Lisa Mayer's Blog

I have writer’s block. So I decided to write about something that I know: writing. I love to write, it’s a form of self-care for me. It’s a fun way that I unwind, express myself, a way for me to create, an outlet, and also how I give glory to God.Before I learned the truth, I thought that self-care was the same as being selfish. I thought that I was always supposed to put others first, and that if I took care of myself, then I was being selfish. But then I learned something: when you’re on an airplane and the cabin pressure drops… you’re supposed to put the oxygen mask on yourself first. If you don’t, then you can’t help others get off the plane. So… if I’m not taking care of myself… how am I supposed to help anyone else?The truth is that if we aren’t taking care of ourselves, if we aren’t loving ourselves, then we really can’t love anyone else. After all, the second greatest commandment is to: love our neighbor as ourselves. So if we don’t love ourselves, if we don’t take care of ourselves… we not only can’t be there for others, but we don’t know how, either.So, back to self-care. God loves us, and He wants to take care of ourselves. He wants us to love our lives, and do His will. And His will… is for us to be happy! So He wants us to have fun, and enjoy the beautiful life that He gave us. God delights in us, and He gave us this life to be enjoyed, not to suffer. Remember, suffering was born after sin entered in, it’s not what God meant for our lives to be. We were meant to keep company with God, and to love everything He gave us. The bottom line is this: When we are joyful, God is joyful!And what makes me joyful, what helps me take care of myself, is writing. I love it, every bit of it. So, what is your self-care? What do you love to do? How do you express yourself, take care of yourself, and have fun? Maybe you think that it’d be selfish to take the time to do it. But you need to take time for you. You need your oxygen. God doesn’t expect you to be a robot, to just go-go-go all the time and never stop to take a breath except when you sleep.It’s okay to have fun. It’s more than okay, it’s healthy, and essential for a balanced life. After all, we’re called human beings, not human doings. So go, and be. Be a writer. Be a gardener. Be a trail blazer. Be a TV-binge watcher. Be an adventurer. Be a homebody. Be a coffee drinker. Be a rock climber. Be a dog-walker. Be an artist. Be a musician. Be a YouTuber. Be silent. Be loud. Be prayerful. Be silly. Be yourself. Be a dreamer. But just be. No matter what it is, go and be that, and love every moment of it.There will be plenty of time to be an adult. That’s all we do, right? So put your oxygen mask on first, take your breath first. You’ll be surprised just how much 30-60 minutes of self-care a day can change your outlook, help you be a better person, and help you love and appreciate just how awesome God is a little more.Originally published at http://www.catholic365.com/article/8162/selfcare-isnt-selfish.html

I remember when I was growing up, a personal relationship with Jesus was the last thing on my mind. I hated going to Mass (yeah, you read that correctly), and I strictly avoided any type of prayer whenever I could. When I look back on it now, I really believe the reason is because I didn’t have any type of relationship with Jesus. Strangely enough, I still believed in the true presence of the Eucharist, and that saved me from a lot.Truth to be told, a big part of the reason I hated Mass and prayer was because I was terrified of Jesus. I saw Him as this sort of punisher, I guess, and thought that if I put one toe out of line then I was going to be sent straight to hell. The problem was that I was caught up in the rules of the Catholic faith: go to Mass on Sundays, go to Confession frequently, pray every day, and if you don’t do that, then you’re going to hell. And, as a result, I was terrified. Because, really, who can love a God like that?And then something happened when I was fifteen that completely blew my mind. I was at my youth group, and there was a picture of the Divine Mercy image hanging up (there is a giant picture in my old parish) and my parish priest looked at that picture and told me, “I love Him very much.”Honestly, that confused me. I think it was the first time it had ever occurred to me to love Jesus. And when I heard Father say that, I actually thought to myself, “I wish I loved Him, too.” And that set me on a journey to love Christ that would change my life.Now, eighteen years later, I’ve finally figured it out (well, at least a little bit). The key to a good faith isn’t in the rules of Catholicism… but in the arms of Mary. After all, the entire point of going to Mass is to receive Jesus and to become more like Him. And in order to become more like Him, we need to understand Him. And while going to the Sacraments and prayer is crucial for growing in and maintaining faith, if that’s all we do, if we don’t take the time to get to know and form a relationship with Jesus Christ… we miss out.Jesus is God. But, He is also human. He’s a person who loves—who loves us. If we really want to understand who Jesus is, we only need to look at the Gospels, especially the Passion. In the Gospels, time and time again, His message is one of