Lexi Grae: Two Cute!

 

Today our baby turns TWO. Lexi Grae, our little Miniature Bernedoodle, is two. In honor of her birthday, I want to share a recap of her year.

In her 13^th month…she became quite a fan of playing fetch (in the house) and got to be pretty good at it! She also learned she liked TV Christmas movies and puppy commercials.

In her 14^th month…she enjoyed her first Christmas and New Year’s at home with us. The year before on Christmas and New Year’s, she was still a tiny pup with her dog-mama! She had so much fun with all the lights and excitement of Christmas, but she did NOT like the New Year’s party horns.

In her 15^th month…she was such a good girl while I took two weeks of online classes. She did a great job of listening quietly while I was on Zoom! She “helped” us pack and then spent a weekend with her boarding friends while we moved. She transitioned to the new house like a champ!

In her 16^th month… she “helped” us unpack and settle in at the lake, and she was also such a good girl when I had a nasty encounter with vertigo and spent some time in bed. She cuddled up right next to me and made sure I was okay!

In her 17^th month…she ate Ryan’s wedding boutonniere (just so you know she’s not perfect) and learned that was probably not her best decision. She also survived her first go-to-shelter tornado warning with a terrified mama!

In her 18^th month…she helped both of us celebrate our birthdays. Her favorite was helping us open our presents!

In her 19^th month…she participated with our garage sale and loved greeting everyone who stopped by. She also tried standing on Ryan’s paddleboard and did pretty well with it! (He didn’t take her out on it. But she had fun standing on it by the pier.)

In her 20^th month…she was brave over the 4^th of July and all the fireworks. She didn’t love it when they were close and loud, but she tried hard! She also had her first sickness that resulted in a vet visit. It was so sad, but a round of medicine later, she was good as new!

In her 21^st month…she hung out with Ryan for three days while I had to travel to Ohio for work. Since she’s used to having me home all day, that was a big adjustment, but she did great!

In her 22^nd month…she soaked up everything about summer. Walks, nights on the patio, people coming to visit…the whole bit. It was truly a dog’s best life for this girl.

In her 23^rd month…she went on some walks on the trails and worked hard on doing a better job with some of her commands. (She knows them. But she’s stubborn and sometimes manipulative, so actually DOING them is a continual work in progress.)

In her 24^th month…she participated in family pictures, and started doing so great with being trusted on her own for longer periods of time!

We’ve been told that the bulk of puppyhood lasts three years, so we are 2/3 of the way there. She has learned so much in two years, but we still have a lot of work ahead of us to conquer some of her stubbornness. Even so, we sure love her to pieces. Neither of us had any idea we could laugh so hard at a dog – or that one could have so much personality! She is beloved in the neighborhood and such a sweet addition to our family. 

We love you, Lexi Grae! Have the BEST birthday!

Bekah's Bookshelf: My 2023 Reads So far

 

I just finished a novel that checked off this box on my 2023 reading challenge: Book with an Animal on the Cover. It could have also checked off the box Book with Dual Timeline and Book About Adoption, but I have other titles selected for those!

            The Nature of Small Birds by Susie Finkbeiner was a choice for me simply because it did have a bird on the cover. Susie was a new-to-me author, and I knew nothing about the book – other than the cover with its bird! Susie, I learned, hails from Michigan and actually attends the same church as an author friend of mine from a writing conference I went to a few years ago. She has published four books, though they are not in a series, and after reading this one, I would absolutely read more from her.

            One of the things I really appreciated about this book was its careful attention to craft. I’ve read many good books (in my lifetime and this year), but few have been as intricate as this one, and as a writer, I appreciated the craft portion of this book.

            This novel’s chapters rotate among three people and three decades. The book begins with Bruce, who tells his family’s story from his perch in 2013, where he is a son to aging parents, a husband to Linda, the father of three daughters in three very different stages of life, and also a grandfather. He’s retired, reflective, and shuffles among the generations that need him every day.

