Tag Archives: 2017

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December 11, 2017

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Life, Uh, This is Random

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12 Surefire Methods For Getting In The Christmas Mood

There are exactly two weeks until Christmas Day (for those of you who are behind on your gift-buying, you’re welcome for that bone-chilling, adrenaline-kicking, stroke-inducing reminder).

For some reason, I’ve had a bit of a hard time getting into The Christmas Mood. I don’t know what it is, but I only really managed to snag the Christmas cheer this past week. Today, for anyone else whose spirits might be flagging, I’m going to share 12 surefire methods that are sure, beyond all shadows of any doubts, to get you in The Christmas Mood (because they’re basically science).

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Oh, look, a red snowflake. How festive.

1. Wrap a present. (Note: if you don’t have any gifts for wrapping yet, wrapping a present to get into The Christmas Mood will not exactly work since it’s not, strictly speaking, possible to wrap a gift you don’t have–unless of course you wrap a metaphorical gift, in which case, use your imagination and make it look real good). For those who struggle with gift wrapping, you may refer to this incredibly therapeutic post from Penprints a couple years ago (you’re welcome in advance).

2. Take a drive after dark to see the Christmas lights. It is so fun and cheering to admire the lights that so many enterprising, Already In The Mood people have taken the time to decorate with. So, don’t be afraid to go out after dark; instead, take advantage of any opportunity to see the lights.

3. Invent your very own festive playlist. This one is new to me this year, but I’ve got a specialized playlist for Christmas on Spotify. I encourage you to do something similar because there’s nothing quite like music to usher in Mood and Anticipation. Since the beginning of December, I have added at least one song a day to my playlist (you can listen to it here; for cute and fun, I recommend “Hey Moon“; for nostalgic, go for “To Be With You“; for haunting and hopeful, “I Heard the Bells On Christmas Day” and “End of Exile“; for abstract and reminiscent of the tender tone of some of the O.T. prophecies, I can’t recommend “I Will Find a Way” enough).

4. Decorate with red and green and garland and lights and nativities. If I need to explain this one, well, I’m sorry for your childhood (or lack thereof).

5. Say “Merry Christmas!”, especially to strangers. You can’t use “Merry Christmas” more than five times without feeling The Mood come upon you. So say it.

6. Take quiet time away to reflect on Jesus and His birth and the hope of Him. Hope is so essential to the Christian life, and this time of year especially will be hollow if we don’t take time to recognize and reflect on what it meant back then and what it means today.

7. … And respond with joy. C. S. Lewis said that joy is not complete until it’s expressed. SO, when you’re thinking about everything Jesus’s coming means and the sheer joy of it hits you, express it. Sing. Extol God. Pray. Tell someone. Smile. The explosive joy of God is sometimes too much to explain or share, but try to communicate it anyway–to God, to your family, to your co-workers, to everyone.

8. Snuff some peppermint essential oil. Trust me, this is pure genius from yours truly. Bring up a chair, my padawans. Essential oils aren’t just about wellness.

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Essential oils are about Mood, too. So, go out to your local Store and pick up some peppermint essential oil. There are a few ways to benefit from the fragrance. Put some in a diffuser necklace for easy access. During a hot shower, drip 2-3 drops on the shower floor. If you have a diffuser in your home, put a few drops in there and enjoy. It’s like inhaling candy canes and sleigh bells.

9. Following along the line of sniffing Christmas, light up a Christmas tree scented candle. Even if you have a live Christmas tree, there is never enough Christmas tree smell, and candles add to ambiance and Good Moods with the longer nights of winter. Plus, matches never get old. (If any of you thought we were going to make it through this post without a reference to fire, you were sorely mistaken.)

