End of Year Thoughts

And thus ends 2017!

Another chapter of your life finished and a new one to begin in just a few days.

What did you accomplish this year? What were you proud of and disappointed about?

How can you make the New Year better?

Ask yourself these questions.

What ever happened to you this year know that God was with you, is with you and will forever be with you.

I hope to have a brilliant year of blogging ahead.

Thank you for sticking around.

Know that I truly appreciate it and love you all!

Please let me know how I can improve and give me any post suggestions!

   Happy New Year!

Favourite Christmas Songs

Alright, let's get this very clear. I love music! Music is one of the things I could not live without and I'm not ashamed of it.
I absolutely love listening to music while I do this and that. I am listening to music now as I write this as I often do when I blog.
It makes me happy, inspires me or puts me the the right mood for the occasion. I just love it.

This post is going to be all about Christmas music. Surprised?

I have to start with Michael Buble of course.

My favourite Michael Buble Christmas songs are:
White Christmas (Duet with Shania Twain)
All I Want For Christmas
Silent Night
Silver Bells
Mis Deseos/Feliz Navidad (Duet with Thalia)

Sample

Overall Michael Buble just has a great jazzy singing voice that I love. If you haven't heard of him you should really listen to his stuff.(You may find yourself singing along and dancing around the room!)

Pentatonix

The Pentatonix Acappella group makes some great stuff that's for sure. They are great singers and I love their Christmas songs, especially these:
Away in a Manger
Deck the Halls
Sleigh Ride
The First Noel
Let is Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow!
Joy to the World

Sample

Really lovely tunes to get you excited for the December season!

The Piano Guys

My family has been listening to these guys for a few years now and I really like how hey make classical music a bit more exciting.
They just released a new Christmas album, Christmas Together.
My faves from them are:
Angels from the Realms of Glory
This song is so good I have to say something about it. Its so joyful, triumphant and glorious! It captures all the anticipation leading up to Christmas. You must listen to it!
Ode to Joy to the World
I saw Three Ships
The Sweetest Gift
This song is so sad but beautiful. It is dedicated to Annie Schmidt, who was Jon Schmidt's daughter. (Jon is the pianist) She fell of a cliff when she was hiking about a year ago. She was only about 20.
Even though I haven't lost anyone, I still quite like it.

Sample (Amazing!)

Guy Penrod

Guy Penrod's songs have a warm, country, family feel to them.
From his album my favourites are:
Tennessee Christmas
Winter Wonderland
The Twelve Days of Christmas
Away in a Manger
A Cradle in Bethlehem
O Holy Night

Sample

Go and listen to them will you? It will add some warmth to your Christmas for sure! Not that we need any more warmth as it has been so hot here.

Home Free

They sing my favourite carol O Holy Night so well!
Angels We have Heard on High
Silent Night 
White Christmas
are also great in their deep manly voices!

Others
Little Drummer Boy by Peter Hollens
Messiah by Francesca Battistelli

This is the best lyric video ever!
Let it Snow by Dean Martin
I saw Three Ships by Lindsey Stirling
Heaven Everywhere by Francesca Battistelli

Well I hope you enjoyed that and you check out some of these!
This is one of the last Christmasy posts and I am sad about that but there will be 3 more before the year is out!
Yes, I will be posting a short post on Christmas Day.

What post would you like me do do in 2019?
Favourite Christmas song?

My Anticipated Books of 2018 // Part 1

There is a clock because I am waiting! Get it!

So it's been a while since I posted my last anticipated books list here and I think I need to do another one.
I have been looking through lists on Goodreads and following some authors and I have a bunch of fresh new books on my TBR.

I am going to go in order of their publication month.
January

The View from Rainshadow Bay // #1 Lavender Tides by Colleen Coble

Stunning cover, plot sounds very interesting and there's a photographer in it!
I have to read this! I've had my eye on Colleen Coble's books for a while so maybe now I'll give them a go.

February

The Lost Castle by Kristy Cambron

This will be a first from this author but the plot sounds interesting and I would like to get my hands on it! The cover is very beautiful don't you think? With the blossom trees forming a tunnel. So pretty!

Lethal Licorice // #2 Amish Candy Shop Mystery by Amanda Flower

I first have to read the first book, Assaulted Caramel, but this one looks cool. It involves food, Amish and a mystery, what more could you want!

Anything mentioning food always gets noticed by me. 

The Masterpiece by Francine Rivers

Doesn't this one also have a stunning cover? I own two books by Francine Rivers so I am interested in this one.

I have also heard a lot of good things about this author so I want to know what all the fuss is about!

The Sea Before Us // #1 Sunrise at Normandy by Sarah Sundin

As I said in this post here, I like books set in the WW1 or WW2 eras. This book is and sounds good.

I have a few books by Sarah Sundin on my TBR and I hope I will get to her books some time in 2018. 

March

Beneath a Prairie Moon by Kim Vogel Sawyer

The cover, the name and the plot all look so perfect! I love the picture on the cover and the name is so poetic and pretty. 

April

Caught by Surprise // #3 Apart from the Crowd by Jen Turano

I love Jen Turano's covers! They're always fun, pretty, and bright. Though I haven't ventured inside her books, I want to next year. Authors I want to read in 2018 click here to read this post.

May

Room on the Porch Swing // #2 Amish Homestead by Amy Clipston

Currently I am working my way through the Amish Heirloom series by Amy Clipston and I am loving it very much. I like her writing better than the other Amish fiction writers I have read. 

June

The Orphan's Wish // #8 Hagenheim series by Melanie Dickerson

I have not yet started reading this series but I am still excited for it. The only Melanie Dickerson book I have read is The Huntress of Thornbeck Forest, which I enjoyed a lot. I look forward to reading more of Melanie's writing!

