13 June, 2018

Update and Tags!

Hey friends! I wanted to say hello and share a quick update, seeing as I have been sadly absent around here. Also, I got tagged by three wonderful people recently, and I decided to pick a few of their questions each to answer them. 




Who is one person you look up to?
I look up to my Grandad a lot. He’s humble, genuine, and has strong family values. One thing I’ve been thinking about, as inspired by him, is emulating the good we see in others. If you ask him where he got his sense of humour from, he will tell you a story of the time he went riding horses through the snowy mountains with his uncles, how they told yarns along the way, and he decided he wanted to develop that trait too. If you ask him where he got his family values from, a sense of closeness and warmth, genuine care and appreciation, he will tell you about the times he visited relatives when he was young, and they were close and caring and he decided he wanted that for his family too. I think having humility to learn from others, and cultivating those good characteristics is one of my Grandad’s secrets of life.

Can you introduce us to your family?
I have a younger brother, Luke, and a younger sister, Rachel (who blogs here, yay!), and we live at home with our Mum. We have different interests and personalities, and sometimes they clash, but I’m so thankful for my family and the closeness we’re able to share. 

If what you say in answer to this question was the only thing left when you died, what would you say?
I’ve always said I’d say ‘God is,’ because I feel like that sums up everything. He exists, He is whatever we need, He makes up what we’re lacking, He’s always there, He gives us strength and peace and courage and rest, and a reason to hope and keep going. He gives us purpose, He gives life purpose, and He even gives suffering purpose. God is - you can always hope - joy is possible - keep holding on.



If you had a day you could relive, what would you do with it?
I would probably spend it with family or friends if I could, and I wish I had some way I could reach out as well. If I spent the day at home, I would probably reply to emails, do some reading or writing – write letters if I had some to reply to, make nice food, spend time with God, and stay off social media or the internet altogether.

What is your biggest fault, according to you?
Right now, I consider it to be my laziness, which includes procrastination, lack of motivation, too much time online, not reaching out to people like I could, getting slack with blogging and communication, and plain can’t-be-bothered-ness. 

You find a hidden staircase in your Grandpa’s house, and when you enter, you find something amazing. What is it?
It’s a room full of books, and a few keepsakes. I picked this question, because I had a similar experience. My Grandpa took me into his bedroom (I’d seen through the doorway, but I don’t remember going in there before), and there was a bookshelf with all these old books, in great condition, with their brightly coloured cloth covers and intriguing titles. It was so cool.  


And Brooklyne at Showers of Blessings tagged me to share my favourite things, so here are three of my favourites:

Words have always been one of my favourite things – and I can say that because it encompasses so much: written words like the Bible, books, stories, poems, letters, even encouraging notes written on city walls or signs; spoken words like deep discussions, songs, podcasts and sermons, whispers with my sister, or even overheard conversations. There are also words in the heart: impressions from the Holy Spirit, thoughts that won’t go away, single words that symbolize so much more. They fascinate me in every form, and I’m sure I don’t understand the extent of their power.

Anything to do with the sky is my favourite, whether it’s the clouds, or moon, or stars, or sunset colours, or sunrise freshness, or the blue of an empty sky, or the way the sunlight comes through my window in the morning, or the sparkling rain I saw today when the sun came out while it was raining.

And, this is abstract, but hope is my favourite. I wish there was a way to give it to everyone in the world. We all need it so much.

Thanks again for the questions, Bri, LaKaysha, and Brooklyne! I’m sorry I didn’t answer all of them – they were good questions and it was hard to pick just a few!


So, life has been good lately. I don’t have any excuses for not posting here (see above entry about laziness), so I apologize for that. I’m not making any promises for the future, but I have been bursting with ideas for writing and blogging, and I have an exciting new development underway! Hopefully soon I’ll be able to share it with you all. :) In the meantime, it feels so good to write a post again and talk with you guys. I hope you’re going well – tell me, how’s life? What’s one of your favourite things? Who do you look up to?

22 comments:

  1. I must say, I too suffer from severe laziness and lack of motivation. It's so bad, and I wish I knewhow to fix it. Hmmm, my favorite things? Probably, Jesus, my family, being outdoors, and old books. I look up to my mom a lot. She has always been a great example of a strong, capable, energetic, Godly woman. I also look up to my voice teacher. She is just a loving and patient beam of life.
    That is really cool about your granddad and the books! I love that.
    God bless your day!
    xx
    Mira

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    1. I feel you. It's not much fun. But I believe we can overcome laziness! It will take work, but it's possible. I'm trying at least, haha. :)

      Oh yes, those are wonderful things! Your mum and voice teacher sound like great role models. And that's so cool you study voice! Many blessings to you too, and thanks for your comment! xx

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  2. Ah, yes I too suffer from lack of motivation and laziness...my room is a product of that (thank God for lovely sisters who try their best to keep me cleaning haha).
    You're not alone! ;)
    Nice tag!!

