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Wednesday, October 12, 2016

Answers: Life & Death

With this final post I'll have my bases covered from the cradle to the grave.  Many thanks to all who participated in making this series happen.  Next week I'll be g̶e̶t̶t̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶m̶y̶ ̶r̶e̶v̶e̶n̶g̶e̶  hosting my annual survey!  I hope you'll join in.
Debbie says: I have always wondered how old you are? 
BJ says:  I would be very interested in knowing your age.
I'm 22.

Martha asks: Have you ever broken a bone?  No.

Anonymous asks: Did you go to college?  No.

Lois says: Your hair is so beautiful. Do you often get compliments on it?
Thank you!  Yes...and I "accidentally" compliment myself all the time: whenever I see a redhead, I tell her I love her hair color! :D  Oh, and as a side effect, I love Edmund Blair Leighton's artwork!

Anonymous asks: What is your normal everyday schedule? 
I wake up around 6:00, eat three meals, work, relax, and go to sleep at around 11:00.  

Anonymous asks: Do you have a job? If so, where do you work?
I work for my family's business, Carson Concrete and Welding.  I help make the concrete pads that go under residential propane tanks.  I also work in sales: marketing the concrete pads.

Besides that, I help at a local orchard and do a lot of odd jobs.  Since this spring I've been working on adding another (full time) job, but haven't had success so far.  I guess it's nice I don't really need one, since I live with my family.  But I do like working and in particular, getting paid (my favorite part).
Martha asks: What do you see (or would like to see) in your future? 
In the immediate future, I want to:
  • Run a faster than 25-minute 5K.  My current best time is 25:40-something, and I am dreadfully consistent in staying at around 25-26-27 every race.  On a side note, I just ran my first 10K race last weekend back-to-back with a 5K!  I may or may not have hardly been able to walk and questioned my own sanity afterward...
  • Catch up on my blogging, so I don't have events from months ago waiting to be written about.
  • Finish reading It Takes a Village by Hillary Clinton before the election.
  • Actually decide for whom to vote.
  • Go to one more chess tournament before the year is over.
  • Add a couple more counties to my list of courthouses visited.
  • Implement one more new work-related idea before the end of the year.
Eventually I would also enjoy travelling more of the country/world, raising a family, writing books, perhaps running for public office, and maybe doing some mission work.

Provided the world continues a long time, I'd like to live to be quite elderly.  Then (unless I find another cemetery to call home) I want to be interned in Union, Iowa with my forebears.

But only God knows the future.  I could die tomorrow.  And everyone always gets what they ask for, as The Restaurant of Life attests.

"Many things about tomorrow, I don't seem to understand.  
But I know who holds tomorrow, and I know who holds my hand."  --Ira Stanphill
Anonymous asks: When are you going to get married? Could you describe him to us? 
I suppose when a particularly delightful gentleman asks me... and I say yes.

As for a description: How about someone who understands the fallibility of mortals but focuses on the infallibility of the Immortal?
Enrique says: Hi Bethany, regardless of whether you buy lottery tickets, what would you do if you won the lottery? 
I don't play the lottery, so let's just say some unknown relation suddenly passes in Nigeria and actually does deed me a few million in her will.  (Maybe I should re-check my emails.)

I'd invest it...in a lot of places: dividend-paying stocks, gold, silver, stamps, land, and miscellaneous small businesses.  I'd also travel more.  Who knows?  I might even think of a way to help people.

But to be honest, I really hope it doesn't happen.  People I don't especially like would probably want to become much better friends... and the friends I do like would probably think I'm too busy.
Phil asks: I suppose nearly everyone has aspirations, hopes, and dreams that they'd like to accomplish in their lifetime. Assuming you do too, what's the one thing at the top of that list that you're most passionate about seeing (or making) happen?
The general goal of humankind is to perpetuate their own existence.  People do this by writing books and songs, inventing items, naming places after themselves, building monuments, creating trusts and charitable foundations, and having children.

My first goal is to perpetuate my happy eternal existence through faith in Jesus and by laying up treasures in heaven.  I also want to always treat others fairly and do the right thing, so I can live & die with a clear conscience and no regrets.
“Aim at heaven and you get earth thrown in.  Aim at earth and you get neither."  --C.S. Lewis

41 comments:

  1. Good morning Bethany!:) You are a very well rounded young women, and I'm sure all your goals will be reached. God bless you.:)

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  2. Your answers remind me why I like you so much. You're hardworking but unambitious. I hope God continues to bless you without too much or too little as Solomon prayed.