Look at the cover too!

Murder at the Flamingo // #1 Van Buren and DeLuca Mystery by Rachel McMillan

I love me some mystery! And this one looks like an art deco time period book which I love. 

So that's most of my anticipated books in 2018. There may be new discoveries later on and I will be sure to update you on that!

What books are you looking forward to?

What was the best book you read this year?

Scripture on My Snaps #2

Well, it's about time that I did another one of these so here it is!

1.

2.

3.

4. I had to do a Christmas one!

5.

6.

7.

I had a lot of fun doing these!

Which is your favourite?

Ways to get into Bible Reading / Up your Bible Reading game!

So a while ago I was really struggling with reading the my Bible.
I knew it was important in my walk with God but I just didn't know how to approach it.
What should I read? When should I read it? For how long? Will I understand it? Do I have time for it?
All these questions were circling through my head and I knew I had to pray about it.
This was around the same time I attended the Christian conference I talked about in this post.
The conference gave me a lot to think about and it helped a lot but I still didn't quite get the boost I needed.
Then I found Coffee & Bible Time. A channel on Youtube that is run by sisters, Ashley and Taylor Krause. Their videos encouraged me a lot to go a start reading my Bible more. Once that got me started I became filled with this wonderful urge to read it more and more. That was truly an answer to my prayer(s). Not only did I want to read it  but I also understood it well.
It was a few days before I realised this was God answering my prayer and when I realised I was so happy!

So since I know the struggle I thought I would write this post to hopefully help any of you who are experiencing the same thing.

1. Pray about it
This is the number one thing to do because ultimately only God can help you.


2. Find some inspiration
For me this came from Ashley and Taylor's channel and my wonderfully inspiring Christian friends.
It can come form anyone or anything, a Bible verse, a sermon, friends, songs and people.

3. Get a journal
A journal will help you because while you read the Bible you will be able to write notes, thoughts and do art in your journal and these things will help you to understand thing more and think about what you read. You can also get really creative if you're that kind of person. Like me!


4. Use a devo book
Devotional books can be a great way to start getting into your Bible. Even if you are great at reading your Bible, a devo is sometimes nice to use in your quiet time.

5. Drink some coffee or tea
It goes well with Bible reading!

6. Don't feel like you have to read heaps
You don't have to read 4 chapters, it can just be a few verses. As long as you read some! You may start reading. intending to read a only few verses, and suddenly find you finished the chapter.

7. Prioritise it
When you wake up, instead of going on your phone or reading a book, grab your notebook and your Bible and read that first.

8. Open your quiet time by singing & praising to God
Speak O Lord, 10,000 Reasons, and Lord I lift your Name on High are great ones to use.




So those are things I do/use personally and they help me so they might help you too!

What do you love about the Bible?
What has God been teaching you lately?

10 Bookish Things that Delight Me

1.

Brand new books

2.

The scent of old books

3.

Reading the last chapter

4.

Finding out someone likes the same books as you

5.

When your bookshelves are perfectly full

6.

Reading a book by a favourite author

7.

Beautiful covers

8.

Having a whole series on your shelves all beautifully together

(I actually don't but I know it will be satisfying)

9.

New bookshelves

10.

Reorganising your bookshelves

What are your bookish delights?
What was the last song you listened to?

November // Lately, Highlights and December Bucket list

Hey everyone! What a month it's been!
So unfortunately this post won't have any of my photos I took this moth because I lost the cord for my camera to plug in to the computer sooooooo.......

Anyway here are my November highlights:

• Did I mention before that I now have my own room? Well I have and I love it!
• We had a thunder storm and ran around in the rain. It kinda turned into a water fight which was fun!
• I decorated my room all Christmasy. And I will be doing a post about that but as I said I can't upload any of my own photos at the moment.
• My brother had his 13th birthday yesterday, the 30th, and we had homemade pizza for dinner and watched Agatha Christie's Poirot mysteries.
• We went to the library! Not that exciting but I love going to the library.
• I finished my Goodreads 2017 Reading challenge to read 45 books. Whoo-hoo!
• We saw quite a few movies. The Man from U.N.C.L.E, Partners in Crime mini series, The Tourist, Christmas with Holly, Get Smart, Letters to Juliet, and some others I can't remember.
• Summer started!

Loved this movie! Illya & Gabi xoxo All three of them make a great trio!

LATELY // NOVEMBER
Reading- When We Were Very Young by A.A Milne, Vet in Harness by James Herriot, An Amish Match by Jo Ann Brown, Bad Girls Throughout History by Ann Shen, The Shoe Box by Francine Rivers, Fox Friend, Snow Tales, Not Bad For a Bad Lad, My Father is a Polar Bear and An Eagle in the Snow all by Michael Morpurgo.
The underlined ones were my favourites and the one I highly recommend. Man, I read heaps this month! *pats herself on the back*

Listening-  Christmas songs! Literally lots of Christmas music! Pentatonix, Guy Penrod, The Piano Guys, all their Christmasy stuff and more.

Enjoying- Warm weather, candy canes, strawberries, t-shirts, my own room, fairy lights, iced water with fruit in it, my history topic(A.A.Milne), sunshine, thunder storms, organising my room and ice cream!

Encouraged by-
Coffee & Bible time channel! Oh, I love their videos! Relateble, encouraging and inspiring!

I have been encouraged by many of my friends and other Christians too.


December Bucket List

• Make all the presents I need to make
• Decorate the house
• Get a real tree hopefully
• Read the Christmas Story
• Share the joy
• Remember the reason for the season
• Eat lots of summer berries! (I've already started doing that!)
• Be thankful

And that was November! It so, so scary that 2017 is nearly over. I can't believe it.
But it is so...

What are you going to do in December?
What are you reading at the moment?