A Little Background Into Me

Growing up, I was definitely outgoing - I loved to meet new people, hang out with friends, and learn a new hobby every other week. However, I was never a kid who was excited to become a teenager and party/drink and I hated the idea of clubbing.

Nonetheless, as a teenager I did all those things (surprise surprise). This wasn’t out of any interest in the activities, but because I didn’t know a single person my age (who had a social life) who did anything else to entertain themselves. Now, this isn’t a hate post towards people who enjoy that sort of life - everyone has their way of unwinding and having fun - but it wasn’t my cup of tea. Still, I felt this pressure to constantly be doing something that fell into what I call the ‘fast lane’. I had to be out with friends late at night or at the latest weekender party - anything to not be stationary.

The reason I didn’t like the fast lane was because it felt like everyone in it was trying to escape life. It never felt like anyone at those parties was there to have fun with their friend group, but to be able to show everyone that they did something that was worth talking about. More than anything, it felt fake; as though everything I (and everyone else involved) did was to check off things on a bucket list that I never made…so who did?

Children’s Media in the 2000s

Now, I grew up in the 2000s. I was an ‘03 baby and I adoooored my childhood. For the most part I was kept away from things that would make me grow up sooner than I needed to. Still, one thing I remember really vividly growing up was the idea I had of what being a teenager looked like - parties, boys, drinking, hanging out at car parks, that sort of thing.

Every time I watched TV, I was sold an idea of what my teenage years ought to look like. Every time I looked at teenage child stars - Selena Gomez, Justin Bieber, Lindsay Lohan and the like - living a life full of glitz, glamour and parties, it was engrained into me that that’s what teenagers did. The more I was force-fed Kesha (I was force-fed Kesha a LOT), the more I bought into the booze-filled life that every 16 year old seemed to have.

The more I think about it, the more I believe that the media we were fed when we were children played a huge role in how we decided to spend our time as teenagers. As much as a ton of us were truly introverts, we felt like we had to do things to fit in, and along the way we stopped having genuine fun - the slow type of fun that we crave now.

Adulthood and the Choices We Make

As people my age get deeper into adulthood, I think they’re making more conscious choices to do the things they love. The fun and excitement behind clubbing is slowly fading away and we’re realising we’d rather spend time in the moment than trying to escape it. Activities like movie nights, knitting, having friends over for dinner, playing uno, and going on drives to get a soft serve and talk in the car park have slowly regained their popularity.

As a self-proclaimed introvert, this is the best news eeeever. But on a wide scale, I think it’s an important cultural shift. As my generation grows older, we’re slowly realising that there’s more to life than temporary pleasure that turns into a hangover the next morning. There’s ways to connect with people and enjoy their company that don’t have to be centred around loud music and alcohol. As more of us begin escaping the party-crazed shadow that pop culture and Hollywood placed us under, we finally begin to live life in the slow lane.

Here’s to hoping that you have a slow 2025 :)

Do you agree or disagree? I’d love to know what you think!

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I hope you liked reading my post! If you did, then stick around…there’s a lot more where this came from :P

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Intentions

Where prayer boards remain within the constructs of God’s plan for us, and they are made during active prayer with God, I think they’re perfectly alright! I view them as more of a ‘I hope this happens Lord, but if it doesn’t, I understand that it isn’t a part of your plan’, not a ‘this will happen and God is a genie/wish granter’.

This obviously depends on the person making the prayer board’s intentions. If the intention behind a prayer board is for it to be a vision board, and that somehow we’ll be able to manifest these things in our lives, then I believe it’s extremely ungodly. It leaves no space for God to work in our lives according to His good plan and His will.

On the other hand (!!) if the intentions behind a prayer board are similar to a prayer session - in which we merely send up our requests to God and acknowledge that some of them that don’t align with His plan or timing will go unfulfilled - then I don’t see anything wrong with them at all! Isn’t that what prayer is all about?

Toe the Line

Something that I’d love to touch on, however, for anyone who’s finding it difficult to toe the line between these two realms, is this: making a prayer board that highlights abstractions of what we want, as opposed to specifics, will help you check your heart posture (another phrase for intentions).

When I place a car on my prayer board, it’s more so to ask God for the financial stability to afford the car, not the car itself. When I place healthy salads or whole food meals, it’s more so to ask God to help me fuel my body the way He intends me to and have surplus to give to those less well of than me, not so that I can spend money on whatever food I want, whenever I want. By ensuring you use the abstract ‘feeling’ or ‘vibe’ of what you’re placing on your prayer board, you can easily check your intentions against the will of God and what He values in the Bible.

I hope this helps and Happy New Year!!!

P.S. I’m keen to know: Do you agree or disagree? What’re your thoughts on prayer boards?

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Some more things on my Prayer Board:

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Okay, I’m going to get straight into it: I just started rewatching The Chosen today and I cried, yet again, during the first episode.

The Parallels Between Mary & Lilith

I honestly really loved the parallels that the show drew between ‘Mary’ and ‘Lilith’ as names reflecting the stages of life that Mary (of Magdala) was in.