love, forgiveness, mercy, compassion, and kindness. His message is continually of a God who wants to embrace the most lowly, forgotten, abandoned, rejected, hated, the sinner—us. In the Passion, we see a God who did not call down the power He had, who did not summon an entire legion of angels who could have smote the people who dared to attack Him. Instead, Jesus did it all willingly, and with love, embracing the Cross. He didn’t say a word, and neither did Mary. Instead, he bore it all willingly and for one simple reason: He wanted to, because He loves us, and wanted us to be able to go to Heaven.It’s understandably hard for any of us to wrap our mind around that. But it’s crucial that we do, and I’ll tell you why. Without a relationship with Jesus, without a genuine love of Him, and more importantly, a genuine understanding of His love of us (at least, as much is possible), we miss the point. After all, the point of Mass is to receive Jesus in the Eucharist, to help guide us in our faith with Him. The point of Confession is to tell Jesus that we’re sorry, and that we want to do better. The point of prayer is to draw strength from Him. Everything we do, the entire Catholic faith, is centered around Jesus Christ. So if we don’t have a personal relationship with Jesus, we’re missing out on something life-changing. We’re missing out on the best part of life, the source of our happiness and strength, the reason for our existence. We will miss out on knowing the best person there is, a person who loves us, who wants us to be happy, who would do anything for us, who died for us! Who wouldn’t want to know a person like that? Who wouldn’t love a God like that? It seems too good to be true—but it’s not! Jesus is real, and He loves us so much! He cares about us as if we were the only person in the world, and if we were the only person in the whole wide world, He would still have died for us. That’s who Jesus is.I’m not saying that we should have a personal relationship with Jesus because it’s a sin if we don’t. I’m saying we should have a personal relationship with Him because He loves us, and because He’s a great person! He’s loving and kind, and involved in our lives, and He takes care of us. He listens to us, helps us, provides for us, protects us, He’s there for us when we suffer and gives us joys beyond imagining. He must have a sense of humor, because some of the animals He created are just hilarious (take my dog, Scooby, for example, he’s a hoot!). He’s artistic—just look at the colors of the sunset, or the beauty of the mountains and oceans. We can be ourselves around Jesus, because nobody knows us better than Him. He accepts us and loves us just as we are, unconditionally.As Catholics, we can often get too caught up in the rules and regulations. I know I can, and I certainly have in the past. But Jesus didn’t give us our faith so that we could get sucked into the rules and forget about what really matters. He gave us our faith to help us fall more deeply in love with Him, and to be just as crazy about Him as He about us.So, how to have a personal relationship with Jesus? It isn’t hard at all. Just talk to Him, every day. It doesn’t have to be a rosary, or chaplet, or certain structured prayers. It can be things like, “help me get through this today,” or “thank you for my children.” It can be listening to Christian music (I love K-LOVE), or reading inspiring memes about Jesus, watching Christian movies, going to Adoration, having a prayer journal, reading the Bible. It could be as simple as loving someone, and seeing Jesus in them (and yes, that includes you). But the most important thing you can do is just ask Him. “Lord, please show me how to have a relationship with You, and to love You.” He’ll do it. I promise you.I can tell you that my life radically changed that day, when a parish priest told me simply, “I love Him very much.” That meant more to me than any homily I had ever heard, and inspired me more than anything else he could have said. Now, I, at long last, love Jesus very much. I hope and pray to continue to grow in love for Him, because He’s the best person I know.Originally published athttp://www.catholic365.com/article/8147/the-best-person-i-know.html

2017 was a rough year. There have been horrible weather disasters. Political tension. People being killed. Someone opened fire on innocents in Las Vegas. There are people in multiple countries being oppressed and killed every day. People in our own communities on the streets. There is violence and discord in our families, our homes. Every time we turn on the news, there's more and more pain. More judgment. More hatred. We need peace. And peace starts with us. It's time to stop letting our differences get in the way. It's time to stop drawing lines in the sand. We need to cross over those lines and love. After all, that's what Jesus Himself did when they were going to sentence the prostitute to death. He said, "you without sin, throw the first stone." None of us are sinless. But how often do we judge those who sin differently than us? Those we don't understand? And what is that doing to our world?We need to stop caring what divides us. All that matters is that we are human beings and part of the human family. That all of us have dignity and worth, and all of us matter. We are all equal