            The next chapter is the family story told from Bruce’s wife’s perspective…in 1975. Linda is a young musician who could have made it big in the world, but gave it all up for small-town life with Bruce. They’re parents of a young daughter named Sonny, and Linda spends about half her life defending her every decision to her cranky mother-in-law who is an absolute pill. Linda craves a second child and feels drawn to adopt a little boy from Vietnam through Operation Babylift, which rescues children from the war-torn country. Unfortunately Bruce’s brother has been killed in the war and another brother is home from war with severe PTSD, and the idea of welcoming a child from the country that claimed a family member’s life is tough.

            The story then moves to Sonny’s perspective in 1988, when she’s a senior in high school, navigating relationships, future decisions, a younger sister with whom she has little in common, and a mom who is pregnant with the baby of the family.

            Throughout the entire book, the story rotates from Bruce to Linda to Sonny and back to Bruce. The timelines shift from present day to the 70s to the 80s and yet none of the story is lost in translation.

            The relationships push and pull throughout all those decades, and everything weaves together so beautifully.

            It was fascinating for me to learn about Operation Babylift, which was new to me, and also about the prejudices toward adoption – especially international adoption – that faced families who grafted children from overseas into their families. I absolutely recommend this and would imagine her other books are just as well-written!

            This might be my favorite new find from the challenge all year!

Sunday Sentiments

 

We decorated for Christmas this weekend. (In full disclosure, we’re not quite done. But close!) The debate is hot, I know, about decorating before Thanksgiving.

            I used to feel the need to apologize for decorating early, but I don’t anymore. For one thing, with our anniversary in the early December mix, decorating early helps me have a measure of sanity later, and I can’t turn my back on that. Even if we didn’t have an anniversary coming up, sitting in the soft glow of the lights brings a calmness and joy to my soul, and I won’t apologize for making space for that. It doesn’t mean you have decorate yet if you’re not ready, but it’s okay that we have!

            Our beloved “Names of Jesus” tree wasn’t in our house last year. I lent it to a fundraiser – just for voting, not for donating – and I missed having it in our home. It was the first tree I put up this year, and it brought me such joy to read over the many names of Jesus as I worked. It sits in our dining room and will be the tree that keeps me company throughout my upcoming work days. I’m so happy about that!

            We haven’t put the ornaments on our family trees, but they’re up with lights and ribbon, and I’m savoring their beauty on this dark evening as I write to you.

            Because this was our set-apart decorating weekend, we had some time to ourselves, and we savored that, too. Yesterday, though chilly, was a gorgeous day, and we were able to take a long walk together. We worked in tandem on the decorations, and we had some great conversations.

            The slowing down, the savoring – they matter. We need them. In all the busy pieces of everyday life (made busier by the holidays), we need to slow and savor.

            Maybe, for you, that looks like soft Christmas lights. Maybe it looks like slow Saturday mornings. Maybe it looks like reading a book or baking something special.

            Make time to savor. You will be so glad you did.

Saturday Suggestions

 

ONE. 

It’s getting colder here in our neck of the woods, and I know some of my friends are really dreading the true descent of winter. If you’re in that camp, check out this list of ways to enjoy winter even if you hate it. There are some really cozy ideas on the list…I like them! The season is too long to be miserable the entire time!

TWO. 

If you like a good trip to the thrift store, you can do so virtually with this post. She and I don’t have the exact same style, but I could absolutely appreciate the good deals she found along the way. I see more thrifting in my 2024 future for sure!

THREE.

Last year at this time, we were looking ahead to a Florida vacation, and my goodness, what a wonderful trip it was! I still remember falling asleep at night to the sound of waves through the open sliding glass door. What a treat in the WINTER! Anyway, my beach memories drew me to this list of Florida beaches, and there are some gorgeous pictures on here. I have only been to one on this list: Indian Rocks Beach. It was actually the first place I ever visited in Florida – about a year and a half before Ryan and I were married. I loved that beach and would go back in a heartbeat!

FOUR. 

