Current Reading

Wow, I have not keen very good about my reading list this year! I only put 10 books on there, because I knew I hadn't been reading a lot lately and wanted to feel accomplished when I went way above and beyond my reading list. . . that plan didn't work out so well! Here is the list I made at the beginning of the year. I ended up taking off the Monuments Men. . . so really there are only 9 on my reading list. 

Love Does: Discover a Secretly Incredible Life in an Ordinary World by Bob Goff
 In the middle of this book, it's been very encouraging so far, and I definitely recommend it. 

Divergent, Allegiant, & Insurgent by Veronica Roth
These were an easy read, it only took me about 2 days for each book. They were very interesting, and the movie was a very good adaptation!

The Joy of Less, A Minimalist Living Guide by Francine Jay
Wow this book is wonderful! I finished reading it right around when we were moving so it     really helped as I was going through things to sell, donate, throw away. I did not go to the extreme that the book mentioned sometimes, but I do feel like I got rid of some useless things, and streamlined my closet more. I probably need to go through objects in my house again with this "Joy of Less" mindset!

L. O. V. E.: Putting Your Love Styles to Work for You by Les & Leslie Parrott
Hoping to get to this book in December!

The Monuments Men  by Robert Edsel and Bret Witter
The movie was amazing which made me want to read the book, but it just isn't going to happen this year!

Every Woman's Battle  by Shannon Ethridge
 Eh - that's all I have to say about this book, I found it in a pile as I was going through some things, and thought I should read this to see if I would recommend it or could ever use it in the ministry. It was an okay book but I had to force myself to read it, and I think there are better written and more interesting books that cover the same topic matter. 

Water for Elephants: A Novel by Sara Gruen
Hoping to get to it on Thanksgiving break or maybe December!

Balancing It All: My Story of Juggling Priorities and Purpose by Candace Cameron Bure
This was a good book, she has an interesting writing style that took a while to get used to, but all in all it was very encouraging and challenging!

I still have 3 books to go; L.O.V.E. Love Does, and Water for Elephants. I also really want to re-read the Hunger Games Trilogy before I go to see the movie in November! I also still want to read The Fault in Our Stars so that I can watch the movie! Looks like I'll be pretty busy before 2015. 

Read More

Happy Monday!

Happy Monday! You don't see those words too often, but I had a wonderful weekend, and I'm only working half a day today! So I would call that a happy monday!

We had Pastor Appreciation yesterday at our church, and I can't even begin to tell you how wonderful it was! We are so thankful for the church the Lord has put us in. When I was growing up I never even heard of Pastor Appreciation, but our current church (my husband is the Student Ministries Pastor, but there are only 2 pastors so many times he seems like more of an Associate Pastor) goes all out. We had a couple of people who completely ran the service so that the pastors wouldn't have any responsibilities. I know that sometimes pastor's can be overlooked, but this is a wonderful way to show love for the staff you may have at your church! October is Pastor Appreciation Month so you still have a couple days! It can be as simple as getting him his favorite candy bar, or a heartfelt note! We were so overwhelmed at all the love we received, between the kind words said at the pulpit, and the gifts we received! 

 One of the ladies in our church made flower arrangements for the wives, and this bouquet is just too beautiful. Every time she does the altar flowers I love them, she has a knack for finding the perfect balance of arranged and handpicked. 

I loved the decorations they put on the door to the Youth Room! They did such an awesome job! 

Over the weekend we had a gas fireplace put in! There's a little more staining/trim work to do, but I was too excited to not put decor around it! 

She Reads Truth just started their study on Hospitality, and it was already an encouragement! Make sure you go check it out on their site!

Another happy thing I don't have a picture for, is Aaron and I booked our trip to Disneyworld for next year! I've been talking about it since we got married! He seems to think he doesn't like Disneyworld, but he hasn't been since he was 10, and last time they went with his 8 yr old sister and 2 babies, in July, and there was some kind of big convention. Ugh I might not like it under those circumstances either? October 19th I am already counting down the days! 

Hope that you have a wonderful Monday!

Read More

Seasons of Love

I was thinking about today's post, and all I could focus on was my to-do list, which seems like a very Mondayish thing to focus on. Over the next few months, my to-do list will be growing, mainly because today Aaron is starting up his grad school again. 

When we first got married he took a couple of classes, but I wasn't working full-time and we weren't really involved in a ministry. Things have certainly changed though! I am now working full-time, teaching music lessons on the side, and am really involved in the church youth ministry, as well as a few of the administrative tasks. Aaron's obviously involved since he is the Youth and Children's pastor. 

The past couple of weeks I've found myself frustrated with the thought of the extra work I'll need to be doing. Aaron is absolutely amazing so he often cleans the house and does the grocery shopping on his day off - Monday. Since Aaron will be so much busier, I'll get to take over these jobs. . . you may be sitting there thinking this girl is crazy it's not that big of a deal, but I'm awful at that stuff especially the cleaning part! And while I may be better now than I was when we first got married, leaving the cleaning up to me is a scary thought! (Just ask Aaron, my mom, or any of my college roommates!)

However, I love this man. And in every season of life my love will be manifested in different ways. When we were dating in college it was sitting together even when we were just doing homework, over our long distance dating it was taking the time to call him(it was a sacrifice - I hate talking on the phone), or send him letters. These past couple months it's been expressing my appreciation for all of his help while I was involved with Oklahoma! I know that during this season what will help him most is having a clean home and full fridge! A dirty house stressed him out, and that definitely doesn't help when you're studying or taking a test! 

As awful as I may be at these things I know that during this season of our life, this is the best way to show love! Later this week I'll be sharing my cleaning schedule!! Fingers crossed that I'll actually stick to it!

