be okay with something we’re maybe not okay with before. It’s hard. It’s challenging. It’s not natural.

But after lots of prayer, and especially after a long conversation with my pastor’s wife (a dear spiritual mentor), I realized that I’ve been silly. I’ve been letting Satan get to me, instead of trusting that God knows what’s best. I’ve been putting off learning something that will ultimately help me, and make my life better, because I’m scared of the growing pains and tough situations that will undoubtedly come first.

And they’ve already been coming, certainly. Funny thing about getting married, moving, settling into adulthood in a whole new way, joining a new family while figuring out a new balance with mine . . . all of these things are pretty hard and require a good deal of peace.

I was starting to let the worry, fear of inadequacy, and overwhelm become too much for me, to the point where I was dreading things that I’d been looking forward to for months.

That’s when I talked and prayed about it with my dear pastor’s wife and she helped me realize what I was doing. She truthfully and lovingly reminded me that, although life isn’t easy, it can be easier if we allow God to grant us His peace. I was so scared to go through tough situations to learn peace, that I didn’t want to accept His peace in the face of difficulties I was already facing.

I’m really not the brightest lightbulb sometimes.

John 14:27 (NIV) says: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”

Those are the words of Jesus. That’s a promise from Him. He offers His peace to us, He gives it to us. We don’t need to earn it, we just have to accept it.

And that doesn’t magically make life easy and all of our problems go away. But it does make them manageable, and gives us new perspective. It’s a feeling that can’t be explained by the world, but reminds us that everything is going to be alright, as long as we trust God.

We may not understand what happens or want it, but nothing happens that God doesn’t allow. He’s aware of it all. He’s in control of it all. And if it wasn’t meant to do something good for His plan, He wouldn’t allow it to happen. It means He’s always with us, no matter what.

That peace is such a gift. It means we don’t need to be worrying ourselves to death over every detail. We still need to live life and work through issues that come up, absolutely. But we’re not alone, they’re not pointless, and we’re not going to be overcome.

I’m so thankful to have had that conversation and realization right before the wedding (earlier that week), so that I didn’t let my anxiety and stress ruin anything in those special days.

Were there some tough, awkward moments and problems that came up here and there? Sure, as there are bound to be at any big event. But they weren’t earth-shattering, and I felt that I responded to them far better than I would have before. I did feel genuine peace, reminding myself that God was in control, and we weren’t alone.

On honeymoon, I did unfortunately end up with a migraine more days than not. And although I felt bad about it, instead of letting it overwhelm me and ruin our special week, I felt peace remembering that God could use even pain for good, and that He was taking care of us and blessing our time. And He did bring so many wonderful memories that may not have even happened without those migraines.

The past week, I’ve been sick with mono and ended up with the entire week off of work. Typically, I might be overjoyed with an entire week off work to accomplish lots at home and in my writing. Instead, I spent eighty-five percent of it laying around and accomplishing basically nothing. I just felt too awful to focus or even sit up some times.

That’s tough for me. I wanted to be doing things, and my husband had to continually remind me that my task for the week was to simply rest and get better. That he didn’t expect me to be productive, and that I didn’t need to feel bad about getting little done.

I’m feeling so much better now and back to work, and although I’m beyond ready for it, I’m also thankful for the reminders God was giving me while I was sick. Reminders to accept and rest in His peace, knowing that He was in control of even a sickness, and that He was still working in my life. Knowing that He allowed it to happen for a reason, even if I don’t know what that was. There’s no use stressing and fretting over something I can’t change.

So in all of these situations and more, even though we’re only a few months in 2023, God has already been showing me His peace in ways I didn’t anticipate, but am so grateful for. I’m glad that I’ve finally accepted that He wants to teach me more about it, and I’m praying that I continue to remember and accept that throughout the year – and beyond.

Even if it’s difficult, even if I don’t understand the circumstances, God always knows best. And His peace is a gift beyond description. I don’t want to live my life without it.

I’m looking forward to learning more about peace.

Do you do growth words, or is there any quality you’d like to learn more about this year? Has God been teaching you anything new lately? Please feel free to let me know in the comments. I’d love to hear from you!

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Happily Married (& wedding photos!)

Hello and happy Wednesday!

