E.G. Bella's Blog, page 9

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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What Cats Do Book TagBe The ReasonBucket Lists: a Discussion

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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Be The ReasonBucket Lists: a DiscussionThe Trope Tag

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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The Trope Tag

Happy Friday!

At this point, my husband (that’s so fun to say!) and I are still on our honeymoon, but I found this tag right before the wedding and couldn’t resist sharing it with you today!

This tag was created by Kenzie at Featherwick Press, and I found it on Quote, Unquote by the lovely Liesl Brunner. Thank you for bringing it to my attention, Liesl!

The point? To pit twelve common (or not so common) fiction tropes against each other to see which ones win!

Of course, this is only my opinion on each of these tropes, so I would love to hear what you think! Please feel free to stick around afterward and let me know what you would pick in each of these pairings!

Let’s get started . . . .

THE CHOSEN ONE VS. THE MENTOR

Ooh, starting off with an easy one. The chosen one is such a common trope, and while it can certainly be part of a great story (just look at practically any dystopian, Harry Potter, Star Wars, etc.), I think it’s overused and can lead to some lazy story-writing. Have I used it? Yes. Is it my favorite? Nope.

Mentors are my fictional soft spot though. I adore good mentor characters, particularly those that start off as gruff, uncertain, or perhaps even somewhat cruel, and by the end of the story have both taught valuable lessons to the protagonist and had a great deal of character growth themselves. Whether mine or others’, I gravitate to stories with nuanced mentors.

So hands down, THE MENTOR is my winner here!

ENEMIES TO LOVERS VS. FRIENDS TO LOVERS

Another pretty easy one!

Enemies to lovers has redeeming qualities, particularly in comedy. I enjoy plenty of great banter and rocky starts as long as it eventually gives way to a genuine and healthy relationship. But in general, the trope can be problematic for me. I often have trouble looking past the horrid treatment of one another and wonder if the end relationship is really a healthy one, or if it’s just based off of attraction or the like.

Friends to lovers on the other hand . . . what’s not to like? Personally, I prefer to see two characters who have a strong and healthy platonic relationship that eventually blossoms into something more. Then I can trust that they truly do value the other person and will treat them well. Maybe I’m thinking too deeply about fictional characters’ relationships.

As you can guess, FRIENDS TO LOVERS is the winner for this one!

MATCHMAKER GONE WRONG VS. LOVE POTION

I actually had to look this one up because I couldn’t think of stories with either trope (besides Ron and Lavender in Harry Potter, with the love potion? If that counts?).

Apparently, the matchmaker gone wrong trope is usually where one character tries to match two other characters, and then ends up falling in love with one of them instead. I think I’ve read a couple of books with similar plots, and this can be cute. Not always done well, but it can lead to some interesting and even heart-warming situations.

Love potion is a bit more self-explanatory. I’ve never been very fond of love potion romances, probably just because they’re not real. I feel too bad for the character that is being influenced, and just am uncomfortable at the situation in general.

So here, THE MATCHMAKER GONE WRONG wins!

TRAPPED IN AN ELEVATOR VS. WORKING WITH THE EX

Here again, I needed to look up examples for these.

Trapped in an elevator generally just refers to stories where characters get stuck somewhere with no escape from one another and no choice but to work together to get free. Whether they’re friends, romantic interests, enemies . . . the trope has been used for all sorts of characters. Not on actual elevators, but I actually do enjoy this trope a lot, particularly when its enemies that are suddenly forced to be on the same side for survival.

I haven’t seen or read many stories with the working with the ex trope. From those that I can think of (even Jack Sparrow working with Angelica in Stranger Tides comes to mind), it can make for an enjoyable story, but tends to have a lot more drama. Sometimes that’s great for humor or tension, what have you, but sometimes it can also just get so petty and unnecessary, haha. That’s a tough one.

Both have their places, but TRAPPED IN AN ELEVATOR wins this round!

MISTAKEN IDENTITY VS. MARRIAGE PACT

This one might have a winner simply by default. I’ve never read any books or seen any movies that I can think of that contain a marriage pact (where two characters make a pact that if they’re both still single by a certain age, they’ll get married). This definitely has potential to be sweet, so I’d be interested in finding a story like that at some point!