Thanksgiving is UNDER a week away! (Do you need to move your turkey to the refrigerator? Check on it!) Anyway. This post has tons of fun Thanksgiving traditions. Do you do any of these? The year we were engaged, Ryan and I ran a 5K on Thanksgiving morning, but we just did it on our own. It wasn’t an official race. It was also a REALLY nice day, which is certainly not always the case around here. We always bless the food (and not just on this day), and I enjoy watching the parade, but Ryan does not care for it. We did go to a tree farm once on Thanksgiving. (The year we were at WillowBridge and were on duty that day.) We have also started some of our own traditions for the years we were on our own for Thanksgiving. I’ve made place cards and tried new recipes before…and there is always pumpkin pie! We also usually take home leftovers. So that’s what we’ve done from the list.

FIVE. 

Do you remember eating chocolate covered graham cracker cookies when you were younger? I loved those. Such a simple cookie, but they were so delicious! Well, you can actually make them…and add some sprinkles or colored chocolate drizzle to suit your holiday need! So if you need to take something for a Thanksgiving snack table, you can make them and add fall sprinkles and drizzle. Or you can make them for Christmas…or New Year’s! All kinds of options, and a touch of nostalgia!

SIX. 

Need some Christmas decorating inspiration? Here you go! I’ve been decorating this weekend, and I have been living on Pinterest to get the best ideas to use what we have in the best way! (New layouts are always a puzzle to figure out. I’m super excited about how it’s going!

A Well-Oiled...Desk

 

A few months ago I wrote a post about my quiet corner of a desk that I love so much. Not much has changed in the look of this corner since I wrote that post, but I have discovered that even though I know I need to make some changes to the functionality of the extra room that serves as overflow storage space, this desk works so well. I have all the things I need to function on a daily basis – for my job and my personal work – so I thought I would share with you some of the tools I keep at hand for everyday work! Maybe it will inspire you in your own desk space!

Pen and Highlighter Mug: My friend Amber gifted me this mug, featuring The Friends picture frame, and as part of the gift, she actually printed off a handful of pictures of the two of us and put them inside. I love this mug so much for so many reasons, but it doesn’t make a great drinking mug because of the picture insert. So I use it to hold my pens and highlighters! I always stock up on many colors of Flair pens during school supply sales, and then I use them all year long for everything. I color code my planner with these pens, I write notes in them, and I use them for…well…basically everything. I also found these highlighters that I use in my planner. They have a rounded tip, rather than a chisel tip, so you can make circles in your planner to check off items. You can get them in different color schemes. I went with pastels! I use all of these multiple times a day every single day!

Sharpies in a Typewriter: Back when we lived in Kokomo and I worked for the church, Ryan gifted me this little typewriter pen holder. Because I was filling in for someone, I didn’t mess with anything on her desk, but he wanted me to have something to see every day that was mine. SO, he gave me this, and I still love it. It’s perfect for my writer-heart. I stock it with fine tip Sharpies, which I also use every day. There are times when the Flair Pen isn’t the right type of pen for a surface (or for permanence) so the Sharpies come to the rescue then!

Lipstick and Essential Oil: I don’t keep a bunch of loose things on the desk, but I do keep a tube of lipstick there for when I have online meetings and need to look alive. I’ve been using Elf brand makeup lately, so the lipstick I keep on hand is called “Shameless.” It’s on the red end of lipstick, but it has a browner tone to it, so it’s not SO bright. I also have a bottle of Immune Strength Essential oil. (This one came from Rocky Mountain Oils a while ago, but I have been buying from Selah Essential Oils most recently, so here is the link to their version.) I just like being able to put on (or inhale) some immune system strengthening oil in these colder days.

Family Photo. The frame is just cheap from wherever, and I need to update the picture to show one from this year, but I love having our family picture on my desk. Having their faces right here motivates me to do my very best! 😊

Card Catalog Supply organizer. Ryan gifted me this for our 10^th anniversary, and I love it. It holds rubber bands, sticky notes, paper clips, the whole bit. I love having those things easily accessible and yet hidden away in something pretty!