It’s been just over a month since my husband and I got married, and it’s hard to believe. In some ways, I feel like we’ve only been married for a week or so. The wedding just happened, right? But at the same time, I feel as if we’ve been husband and wife for months.

I keep being asked how different it feels to be living with him now, married, and settling in. To my surprise, it doesn’t feel nearly as strange as I thought it would. Besides the obvious practical things to figure out, I’ve settled in very well. It feels comfortable. Natural. Nice.

We took two weeks after the wedding for our honeymoon. One week (five days, to be precise) to actually go away from home and just relax, and then one week to settle in at home. Go through wedding gifts and write thank-you’s, do legal name change appointments, finish organizing the things I’d moved in, and those sorts of things.

Getting back to work has been eventful so far, with my first day back leading to the worst migraine I’ve had since Christmas. Thankfully, it was short-lived. Then, last Monday, I came down with mono, and had to take the entire week off of work. Finally, I’m feeling a bit better and getting back to work. Hopefully it can continue less eventfully for now!

My sweet, patient husband has taken it all in stride, taking excellent care of me, and picking up the slack around the apartment when I couldn’t do some of my normal tasks. Somehow he’s been juggling my eventfulness and his full-time work with grace, and I’m looking forward to being back to normal so he doesn’t have to do quite so much anymore.

And all that to say, it’s a month later and I’m finally here with an overview of how the wedding day went, complete with some pictures!

Firstly, the weather gave us quite a scare the night before the big day.

It was extremely warm that week for March (summer temps), but those temps began dropping on Friday, which led to very severe weather. Thankfully, we managed to get through almost all of the last of the food prep, decorating the venues, and the rehearsal before the pouring rain, thunder and lightning, strong winds, and swirling clouds chased everyone home.

It wasn’t how I anticipated leaving my soon-to-be husband the night before our wedding . . . with tornado warnings and power outages going around, but God must have known we needed something else to distract us that evening. And it did work. The night didn’t drag on as long as we were afraid it would.

And thankfully, we all came out of it unscathed. There weren’t any tornados that touched down in our area, just some severe weather. There was even a rainbow in the midst of the black clouds!

Our wedding day ended up being cold and cloudy in the morning, with a bitterly chilly wind. I got ready at my family’s house, packed the last of my things, then rode into the reception venue with my sister, who was helping get food prepped before the ceremony. Our photographer (also my lovely aunt!) would pick me up from there.

(It’s a crazy feeling, being chauffeured for your wedding by your little sister . . . very fun, it just made me feel old!)

Our photographer picked me up to do the first look with my soon-to-be husband (!), and we drove to the church where our wedding would be held. My husband was waiting for us. Neither one of us told the other what we’d be wearing for the wedding beforehand, besides the traditional white dress and a suit. We wanted to surprise each other the day of, so it was a mutual first look.

The photographer went in and got him situated facing away from me first, then came back out and led me into the church, where I could only see the back of him. After getting her go-ahead, I tapped him on the shoulder, he turned around, and we got to do our first look.

I’m so glad we decided to do the first look before the ceremony rather than during, when I walked down the aisle. Everyone is different, but we enjoyed getting to have a moment to ourselves before all the festivities, enjoying the peace and the realization that we were about to be married, and soaking in how the other person looked without embarrassment about our reactions. They were sweet few minutes and helped calm both of our nerves.

Here are a couple of pictures! One from the first look, and the other of our unity sand ceremony supplies all set up before the ceremony.

After the first look, my husband took me back to the reception venue, where I’d wait with my sister until ten minutes before the ceremony, and he went back to the church to greet everyone as they arrived. Those were some of the longest minutes of my life!

Right before the wedding, my sister brought me to the church, and I waited in the vehicle until my dad came to get me. That way I’d know when the foyer was clear of people, and I could sneak in the back.

Due to a couple of slightly late arrivals, my dad and I ended up waiting around the corner of the foyer for a little longer than anticipated, but my dad used that time to pray with me, and I’m thankful for those moments. I was shaking so badly.

When I felt ready, Dad stepped out from around the corner, extended his arm to me, “Canon in D” started playing, and then the wedding was on!

My dad walked me down the aisle, we did our vows (traditional) and ring exchange, a family friend read 1 Corinthians 13, my uncle played guitar and sang “Love Never Fails” by Brandon Heath while we did our unity sand (three colors: one for me, one for my husband, and one to symbolize God), the officiant gave a message on God’s love, and then we were pronounced husband and wife!

