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 3126 – Inspire Your Heart With Art Day

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Today is Inspire Your Heart With Art Day. It is a good reminder to me to seek out art in my life. It’s one of those things you know is good for you and your soul, but you don’t actually do it. I’m so grateful to have seen so much great art in my life, from murals on streets, to fantastic works of art in museums, to HUGE pieces of art in our travels.

What I love about art is that you can find it in so many places, from the likely to the unlikely.

Here are a few photos of art from our adventures.

Where did you find art to day?

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Day 3125 – I Might Love Harry Potter…

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There are a lot of things I love in life. I’m finally at a point where I truly embrace who I am and what I enjoy. I don’t care what people think of me when I wear a shirt with a cape (I mean, I am Batman after all). Last week, I happened to find an awesome set of Harry Potter socks at Five Below (I find the BEST socks at Five Below!) Last night, I realized I was a little decked out with the Harry Potter fandom…..I’m rereading the series and am currently on The Goblet of Fire. On my lunch yesterday, I used my pen wand to hold the pages open while I read, I’m wearing Platform 9 3/4 socks. And I’m using a Gryffindor bookmark attached to a Harry Potter bookmark to save my place. Obviously, I had to photograph this craziness for you!

What about you? Do you love Harry Potter as much as I do?

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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 3124 – 4000 Days Of Knowing Bret

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4000 days ago, I met someone who would change my life in many ways. We met under really crazy circumstances. I had no idea as I woke 4000 days ago I would be meeting my future husband that evening. I had no idea that the next 4000 days would bring marriage, a new business partner for my photography business, my greatest cheerleader, my greatest coach, someone who would hold my hair back through my alcoholism, someone who would support me when I chose sobriety, someone who would support my dreams of full-time freelancing and writing, someone who would make me laugh so hard I would cry, someone who would change my day just with a hug or a spontaneous dance in the kitchen, someone who would grow and change right beside me over the next 10.96 years, someone who would travel the country many times over with me, someone who I would call my very best friend.

Here’s hopin’ for another 4000 days husband pants.

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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 3123 – Bret Locked His Keys In The Truck, 40 Minutes Away – How Did I Respond?- repost

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I found this post through my Pinterest prep and I wanted to share it today.

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originally posted 2/23/14
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Today, I had to drive about 35-40 minutes to unlock Bret’s truck and retrieve his keys. He’s done this a time or two in the past…but hey, who hasn’t.

Anyways, I realized there were two scenarios that would take place.

1) I would get ready, totally ticked off. I would get in my car and see that I needed gas, more ticked off. I would steam about how this cut into my work day (I really need to make myself actually take more days off). I would be angry at the other drivers, even though they didn’t do anything wrong. I would be mad at Bret for locking his keys in the truck….again. I would think about the fact that this was burning money we shouldn’t be burning.

2) I would start my drive like the first scenario. I would then remember that I JUST yesterday prayed that God would mold me even more so into the character and likeness of His Son. I prayed that He would put me in situations where I would grow. Then a song on the radio about being Happy would come on. I would mutter under my breath, but think about being happy. Then I would hear a song about loving someone unconditionally. And I would remember, this is what I signed up for when I said “I Do.” Marriage isn’t just a wedding and then smooth sailing. It’s hard work and a daily struggle against yourself and your selfish desires. I would remember that I love Bret, even when something like this happens. I would then see a few drivers with their windows down and put my window down and be thankful that I was outside on a BEAUTIFUL day. I would hear songs on the radio that made my heart smile. I would get to see my husband more than I expected I would today.

I will admit that I went through both scenarios today. At first I was ticked off that I had to go out, but I realized, thankfully quite quickly, all of the things I noted in the second scenario.

How about you? Was there a situation in your marriage recently where you could have responded two ways?

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Photo credit – Shawna Sherrell Photography

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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 3122 – Actual Footage Of Us Working Together

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Working with your spouse may sound like fun. Getting to hang out with your favorite person all the time, going on adventures together, etc. One thing we’ve been aware of recently is this idea that you shouldn’t compare your life to someone’s highlight reel. i.e. What people put online is rarely the full story. A beautiful photo may have taken 30 minutes to stage just right.

But, here at 365, we like to give you the truth about things. Some things about working together are freakin’ amazing and some things are really hard. Today, we spent some time discussing our real estate business, who will do what, and how we can grow. There were a few times it was a little super stressful, and really not fun. For example, Bret recently posted that he closed his third deal. But he didn’t share how many hours he put in, how many mistakes were made, how many decisions he had to make without knowing how it would end up, how many nos he heard, etc.

We figured we’d give you a recreation of our discussion today!

Editor’s note – Bret was not stressed at all, Jen was. You never know the full story.

While it can be frustrating, and we don’t have it all figured out in our marriage or business, it’s really cool that we’re figuring it out together.

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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