*blows dust off blog*

*squints and looks around*

*taps microphone*

Hello?

*really bad feedback*

Did I fall off the face of the earth for like a year? Yes, yes, I did that. It was I. I’ll admit it was me who in fact did that.

*coughs awkwardly*

But I yet live, and it’s time to get back to business.

What’s new?

I’m engaged!

Lol, no I’m not. I thought it’d be funny to throw that out there for the lolz, especially for the extended family wait what I would never.

What’s new (for realz)? This will cover the tail end of 2020 and all of 2021. After that I’ll reminisce about 2022 (yes, I said reminisce. About the future. Because I can do anything here, boo.)

• My small group multiplied (translation: the group of people that I meet with from my church to discuss the Bible and grow in community got too big to be one group and so we split into two groups).
• The 2020 election happened. Yep. I remember thinking the 2016 election cycle was a doozie, and now we all know better.
• I left social media, no regrets.
• I moved!–still in Texas, still part of the same church, just a new house and new roommates.
• The Gray Havens released their new album Gray Flower track by track (thank the Lamb for that).
• I saw Jesus save some people very dear to me and got to see them baptized (best. day. of. my life.).
• I haven’t been doing much novel-writing in the last year or so…
• But I have been doing some songwriting!
• I turned 23.
• Lost some more idols, survived, know Jesus better, etc.
• Survived Snowmaggedon in Texas (maybe I’ll write a post about it because it’s coming up in the one year anniversary and it was wild; it made Covid look like the kiddie apocalypse)
• Had several identity crises and have found myself in Jesus a little more each time.
• Broke my coffee addiction.
• Rekindled my coffee addiction.
• Harbored unforgiveness and bitterness, Jesus said, “Don’t do that”, and I repented.
• Used to think repentance was beating myself up until I was “sorry enough” but by God’s kindness to me through friends, small group leaders, and the Bible I learned what repentance actually is (a future blog post perhaps?)
• Lost some more ambitions and aspirations because God’s call on my life is better than what I could want for myself.
• Fought with a close friend, sinned against her a lot. Reader, she forgave me. I’ve never known reconciliation like this. The blood of Jesus is truly miraculous.
• Locked my keys in my car. With my phone. At a sketchy gas station. At 10:00 pm. I survived.
• My ol’ Volvo (the Daydream) died on the side of the road. 25 of my friends from my church pitched in and bought me a car (like wait, what? They did what?). Reader, this is a really nice car.
• Through being gifted the extravagantly beautiful car, I learned a bit more the abundance in God’s heart for me, that he doesn’t give the bare minimum but that his love goes, and has always gone, above and beyond.
• Found out that 69 degrees Fahrenheit is absolute warmest I can sleep in or else I will straight up perish.
• Came to the end of myself like 14 times and received everything I needed straight from the hand of my Father in heaven.
• Learned that the chief end of an avocado is to carry everything bagel seasoning from the can to my mouth.
• Discovered part of my purpose in life is wearing velvet pants as often as possible (we’re just at the beginning of this epic new velvet pant age in my life).

2022

• Still absent-minded and forget to reply to texts, emails, and phone calls.
• Still learning to receive grace.
• Still trying not to strive so much (lol, “trying not the strive”).
• Still get discouraged and listen to the lies of despair instead of believing the gloriously light truth of Jesus.
• Still keep finding out I’m not perfect and still keep acting like it’s the End of the World^TM (for sure went and cried in my room when I found out I don’t put my dishes away like an adult human should [“Found out?” you say. “Yes, found out,” says I. One of my roommates literally had to sit down with me and tell me that I don’t put my dishes away. I would wash them, fill up the drying rack, go along my merry way, and forget about them. And then one of my roommates would put them away for me. I’m not going to say anything more than that.]).
• I did it. I changed the design of this blog again. I changed the header. And the colors. And unraveled all the work I spent in 2018 and 2019 and 2020 trying to have a cohesive “look/brand” that I was going to stick to. I threw it all out the window (if you’re reading this in your inbox, get yourself on over the main website, my faithful friend, and check out the new look; I didn’t buy this domain for no reason [but also don’t look too closely because not all the widgets have been baptized into The New Look^TM). There was no one to stop me. At least I didn’t change the name of this blog.
• Still planning on following Jesus to my dying day and beyond.

Blogging has become an antiquated form of communication, but that’s all right with my little old soul. I won’t do it much (life is too full–so much to do and so little time; I feel that pressure against my soul keenly), but I’ll do it every now and then (my goal in my bullet journal is 20 posts in 2022; we’ll see if I make it).

To anyone out there still tracking with this old rag Penprints and me, I’m back from the dead in more ways than one and of course have many, many thoughts on all matters with varying degrees of importance, helpfulness, etc..

And you know I’ll share them.

Further up and further in,

Rosalie <3

p.s. – yes, I for sure also changed my closing greeting. It had to be C.S. Lewis-ish. I’ve been signing off wrong for the last ten years of blogging. It’s fine; I fixed it now.