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    1. Thank you, Christine. While I would not claim to be unambitious, I do believe the practical often succeed where the overtly ambitious fail.

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  3. Hi Bethany, It has sure been interesting to read these posts with answers to questions from the blogosphere! I can’t say that I’ve happened upon another blog quite like yours. It is, to me, so refreshing to see a young person who is witty, intelligent, humble, and spiritual (not necessarily in that order) and able to combine all those traits into producing a really neat blog. Thanks, as always, for sharing and for your kind comments (which I always look forward to) on my blog. God bless you, Bethany!

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    1. God bless you too, John. Always enjoy reading your blog as well.

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  4. Thanks for sharing! You are inspirational to an old guy like me!

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  5. Hi Bethany, I enjoyed this opportunity to get to know you better, and I love the answers you gave. I like the video and the images and Scriptures or quotes. Thank you so much for sharing about yourself, you are a beautiful young lady, both inside and out. :)

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    1. Linda, I might copy your comment and paste it over at your blog for you... ;) You always have great videos and quotes. Thanks for being an awesome blogging friend.

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  6. the song is great hugs from Poland

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  7. Hello Bethany,
    as always, great post.
    Thank you very much for sharing with us.
    Kisses and greetings.
    Lucja

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  8. Always a pleasure to read your blog. : )
    Thanks for answering all these questions!!

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  9. Bethany, What wonderful responses. You are a wonderful person with a warm heart and a love for God and your fellow earth-mates. God bless you- I hope all your 'wishes' and dreams come true. xo Diana

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  10. Well, this has been quite interesting getting to know you, Bethany! God bless you and allow you to live that long life (if He chooses to spare time that long), and may every, single one of your days be blessed to the full!

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  11. Beautiful post, Bethany! I really enjoyed what you shared. And might I add that you are a very talented writer. Perhaps this is something you may explore one day? And that video was hilarious! I laughed out loud throughout and shared it with friends on Facebook.

    "I also want to always treat others fairly and do the right thing, so I can live & die with a clear conscience and no regrets." That, dear girl, is a life well lived. And that is something what my parents have taught me. I also want to live this way, so that I may die peacefully.

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    1. The video I was referring to as being hilarious was "The Restaurant of Life". I just remembered that you provided a link to it instead of embedding it. Just in case anyone is wondering what in the world I'm talking about! I'd encourage others to watch it. It's quite entertaining.

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    2. Hi Bethany AND Martha, Thanks for mentioning The Restaurant of Life. Loved that video so much that I included it in my last post. Somehow I missed that video when Bethany first mentioned it, so if not for Martha bringing it up again I would have missed it all together. Thanks to both of you!

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    3. Martha and John, so glad you enjoyed the video! It's fun.

      And Martha, it's good to be prepared for the inevitable. May we each live well and die well.

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  12. I really enjoyed and appreciate your answers! You are a wise 22 year old!

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  13. Bethany, you are a real inspiration. Also, I love how you describe your days activities♥

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    1. A lot of life varies from day to day, but the basics remain the same.

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  14. That sketch by Studio C is one of my favorites. :D Also love all the quotes and Bible verses.

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    1. They have some good ones! I wonder what your other favorite Studio C sketches are...

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  15. Just caught up with your last three posts. Huge buildings are interesting to explore, but over the years I have found I have a prejudice against large and especially opulent houses. Somehow, they don't seem homey usually, or I get put off thinking of how much work cleaning them would be :) Having typed that though, I am so interested in older homes and the lifestyles they reveal. I enjoy reading your answers to the blogger questions, and thus getting to know you better. Thanks for posting! xx

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    1. Ha! The house in Parkersburg would be a lot of work to dust! I'm sure they were glad they had a maid.

      Thanks for stopping by, Gracie.

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  16. An interesrting picture of this lead. I like how fresh and alive it looks.

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  17. WoW 22, i am surprised and yet i am not!! you hang with the big folk very well.

    thanks for answering my question. i have not read all of these but the posts i did read were very interesting. have a wonderful weekend!!!

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  18. Thank you for sharing yourself with us dear .it was really truly a pleasure.
    Loved the video and song both were enchanting.
    I wish this world may bear more and many like you.
    God bless you my dear

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  19. It was so nice and also interesting to read your answers. I hope that many of your wishes and goals for the future will come true.

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  20. I enjoyed reading all your answers and congrats on your jogging.

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    1. Thanks Ivy! I'm still amazed at your half marathon, especially considering how I felt after doing a total of 15K.

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