25 Day Music Challenge Day 25

Finally finished this! Day 25 is a song you can listen to all day. Have to highlight a new one by Peter Hollens here.

25 Day Music Challenge Day 24

A song that you have danced to with your best friend.  I don't remember ever really doing this, so here is a song, in general, you can dance to.

25 Day Music Challange Day 23

A song that you cannot stand. Took me a minute to think, but I hate the new Taylor Swift music.

25 Day Music Challenge Day 22

A song someone has sung to you. Mom used to sing this to my brother and I every night.

25 Day Music Challenge Day 21

Your favorite song. Well, my favorite song at the moment is as follows.

25 Day Music Challenge Day 20

Last song in your library.

25 Day Music Challenge Day 19

First song in your library alphabetically.

25 Day Music Challenge Day 18

A song that you love but rarely listen to.

25 Day Music Challenge Day 17

Day 17, a song that makes you want to dance.

25 Day Music Challenge Day 16

Day 16, a song that has made you cry.

25 Day Song Challange day 15

I am back y'all. Notice I skipped 14 because it was another boyfriend type song. Day 15 is a song you like to sing along to.

25 Day Music Challenge Day 13

Today was supposed to be a song that reminded you of a former friend. However, I decided to do a current firend and post the theme to the Star Trek series we both are big fans of!

25 Day Music Challenge Day 12

The last song you heard. I had to think for a minute on this one, but I believe it was Superheros by The Script.

25 Day Music Challenge Day 11

A song from the soundtrack of your favorite movie. Since I am really hyped for Infinity War coming out later this month, I have to do the Avengers theme, as it is ONE of my favorite movies.

25 Day Music Challenge Day 10

A song by your favorite band. Bet y'all cannot guess what is coming XD

25 Day Music Challenge Day 9

Day nine is a song that makes you hopeful.

25 Day Music Challenge Day 8

A song that reminds you of your "first love"? Like, really??? What is with all these love songs?? Anyway, this song does not remind me of a first love but is my current favorite love song.

25 Day Music Challenge Day 7

Here is another Home Free song for day seven, a song that is supposed to remind you of summer.

25 Day Music Challenge Day 6

This is a shout out to my good friend, Emily McConnel, as day six is supposed to be a song that reminds you of your best friend XD

25 Day Music Challange Day 5

Day five is a song that is often stuck in my head. I don't have a song that is often stuck in my head, but here is a song that has been stuck in my head as of late.

25 Day Music Challenge Day 4

Day four, a song that calms you down.

25 Day Music Challenge Day 3

Day three is a song that is supposed to remind you of one or both of your parents. So, I picked a song for each of them.

25 Day Music Challenge Day 2

Now, day two is supposed to be a song that reminds you of your ex, but seeing as I have never really dated anyone I decided to go with a song that reminds me of my first fictional crush, Luke Duke from The Dukes of Hazzard. Don't judge me XD

25 Day Music Challenge Day One

This was something on Pinterest that I thought would be fun to do on here, plus it helps me to get ahead on my blogging XD

Day One: A song from your childhood

Now, I was one of those High School Musical/Camp Rock Fangirls when I was little, so I decided to pick a song from each of these movies.

Glory in the Ordinary Review

Today I am here to review Glory in the Ordinary, by Courtney Reissing.

Now, if you are anything like me, you may HATE housework.

One of the reasons I abhor housework is that it is so boring and repetitive.

Day in, day out.

All you are doing is the same dang thing, without much to show for it.

No. Change. Whatsoever.

In this book, Courtney carries the main theme that your average everyday housework is ultimately fulfilling the Glory of God. She discusses how the fall made work to be not fun with the curse, whereas before it was supposed to be a thing to enjoy.

She then goes on to explain how she believes heaven is the image of what this world was supposed to be like before the fall. We are not going to be sitting around playing harps when we cross over, according to Courtney. Instead, God is going to assign an eternal task for us that we will enjoy (instead of dread) doing immensely. Our work on earth, according to the author, is made to prepare us for the work we shall be doing in heaven.

