A Poem of Comfort

Dear friends,

Things have been incredibly topsy-turvy of late, and I do apologize for being so behind in the blogosphere. I've had my fair share of quarantine, unemployment and an unknown future, too. The one beautiful thing is that we're all in this together and we WILL make it through. <3

Today I just want to share a poem I wrote back in 2016, as a means of encouragement to you. I hope it gives you peace. Stay safe, my friends. Stay hopeful. This too shall pass.

via Pinterest

Safe In His Arms

by Gabriella Jane A.

Whenever my heart is full

And I'm at the end of my rope,

There is but one thing that can help,

The peace God gives me - hope.

Whenever I'm terribly scared

Or very confused and unsure,

He just takes and holds me tight

And I'm afraid no more.

Though my heart be bleeding, 

And my eyes strained from tears,

God is always there to comfort

And take away my fears.

With grief and pain around me

I can only do one thing,

Let Him guard and guide me,

And to Him I will cling.

Even if life breaks me,

There is one thing I do know:

God is always there to hold me,

And He'll never let me go.

My bullet journal (2019 + 2020)

Hey friends!

Today I have something a little bit different to what I normally share. I thought I would give you a little look at one of my journaling/creative projects from the past twelve (plus) months. I was given a couple small notebooks, three different kinds of pretty sticky tape, some stickers, and then I just had my trusty pen, pencils, and Pinterest. ;) 

Some people set our their bullet journals with structured boxes for every single day of every month, and multiple trackers and record keeping... since I already had a calendar and a journal, I didn't find them necessary. So I used it more for an art outlet, with a little help in the organizing department, creating a fun way to look back at my year. So without anymore babbling, below are multiple photos of what that looked like for me! (Disclaimer: These are nowhere near all of the pages in my bullet journals, but I cut out some either because of personal reasons or because they were boring. ;P)

The cover of my first bullet journal (for 2019)

On the left is a "Mood Tracker", and on the right is a "list" of all the books I read...
 which really weren't that many. :P

 For the record, though, I'm not a huge fan of mood trackers. I did them a few times to try them out, but I think the overall objective is silly. To wake up and say, "Oh, I am in a sad mood today" and stay that way for the entire time is ridiculous - it activates no self-control or effort. So, yeah, they're kind of cool if you want to see how many days you were "happy" as opposed to "stressed" etc, but I'm not going to bother with them this year. ;) (That said, if mood trackers ARE your thing - go for it! They're just not mine.)

(My March title page)

The overview of my May month, plus its title page. It was around this point that
I would create theme colours for the month and actually stick to it, haha.

My June title page (and no, it doesn't snow where I live :P)

I was quite proud of this one, but the idea was not mine

Self-explanatory, but do you see any of your song favourites on there?

On the right is an example of my "one line a day" pages, which I have for every month.
It's a fun way to find something you're grateful for every day.

I love spring 😍

This was a page to fill in the empty space, and I quite like how it turned out.
Again, almost all of these I got ideas from Pinterest.

Everyone knows November is watermelon month ;)

This is probably confusing everyone in the Northern Hemisphere, haha

On the right is a list of songs I learnt for my singing lessons.
On the left is a random quote I like to fill in the extra pages. ;)

This was one of my final pages of the book (implying 2020 is right around the corner ;)).
Also I promise my fingers aren't covering up a mistake - the page wouldn't stay flat :P

For awhile, I was uncertain how to fill in the last two blank pages,
but then I decided to do a mini "New Year's tag" to summarize 2019

A classy way to end my not-so-very-classy bullet journal ;)

And that's all I have from my 2019 bullet journal to share! I hope that was somewhat interesting... if it was, I have added a few more photos of my current set-up for my 2020 bullet journal. Obviously, there's not a whole lot in it, and I DO have some pages at the front that are like "New Year Goals" etc, but they're not for display currently. ;)

My 2020 title page (...I suck at title pages. :P)

My January overall - a set-up I'll probably be sticking with most of the year.
Also, can you tell I like watermelons??

You know how sometimes, you try REALLY hard to be artsy...
but then you kinda just try TOO hard? Yeah. That me.

This is an example of how I'm setting up my "one line a day" at the moment.
I get the "symmetrical' taste from my mother's side of the family. ;)

And that's it! Let me know what you liked best, and if you'd ever be interested to see more of my bullet journalling/experimenting in the future.

Do you have a bullet journal? If not, would you consider starting one?

Of Podcasts and Plays, Rain and Reflection

Hey friends!

I thought I'd do a slightly different post today, although it's one that you're probably familiar with. It's one of those "what I'm currently doing" posts... because they're always fun, right? ;)

Currently, I am:

Catching up on - heh, EVERYTHING. I just got back from a week long mini holiday/road trip/wedding, so now I'm trying to get my life back together get back to all the things I left behind.