Mistaken identity is a trope that I’ve read often, and usually enjoy. While it can be frustrating sometimes when we feel the characters are missing things right in front of their eyes, I do like stories with disguises, amnesia, pretending to be someone else, or people thinking one character is someone else without them even pretending. They can be very entertaining.

So kind of by default, MISTAKEN IDENTITY is the winning trope here!

KIDNAPPED VS. THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY

The first thing that comes to mind with the kidnapped trope is Seven Brides for Seven Brothers which certainly makes entertaining use of the kidnapping element. I don’t condone it obviously, and there have been some kidnapping stories that I don’t like because they’re too problematic, but when done for humor, or when the kidnapping is done for good purposes (like rescues), then I enjoy them. Mostly when romance isn’t part of it.

The one that got away trope can also make for some intense stories though. I don’t think I’ve ever found a lighthearted story with this trope, just sad or contemplative ones. There’s good opportunity for character growth and sacrifice in these kinds of stories, and I’m rarely one to shy away from melancholic stories, but I do have to be in a certain mood for them.

Hmm, this is the hardest pairing by far today . . . and I think it depends on my mood at the time that I’m reading. But today, I’m going to have to go with KIDNAPPED!

Thank you so much for joining me for this tag! I’m not going to tag specific people, but if this sounds like fun to you, please feel free to hop in! Which trope would you pick from each pairing? Do you agree or disagree with any of my favorites?

And wait – there’s more . . .

If you’re not just a reader but a writer as well, the original creator of this tag attached a challenge for you! Why not write a short story incorporating every. single. one. of the tropes that you chose as your favorites? While I won’t have time to do this soon, I would love to try it at some point! If you’re itching to attempt it as well, please do! And let us know how it goes!

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10 Christian Quotes About Marriage

Happy Sunday!

As you read this, my new husband and I will be one day into our marriage (and hopefully getting some much-needed rest)! I’ve prepped this short post ahead of time, as I wanted to take the opportunity to share a few quotes that I’ve been keeping close lately.

Marriage is an amazing opportunity and blessing, and also a huge responsibility. I’ve done a lot of reading and praying ahead of time, and I know I’ll be failing, growing, and learning about it for the rest of my life now. How amazing that we can know God will help us!

So to celebrate the occasion, here are ten of my favorite quotes on Christian marriage!

1. “A good marriage isn’t something you find; it’s something you make.”
(Gary L. Thomas)

2. “If you are married, or single hoping to marry, remember this: every marriage is comprised of two sinners. The best marriage is one where those sinners are united in their love of God, their commitment to serve one another, and a spirit of humility. Through marriage you can expect to learn how much sacrifice is involved in loving a sinner through all the ups and downs of life: this is a picture of how Christ loves us.”
(Kerry van der Vinne)

3. “We are, all of us, utterly committed and deeply devoted to our “style”, our “way”, our “approach to life.” We have absolutely no intention of giving it up. Not even for love. So God creates an environment where we have to. It’s called marriage.”
(John Eldredge)

4. “Flowing from this union, source of a plenitude of joy, the love of the couple reveals itself through the daily acceptance of the limits and faults of each other and in mutual openness. It is this acceptance in and through gentleness, kindness, forgiveness, confidence and the desire to see shining in the other the warm light of the Spirit of God that becomes the great sign of the merciful love of God for man and His incessant forgiveness.”
(Jean Vanier)

5. “A happy marriage is the union of two good forgivers.”
(Ruth Graham)

6. “Love…is not merely a feeling. It is a deep unity, maintained by the will and deliberately strengthened by habit; reinforced by (in Christian marriages) the grace which both partners ask, and receive, from God. They can have this love for each other even at those moments when they do not like each other; as you love yourself even when you do not like yourself.” 
(C. S. Lewis)

7. “Staying married, therefore, is not mainly about staying in love. It is about keeping covenant. “Till death do us part” or “As long as we both shall live” is a sacred covenant promise—the same kind Jesus made with His bride when He died for her.”
(John Piper)

8. “Marriage is a call to die [to self]… Christian marriage vows are the inception of a lifelong practice of death, of giving over not only all you have, but all you are. Is this a grim gallows call? Not at all! It is no more grim than dying to self and following Christ. In fact, those who lovingly die for their [spouses] are those who know the most joy, have the most fulfilling marriages, and experience the most love.”
(R. Kent Hughes)