Courtney then goes on to say that housework is designed to love the people who live in your home through serving them, which I liked. Lately, I have been struggling with the idea of showing, rather than telling love, and to realize that housework is one way in which one might be able to accomplish this baffled me.

One concept I liked (coming from the perspective of me being a history graduate) was how the author ended up connecting how housewives were viewed back in the '60s vs. how they are viewed today. Back in the '60s, "housewifery" was the premier calling for a woman, with the husband being the main breadwinner of the family. Now, people almost look down their noses at women who stay at home, rebuking them for being a setback to feminism. There has also been a shift in vocabulary, from being a housewife to being a "stay-at-home". A woman is judged for how well she raises her kids, and by how many activities she has crammed into their schedule that she has to shuttle them to and from. More and more women who have even aspired to have professional, successful careers often end up being stay-at-home-moms, according to what statistics are telling us.

A final point that made me smile was how we as women often expect ourselves to be "wonder women" and get everything done. As a matter of fact, if you talk with other women, their houses are very likely not all perfectly clean ever.

One thing that kind of bothered me about this book was how she framed the very idea of rest. Courtney claimed something we all know, that rest is not a sin because God rested. Yet, she also from my perspective had an idea of rest that, if you were not "resting" by doing a fun activity or having down time with your family, then it was basically a sin. This is implied with how she addressed the theme of housework as being an act of selflessly serving the family around you. If you are not "serving" your family by relaxing with them, I feel as though she implies that you should not be "resting" at all.

In some ways, I do see her point. We are supposed to be a communal species as human beings, striving for each others company. Yet, if you are an introvert like me, being around people, including your family, can absolutely EXAUST you sometimes. You need "alone time" to recharge, otherwise you and everyone else will most likely be suffering for it. There needs to be a balance. Relax with your family, then realize when you have to be alone to recharge.

Overall, I would like to give this book four out of five stars. While I did not agree with all her points, for the most part, Courtney has helped me to, at least start, shifting my perspective of housework. Pick up this book today at lifeway.com or at any Lifeway Christian store in your area!

Check out W2W ministres here!

Words and Candles

Words are important in life. A writer is perhaps someone who understands this better than most, with the most important group of words being, of course, the Word of God.

As I became somewhat of a candle addict after I received a candle for Christmas, I have been searching for just the right candle type that I can fall in love with. My search ended when my friend Ivy Rose opened a candle store over here on Etsy, called Bookburn Candles. What these candles are homemade soy candles with essential oils.

Now, I was a fan of essential oils before these candles. They have the power to help pick you up, motivate you, and relax. The three candle scents currently being sold through this shop help to do all three, while making excellent gifts for writers with each being connected to classic literary ideas and themes.

First, and my absolute favorite is the Glad Game. This candle is a mix of orange, frankincense, and peppermint essential oils. The theme of this candle originates from the Glad Game in Pollyanna, where you should always look for something to be glad about even in the middle of the direct set of circumstances. When you burn this candle, it offers a mixture of aromas that serve for a better pick me up than any cup of coffee could do for you.

Just a whiff of this candle will help you take the words of Paul to the Romans to heart.

Romans 15:3

 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Good Strong Words and writing. Need I say anything more? :D

My second favorite candle is Good Strong Words which draws inspiration from Jo, the sister and aspiring writer form Little Women. It is actually the one I am currently burning as I work on getting ahead with the two blogs I write for. It has a mixture of Cinnamon, Clove, and Orange It does its job as it blends together to create a strong, spicy, and citrusy scent that motivates you to get some writing done.

1 Corinthians 16:13

Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong.

Last, but most certainly not least, is Miss Lavender's garden. This is the perfect candle to burn, with its mixture of lavender, cedarwood, and jasmine scents, as you are winding down preparing for bed. It fills your room with a lovely, relaxing scent of flowers, similar to its inspiration in Anne of Green Gables.

Miss Lavender paired with a set of books I either want to read or re-read this year!

This candle will most certainly motivate you to dial it back, stopping to enjoy the small things in life, as it is described in the following passage of scripture.