Reading - "Little Women" by Louisa May Alcott, and I have no idea how many times I've read it now. It's been a few years, though, so I thought it was high time for it. (And also, I just read "Rebecca" and "Jane Eyre" and I REALLY needed some uplifting, easy literature in my life.) It's as good as it's always been. (If you've never read it, well... I have no words.)
I also just finished "Love Does" by Bob Goff, and greatly enjoyed that one. I would say I actually enjoyed "Everybody, Always" even more, but they're both refreshing and witty. He's a captivating writer, and it's very thought-provoking material. Highly recommend!

Via Pinterest

Watching - TV shows, mostly. Nearing the end of Season 4 "Gilmore Girls" (and to be honest, I think I'll give it a break because you can have too much of a good thing ;) And also Lorelei and Rory are making some really silly decisions that Annoy And Vex Me Greatly). I'm also re-watching "White Collar" with my older sisters and wow, it's as good as I remember. If you haven't seen it, please put it on your list - it's my favourite TV show EVER!
I'm also watching "The Musketeers" with one of my sisters, which is quite riveting.

Listening to - lots of podcasts. My new obsession, I think. Currently delving into the "EnneaSummer 2019" series on the show "That Sounds Fun" by Annie F. Downs. It's all about the Enneagram personality numbers and I find it absolutely fascinating. It's wonderfully presented, and has it all from a Christian perspective as well which I greatly appreciate. If you're a little skeptical, it's truly helped me learn to love other people better because I can better UNDERSTAND them. (Also, if you ARE into it, let's talk! What number are you? I'm a 2w3.)

Learning - so much. Learning how to tap dance (!!), learning how to talk to God more, learning how to make an omelette well, learning how to be more open and honest with people, learning the Sherlock theme on the piano, learning how to canter well on a horse, learning what my motives really are behind my actions, learning how to use gentle, kind and encouraging words when I want to let fly a sarcastic comment... learning and growing never ends.

Via Pinterest

Daydreaming about - being in musical theatre, what it would be like to live alone, and always, the beach.

Singing - multiple songs! (Not all at once though, haha.) I'm learning five at the moment with my singing teacher - "Children Will Listen" from Into the Woods, "In My Dreams" from Anastasia, "Your Grace Still Amazes Me" by Craig and Dean Phillips, "The Lass With the Delicate Air" by Michael Arne, and "Summertime" from Porgy and Bess. (And of course, any Disney song ever.)

Writing - a new play script! I'm super excited about it - I have written down a rough outline, with heaps of notes on separate fly-away pages, and I just have to pull them all out and join them into one cohesive play. Sounds easy, right? I'm also eager to try my hand at writing a song myself as that's something I've never done, and I have some ideas on it (though I'm not sure how well I'll do).

Appreciating - all the green grass that has sprung up the past couple weeks. Most of you would know about the fires that have been ravaging our country, so it's an even more exciting thing to see the summer rains FINALLY come at the last month of summer. Our tanks are finally full, and there is luscious green grass right outside my window. It's beautiful (and also reminds me of a rain forest).

Via Pinterest

Failing at - keeping up with some of my goals. Honestly, I think I always bite off more than I can chew. ;) But especially with my flexibility goals - I went to do my stretching last night, and guys, I couldn't even touch my toes! I've definitely lost all my progress... have also been failing at keeping up a proper exercise routine, and keeping rigidly to a lactose free diet which I've been asked to trial. (Guys, chocolate and ice cream is just too nice! How can I say no?!)

Meditating on - living a life that means something. You know, I had ample time for lots of life reflections during our giant road trip down to Sydney, and I had a lot of thoughts. One thing I'm always regretting is spending too much time online or doing trivial, selfish things, when I could have been building up relationships and loving others better... and also just DOING MORE REAL LIFE THINGS.
So I figured it was time to practice self-control; one thing that I had been letting take control was my time spent on Instagram, so I decided to log out, take the app off my phone for an unknown length of time, and use my spare time to do other things. Instead of looking at social media, I want to make my own memories - and what's more, I don't even want to share them with anyone other than the people I made them with. Because that's part of the magic. That's part of the memory. There's nothing wrong with sharing things on social media, but after awhile, it really can distort your view on reality (at least for me) and soon you find yourself doing things just for the sake of a post on Instagram. And that's not how I want to live my life!
So I want to replace scrolling on my phone with walks outside; I want to swap YouTube videos for baking days with my siblings. I want to exchange screen time with real time - time spent reading good books, talking with friends, making music, learning a new skill, making a cake, drawing a picture, rehearsing a play... these are all things I want to pursue and hone in on. I want to live my life not just for others but WITH others. That doesn't mean I'm going to only read my Bible and volunteer at a local church all of my days; it just means I want to be more intentional with what I'm choosing to say yes to, and what I'm giving a no.

This is something God's really placed on my heart of late. Even reading "Little Women" has reminded me of all the fun that can come from simple activities shared with the ones you love! So if you're currently feeling stuck or unhappy, maybe try a new perspective or a new angle. Switch it up a bit, and pursue the things in life that will have a lasting effect.

Via Pinterest

And that's all for now! I realize this is a super random post, but hey, life isn't one simple cookie-cutter experience. It's a mess, and it's a beautiful one. ;)
Now I challenge you to go out and spread some sunshine to those around you!