The Saturday Six

One.

Listen to the podcast here!

Last week on the Saturday Six, I told you about Courtney Westlake's book, A Different Beautiful, which I'd just read and learned so much from! This week I had a chance to learn even more from talking to Courtney! If you missed last week's post, Courtney's daughter Brenna was born with a rare skin condition that has changed so much about Courtney's perception of beauty and the things that matter in interacting with others. If you have a half hour, take a listen and learn some important life truths!

Two.

It is with great sadness that I remind you tomorrow is the beginning of evil DST. If you've been around this blog very long, you know that I absolutely abhor time changes with all my being. Make us central, make us eastern...I don't care. JUST PICK ONE AND LEAVE IT THERE!!!! So tomorrow is the day you lose an hour of sleep, get up an hour earlier, however you want to look at it. My annual PSA is now complete.

Three.

Ran across this post this week. Really great perspective on marriage and how our choices so deeply impact those around us. Important stuff, right here. Though I don't struggle with addictions like the gentleman who wrote the article, I'm reminded that I always need to work hard at loving Ryan even better than I do. Always room for growth. Always room for improvement.

Four.

 Hey cruise lovers! Did you see this article? A four month cruise hitting 32 countries and six continents? Ryan is SO READY to sign up. But you have to be able to take 119 days of vacation (which he does  not even remotely have), so we're out. My favorite part of the article was where it recommended this cruise for those who were retired or taking a "traditional gap year." Ummmmm the gap year is a traditional thing? HOW DID I MISS THIS?????? I AM BEHIND ON TRADITION!

Five.

 I know not all of you work from home, but I always like to find posts written by people who do, so I can get fresh ideas for how things might work. (When I quit my full time job, I actually scoured Pinterest and Google looking for articles about how to craft productive work-from-home days and found nothing aside from posts by homeschooling moms.) Emily Freeman and I don't do things exactly the same way, but her post offers great tips, so I'm passing it on to you! (And I am thrilled that I have finally found a good rhythm that works for me, too!)

Six.

Source

Back when I worked at the station, I received a copy of LuAnn Gerig Fulton's book Image Seeker. Fun bonus info: I'm friends with LuAnn's daughter, Erica! She's the one who taught me all about essential oils, and she had I have often had good, long conversations together over email.

It seemed I was always rushing to catch up in devo books that I needed to read for studies I was part of, so I hadn't read LuAnn's book until this year, when Ryan and I read it together for our morning devos! I wanted to tell you about it, because if you like the writing style here on the old blogaroo, I think you'd really enjoy hers too! She and I have similar approaches to devotional writing.

LuAnn is an ordained minister (a fact that if I knew...I hadn't remembered!), so she brings that level of knowledge into her writing, but she doesn't hold that over your head and get so theological in her delivery that you have no hope of understanding what she's saying. On the contrary, her writing is quite conversational. She tells you stories about her family, her life, and her struggles. It feels very much like you're just sitting down at a coffee shop with her, hearing about the things you can relate to so easily, but at the end, she offers a spiritual lesson she's learned from that part of her life.

The book contains 31 devotions, so you'll have enough for one month, and each one is designed to help you find ways to bear the image of Christ. (Hence the name of the book!) She studies the fruit of the Spirit, but she covers other passages as well, and each is unique and gives you something to think about as you go throughout the day. Each devo is paired up with a verse or two and concludes with a prayer. Most of the readings are 2-3 pages long, so you read enough to dive in, but it won't take hours of your day to read through.

I love it when a writer offers thoughts gently, so you don't feel condemned, but honestly, so you don't miss the challenge within the words. LuAnn hits the balance very well.
 
We really enjoyed reading these together as a couple, but the study would work well for an individual, too. I don't know if she ever intends to write a second devotional, but if she does, I would absolutely read it! I enjoyed studying alongside her!  

