God is Greater

            Anyone who listens to Christian music knows the classic “Our God is greater, our God is stronger, God you are higher than any other!” Maybe you still know all the hand motions from that summer you volunteered in Children's ministry, I know I do! It is such a good song, full of so much truth! I find that so many worship songs are full of so many wonderful things and while we are singing them, we don’t really take to heart what is being said. In this song, when we sing that “Our God is greater”, we are making a comparison between God and something else.
           That something else can be literally anything. God is always greater, no matter what the other thing is. God is greater than chocolate chunk ice cream, greater than death, greater than the beach, greater than news broadcasts, greater than all! Our God is greater! That is so awesome! Saying this is not making a simple statement! When we say that, we are declaring that our God is greater than every single person, place, thing, idea, and circumstance. It is a statement of praise, submitting ourselves to God and admitting that nothing can compare to him!
            We declare that our God is greater, but we don’t always live like we know that this is true. We know in our heart that God is greater, yet in our head, we make back-up plans and we worship other things. Those other things are what get in the way of our complete and total submission to him! Think for a bit about what you place before God, what you worship instead of him. When you realize how awesome God is, all the other things seen worthless in comparison.
            God is bigger than your idols. He is bigger than the other things and people you worship. You put value in your phone? God is greater. You put value in what other people think of you? God is greater. You put value in the media? God is greater. There are things we worship without realizing it, but if you prioritize it above God, it is an idol. All of those things we think are important, all the things we value, God is greater.
             God is bigger than your stress. God is greater than the things that you get so caught up in, the things that drag you down. He will gladly take that heavy burden off of you, he is great enough to take every fear and worry and remove it from you. God is so much greater than the burdens you carry and the stress that threatens to overcome you. When you give your life to God, those worries fade away because he cares for you.
            God is bigger than your dreams and plans. God knows that we don’t always trust him with our futures and it breaks his heart. He has a perfect plan for you, and by making your own plans you deny that his is better. He is greater than everything that you want for your life. He knows what is best for you, he knows how to take care of you.
            God is bigger than your circumstances. If you are going through really hard times, if you are in your lowest valley, God is still greater. There is no place that God cannot reach you. He is bigger than your highest high, he is great enough to meet you at your lowest low. Everything you are going through, when you give it to him, it becomes smaller and smaller. Give you circumstances to the Lord, he can handle it. He is big enough for you.
            God is bigger than your sins. If you think you have sinned too much for God, you’re wrong. There is no sin that God cannot cast aside. There is no place you have gone that he cannot find you. God is so much greater than anything you have ever done.
            No matter what, God is greater. He is stronger, he is higher. Our God is worthy of every praise, every second. He is overcomes everything we think or feel. He is great enough for you.

Plan With Me | How I Schedule Blog and Instagram Posts

            Life gets so busy, especially trying to balance school work with my blog, Etsy, and Instagram! I wanted to stop in and show y’all how I keep myself organized and make sure everything gets done when it needs to be! I have a Create 365 Happy Planner by Me and My Big Ideas! I love this planner because I can add pages wherever I want and decorate/ lay them out however I want!

             At the very top of each weekly spread, I write out my verse for the week! This is just one way to help me in memorizing it!
             The top row is for the bible pages I will do that day. This keeps me on track for finishing my journaling bible, which is a goal I have for the next few years! This month I am working through the book of Exodus- just trying something new! I also do a few other pages each day to mix things up!
             The middle row is for the blog/ instagram post that will go live that day. I put instagram posts into Later and preupload my blogs to Blogger and save them as drafts. This helps me so much the day of, all I have to do is press send and promote!

            At the bottom, I have my daily maintenance and deadlines for when things need to be done. I put the posts that are going up a week in the future here because I like to have time to schedule and make sure everything is done!
            Also at the bottom, I put any maintenance that I am doing that day. The categories for maintenance are: blog editing, working on custom orders/ art to sell in my Etsy shop, Etsy maintenance (uploading new posts, taking old ones down, updating my profile and mission statement, ect.), and blog and Instagram maintenance (updating bios, sharing posts on social media, ect.). These things don’t need to be done daily, but I do need to give each task some time in a week.
           I’m sure to a lot of people this looks really confusing, but it works for me! I wanted to share how I do this because when I was starting out my blog, I had so much trouble balancing things. I hope that this can help out anyone who needs it, or just give a glimpse into what life looks like for me!