Colored Pencils. I used an extra mason jar I had on hand to hold these, but I keep a supply of colored pencils on my desk for marking verses in my Bible and coloring in tracker bubbles in my planner. I really love the erasable pencils from Crayola, because I do sometimes mess up with my color coding, and I like being able to erase! (I learned that not all colored pencils erase!) The little saying hanging around them was done by my friend Amber. I’d love to give you a link to order one, but she doesn’t have a shop. Yet. 😊

Inspirational Print and Tiny Pitcher. This inspirational print came from a blog I read years ago. I tried to find it recently and the site no longer exists. I just printed it off in black and white and put it in a frame I had, and it’s been here ever since! The dreamer in me needs this reminder. The tiny pitcher came from a TJ Maxx or Hobby Lobby or some such store, and I bought it quickly before speaking at a retreat – about pouring into lives. I keep it here as a reminder to pour into others’ lives!

Fan and Lamp. I shared this fan link on my top ten investments of the year post, but here it is again. This little fan was a gift from Ryan, and I love it on warm days. It hides away nicely in the corner on days like we’re having now, when I don’t need a fan! The lamp is one I’ve owned forever and if I had to guess, I would say I got it at Walmart. Especially with mornings and evenings being so dark so late/early, I love having this little soft spot of light to brighten my desk. I HATE bright, overhead lights, so I will pick a lamp every time.

Plant and planter. I bought the plant in Grabill right before we moved, and I know it needs a bigger home, but I love this coffee cup planter! I bought it at a little shop in Ohio right after Ryan and I were married, when I was on a field trip for WBCL. It reminded me of our love of coffee, and we’ve used it every year since I bought it! I love having a plant on my desk, because it just brings some texture and color to the space!

Business Card File and Art. I got this little business card holder years ago, and I love it because it’s unique and hides the cards. I’m not a Rolodex kind of girl. But I do love having business cards on hand when I need to reach someone! The art on top is a wooden block ink print also made by my friend Amber. She needs a site, right? 😊

Planner and Holder. I’ve been using the Prayerful Planner for a couple of years and really love it. It is the perfect layout for me with monthly and daily pages, and I keep it right here beside me all day so I can keep track of my chores! (The exact cover I have is sold out, but the insides of this one are the same.) I recently bought this acrylic holder that keeps it elevated so I can see it easily! Heads up: this is a two-pack, and I didn’t realize it when I bought it. I gifted the spare to one of my friends, and she uses it to hold recipes in her kitchen, so she can see them while she cooks!

Drawer Organizers. This is my most recent desk space purchase, and it completed everything for me. Multiple sizes of shallow organizers so I can keep track of things like scissors, tape, stamps, etc. Perfect! Stuff isn’t sliding around in the drawer anymore, and I love that.

Phone stand. I also bought this phone stand this year and love it. I can prop my phone up while I’m facetiming or Marco Poloing, and it’s easy to see what I’m doing! I can also prop it up in the kitchen if I’m using a website or app for a recipe. I basically tote this little thing all over the house with me and use it wherever I happen to be working!

Pillows and Blankets. My desk chair is this really cool wooden chair that holds a piece of history from a local school torn down years ago. It’s cool, but it’s not comfortable! I snagged a large decorative pillow my sister had for sale in a rummage and sit on it every day. (It’s flat and square) and then in the Aldi fun-aisle, I found a lumbar pillow that helps me from having a sore back after hours in this chair. This one is similar. I also keep a throw blanket folded up on the chair to use during the colder days. I got it years ago at Walmart on clearance, but this is similar.

Random Art and Reminders. From there, everything in my space is a piece of art that inspires me. Reminders of my value in the Lord, my love for Ryan, my affinity for coffee, and sticky notes that remind me to pray for people and to think on ideas to write about someday. I also print out the verses I’m working to memorize and hang those in my space. I do also have this clock that Ryan gifted me for Valentine’s Day this year. It’s so beachy, and I love it.

            It’s all been working for me really well for the past few months, and I love showing up to this little desk every day. There is something particularly satisfying about loving a desk space. I hope you love yours, too!

