~Summer Fun~

Hello everybody!👋🏻 I apologize for the inconsistency in my posts. Now that I have more free time, I am going to be posting more often.

This post is going to be about having fun and getting things done during this summer. Each of these suggestions keeps in mind that we should stay safe and healthy.😷

Top 10 ways to have fun this summer!

1.) Sort through your stuff

It’s always a good idea to take some time and clean out your room. It’s fun to look through all the things you used to have. Exploring your belongings from your past that you may have forgotten about or just thrown in your closet, can be very entertaining.

2.) Go take a walk in a park

Going on a walk in a park can be a great way to clear your head. It’s a way to have a quiet moment to yourself and explore God’s beautiful nature.

3.) Explore your interests

Right now is a great time to spend more time on individual hobbies. I have been putting more time into photography and have dedicated a Instagram account to it. @nature_photography_by_Em Maybe you can explore photography as well.

~A example of my photography~

4.) Figure out if you have a cooking talent

Have fun trying different recipes and sharing it with your family. In this way you can figure out whether you have a baking talent! Maybe you can take your new recipes outside and have a picnic in your back yard or a nearby park.🌱🌺

5.) Volunteer

Summer is a great time to volunteer and support something you love. I love nature and found a program called adopt a park. You can do some of your own research and figure out what might interest you. For example if you love animals you could volunteer at a nearby animal shelter.

6.) Make improvements to your home

Make time to improve your home in the ways you have always wanted to. I am going to make a shelf for my succulents, but still in a location that will receive enough sunlight.☀️⭐️

7.) Exercise

With the free time that most students have during the summer, it’s a great time to get involved with a workout plan. If you play a sport than you can get a workout plan specific to your sport. If you don’t play sports it’s still a good thing to stay in shape.

8.) Find ways to earn money

Small summer jobs are a great way to earn money! You can do anything from dog walking to mowing someone’s yard. Please stay safe while you are doing these jobs.😷😷

9.) Spend more time with you pets

What a wonderful time to build stronger bonds with your pets. Hopefully, you can train them, while both having fun. I have two parakeets and love to spend time training them.

Pete ❤️

10.) Send letters to family members

Older family members always appreciate a nice letter from a grandchild/child. You can send them a beautiful card showing them just how much you love them.

*Leave a comment if you did any of these activities*

~Happy Easter!~

Photo by Sandy Millar on Unsplash

Happy Easter!

Aren’t you glad it’s Spring? I’m so happy everything is turning green again, and for that reason this is my favorite season! And of course, we get to celebrate the Resurrection of Christ.=) During April I try to challenge myself to make a noticeable effort to be more helpful. Since I can’t physically be helping someone at the moment, I am trying to explore different ways to encourage people. Like, sending a note to a relative or just a text to a friend. Even though it might not be much it’s the best I am capable of during social distancing.

Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash

~Traditions~

People have a lot of Easter traditions, from huge family reunions to just attending the church service on Sunday. Our family has always done Easter baskets and gone to the church service on the Sabbath. We don’t tend to get together with distant family and I’m sure a lot of you are not either, at least for this year. A lot of people do a Easter egg hunt, which seems like fun! I have not done one that I remember.=( I know that a lot of people don’t even have the choice to go to church right now and the same rules have been applied at my church. Our pastor has been recording his sermons, so I’m exited to see what he does!

Photo by Denisse Leon on Unsplash

Spring break is already over, can you believe it?! The time has gone by so fast for me and I’m not too exited to go back to school=( I have been at a friend’s lake house this whole week and am hopefully going to do a post on that in the coming weeks.

Photo by Simon Matzinger on Unsplash

The pictures I have been using in this post are from a site called Unsplash. They have completely free images that are taken by people who have an interest in photography. I gave the people who took the photos credit underneath each picture. If you like the photograph then you can click their name and check out some of their other work. If you enjoyed this post then go ahead and give it a like!=)

–Questions–

1) What is your favorite season?

2) What Easter traditions do you have?

3) What is your favorite part of spring break?

4) If you could go anywhere in the world with the snap of your fingers, where would you go?

5) Any questions about my post?

-Nature Photography-

These pictures were all taken in my neighborhood and edited with my favorite photograph editor. The app is called Photo Editor- and I highly recommend it. I experimented with what I could create with the app and was happy with how the pictures turned out. I hope you like them!=)

These pigs (below) live right behind our house. I walked out to see them and the female came right up to me and laid down. She immediately fell asleep and I was able to get some really close up pictures of her.

The cat in the picture below came up to me and my friend as we were looking at the gorgeous view (six feet apart, of course). The cat kept its distance, thankfully, but I was able to take a photo of it before it ran away. We think it was a stray, since it had no collar. I love animals, so you can imagine how hard it was for me to keep my distance from this cat.

The photos below are early blooming spring flowers. The tree is in my best friend’s backyard. I thought the flowers were too beautiful to not take a photo of. Hope you like them!=)

If you enjoyed the photography, then go ahead and give this post a like. Thank you for your support!=)

–Questions–

1.) What was your favorite photo?