Here are a few photos from the wedding ceremony, including the unity sand that we did.

After the ceremony, we took lots of family pictures, which went surprisingly fast, considering that we both have pretty big extended families. Then everyone else headed over to the reception to have lunch, while my husband and I went with the photographer to take our couple photos.

We’d hoped it would warm up, or the breeze would die down before our outdoor pictures, but no such luck! It was cold. But thankfully, we were so hyped up on adrenaline and the joy of the day that we all had fun taking the photos anyway. Even as our hands went numb, and our eyes watered from the wind. I’m still surprised my veil never flew off during it all.

And although we would have preferred it to be warmer, I discovered an unexpected blessing from the cold, which was that it froze away my headache that was starting. So I ended up feeling much better for the reception, and it didn’t come back until nearly all the way until the end. God is good, even when we don’t see how He’s working!

Here are some of our official wedding photos that we braved the cold for!

Then, after taking pictures in two different locations (and getting waved and shouted at by some random passerby that were excited to see a bride and groom running around, I guess), we headed to the reception, where we had time to have a warm lunch and visit with family.

We had a family-only wedding, with the only exception being some people who were in the ceremony. So the lunch afterward was only for those who were at the wedding, and then partway through the afternoon, we had an open reception for everyone else that we knew, featuring lots of snacks and desserts, games for the kids, and socializing.

My husband and I are both introverts, so I wasn’t sure how we were going to handle the constant conversations, but it ended up going very well. We were certainly tired by the end of the day, but it was a lot of fun to see all the many, many people that came, and we felt extremely blessed by all of the support and love shown to us.

We were also super blessed by all the help! Both of our families helped with the food, the set-up, the clean-up, making sure we ate during the day, the pictures, bringing stuff to our apartment while we were gone on honeymoon, and much, much more. Our day went so smoothly, and even when it didn’t, we usually didn’t hear about it until later because it was handled so quickly and well. We’re so thankful!

And here are some pictures from our reception, featuring yummy food, a beautiful quilt my mom made us, a Lego box one of my husband’s cousins made, our finished unity sand, and my bouquet!

After the reception, people helped us pack what we needed into our vehicle, including some extra wedding food, my mom prayed with us, and his family waved us off as we drove home, exhausted but so very happy.

We stayed that night and the next day at home resting, and then left Monday through Friday for a honeymoon that included a water park (one of our favorite special activities together), an escape room, two of our favorite restaurants, walks, card games, laughter, and many good memories.

And now we’re back to real life again – but as husband and wife!

All in all, our special day ended up going so well, and I honestly don’t think I’d have changed a thing. It felt laidback, but also special, which was what we wanted. Nothing too fancy, but a God-centered event where people could enjoy celebrating with us and each other, where they could have good food, and where they could laugh. And it all worked out!

We had quite a few people tell us how much they loved the simplicity of it all, and that it was peaceful. And I especially loved hearing that, as peace is something I’m really striving to improve at finding this year. It doesn’t come naturally to me, but I wanted our wedding day to be peaceful and it was. God really provided, and we’re so grateful.

Thank you for joining me today, and I hope you enjoyed the rambling recollections, haha. And thank you for all the congratulations, encouragement, and patience with me the past few months as I’ve tried to keep up with everything. You mean a lot and I appreciate you!

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What Cats Do Book Tag

Happy Friday!

Time for yet another fun blog tag! I discovered this one on Kristin Kraves Books, where she has an entire page just dedicated to different unique book tags. I’m definitely going to be working through them over the next few months, and I hope you join me in checking out her site!

I’ve always said I’m more of a dog person than a cat person (though I can’t resist little fluffball kittens . . .), but since meeting my husband and spending time with his family’s cats, my adoration of them is growing.

Cats can be fluffballs of randomness, flipping in an instant between sass, affection, mischief, and cuddles, and I think that’s a huge part of their appeal. In honor of the many, many things cats do, let’s compare their traits to books, shall we?

The Rules:
– Credit Kate @ meltingpotsandothercalamities
– Answer the questions
– And tag as many people as you like!

