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 3201 – Things Learned Over Seven Years Of Blogging Every Day

Posted on April 16, 2018 by 365 days of marriage

I started this blog to help grow my wedding photography business. I saw it as a way to share stories from our marriage to connect with potential couples, and to share the message of the importance of marriage until death do us part. I love that I have blogged seven of the almost nine years we’ve been married. I’ve learned a lot about myself, my marriage, and what is possible when you show up every day to do something. Here are a few of the biggest lessons that have come out of this blog for me.

Showing up every day adds up to something you never could have imagined at the beginning. I never would have guessed that I would stop photography, or take four cross country road trips, or that I would share one of my biggest secrets.

You never know who you will impact through your posts. There have been countless times I’ve gotten messages from folks who said a post impacted them in a way I never would have expected.

You never know who is reading….every….single….day. A few times, I’ve had people say things like “I saw that on your blog” or know little details about me from reading my blog daily. It is a good reminder to really think about what I’m posting.

You never know where your life will take you. I’ve experienced a wealth of things over the last seven years. From moves to new jobs to leaving old jobs to new friends to new adventures. I’ve experienced extreme heartache as well as extreme heartoverloadgoodness.

Whatever you’re working on daily that doesn’t have foreseeable benefits – keep going.

Whatever you’re dreaming about and afraid to start because the plan isn’t clear – just start.

Whatever book you have buried in your heart – even a few lines a day will add up to a book in time.

Thank you to every one of you who has been here from the beginning or started following this week. You make me continue to show up, every day.

I took this picture at the moment I had the idea for this blog. I was so moved that I had started to cry. For some reason, the picture was flipped upside down. I’ve kept it this way because sometimes what we think will be the end product is so far from what we expected, but it’s better than we could ever have imagined. I can’t think of a better way to describe this blog.

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Day 3200 – Sneak Peek Of Our Weekend – Goat Yoga!

Posted on April 15, 2018 by 365 days of marriage

Yesterday was a pretty epicly awesome day. I’ll tell you more about it on another day because the awesomeness is still continuing today.

But I had to share….we did goat yoga yesterday! I got some goat cuddles.

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Day 3199 – Why Are You Putting Off Your Dreams? – repost

Posted on April 14, 2018 by 365 days of marriage

I’m a big pusher. I love this about myself. I love to push people to be better, to follow their dreams and to do things that make them happy. Once I figure out how to make that quality in myself into a source of income that makes sense for my lifestyle, I will be a very happy camper.

But just as a photographer really sucks at taking photos of themselves, their family and friends….AND printing them out. I suck at pushing myself. It’s easier for me to just give advice to other people and not give it to myself.

I have had a dream to publish a book for years. I honestly have no idea how long. At least 10 years. I am pretty sure as a kid/young adult, I had dreams of writing a book. I watched countless videos, went to seminars, heard many people say how easy it is to publish a book today. I knew it was possible and it did sound pretty easy.

But here’s the thing, I still dragged my feet. It took a lot of arm twisting for me to hire a proof reader/editor. I did and I know my book is so much stronger because of the changes and general clean up that my editor did. She even made a few changes that made my formatting for Amazon a ton easier.

I also delayed a while after the manuscript was done. To be fair, I was stuck on the title. It was so hard to say what the book was about. I had so many competing voices and advice. Do this, do that, you HAVE to do this, DON’T do that! One day, I finally turned everything off and just talked to God. I said tell me what you want YOUR book to be called. Because really, the book is what God has to say about work….not me. It was a big step for me, I figured out the title and everything clicked after that.

I met some resistance in getting things set up…buying the ISBN, designing my cover, uploading to Amazon. I realize now, it was mostly a “I’ve never done this before and I’m putting things off” type thing.

But now that I’m done, I can’t get over how easy it was. Not only to put publish the ebook but also the paperback (I’m still waiting for approval from Amazon, keep checking the link if you want to buy a physical copy). I had a little trouble with the cover design….but Amazon has a great program to catch any mistakes on the book.

I will be a major pusher to others who want to write a book now. I will also push affiliate marketing as well. Through people clicking on the link to my book, I’ve already made affiliate sales. Basically, if someone clicks on one of my affiliate links and buys either the product I’m sharing or something completely different, I get a percentage of that sale (at no additional cost to the purchaser). I’ve made more in the last few days through my book than I have in a few months of having an affiliate account. (If you have to shop on Amazon, follow the link to my book in the footer to make sure we get credit!)

So as I marinate over the fact that I am now a published author, I am struck by the thought “why did I put this off for so long?” It seems silly now…especially since I’m a big supporter of “go do these things that make you happy. Go take that cross country trip. Quit your job and take a chance on your own business. Get rid of all your stuff and live out of an RV.”