2.) Did you try out the photograph editor app?

3.) Do you have a favorite animal?

4.) Any questions about the post?

Spending Your Free Time

With these new and unfortunate events, a lot of people find themselves with extra free time, but don’t know how they want to use it.

Being contained in your home and being kept away from your social life can be a great opportunity to explore new interests. Some new interests I have been developing include baking, painting, and reading.

Baking is something I am trying to do more often. It’s fun to experiment with different recipes you can make and share with your family. I have really enjoyed the variety of different types of cookies there are to make. Cookie recipes are not too hard to follow and their simplicity helps you build basic cooking knowledge. It’s fun to bake cookies that have bright colors during this time of year. My personal goal is to make a pie by the end of the fourth quarter. Hopefully, it will be a tasty treat to share with my family. I’m certain my brothers won’t have a problem with taste-testing my treats! (: (:

One positive aspect of being at home is that I have time to improve in my abilities. One skill I have a lot of room to improve in is painting. You know what they say though… practice make perfect! Even if you are not particularly good at something, it doesn’t mean you can’t improve. It might just take a little hard work and patience. If you are thinking of doing some self-taught painting, then I highly recommend starting with flowers. Flowers have simple physical characteristics and require as much precise detail as animals or human faces. When you paint a plant, small errors or undefined details aren’t as noticeable. In the picture below, you can see the first flower I painted after school was canceled this month. To start, I sketched it on a separate piece of paper and that helped me concentrate on what I wanted the final painting to look like.

On another topic, I’ve always liked the idea of reading, but I often end up leaning on something else for entertainment. Now, I’m trying to pick up a book instead of watching my favorite show or just wasting time on social media. Its been pleasantly surprising how much I enjoy this activity and I am so glad I starting reading books other then the ones assigned for school work. Now, I am excited to sit down with a book and drink a cup of tea. I just finished a book about a girl who found a spring in the woods. She realizes that if she drinks the water she could live forever. I’m not one for spoilers so I’m going to leave it at that. The book is called Tuck Everlasting and I highly recommend it. From that book I dived into one about the rotation of the earth slowing down. I’m already halfway finished with it and can’t wait to see what happens next! It is also a good time to open your Bible! I have been trying to read a Psalm a day and take notes on it. When you are scared or stressed, I encourage you to turn to the Word and lean on the Lord. His Word is full of comforting content that we can trust with our whole hearts.

Questions:

1.) What have you been doing with your free time?

2.) What is the hardest thing you have ever baked?

3.) What are you reading?

4.) Any questions about my post?

Ways worship God in daily life

Life can get busy and you may not be able to fit in a full devotional in your already packed day. Although, this is a great way to grow in God’s word it can take a little to much time then you can sacrifice. If you find yourself on your phone, but saying you are to busy to do a devotional, then you should replace the time on your phone with spending time with the Lord. If you truly do not have very much time in your day then that is a different story.

A painting from my very talented neighbor

A lot of people my age and older get really busy with work. This work could be from a normal job or some teacher that always gives homework. As you know from my last post I have a journal. In that journal is something I call my prayer page, which is where I write down all of my prayers and praises. So, each night I pray before I go to bed. Even though this is not a lot, it still is spending some time with God. It is also really easy to remember and not feel like you are dreading it.

Going to church is also very important. The sabbath is a day of rest made to glorify God. It is a day most have off work and it gives you that extra time you need. If it is a Sunday then you should go to church. Even if you don’t find a church that you like right away you should keep looking. There are many different styles of worship and it can be hard to find a church that is right for you and or your family.

Questions

Do you have a devotional book?

Where do you go to church?

Any other ideas for my posts?

Any questions about the post?

Working out

Working out is an essential to improving in any athletics. You should not expect great physical results if you sit around on your couch all day ( a couch potato 🥔 ).

It is good to build up strength and stamina for sports. There are a lot of fun and creative ways to get the exercise you need, like playing a game with running in it. People say that exercise is boring but that is no reason to let your stamina wither away. Cardio is very important when it comes to sports especially in soccer. You can run, jump rope,bike, and swim for cardio.

Building up strength is also very important. For this, you can lift weights, do wall sits, push ups, pull ups, planks, and sit ups.

A way that I motivate myself is by listening to music. In general I like doing this, but it helps keep you interested. So, your not just thinking how tired or sweaty you are. You can also watch something on the TV if it is near enough to watch. It keeps you interested. One thing that does not work for me, but works for my brother is a podcast. I honestly get board of them but if you do like them go ahead. Just grab your phone, pop some earbuds in, and have a nice run. I often think it is better to run outside rather than on a treadmill. Staying in one place and moving nowhere after you had run miles isn’t something I like to do. When you run outside it gives you more scenery to look at. Also if gives you more of a good feeling about how much ground you covered.

Questions

Do you workout?

What’s the longest run you have ever been on?

Do you have any more ideas for a fun workout?

Any questions about my post?

Sports!

Many different types of sports have been created, from karate to basketball. There are all different kinds of people, some of whom enjoy sports.