PURR – AS CATS DO THIS WHEN THEY’RE HAPPY OR RELAXED, WHAT IS THE BOOK THAT MAKES YOU HAPPIEST OR RELAXED?

I’m going to say The Chronicles of Narnia books. I enjoy the writing style, characters, world, and of course, the themes. In general, reading them is a nice relaxing escape when I just want a “comfy read”. The one exception would be The Last Battle. That one is a hard mix of sadness and hope.

SLEEP – WHAT IS A BOOK THAT PUT YOU TO SLEEP OR WAS JUST BORING? 

The Selection: The Elite by Kiera Cass. I’m sorry, I know this series has a fanbase but it just isn’t for me. To be honest, I mostly enjoyed the first book, finding it a fun premise and merge of genres. But the second one deviated so much from the plot of the first book that I couldn’t stay interested and ended up just skimming the last third to get it over with. I wouldn’t be opposed to trying the series again sometime, but for now, it’s not my favorite.

TWITCH WHILE DREAMING – HAVE YOU EVER DREAMT OF A BOOK YOU READ?

Yes, actually! I’m pretty sure it’s happened a few times, but the one that comes to mind right away is one of the Harry Potter books. I just remember being in that universe in my dream, and interacting with some of the characters. Probably because I usually read those books in bed right before falling asleep. As far as I know, no nightmares, just good dreams!

SEEMS TO PLAY NICE…UNTIL THE CLAWS ARE OUT – WHICH BOOK HAD THE BIGGEST PLOT TWIST?

Fawkes by Nadine Brandes. I don’t know if I’d say this had the one biggest plot twist I’ve ever read (though I can’t think of which book would at the moment), but it had so many amazing curveballs that I didn’t see coming at all. And though the book started off a little slower, I couldn’t put it down by the time it got to the middle and especially the last third!

CUDDLES – WHICH BOOK CHARACTER WOULD YOU GIVE A HUG TO?

Schmuel from The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne.

To clarify, I’m referring to the book character, as I’ve never seen the movie. Schmuel just makes me so sad, with everything that he had to go through and the way not even his friend Bruno understand the horrors he was living through. I just want to hug him tight.

CATNIP – WHAT’S A BOOK THAT MADE YOU HAVE WARM AND FUZZY FEELS?

Beyond the Bright Sea by Lauren Wolk.

This is such a sweet story! It had more depth and powerful themes than I was expecting for a middle grade novel, but the beautiful simplicity of its prose made it a delightful read. I finished the book with a happy heart.

CAT BREEDS – WHAT ARE YOUR FAVORITE BOOKS?

I could never pick one all-time favorite, but on the list are:
– The Bible (of course)
– Wishtress by Nadine Brandes (all her books really . . . )
– Hind’s Feet on High Places by Hannah Hurnard
– The Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling
– Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
– Blank Mastermind by Rosey Mucklestone

There are so many more I could list though!

THE VET’S OFFICE – YOUR LEAST FAVORITE BOOK:

The River At Night by Erica Ferencik.

I hate to criticize novels, but between the expletives, sexual content, unlikeable characters, and unbelievable plot, this one just wasn’t for me. To be fair though, it’s my own fault for buying it at the thrift shop with no knowledge of what it was about. The cover got me!

BEING IN PLACES THEY SHOULDN’T – LEAST FAVORITE CLICHE:

The first one that comes to mind is where the protagonist ends up falling for the good-looking and confident, but arrogant and abusive love interest that gives no good reasons why they should actually be together. But alas . . . they are.

No matter how good the story itself is, stories that end with such a dysfunctional relationship being presented as a happy ending drive me nuts.

FINAL QUESTION: THE GOOD OLD CARDBOARD BOX – MOST UNDERRATED BOOK SERIES:

The Jedi Apprentice series by Dave Wolverton and Jude Watson.

It’s been years since I read this series, but it almost single-handedly got me into writing Star Wars fiction and expanded my love for the universe. I’d be interested to see if it held up if I read it now, but it was amazing to me at the time, and I rarely hear it talked about.

This has been such a fun one!

As has been my usual lately, I’m not going to tag anyone . . . because I want to tag everyone! If you like blog tags, books, and cats, please feel free to join in on your own blog, or by leaving your answers in the comments. I’d love to hear from you!

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Be The Reason

When did you last make someone smile?