9. “We [should not] make the mistake of thinking that marriage will provide the ultimate satisfaction for which we all hunger. To assume so would be to be guilty of blasphemy. Only God satisfies the hungry heart. Marriage is but one of the channels He uses to enable us to taste how deeply satisfying His thirst-quenching grace can be.”
(Sinclair B. Ferguson)

10. Great marriages don’t happen by luck or by accident. They are the result of a consistent investment of time, thoughtfulness, forgiveness, affection, prayer, mutual respect, and a rock-solid commitment between a husband and a wife.”
(Dave Willis)

Two are better than one,
    because they have a good return for their labor:
If either of them falls down,
    one can help the other up.
But pity anyone who falls
    and has no one to help them up.
Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm.
    But how can one keep warm alone?
Though one may be overpowered,
    two can defend themselves.
A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.
(Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 NIV)

Thank you for reading!

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!

1. You can find more of my quote collection posts here.

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2023 Quarter #1 Wrap-Up

Hello and happy Wednesday!

Today’s post is a recap of my first three months of 2023, complete with general life updates, writing achievements, reading progress, and goals. And as always, I’m looking forward to hearing how life is going for you so far this year!

Let’s get started . . .

General Update

Last week, I gave a pretty thorough update on my current life happenings in this post (click the highlighted words to read it). But for those that didn’t catch it, I’m now merely three days away from getting married! Tomorrow starts the decorating, primary food prep, rehearsals, and last-minute details, and while it will be crazy, I’m looking forward to it. Saturday should be a wonderful day!

The weather has been warming up, and the sun has been out more lately! However, April 1st is forecasted to be a bit colder than the rest of this week, and even snow . . . that’s April for you. Thankfully, the ceremony and reception will both be indoors. My fiancé and I keep reminding ourselves that as long as we’re married by the end of the day, the day will be a success, so if the weather wants to play a little April Fool’s joke on us, that’s okay!

Migraines have continued to be much better than they were last summer! They do get worse after major events, so we’re wary of the coming weekend, but doing everything we can to hopefully keep a major one at bay. I’m so blessed to have a caring, hardworking, and generous family that’s been so helpful to us in the planning. We’re in good hands!

Fiction

Big surprise, my fiction writing has been almost nonexistent this year. However, the unintended break has actually been much more helpful than I expected. It’s strange how this seems to work with fiction, but not constantly thinking about Cabin Girl has really helped clear my mind and figure out how to fix a couple final plot problems with the story.

And after spending so much time on tedious editing last year, the break has been refreshing, and I’m finding myself very eager to get back to it again. Who would have guessed I’d be excited to edit, but here we are. It will be nice to ease back into it after settling into our new home.

On the Blog

Blogging has been slower so far this year, but much better than my fiction writing. January had four posts, February only had one, and counting this one, March will have three. I continue to be astonished by the increase in views and visitors (we already have more views and visitors to this site in 2023 than we did in all of 2021).

I’ve loved interacting with more and more new readers, and continue to feel so grateful and blessed by the regular readers (you guys know who you are <3).

Here’s the blog posts from this quarter:
~ My 2023 Goals
~ My 2023 Reading List
~ What I Wrote in 2022
~ New Year’s Resolution Book Tag
~ Fellow Author Cover Reveal: Heart of Fire
~ The Once Upon a Time Book Tag
~ Final Reflections of a Single Bella
~ and of course, this one!

Reading List

I have high ambitions for reading this year, and while I’m currently behind on my goal according to Goodreads, I figured the majority of my reading would happen after the wedding, so it’s okay. So far, I’ve read 11 books, and managed to get through all of my borrowed books before moving. I didn’t want to chance losing them in the chaos!

Here are a few of my favorites from the past three months:
~ Preparing for Marriage God’s Way by Wayne A. Mack
~ All Things For Good by Thomas Watson
~ Lest Innocent Blood Be Shed by Philip Hallie
~ The Harry Potter series! (I’ve re-read the first two so far)

You can always keep up with my reading list (and reviews) on Goodreads.

Looking Forward

My fiancé and I will be taking two weeks off work after the wedding to rest and settle in, so you probably won’t hear much (if anything) from me until the end of April. I’m really looking forward to that time to accomplish what we need to with minimal interruptions, and also just rest and recover from all of this excitement and busyness.

