Things you can do

Things you can do this summer/whenever

- Learn how to play the guitar (if you can't yet)
- Go visit a place nearby in your country (or state) where you haven't been yet
- Wake up at 4 or 5am and go on a sunrise walk
- Make pizza + Eat it (of course eat it duh)
- Write a book and illustrate it. Like even a short book for kids. Give it a go!
- Try writing a song. You may have an inner Ed Sheeran.
- Set phone-use rules. That way you don't waste away your summer.
- Make some cold beverage. IDK. Some kind of unique coloured lemonade.
- Sew something
- Do something sweet for your mum; like make a video or pick a bouquet.
- Write freakin cool letters to around the world
- Draw lil' imaginary people
- Read the Bible. all of it
- Make waffles + eat it (of course eat it)
- Rewatch Fiddler on the Roof (or *insert your favourite musical*)
- Watch an epic series. Like Poldark. (yeah, watched season 1 and man, I love it I love it)
- Learn something new. for ex. learn all the countries and capital cities of the world. (My sister did it in three days. I know. She is freaking fantastic.)
- Play the piano for 2 hrs
- JOURNAL
- Have deep talks with friends and also laugh a lot with friends. Plz don't gossip with friends. don't go there.
- Rant online. jk. Encourage people.
- Whatever ya do, don't waste yo precious God-given time.

This is a short post, I know. But I have exams coming up and a short post is better than nothing! Just wanted to encourage you that YOU CAN DO GREAT THINGS WITH YOUR LIFE! Try new things. Retry old things in a new way. Smile and don't compain about whatever it is that isn't perfect. Strive for perfection but while you strive, fix your hope on what is above cuz that's the only thing that truly is perfect.

Life is an adventure if you make it one. That made me cringe. :-P but it's true.

God is good. And he loves you.

That ^ wowowowow.

Don't let trouble overwhelm your soul

Don't let trouble overwhelm your soul. Our souls are not meant to grow weak; to flicker; to grey. Our souls are meant to live eternally. Our mind, yes; our body, yes - they will grow weak, they may die, they will cry, sweat. Blood will drip from your skin and tears will stream from your eyes. Feet will ache, hearts will weep. Fingers will grow stiff from age; from work. Friends will leave and family will fall down sick. Mental confusion will happen and desperate questions with spring out of the thin hair, attacking you in your face. It will rain. It will storm. But then there is your soul. Rejoicing. Holding a constant party. Because it's destined for the opposite of what our bodies are going through on this earth. Because Jesus saved it. Our joy is our hope. Our joy is our peace. Cling to JOY. Don't let trouble overwhelm your soul.

Combinations of things.

You know how you attach certain scents, memories, places or images with books and stories? I love how brains work like that - how it puts two different things in the same category and context; how it juggles with smell and weather and words. It's amazing. Like, The Help is yellow and lemons and the sound of a typewriter. Celia Garth and Violins of Autumn take me back to summer 2015 in Switzerland, the green shutters in the house we were staying at, and the dew on the grass in the morning. Eve's Daughters is me crying in bed and imagining the characters' smiles and the colour purple of the cover. The Book Thief is Christmas holidays, and my bedroom when the bed was at the other side of the room. On the banks of plum creek is lemonade and my old bed sheets with the pink and salmon-coloured hearts on it. Remembrance by Theresa Breslin reminds me of my old bedroom in the attic and Back Home by Michelle Magorian gives me memories of cute lamps, nylons, and my second cousin Rebekah. The Story Girl is me wishing so bad I could dive in it; and it's the colour of gold and the taste of orchard apples. Rilla of Ingleside is an emotional soundtrack like the Kings Speech soundtrack and late nights. Sense and Sensibility is grandma and my old pink diary. That chapter in Hebrews (Hebrews 11) about faith reminds me of strawberries for breakfast and talking about it on grey sofas with five friends. While We're Far Apart by Lynn Austin is dark red and chocolate and watching trailers of Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland movies on youtube. The Sweetest Thing is light green and mental images of 1930 dresses. Gone with the Wind is dark hallways and mirrors and spring. Man, I love how there are so many combinations of things.

