Avoid Deception

Now that I'm on the subject of 20, I remember a lesson: Don't believe deceptions. My biggest regrets trace back to the times I believed deceptions. Or even when I didn't believe deceptions, but didn't know how to avoid them. The Book of Revelation, interestingly, has something to say about deceptions. The Beast out of…

good deed

This week's post is more of a question than an answer. Reading through Revelations, it speaks of the Bride's dress as "fine linen, bright and pure--for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints." (Rev. 19:8). And that made me wonder: what is a righteous deed? James speaks of it, too. And throughout Revelation,…

A Letter to God

God (You: Jesus), I look for you everywhere. But not in numbers made of cold stone; rather in stories made of flesh and blood even as I myself am. - written in July, 2022. Sometimes, I still think of Sabaa Tahir's words in the Ember in the Ashes quartet. When Elias cries, "Why is it…

who will you die for?

Revelation helps us remember that everyone dies. The question is, for whom will you die? Reading Revelation is like watching a back and forth -- a war between two armies. In the first half, creatures are unleashed on nonbelievers: "They were not allowed to kill them but only to torture them for five months. And…

thoughts on death

I think death is something we don't think about enough. Either we obsess over it, or forget it; I find neither to be right. But one thing that gives me hope is reading about Paul's perspective on death in 1 Corinthians 15 (selected passages): What you sow does not come to life unless it dies.…

When Things Don’t Go Your Way

Lately, I've noticed myself gripping tightly the few things I think I control: my schedule, my food, my work. When some situations spiral out of control, do we attempt to control other areas in our lives--and explode with frustration and anger when it doesn't go our way? I'm thankful for math. Math teaches me that…

God and circumstances

One question in the Bible (and my life) that pops up frequently is, "Do my circumstances define God, or does God define my circumstances?" Whenever something goes wrong--when I feel sad, unproductive, angry, or scared--my first instinct is to blame God. And scream at him. And sometimes, we see this in the Bible. Job's circumstances…

the pain of new beginnings

There's an earring I wear--a silver hoop earring. For some reason, clasping it to my ear hurts. For anyone who has earrings, you know the wire goes through the ear and then a metal clasp clicks forward to press the wire in place. Except this one presses too hard. It digs into my skin. After…

to know Him

"Then they will know that I am the Lord." In my reading of Ezekiel, this phrase is sprinkled through chapters 10-13 more than three times, which is God's punctuation when he speaks of what will happen to Israel's remnant. I think the presence of false prophets and Ezekiel also helps us understand that God's purpose…

A Reaper at the Gates

Some thoughts on the third book of "An Ember in the Ashes" quartet!

Focus

How hard is it to do one thing at a time? My theory: It's pretty hard. With cell phones and more to-dos than ever, it's easy to multitask without realizing. Think about it: are you checking your bank account with one tab and writing an essay with another? Or baking cookies while texting a friend?…

5 Reasons Not to Fear Man

I had a close friend who spread lies about me. It was hard, especially because he was my only friend. I said he was my best friend, but I meant he was my only friend. The point of this story is that when you have only one friend, it gives them a lot of power…

Understanding Princess Mononoke

Two years ago, I got obsessed with Princess Mononoke. I can’t remember how; maybe I saw some stills from the film on Pinterest or Instagram. The moment I laid eyes on Ashitaka and San, I was hooked. I needed to see the movie.  In February 2019, I watched the movie (English dub) with my best…

writing process

four tips from my writing process!

Jujutsu Kaisen: REVIEW

So it's not twelve pages, but if you're curious, here's my thoughts on the best manga I've read in three months: Jujustu Kaisen.

Tower of God: Seasons One and Two

Get ready, TOG analysis is here!

YALLWEST Writer’s Conference: Review

As some of you know, YALLWEST transferred its writer conference to online, meaning that I got to participate on several talks on some interesting topics. For anyone who didn't attend, or wants to review, read these summaries!  Meeting #1. Modern Magic Worldbuilding  This was the first meeting I attended. My favorite part of it was…

The Rise Of Skywalker: Review

Man. Before we start, first of all, major spoilers ahead. Also, looking at my TLJ review has me nostalgic right now. Since there is a LONG post ahead, I'll break it up with some gifs. 😉 *drumroll please*  Review Goodness is wholesome, healing, exciting, inspiring, fulfilling, and uplifting. When you say a movie is good, you…