Choosing Each Day

        What do you do when you wake up in the mornings? I always see things talking about how important your morning routine is, so I started to rethink mine. I decided I wanted to start this year off on a good foot and reorient how I spend my mornings. I almost always go on my phone and spend 15 minutes on Instagram, but this week, I challenged myself to read a devotion! The one I choose to start 2018 is from YouVersion and titled Choosing Each Day! It is super short, only 3 days and the devos themselves aren’t long, so it was a great way to ease into this routine!
        Choosing each day means choosing God each day! To do this, you have to ask where your thoughts go as your mind becomes alert. For me, that is to school work, instagram, my friends, my family, what I’m wearing that day, what I want for breakfast, what I have planned, my to-do list, and how I look. Notice that God is not on that list. The first step in choosing God each day is to wake up and actively seek him!
        The steps to seeking God are to first thank him for the new day, then acknowledge his sovereignty, and finally spend time in the word and in prayer. One thing you can do is put a scripture where you will see it in the morning to remind yourself to do these things. I also recommend making a christian pop playlist that gets you moving! Spotify has a good one called Workout under the Christian genre, but there are so many other good ones out there!
        Now, all of that seems easy in writing, but it isn’t so simple in practice. There are some things you can tell yourself to help you get through the hard days. The first is to remember that each day belongs to the Lord! We are simply giving what is already his back to him! Then, know that his grace covers all and that we can only do all of these things by grace! If it weren’t for grace, none of this would be possible! Another important thing to remember is that it takes moment by moment focus to reorient our wandering minds on him! It does not come easy because it is not in our nature, we sometimes need to work towards the Lord. Make it a habit to check in on your thoughts and direct them back to the Lord!
        Each day we are presented with a choice between ourselves and God. Focusing on ourselves causes us to become discouraged because we cannot accomplish anything on our own. Focusing on God brings is peace, hope, and renewal. “Humanly speaking, it is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” Matthew 19:26 Focusing on God puts our whole day in perspective and brings immense joy and purpose into our lives!
        Here are some scriptures to remind yourself that each day you are given the choice to worship God!
        "Now fear the LORD and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your ancestors worshiped beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD." Joshua 24:14-15
        “Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” Lamentations 3:22-23
        “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.” Colossians 3:1
        And here’s a closeup of the pages I journaled my notes on! I love journaling devotions like this because I can be creative, but also have a clear reminder of what I learned that day!

        What do you do first thing in the morning to make God the center of your day? Any tips would be greatly appreciated!

January TBR

        Happy 2018 everybody! I am so excited to see what books are in store for me this year! I had one of my best reading years last year, in terms of books read and average rating, and I am hoping to carry that into this year! My goals are to read at least a book a week and to read one non-fiction book per month! So, just keep on reading for my January TBR and to see how I am planning on accomplishing those goals this month!
        The first book I am hoping to finish is Once and For All by Sarah Dessen! I started reading it on New Year’s Eve (who needs to party when you have books) and I am hoping to finish it this week before I go back to school!
        Then, I am planning on reading A Crown of Wishes by Roshani Chokshi. I have heard such good things about this one and from the little bit I have already read, she has the most wonderful writing! I am excited to see what this world has in store for me!
         After that, I want to read Beasts Made of Night by Tochi Onyebuchi. I know very little about this book, but from what I know, it sounds awesome! It has something to do with eating people’s sins and I am very intrigued! (Plus, it’s under 300 pages, which is the kind of quick read I want right now!)
        Then, I plan on reading The Memory Trees by Kali Wallace. Again, I know very little about this one (I’m kinda sensing a theme here- it’s basically that I didn’t feel like doing any real research…). I saw it on a list of books where I also found The Graces, which I read last month and loved! It has also been shelved as paranormal mystery and magical realism on Goodreads, which is all I really need to know!
        At some point this month, I want to Auggie and Me by R.J. Palacio. I read Wonder last month and loved it, so I am excited to get a little bit more from these characters! It seems like a quick, cute read, which I am always in the mood for!
        My non-fiction book for this month is Unashamed by Lecrae. I started reading it a while ago and never finished, despite loving it! I love Lecrae’s music and his story is so interesting! I would love to understand him, and his music, a bit better!
         Lastly, I am really hoping to read Once Was a Time by Leila Sales. I was browsing in the middle grade section at my library, and the name stuck out to me. Then, I realized that it was the author of This Song Will Save Your Life, one of my favorite books of last year! This one is a time travel/historical fiction novel and I am so excited to read it!
       Okay, that is a lot of books, I know, but I’m feeling a bit overly ambitious right now! What books are you planning on reading this month? I would love to know!

