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 3331 – How Marriage Is Like Totality During An Eclipse – repost

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I had a last minute change of plans today, so I’m sitting in my mechanic’s waiting room getting this posted. Don’t worry, it’s just an oil change. Ah, how nice it is to have a car that just needs routine maintenance. Not going to lie though, I happened to look up while getting ready to come into the shop and noticed my very clean interior ceiling…no soda stains. I had a can of soda explode on a hot day that stained my last car’s ceiling. Got a little misty thinking about how much I loved that car.

But without further ado, here is how marriage is like totality during an eclipse.

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originally posted 8/24/17
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I’m realizing how big of an impact experiencing a total eclipse has had on me as the days go by and the experience marinates. I’ve watched videos and looked at others’ pictures. And it all takes me back to that moment it started. That moment is truly amazing. Laughing, crying, experiencing awe. Is it 2024 yet? Seriously.

One thing that Bret and I have been very aware of our whole marriage and relationship is the shortness of life. With him serving in the Marines and my personal losses of friends at young ages, the shortness and unknown of how long we have on earth has been impressed on our cores. Since he’s been working in real estate investing, he’s talked to a lot of people in many different situations. Some of those situations are losing a spouse, or caring for a spouse, or any number of losses. Yesterday, Bret gave me a hug and just said how much he loved me and how grateful he was for me. That he wanted to take the opportunity when he could. I said, semi-jokingly, I’m enjoying our time in totality. But as I’ve been thinking about it, it’s a perfect picture of the full life of a marriage. There is so much build up to the marriage. So much excitement preparing for the start. Then when the marriage starts, and totality begins, it is amazing. You want to laugh, you want to cry, you want to grab the person next to you and say, “can you believe this??” Then, so very soon after, so very brief, it is over. You are changed. Your life will never be the same because of the experience. I don’t know of the end of totality of marriage yet. I can try to imagine what my life might be like without Bret, but I don’t want to spend my time during totality worrying what I will do after. But I will live in the shadow of the moon and just experience the time that I have. I will laugh, I will cry, I will grab everyone I can and share how amazing marriage can be. I will appreciate every second, because there are so few of them left.

How are you enjoying your totality?

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Day 3330 – Lessons Learned From My First Changed Workday

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Yesterday was quite an experience, let me tell you. As I reflect on things, I realized the things I learned can apply to a lot of changes in our lives.

1 – No matter how much you prepare, there will always be an aspect you don’t know, didn’t think about, or will have questions about.

2 – Your first opportunity might come at the most inopportune time. (Read that as you’ll get your very first call while you’re in the bathroom and have to rush to finish).

3 – You will more fully understand what someone else has gone through. What I’m taking over is something Bret alone has done for nearly two years, I can much more deeply understand what he’s gone through the past few years.

4 – Most people are totally ok with you just starting out and will be very encouraging.

5 – Never say never. Ever. I still can’t believe I’m doing this particular job.

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Day 3329 – Making Adjustments To My Work Day – or – Bret’s Going Back To His Day Job Today

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Today, Bret goes back to work at his day job. While there is some sadness because I’ve loved having him around all day and I’ve enjoyed how much easier it is to share a car, I’m also really excited. We’re making some changes to our real estate investing business and we’ve spent the past few weeks gearing up for those changes. A few of them include me stepping up, growing, and helping more in the business. If you had told me I would be stepping up and growing in the way that I am even six months ago, I would have told you – “No way! I’ll NEVER do that!” Which, is funny, because I try not to say never or always about anything. There are absolutely no guarantees in life and I don’t want to live like there are (well, outside of death and taxes). What I’m seeing is how different experiences have prepared me for these changes. From doing a similar thing for one of my clients to getting to be a part of a meeting with some folks we ultimately got to help in our real estate business.

I think when you start to focus on how your experiences are helping you, growing you, serving you, changing you, preparing you, it changes your outlook on life. If you’re calling each hard thing that comes up in your life as a challenge and not a hard thing, it makes it easier. For example, we’re calling this season of our lives “Investathon” because in a lot of ways, it’s like what I imagine training for a marathon is like. We found for a while we were calling this time things like “the apocalypse”, “the crazy time,” and saying things like “it’s going to be so busy!” Since we both read a lot about mindset and growth, we knew this was a terrible way to talk about it. The language you use to describe your life is huge.

When we talk about this season now, using a word like Investathon brings to mind a reminder that this isn’t a one and done thing. This isn’t a fit it all in quickly thing. This is something we have to show up consistently for, every single day. It’s a reminder that we’re creating a new way of life for ourselves. It’s a reminder that life is what you make it. I wanted to call this something different and I did.

I can’t wait to share how our Investathon goes and how I grow in the process.

Have you ever changed the name of something that made it better….or worse?

For fun, here’s me trying to be just like Bret! They do say the longer you’re married, the more you look like your spouse! 😀

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Day 3328 – The Importance Of Finding What Makes You Tick

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I’m currently reading Profit First: Transform Your Business from a Cash-Eating Monster to a Money-Making Machine by Mike Michalowicz. It has been a really interesting read and I’m already finding that it’s changing my thoughts on a number of things and a line caught my eye today:

“When you know what makes you tick, it gives you a massive advantage over yourself.”

I think this is the key to really getting things done. You can follow all the advice in the world but if it doesn’t make sense to how you tick, it will never work. One of my bigger motivators is tracking things and highlighting what I actually get done on a checkbox list. Being able to see the colors highlighted every day makes me feel so good. Especially since they’re highlighted in rainbow order. I know this about myself, it’s how I tick, and I use that to my advantage.

It seems that almost all of the advice out there goes back to – work on you first, figure out you, and the rest falls into place.

So what makes you tick?

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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 3327 – Superheroes Stuffing Envelopes – or – Life Lessons Learned From Weird Dreams

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A few weeks ago, I had a pretty strange dream. I only remember one part – there were superheroes stuffing envelopes. I wrote this down for a number of reasons, first, it’s kind of funny, but second is that it’s a pretty important life lesson. You shouldn’t waste your gifts.

When you think of a superhero, you see them saving people, stopping the bad guys, and getting out there kickin’ butt and takin’ names. They were made for more and they embrace it. It’s not always easy, and being a hero comes with its own unique set of struggles, but they’re doing it.

Compare that to these strong, talented folks, sitting behind a desk, and stuffing envelopes. It is a disservice to themselves and to the calling they’ve been given. Now, I am in no way saying stuffing envelopes is a bad thing, heck, I LOVE stuffing envelopes (really, all things office supplies really). But it is a mismatch of skills. Unless your superhero name is The Paper Shredder! Her abilities include stuffing 34,821 envelopes a minute, completing all reports in five minutes, and scheduling your day with her pinky. Hmmm…..I may have a picture of what I would be when I become a superhero.

However you slice it, doing what you were made to do is important. Don’t neglect the gifts you’ve been given, even if it’s part-time.

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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