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Thursday, April 23, 2015

Profoundly Loved & A Good Fence

I'd like to take a moment to thank Moriah Peters from Home on the Erie Canal for nominating me for the Profoundly Loved tag.  Below are Moriah's questions and my answers.    

1. Tell me about someone you love, and why.
I love my family. They are special and wonderful people.

2. What is one thing you do that makes you feel like "I could do this forever" when you do it?
Playing chess and bughouse. It's a good thing there aren't tournaments every day. If I could play in them every day, I'm sure I'd improve. I also might lose my sanity...but anyone who has ever watched medical commercials knows that every good thing has side effects.

3. What do you love about yourself?
First of all, my ability to think of a witty response to (almost) any question, and second, my incalculably great humility.

4. What advice would you give to someone who doesn't believe she/he is beautiful?
Beauty is relative, and strongly affected by the cultural experiences of the beholder. Here in the U.S. people get a good tan to look beautiful. When my grandmother lived in Thailand, she used whitening makeup to look pale, because that was thought beautiful in her culture (she would know; she was a beautician).

Here's an ad from a newspaper many years ago. Now freckles (which I'm blessed with) are just acceptable here, but in some parts of South America, freckles are considered both beautiful and exotic because few people have them.  Beauty standards are very different from one culture to the next and from one decade to the next. If one person or culture doesn't appreciate your beauty, another will.  And, of course, a beautiful heart is most important.

"For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God,
 an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.."  --2 Corinthians 5:1

5. What is the best piece of advice you've ever gotten about confidence?
The song, “Troubles may come from time to time, but I don't care, I'm not the worrying kind, for I've got confidence, God is going to see me through.  No matter what the case may be, He's going to fix it for me.”

6. If you were your own daughter, what advice would you give yourself?
A lively faith in God and a hearty sense of humor will see you through anything. Don't be afraid to be different.  Think for yourself, live free, and don't make excuses.

7. A verse, poem, sonnet, ancient-old proverb that inspires you to love yourself and others?
"Love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, 
and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself." --Luke 10:27  

"He that getteth wisdom loveth his own soul: he that keepeth understanding shall find good."  --Proverbs 19:8
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83 comments:

  1. love the magnolia blossoms against that lovely white fence! great photo of you at the chess board, too! you made me laugh with #2 and #3.

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  2. Hi! Visiting from Good Fences and love the picture! Great responses too.

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  3. Lovely fence and the frangrant and beautiful Magnolia flowers! A+!!

    I love your answer - "my ability to think of a witty response to (almost) any question". I admire that quality.

    I didn't know chess boards come printed on paper.
    As a young boy, I used to make my own.
    I see there are easier options.

    Question - Have you read Ayn Rand and Richard Bach? Just curious...

    Have a Beautiful Day, Bethany!
    Peace :)

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    1. No, I haven't. I have heard a lot about Ayn Rand though--particularly mentions of Atlas Shrugged .

      The chess board in the photo is vinyl. They do come printed on paper as well, but those don't always last long as they're susceptible to spills and the like. Neat that you made your own chess board! That must have been an interesting project.

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  4. Hello Bethany, I love the pretty magnolia blossoms.. I enjoyed reading your answers.. The answer you would give to your daughter is great.. Happy Thursday!

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  5. The blossoms are so gorgeous it took a while to find the fence. ;)
    Have a great Thursday!

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  6. Just love this Bethany -and getting to know you better!! You have such a sweet soul. ;)

    And I have to say that freckles are my favorite!! My hubby is a redhead and must have about a billion of them and I love every single one.

    xoxo

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    1. Thank you for the kind words and for stopping by!

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  7. Beautiful flowers in the gate, love 'em.

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    1. It's an awesome time of year when the trees flower!

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  8. that fenced draped with magnolias is just gorgeous!!! and you, my friend, are a very "cute" chess player!!!!

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  9. Magnolia is great we have rhe same in Poland

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    1. Awesome! We had a magnolia tree in our backyard when we lived in Portland.

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  10. That is just stunning! Nicely captured!

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  11. I Profoundly Love that magnolia! Tom The Backroads Traveller

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  12. Besides having a lovely sense of humor, being a unique and interesting person, and being fearless in freely sharing what is important to you, you are a gifted photographer, Bethany. I am enjoying getting to know you and I'm glad you were nominated for the Profoundly Loved tag. I am cheering for you :-)

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    1. Thanks Gracie! My humility is growing by leaps and bounds. ;)

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  13. So good to get to know more about you , Bethany.
    Being humble is a wonderful asset ...
    You shine ...

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    1. I always enjoy learning more about you as well, especially through your poetry.

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  14. I love your answers, especially #3! I have freckles too, and two of my kids have red hair and freckles, so I'm a little biased toward them!

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  15. What a gorgeous Tulip Tree (or Magnolia) as some call them. It looks lovely spilling over the pretty white fence. I enjoyed reading about you. You do have a great outlook on life.

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    1. I love the short time in the spring when the trees are all in bloom; it's such a beautiful time of year.

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  16. I love your fence shot and liked reading your responses to the questions.