All of this to say. . . love your man! We're all in different seasons of love, and I know that every person wants to be loved in a different way, but be thankful that you have someone to love! Love him, regardless of how busy you are at work, how many children you have, or how often you see your special someone. There will always be an excuse, but love is a choice, and I promise you'll both be a whole lot happier if you choose to love him! 

What season of love are you in? I'd love to hear about it in the comments!

Read More

Five on Friday

Can't believe we're already back to Friday! I can't say that this week has been amazing or super productive or memorable. It's just been another week! I don't know about you, but I'm tired of having "just another" days? You know the kind I'm talking about? Nothing note-worthy, nothing specific accomplished, you just made through the 24 hours without the sky falling.

So for my 5 on Friday I'm sharing the 5 things I am most looking forward to, that will help me make the most of my days and actually feel accomplished!!

1. The Abide Journal - I bought this devotional back in June when it first came out, and just because of how busy our summer was I didn't feel like I could devote the time and effort I wanted to give to it. So I'm going to turn this fall into my season of abiding! Excited to start this next week, and learn more about remaining in the Lord! 

2. A vacation with my hubby!! - This summer we were way too busy to schedule a vacation. Between church summer camps, and Oklahoma rehearsals I can probably count on one hand how many free days we had! BUT Aaron just told me to make sure there's nothing on my schedule August 29-September 1. We will be taking a mini vacation!!! This will be a time of restoration and relaxation, which I am beyond ready for! 

3. Being better about following our budget - You can ask my husband, following a budget is not one of my talents! 

4. A weekly cleaning schedule - this does not seem like something I should be looking forward to. . . but I'm tired of exhausting myself with one huge cleaning session! I'm hoping that coming up with a weekly schedule will help me enjoy my weekends more! 

5. My Reading List - Unfortunately the books on my reading list have been pushed to the side by the Oklahoma script! I'm ready to start reading again and checking those books off my list! 

What are some of your biggest productivity tips? I'd love to hear them! : ) 

I'm linking up with Lauren Elizabeth, Meet @ the Barre, and the Farmer's Wife! Check out all of these awesome ladies!

Read More

Taking Stock

Kate at The Small Things Blog wrote a post like this on Friday and I thought it was a great idea! Sometimes it's good to have these on file to look back to where you were, and also evaluate where you are now. Taking stock was a perfect title given by the original. Many of us don't take stock of our lives often enough. Either we get so busy buzzing through without enjoying life or we waste our days without any purpose! I'm guilty of both sometimes even on the same day! 

Last month I wrote about a 90 day challenge that some of the ladies in our church are doing. I found that it was making me dread my Bible time! I definitely am not saying that you shouldn't make a goal to read your Bible in 90 days, but I chose to do it at the wrong time. I'm in rehearsals a minimum of 3 nights a week, I'm still trying to unpack and decorate my house, and summer is one of the busiest times for my husband so I do most of the housework at this point.

 It's time to take stock, and prioritize! Since I don't have as much time to read my Bible I want to make sure I'm getting the most out of it! I don't want to waste the opportunity to read it through in 90 days! I'll come back to it, but right now I'm finding that I can focus more on a few verses and feel more refreshed rather than attempting to rush through 15 chapters a day feeling frazzled and unaccomplished! 

I hope going through this list will help you take stock of your life and shed some light on things that you need to let go and things you shouldn't have let go of in the first place! You can copy and paste and fill in your own answers, and please leave a comment if you decide to do it!    


Making : a lot of progress on the new rental house
Cooking : on the grill
Drinking : more and more water (trying to get up to a gallon a day) 
Reading: my Oklahoma script over and over!
Wanting: an object to go on my living room gallery wall
Looking: at beautiful blue skies
Playing: candy crush. . . far too often
Wasting: time on candy crush!
Sewing: . . . nope
Wishing: for more time in the evenings with my sweetheart
Enjoying: our new patio furniture
Waiting: on my new white plates to come in!
Liking: my new make-up primer Benefit Flawless
Wondering: about where to go on my lunch break today
Loving: the coming 3 day weekend!
Hoping: I can go to the zoo this weekend!
Marvelling: at God's great work
Needing: to decide what color to paint my TV stand
Smelling: Yankee Candle Campfire Treat
Wearing: maxi skirts!
Following: up on so many calls at work!
Noticing: how different I feel depending on my first thoughts in the morning
Knowing: that we're on the home stretch of having the house where we want it
Thinking: about my weekend to-do list
Feeling: determined!
Bookmarking: my Oklahoma script
Opening: emails
Giggling: at Parks & Rec always!
Feeling: like it's Monday, but glad that it's really Tuesday!

Read More

90 day challenge

I am taking a break from my regular reading, because there is a group in our church doing a 90 reading challenge. This means we are reading the Bible in 90 days. . . it equals out to about 14 chapters a day, which as you can imagine doesn't leave a lot of room for other reading!

I wanted you guys to have access to the chronological plan I am using so it's available below! We began June 1, so we're only a few days in,this challenge has been tough so far, and honestly I'm already behind, but it's been wonderful as well! There are so many stories in the Bible I haven't read in so long, or I have only read the snippets that the Pastor speaks about. As a person who was saved at a young age, I often feel like there isn't anything I haven't already learned about these stories. However, the thing I have caught myself doing the most so far, is just being in awe of God and how so many times in the Bible, it is pointed out that He knew exactly what He was doing. The characters like Noah, Job, Abraham etc. they didn't have the whole story we have now, they simply knew what was happening to them in the moment it happened. That's how we are right now, we can only see what is happening right now. What we can't see is that God is orchestrating this entire season of your life! So feel at peace, because our God is in control, and there is no one else i would rather have in control!

Read More