Keeping Marriage Strong

Earlier this week, I read this post on Sarah's blog and liked it so much, I thought I'd borrow it and use it as my inspiration for today! :)

Valentine's Day is coming up, you know. Maybe you knew and wish you didn't. I had those years for sure. Oh how I used to loathe the day of love. I wore head-to-toe black and drowned my sorrows in a Blizzard on the way home from work. So if you're there this year, for whatever reason, I get it. I'm sending hugs and if we were close enough, I'd accompany you for your Blizzard. I know there aren't words to soothe the pain of longing for a love that isn't there {for whatever reason}.

For a fun throwback, here was the first Valentine's picture I ever posted on the blog. My Valentine's Day in 2009.

And one year later, here was Valentine's Day 2010. I invited college students over for lunch.

In 2011, I invited one of my single friends over, and we had a fondue-palooza on Valentine's Day.

And there are no photos of the 2012 Valentine's Day. It was my last as a single girl.

Getting married meant I finally got to look forward to Valentine's Day. February 14, 2013 was my first time ever in my whole life to have a Valentine. It wasn't just my first married Valentine's Day. It was the first time ever I had someone in my life on Valentine's Day. And I did not take that privilege lightly. I still don't.

{A peek at our Valentine's Days together so far.}

{I think all these photos are really just a trip down hairstyle lane, aren't they?}

Anyway. Back to Sarah's original post. She and her husband offered their thoughts on what keep their marriage strong, and I thought it would be fun if we did the same! So I asked myself the same questions she answered, and then Ryan answered them, too! Here are our thoughts. {Fun fact: I wrote all my answers before I asked Ryan the questions, and I didn't read him my answers before he gave me his. You might see some repeats!}

How do we work on our marriage?

Bekah says: We are very intentional about our marriage. We make a point to invest in our forever by going on dates, spending as much time together as we can, building each other up with our words and actions, encouraging each other, communicating openly, and serving each other. We have both hurt in relationships before and are careful to not take each other for granted.

Ryan says: We are intentional about spending time together, which is easier for us, because we don't have kids. Even so, we're busy, but we make sure we carve out the time. I believe we communicate well about everything, we do devotions and pray together daily, and we also make it a priority to kiss/hug/hold hands/cuddle all the time.

What has been the easiest thing about marriage?

Bekah says: Surprisingly, almost everything. Since we were in our mid-thirties before we got married, I worried we would be too set in our ways and the whole thing would be a really hard adjustment. But it hasn't been. Living with Ryan and learning to share life with him came completely naturally. I am pretty sure this was a grace from the Lord, because I know some couples really struggle to find that stride. I don't know why it has seemed to come so naturally for us, but I'm grateful for it!

Ryan says: It's been very easy for us to love each other well, because we have many similar interests {even though we're also very different!} and we're striving to pursue the same things. 

What has been the hardest thing about marriage?

Bekah says: Giving myself grace. I expected a lot of perfection out of myself, and even though marriage has been pretty easy for us, we have both made mistakes along the way, hurt and disappointed each other, and when those times have come, I've given myself no grace. I've sent myself to marital time-out way too many times, and that has been hard. Totally self-inflicted, but that's been the hardest part.

Ryan says: There have been hard parts about marriage, but a lot of those things have changed. Marriage was harder when we both worked full time and commuted and had to maintain two different houses. Being out from under those things has been freeing. In this season of our marriage, I don't feel like anything is hard, and that's scary, because that probably means something's coming! I feel like our marriage has been strengthened during the hard times and that will benefit us in hard times to come. 

What advice would you give to engaged couples about marriage?

Bekah says: Laugh a lot and have adventures at every turn. Life is really hard. It's hard when you're single, and that's not going to change just because you get married. But don't confuse life being hard with marriage being hard. Team up and face the hard parts of life side-by-side, laughing and loving your way through the hard. I've just been reading about our second year of marriage, and it was one painful season for us as individuals. So much confusion, so many tears, such a desert of the soul. But through all that hard stuff, we made sure we had fun, we laughed, and we supported each other. And because of that, we survived a crazy hard year. 

Ryan says: Don't ever stop getting to know one another. Remember how much the little things count. Always strive to put your spouse above yourself.