2019

2019 is almost over. Did you blink? I did. It's okay to say you didn't have a happy year. The thing is, it's over now, and a new one's beginning. What did 2019 mean to you? What memories will you keep, what will you carry with you? If this year had a color, what would…

The Purification Era Series: You’ll Read It Again

I planned to finish Sowing, review it, post it, and then start on Quelling.  Things didn’t go as planned.  Mostly because the Purification Era Series is a brilliant book series, but I’ll get into that in a second. I’m going to avoid spoilers as well as I can, but please be aware that you will…

forever

Hello, wanderers.  I know it’s been a while. Plans didn’t go how I thought they would, and still aren’t. I guess if everything in life went the way I thought it would or wanted it to, we’d have very boring lives, wouldn’t we?  This article is brought to you by a thought. Just a few…

dealing with stress and

Well, it appears I've cut off the other part. I'm not sure about you, but I'm going to be honest: lately, i've been going through extreme stress and anxiety. It happens like this. God blesses me! I've done something good! God's allowed it to become FAR more wonderful than I could dream of. As you…

It Sounds Like It Was Written By A Man

It seems like every time I’m debating with an atheist about the Bible, Leviticus is always brought up. I understand the struggle. I remember going through Leviticus one day and reading this: “If two men are fighting, and the wife of one steps in to rescue her husband from the one striking him, and she…

strong

There is a girl who lives down the street and even though I have no reason to to love her, I do. I can't help loving her, even though I've no reason to love her. And it's the kind of love where you want to run and lift them up and spin around with them:…

The Wind Rises: Dreams

Watching a good Ghibli movie is like getting hit by a train. Watching The Wind Rises is like falling into a sad and very beautiful dream. The Wind Rises is a semi-autobiographical movie about Jiro Hiroshiki, an engineer who made airplanes--specifically, the airplanes used to bomb Pearl Harbor and begin Japan's chapter in World War Two. The most…

becoming human.

I built this article on one idea: Life isn't what we see, but also what we don't see. This morning I've been researching New York's third trimester abortion law. I looked at the bill. I could not believe my eyes. ""Person" refers to the victim of homicide who has been born and is alive." You mean…

Things.

we might  get snow tomorrow and we're happy about that. See that? Happy. Okay so here the definition of happy is going to be "pleasant feelings or associations" with an event or thing, like snow. and i mean i have nothing against feeling happy about stuff. Feelings are nice. Note that you can also feel angry, sad, surprised…

does anyone else have this problem?

I sat down at my desk planning to write and schedule three blog articles! Yay! I also wanted to do a lesson of math today (wow, ambitious) and write for thirty minutes, and--! Maybe it's because I'm sick, but I'm having this issue. As soon as I sit down on, my attention is fractured into…

E-D-I-T-I-N-G

Your fingers hover over the keyboard. You know what you should do, but you can’t bring yourself to do it. Ah, yes: Editing. The dreaded word. Don’t feel bad: it’s true for every author. No one’s thoughts and ideas appear on paper the exact way we imagine.     Especially in environments (your ENG II…

So You Want To Start Again?

Starting over. I think it's a universal desire, something everyone can relate to; can you?

New Theme: Wednesday Posts

Hello, wanderers! Just a quick announcement that I will attempt to consistently post a new article, every Wednesday. Themes can range from writing to poetry to theological/Bible findings... If any of you have suggestions, let me know. Otherwise, look for an article next Wednesday! 🙂 Sorry for being so irregular with the posting. Sincerely, PS-Thanks so…

Inward Hips, Inward Heart

I’ve been doing a lot of stretching and flexibility practice these past few weeks, thanks to Alivia D'Andrea and her inspirational tutorials. Anyway, me being the nerdy theology geek I am, I began to notice a similarity between stretching one’s body and stretching one’s heart. Like this. A big part of flexibility is pushing past…

God’s Plan (for real, though)

A few days ago, I came home from a trip. My dad told me, “Charles Krauthammer died today. Maybe you’ve heard of this too. Now, do I know him personally? No. Do I agree with all his politics? Do you? Perhaps not. But that’s not what I’m talking about here. To me, having heard his…

Perfection VS Completion

There's a difference.

Novel Writing: You Can Do It!

If you, like me, have a novel idea just waiting to be told, you'll be no stranger to the difficulties involved in transforming this from a half baked idea to an actual, full fledged *book*. 

