// liebster tag //

 greetings and salutations everyone! I really do apologize for my absence here- I've been so busy and will continue to be for a while but I am going to try to post more. keyword try. Anyways, Anna tagged me for the Liebster Award(does anyone know why it is called that?) so here we are! She had very fun questions:)


The Rules of the Game:
1.) Link back to the person who tagged you. http://somethingsplendidstudios.blogspot.com/2016/07/tag-youre-it.html
2.) Answer the eleven questions.
3.) Tag 11 bloggers, and let them know you tagged them. 
4.) Ask your tagged bloggers eleven questions.

1.) Tell us four names (if you don't know the answer to any, just tell the ones you do know): one that your parents would have given you if you were the opposite gender, one they considered once they knew your gender, one you would choose if you got to choose your own name, and one you would NOT like to have.
I don't remember- I knew once :O Maybe Aaron? After my uncle? That sounds potentially correct haha. I know they considered Allison- and I think Fanny. Like, what? Fanny? I think it was a great-aunt or something idek. Um I actually like Nina(although Hannah I don't really care for just because it's so mainstream- seriously I think every other Christian girl from ages 15-20 is named Hannah.) Something foreign would be pretty though. I wouldn't want to be named Courtney or Taylor or anything like that. They sound too high school locker, makeup, 'hanging with bae' aeropostale shopping, high ponytail, kind of girl which  is NOT ME lol.

2.) If you were to adapt one of your favorite stories, what story would it be and how would you tell it? (movie, musical, webseries, play, book, etc?)
This is a stinky question how am I supposed to answer this?! So many. But 'The Rope Trick' comes right to mind. Maybe if there was a film more people would READ IT ahem.

3.) Tell us four of your favorite words.
hm... anguish. melancholy. glisten. phosphoresce. 

4.) What is a life lesson you have learned in the past year?
That God's will is not a mystery- just trust Him and do your thing. He'll work it out or put an end to it if it's right/not right- so why waste time worrying when you could be trying to move forward? Still learning this but it's important.

5.) Who is your favorite secondary character in a book you've read recently?
Um the most recent book I've read was actually the three in Lewis' space trilogy. I loved all the characters(or hated them, whichever). Mr. Bultitude in 'That Hideous Strength' kind of won my heart I must say!


6.) What are five of the books on your TBR list right now?
Ho-hum. Miss Peregrines Home for Peculiar Children,  Shogun, The Far Pavilions, Katia and The Great Gatsby.

7.) Tell us one talent/skill you have, and one you'd like to develop.
Um singing? I guess?? I want to try and develop all my talents, my musical and philosophical bents are my main focus though I think.

8.) What's the best joke you've heard recently? (Awful puns are highly acceptable!) 



IDEK. It's just really funny ok. I'm sorry. I couldn't think of a joke and this was the only actually funny thing on my Pinterest humor board. Everything else was either evil and bitterly sarcastic or deeply ironic truths.

9.) Share a quote from the book you're currently reading.
I've only just begun Clive James' translation of 'The Divine Comedy' by Dante. Had to skim and when my eyes hit this bit I remembered it striking me so here it is.
'...'Your soul is crumbling from the needless blight
Of misplaced modesty, which is false pride
Reversed, and many men by this are swayed
From honorable enterprise...'

10.) What song is stuck in your head right now? (Or just share one that's been bouncing around recently if you don't have one right now.)
My head is like a haywire radio on some weird shuffle setting. Which is to say I have no idea what song has been stuck in my head. My sister (and I)just wrote a song to perform at our ladies conference and since we literally got it ready in three days that's been floating about quite a bit 😂 

11.) What do you want your life to be like when you're a little old lady?
Aw. There are so many versions of that, I'll see if I can do three
1. A wise, experienced old singer who can look back and be contented in the lives she's touched for God and now can help others.
2. A respected author who's philosophical work has impacted intellectualism and been able to fight for the Truth on it's own ground- to clear the spring's origin, so to speak.
3. And because I am actually a great lover of angst- 
a sad, shrunken recluse with plants, a cat and many books. A weedy, lovely wild garden, an empty mailbox under a hazy, cloud-brushed sky. A wistful gaze at a past that never had a future, and unshed tears for feelings she never felt. Klimt's 'The Kiss' hanging, postcard size, on the wall and a worn Bible beside the bed. And a late resolve to do something, anything, to touch the world somehow. 
lol Old me, I love your pathetic life. Anyways. (we aren't going to talk about the crazy route. I would never end up a crazy old lady, never. You believe me, right?)

I tag Shandi, Olivia, Ava, Abbie,  Abby, Melody and IDK whoever.

Oh wait I need to think of questions. Hm.

