How Does One Sum Up Their Soul?

Hey everyone! I’M BACK! :D

So, I promised a post with a bit more focus on who I am – just so you’re not following a complete stranger. ;) I will do my best to deliver.

First and foremost in my heart is God. He is the be-all-end-all to everything I do in life and I wouldn’t be the person I am today without Him.

A picture I took on our recent holiday

Second, it would probably interest some of you to know that I hail from the sunny east coast of Australia! The heat and wild weather is no joke here, folks. But I wouldn’t switch countries for the world. (Also, let me clarify that every pun I make here is very much unintended. I have a horrible habit of accidentally making puns.)

Thirdly, I come from a family with six kids (plus a sister-in-law)! I’m one of the ones squashed somewhere in the middle. My mother homeschooled all of us, and I must say she didn’t do too bad a job, either. ;) We have been living in the country for over a decade, and now I cannot imagine living somewhere that isn’t surrounded by acres of wooded paddocks, with cattle and horses around, and no neighbours to be seen.

A picture I took of said family on said holiday ;)

I graduated from school over a year ago, and am currently working at a cafe owned by some of our friends. (I don’t think it could get more ideal – working with your good friends and sister!) I enjoy my job, but I also have many passions and hobbies on the side. One that sets my heart on fire is music; especially musical theatre. Being homeschooled, we never had access to drama lessons etc, so I would make my own fun, inspired by the musicals I watched and listened to. I would write play scripts myself, direct them and act them out with my little siblings in front of the rest of my family (an audience of five – then after my brother married, six ;)). It’s still something my siblings and I do for fun. And after dreaming of it for years, I was finally able to pay for my own private singing lessons, which I heartily enjoy. (Next on the list is dancing lessons!)

I grew up surrounded by music – my sisters and mother played the piano, as did I (I still love it – I could literally sit down and play for hours), my father played the guitar and the drums, my older brother played the guitar, my older sisters played the violin and the banjo... we all dabbled in something. Being the bossy older sister I was, I persuaded my little sister to sing duets with me (specifically Disney – I remember our first one we learnt was “I See the Light”), and she was always the boy for me. (She probably had a stronger voice than I did!) Conveniently, my little sister is also gifted with this talent of being able to sing in harmony with ANYTHING – so of course I always preferred singing with her, as she made anything I sang sound so much better. ;)

It is my dream to someday be a part of a local musical theatre company, and truly experience the theatre world as it really is – not how I imagine it to be. I’m still working on it. ;)

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Outside of music, the other thing to always capture my attention has been words. I’ve gone through so many different areas – first it was poetry (something I really should brush up on...), then story writing, and all the while I would forever have my nose in a book. (Literally! I couldn’t tell you how to drive ANYWHWERE because I never looked out the window – I was always reading.) I read my first Dickens novel at age 12, and was hooked on classics ever since. I love books – both fiction and non-fiction – and I’m certain that will never change.

I also have this strange obsession with languages. I love learning new words and enjoying the challenge for my brain. I’ve been teaching myself French for a couple years, and recently started Italian. (It has been my goal for awhile to be able to speak conversational French, Spanish and Italian.) I’m one of those kids that love linguistics and writing, and tend to detest mathematics or physical science.

In addition to books, I am also a sucker for a good movie. Adaptions of books I love, mysteries or thrillers with twists, action, MUSICALS, period dramas, historical films, some fantasy or the occasional science fiction... I love a good movie as much as the next person. ;)

Overall, it would probably be accurate to call me a “Jane of all trades”... (my middle name is Jane, after all. ;)) I have dabbled in many things all my life, and have interests in many, many areas. Exercise, fitness, health, personality types and characteristics, art, archery, baking... the list goes on and on.

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Perhaps it’s partly to do with the fact that I’m terrible at making decisions. Maybe it’s because one of my pet peeves is people who refuse to try new things or be adventurous. Whatever it is, nothing seems to be able to shake off my enthusiasm.

I’m a dreamer of big dreams. I gain inspiration and motivation and want to do EVERYTHING. When people tell me they don’t know how to spend their spare time, I blink and try not to tell them they’re crazy. I always have multiple projects running, and never enough time to fully complete all of them. And yet, I love to have everything organized and efficient. (For those who might be wondering – I am an ENFJ.)

I often feel like a racer, running in her lane and wondering if she should switch to a different one. So if you can relate at all, I’m with you. I’m still trying to figure out where I fit in with all of this. I’m learning to say no, to draw boundaries, and to discipline myself to prioritize correctly.

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But everyone is in this together. I’d venture to say most people haven’t figured their ‘thing’ out yet, and that’s okay. We’re all learning; we’re all growing. I fear failure, but perhaps what I should fear more is the failure to even try. Fear is crippling, and I don’t want to live my life hobbling around in my comfort zone. That is why I want this blog to focus on freedom; how I’ve found it, how I’m finding it, and how you can find it, too.