in the sight of Jesus Christ, and we are all important. He died for every single of us--that beggar on the side of the road, the corporate lawyer on Wall Street, the famous actress, the person living check to check, the people who are oppressed and downtrodden. God loves all of them, all of us. They are all important, and should be treated with respect and human dignity. How often do we consciously and purposely stop to think about that? To ask ourselves--are we being a channel for peace or are we causing division? We need to realize, understand, and accept that we can bring peace to our world, to our work places, our communities, our homes, our families. All it takes is one simple thing--kindness. You don't know what one act of random kindness can do for someone. Whether it's opening a door for someone, letting the guy cut in front of you in traffic, donating to help the poor, volunteering, smiling at the stranger, listening to our children, compromising with our partners. One act of kindness is a small stone that will create unending ripples of love, hope, and peace. Often, we see the worst of humanity. So let's start being the best of humanity. Be someone who makes a difference. Be kind to someone today. Love someone today. Put aside your differences and be a human being with someone today. Morgan Freeman is credited with saying "Imagine what 7 billion human beings could accomplish if we all loved and respected each other."I say we find out.Originally published at: http://www.catholic365.com/article/8077/lets-be-a-channel-for-peace.html

Let's talk about bullies. There's this saying "sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me." Yeah, that's just not true at all. Words not only can hurt, but they are often more damaging than actions. Actions stay outward, on our body. But words can come into our hearts and souls and wound us from the inside, so that we stop seeing the beautiful, unique, special person that God created: and that amazing person is you!What we often don't realize until we're much older (took me years to figure it out) is that we are the happiest when we are our authentic selves, the unique person that God created us to be. We all have God-given talents, but sometimes we're afraid to show them. Sometimes, in order to be liked, we don't show who we really are. We hide who we are because we're afraid that we won't be accepted. Let's be honest, we all go above and beyond to be liked. And sometimes, in the process, we lose that special person that God created. But, no matter what we do or who we try to please, there will always be somebody who doesn't like us, accept us, or just plain hates us. And that can be so frustrating and hurtful.For some reason, our immediate response is to say, "what's wrong with me?" We get down on ourselves and we somehow start to think that there's something wrong with us. Take it from someone who was bulllied: that's just not true.It took me a awhile, but I've learned the secret of life. And I'm going to share it with you. The question, "what's wrong with me?" isn't the right question. It's really, "what's wrong with them?" Why is it that we let people we don't know well, or hardly care about, get under our skin and make us doubt ourselves? Why do their opinions matter so much?And then when people who truly love us tell us that we're awesome, we say, "no we're not, look what so and so has said." No matter what you do, there will be somebody who doesn't like you. It comes down to this--what do you think of yourself? Ask yourself--if somebody who is mean and awful to you doesn't like you... imagine what that says about you! And in the end, why do we care about what mean people think of us? Why does that even matter? You know what does matter? What your family thinks of you. What your friends think of you. And what Jesus thinks of you. And you know what--He loves you. Just the way you are!Yes, we should be kind and loving to everyone. We need to love with the love of Christ. But we also need to love ourselves with the love of Christ. That means we need to stand up for ourselves in a respectful, assertive manner. Turning the other cheek doesn't mean we just let people walk all over us. It means we treat them with respect and love, but that we also treat ourselves with respect and love. There's a balance. And the trick is to find that balance.I’ve met a lot of people. And you know what? I have never met anyone who wasn't special or amazing in some way. You are, too. I guarantee it. So let your light shine. Be who you are. Love yourself. Remember that you are worthwhile. Show who you are. Don't be afraid. And don't ever let anyone tell you that you're not good enough.Remember. You're not better than anyone else--but nobody is better than youhttp://www.catholic365.com/article/80...-that-god-created-you.html