After we’ve figured out our new normal as far as routines go, we’re hoping I’m able to write – blogging and fiction – a bit more for the remainder of this year. I’ll have a better idea of what to expect when I come back, so I’ll keep you updated!

Thank you all for the prayers and congratulations, and for sharing in my excitement! I’m praying you have a joyful, blessed, and sunny Easter season!

What has the first three months of 2023 been like for you? Have you made progress on some of your goals, or learned some important lessons? What are you looking forward to in the next quarter? I’d love to hear about what’s been going on in your life!

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2023 Quarter #1 Wrap-UpFinal Reflections of a Single BellaThe Once Upon a Time Book TagFellow Author Cover Reveal: Heart of FireNew Year’s Resolution Book Tag

Final Reflections of a Single Bella

Happy Sunday!

It’s been a while since I just sat down and blogged. Not for a review, not a tag . .. simply sharing my thoughts and what God’s been doing in my life recently. I’ve sure been learning a lot!

As you may have noticed, I blogged a grand total of once in February. I hadn’t intended to disappear for a month, but turns out, preparing to get married takes up a lot of time! Who could have guessed, right?

We’re in the final countdown now . . . just thirteen more days until I’m a married woman! And despite how dramatic and solemn the title of this post is, I’m so excited. I’ve been counting the days until the wedding since we got engaged, and now I’m counting hours (317 at the time of posting, if you’re curious).

It’s not every day you start a new life with your best friend. I feel extremely blessed to be given that opportunity.

Truthfully, I feel a lot of things. The past few months have been full of different thoughts, emotions, and realizations – sometimes overwhelming, and often eye-opening.

Of course there are many details and things to think about in planning the wedding day itself. But more than that, every day has brought more realizations of things that will change once we’re married.

Some very exciting, some more bittersweet. My family continues to guilt-trip me (half-jokingly) about each family birthday or event, and how it will be my last one at home. How every meal I have with my fiancé is one fewer that they get to have with me. How they’re going to need to bribe us to come over and hang out (not likely!).

To clarify, my family is completely supportive of the marriage and have been absolute life-savers with all of their help so far. They’re excited for us, and my fiancé fits very well into our zany craziness. So it’s not that they’re disappointed or sad about the marriage at all.

But I do realize things will change for them as well. Smaller things, such as our rotating chores lists, shower schedules (one bathroom and seven people makes for some interesting mornings), and keeping certain foods around. But also bigger things, like spontaneous movie or game nights, family meals, or random late-night conversations about anything.

Now, I’m extremely excited to do those things with my fiancé. And I’m sure they’ll still happen with my family after we’re married. But yes, things will change.

Change has never been easy for me. On one hand, I love new things. I love traveling, seeing new things, trying new foods and hobbies. But at the end of the day, I want the familiar, the surroundings and people I’m used to, and the comfortable. I want to go back home.

So how do you know what to feel when you’re between two homes? I imagine it’s much different for those getting married after they’ve already been on their own, moved out. My fiancé has already dealt with the initial moving out and getting used to that new separation from his family, so it’s a bit smoother of a transition for him.

But I’ve been home all my life. So I imagine the hardest part of the transition is just going to be getting used to a new home. The place, the routines, the people . . . it’s different.

But different isn’t bad. Different is something I’m looking forward to. I’m just a walking contradiction right now, and expect I will be for a little bit while I get used to everything. Until all the feelings sort themselves out.

Bittersweet, excited, scared, joyful, unprepared, hopeful, shaky, calm, worn out, energized…

Can you tell one reason I haven’t blogged for a bit, haha? It’s difficult to focus my thoughts on any one thing right now. But I’m told that’s normal, and I imagine so.

And truly, I didn’t think it was possible, but I’m getting more and more excited with every passing day – or hour! I’ve been telling my fiancé that he feels like home to me for months, so I can’t wait to make that feeling a reality. He’s stuck with me through an awful lot for the past year and a half, and I feel comfortable, safe, and so, so blessed to be marrying him.

He claims to feel the same way, although I’m currently testing that, thanks to a cold I passed to him this week, haha. The only two times he’s been sick since we’ve dated, I’ve given him the illness. Not on purpose, of course! But hey . . . spouses are supposed to share everything, right?