My Word for 2018

        Love. That was my word for 2017. I wanted to give reckless and unconditional love to everybody I met. And I do not think I accomplished that, not at the capacity I know I am capable of. If I am completely honest, I had to go back to my post from last year to remember what my word was. I just let go of the concept as the year went on. It wasn’t what I thought I needed to be working on, I guess. In retrospect, I wish I had been working at it, or had at least given it a little bit of thought. But no, I did not do that.
        As the year went on, my word became more of a phrase and took on a whole different purpose. I read a lot about pouring out all your love and joy to people and then finding your fulfillment in God. It was the idea of the pouring out to be filled up, the constant give and take, that became my “word” for last year. While I did do better at this than loving, it was still not amazing.
        This year my word is balance. Finding the balance between work, school, friends, church, personal health, and other hobbies. The past few months, working has been about 60% of my time. Everything is taken up with writing, making art, taking photos, selling things, and contacting customers. I love what I am doing, don’t get me wrong, but when finals week rolled around and I was knee deep in orders and never actually studied for my AP World      History final, that’s when this became a real problem. Not only will finding balance help me to find my sanity, it will help me to prioritize the things that matter. By that, I mean my faith, family and friends, and school. In giving more attention to faith, things like love, peace, and joy will surely come.
         I already know that balance is not an easy thing to find. I am starting this journey by creating a more consistent posting schedule that will be easier to follow. This will hopefully help me to not stress out writing last minute posts and having deadlines sneak up on me.
         I am also trying to do an online devotional every morning to get in time with the Lord on a daily basis. I like this better than a book because I can study whatever I am struggling with or want to learn more about. If you have any favorite devotionals or websites, please let me know!
        What is your word for this year? I would love to know! Have a wonderful day!

Top 17 Books of 2017

What a year 2017 has been! I read a total of 54, which means I completed my Goodreads goal *happy dance*. I really didn’t think I would make it when November came to a close because I had only read 41 books! Ahhhh! But December was an awesome month that made up for my end-of-year book slump, putting me over my goal! I went back and looked over the 54 books I had read in 2017 and decided upon my top 17 of 2017 list! While most people say their lists are in “no specific order”, that is not the case here! I took quite a bit of time and put them in the definite order of how much I enjoyed them! I hope y’all enjoy perusing my list of the best books of 2017!

1. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern 
2. One Dark Throne by Kendare Blake 
3. Throne of Glass Series by Sarah J. Maas (I read the entire series this year, so I am including all of them- but my favorite has to be Heir of Fire!) 
4. A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas 
5. Lord of Shadows by Cassandra Clare
6. Alex, Approximately by Jenn Bennett 
7. Carry On by Rainbow Rowell 
8. Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo (Again, I read both this year, but if I had to pick, Six of Crows was my favorite!) 
9. We Were Liars by E Lockhart 
10. The Night We Said Yes by Lauren Gibaldi 
11. Stalking Jack the Ripper and Hunting Prince Dracula by Kerri Maniscalco ( Hunting Prince Dracula was was my favorite!)
12. The Call by Peadar O Guilin 
13. Wolf by Wolf by Ryan Graudin 
14. 13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher 
15. This Song Will Save Your Life by Leila Sales 
16. Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli 
17. An Ember in the Ashes and A Torch Against the Night by Sabaa Tahir (Loved both, but An Ember in the Ashes was my favorite!)

What was your favorite book of this year? Comment down below! I would love to hear from you!

