Bekah's Best Finds (#6)
April 2025
Hello, my friends. Thank you for your patience, since I didn’t publish a Best Finds for the month of March. I told myself that I could pull back from some responsibilities in order to get some things in life taken care of and Substack was one of those things.
However! I am happy to announce that several things happened in this month and I’m just going to take a moment to celebrate them.
I finished the second of two required language classes (I chose Japanese) for my Masters program. As soon as my final grades were posted, I transferred my credits in and got one step closer to finishing my degree, since that prerequisite is completed.
I finished my required internship for my Masters as well, which has been a looooong process, let me tell you. My friends can attest to the amount of prayer and worry that has gone into getting this all set up and taken care of and it is now completely done. I’ll be writing on that process soon, because I really haven’t seen anybody talk about what a TESL internship really looks like for a student working to complete a degree.
I have reached the end of my two year contract with the job that I currently work at now and have decided not to renew. Though the process has been a little stressful with wrapping up the first job I’ve had as a college graduate, it is officially coming to an end. We’re moving on to great things!
While I may not have much to write about for the categories below, April was filled with many points of growth. I’m so grateful for this month and all that it held for me.
Entertainment 📺
I’m officially getting my time back again, which has allowed me to return to the truly fun things. I recently set up my Nintendo Switch to be at the desk that I also do my school work at, to offer a little reprieve for me as I wrap up my schoolwork. What have I been playing recently? Well, I’m so glad you asked!
I tend to dive headfirst into my interests to the point that they’ll be the only thing I talk about for a few weeks before something else takes its place. Currently, I’ve been enjoying The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles, a duology based off of the classic Ace attorney games, but this time placed in Meiji era Japan. Cool, right?
Well, it gets even better. Sherlock Holmes is also in this game and there are sections of the game where you complete investigations and logic in order to solve the mystery. They’re really fun and this game’s characterization of Sherlock is my favorite of all the characterizations I’ve seen. He starts off as being really ridiculous and annoying, but then quickly turns to be crazy and endearing and it’s fantastic.
The soundtracks are also beautiful. A lovely mix of Japanese and Western music from that time period that’s fun to listen to no matter what you’re doing. I would recommend the game to anyone. There’s bound to be something you’ll enjoy!
Books and Reading 📖
In February, I only finished three books. In March, only one. In April? I finished two! I’m getting back into the groove of things. I had one day where I read four different books, all in the same day. It was such a fun time.
This month’s featured book is the third in the Ilyon Chronicles series, Samara’s Peril.
I have had such a fun time with this series. I read the first few pages of this book in the month of February and then didn’t really pick it up because of everything that was going on. Finally, I decided that I would sit back down to finish it and I think this may be my favorite so far of the books. The intrigue, the drama, it’s all just so good. I love how each of these characters is written and I’m already looking forward to reading the next in the series!
Hobbies 🧶🪡
I’ve kinda let my hobbies fall by the wayside lately, but one of the things that I’ve invested the most time into is the garden that my mom and I started about three weeks ago! Behold, the cutie little pea plants that have started to train to the trellis we’ve set up.
We’ve started several brand new plants, like okra, potatoes, and onions. I planted some more Zinnia plants and have some little seedlings coming up! I also tried to plant some ranunculus flowers again after failing miserably last year. I am happy to report that many of the corms have started to produce little plants as well! Here’s to a happy garden in the future!
Scripture 🌄
I was able to get back on track with my bible reading, praise the Lord! I’m now reading portions in Judges, Luke, and Psalms, and each time I read, I love to see what jumps off the page. Lately, I was reading about Gideon in Judges. I always smile when it says that the angel greets Gideon and calls him a “mighty man of valor.” The man is hiding in the wine press from the Midianites. I wouldn’t call that “valor material.”
But I think that the angel saw what Gideon could be. And later in the chapters, he becomes a man of valor, casting down the groves and the idols and fighting the armies with the Lord on his side.
I can’t forget that my God is an omniscient God. He sees my past, present, and my future. He knows what things I can do through him. When I doubt my abilities, He asks for me to put my trust in Him, to trust Him with my future, so that I can do great things through Him.
Quote of the Month 🖋️
“Love is never wasted, for its value does not rest upon reciprocity.” — C. S. Lewis
Thanks for reading about my best finds in April! Have you discovered anything in the past month that you’ve enjoyed? Let me know about it!
Have a wonderful day, my friends!