(. . . just joking . . . I feel bad about it, but he’s been super sweet and says he’d spend time with me all over again, even if he knew he’d get sick. We’re hoping getting sick now means we won’t after the wedding – fingers crossed!)

Planning-wise, we’re getting to the end of things. It’s just pulling everything together at this point. This week is moving week for me. Obviously, I’ll be waiting to move in until April 1st, but to avoid triggering migraines (at least as much as I have control over), I want to be done with all but what I need for the last week at home already moved to our apartment.

Next week, we have two days before the wedding to get things set up, decorated, compiled, and rehearsed, and my fiancé and I were both thankfully able to take the day off before the wedding so the extra time will be helpful.

We have our rings, wedding clothes, our marriage license (slightly important), officiant, decorations, invitations long since sent out, wedding shower completed and thank-you’s sent, ceremony figured out, gifts for helpers, and pre-marital counseling completed.

Really, all that’s left to figure out is specific things like exact times to get each place, where to take couples pictures and have the first look, print programs, etc. We’ve had so much help to get where we are!

We wanted a smaller, simple wedding, and have taken out a lot that is usually included in weddings nowadays, but there’s still a surprising amount of details we’ve needed to think about. I can’t imagine doing anything bigger and am so glad we’ve kept it simpler.

(Simpler, not necessarily smaller . . . as our family-only wedding is still near 120 people. I have a big family, haha).

Recently, I’ve been asked if, a year and a half ago, I would have ever guessed I’d be getting married now. And no! Not at all! God’s plans are so much greater than ours.

My fiancé came into my life only a couple of months after I had a very heartfelt conversation with God, giving him my desire for a husband, a best friend, someone that could be mine and I could be theirs. But it finally wasn’t a prayer asking Him for it. It was a prayer surrendering that desire.

I still wanted it, absolutely. But after a lot of prayer and wrestling, I recognized that the constant desiring and trying to make it happen on my own, wasn’t helping me. It was making me ungrateful and too caught up in “what-ifs” rather than what was already happening in my life.

So that prayer was me basically telling God, “I still want this, You know that. But I’m going to stop focusing on it. You know best, and I’m just going to trust You with this. And if it doesn’t happen, You’re enough.”

One of the hardest prayers I’ve ever prayed.

And I hesitate to share this, simply because I don’t want to make it sound like all you have to do to find a spouse, if that’s your desire, is to pray those words and poof – God will make it happen. It wasn’t the prayer, the words, or anything I did physically. I know it was simply me reaching the place, genuinely and truly, where my heart was more focused on God than finding that person.

And I guess that’s what God was waiting for, because shortly afterward was when, at a friend’s wedding, I reconnected with my fiancé – someone I’d known of and shared experiences with in high school, but never actually knew.

And here we are, less than two weeks from being husband and wife.

God is so good, so gracious, and so patient. He’s already been working in my heart, challenging me to be kinder, more compassionate, more patient, to rest in Him, and to be more sacrificial. I know I have a lifetime of learning ahead of me, not just to be a better Christian, but soon to be a better wife as well.

So no matter how much might be going through my mind, or going on in my life right now, I’ve never looked forward to something so much. I can’t wait for April 1st!

And yes, it’s legitimate, haha. Not an April Fool’s joke. Believe me, we’ve heard the jests too many times to count already . . . but that’s part of the charm, right?

I do plan to pop in one last time before the marriage with some more factual updates (blogging, writing, reading, what to expect from me in the next few months, etc.), so look for that the 29th of March.

And until then, thank you so much for wading through my ramblings. I’m so grateful for everyone who reads my posts, no matter how disorganized, sappy, or random. You make my life brighter!

God bless you, and have a wonderful week!

Recent Posts:

Final Reflections of a Single BellaThe Once Upon a Time Book TagFellow Author Cover Reveal: Heart of Fire

The Once Upon a Time Book Tag

Happy Friday!

And happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Today, I’m breaking my month-long, unintended hiatus (update post coming Sunday) with a a fun book tag. This one was co-created by Merie Shen of Imperial Scribis, and I found it on Quote, Unquote, run by the lovely Liesl Brunner. Thanks for the open tag!

The pretty tag graphic!The Rules

– thank the person who tagged you
– use the tag graphic above (optional)
– name a book for each of the following 12 categories
– tag as many people as you would like

And now for the categories!