Let's replace...

small talk with Jesus talk
bucket lists with to-do lists
Henry Talbot with Matthew Crawley (:-P)
emails with letters
mirrors with windows
people with God
me with Him
my future with His Plan
smartphone screens with the word of God
instagram with photo albums
handshakes with hugs
worries with hope
self-consciousness with self-confidence
watching Youtube videos with praying
awkward silence with random jokes
timidity with strength
pride with humility
humming with singing
challenge with purpose + excitement
electricity light with sunlight
looking at the ground with looking at the stars
dreams with plans
ideas with realities
questions like 'how are you doing' with deeper questions
confusion with peace
giving up on the world with joy in God
Keira Knightley's Elizabeth Bennet with Jennifer Ehle's Elizabeth Bennet (haha okay, this one is subjective)
'meh I don't think I can' with 'well let's give it a go'
singing worship songs with worshipping by singing
negativity with positivity
hate with Love
living in the world with changing the world

Let's do this.

aesthetically pleasing

Old maps / Polaroid cameras / Polaroid pictures / Postcards / The Eiffel Tower / The Big Ben / Instagram / Film lenses / Daisies / Light-bulbs / Fairly lights / Fairy lights in the background of a picture when they're blurry (I love those) / Watermelons / Pineapples / morning dew / Testament of Youth, the movie / Oh, and La La Land / Swiss villages / Cute handbags / An old pack of cards / Vintage cars / Mini Coopers / Mint green vehicles / Old bikes with baskets (the cutest things ever) / Pastel nail polish / Birches / Weeping Willows / teacups / little plates for teacups - I wish more people still used them / Oh, vinyl records, definitely / The font used for headlines / Fashion magazine covers / flowered triangle-buntings / Blurry selfies / Country fairs / Blurry selfies in country fairs / Pink candy floss - I don't think I'd like it but it's so aesthetically pleasing, haha / glass jars / Strawberries / Raspberries / Little-girl knee socks / bathtubs with feet / Globes / Especially brown-y ones / Surprisingly, mathematical equations are quite aesthetically pleasing / Taylor Swift's (older) fashion sense / The music video of 'Begin Again' (not my favourite song, but the music video is gorgeous) / Lipstick / Old clocks / Grandfather clocks / Soap / Forget-me-nots / Poppies / Butterflies / The moon / Tumblr / Sunrises / The Sound of Music / Words / Dictionaries / Stamps / Envelopes / Handwritten letters / Doughnuts with sprinkles / Chocolate shops / Macaroons / Okay anything sugary, haha / Owls / The phonetic alphabet / Little hand mirrors / Oh and of course; Old books, and anything with books. Libraries, for instance. Most aesthetically pleasing places of all time.

The Big Bang needs a Big Banger.

 (I started copying out some random verses I love and I scrambled some of them together and this is what I got. Words aren't my own. :-)) (I know it's short, but it's beautiful. Read it through slowly and taste each sentence.)

The heavens declare the glory of God. The skies proclaim the work of His Hands. Day after day, they pour forth speech; night after night, they display knowledge. Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God. Know that the Lord, He is God! It is He who made us, and we are His; we are His people, and the sheep of His pasture. O Lord, you preserve both man and beast. How priceless is your unfailing love! Your love, o Lord, reaches to the heavens; your faithfulness to the skies. Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains. Your justice is like the great deep. By day the Lord directs his love, at night his song is with me. Send your light and your truth. Let them guide me; let them bring me to your holy mountain, to the place where you dwell.

In which I wish you all a Merry Christmas. (Duh.)

Merry Christmas, human-skeleton-possessors.

May your day be merry and bright. 

By bright I mean cosy and dark but also with Christmas lights and candles and by cosy I mean Christmas songs and familiar faces and maybe a Christmas jumper hug or two.

May you smell the scent of pine cones and crackers just being cracked. 

May you tell people silly Christmas jokes like: "What's the difference between a Christmas alphabet an a normal alphabet? The Christmas one has No L." (looooooool. Wow. Hilaaaarious.)

May you consider gifts a detail of the day rather than the highest moment of the day and may you avoid singing typos on Church service sheets like I did last year; singing 'did the wide men enter there' rather than 'did the wise men.'

May you have a great day and may you reread the Christmas Story.

And by reread I mean rethink.

May you eat chocolate, say 'Merry Christmas' and never 'Happy Holidays', may you light fires and may you end the day with a smile on your face.

