Thrifty Thursday: Capsule Clothing

 

                Remember last week when I told you about my fun thrifted finds for our house? This week I want to tell you about the clothes I found! I’m working to put together a little fall capsule for fun and had a specific list of things I was looking for! So I have to show you what I found!

                The first two actually came from Goodwill the day before my thrifting trip with Kari.

                I found this plaid button down…and I’m not sure…it might end up being one of the capsule pieces instead of the one that was actually supposed to go in the capsule. I love the colors!

                I also found this hooded cardigan. It’s very lightweight and will be perfect for morning and/or evening walks when it starts to get cool.

                Most of what I found came from Fractions. Let’s start with the earrings, shall we?

                Each of these pairs were $3.00 each! I got these tiny silver hoop earrings to wear when I speak. I can’t wear my dangle earrings because they hit the microphone. So these are my solution! I also found these very lightweight blue dangle earrings. I love them! I wear a lot of blue, so they will go with many things. And these silver leaf dangle earrings are perfect for casual days.

                I also found a couple of pairs of shoes. I typically don’t thrift shoes, but Fractions only accepts nearly-new (or completely new) shoes, so I went for it. The black flats were $4.00 and the tan (which had just gone on the shelf) were $10.00.

                This blue stripe button-down is the one I chose for the capsule unless I decide to replace it with the plaid. This one was just $2.80.

                I was excited to find this chambray dress for $12.00.

                This tan sweater was $7.00!

                This tan blazer still had tags and was 2.80.

                The last two came from Et Cetea Ecke. These linen pants looked brand new and were $4.00.

                And the gray/black jeans were $4.00.

                I was so happy to find all these and had planned to start the capsule this week buttttt…it’s 400 degrees again. So stay tuned! Eventually I’ll employ the purchases!

Wednesday in the Word: Beginnings

 

Last Wednesday night I began teaching Erica Wiggenhorn’s study An Unexplainable Life, which is a study on the first half of Acts. I’m so excited to work through this book (both the study book and the book of the Bible) with the ladies this year!

                One of the things we talked about heavily last week was from the very first sentence in Acts: “In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach…” We talked about how Jesus began to do and teach and then He passed the baton to his disciples/the apostles. They passed it to the generation behind them and on down the work has come and now it has reached us. (And yes, the ladies each received a baton to remind them to carry on the good work!)

                I love beginnings. I love them so much. New Year’s Day is one of my favorite holidays. Birthdays signify a new year of life. Anniversaries show the beginning of a new year of marriage or work or whatever. Fresh starts. Blank pages. New hope. New ideas. I love all of it.

                So for me, reading that Jesus BEGAN a work and then reading about the forthcoming power of the Holy Spirit to enable the people to continue, brought great excitement.

                God and I have had many new beginnings over the years.

                There was THE beginning, when I chose to follow Him when I was six years old. There was a recommitment when I was eleven and got serious about a growing, thriving relationship with Him. There were two distinct moments when my faith was heavily shaken, and I had to choose to keep going. The first came when I was eighteen and the second in my early thirties. There was the moment I accepted a call to ministry. And I am choosing to believe that as I step into this study on Acts (even though I’ve been through it before!) this is a fresh beginning for something God wants to do in my life.

                I am excited to see how He moves over these next 100+ days of study!

Tuesday Tales: Staff Retreat Adventures

 

Happy SEPTEMBER! The ber months have arrived, and while there are things about fall I enjoy, I’m not quite ready to let go of summer just yet.

                Today I want to tell you about our staff retreat adventures, and I confess this feels like 100 years ago now. In reality, it was just a couple of weeks ago. Last week I told you about last year, when Ryan didn’t go with me to this, and I ended up having a panic attack in the middle of the night when I couldn’t reach him. So this year he went with me, and life was much happier.

                We stayed at a retreat center in Ohio, and I was so excited to introduce him to this place I experienced last year!

                Ryan didn’t come to (most of) our staff meetings. He used that time to rest and do some things that were life-giving to him. One of our meetings took place outside, and I kept catching a glimpse of someone out of the corner of my eye. I kept thinking it was Ryan eavesdropping on us (ha!) but it was just a statue. I did get their picture together the next day to show I wasn’t crazy!

                The first night we went out to eat at a place Ryan and I have been before and liked – CJ Highmarks. We were seated next to a louddddddddddd party, but once they left, it was an enjoyable evening. We even got ice cream on the way home!

                We stopped to look at another retreat center and the sunset on the cross there was GORGEOUS.

                Ryan and I hoped to sit outside when we came back from dinner, but it was raining, so we sat on a covered porch until the mosquitoes got the best of me. Then we had to give up.

                Ryan got up early the next morning and went out to see the cross in the fog. Cool picture!

                We had some free time that afternoon, so we went for walks on the prayer trails. After that, we found a coffee shop down the road and enjoyed a little coffee date.

                That night we had dinner together (and it was all staff and all spouses!) at one of the restaurants we’ve come to really enjoy in the last year – Do Good!

                After dinner, we had time for one more walk and then everyone played games – except me. I had a lot to catch up on, and I didn’t feel like losing games. (I always lose.)

                The next morning we packed up to come home, stopping for groceries on the way.

                I was so glad Ryan could come with me! I slept so much better when I wasn’t worried about him!