Fun Activities I Like (Rewrite)

Hey everybody! Today's post will simply be a redo of my "fun activities" post from two weeks ago. At the time, I was having an issue with my hands and fingers hurting a lot from perhaps writing so much and I needed to have something done for that week, so I just threw it together; I abandoned my usual brainstorming process and as a result I did not like the content; I felt it lacked true substance. My hands are well rested and I'm ready to share once again some of the fun activities I like to do in my spare time. I consider myself a mostly boring person, and I'm proud of it. You don't need craziness to have fun. 

1) Amazon Prime shows- I'm sure everybody has heard of Amazon Prime; I love Amazon, first of all..but, they are similar to Netflix in that they offer members free TV shows, movies and music that you can have access to anytime for close to $100 a year. The cost monthly pretty much matches up to Netflix. I love this because there are no commercials. I strongly dislike commercials. I have a Fire TV which is a small box that connects to my TV and there is nothing more relaxing than watching TV in my bed after a long day of housework and writing. I sometimes take breaks from work, but when I have a lot of inspiration inside of me, my office sees more of me than my bedroom does...I'm into a few shows right now...I love I Love Lucy episodes, Twilight Zone episodes, Survivor, and  I'm finishing up Glee. The only time I watch regular TV is to watch the news and to keep up with current events. 

2) YouTube videos- I have become a YouTube addict. My morning routine starts with coffee and my YouTube videos; the Internet houses a lot of nastiness, but clean videos can be found if you really look. The greatest treasure is mindless entertainment. I am subscribed to one girl who used to make clothes for a living, but hurt her hand in a car accident and cannot sew anymore; she is from Houston, Texas. I love her goofy personality and the nonexistence of profanity in her content. I love watching her do make up tutorials. I love to hear her talk of her struggles with anxiety and depression, because I've struggled too. I love her honesty. I also follow a cooking show (I love food!) and a few other YouTubers; it is a fun treat! 

3) Books and Music- I love to read! I have recently gotten back into books. I got away from them during college and for the longest time, I just didn't want to touch one because it reminded me of having to read college textbooks (I loved college, but chapter outlining and note taking seemed to always take forever to do!) I had gotten away from the fun of reading. I am currently reading Me Before You by Jojo Moyes, and the second book in the Twilight series, New Moon by Stephenie Meyer; I'm halfway through  Me Before You, and over halfway done with New Moon.  Music is another outlet of enjoyment for me. I have always had an interesting taste in music according to my closest friends, and I agree wholeheartedly but I have no shame. My all time favorite artist is Selena. No, not Selena Gomez. Selena Quintanilla. The woman was shot at 23 and died; she was a famous Mexican-American  Tejano music singer and was on her way to crossing over into doing songs in English. I LOVED and still LOVE the movie Selena. I was five years old when I first watched it and I have been a fan of both Jennifer Lopez and Selena ever since. I love the Hispanic culture. I love Mexican food (especially guacamole!) I took 3 years of Spanish in high school, and I can't remember everything I learned, but I am proud to say I can roughly translate most of Selena's songs. My absolute favorite of hers is one of her few English songs, I Could Fall in Love; favorite Spanish song would have to either be Amor Prohibido or Cien Anos. I will never understand why I am into Latin music. I'm from West Virginia. I'm a country girl; I'm just me and I love it. I grew up also listening to Alison Krauss.  I could listen to her all day. My favorite song of hers is "In the Palm of Your Hand", and that reminds me of what Jesus has done for me and how much more of an importance He is than anything else. I could keep making a list of all the songs I love, but the final two I love the most are "Finish What He Started" by MercyMe and "There is A Reason" also by Alison Krauss; some of these songs are what God used to pull me through some of my darker days and they are always encouraging to me. 

I am happy to have shared some of my favorite down time activities today. I believe in having good clean fun; I feel that too many people rely on unnecessary ways to enjoy themselves, when it's as simple as just shutting the world out and having some time to yourself, even if it is to listen to songs in Spanish, or to watch 16 people compete for a prize and try to survive on an island. I have learned that as a Christian, my actions in regards to how I live my life are super important. I'm not perfect at all, but I don't want to live like the world. I dedicate all of my talent and my light to Christ, and I will for the rest of my life. I owe everything to Him. He has loved me through it all, and even though I have failed Him in the past, my story isn't over yet. I am so thankful He has been a dependable, loving friend and He can still use me. I want Him to and I know that the only way for Him to successfully do that is to live right. I want Him to continue to be  on my life instead of just a part of it; I lived that way for some time, but never again. I am so so thankful that He has been working to purify my life slowly and that He has opened my eyes and taught me that faith is more than just what you say...it's also what you do. I hope by sharing this post that I inspire someone to get to know Jesus, and I hope that I also can inspire fellow Christians to get closer to Him by getting rid of sin that may be in their lives; you will invite so much more peace into your life and God will be able to use you in ways you never imagined because your story isn't over either.