Still with You

 

One of my favorite things in Scripture study is when I catch the tiniest little detail I’ve not noticed in previous readings. The day I saw that comma in Be still, and know that I am God changed everything about that verse for me. It showed me the importance of fully being still – and then knowing God in ways I couldn’t if I wasn’t being still.

            This week I found a new-to-me phrase that has settled over my soul, so I want to share it with you. I’ve been participating in a workshop about creating vision for my writing dreams for the coming year, but I’ve been applying all I’ve been learning to life at large. The whole series is built on Psalm 139, and in one of the sessions, they pointed out this sentence from verse 18:

            I awake, and I am still with you.

            Mornings have never been my first love. Those of you who have read here for many years know that. When I was younger and living at home, I was downright nasty in the morning. (All I can figure out is that I didn’t know about coffee back then. Maybe it all would have gone better if I knew?)

            I got a little nicer in college, mostly because I didn’t want my roommates to turn on me. My twenties were touch and go on the mornings. My coworkers mostly knew to give me a few minutes.

            I’ve mellowed quite a bit over the years, and while I will still not choose mornings, I’ve made peace with them. I’m still the last to wake up in our household, and there is a fair amount of snoozing before I pull myself out of bed, but I’m pretty nice (I think?) when I head to the coffee cup.

            Part of me truly does dream about being one of those people who wakes up (naturally) early and gets to turn on a soft light to read and pray before starting the day. (I’ve tried that. I fall asleep in under five seconds.)

            But even though the storybook mornings aren’t part of my story, this short prayers can be. I might not be able to intercede first thing in the morning, but I can be aware enough to say to God, I awake, and I am still with you.

            Really, is there any better realization first thing in the morning? It’s a new day and He’s allowed me to awaken. And I’m not alone. He’s still with me. I’m still with Him.

            What a comfort!

            I am grateful. I’m still thinking through the goals and visions for the year to come, but the thing I know for sure today is that I awake…and I am still with Him!

Currently...

 

It’s been a long time since I did a Currently… post, but Callie inspired me, so I’m checking in today with one!

Currently I’m…

Missing…longer light in the evenings. If you’ve read here for many years, you know I’m not a fan of time changing in any direction, so while I did appreciate the arrival of extra sleep on time change weekend, I sorely miss our evening light. The brief window of time we have to take Lexi for a walk after work is continually shrinking!

Thinking…about what some of my big goal projects will be for 2024. There is a whole lot happening in my mind and in our world right now, and I think about it all constantly. I’m not worried. I just want to make the best use of my time!

Planning…All the Christmas things, all the anniversary things, and some ideas for our tweaks in our home office/guest room. At any point in time, I need to have several topics in my planning section of my mind, so these all make me very happy. I have our Christmas card designed and need to get it ordered. The letter is almost completely written. Shopping, wrapping, and decorating still loom! The anniversary trip is 95% planned, Ryan’s gift AND card are purchased, and I still have to make the packing list. The tweaks to the room are all still living on a Pinterest board.

Buying…Yesterday I purchased a scrapbook, but it wasn’t for me. It was one I made for someone else. I have a whole bunch in the hopper to buy when I save up some money! For the most part, though, our buying right now is reserved for Christmas-related things.

Wanting…answers to the things consuming the thinking portion of this Q&A. I don’t want to rush it, truly. I know there are many important lessons in life that come through the waiting and the journey. I don’t want to miss those things. But I do love a good answer, so I’ll be honest in saying I want them.

Reading…”The Nature of Small Birds” by Susie Finkbeiner. I am entering the final weeks of the year and don’t have many more opportunities to squeeze in books, so I need to figure out which ones I want to have on this year’s list! I have a whole stack to choose from, so I’m not without options!

Enjoying…Watching Ryan thrive in his job. He is really loving what he does and it’s so fun to see him settle into it, make it his own, and excel in every facet of it. He started teaching a boot camp at the gym this week, too, and I’m enjoying watching him plan and teach that as well!

Loving…This little house. It is so cozy, and curling up on the couch with Ryan at the end of the day is my favorite.

 

Happy Wednesday, friends! Hope you’re currently enjoying your day too!