I don’t stop and ask myself that question often. Sometimes the answer can be encouraging, if it was recent. Other times it can be sobering, if it’s been a while. A lot of the time, I don’t even think about it.

We’re often so preoccupied with keeping ourselves happy that we can overlook others. Whether it’s because we’re too busy to notice others need cheering up, we don’t want to cheer them up for some reason, or we just don’t know how, missing an opportunity to make someone smile is sad.

After a difficult conversation with a friend recently, I was reminded of how much the world needs smiles. There’s so much going on. So much hurt, division, conflict, pain, and suffering. When we’re overwhelmed with it all, the last thing we feel like doing – or feel like helping others do – is to smile.

But it’s often one of the things we need most.

It’s amazing how much smiling can turn a day around. Even if we don’t feel like it, some experts advise forcing yourself to smile for a set amount of time anyway. Often, the action of smiling makes us feel happier, which leads to genuine smiles.

But despite the emotional benefits from smiling, it’s less about the smiling itself, and more about the cause of those smiles.

There are plenty of reasons to cry, be angry, or lose hope, and those seem to be the loudest reasons much of the time. We tend to notice and fixate on the bad things first, until we’re out of energy to seek out the good.

That’s where other people come in. That’s where we come in for others.

Sometimes we need other people to show us those reasons to smile. To lift our spirits through kind words, fun activities, hopeful reminders, and silly actions.

Sometimes hurts are too deep and too fresh to allow smiles. That’s okay. I’m not saying people that are suffering and not smiling are choosing that. And I’m also not saying that simply smiling will fix everything.

But through many of the tough situations and trials that we face in life, smiling can make them just a little bit better. Or a lot.

You’ve probably heard the saying, “Be the reason someone smiles today.” I love that reminder. It’s doable. It’s hopeful. It’s purposeful.

We don’t need to make everyone smile. We don’t need to solve someone’s every problem and fix everything for them. We don’t need to be superheroes or geniuses.

We just need to have a heart and use it to lighten others’.

There are few feelings better than to have made someone smile, particularly if they were having a bad day before. Often, it doesn’t take much effort to achieve, but the rewards last – for us and for the other person.

Someone making you smile, putting in the effort to cheer you up or make your day better, means that someone cares. It means you’re not alone. You’re not hopeless. You’re not left to endure life without some happiness.

It can be as simple as complimenting someone, offering to help with something, sending someone a kind ‘thinking of you’ text or hand-written note, playing a game or doing a fun activity, or just being silly in a way you know will lift their spirits.

Smiling is healing. Again, for the person smiling, and the person who helped them smile. The world needs a lot more genuine smiles.

And I truly do think there could be a lot more smiles to go around if we all focused on them more. Focused on being polite, kind, decent, thoughtful, courteous, friendly, and generous. Focused less on looking silly and more on brightening someone’s day.

I’ve been blessed to have many people in my life that do this kind of thing easily. Wherever they go, they make people smile. They bring joy. They genuinely make others’ days better.

I want to be that kind of person more and more. I want people to be able to look forward to seeing me because they’ll know they’ll feel better about life afterward. I want to be joyful, and inspire joy.

And that doesn’t mean we can’t or shouldn’t experience emotions like sadness, guilt, or anger. That’s a part of life for now, and feeling those things should be understood and dealt with in a healthy way, not shamed.

But you head where you’re focused, and I think that if more people focused on smiles and joy, there would be a lot more smiling and joyful people.

Let’s each do our part, as best we can, to make the people we’re around each day smile.

Don’t be afraid to take the first step, speak up, look a little silly, and smile often.

It’s worth it.

Therefore encourage one another 
and build each other up, 
just as in fact you are doing.
(1 Thessalonians 5:11 NIV)

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Bucket Lists: a Discussion

Hello and happy Wednesday!

As you can tell, I’m back from honeymoon, settled into my new home with my new husband, and slowly getting back into the swing of life – including blogging! I’m planning to share some pictures and a general wedding update in a little bit, but today is not that day.

Instead, today’s topic is a bit strange. At least for this blog recently.

Bucket lists.

These are lists of goals, dreams, accomplishments, and/or activities we humans want to do before we “kick the bucket”. Before we run out of time on this earth.