10. Write/design a Christmas card or two or three. This is good for you and good for the person(s) you send the card to.

11. Watch a Christmas movie. While Charles Dickens did not invent Christmas (obviously), The Man Who Invented Christmas looks like it would be a fun, festive one to go see in theaters this year. Other popular Christmas movies aka: the classics we watch almost every year at my house include: The Nativity Story, Elf, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (basically a Christmas movie), The Very First Noel, and The Muppet’s Christmas Carol.

12. Some sort of advent. There are so many options. Come Let Us Adore Him by Paul David Tripp is one that my mom is enjoying this year, but there are countless other resources available online and in bookstores.

And that is the most comprehensive, exhaustive, complete, surefire of all surefire lists of Christmas-y things to do you’ll find on the internet nevermind that Christmas cookies, caroling, jingle bells, Christmas pageants, snowmen, and like 300 other Christmas things were never mentioned.

What do you do to get in The Christmas Mood? Any favorite traditions? What is something new you’d like to try this season?

With love,

Rosalie <3

P.S. – To all you lovely people who took the time to leave comments these last couple of months: I shall enjoy re-reading your thoughts as I finally reply to all your wonderful comments this week. I love getting and reading your comments, but for reasons unknown, I never reply to them in a timely fashion. I know. I’m a very bad blogger person.
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I shall make it right.

P.P.S. – Just another friendly, give-you-heart-spasms reminder: two weeks until Christmas.

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May 29, 2017

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Life

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Summer Bucket List 2017

By this time next week, it will be June. And June means summer. And summer means hot and sweat and sunburn and mosquitoes and also a bunch of other unsavory things. But it is also a time of magic and rest and blah, blah, blah (or so I’ve heard).

Full disclosure, I kind of really dislike summer, guys. I’m very partial to winter, in case you’d forgotten. In comparison to the pristine cold of winter, summer is a sweaty sock (read: no bueno). But, being the extremely mature human that I am (because it’s not childish at all to abhor a season) I have decided to make the most of summer and try to enjoy myself a little. So, I’ve put together a bucket list for Summer 2017.

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In no particular order….

– finish Draft Four of Beasts *internal screaming*.

– submit Beasts for its editorial review (lol, kill me now).

– reread The Out of Time Series by Nadine Brandes (shocker).

– submit another piece of flash fiction in hopes of publication.

– finish my study of the book of Isaiah (I’ve got 21 out of 66 chapters done).

– purge some of my things in an attempt to have less things and live more simply/less tied to this world.

– launch my newsletter *cue the applause*.

– stay up through one night to see the sunrise.

– take advantage of all the daylight by getting up earlier and making use of long days yet still get my body enough rest to function healthily (doing this well is like trying to bring balance to the force: it may only work in theory).

– keep a vegetable garden (I will be taking full advantage of all the garden-wisdom of my friend, Amanda–she’s like a garden ninja-queen who can grow thyme from seed, and also she introduced me to bullet journaling, and so there’s that too).

– make decisions on the Penprints redesign and implement them (yeah, we’re all just going to ignore that I mentioned this like two months ago and still haven’t done it).

– drink allllllllll the water because I love water and I love drinking water because water is life and water keeps me from totally dying in awful summer.

– reread Embracing Obscurity by Anonymous (this is a book I think I’ll have to reread every year).

– go the month of July without listening to music (this one may kill me, but I want to rediscover the beauty in silence and the sounds of life).

– submit a devotional somewhere (um, wut?).

– go a day without technology of any kind.

– get a hammock; nap and read and write in said hammock.

– wear henna.

– visit two different farmers’ markets.

– wear face paint (because I can).

– get a skateboard and try to skateboard without colliding with the ground or cars or other people.

– go on a retreat.

– try to make a Nepali dish (Nepali food = so. good.).

– make soap (also with my friend, Amanda).

– own my pale skin. (I’ve got some very strong European lines on both sides of the family, and the little bit of Cherokee that’s in the mix all seems to have gone to my brother, Luke, who can tan in three minutes flat. I, on the other hand, have all the pale, European genes that just burn. This year, though, I’m not going to try to get tan in any way–no sprays or lotions or unprotected time in the sun. This year, I’m owning that I’m pale and choosing be happy that super light skin is healthier for me than burned or slightly tanned skin. *overly long spiel ended*)

– wear sunscreen like it’s my job (^^ refer to the previous item^^).