The Good Questions

 

God is stirring up so many things in my heart. I have done more thinking, praying, reflecting, and journaling in the last month than I have in a long time – and I’m actually really good at doing all those things on a normal day!

            But I told Ryan yesterday that from the moment the day started, God kept dropping things in my mind that drove me to continue asking and seeking.

            It started with our work team’s weekly prayer meeting. Every week, someone shares a devotional thought, and the coworker who was slated for yesterday did not realize it was her day. When she realized it at the start of the meeting, she very calmly said, “Oh dear. I didn’t know. Well, let’s see…” and then she pulled some of the most beautiful and eloquent thoughts out of the middle of her heart and shared them with us.

            You know what? When you can do that, it shows you are living with the Lord on the regular. I grabbed the nearest piece of paper and started scribbling her words, which included these: “Small steps still lead to the destination. Be faithful, patient, trust in God, and endure.”

            A few minutes later, I ran across this Elisabeth Elliot quote: “The Bible is full of examples of people doing what they could do and asking God to do what they couldn’t do.”

            And then there was a whole podcast and journaling prompt that I worked on for over an hour last night. Nestled in the prompt were some good questions, like…What do you want to change? What do you wish to create?”

            I am so grateful that God encourages me (all of us!) in our desire to keep enhancing our lives in ways that glorify Him. I am grateful for good questions that push me to wrestle with my thoughts and pray for clarification and direction. I am beyond grateful for my husband who encourages me in all these things and make it possible for me to grow and change as I feel God leading me. In the last month alone, he has gifted me with three separate beautiful conversations that brought hope, permission to dream, encouragement, and promise for what might yet be. (I hope he feels the same from me!)

            I hope you’ll ask the questions, pray the prayers, journal the thoughts, and wrestle with the dreams too. It’s all part of the journey with the Lord, and it isn’t wasted!

Monday Randoms

 

I wanted to share just a few random things that have happened so far this month. They are not necessarily themed, but I wanted to share them anyway!

            First up…we had our first ever bad experience at a Chick-Fil-A! it was so sad! We don’t often get to visit one, so when we do, we try to fully savor the opportunity. The night of the unfortunate experience, we found the place packed, but for the first time, it took over a half hour to get our food. And then our order wasn’t right. And Ryan’s fries were cold (and only half full). And there weren’t enough employees to hear our feedback and make it right. It was so sad! Hopefully it was just a bad night for that location and not a sign of things to come!

            Sunsets around here lately have just been extra gorgeous. I do a page in my scrapbook every week of that week’s impressive skies, and I had NINE pictures from this last week alone!

            Ryan took Lexi for a walk one night when I wasn’t able to go along (divide and conquer is sometimes our game in these days of fewer sunlight hours) and he got to see the eagles in their tree! Their tree has been hidden by leaves, but it’s empty now, so we’ll get to see them more often!

            Ryan was asked to sing at a funeral this week. That was a new experience for him, but he was honored to do it. I was sad to not get to hear him, but I heard good things from people we know who were there.

            Did you know there are YouTube channels just for dogs? Ryan found one this week and let Lexi take a look. She was seriously caught up in it! It was so funny to watch.

            We hosted our small group over the weekend. It was kind of a last-minute hosting, so we threw together some breakfast for dinner and had the best time welcoming our friends. It wasn’t fancy, but it was sweet.

            Ryan sang the special music at our church yesterday. I love hearing him sing, and this song was so perfect for his voice.

            I heard this week that a guy from my high school graduating class passed away this week. I have no idea what happened, but I was sorry to hear the news. Unless someone else has died that I didn’t know about, this was the first person we’ve lost from our class. We’ve been out 27 years (WHAT?!) so I actually think it’s pretty amazing to have made it this long without losing a classmate.

            Ryan and I were invited to serve as deacons in our church and that became official last night. We are really looking forward to serving together in this role!

            And this concludes Monday randomness with Bekah!

Sunday Sentiments

 

We’ve lived in our home almost exactly nine months now, and I’ve been pleasantly surprised at how many things fit this space so perfectly. Mom even commented on that the last time she visited. We made very few changes in furniture when we came here, because almost everything we had worked!