Some of us have these lists formally, actually writing them out. Others may not have a physical list, but I think we all have a bucket list to some extent. We all have things we’d like to do, goals we want to reach, accomplishments we want to achieve in our time here. Whether we write them down in a neat list or not, they’re in our minds and hearts.

So what’s on your list?

Apparently this coming Monday (April 24th) is National Bucket List Day, which I’d never heard of prior to exploring a fun holidays website. But it got me thinking about the time I sat down as a young teen and wrote a list of my own.

Some of the things on young me’s list were things I’ve done now. Such as “get married”, “sing a solo on stage”, and “get my driver’s license”. It’s fun to be able to go back and cross things off. Young me would have been ecstatic to see me accomplish them.

Other things on it at the time were things like “go skydiving”, “learn 3-4 languages”, and “go to Africa”. They were big dreams that I thought would be cool, and jotted down with lots of optimism. I’ve never done any of those things yet, and doubt that I ever will. And that’s okay. While I still think all of those things would be cool, they aren’t priorities to me.

The list of young Bella was pretty random and many of the goals and dreams I had at that point are no longer there. My interests have changed in many ways. I’m no longer desperate to buy a horse or travel to every U.S. state capitol (although I’ll admit, that would still be cool . . . ).

I think some of it comes down to plain ol’ maturity too. As I’ve grown up, I’ve realized that while it’s fun to dream, God has the final say, and I don’t want to get worked up and set on things that I have no idea whether God has in the plans or not.

But at the same time, is it wrong to dream? I don’t think so. I think God created us to have ideas, hopes, interests, and passions, and it’s only normal to want to explore those, and experience more of the creation He’s placed us in.

So I’d like to hear your opinion . . . do you have a bucket list? Do you think it’s either good or bad to have one? Why or why not?

This isn’t something I see any reason to get fired up about, but I am curious. I think it boils down to what our approach should be in goal-setting as well.

If you know me, you know that I like to make goals and plans. I like to try and be organized, striving to hit goals and achieve things I work toward. And if I fail, or things change and I don’t get to do something I’d planned to, I can get pretty upset.

I’ve had to learn an important lesson – repeatedly. Only God knows and makes the final plans. We can make our plans and try to reach them, but in the end, what actually happens is under God’s control. What we’re meant to do, He’ll allow, and what isn’t right for us, He’ll prevent.

In some ways that can seem frustrating, but it’s also very freeing. It’s like how I can look back at young Bella’s list and recognize that although I was dead-set on going to Africa as a missionary right out of high school, that not happening allowed me to be around and meet my now-husband. And I’m more than happy with the swap, as I see how God is using me right where I’m at.

So just as I need to remember to ultimately trust God with my plans when I make work goals, I need to remember to place all of my life, all my hopes and dreams, in His more-than-capable hands as well. Things may not turn out how we expect, but that’s okay. They’ll always turn out for the best.

And as long as we remember that, I think there’s something very fun about sitting down and dreaming. Sometimes in writing down and thinking on all of our random little hopes, goals, and thoughts of “oh, that would be cool!”, we discover some fascinating facts about ourselves. Who knew we’d actually love to scuba dive, try foreign foods, or explore European cities?

I don’t have a current physical bucket list right now, and don’t know if I’ll get around to making one, but I do have some goals for my life that I’d love to reach. Such as publishing a book (or many!), starting a family, and reading more books than I can count. We’ll see what God has planned, but it’s fun to dream.

And what makes the experience even better, as a Christian, is that I know that even if I don’t get to experience everything I’d like to this side of Heaven, there will always be the next life. And there will be so many more amazing things to experience that I don’t have the fear of missing out here. Ultimately none of our current dreams can compare to those.

All in all, to summarize my random ramblings on bucket lists, I think they can be fun and valuable insights into our hearts’ desires. I think they can also constantly be changing as we grow, mature, live life, and experience more and more.

And ultimately, I think that we’ll continue to realize that no matter what we hope and plan for, what God ends up giving us in this life – and the next – will be far, far better than anything we could plan for ourselves. What a hopeful promise!

Thank you for sifting through my random thoughts today!

I’d love to know your opinion on bucket lists. Do you think they’re worth having? A waste of time? Do you have one, and if so, what kinds of things are on it? Have they changed at all over time? If you don’t have one, why not? Please feel free to let me know in the comments below!

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