Author Archives: 365 days of marriage

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About 365 days of marriage

I started this blog in April of 2011. At the time, Bret and I were wedding photographers and it was a way to share how marriage is more about the day to day and so much more than the wedding day itself. For about 5 years, I blogged about the joys and sorrows of the Christian walk, marriage, work, family and friends. I’ve blogged every day since a few weeks after I started. In May of 2015, we photographed our last wedding. Now, I have become passionate about simplicity, particularly in marriage, Christianity, business, travel and life. For a number of reasons, we have become minimalists. I’ve found that having simplicity makes life so much deeper, refreshing and joyful. I hope that this blog will help others see the benefits of living simply.

Day 2991 – Even Though I’ve Changed, I’m Still The Same

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As I sat in front of my computer this morning, again wondering what on earth am I going to write about, I re-read a post from three years ago. It’s funny that my words from three years ago can encourage me today to solider on with blogging. In some ways, it’s crazy I’ve been blogging for 6+ years, every, flippin’ day. It’s also funny that I still struggle with ideas of things to post about. But isn’t that also what marriage is like? Every day is a decision to show up, to contribute, again and again and again. Remembering this is what I signed up for. I did make this commitment. While blogging every day is much less serious than my marriage vows, it has become a definite part of my day. Even when I feel terrible, when it’s an awful day, when I don’t want to, I still do.

I have been enjoying my On This Day feed the past few weeks, because it’s like reading a book and knowing the ending. Three years ago Jennilyn didn’t know that sobriety was right around the corner, but 2017 Jennilyn does. She can see the posts about drinking, remembering embarrassing things (that I didn’t put on Facebook), and from the future, cheer on her past self. I can’t believe I will hit 3 years of sobriety in only 11 days. In some ways, it feels like so much longer. So very much longer.

Can you look back on your 2014 self and cheer them on? Have you grown much in the last three years?

Three years ago Bret and Jen made all the faces too! I hope that never changes about us. 🙂

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Day 2990 – Six Years Ago Today Was My First…

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What happened six years ago today for the first time? My very first wedding as a full time wedding photographer. I’m so thankful for these two and am glad we’ve stayed in touch over the years! Happy anniversary!

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Did you like what you read? Here’s some ways you can support us and this blog!
Join our Facebook group, Planning an Epic Road Trip on Any Budget
Join the Journey With The G’s email list (bonus – you get my Epic Road Trip Budget spreadsheet)
Buy my book, Planning an Epic Road Trip on any Budget
Buy my book, Trusting God With 2 Cents: 22 Days To Becoming A Successful Christian Business Owner.
Shop on Amazon (no additional cost to you, this gives us a percentage of what you order).
Check out our resources page.
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Day 2989 – Mini Date Night

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It seems most people aren’t fans of the state/city they grow up in. They want to “get away” and go somewhere cool, fresh, and not what they’ve experienced in their hometown. Me? I LOVE my state! I’ve lived in Maryland all of my 35 years, and I’m still surprised by the cool things here. While it has been the source of debates and sadness, has a ton of areas that need some love, and even a job I HATED, like sucked my soul dry hated; I love Baltimore. We headed into the city to have dinner with our very dear friend, Mara Glazer. She’s been living out of state, so when she’s in town, we try to make it a priority to see her. As we drove into the city, it was just beautiful. There were amazing clouds in almost a 360 area. The sunset light against some grey skies made the city shine. The Raven’s stadium was especially striking. No photos driving in though.

We arrived early, and took the time to walk around and have a mini date. We ended up sitting on a stoop and watching the sunset. Across the way, we saw a sign for Insomnia Cookies. I notice this place every time we come down to the area, but never stop in. Last night, we did. Oh my goodness, we were missing out! We practically inhaled our cookies walking to the water and enjoying the breeze.

I even talked Bret into a selfie! I mean, how could he refuse when it was the extremely rare occurrence of my hair down!

It was a fantastic evening with old friends and new friends and all around great conversation.

Ah Baltimore, you may be imperfect, but I love ya.