Books, Blogging, and Plans | 2017 Survey

Happy New Year, everybody! I hope you all had a wonderful 2017, I know I did! Despite some hard things that happened this year, the joys always outweighed the bad! This survey takes in all the books I read, the blog posts I wrote, and my plans for next year to give a peek into what my reading and blogging life were like in 2017! In that department, 2017 was an incredibly successful year and I am hoping that 2018 can be even better!

The Books of 2017:
Number Of Books You Read: 54
Number of Re-Reads: 4
Genre You Read The Most From: YA Fantasy

1. Best Book You Read In 2017?
The Night Circus was the best new book I read this year.
2. Book You Were Excited About & Thought You Were Going To Love More But Didn’t?

The Kiss of deception. I thought it had the potential to be my new favorite fantasy series, but it just wasn’t doing it for me.
3. Most surprising (in a good way or bad way) book you read?  

Wolf by Wolf! It is so good but not talked a lot about, so I was shocked by how amazing it was!
4. Book You “Pushed” The Most People To Read (And They Did)?
I am working on making everyone I know read the ACOTAR series. I have been planting seeds for the past year and a half and people are finally acting on it now.
5. Best series you started in 2017? Best Sequel of 2017? Best Series Ender of 2017?
Best series I started has to go to Throne of Glass. Best sequel goes to Hunting Prince Dracula. Best series ender is A Court of Wings and Ruin.
6. Favorite new author you discovered in 2017?
Rainbow Rowell solidified herself as a favorite of mine this year. I didn’t discover her this year, but I did discover she is a new favorite!
7. Best book from a genre you don’t typically read/was out of your comfort zone?
The Call is a fantasy horror book with emphasis on the horror, which is not typically my cup of tea, but I loved it!
8. Most action-packed/thrilling/unputdownable book of the year?
The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue can be described by all of those! It was so action-packed and, despite it being 500 pages, I read it in a day.
9. Book You Read In 2017 That You Are Most Likely To Re-Read Next Year?
Probably Empire of Storms or Lord of Shadows in preparation for their sequels.
10. Favorite cover of a book you read in 2017?
The Graces has such a beautiful cover!
11. Most memorable character of 2017?
Audrey Rose from Stalking Jack the Ripper. She has a quiet beauty and grace and she is so strong and intelligent, but it doesn’t seem forced.
12. Most beautifully written book read in 2017?
The Wrath and the Dawn is written beautifully! Everything Renee Ahdieh writes is lyrical and gorgeous!
13. Most Thought-Provoking/ Life-Changing Book of 2017?
The Glass Castle was different from anything I have ever read and gave me a new perspective into a life I will never know.
14. Book you can’t believe you waited UNTIL 2017 to finally read?
Six of Crows! I have been hearing such good things for so long, but since I didn’t love the Grisha trilogy, I was really scared to go in. Despite that fear, I absolutely adored it!
15. Favorite Passage/Quote From A Book You Read In 2017?

“To the Stars who listen and the dreams that are answered” will forever be my favorite quote. (And ACOMAF was one of my rereads for the year, so this counts!)
16.Shortest & Longest Book You Read In 2017?
Shortest= Of Mice and Men (112)