“Cinderella,” a book that changed your life

Heaven by Randy Alcorn. Like the featured review on the cover says, besides the Bible, I think this book is at least one of the ones that has changed my spiritual life the most. Obviously we can’t know exactly how Heaven will be until we’re there, but the study, wisdom, and explained Scriptures in this book have been very helpful and encouraging to me. I look forward to Heaven even more, and can’t wait to see all that God has planned!

“Sleeping Beauty,” a book that took you forever to finish

The Screwtape Letters by C. S. Lewis. These are phenomenally written, so they didn’t take forever to finish due to lack of quality, but simply because they’re so deep! I can see why Lewis said writing this book made him feel unclean, as the spiritual weight and truths embedded in the letters are so honest and raw. I think it’s an almost necessary read for any Christian, to get a vivid idea of what we’re battling on a day to day basis.

“A Thousand and One Nights,” a book you couldn’t stop
reading

Fairest by Gail Carson Levine. It always surprises me how hard this book is to put down. I love the original fairy tale, and all the depth and surprising plot twists there are for a middle-grade story. The characters have stuck with me ever since first reading it in middle school years ago, and so have the themes of love, courage, and true beauty.

“Little Red Riding Hood,” a book you recently read in an unfamiliar genre

The Nine Lessons by Kevin Alan Milne. This is a contemporary, very introspective book with heavy focus on golf, romance, and a shaky relationship between estranged father and son. I don’t typically read books with much of any of those, so it was a new experience! Though it was a bit slow at times, and still not quite my style, I did end up enjoying it, thanks to the thoughtful writing, solid themes, and hopeful ending.

“The Wild Swans,” a book with your favorite sibling relationships

The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis (again). What kind of Christian homeschooler would I be if these books didn’t make the list, haha? I’ve always enjoyed the relationships that the Pevensie siblings have with each other. They’re not always perfect, but they’re real – good or bad. And combining that with the deep spiritual aspects of the story, and their characters, makes it even better. Oh, and even if he’s not a sibling, Eustace is an honorary mention here.

“Snow White,” a book filled with beautiful prose

The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater. There may come a day when I stop gushing about how beautiful the prose is in this book . . . but today is not that day. It’s a fantastic, engaging, and unique story, and I could gush about a lot of its elements, but the prose is the top thing that continues to stick out to me. In addition to being flowing and beautiful, it reminded me of my own writing style – just ten times better. So not only is it a great book, but it’s an inspiration for my own writing as well! I definitely recommend reading it.

“Rapunzel,” a book that you procrastinated on reading after buying

Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers. Technically, I didn’t procrastinate reading it after my family purchased it, but I procrastinated buying it myself for a long time, due to the subject matter. Despite my hesitations though, it was very engaging and powerful book. Definitely not for young readers, but the topics were handled tactfully, and used to convey some deep spiritual themes. I’m glad I finally did read it.

(And no, I haven’t seen the movie, so I can’t speak on that at all.)

“The Little Mermaid,” a book that took you on a magical journey

Wishtress by Nadine Brandes. Nadine is one of my favorite authors, and I have yet to find a book of hers that I didn’t enjoy. This one might be my very favorite though! It very literally takes the reader on a magical journey, with intriguing elemental-esque magic, relatable and nuanced characters, an expansive fantasy world, crazy plot twists, and beautiful themes. If that sounds at all like your kind of book, I encourage you to read it!

“The Frog Prince,” a book that you’d like to turn into a frog because you hated it so much

The River at Night by Erica Ferencik. This was a random thrift store find and I made the rookie mistake of only judging it by the intriguing cover and blurb. I ended up skimming through a lot of this one. The survival plot was decent, but hard to enjoy around the constant sprinkling of expletives and other mature content. I started marking Sharpie over all the swears, and gave up about one chapter in. It isn’t one I recommend or will reread.

“Peter Pan,” a book that reminds you of your childhood

Jedi Apprentice: The Rising Force by Dave Wolterton (and the rest of the series by Jude Watson). My brother and I read this entire series from the library when I was much younger, and loved it. In fact, it was a huge influence in my own writing and interest in Star Wars stories. I don’t remember the quality of the writing at this point, but I just remember being completely sucked into each book, and vividly “seeing” and experiencing everything.