Iron Core Interview!

Hello, all my faithful wanderers! Have you been wandering successfully? Sorry I've been gone for so long. I'm going to try to keep up more regular posting in the future. That said, for our grand kickoff article, we have my friend, author Rebekah DeVall, and her  sister ah, character, Lunetta, here. Lunetta is the star of the…

1 Corinthians 2–Notes

1 Corinthians chapter 2 does something big: It explains and encourages. Here is the encouragement: “And I was with you in weakness and fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the spirit and of power that your faith might not rest…

The Wanderer’s Approved Blogs–2017

7 picks from 2017! 😉

Copying from the Greatest Story

What is chiastic story structure? There's one place where it's clearly demonstrated: The Bible.
#authorstakenotes

True Love

So many times when we "love" people, we expect something back. Well, that's not what true love is.

Romans: Overview!

Wow, I'm done with Romans already! Before moving on, I will do an overview of this wonderful book. Also, I am very sorry for not doing any chapter expositions or summaries; I will attempt to keep that up more regularly for the next book I move onto. Favorite Verse: “Therefore there is now no condemnation…

Raven King Review/Conclusion

And at last! We reach the end! The Raven King is very interesting. Plus, PLOT TWIST. Spoilers ahead! Proceed with caution. The Good: I'm reeling. I still can't decide whether the plot twist to do with Glendower is good or bad. SPOILERS: I suppose if Glendower was still alive, it would have made for an…

Blue Lily, Lily Blue Review

Haha, it's the Blue Review. But I promise it's not sad. What is sad, however, is my appalling absences. I really need to deal with this! But hopefully I'll be able to start posting more regularly. That said, here is our review. For this one, I'm just doing my general thoughts on it. The Good:…

Dream Thieves Review

Review #2: Dream Thieves. My favorite character gets a whole book to himself! Basically.

Author Interview!! –The Light

The Light Blog Tour Hi guys! So, I'm doing my FIRST. EVER. BLOG TOUR!! CAN YOU BELIEVE IT Today we're interviewing author Chloe Haddasah on her new book. The Light.  Hey! Thanks for letting me interview you. Can you tell us a bit about yourself (hobbies, interests, unique facts?) Of course! I'm happy to have…

Your Name, Not Mine, Be Glorified

...I'm plagued with thoughts of comparison, of guilt, of that voice inside us all telling us we're not good enough. And the hardest part to accept is that that voice is right.

Why Am I Me?

Probably every person in the world (definitely including me) has had some time where they disliked themselves. Or something about themselves.
There's two ways to respond to this

The Valley of Trouble

Everyone has valleys of trouble. Places where we've tried, messed up, and tried again. And failed. And guess what? God has a plan for that too. Achan can teach us that.

Seven Things I’m Thankful For In Fall

So maybe all this fall stuff is overrated. Still, fall is becoming one of my favorite seasons, and here are a few things I'm thankful about for it. 

How to NOT annoy your schoolwork partner

If we all treated others how we wanted to be treated, things like this would probably go a *lot* easier. So here's some advice from an annoyed student on how to ensure that YOUR schoolwork partner will not be that annoyed. xP.

Hold Back the Tide: Readable

I have mixed feelings about this book. **Spoiler warning** I'm giving it a solid 3 out of 5 stars. Some of the fault might be mine for speeding through the book too quickly. Also, reading it on the heels of The Secret History felt worlds different. I wouldn't say Hold Back the Tide was a…

Building Great Sentences

What other way to end off April than delving into a book on Great Sentences? I picked up this Great Courses guidebook at the library, and I'll give you my brief notes on each chapter. Sentences make "propositions" -- ideas which we may agree or disagree with. Syntax (arrangment) and vocabulary (content) inform a sentence.…

The Secret History: A Review

I have so many thoughts and feelings on this book, I'm making this a short review to include ONLY the most important things. **SPOILERS AHEAD** The Good Poetic, lyrical writing style full of precise vocabulary and syntax. It's a pleasure to read. Somehow, the elaborate language doesn't feel impossible to wade through. It complements the…

20

Today, I'm 20 years old. It's so strange -- this moment in this world in this era. I was born in 2003, so 2023 means I'm 20. If I was born a year earlier or later, it wouldn't be so. When I was young, I often said, "I've waited my whole life to be ten,…