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!

Menu Monday: Nourishing Body and Soul

 

Here we are at the end of August, and Ryan and I have (mostly) returned to our protein-fest eating plan that we’ve committed to for a season. Here’s a peek at the week we just had!

Monday: Chicken Taco Salad

What We Did: I had some frozen chicken breasts, so I put them in the slow cooker with a little salsa and some taco seasoning, and by dinnertime, it was fully cooked, ready to shred, and we ate it over mixed greens with some salsa and garden-fresh tomatoes. I am not normally a yellow tomato girl, but these are really good!

Tuesday: Subway for Me

Plan B Dinner: I ended up being at Swiss Village well into the evening and unable to cook, so Ryan warmed up the last of the pizza we had the week before and ate it, and I stopped by Subway on my way home for some turkey-on-flatbread. Delicious. Of course, by that time of the evening, cardboard might have tasted delicious!

Wednesday: Cobb Salad

What We Did: I had to be at the church pretty early that day to get everything squared away for the fall launch of midweek services, so I made us cobb salads for the road! Chicken breasts, boiled egg, cherry tomatoes, pepitas, cucumbers…yum!

Thursday: Swiss Village Open House

What We Ate: Ryan had to work late this evening, so he ate at the open house, and I stopped by to see him and ate while I was there. A little brisket and some NOT protein-heavy mac and cheese. (But it was good!)

Friday: Subway Again

Plan B Dinner Again: We both had long weeks and by Friday, we were exhausted. Our visit to Mom and Dad ran a little closer to dinner than we planned, so we decided to let Subway cook for us on the way home. What would we do without Subway in this season of life?

Saturday: Appreciation Dinner

What We Had: We knew this night was going to be a fun treat, and it was! Ryan was invited to the appreciation dinner for the worship team at church, and it had an Italian theme! I had some salad and a little lasagna and ravioli. So good!

Sunday: Beef Stew

What We Did: We have stopped buying beef for the most part because of the cost. But we will have it upon occasion as a treat, and this was such a day! Early in the morning, I put the beef stew meat in the slow cooker along with a bag of frozen green beans and some diced celery. It smelled SO GOOD all day, and we enjoyed it for dinner!

Sunday Scrapbook: Moments from the Week

 

                This week was plot twisty. My journal got a workout, I needed a few extra naps to clear my head, and I’m still behind on homework. But between all the plot twists, we had some good moments, and I’m going to focus on those (for the most part, anyway).

Last Sunday was our summer baptism service, and it was just about the most perfect day possible for a pond baptism. I was actually worried about the water being too cold, because after weeks of 8000 degree heat, we ended up wearing jackets that morning. Go figure! But the water felt SO good, and I loved hearing the testimonies of those baptized that day!

Monday afternoon I traveled back to Marion to speak to IWU’s Division of Modern Language, Literature, and Communication. That was my division (though it had a different name back in the day) when I went there, so it was a privilege to get to return and share with the very place that shaped me so much. They were having a training day ahead of the school year, and I went to speak on prayer! This picture features a couple of friends I went to school with and one of my professors.

Tuesday was a challenging day for us in the world of caregiving. This blog is such a strange space for me sometimes, because my stories intersect with others’ stories (including my parents), and while I have nothing to hide, I want to respect their stories. But then how do I share the realities of my day sometimes? Enter Tuesday. It was a hard one for my heart, and by the end of the day, I felt a little like this picture of Lexi. A thousand props to Ryan for endless listening and mopping up some many tears.

I had so been looking forward to Wednesday, and it did not disappoint. It was the start of our Bible study sessions for the fall, and I’m teaching An Unexplainable Life by Erica Wiggenhorn. It’s a study on the book of Acts, and I’m just so excited to learn and teach this all! The first day of study-world always requires extra setup and prep, but it was so worth it.

Ryan worked late on Thursday to help with a fun open house at Swiss Village. I went to visit him and see all the efforts the staff had put into this event, and it was so fun! (It’s also like going to a real estate open house, which is still one of my very favorite things in life.)

I worked from home on Friday after a long week of being gone many hours, between work and Swiss Village. I prepped messages and lesson plans and Sunday School material and watched a webinar and finally crashed from an overly-full head. But it was still a really good day of learning.

Last night Ryan and I attended an appreciation dinner for the worship/tech teams at church. Ryan is part of both of those, and I was his grateful plus-one. 😊 Julie organized the night, and it was great! Italian food and some good conversations at our table.