1. If you could see a cloud shape, and then have it come to life as a cloud thing, what object/being would it be? (I'm now struck with an intense longing for a cloud beast. ugh. Imagine how misty and cool it would be to touch.)
2. Which- library or museum. haha.
3. coffee or tea?
4. Favorite old/classic author
5.Favorite modern author
6. What kid's movie do you loathe and why?
7. My sister is watching me and she said 'what do you do before you go to sleep because nobody counts sheep' so yeah answer that. (bonus points if you do count sheep haha)
8. Do you like bumble bees? Or are you scared of them, since you know, they sting and all. 
9. If you have a calendar, what is its theme? (i.e. Cute Puppies, Vegetables, Tractors, Landscapes, etc.)
10. Do you think tall dark and handsome is overrated? 
11. Your feelings on hipsterism as a trend (like, oxymoron or oxymoron?)

// the quote tag pt. 3 //

Now, I might differ in that I have strong feelings about early man and the way humankind has 'progressed' since the fall.  Don't ever talk to me about cave men or you might regret it. Therefore if he's buying into the idea of early man being primitive in their understanding I reject that part. However, I don't think he necessarily is; and even if so, the quote still speaks truth. Besides, who's to say that thinking of tree's and stars in such mystical terminology is less developed? Our reasonable explanations for these things have in some ways taken from them.

Anyways, I was actually just thinking about these sorts of concepts yesterday afternoon in the car, before I came home and looked at quotes haha. The older I get the more I feel there is incredible, in some cases incomprehensible, imagery and symbolism woven into the tapestry of even the simplest things of nature. The Bible speaks to God's revelation in nature, and in our own hearts.

Of course, it can never be comparable to scripture- our doctrine and truth must be founded always and only in the Word. But we can, through the light it gives our eyes, then view all of creation as a beautiful storybook, with the most exquisite of illustration and masterful execution. We can look for the truths we already know for fact in the Bible, then hidden in swirls and whispers all around us.

So thats the end of the tag!! Hope I don't sound too weird or mystical because that's definitely not how I'm meaning it.

I enjoyed it a lot, so thanks again to Maggie @ Traveling Home for the tag!

My last nominees-

Ava @ Quiet Land
Abbiee @Abbiee- the music blog

I'll be back before long with some new posts, look for a book review, an instagram roundup and who knows what all else. So there you go!!

// the quote tag pt. 2//

Well I had an amazing Tolkien quote picked out, however my internet is acting up so I couldn't get the photo. Hopeful tomorrow.

'Now Faith… is the art of holding on to things your reason has once accepted, in spite of your changing moods. For moods will change, whatever view your reason takes. I know that by experience. Now that I am a Christian I do have moods in which the whole thing looks very improbable: but when I was an atheist I had moods in which Christianity looked terribly probable. This rebellion of your moods against your real self is going to come anyway. That is why Faith is such a necessary virtue: unless you teach your moods ‘where they get off’, you can never be either a sound Christian or even a sound atheist, but just a creature dithering to and fro, with its beliefs really dependent on the weather and the state of its digestion. Consequently one must train the habit of Faith.

C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity 

This quote is one of the dearest to my own changeable heart. The realization of the truth that it speaks of has totally changed my thinking and brought me a lot of peace. The fact is, our feelings, our 'faith' for that matter, don't mean a thing apart from the God in whom they are placed anyways. If my Faith depended on my 'faith' it wouldn't be worth placing faith in to begin with! 

This full quote is often shortened to the more memorable

'Faith is the art of holding on to things in spite of your changing moods and circumstances.'

Which is in fact the quote I remembered, however upon searching it found the whole thing (which I have read of course but didn't know by heart.) Sadly I don't have a photographic memory. It's one of my greater sorrows to be honest.

Anyways, see you tomorrow for the last installment!

 

Todays tags

Melody @Bloom for Jesus

Abby @ My Favorite Things

Abby @ Chronicles in Bloom

// the quote tag //

   Maggie @ http://homewardtraveling.blogspot.com has tagged my for the daily quote challenge, so many thanks to her!!! I won't be able to do 3 bloggers a day, but I'll tag three at the bottom of each post.

Rules:

   1. Thank the person who nominated you

   2. Nominate 3 new bloggers everyday

   3. Post a new quote everyday for three consecutive days

This is a hard tag!!!! I love so very many quotes and I feel oddly traitorous trying to pick only three, like the ones I don't pick are being left behind or deceitfully omitted. It's my INFP side coming out.

I don't know who he is but this quote basically sums me up as a writer. I cannot grasp my own abstractions unless I see them, spelled out for myself, by myself. It forces me to word things, to fully explore the thoughts that I haven't given flesh to, to focus on my topic. And then, in addition to being able to understand myself better, I can share with and hopefully bless and enrich others. 

Phew, one down- two to go. I'm sorry I've been sort of absent, my life is going back into a routine(more or less) now, so I'll be getting back at it. I have a couple of things planned for the next few weeks, so stay tuned! Hope you had a great Sunday!

and I'm tagging

Shandi @ Beyond the Ordinary 

Olivia @ Summer of 1999

Lauren @ Victory

You know come to think of it I actually have a couple other people so I might be able to at least come a little closer to the rules. Till tomorrow!

the text tag

Ava of Quiet Land has created this awesome tag, and she nominated me!!