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Did you like what you read? Here’s some ways you can support us and this blog!
Join our Facebook group, Planning an Epic Road Trip on Any Budget
Join the Journey With The G’s email list (bonus – you get my Epic Road Trip Budget spreadsheet)
Buy my book, Planning an Epic Road Trip on any Budget
Buy my book, Trusting God With 2 Cents: 22 Days To Becoming A Successful Christian Business Owner.
Shop on Amazon (no additional cost to you, this gives us a percentage of what you order).
Check out our resources page.
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Day 2988 – Forged By Fire

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One of my favorite pictures of growing in Christ, and life really, is the gold/silver and dross scraping. To purify gold/silver, you have to turn up the heat to get the crap out; the dross. After a round of high heat, the smith scrapes away a layer of the dross. This process repeats until the smith can see their reflection in the precious metal (check out this article for more info). This has always been my go to picture of the hard times in life. When an angry outburst shows me just how dark my heart can be, when an embarrassing moment show how deep my pride problem goes. I try to remember this when I’m looking down on myself.

It seems that most of us these days want an easy life. We don’t want to fight with anyone. We don’t want our car to break down. We don’t want to work too hard. We want to have time to sit back and relax. But live in this world for a few years, and you’ll quickly realize, you will be met with challenges, you will be met with hardships, and you will be met with devastating experiences. I think the sooner we can look at these things as part of the growth process, the sooner we’ll live in a state of joyful endurance. A mountain to climb isn’t an obstacle, it is a chance to strengthen your legs. The loss of a loved one reminds us to embrace those who are still here even tighter. A tough experience will mean I am stronger on the other side.

How have you been forged by fire and grown as a result?

This isn’t a purifying process, but a glass factory, those fires are pretty hot though!

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Did you like what you read? Here’s some ways you can support us and this blog!
Join our Facebook group, Planning an Epic Road Trip on Any Budget
Join the Journey With The G’s email list (bonus – you get my Epic Road Trip Budget spreadsheet)
Buy my book, Planning an Epic Road Trip on any Budget
Buy my book, Trusting God With 2 Cents: 22 Days To Becoming A Successful Christian Business Owner.
Shop on Amazon (no additional cost to you, this gives us a percentage of what you order).
Check out our resources page.
Subscribe to our YouTube Channel

Day 2987 – My Biggest Productivity Secret

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I, like everyone, have a ton of things to do. My list of tasks grows every day, and at times it’s overwhelming. I have SO many ideas and projects I want to work on (I’m looking at you, YouTube Channel). I have fiction books I want to write, kid’s books I want to write, spending more time on Pinterest to increase my traffic, creating more content, posting on my other websites, keeping up with social media, oh, and reading hundreds of books. It can be discouraging sometimes. It can feel like I’ll never get everything done. And, well, I won’t. I’ll finish some things, for sure, but the scope of my imagination will not ever be realized. Honestly, accepting this is a big step towards peace and focus at work.

So, what’s the number one thing that I can point to? What is my productivity secret?

It is simply, a good night sleep.

Tuesday was an extremely long day. Since we get up at 5, we’re typically in bed around 9 or 10. I like to lay down around 8/8:30. Because of a back to school night, Bret was at work until 8. We shared the car that day, so I was out until 8 as well. For one reason or another, it took us forever to get to bed. Yesterday I was exhausted. My productivity was almost non-existent. I did complete the HAVE to dos. But it was far below what I’m capable of doing. I knew I HAD to go to sleep early last night. I think I fell asleep around 8:30. I woke up around 9:15 and was so confused. Took a drink and back to bed. I woke up feeling FAN-FREAKIN-TASTIC! I am excited to see how much I will accomplish today. I am so energized. And I realized, that sleep and rest is such an important (and SO often overlooked) part of a productive life.

Bonus productivity tip – naps. Oh baby, taking a nap in the middle of the day, then having a cup of coffee after you wake up is SO helpful! It’s almost like starting the day over.

Do you agree? Is sleep the most important aspect of productivity? Let me know below!

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Did you like what you read? Here’s some ways you can support us and this blog!
Join our Facebook group, Planning an Epic Road Trip on Any Budget
Join the Journey With The G’s email list (bonus – you get my Epic Road Trip Budget spreadsheet)
Buy my book, Planning an Epic Road Trip on any Budget
Buy my book, Trusting God With 2 Cents: 22 Days To Becoming A Successful Christian Business Owner.
Shop on Amazon (no additional cost to you, this gives us a percentage of what you order).
Check out our resources page.
Subscribe to our YouTube Channel