This is one of my favorite quotes by C.S. Lewis, who’s quite a hero of mine. He is one of the rare, beautiful people who didn’t just follow his dreams—he made a difference, and still does today. He has inspired countless millions with his writings. He was my inspiration to write The Aletheian Journeys. But it wasn’t just his allegory that inspired me… but his drive to change lives for the better.The reason I like this quote is simple: Hope. The hope that even though we’re going through something awful… that something beautiful can come of it. That we can grow through our trauma, our heartbreak, our losses, our suffering, into something extraordinary. That the hardships we go through can have meaning, and that we can pull through them and shape our lives for the better.We are all called to something extraordinary. There is healing from the hardships we experience. When we are at our lowest… that’s when God is the most at work in our lives. Hope gives meaning to our suffering. Hope is redemptive.I truly believe that all of us are called to an extraordinary destiny, that each of us can make the world a better place. And that means something different for each person. Hope is the ability to be mindful of what has happened in the past but also to look forward to the future. To know that, no matter what you’ve been through, there’s a reason for your existence. Your life has purpose, and it matters.There’s something hopeful about knowing that we, as ordinary people, can have an extraordinary destiny. That even though we may think of our lives as mundane or boring, we don’t know the impact we can have on the world.Saint Mother Theresa said, “If you want to change the world, go home and love your family.” Trust me. That can be the most extraordinary thing. To just love God, love people, love yourself. That little bit of gentleness, kindness or compassion that you put into the world… it means more than you’ll ever know.You might not know how much you’ve helped people until you get to Heaven. But you can catch glimpses of it when you get that feeling where you know you helped someone. And when you do that, you’re helping them to see Jesus, even if you don’t know it. Because they are seeing Him in you.I don’t know C.S. Lewis. I won’t meet him until Heaven. But, I’m starting to understand the way he thinks. He loved to write, and he loved to help people. He took a look at the world, and he saw the suffering and heartache in it. And it’s only when you take a look at the suffering in the world that you start to realize the truth.We all must endure hardship. But we stop being ordinary when we realize that loving like Jesus is the most extraordinary thing of all.Originally posted on http://www.catholic365.com/article/8025/hardships-often-prepare-ordinary-people-for-extraordinary-destiny.html

I used to think this. But then I'd think to myself... this and this is happening. Wait, I can't handle this. This is too much. I have anxiety. I have depression. I'm mega stressed out. God, why are you doing this to me?Sound familiar?We are human beings. And there are things that we can't handle. We get overwhelmed. The bad situation at work. The bullies at school. The difficult relationship. The family member who is using drugs and alcohol. The mental health struggles. Questioning faith. Someone dies. We feel like God doesn't love us anymore. It can lead to depression, and even suicidal thoughts. Yes, it happens to Catholics, too. If you're struggling with this, please get help. You can call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 or visit https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/. Being a human being is hard. We all go through difficult things. We all suffer. And if we believe that God's never going to give us more than we can handle, we can start to think that God is just some omnipotent being up there who is doling out responsibility onto our plates and doesn't care that it's too heavy of a burden. That can alienate us from God and make us feel like He's not in our corner. And that couldn't be further from the truth.I learned that this saying isn't true. Sometimes, more than we can handle happens to us. But, you know what is true? God is there for us, every second, every minute, of every day. He's helping us, and he is intimately involved in our lives. He cares deeply for us and about us. How do I know that, you ask? I'll tell you.Jesus died for us, for all of us, on the Cross. He knew, from the beginning of time, before He created us, every single sin that we would commit, every mistake we would make, every time we would hurt Him. And He created us anyway. More than that—He died for us, anyway. He chose to stay with us in the Eucharist, so that we could receive Him in His Body and Blood. He left messages in the Bible—"Do not be afraid" 365 times, for every day of the year. He promised never to leave us orphans, to be with us always, until the end of time. Jesus is consistently loving, merciful, compassionate... our Savior. So, no. He isn't going to make us suffer. But he will help us when we suffer. He will be there when we have too much to handle. He will help us every step of the way. So when life gives you more than you can handle, turn to Jesus. He'll help you through it.I promise you this, my friend, with certainty: Jesus will always be there... to help you handle what you are given.Originally Published on:http://www.catholic365.com/article/7994/god-never-gives-us-more-than-we-can-handle-right.html