I hope this post has helped you learn a little more about me. I know I certainly didn’t cover everything – but how can a soul be summed up in 1,000 words? With every post, you will learn some more about me, and I hope I will also learn a bit more about you.

Thanks for listening. 

Don’t be afraid to speak up yourself. Xx

My Favourite Christmas Memories

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I love Christmas.

I love everything about Christmas. 

For some unexplained reason, it never gets old or boring. And I love hearing about everyone else’s Christmases, because they’re all so delightfully unique. Some people have it surrounded by snow, snuggled under blankets, gripping a hot drink. Others (like myself), experience it in air conditioning, or at the beach, with a barbecue sizzling nearby, and a game of cricket playing on TV. (Okay, I think that latter part is strictly Australian. :P)

Many people may think that since I am Australian, I must spend every Christmas at the beach surfing, right? Well, uh, wrong. I’ve never surfed in my life (a fact I am rather sad about), and I can only remember one Christmas spent at the beach. (Shocking!) For the most part, we always preferred being in the comfort of our own homes, enjoying it in our own little way.

So anyhow, being in the festive spirit, I thought I would give you all a taste of what Christmas has looked like for me, over the years.

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For the first fifteen or so years of my life, we would always keep a tradition in our extended family celebrations: a performance of the Christmas play.
It was originally adapted by the two aunties (one being my Mum), and was faithfully performed every year by all the grandchildren. The older kids got the speaking parts (such as the angel, or the narrator), the lucky kids got the main parts (such as Mary and Joseph), and the little kids got the smaller parts (such as the shepherd). If you were REALLY little, you were liable to be dressed up as a sheep, but we won't go there.

Over the years, we found ways to keep it interesting – adding in new songs, solos, and funny lines to entertain. Naturally, our parents, grandparents, aunties and uncles all thought us extremely funny, and so did we. ;) Once the grandkids started getting married, however, and New People were being added to the family, the idea of exposing our play to outside families was a little intimidating. Not to mention, many of the grandkids thought themselves rather old to be playing an acting part. So, sadly, that tradition has come to an end, but it did create a lot of fun memories while it lasted.

Once or twice we even took our set of carols from the play and sung them as a spur-of-the-moment choir while we walked up and down our grandparents' street, where award-winning fairy lights attracted many strangers. Having a musical family is such a blessing, and it really is quite thrilling when you can go into three part harmony without a single rehearsal!

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I distinctly remember one Christmas, we were celebrating with our extended family at our grandparents’ house and it was a particularly hot day. Over twenty people were squished into one air-conditioned room, with wrapping paper in crumpled up balls mingled throughout. The house was buzzing with people. We’d just had lunch (cold meat with salad, fresh fruit platters, pavlova, trifle and plum pudding), and were finishing opening presents. Everyone was getting a bit stiff and sticky. Outside, the temperature had just passed its peak. The blue sky was clear, and the green grass was beckoning.

To this day, I’m still not sure from where they appeared, but out of somewhere, a giant bottle of water balloons was brought forth. Jubilant shouts sounded, and all the grand kids (several of which were passed the age of twenty, might I add ;)) trooped outside with glee on their faces. We filled every single balloon and loaded them into buckets. I don’t even remember if we split into teams, or if pure chaos ensued immediately. All I remember is shrieking and throwing water balloons at anybody within my radius. Everyone was laughing and squealing and running around the tiny backyard, climbing over the garden stones and hiding behind rubbish bins and sheds. The water balloons ran out way too quickly, and no one wanted to stop the fun, so people started getting creative. One of my cousins picked up a watering can and, being exceptionally tall, would find a good hiding place and water anyone who went past.  (I suspect I was an easy target.) One of our cousins (the in-law, of course XD) even went so far as to bring out the garden hose and use it!

I remember the pure joy bubbling inside of me that day. I was full of that light-hearted joy that rarely appears outside of Christmas day. To close the memory, we took a picture – one of my favourites ever –of all the grandchildren huddled together, beaming, with our festive clothes thoroughly soaked through. I’ll never forget that day.

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I’ll end the memories here, but I would love to hear from you – what are some of YOUR favourite Christmas memories? 

Is there anything that reminds you of a particular Christmastime? (For example, whenever I hear the Michael Buble Christmas album, I ALWAYS think of that one time we were on a family holiday at a resort, playing billiards while blaring our Christmas music in the games room... xD) 

... Pssst! Five more days till Christmas!!!