I am one of the people who enjoy sports. The one sport that I like to play the most is basketball. I like basketball because you’re constantly moving, unlike some sports that have you more in one place like softball, for example. I’m not gonna lie, being tall is a great advantage.

Volleyball is another sport I like to play. It is fun, in my opinion, to not play the game with the net, but rather, to see how long you can keep the ball in the air with another person as capable as you. It’s not as fun to play sports with someone who does not spend their time doing athletics.

Wilson!!!

My best friend has a very different interest in sports. She spends the majority of her evenings doing Martial Arts. She says and I quote, “Like many sports, it has its ups and downs, the downs being quite painful, but it is worth it.” She loves this sport so much that she has even convinced her rat to join her.

Meet SNAP!

Questions

What is your favorite sport?

Do you play sports?

What are your thoughts on rats?

Any questions about my post?

How to help

People go through a lot of hard things in life. Like injuries, loss, and sickness. It’s always good to lend a helping hand if you can. It will definitely be much appreciated.

A way that my family trys to help other people is by bringing them a meal. This is a very good way to help someone by giving them an easy meal. My mom has made a company out of this idea. It is called TakeThemAMeal.com. It’s a great way to have a already prepared meal sent to someone’s house with awareness of any allergies they might have.

Another thing that is not exactly helpful but will definitely brighten up their day is a sunshine box. A sunshine box is when you fill a box with all yellow things from candy to board games.

Example of a sunshine box

Another helpful thing to do is to check in, or take care of siblings or children. And of course you should be praying for them, with them, or both. Encourage them to read God’s word. Hoping that whatever they are going through that that would bring them comfort.

Doing fun things with people is also a good way to distract, if you feel like or if they feel like it would be good for them. You could go shopping, find a good TV show to watch with them, play a good card or board game, and treat that sweet tooth with some candy. But, it is also good if they need some space to stay a way for a little bit. It all depends on the person.

Questions

Have you ever used TakeThemAMeal.com

What’s another thing to do for a person?

Any questions about the post?

Life Experiences

Life is crazy and full of different and difficult situations. Some are funny, some our sad, and some are unforgettable.

A lot of my unforgettable memory’s have something to do with injury. And , if you have any you would like to share please tell me your story in the comments at the end of this post.

My first injury when I was a child was when I got stitches in my chin. I wanted to jump rope that day but we had no jump rope. So, my creative self used a small blanket instead. It was so small that when I tried to jump it, it swept my feet right out from under me. I landed on my chin and screamed, certain I had broken something. At the end of the day I came back with five stitches in my chin.

One of my saddest memories from not to long ago was when my dog died. I had never gone through any death of a pet that I truly loved. Her name was Violet and she lived to be twenty-one years old. I remember in great detail the day we had to put her down, but I will spare you the emotion and just tell you a vague story. My dad picked me up from school instead of my mom, and every time that happened we wondered if something was wrong. So, I asked the next logical question I could think of,” Is Violet okay?” I blurted out. And, for the first and last time the answer was no. My heart dropped and I started to cry. We picked up my oldest brother from high school and went home. That last goodbye to Violet was the hardest. We were standing in the yard petting her and hugging her. Knowing as my mom and dad pulled away in the car, that we would never see her again.

A painting of my dog

Ok, now let’s transition from a sad memory to a funny one. When I was younger I was not necessarily the brightest child. My family was at a small church gathering at the end of the service and there was a display of cupcakes. Me, and my remarkable sweet tooth wanted to have some so badly that I got one of my friends and went up to the display. It was beautiful and very colorful and I hated to ruin it, but my sweet tooth got the better of me. My friend and I went up to the cupcakes and licked the icing off of every single one. I don’t remember the reaction of the people around us, but I sure would have liked to see their faces in that moment. I was not punished for this and in my mind I was rewarded, because we came home with a car full of cupcakes that were all mine. 🤤

Questions

Have you ever gotten stitches?

Do you have a dog?

What is your favorite sweet?

Any questions about the post?

Back to school

School is something that a lot of people dread, and sadly, so do I. Something that makes school unpleasant is how stressful it can be. Whether it is from social anxiety or just turning something in late.

Organization

Organization helps with my school stress. It’s always good not to have to frantically look for a school paper. If you are organized then you should know exactly where to look for something like that.

In the picture above you saw that my school binders were labeled. I like to do this. If you are looking for the binder for the right class you can just scan the labels and find what your looking for. In doing this it gives you more time to get to your class or talk to your friends.

Homework 📚

Homework is another thing that can cause stress. But, it really shouldn’t. I think it is very important to write down your homework when it is assigned. That way, your not relying on your memory skills or your friends to tell you what your homework is.

A lot of people get stress from homework simply because they wait to long to do it. If your teacher wants you to right a paper over two weeks most people would wait till a few days before to write it. Which, stresses them out. The solution to this problem is to not wait. You should write some of the paper each night. So, when the paper is due, you only have to write a small section of it.

And if you having a bad day look at this…

Questions (answer in the comments)

Do you have school stress?

Did this post help you?

Any questions about my post?