Peter had a choice to make once. He was on the boat, asleep, and he woke up to see Jesus walking on the water. The Apostles were so afraid. But not Peter. He said, "Lord, if it is you, then call out to me to come to you on the water." And Jesus called him. So Peter went. He stepped out of the boat into a raging storm and did the impossible--he walked on the water. But then he saw the storm, and he was afraid. And he begun to sink. So he cried out, "Lord, save me!" And Jesus grabbed his hand and pulled him to safety and asked, "Oh ye, of little faith. Why did you doubt?"This is one of my very favorite stories. I know that Jesus has asked me this question countless times. I've heard it in my heart, over and over, "Lisa, why did you doubt?" But the difference between Peter and me is that he practically leapt out of the boat and ran to Jesus across the water. All my life... I've been waiting in the boat, wanting to leave it but being too afraid, not yet understanding how to live courageously for God. But every day, more and more... I'm starting to understand what it means.We all strive to live without regrets. And one of my biggest ones is not trusting God enough. The reason I didn't trust God is rather ridiculous. Somehow, I thought that trusting God would mean that more bad things could happen. So if I did't trust Him, then that would somehow stop bad things from happening. And whenever something bad did happen, I'd ask Him, "Why are you doing this to me?" As if a God who loves us so much that He suffered and died on a Cross would ever try to hurt us. But my faith was weak then.It's only now that I understand that the old saying, "God never gives us more than we can handle," just isn't true. In truth, God helps us handle what we are given. When I tried to do it on my own, I was so anxious, stressed out and miserable. I felt like everything depended on me. I had to protect myself. I had to be in control. I look back on it now and laugh. Because the only thing I have control over, the only thing that any of us has control over... are our choices.So I've made the choice to trust God.I'll be honest with you. Trusting God doesn't mean that I suddenly understand why bad things happen. I don't know why Jesus doesn't just make the world perfect, why we have to suffer. I've read the theology, and my brain understands the logic of it, at least as much as I'm capable. But then when I see the suffering going on in the world, when I feel powerless to stop it... my heart aches. And yet I have hope because while I don't know the reason that we suffer... I do know this: it's not because Jesus doesn't love us. And the truth of life is this: whether we trust God or not, bad things are going to happen. After all, Jesus Himself was not even exempt from suffering. And that leaves us with two choices: get through our suffering with Him... or without Him. This realization has been monumental for me. It's given me the courage to take that first step out of the boat. I may not have walked across the water yet... but there is nothing I want more. I know that I'm not alone in that. And when I start to sink--when any of us start to sink--Jesus will be there to save us.Today, I gently challenge you... as I do myself every day: When you look back on your life... don't you want to be able to say you had the courage to get out of the boat?http://www.catholic365.com/article/7973/the-courage-to-get-out-of-the-boat.html

This past week, I was blessed beyond measure to go to a middle school to speak to young dreamers about my first book--The Arrow Bringer. I spoke with grades 7 and 8 about how I became a writer, shared about famous failures, life lessons I hope they learn in The Arrow Bringer, and famous dreamers who help others. I did my best to inspire them. Little did I know how much they would inspire me.After the talk, I met with about 30-40 students who had won a copy of The Arrow Bringer from a raffle they had at school. I was amazed and humbled that anybody could be excited to meet me, let alone want to talk to me and ask questions. And I was floored by their questions, their zest for life, their intelligence, their great big hearts, their willingness to be themselves.And as I sat there answering questions, one question stuck out to me--"do you believe that magic can happen?" And I stopped and thought about it. And this is what I said.Life is full of magical moments. Sure, we're not waving wands, but there are moments--and for me this is one of them--where something so amazing and beautiful happens that it feels magical. And these are the moments we need to treasure, and hang onto when life gets challenging.So, what are these moments? They happen more than we think. And we all have them, even if we don't always see it. Those are the moments where life just stands still, and then takes our breath away. It's the moments where something so amazing, so beautiful, so wonderful happens, that we're taken out of our life for just a moment, and in that moment we are somewhere else. Another world. Another time. And that magical moment is forever emblazoned on our hearts. Those are the best moments of our lives.Take some time today to think about what those moments are for you. And be grateful for them. Thank God for them. Because those are the moments that we cling to when life gets difficult, when we feel like life is one dull moment after another. Those are the moments that remind us that life is an adventure. That life can be so much more than just the mundane, ordinary events of our lives.That life is beautiful. Life is an adventure. Life is magical.