P.S. Rest assured, the follow-up 'about me' post is still coming, but Christmas has priority over that. ;)

P.P.S. Also, as a random note, I went to see "The Rise of Skywalker" last night and I have MANY FEELINGS AND THOUGHTS. Have any of you seen it? If so, tell me your thoughts!!

"I Thought The Day Would Never Come..."

Hello and welcome, everyone!

This is a long-awaited day for both me and a few others. ;) To give a bit of a back story, this is how I’ve wound up creating my own blog (finally!):

When I was around 12 or 13 years old, I discovered the “blogosphere” through a friend’s photography blog. Being many years ago, I struggle to remember the exact specifics, but I know that some of the first blogs I kept up with were Fresh Modesty and Yet Another Period Drama Blog. (I’m sad to say both bloggers have moved on from those blogs now, but they were sources of great inspiration and amusement to me for a good many years.) I soon discovered a group of girls (well, mostly girls to my knowledge ;)) who shared the same interests and values as I did – a rarity indeed! I grew up with five other siblings, and none of them were particularly interested in what I was – literature, specifically classics and period dramas, musicals and musical theatre, and a few other bits and pieces. Eventually, I plucked up the courage to begin commenting as an Anonymous person, using the pseudonym “Miss Meg March”. It was a spur-of-the-moment choice, but I had always considered myself to be very much like Meg, and Little Women was my favourite story.

However, as I soon discovered that another blogger had recently entered the same circle at the same time that I did, with the title “Miss March”, (in addition to the realization that typing “Miss Meg March” at the end of every comment was becoming tedious), I decided to shorten it to “Miss Meg”. And so I stayed Miss Meg for a few good years, happily commenting on other people’s blogs and forming friendships with all the sweet girls in that circle.

I continually daydreamed about having my own blog, and even asked permission from my parents a few times, but was never allowed to. (Screen time was always limited in our house hold, and the internet isn’t the safest place to allow your children, either.) So, an anonymous commenter I remained, forging a reputation as the girl from Australia known as “Miss Meg”.

Eventually, I was allowed a Gmail account and could actually HAVE A PICTURE NEXT TO MY NAME, and in time, I decided to switch it to my real one... so no, Miss Meg did not vanish off the face of the earth. “Gabby A.” just took her place.
So for all those girls who wondered where on earth Miss Meg got to:
*takes a sweeping bow* It is I, Miss Meg! Finally here to do what she wanted to do five years ago – start her own blog. It amuses me that by the time I FINALLY got around to starting my own, blogging seems to be on its way out. Things like YouTube, Instagram and podcasts are over-riding the blogosphere, and I’m sorry about that. I do enjoy a good video or podcast, but there’s something special about writing. I know that’s where words flow easiest for me. So who cares if I’m five or ten years behind the times – I am starting my blog now and I’m going to enjoy it! :D

I will be following this post up with one that has a bit more “about me” if you’re curious, but for now, I’ll just quickly answer a few questions that may be lurking in your mind:

 • What kind of a blog is this? Good question! One that I wish I knew the answer to. I am not, strictly speaking, intending to plant myself in one particular area: for example, a fashion or photography blog. (For the record, I’m hopeless at fashion – my personal style could be described as: an attempt to make hand-me-downs look Stylish.) Perhaps lifestyle would be the best category, but it won’t be merely limited to what I’m doing and what I eat. (I will spare you that!) You can expect lots of faith-related, life thoughts/advice posts, some literature/movie posts, plenty of musical theatre tangents, some totally random stuff (like –dare I say it!– exercise) and whatever else takes my fancy. Hopefully, I will find my niche of what suits me and works best, but just give me a little time to sort myself out first. ;)

 • How often can I expect posts? This will probably change depending on what season of life I’m in, but I am hoping for the time being to post either once a week or once a fortnight. I will be stockpiling posts for the busier weeks, and hopefully keeping up a regular pattern as long as I am able.

 • Why the name of the blog? *sigh* To be honest, I’ve always struggled with titles. They rarely come naturally. I’m always one for alliteration, so, at the risk of sounding cheesy, I thought “Finding Freedom, Living Loved” captured the essence of my blog – and what I want it to bring across to the readers. I’m very passionate about helping others find freedom in their life and seeing the love that God has for them. I want the overall theme of my blog to shine upon that; the freedom and love found in Jesus. (Although I aim to stay as far away from ‘preachy’ as possible!)

 • Just WHY the blog? Well... why not? This has been on my heart for a long time. I have no goals, no aspirations as to how many followers I want or where I want to go with it– I just want to create a space on the internet that allows other people to gain a new perspective, find some inspiration, and always leave the screen feeling a little happier and light hearted than before.

Thank you to everyone who chooses to travel this same journey with me! I truly appreciate it. Xx I would love to get to know your heart as I share a bit about mine.

Until next time, friends!