Guidelines:
Thank the person who nominated you and give a link to their blog.
Answer the original 6 text-themed questions.
Add a typography/word related question of your own for those you tagged to answer.
Tag 6+ bloggers, and let them know.
Include these rules in your post.
(feel free to use the image above, designed by Ava)

The Q:
1. What is your favorite letter of the alphabet? 
2. What are three words that you love?   
3. What are three words you hate?   
4. If you were to create a word, what would it be, and what would it describe?.
5. What is your favorite three punctuation marks?
6. What are three of your favorite fonts? 

My Answers;
1.  ugh hard. I like the letter N, and X.... I don't know, I like most all the letters!!!
2.  Metamorphosis, glisten, anticipation 
3.   Acid, vomit, mucous. 
4.   (ok, I have to do two because I actually was just thinking about them.) Finidot, n. a small dot at the end of a sentence(basically, a period. Because I hate the word period.) and tantle, v. To caress another's hair.
5.   ! ? ( 
6.   Philosopher, Admiration Pains, and Times New Roman 
Ava's Q to the nominees: Do you prefer writing on paper or typing? I like both, actually. Typing is faster, but there's something about pen to paper. I really can't say I definitively prefer either.

My question to my nominees- Do you prefer serif or sans-serif?

I tag Shandi, Olivia, Lauren, Kimberly, Kelsey, and YOU!!

I just remember Olivia also tagged me for the happy tag, so I'll be doing that soon!!

i literally have no name for this post (it's a tag though)

Olivia @ summer of 1999 tagged me for this, so many thanks to her(also look at her blog because it is deeply wonderful). However, I don't know quite what the tag is called, so.
The tag is to list 11 facts and answer 11 questions... we've already established my badness at fact-listing, but I'll try.

1. I have brown hair and amber eyes(lets start with basics)
2. Glasses are fabulous and I want to try contacts.
3. I  get in a really bad mood if I haven't eaten well.(It's hard on diets:/)
4. I dream of being able to have voice lessons and sing opera. (I'm slowly beginning to despair of either)
5. I hope I can travel, sooner rather than later. Top three destinations- Italy, France, and Morocco.
6. I attend a conservative, fundamental Baptist church.
7. I'm lactose intolerant, and somewhat digestively sensitive in general.
8. The above is due to the fact that I'm easily stressed, and have had mild social anxiety since I was like 7(I didn't realize this until recently) and have worried my stomach into dysfunction. Thankfully God has helped me begin to overcome this, but...
9. I'm INTP/FP on the Meyers-Briggs type system.
10. I'm running out of questions.
11. Little boys are really annoying if they are closer than 10 feet to you.


1. What's your favorite meal? Hmmm. Hm, hm, hm. I'm kind of into food sooo... I like hummus wraps. And Annie's Mac'n'cheese. White cheddar. Oh glorious. Bread, too, in any form and with plenty of butter. Wait these are foods not meals. No, I don't consider those things together a meal haha.
2. Do you have bookshelves in your room? Yes, two, both over-ful, as well as a sizeable pile beside/under my bed. It bugs my sister. I'm hoping to make(or have made by mom) another for my personal/current books. We'll see. 
3. What is something you like about yourself? Ugh. At the moment not much. My bangs? I guess?
5. Sweaters or flannel? Both. But sweaters I wear more, and look better, so technically sweaters.
6. Greeks or Romans? Greeks, 'cause, you know. They're all philosophers, and I have... a sort of... thing for philosophers. There, it's public.
7. Favorite book of the Bible and why? Oh, boy. Probably Ecclesiastes. It's so philosophical and written beautifully, as well as great content. Job, too. It's beautiful, has wonderful lessons, and I think it's amazing how such an ancient book is so skillful crafted and relevant(take that, cavemen. Another things I have, in this case against. I hate cavemen. So, so much. Don't even get me started.) And, 1 Peter is good too, to list one from the NT.
8. Name you would name your first boy and girl? These are so hard. Felix Christopher and Agnes Rose are my picks of the moment(I know I'm not the only one who has accumulated a huge amount of lists of baby names and can never remember a single name when you need one)
9. Best candle scent?  I don't  really use candles. though I really like them. I just got a new perfume from Tokyo Milk, it's from their Dark- Fate and Fortune collection and it's called Destiny. It smells SO GOOD, I never spend $10 on a perfume but I couldn't resist it. Gah.
10. One sentence to describe your best friend? (I know it's hard- I don't care) A starry eyed romantic who looks up into the night to avoid facing any darkness within. (Extra points if you can guess who this poetic being is;)
11. Spirit animal? Hm, I'm going to go with a butterfly.

I loved the questions, for mine how about answering the facts I listed-
1. Hair/eye color
2. Feelings on glasses? Do you wear them? 
3. Big or small eater?
4. Life dream/goal
5. Top three travel destinations
6. Church Denomination/ religion
7. Any food allergies/sensitivities? 
8. A fault you need to/are working on overcoming
9. Meyers-Briggs type if you know it, brief personality description if you don't.
10. Favorite time period
11. Pet peeve

I'm tagging 
Shandi- Ava- Lauren- Whoever else
Thanks for reading and have fun!!