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 3311 – A Good Reminder That Small Changes Can Make A Big Difference

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As I was scrolling through my memories on Facebook, I noticed that I had a blog post about having to stop my running training two years ago. I still remember that day and being SO frustrated that I had to stop training. I thought it was a great plan and I loved getting prompts of when to run, when to walk, etc. But the program was just way too fast for me. I guess I need a slow and steady kind of training plan.

What was hard about having to stop was that I was really enjoying myself and thought I’d finally found a groove with running. I enjoy running. I’m also a very “all or nothing” kind of girl. I have found that’s a big key to my success – having a way to track my goals. It’s hard for me to work out every day, or read my January letter and new blog goals, unless I can visually see how I’m doing. This really was a game changer for me and a small change.

When I was going through the training plan, I was running 1-2.5 miles each time I ran, about three times a week, but I only ran for about three weeks. Now, I’ve been running fairly consistently for three months. While my mileage is nowhere near where it was two years ago, it’s incredibly consistent and I can feel myself getting stronger. I helped a friend move this week and found I wasn’t winded.

Have you ever experienced something like this? Let me know in the comments below.

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Day 3310 – Three Months Ago, I Started Traveling Jen Finding Zen

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I can’t believe it’s been three months since I decided to jump in on a new business idea, a blog to encourage folks that road trip travel is so much more accessible than they realize. I’ve definitely had moments of “what the heck am I doing? Why am I starting ANOTHER thing to take my attention???” But my why is that I have been so moved by road trip travel that I want to share it with others.

Road trip travel has become such a part of my life that it’s my new normal. My aim is to encourage others that it can be part of their normal too.

Have you checked it out yet?

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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 3309 – Once Stretched, You Can Never Go Back

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I’ve gone through a lot of changes in the past few years. There are so many things that have changed, shifted, stopped, started, and been completely remade in me, it’s sometimes hard to even put into words the transformations. Sometimes I try, but I tend to forget an aspect or event that happened.

I just finished reading The Maui Millionaires by David Finkel & Diane Kennedy. One line really stuck out and I’ve been thinking about how it applies to my life.

“And, of course, once stretched, you can never go back to the way you were before.”

After you’ve had a drastic change in your life, it can be hard to explain things to others. You’re now looking at the world in a completely different way. Since I’ve been sober, I see things I never saw before like how the media (TV, movies, etc) talks about and treats alcoholics and alcohol use. Since my mindset on money, income, saving, and investing has changed, I look at things quite differently. Previously, I would pay off a car loan as fast as possible, but now, I see that what I would save by paying it off early, I can exponentially invest in our business and have a much better return.

There are so many things in my life that I can never go back to. There are things I can never see from a certain angle anymore. I can’t look at food the same way after watching some of the documentaries I’ve seen. I can’t look at myself the same way after the changes I’ve made.

But here’s the great part, while sometimes it can be hard to be so different than I have been, I wouldn’t go back for anything.

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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 3308 – A Surprisingly Hard Part Of Sobriety In The Beginning

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Over the past few days, for a number of reasons, the changes in my life have been on my mind. From job changes to income changes to location changes to travel changes to alcohol consumption changes. When you’re in the middle of a season of change, it can be hard to pull yourself back and look at the big picture, as well to see how your view of things has changed. A lot of things that ten years ago, were my normal, are so far from where I am now. My definition of normal has drastically changed. One thing that I hadn’t thought about in a while was one of the harder parts of transitioning to a sober person. Saying no to alcohol when others offered.

As I’ve mentioned before, I “quit” drinking more times than I can remember. The last (and final) time that I quit, it felt SO awkward to say no to drinks. I think it was a mix of wanting to prove to myself first that this would stick but it was also a fear of what others would say. When I started saying no to drinks, the first question was “are you pregnant?” (Y’all know that wasn’t the case.) When you’ve been a heavy drinker, it’s a BIG deal when you say no to drinks. And if you’re not pregnant, it can be hard to truthfully explain your reason for not drinking.

While I’ve been marinating on this, I realized that it’s because you have to be honest with others about your struggle. You have to admit “hey, I have a problem, and I’m not drinking anymore.” Even though I shared quite honestly about my struggle with alcoholism and sobriety, I didn’t share until about a year and a half AFTER my last drink. It took me months to share with those closest to me. Now that I’ve shared, I have no problem talking about why I’m not drinking.

But as I’ve been thinking about that time, I forgot how hard that time was. There is so much out there trying to keep you from staying sober. From TV shows showing you that it’s ok to get drunk to the fear of being honest with others that you can’t drink. It’s SO much easier to just say, “yea sure!” to a drink than to say “you know what, I’m not drinking because I have a problem and I can’t control myself.”

So if you’re asking a friend if they want a drink, give a little grace and don’t push it if they say no. And if you’re thinking you might have a problem and want to quit, hold on, when you make it past the first few months (or year) of discomfort in saying no, the rewards are amazing.

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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 3307 – World Ranger Day

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Happy World Ranger Day! It wasn’t until I read Ranger Confidential: Living, Working, and Dying in the National Parks (affiliate link) by Andrea Lankford that I realized just how much Rangers do and how hard the job can be. I have a lot of respect for them now and am so thankful for them!

Have you read this book?

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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