            The one room change we made in this move was going from three bedrooms to two. We combined the guest room and office – as many people do, and we were able to make things work fairly neatly.

            Until recently, that is.

            My actual workspace, which is in our kitchen, has been a perfect fit for me. I have a place for everything I need, plenty of room to spread out for projects, and the view is unparalleled. That part feels just right.

            But I use the guest/room office for overflow storage, and as I settle into my job more, I find more things I need to have on hand (some in bulk) and I’ve run out of usable space for those items. There’s room in there. I just knew I needed to reconfigure for it to be more functional.

            I’ve been scouring Pinterest, looking for ideas, and trying to figure out how to rearrange the room so we can maximize the use of that space to its fullest.

            And this weekend, during a brainstorming session with Ryan about that very space, we determined that maybe what really would work best is to stop devoting 75% of the space to guest room items when, in truth, we rarely have overnight guests. Maybe the smarter thing to do is make it an office that can function as a guest room when needed rather than making it a guest room that holds office overflow…and rarely any guests.

            The freedom that flowed over me when we finally came to this conclusion surprised me. I didn’t realize how much the whole thing had been frustrating me until the idea of a solution came out of our conversation.

            It will probably be a while before our talk makes its way into reality, but just the hope of practical change on the horizon is huge for me, and I’m grateful.

            I realize that the purpose of a bedroom in our home does little to impact your day, but I hope from this story you’ll see that it’s good to have the conversations. It’s helpful to dream the dreams. It’s freeing to imagine a solution. Like I said earlier this week – it’s okay to make a change.

            Ryan and I had another conversation yesterday – about something entirely different – that led us to brainstorm how to use some waiting time in our story so that it’s the most fruitful and productive it can be. I loved that talk too. Maybe, more than anything, I appreciate the support we can offer each other as we think through the things that work and the things that don’t work. I appreciate the way we can encourage each other through talking over solutions to the problems at hand.

            I hope you’ll find this in your life today…this week…this month. Find someone to talk to about your dreams, your hopes, your ideas. Brainstorm together to find solutions. And embrace the freedom that comes from knowing good things could be just around the corner!

Saturday Suggestions

 

Happy Saturday, friends! Hope you all are having a great day. Ryan and I just watched You’ve Got Mail (again) last night. I love that movie so much!! Although I do think it was the first time we both realized how many things I do/say from that script! Anyway…it was so good…much like I hope your day will be today!

ONE. 

I listened to a podcast this week that offered some helpful insights on how God uses the seasons of our lives to prepare us for what He has in our future. The guest is easy to listen to, and I felt so much commonality with her as she talked about seasons of waiting in her own life. If you’re waiting and praying for something (or if you know someone else who is) this is a half hour well-spent! Lots of great info in here!

TWO. 

Apparently I am quite in a learning mode this week, because I also signed up for the free herb garden course on this site and have been loving the short modules of learning. I intend, throughout this winter, to learn more about gardening practices so I can do an even better job next year than I did this year! I am learning so much about herbs with this one and thought I would share it with you in case you want to learn, too! (Scroll down the page to see the herb garden course.) The instructor is relatable and fun!

THREE.

Lots of great tree topper ideas here…and I think the first one is my favorite. Eucalyptus! I never would have thought of it! I love it so much and think I might incorporate it into one of our trees this year!

FOUR. 

This home has some SUPER cute elements in it. Parts of it remind me of our style – with the industrial and farmhouse touches. I am still not able to cross over into the world of wallpaper. Parts of me really want to like it, and then I remember all those hours I spent trying to soak and scrape border at our Kokomo home, and I get the shivers all over again. (And not in a good way.) But aside from that, I love so much of this house!

FIVE. 

Praying specific Scriptures over your friends…what a gift! Here is a guide to help you know how to pray for your friends in intentional ways. I love this so much!

SIX. 

Here are some cute Thanksgiving outfit ideas. What route do you go for Thanksgiving? Comfy and casual, festive and nice, or dressy chic? I usually go for festive and nice!