bits & pieces

Hello cuties! First, I want to apologize for my sudden silence. I never realized how busy life can get when you have siblings getting married! There is excitement, sadness, joy, love, and crazy running-around-all-the-time that happens, and in it all, I just didn't feel like taking the time to sit down and blog.

The house is pretty much silent right now, so I took advantage of the opportunity to put together a spontaneous post about the things that have been going on in my life lately.
I've been experiencing inexpressible joy, pain, victory, and failure, but I am still ever in awe of God's mercy that has been poured out over me. And trust me, I've needed a lot of it this year!

 

♥ First of all, I have been getting in a lot of writing lately! I found some really helpful videos and websites that have been really instructive. Seeing as this is my first serious attempt at writing a really good novel, I have been very open to tips on creative writing. I still have so much to learn, but I am really excited just to be stretching myself with this! 

♥ Last week, my brother got married! It was one of those roller-coaster-kind-of-days when I woke up excited and happy about the wedding, but with a splitting stomach-ache, both from lack of eating properly the day before and also from my lactose intolerance. It went away pretty fast, thanks to some magic potion of water and vinegar. (Seriously, that stuff is works wonders! Add some sugar or honey to give it more sweetness, but it works well enough that I'm willing to put up with the taste.) Anyway, it was an absolutely beautiful wedding, and thankfully, everything went smoothly.

♥ In my last post, I mentioned my struggles with contentment and selfishness. Since then, I have had times where I have been doing really well, and I feel like I am finally improving, and that's when I fall again. It is then that I am constantly driven back to God's Word and to my knees. I am an ever-imperfect, messy, but oh-so-lavishly-covered-in-grace daughter of God, and I have so, so much to learn. I don't want to waste a single minute! 

♥  I am slowly but surely making progress with my violin learning! I haven't had nearly as much time as I would like to practice lately, but I am looking forward to starting up a regular routine of it again after this next wedding. 

♥ Speaking of weddings...the day to make my first wedding cake is getting closer and closer! I am really nervous, but I am super excited about this opportunity. I never thought I would be making a wedding cake this early on, but I'm up for the challenge! :)

♥ I have been so blessed lately by the constant reminder that God is with me. No matter what crazy things I do, or what stupid mistakes I make, He is always there to pull me out and flood me with His grace. I am so humbled and thankful for the ways He has so richly blessed me. Some of my favorite verses lately have been Galations 2:20-21.  
"I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who lives, but Christ who lives in me. I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness where through the law, then Christ died for no purpose." 
He has given us far more grace than we could ever deserve or even imagine! I am so thankful that God has not left us on our own, and I never want to take His grace for granted again!


♥ Because I am homeschooled, I have the awesome privilege of figuring out my own school schedules! I am really looking forward to a new school year! I can't believe that I'm going to be a Junior in High School! It's super exciting, but slightly scary. If anyone has any suggestions for scheduling and such for a homeschooler, I'd love to hear your suggestions! This year I really want to spend a lot of time on music and writing as some of my "extra activities." I will be starting up piano lessons again, and of course I will be continuing with violin. I want to make this year the best that I possibly can as far as leaning and time management. 

That's pretty much what has been happening around here and in my mind lately! (on second thought, you probably don't want to see what my mind looks like lately...you may get lost up there. :p ) Anyway, I will warn you ahead of time that I will most likely be gone again for quite a while, simply because another wedding is coming up, and my life will once again resemble the Batman ride at Six Flags. (Video here, in case you don't know what that looks like...)

And so, on that note, let me depart by saying thank you for taking the time out of your day to read a compilation of random things that are happening. I hope that you have found your short visit to my blog to be a thoroughly enjoyable experience.
                                                      Much love and warm hugs!
                                                            
                                                                                        ~Megan ♥