“The Goose Girl,” a book you had low expectations for but ended up loving

Beyond the Bright Sea by Lauren Wolk. This is another one I picked up thanks to the gorgeous cover. As sad as it is, nowadays I’m always slightly wary of award-winning mainstream books, but this pleasantly surprised me! It was such a sweet, poignant, and bittersweet middle grade story with real and likable characters, and timeless themes. I plan to reread this, and have recommended it often.

“Hansel and Gretel,” a book that made you hungry

Hunger by Jill Williamson. I don’t have much to say in my defense for this one, but I couldn’t resist, haha. I was . . . hungry for the story resolution? After reading it for hours? Yeah, we’ll go with those.

The Tags

As I’ve done the past few blog tags, I’m going to leave this one open! So if you’re reading this and want to hop in, please do – either in the comments, or on your own blog. I’d love to learn about some of your favorite books!

Thank you for joining me today, and thank you again for the open tag, Liesl! Until Sunday!

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Fellow Author Cover Reveal: Heart of Fire

Hello and happy Wednesday!

I’m delighted to share a special cover reveal today! Friend and prolific author Raina Nightingale is releasing a brand new book, Heart of Fire (the first in its series), in a couple of months, and today is the cover reveal!

(If you recall, I also got to take part in the cover reveal for another one of her books last year, right here.)

First off, let’s have a glimpse at the fun person that Raina is!

Raina Nightingale has been writing fantasy since she could write stories with the words she could read (the same time that she started devouring books, too). Now she writes “slice of life” and epic dawndark fantasy, for fiction lovers interested in rich world-building, characters who feel like real people, and religious experiences.

Raina thinks giant balls floating in space can have the same magic that fairytales teach us to look for in oak trees and stars. However, she has a lot of universes and while not all of them have giant balls floating in space, most of them have dragons of one sort or another!

And now, onto the upcoming release’s synopsis!

A SLAVE DETERMINED TO RIDE A DRAGON. A CHILD CHOSEN TO RIDE THE OBSIDIAN GUARDIAN.

Camilla has always been told that humans are inferior. They cannot use magic. If they bond to dragons, they will doom the creatures to extinction. She has never believed a word of it. She has always known that she can use magic, and she suspects it is the elves who harm the dragons by keeping them to themselves. Now, she is presented with the opportunity of a lifetime: a dragon’s clutch is hatching and while she will earn the wrath of her captors if she is caught, she has the chance to see a dragon hatch and perhaps even to Recognize.

Kario’s people have feared dragons since time immemorial. When an unrealistically huge black dragon flies in while she is hunting, she is certain she will die. Instead, her life is changed when Nelexi, Obsidian Guardian of Areaer, chooses her as her final rider. Kario takes the name Flameheart, but she is soon homesick and afraid that she is insufficient to be the partner of a god.

And finally…the moment we’ve all been waiting for…

Here is the amazing illustrated cover!

I love how much drama and tension the art portrays!

Raina always amazes me with her art for her book covers, and how perfectly they seem to fit the story. Here’s the full paperback wrap-around as well!

Heart of Fire releases on April 16th, 2023 but you can pre-order the ebook and/or paperback on your preferred platform following this link!

So if you’re a fan of high-fantasy, dragons, deep themes, and intriguing characters, I highly recommend you check out Raina’s books! She’s a devoted writer and talented storyteller, and I’m very excited for her newest release.

You can find Raina (and information about her other published works) on her website, here, or by visiting her twitter, here.

Congratulations on your upcoming release, Raina!

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New Year’s Resolution Book Tag

Happy Friday!

I know I just shared my 2023 reading list last week, but I couldn’t help but join in on this short and sweet reading tag. The lovely Kate over at Once Upon an Ordinary is the person I stole this from (you should definitely go read her answers, right here!)

And of course, I’d love to find out what you’re hoping to read this year!

The QuestionsAn author that you’d like to read (that you’ve never read before).

Bread of Angels by Tessa Afshar.

My family gave me this for my birthday last year, and it looks so good! Biblical fiction can be tricky to do right, but I really enjoy reading it when well-written. This one looks like a super interesting look at the story of Lydia from the New Testament. I don’t think I’ve read a biblical fiction book about her yet.