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    1. Haha, I have a sister like that too. :) Thanks for the reassurance! We can do this. xx

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  3. Great post! I liked reading your answers!
    -Brooklyne

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  4. I loved reading your answers, Jessica! Procrastination, lack of motivation, laziness ... ha that hits a bit too close to home ;).
    Yes, the sky is one of my favorite things - it’s just so beautiful whether it’s a sunset/sunrise painted with beautiful colors, fluffy white clouds spread across the blue sky, bright stars and the moon peeking beyond the canopy of darkness, or even gray rainy days - it’s all so beautiful and cool to think about. A few of my other favorite things would probably be cardigans (they are so comfy and soft!), my Bible and journals, and there’s more but my mind is blank at the moment :D.
    I hope you have a great week! :)

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    1. Well, I'm with you if that's any comfort! It is a battle.

      Yes! We definitely agree there. :) It's a wonderful daily illustration of God's care and creativity. And those are also nice things! There's nothing like comfy clothes or time journaling or being in the Word. Thank you, and I hope you have a great week too! :)

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  5. Yay Jess! Haha awesome blog post, loved this one, I definitely resonated with a couple of things you said on here! ��

    God bless Jess!

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    1. Yay Grace! It's so nice to hear from you. :) Glad you could relate, and many blessings to you too! xx

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  6. Your grandfather sounds amazing and so incredibly down to earth. <3

    One of my favorite things (too) are words. Over this past year, I've been able to reexamine and understand my relationship with them more. But even more so, I've gotten to know and understand how we can perceive and understand others with them-- I've written so many handwritten notes for friends and teachers as a graduation gift. There's a sense of vertigo when it comes to putting down your emotions to write these words, and an even greater sense of vertigo induces when you become the receiver versus the giver. I'm going to stop rambling, but did that make sense? I hope it did somewhat.

    xoxo Abigail Lennah | Ups & Downs (but now at Story-Eyed!)

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    1. Aw yes, he's amazing. :) Yes, that makes sense! Words are so powerful - I enjoy writing notes to others as well, and you're right, there's something incredible about receiving them from someone else. And thanks for letting me know about your new website! That's exciting. :)

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  7. Lack of motivation is the worst. Not only is it sometimes hard to get myself going, but whenever I don't I feel worse overall. How do you get through it?

    Your grandfather sounds like an amazing person, I'm sure you feel very blessed to know him. (Plus books? Anyone who owns a sizeable book collection is immediately my new favourite person.)

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    1. Yes, I get you on that one. It's like a downward spiral. Well, I'm still figuring that out, but a few things I've found helpful are: making sure I have enough sleep/get to bed early; cutting right down on or taking a break from social media/screen time; and planning my day the night before, including writing everything I want to do down, so I know exactly what to go on with. The best thing is so much motivation and a sense of achievement comes with accomplishing things and crossing them off the list, so it can also been an 'upward spiral' if we keep at it. Don't be disheartened - we're in this together! What are your strategies for getting through it?

      Yes, so much. And same here as well - I enjoy browsing people's shelves (and learning about them through their tastes, haha). Thanks for your comment - it's nice to hear from you!

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  8. Oooh, a new exciting development underway... I wonder what that could mean...

    A few of my favourite things: God, for sure, and after Him so many good gifts; fellowship with precious friends, a timely word, the give of creativity and inspiration, God's Word and His Holy Spirit to teach it to me... What beautiful things He's given us in life. Thanks for sharing the occasion to stop and consider these things again and be filled with thankfulness! <3

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    1. Keep wondering! ;) Thanks for your enthusiasm though. I appreciate it. :)

      Aw, thanks for sharing some of your favourite things! I enjoyed reading through them - there are so many things to be thankful for, and probably many more we overlook. All praise to God! xx

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    2. Indeed, all praise to God! His goodness is beyond our comprehension!

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  9. Hi Jessica!

    Hmmm.....I really look up to my parents. They are amazing examples and just give so much love to us, their kids, and I just love them so much. Praise God for awesome mommies and daddies! And siblings are amazing too. :)
    Life here has been quite interesting. If you think of it, I'd appreciate prayers for my mommy because she is having occasional chest pain and the doctors can't figure out what it is. She has a cough which could be aggravating it, but sometimes it is scary when the pain gets pretty bad. Oh, sometimes it's so hard to trust God....and to have joy in the midst of unknowns and pain. But I do ever so want to have joy Jesus only can give. :)

    Thank you for always encouraging me through your posts, Jessica!

    Love,
    Ashley

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    1. Hey Ashley! Thanks for your encouraging comment. Aww, your love for your parents and siblings comes through in your words. :) Yes, I look up to my family a lot too. :) It's a blessing to be surrounded by people we love and can learn from!

      I will pray for your mum and family. That would be hard, especially not knowing why or what the solution might be. But keep holding on, and know that God is always there even when we don't feel Him or life doesn't make sense. Sending hugs, friend! xx

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    2. Thank you so much for your prayers, Jessica! They mean so much.

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When you comment:

1. My day will be brighter, my face smiling, and my heart blessed.

2. I’m likely to immediately go and explore your blog (if you have one) to find out more of your amazingness, and return the blessing.

3. I will then attempt to craft a response to you that will somehow fail to convey how much I truly appreciate your thoughtfulness and kindness. I’m grateful for every word of encouragement you give, and don’t be afraid to share some constructive criticism also; there’s always more to learn. In short: thank-you! :)