Longest= Lord of Shadows (701)
17. Book That Shocked You The Most
(Because of a plot twist, character death, left you hanging with your mouth wide open, etc.)
King's Cage by Victoria Aveyard was just plot twist after plot twist.
18. OTP OF THE YEAR (you will go down with this ship!)
There are so many! My #1 will forever and always be Feyre and Rhys, but past that I would go with Simon and Baz from Carry On!
19. Favorite Non-Romantic Relationship Of The Year
Elise, Vicky, and Pippa from This Song Will Save Your Life! Their friendship is adorable and I loved reading about them!
20. Favorite Book You Read in 2017 From An Author You’ve Read Previously
Carry on by Rainbow Rowell! This book was amazing and it is why I am now in love with Rainbow Rowell!
21. Best Book You Read In 2017 That You Read Based SOLELY On A Recommendation From Somebody Else/Peer Pressure:
Alex, Approximately and I am so glad that I listened! I saw Taylor from Taylor Talks Books on Youtube really pushing this one and I had to go read it because of her!
22. Newest fictional crush from a book you read in 2017?
Chaol Westfall! I had always loved him, but after reading from his perspective, I love him so much more!
23. Best 2017 debut you read?
I don’t think I read any 2017 debut novels, so my favorite debut novel I read this year was Simon vs. the Homosapien Agenda.
24. Best Worldbuilding/Most Vivid Setting You Read This Year?
The setting in the Night Circus! I can still smell the kettle corn and feel the night wind racing by! The imagery in this book is incredible! It felt like I was really there!
25. Book That Put A Smile On Your Face/Was The Most FUN To Read?
Yes Please by Amy Poehler because it was so incredibly funny!
26. Book That Made You Cry Or Nearly Cry in 2017?
I cry a lot when I read, but I cried the most in Tower of Dawn. It was such an emotional rollercoaster!
27. Hidden Gem Of The Year?
The Night We Said Yes by Lauren Gibaldi. I loved this book I have never heard anyone talk about it. I only found it because I saw it on Book Outlet and thought the cover looked interesting.
28. Book That Crushed Your Soul?
One Dark Throne. I loved it, but this book nearly killed me.
29. Most Unique Book You Read In 2017?
We Were Liars purely because I had no idea what was going on the entire time.
30. Book That Made You The Most Mad (doesn’t necessarily mean you didn’t like it)?
Caraval for 2 reasons. 1) Because I really wanted to love it and didn’t and 2) Because the protagonist was so frustrating. I was planning on DNFing this book, but I had to keep going because I had heard it was like the Night Circus and I had to give it a fair chance. I honestly do not see the similarities between the two books.

Blogging in 2017:
1. New favorite book blog you discovered in 2017?
I have really enjoyed reading Word Revel’s blog this year!
2. Favorite review that you wrote in 2017?
My One Dark Throne review. I really like the format of this one and how I was able to talk about everything I wanted to without making the post freakishly long! Read it here.
3. Best discussion/non-review post you had on your blog?
This isn’t book related, but I love my Wise and Foolish Builders post! I worked really hard on this one and it is so close to my heart. Read it here.
4. Best event that you participated in (author signings, festivals, virtual events, memes, etc.)?
I really enjoyed participating in the Winter 2017 Biannual Biliothon! It was my first read-at-thon because they are always at a bad time for me, but this year the dates worked out perfectly and it was so fun!
5. Best moment of bookish/blogging life in 2017?

Launching my Etsy shop and making my first sale!
6. Most challenging thing about blogging or your reading life this year?

Switching my book blog to my main blog was hard because I had to revamp my whole posting schedule and it is still hard to find a good balance. I am working out the kinks, but I will hopefully soon have a more concrete plan for how I split up my posts!
7. Most Popular Post This Year On Your Blog (whether it be by comments or views)?
My Reading Quest TBR
8. Post You Wished Got A Little More Love?
I’d say my Washington Travel Diary because I loved this trip and put a lot of work into rounding up all the places we went to!

9. Best bookish discover (book related sites, book stores, etc.)?

Bookstagram! I discovered and created my bookstagram account this year and it is so fun!
10.  Did you complete any reading challenges or goals that you had set for yourself at the beginning of this year?
My goals were: read 50 books (check), buy fewer books (check), read 5 classics (I read 4), Finish Harry Potter (I rejected that one- I will probably never finish), Complete the Vampire Academy series (not that high of a priority, but I will finish someday), and reread Percy Jackson (again, I rejected this one because I am afraid I will not love them now as much as I did). So I got to some of my goals!

Plans for 2018:
1. One Book You Didn’t Get To In 2017 But Will Be Your Number 1 Priority in 2018?
I am going to finish Night Film if it is the last thing I do!
2. Book You Are Most Anticipating For 2018 (non-debut)?
A Court of Frost and Starlight or Queen of Air and Darkness.
3. 2018 Debut You Are Most Anticipating?
Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi.
4. Series Ending/A Sequel You Are Most Anticipating in 2018?
The Lady’s Guide to Petticoats and Piracy!
5. One Thing You Hope To Accomplish Or Do In Your Reading/Blogging Life In 2018?
I hope to be more consistent in posting and make this (along with my art) into more of a business than a hobby.

This survey was designed and created by the Perpetual Page Turner! Go check out her awesome post!

How many books did you read this year? Comment below so we can chat about books! And Happy New Year!