On the basis of my personal media consumption, I’ve always viewed Lilith as denoting an immoral woman, and Mary as a symbol of purity (mother Mary, in my eyes). Through using both names for Mary, the show contrasted these two demeanours amazingly - transitioning between the pure childlike innocence of Mary in her younger years, while she was under her father’s watch and guidance, and the immorality of the demons residing in her during adulthood.

The names served the dichotomy so well and highlighted an important part of the Bible to me:

Matthew 18:3-5 New International Version (NIV)And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”

Childlike Innocence for God’s Kingdom

We often forget how important it is to be childlike when in the presence of God, especially when we turn into adults and lose proximity with our parents. We lose a sense of the innocence and awe that we once held when we regarded God.

A reel I came across recently did a great job of summarising the childlike innocence God desires from us: a child asked her mum who ‘gave’ her the new blush she was holding. The mum giggled at first, but then it dawned on her that ownership isn’t a concept for children like it is for adults: everything they have is given to them. In the same way, we should think of everything we gain as a gift from God.

It is important to be childlike in several other aspects too: being just as trusting, awe struck, and affectionate with God as children are with their parents. However, what I mentioned above is what stood out most to me when I was watching the first episode.

It was this innocence that Jesus restored in Mary later on in the episode during the epic (yes, epic) hug scene.

Jesus Redeeming Mary (and the hug)

Ugh!!!!! The hug that Mary and Jesus shared absolutely ruined me. While watching it, I was taken aback at just how vulnerable she was in that moment. She did not have a complete understanding of what was going on - how Jesus knew her birthname, how He knew the verse that her father taught her, how He found her, etc. But in that moment, none of that understanding truly mattered. What mattered, and what should be at the forefront of our walks with Christ, is vulnerable faith.

Even when we do not have full understanding of why things happen, or what God’s plan is, we ought to vulnerably trust in Jesus and His promises - letting go of what our own plans or inhibitions are, and simply trusting that His plans are for us to prosper (Jeremiah 29:11)

This redemption ultimately led to Mary hosting the Sabbath dinner with a few friends - a dinner where she got to meet Jesus again (!!!).

The Sabbath Dinner

Now this mightttt be reaching a little, but here’s my take on the scene: Hearing Mary read the same verses that Nicodemus read aloud highlighted how she was rekindling her Jewish faith through reminding herself of the traditions she once followed - she says what Nicodemus and all Jews do on the day of rest, and through relying on this tradition, she begins rekindling her faith.

The scene then transitions, singling out Mary’s voice and showcasing her slowly settling into the Jewish tradition of Sabbath - this transition symbolises the deepening of her faith. As the singled out voice implies, it’s now her job to continue walking down the narrow path, and although tradition and community will always be there to guide her, it’s her turn to make her faith her own.

One of my takeaways from this particular scene is that although the world may create superficial social hierarchies - Nicodemus representing those who are in high esteem by the world, but distant from God, and Mary representing those of us who are lowly and humble, but close to Him - God sees us all as His children. Our worldly hierarchies and values ultimately do not matter, because when we are observed in the Spirit, we are all equal, made in the image of God. This is symbolised by characters from all walks in the show reading the same verses to the same God, following the same traditions dutifully.

Conclusions

A pretty short and unserious conclusion: I loveee the Chosen so so much and what it’s doing (and has done) for the Christian community. I hope you liked reading my takes on episode one!! Maybe I’ll make this a series :P

On that note, I’m going to drop some Christian recommendations below of media and music that’s helped me grow my own faith :)

Recommendations

Youtube Channels

Emet Bible Journey

Bible in a Nutshell

Have Faith

Sam Reed

Film & Media

Prince of Egypt - Prime Video

Mary - Netflix

Evan Almighty

Jesus Freaks - YouTube but I see it as more of a Christian reality show

Slow Worship Music

Carried: Ethan C Davis

Walk By Faith: Tye Tribbett

Morning Song: Antoine Bradford

Rescue: Mosaic MSC

Abba: John Mark Pantana

Not in a Hurry: Will Reagan, United Pursuit

None Like You: Tekoa, Rory McKenna

Psalm 91: Jonathan Ogden

How Do I Thank You: Mosaic MSC

I’ve had a substack account for a while now, but one of my friends (@martinssss) recently published her first post on this platform so I thought I’d try my hand at it too! I’ve been penning my thoughts and opinions ever since I can remember, but apart from on a website I created a while ago, I’ve never pooled all my opinions into one place before (…here goes nothing).

A Bit About My Substack

My substack posts are going to be a huge mix of my thoughts and opinions on all my interests. This includes commentary on culture, art history, philosophy, Christian faith, and design (graphic & interior). I also adore literature and poetry, so you may see a couple of posts on that too :P.

My Aims

Through opening a substack, I want to create a warm community. The internet has lost some of it’s charm in the past couple of years, and I want my substack to be an area where thoughts, ideas, opinions, and encouragement can be shared without a fear of judgement.

I want my substack, in particular, to be a place where we can:

• communicate with likeminded people

• discuss our thoughts and opinions

• share Christian encouragement

• relax and unwind

I can’t wait to see this page grow and hope you love being here!

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