I met David Joseph by chance on Twitter. A kind person, he immediately offered to read my books and review them. I asked if I might return the favor in some way, and he shared that he had written a couple of short stories and asked if I would read them and review. I will admit that I can be a tough reader. I am pretty picky in what I like, and usually I only like fiction.But David's short stories pleasantly surprised me.The first short story I read was called "Rise to Occasion," which shares David's experiences of how God was not only calling him but challenging him. It's a touching tribute to how David felt called to put more into his life, to live every day to the fullest and to make a difference, and to see every one he meets as a creature of God.Wow. What a message. To live life thinking that everyone you meet, and everything you do, is a chance to love God and to do His will. Within this story story are also memoir nuggets where David shares parts of his life in the U.S. Airforce. To read what David has done for not only our country but our God is truly humbling.Highly recommended read. "Lessons Learned from Pararescue for the Game of Life" is another short story written by David Joseph. In these seven chapters, David teaches about life lessons he has learned while serving in the U.S. Airforce.Reading his story, it is clear what type of person that David is: hard-working, self-sacrificing, selfless, compassionate, and determined, he doesn't back down on his path to serve our country. Every chapter has a life lesson, and how what he learned in Pararescue shaped him and his view on life. The lessons are inspiring, powerful, and challenge the reader to be a better person. The fact of the matter is--it takes a special type of person to serve our country. And even though he may be retired, he is still trying to make a difference through his work.                                                               Interview with David Joseph:What made you decide to write?       I always wanted to write stories.  It started as a kid after reading Huckleberry Finn.  I wrote a story about a kid that dropped from a tree into a truck and ran away from home.   I tried writing a few times when I first enlisted in the Air Force and didn’t follow through with completion.  Next thing you know old age is upon me without the achievement of lifelong goals―never too old for goals.What do you hope readers will learn from your stories?       I want readers to come away with the belief that there is something positive for them to achieve in their future.I notice your stories discuss inspiration and being positive. What inspires and helps you stay positive?      My inspiration comes from the belief that God is watching and wants me to harvest the talents he has given me.  This can be with my job, my kids, my marriage, or in writing.                                           Want to connect with David? Click on the Icon.                                                                    About the AuthorI've been lucky in having a few interesting jobs over a 33-year Air Force Reserve career: an Air Force Pararescueman, a C-141 Loadmaster, and a KC-10 Boom Operator. But the best job by far is writing about my travels and experiences--military thrillers, using real leaders and real world events. I think the most thrilling and frightening reading involves real world events, i.e. MH370, MH17, and real world bad guys like Putin and Kim Jong un. I get a lot of my material from my experience in Air Force Special Operations and having flown various missions requiring a TOP SECRET security clearance. I come up with concepts based on what I know about the military, history, and world events. I want the reader to come away with a different perspective on what governments may do to stay in power when faced with scenarios like opposition or falling oil prices.

Sometimes, it feels like the weight of the world is on your shoulders. Between work, taking care of your family, paying bills, getting the kids to school, or what have you... fun tends to fall by the wayside. And guess what happens when it does? Yep, stress.I was feeling that stress today--more like the past couple weeks. So I took 30 minutes out of my day and escaped into my imagination by working on a rough draft of Chapter 2 of my fourth novel in The Aletheian Journeys (untitled). And that's when I was reminded just how important it is to have fun. When I got home, I kept writing. Then I had a date night with my husband. We went out to eat and then spent the rest of the night watching Supergirl. We decided to go see Thor Ragnarok this weekend.And do you know what I felt? BETTER.I felt this great weight lifted off me.  A weight that has been there for MONTHS. Because after I got back from vacation in May, I forgot. I forgot how important, how ESSENTIAL, it is to have fun. I bet you've forgotten, too. It's not hard to do. But here's the thing-we're called human BEINGS, not human DOINGS. And if we don't take that time to be, to enjoy our lives, we're going to get burnt out. So I need to take my own advice--and spend time doing things that I enjoy, with people I love, just because. Not because it has a purpose, or it'll meet some goal, but just because I LOVE doing it. And so do you. So take some time today, every day, to do something that you love. Succeed in it, whatever it is: reading, TV, sports, movies, gardening, biking, collecting stamps. Take a break from having the weight of the world on your shoulders. It'll still be there when you get back. Go. Give yourself permission. Have Fun. Because to live will be an awfully big adventure.