Why are you putting off your dreams?

originally posted 12/18/16

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Day 3198 – Listen To Your Past Self – repost – With Updates

Posted on April 13, 2018 by 365 days of marriage

I am getting SO close to finishing one portion of my major blog project (editing old content with my affiliate links, and cataloging my good stuff for ease of sharing/updating later). I have less than a year left in the posts I have already marked as needing my attention. The post below came up in today’s update. It’s wonderful how some themes repeat themselves in your life over and over again. I feel as though I’ve always been different and one who embraces being different. When I was younger, I think I was embracing and flaunting my differences to gain attention. But now, I embrace who I am, the choices I’ve made, and the things I say no to because I see how healthy it makes me. I wear my cloak not to stand out and say “look at me! I am different and weird and I love it!” But it now says to me “I am comfortable in this because it’s warm, it takes care of a need, and it is a reflection of me.” (which fun fact, my cloak is about 20 years old). Where before I would wear a fun shirt or wear sparkles to stand out, now I wear them because they make me genuinely happy.

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Originally posted 12/4/16
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One thing I try to do regularly is journal. I’ll listen to sermons and jot down some notes. Sometimes I’ll write a little more if something is pressing on my heart. My journals are a conversation with God, talking like I would to my best friends. I’m nearing the end of my current journal and was searching for an empty journal. I found a book I received while rocking out at Cornerstone (a huge Christian Rock festival) 10 years ago. Sometimes I write notes to myself in books and this book was no different. Here’s what I wrote on 7/8/06

“This theme of being who you are meant to be has been haunting me for months. Maybe a year. This week though, it is evident in everything I do. It screams at me through the songs, the speakers, even the lines on the other side of this page. Every part of my being is aching to deepen this journey. To seek and find all that I truly am in Christ. I am excited, elated. I want to scream it from the rooftops. Yet, I feel the battle beginning to rage. The evil of this world already fights against me. As it always does when someone strives to be who they are in Christ. To let go of what the world and even Christians around them tell them to be. It is ok to be you. If you are keeping Christ as your central theme. Christ’s personality is so vast yet so precise. There is room for all of our personalities there. How glorious, how wonderful, it is ok to be you.

I must write this book. People need to know.”

I’m not sure what my theme of that book was. I’m not sure if it was even remotely about business since I had been photographing weddings for less than two years. But the desire to write a book has been in my soul for a long time. I can’t believe that I am so very close to putting my devotional on Amazon. I can’t believe in a short amount of time, I will be able to say – “Hello, my name is Jennilyn, I am an author.” I should have listened to past Jennilyn much sooner. I can only hope that this book will help more Christian business owners trust God more in their businesses and life.

For laughs, here’s me driving to the festival and goofing off. Somethings never change. 🙂

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Day 3197 – New Method To Manage My Millions Of To Dos – Productivity Tips

Posted on April 12, 2018 by 365 days of marriage

I have lists upon lists of things to do. From routines for myself, to tasks to do for our business, to the myriad of tasks for my clients, it’s easy to get lost and overwhelmed with it all.

I’ve used the same printed to do list for years, which lists my week and all of my major to dos. But I’ve started a new method of keeping track each day that’s been working really well for me – yellow legal pads.

I currently have a stack of six, one for each weekday and one for the weekend. I’ve noticed a big shift in quality of work when I write my to do list the day before. I had been creating 2 days in advance, since I had 3 legal pads. But I recently purchased 3 more, which allows me to create my to do list for the next week when I finish a current day. I love that I have my to do lists written for the next week. I can easily add a task where it’s needed. I typically leave my client spaces empty, except for definite to dos.

I use Asana to keep track of all of my tasks for each client, our business, and my personal projects. I can’t say enough good things about Asana. It has changed my life. When I am finishing out my day and adjusting tomorrow’s to do list, I look through my Asana for each client and for us for tasks.

I’m a big believer in the pen to paper method for things. It really does make a difference in retention and it just feels good to write things down.

This method of writing out all my to dos like this will likely change as time goes on, but that’s the beauty of it – it CAN change. You aren’t stuck with one method of keeping track of your endless to dos. One thing will work today, and it might be a totally different thing in a month or a year.

How do you keep track of your to dos?

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365daysofmarriage

Simplicity in Marriage, Christianity, Travel, Business, Life

Author Archives: 365 days of marriage

About 365 days of marriage

Day 3201 – Things Learned Over Seven Years Of Blogging Every Day

Day 3200 – Sneak Peek Of Our Weekend – Goat Yoga!

Day 3199 – Why Are You Putting Off Your Dreams? – repost

Day 3198 – Listen To Your Past Self – repost – With Updates

Day 3197 – New Method To Manage My Millions Of To Dos – Productivity Tips