Really, the only other full-length biblical fiction books I’ve read that I can think of off-hand are The Scrolls of Edessa and a bunch from Francine Rivers. Any recommendations?

A book you’d like to read.

Sacred Marriage by Gary Thomas.

I’ll at least stick one non-fiction one on here! I believe I’ve skimmed this one before, if not read the entire thing quickly a while ago, but I want to read and really study it this year. For obvious reasons.

My fiancé and I went through his book The Sacred Search when we were dating, and I can’t recommend it highly enough. I have very high hopes for this book on marriage as well.

A classic you’d like to read.

The Giver by Lois Lowry.

I’m not sure this is considered a classic classic, but it’s one that I hear about all the time and still haven’t read. I honestly don’t even know much about it, but it sounds intriguing! And I’m always up for a good dystopian.

Funny enough, I have vague memories of watching the movie with my dad and siblings quite a while ago, but don’t remember enough of the storyline to know what to expect from the book.

A book you’d like to re-read.

The Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling.

I’m actually in the process of re-reading the first book right now. I’ve read the whole series several times before and always enjoyed it, but it’s been a while. And I’m prioritizing it now because my family owns it, not me, and I only have until April to have super easy access to it, haha.

The level of detail and foreshadowing that Rowling wove through these books always amazes me. They help motivate me to get writing my own stories too!

A book you’ve had for ages and want to read.

Eragon by Christopher Paolini.

I’ve had this for several years now and even tried to read it once, but just couldn’t get into it. That said, I really don’t like stopping books partway through, and have heard some pretty good reviews about the story, so I want to read the whole thing this year. Chances are, I just have to read further in and then I’ll get hooked anyway.

And besides, I’ve heard it compared to a fantasy version of Star Wars, and I love Star Wars! So it will be good to get to this.

A big book you’d like to read.

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr.

I picked this one up from my local thrift store a while ago, and have been too intimidated (and strapped for time) to read it yet. But I want to! It sounds intriguing, and I do tend to enjoy historical fiction. Plus, the cover looks cool, so that’s a plus. It’s just huge.

The Bible is another book I want to get through this year, and that’s pretty huge too.

An author you’ve previously read and want to read more of.

Captives (The Safe Lands series) by Jill Williamson.

I recently read the Thirst duology by Williamson, and really enjoyed it. Previously, I’ve attended numerous sessions where Williamson talked about writing, both virtual and in-person, but it apparently took me two years to read some of her books. I wish I hadn’t waited!

After borrowing Thirst and Hunger from me, my sister is also hooked and got The Safe Lands series, which is apparently the main series to the prequels we read, so I’m looking forward to diving into those.

A book you got for Christmas and would like to read.

Operation Lionhearted by Maribeth Barber.

This was written by a sweet author friend (whose website you can find here!), and I’ve wanted to read it ever since it came out! I received it for Christmas last month, so now my forgetful, procrastinating brain has no excuses.

Even though I’m not usually a huge sci-fi reader, I’m super excited for this one. It looks amazing!

A series you want to read from start to finish.

The Chronicles of Narnia series by C. S. Lewis.

I already mentioned the Harry Potter series earlier, but this is another classic series I want to re-read, hopefully before April (again, not my books so I just want to read them at my family’s place before they’re harder to borrow, haha).

When I was younger, I didn’t fully appreciate these books, but now that I’m older, I really enjoy them. They have such amazing depth and . . . of course . . . Aslan.

Do you set reading goals? If so, how many books do you want to read in 2023?

Yes, I do! At least as of the past two years (55 and 27 books read in 2021 and 2022, respectively). This year, I’m starting high with a lofty goal of 100 books! And like I did pretty well with this year, I’m hoping to stay up to date with reviewing them as I read each one.

If you’re interested in keeping up with me, you can find my Goodreads here!

Any other reading goals?

In general, I think I just want to read more, especially fiction. Reading stories helps calm me down, destress, spark creativity in my own writing, and I just feel better when I’m able to spend time with a book fairly often. I haven’t done enough reading lately.

And as I mentioned before, I do want to review at least most of them on Goodreads too.

Have you read any of the books I mentioned? If so what did you think?

I’m not going to tag anyone in particular, but feel free to either hop in on this tag for your own blog or social media, or just comment your answers! I’d love to hear from you!

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