"Three Things That Make You Cry: Opinions, Onions, and Plans"

Been cleaning and smiling forever, looks like ;D 

Dear August, 
I'm sorry I didn't say hello before it was time to say goodbye. But you aren't sad, are you? No. You're laughing because you like running off-script. You like slicing onions in my face as I spout my opinions, and you like watching my plans burn up in salt-water tears. 
But the joke's on you. 
I loved your blur of a month regardless.

I didn't see nearly all the people I meant to see.
I didn't get to hike as much as I wanted to hike.
I didn't read as many blog posts as I wanted to read, and I didn't participate in Rebellious Writing's It's So Classic Blog Party.

I finished reading one book that I started reading in June. And guys. It was a nonfiction ;0

I had to take a hiatus writing for another blog (after agreeing to do it the week before).

In fact, I don't know if I did half of what I planned.

But, in my defense, I loved this last month.

August was a splish-splash of canceled plans replaced by last-minute duties and plans made last minute resulting in fantastic surprises.

-went hiking with three of my siblings. We made our own trail up a cliff, then goofed off in a decent sort of way.

-When I ask for honest feedback on a story and got it. It was a good critique, too, but I guess my friend that it was lean on kindness ;)

-I planned to go to a writer's group. Instead, I had to go forty-five minutes to pick up my brother who was stranded by a flat tire. I bought us ice cream. But I had to go teach a knitting lesson, so I didn't get to eat mine until two days later ;p Oh, and I sat it by the side while I wrote ... so by the time I actually took a bite it was rubber goo ;D

-I'm a cartoon. I like the real me better. But this me is fun, too.

 -I found a pocket knife in the mountains when I went hiking with my siblings.

-It's possible to look both professional and hippie at once ;) 

-My friend and I talking about the above dress. BTW, we're jesting. We aren't those sort of silly, dramatic girls ... are we? 

-A random person DMd me on Instagram and asked if I'd join her Bible study. Of course, I said yes ;) And it was so much fun! 

 -Eating and watching a movie with friends (OK, so the new Lion King wasn't bad ... but what was the purpose of making it again!?)

 

-Love my frizz. Captioned: Some days my hair wakes me up and says, “Let’s attack the world!” Then it flies away and makes beautiful chaos.

-By the way, we discovered not everyone has bellybuttons ... because of some emergency births a few people actually do not have them ;0 But even if you do have a belly button, you can only have one. On the other hand, you may have billions of opinions ;) 

-Dance like everybody is watching because they need a laugh. 

-I've been friends with Alexa since we were fifteen. Her baby is adorable. Such a happy little guy, just like my friend. Alexa was the last local friend I needed to meet up before going to Germany. It took me long enough to get around to meeting up with her, but I'm so glad I finally did. 

-This is Mercedes, the lovely person who's taking over my houses while I'm in Germany. I'm way too excited to have found her to partner with. Oh, and do any of you notice my askew headphones? 1. I was exhausted that day. 2. I was given this pair of headphones in exchange for a review on Amazon!

August was more conversational than recreational:

Not everyone appreciates my obsession with politics. I try to tone down what I say to some. But, you know, it's hard to be silent when you're passionate ;D 

All that being said, I get some criticism. Which I completely encourage. It doesn't always feel good, but it always makes me think. Even if those thoughts are inflated with anger haha. 

All that being said, I have not been totally confident starting my new blog. This is a huge, personal part of who I am. And I've been berated for it on more than one occasion, and I know by opening my beliefs and lifestyle publicly to the world, I'm not only risking receiving more hate, I'm risking the government cracking down harder on people like me. 

That's not an easy thought to swallow. 

Many people have asked me, "How are you serving God by doing this?" 

That's been a hard question to ponder over. 

Internally, I believe all I do is for God's glory, and that good news is spreading truth be it from the smallest joke to the greatest truth of salvation. 

Even so, how do you serve God educating people on how to live out of the system? 

This is how. 

Who'd think you could have such a sad conversation online on a political blog!? And people, this is why I say LIVE LIFE fully, and God will give you the opportunity to share the gospel. Don't go out there looking to preach (unless you're 100% sure that's your mission in life), but reach out to others, and God will lead you to share what needs sharing. 

Speaking of all that, debating is a form of sharing the gospel in my opinion. Because ideas are the cornerstones of beliefs, and those are what determine one's standing with God. 

I love debating, but it's rare to find another who feels the same. For most, debating means attacking another person. But it doesn't. It means civilly discussing ideas, but not attacking. And never insulting. 

This last month I've been honored to engage in several friendly debates. 

One was with a couple LDS boys. We found solid ground for starting. Then we found murky waters and swam in them until we saw just why and how we disagreed. And then we laughed. That's what debate looks like. 

In order to have friends, we have to understand one crucial thing. Everyone disagrees about something, and how we handle our disagreements defines the sort of loving person God designed us to be. That doesn't mean we have to accept another's sin as righteousness, or never rebuke or fellow believer or friend, or that we have to "tolerate" another's ideology. But we must respect. 

On that note ... this was encouraging, coming from a Muslim friend. 

Other noteworthy things:

• I reported an awful picture on Instagram (basically a rape image) and IG told me that it didn't violate their rules, but I could block the user ;0 
• I bought some amazing books. That I've been dying to read. And ... I won't be able to read them for at least six months, until after I'm back from Germany ;/
• My plans were changed a lot. But good things still happened. 
• New plans were made instead, and other good things happened, too. 
• I finally bought a silk wrap skirt. It's amazing. 
• I made some spinach soup that I loved. My family declared it disgusting and said I couldn't bring it to a social event. "Nobody likes green soup." At the event, one of my friends told me how she loved green soups, haha! Sadly, I didn't bring mine along ;/ 
• I never understood all this "killing off your character" talk. But I did it in a short story. And wow. The way people screamed at me was amazing. 
• I met some amazing people this month. 
• I think I'm finally coming back to my natural extroverted self. I no longer hate social events as much, and I've been attending quite a few this month.
• Also, I'm not as exhausted as much. I think it's because I'm happy. Why am I happy? I think I've finally found that the small moments are worth living because they are precious gifts from God. ;) 
• I replaced a zipper in a jacket, and I thought I did a horrible job. But the guy acted super happy and gave me way too much money, even though I protested.
• I took on another new house this month! Yay for cleaning!
• Watched "Into the Spiderverse" and loved it.
• My Wattpad story seems to be doing pretty good, and keeps getting nice rankings ;D 

Something That Gives Me Hope:

Good podcasts, and the people that make them.

Lia told me about the "Dear America" podcast last month. 

It's amazing. 

But seriously. If you find yourself depressed over the state of the world; if you find politics stressful; but you also believe it's important to be involved with your surroundings; then you need some good podcasts. 

Thank you, Lia for sharing this podcast with me! I've learned a lot, and I've laughed just as much. And of course, I've been encouraged. 

America might be doomed for a time. Or it might not be. Either way, there's a lot of hope for the people because more and more intelligent, loving people are rising up and banding together. 

And such people are ready to catch America if it falls; prepared to cradle it and rebuild it to the country it once was.  

Seeing that there are such people, and meeting some of these people this last month has infused me with joy and peace, and to be honest, I'm finding my self energized again, no longer as exhausted by the stupidity of the masses. 

Because the Remnant is fastly multiplying. 

It's time to wrap up this month at my Korner, but the month isn't even done yet ... I still have one more week of work (my last before Germany!) and then we're going to a family weekend church camp!
How's your summer been?