Psalm 55:6

I said, “Oh, that I had the wings of a dove! I would fly away and be at rest.

So I would encourage you to head on over to the shop in the link posted above to check these candles out! They make excellent gifts for Easter, Mother's day, birthdays, or anytime in between!

Two of my favorite, as well as my friend Ivy's favorite ;), things; Home Free, paired with her Bookburn Candles!

Hello There

Old Man Pablo

Yeah, I felt like pulling an Obi-Wan from Revenge of the Sith. Anywho, just wanted to give you guys an update over the first couple months of the year!

A Beautiful Vintage photo of grandma

It has been rough, to be honest. First, I had to get over a cold that my brother was so nice to share (NOT!!!!!!), that knocked me off my feet for quite a bit. Then, Pablo, "my horse", passed away quite suddenly on New Years Day. It hit me hard. Just when I thought I had made my way out of the pit of depression and despair that hat dragged me down for most of the last summer, there I was back in it.



After that, my mom, who had to get radiation on her head since cancer has spread to her skull, started to lose her hair. It's is a bitter pill to swallow. I fear for her.I also fear for myself with all the health issues I have, some of which that are indirectly related to my mom's health issues.



Then, my "WONDERFUL" brother, had to be nice and share the cold that he had never really gotten over before he left on his trip to London With my AGAIN once he came back (yay...) :/



Now, one thing to note is that when I get sick, my immune system might as well be nonexistent, as I am sick for a WHILE. Around this time (the week before Valentine's day, to be exact). We received news that my grandma on my mom's side was not doing well at all. She ended up passing away on February 10th, and her funeral was Valentine's day. The hardest part about this was that I could barely visit her by her bed to keep watch with being sick, without fear of contaminating other residents in her retirement home.



So, it was pretty much right after I had started to accept one loss, I was sucker punched yet again with another, even BIGGER one...



Some days, or most days, I tend to wear my emotions on my sleeve. When it comes to things like death, though, I realize that I internalize a lot.



It's been hard. I have not wanted to "people" in the weeks since my grandma's funeral, wanting very much to stick with my routine of going to work, and going home to watch my Olympic figure skating and Gonzaga Basketball as I struggled to process what was happening, as well as what had happened.



I am, to be quite frank and honest with you all, quite sick of all the curveballs being thrown in the way of me and my family.



I have had the tendency to look to God and say, "Get us the heck out of here!!! We have had enough of this storm!!!!!!!!! If you really loved us, you would let us have some 'calm' waters for once".



Could it be though, that we are too busy being distracted by all that weighs us down that we don't see it when we are in calm waters?



If only we could have A, B, and C work out. Then life would be calmer for us.



At least until the next two by four comes to smack you upside the head, because life just ain't all sunshine and roses!



With being the glass half empty person I am, It has been quite a long time since I felt like I have been in calm waters.



In reality, I have been blessed and am more fortunate than most people.


In other news, in the middle of this last week, I gave myself a kick back into gear, starting to take baby steps working back into the rhythm of accomplishing all the goals I had set for this new year. Which leads me to what I want for this blog.



I have decided to just give you guys the rest of my Christmas story I started, that I ended up being too sick to finish back at that time. You may be rolling your eyes at this, yet if I don't finish it SOON I am almost surely guaranteed to forget about it. It is still winter where I am living, which quite frankly has only made my depression worse. Christmas, Loki's shenanigans, and messing with my characters is something that makes me happy, though, so it is gonna be finished!



Then I am going to finish and post the rest of my "going back in time" Kennedy story I started, well, "back in time".



I have just felt the strong urge to finish things I have started in my writing. As many plot bunnies, I have running around in my head at the moment, they are going on the back burner until some of my other stories are done.


I want to eventually post this separate short story that sprouted out of my ongoing Ben and Chloe novel as well, about the acapella band's adventure at the Country Music Awards!



So, if things go as planned and yours truly can keep on top of things, hopefully, all these things will happen with this blog!

Yours truly,

the "Emster"