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  17. ps,,,,I have freckles, too. I remember hating them as a kid. In the 60's and 70's,

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    1. From what I've seen and heard, the 70's (and maybe the 60's too) were a bit of a wild time!

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  18. Isn't it funny that we often deem as beautiful is usually quite the opposite of what we are already blessed with? I'm short, but I wish to be tall. Well, we can't have everything in life. Oh, and what is bughouse?

    xoxo Morning

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    1. It seems to work that way for a lot of people! Bughouse is like chess, except you have a partner. If your partner jumps a piece, he/she hands it to you, and you can place it on your board instead of making a move if you like.

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  19. Those are great answers. I love the "answers to your daughter" -perfect. A few of my kids have freckles and I have always loved them. Glad you love playing chess so much- that is a good thing for a good mind! xo Diana

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  20. I really loved these answers. And I always enjoy learning more about you. Your family must be so proud of what a wonderful young lady you are.

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    1. Thanks for your kind words and for stopping by, Martha!

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  21. I really like your Magnolia against the white fence picture!

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    1. I couldn't resist snapping a photo when I walked by it! Thanks Paul!

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  22. These are such interesting questions and you gave equally interesting answers. :D You took a beautiful shot of the magnolia tree. Also, I like the picture of you playing chess!

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  23. Beautiful Magnolia tree. I loved your answers to the interview. They show a great character :-) Have a wonderful weekend. x

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  24. Hi Bethany,
    Beautiful pictures of the Magnolia tree.
    I love the color of the flowers.

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  25. That is one beautiful fence picture! Love the pic of you playing chess. I grew up with freckles...and yes there was a time I hated them! Janey

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  26. Maybe I should go to South America if freckles are considered exotic there. They'd certainly think I was quite the thing! ;)

    Beautiful fence shot. I like the contrast between the pink flowers and the white boards! Is that a pink magnolia tree?

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  27. Ha! Your humility is really shining through that answer ;)

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  28. Love the way the flowering magnolia seems to drape over the fence.

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    1. It is very beautiful for a short time each year.

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  29. Hi Bethany, Whenever I click on Today Liberty or Death I am ready to be here for a while. Not because it’s going to take that long to read through the post but because whatever you’ve written about will likely cause me to want to lean back in the chair and “think it all over.” :-) You have a special ability to put things into perspective while incorporating the spiritual aspects. Always encouraging with just the right amount of humor included. In today’s post I enjoyed your thoughts about beauty and how culture affects it. Isn’t it amazing how much of life is all tangled up in our perception of things? Well, I could go on and on … but let me leave you with this thought: Yes on freckles! :-)

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    1. Glad to hear my posts are thought-provoking for you. Your comments are always an encouragement.

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  30. Your flower and fence photo is stunning! Love all the answers you gave! Your love of chess is so refreshing! Love that you have confidence and a great sense of humor, and a strong faith. You are a beautiful young woman!

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  31. This was so much fun to read! You have such a lovely personality that shows through your writing!! :)

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  32. A magnificent magnolia spreading it's beauty over the white fence!
    I loved reading your responses - well done dear Bethany!
    Shane x

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  33. I love sections like " Questions and Answers" and thinking that I had known you from all these answers :) I really enjoyed reading your responses.

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    1. Tags like this are fun to do--especially when I am not sure what I want to write about!

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  34. What a lovely post! I'm new here to your blog, and it's just delightful. :-) My youngest daughter is a red head and has freckles we tell her they are beauty marks ;-) She's 9 years old. Nice to get to know a little about you. Have a wonderful day!

    Blessings
    ,Jill

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    1. Nice to meet you Jill! From your profile photo, it looks like you have a lovely family. Have a great day as well!

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  35. I love freckles so much. My license reads "freckles." When the kids were little, we would do freckle dances and have freckle parties whenever they would get a new spot. Even though they never really got REAL freckles, more like moles. OK, so I'm weird. I always wanted red hair, freckles and braces and God never gave me any of those good things. :)

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    1. That sounds like a fun license plate! It sounds like you have done a good job in giving your children a happy life. Just about any excuse for a party (and maybe cake?) is a good excuse in my book. ;) My sisters are both brunettes, and (though I'm glad I'm a redhead myself) I think their hair is beautiful!

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  36. You're definitely right on beauty varying from culture to culture. My curls aren't terribly appreciated in this part of the world--hairstylists offer me permanent straightening services every time I get a haircut. They say, "We could fix this for you!" :)

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    1. Oooh my! And to think how many people are curling their hair in this country...!

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  37. I love that fence with those beautiful flowers draped over it. I enjoyed hearing your answers, too. It's always fun to learn more about the wonderful people that we visit and are always there to encourage us.

    I hope you have a delightful week... :)

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  38. Number three made me LOL. Love the advice you'd give your own daughter. God bless you for all your Godly wisdom. Thank you for sharing it.

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  39. Nice answers - I really like the shot of you looking over the chess board - you can see the answers to many of the questions in that image!!

    Cheers - Stewart M - Melbourne

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  40. The picture of the flowers is beautiful, and I like your answers.

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  41. Your answers are always a joy to read, Bethany. I appreciate your honesty and loved your answer about beauty.

    I hope you are doing well, my dear. Enjoy your week! Hugs!

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