And that’s all I’ve got for today, kids.

What about you? Any fun summer plans? Do you have a summer bucket list?

With love,

Rosalie <3

P.S. – there is no post script for this post *collective gasp*.

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January 2, 2017

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God, Life

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Vision for 2017: Soul-fire & Self-control

Today is January 2, 2017.

2017.

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I whole-heartedly believe that great things can come in 2017. Growth. Change. Renewal. Birth. Death. Adventure. Learning. Solitude. Unity. Friendship. Discipleship. Laughter. Tears. Incandescence. Soul-fire.

But these things won’t just happen on their own or by accident; they have to be sought with intentionality. I believe that great things can and will come in 2017 because I’m praying and looking for these things, and when God puts them in my path, I’m going to hold onto them with both hands. I expect great things from Him.

I expect Him to do great things in me, in my heart, mind, and soul.

I expect Him to do great things in my family.

I expect Him to do great things in my church.

I expect Him to do great things in my town.

But I’m not just going to twiddle my thumbs for another year, waiting to see God do something. I’m not going to spectate when the calling of Christ is to participate.

Once during Jesus’ ministry, He left His disciples to go onto a mountain to pray while His disciples stayed in the boat on the sea. But while He was praying, a vicious wind drove the boat far from the shore, whipping up the waves to beat the boat. So Jesus went to them, walking on water, and the disciples were very afraid at first because they thought He was a ghost. But Jesus said, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.”

And Peter (in typical Peter fashion) shouted back, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.”

“Come,” Jesus said.

So Peter hauled himself out of the boat and began to walk to Jesus on the water. But then he remembered the wind, and he was afraid again. And then he began to sink. “Lord, save me!” he cried out to Jesus.

Jesus grabbed him immediately, holding him up, and said, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” Then He and Peter got to the boat and climbed in, and the wind ceased (you can find the account in Matthew 14:22-33).

Typically, when I’ve been told this story, all the Sunday school teachers have been like, “Don’t be like Peter. He took his eyes off of Jesus and began to sink. He paid more attention to his surroundings than he did to Jesus.”

Now, I have to say I disagree. There were twelve men in that boat, and Peter is the only one who got out of it, expecting Jesus to help him walk on water. I’d have to say I’ve spent most of my life in the boat. I’d have to say most people have spent most of their lives in the boat. I don’t think I’ve really ever gotten to the point of “don’t be like Peter” because I’ve never been enough like Peter to get out of the boat in the first place. And honestly, I’m sick of the boat.

I’m climbing out of the boat, expecting Christ to meet me, to help me, to uphold me in my devotions, in prayer, in my writing, in the way I interact with my family, in the way I spend my time, in the way I serve in church, in the way I read books, in the way I do friendships, in everything.

I have many goals and resolutions and visions for 2017, and I know I can achieve every single one if I’m with Christ. I have two main prayers for myself for this year: that the Holy Spirit will give me an unquenchable soul-fire for Him, and that through His power, I will master my mind and heart and body with self-control. All my other prayers for this year flow from these two, and I know that it’s going to be hard. And I know I’m not always going to follow Jesus like I should, but I’m thankful I’m finally getting out of the boat.

Will you pray and find God’s vision for you in 2017? Will you get out of the boat? Will you expect God to do great things, and be ready to respond to His work? What do you hope God does in you and through you this new year?

P.S. – a note on the picture at the beginning of this post: I shoved my box of matches at my dad and said, “Daddy, can you come to a dark room and strike matches so that I can take pictures of the matches?” And he did. He helped me find the right setting on the camera and struck many matches for me to take pictures of, getting some very hot fingers in the process.