Merry Christmas, girls and boys, Merry Christmas.

Autumn is here.

Sock sliding on the floor downstairs // Wearing socks again // PULLOVERS // High-neck pullovers // Ugly and beautiful pumpkins // My siblings gathering beech nuts // Wearing my black ankle boots again // Kate and William's Canada tour this year // Dark evenings // The sound of rain // People posting pictures of hot drinks and orange vegetables all over the Internet // Tea // To-Do Lists // Journaling in my 'so darn happy' notebook that Emma gave me // Chatting with said person // Long emails from good friends // Writing down loads of ideas for my book // Singing // The book of Ecclesiastes // Psalm 119 // Tom+Barbara (in Call the Midwife) // My washi tape collection // The smell of September sunshine // The feel of cool autumn-y-ness in the air // Leaves // Apples // Carrie Underwood singing basically any song // Right now I can't stop listening to 'Good Girl.' // The Andrews Sisters // Old trains // Lightbulb-strings // Stars // 11:00 pm // My room at 6:00 pm when it's like gold in the sunset // Buying little girly stuff // My little sister Susanna starting to talk // Long trousers // Youth Group // The kids at Youth Group who come wearing their pyjamas // Eating crisps in the evening // Scott Joplin // The moon // When cities sparkle in dark rainy evenings // The love interest in my book // Martha, my protagonist // Biscuits that are dry and squishy at the same time (?) // People who literally do not care about the way they look // Pyjamas with long sleeves // Sending a letter to a youtuber (Katie Gregoire) // Chocolate // Playing the guitar // 'My Lighthouse' // The way world maps look // Flowery paper // Letters from Emma <3 // Memories // Fruit // People who aren't ashamed of what they believe // Good sermons // Weird and cool dreams in which I meet fictional characters in person // Dreaming in general // Making people laugh // Prayer // Autumn is here. (Just in case you didn't know that.)

The importance of what is important.

8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. 9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.{Philippians 4:8-9}

NOT IMPORTANT:

- That thing that person said.

- Whether or not you are wearing make-up.

- Whether or not you wrote 1000 words in 30 mins like you used to do.

- Beauty.

- Whether you look your age or not.

- All of us. Just me. Not important. Take a step back and reflect in humility.

- Fashion.

- That look you got. Forget about it.

- Whether or not it's raining or sunny. Just be thankful.

- That other people seem 10x more confident.

- That you got C's.

- Basically millions of things.

IMPORTANT:

- God.

- Following His rules.

- Praising Him.

- Loving others.

- Forgiving others.

- Bible

- Patience

- Faith

- Joy

- Hope

- LOVE

- Just, all the fruits of the spirit.

- Jesus / God

Please remember this: All the things of this world add to NOTHING and the word of the Lord stands FOREVER.

Short little post in which I make a Genius wish.

I had a GENIUS idea the other night.

What if there was a CHUMMY voice on the gps? (You know, the map-thing with the voice people have in their cars. The Tom-tom. The gps. Whatever you call it.) I mean, it would be SO much more fun, if you had the directions directed by Chummy! It would be "I say, old sport, do turn right" instead of the boring, "After 100 metres, turn right." And, "If you would be so kind as to (*small breath*) take the second route on the following round-about, that would be tickety-boo" instead of, "Take the second road on the roundabout." And, "I say old bean, you've done it. Jolly well done," instead of the husky computer voice telling you that "You've reached your destination."

A Jeeves voice would be hilarious too. "Turn left, sir." "Take the exit, sir." "Thank you, sir."

Somebody make these. SOMEBODY PLEASE; hire Miranda Hart and make. it. happen. It would make car journeys so much fun.

Anyway, that was my short little post in which I make a genius wish. Now, goodbye mates. Be good. Embrace the awkward. Laugh when you attempt a ballet pose and then end up flat face-down on the kitchen floor. (True story. Happened yesterday. Shush.) Listen to good songs. But they are allowed to be stupid; but good kind of stupid. Also, be really, really, really friendly today - it's good to be really, really, really friendly. I know and God knows I need to work on that, so I'm going to try my hardest today and this week. You with me?

(Wow, I got unnecessarily deep. This was just supposed to be a short little post in which I make a Genius wish, remember?)

Now BYE.