Category Archives: Christianity

Day 1586 – An Overdue Update About Living With My Family

Posted on by
Reply

It has been over a year since we moved in my family. You can read about the reasons why in Bret’s post from last year. I realized I totally passed the date when we moved in! It was roughly October 16th-ish of last year.

So how’s it going? Well, it is a full house, for sure. Our room is right under the family room and everyone hangs out in there. There are also two pianos, which are practiced often.

But, besides that, it has been a WONDERFUL experience:

– My brother Jon practices worship music on his guitar for hours. That is a nice thing to wake up to and hear throughout the day.
– We have no windows in our room, which means if I have a super late night of working, I can sleep MUCH easier than if we had windows.
– My sister Jo and brother Joseph make coffee every morning. It’s great waking up to a fresh pot of coffee!
– I have lots of conversations with my family about life…especially godly things. It’s so encouraging to be in a house of believers.
– I’m rarely lonely….except when I hide out in my office.
– I have an AWESOME setup for my office! Where I am is right in front of a white board that was previously used for a biology class, so it’s HUGE! I have my goals, calendar and lots of inspiring sayings up there.
– I’m close to the NCR trails! Bret and I just went for a run tonight!

Here’s a shot of my whole family from a really really really long time ago (over six years or so). I’m partly sharing this particular one so my family is like, WAHHHHHHH, why did you share that old picture? Motivation for a new family picture. 🙂 Bwahahahaha! And because it’s one of the last pictures where I’m not the shortest. I think only my 14 year old brother is shorter right now….

Common photographer problem though….actually photographing your OWN family!

day_01586

Day 1583 – I’m So Thankful For This Freedom In America…

Posted on by
Reply

I was driving to church today and listening to Shine FM. It’s a local Christian/inspirational music station. I’ve been trying to listen to more worship music recently…it has made a big difference in my attitude.

Anyways, the DJ was talking to a caller about the song Cinderella by Steven Curtis Chapman. Now, I was gearing up for it because the song always makes me weep. (Look into the story behind it.) I actually did change the station when the song came on…

So, the DJ is chatting with the caller and at the end of the conversation, the DJ asks how she can pray for the caller. The caller asked that this station would be on the air for her grand kids to hear one day. Just like that, the DJ prays…on AIR!

It hit me that this is something I take for granted FAR too often…the freedom of religion. I can blog about, post on Facebook, Tweet like crazy about how much I love Christ. No one knocks down my door to arrest me.

Needless to say, I got a really good cry in….even though I did change the station to NOT hear the Cinderella song!

What freedom do you take for granted?

_MG_6308

Day 1582 – Beachmont Christian Camp Birds Of Baltimore Corn Maze

Posted on by
Reply

Today I did something I really wish I had done sooner! I finally got to check out the Beachmont Christian Camp Birds Of Baltimore Corn Maze. Oh man, SOOOOO much fun! I had no idea what it was going to be like and it was just awesome! lol, I won’t talk it up too much, because today is the last day and I wouldn’t want to bum anyone out. But if you’re around Kingsville before 10 p.m. go check it out!

I mean, if you get to do this, why not?

day_01582

Day 1510 – New Mercies, Every Morning

Posted on by
Reply

So this morning I was feeling a little down. I’m guessing it’s a combination of the weather, all the running around I’ve been doing and just life being life.

I was praying along the lines of “I’m desperate for you today. Give me energy to do the things I need to do…Help me to focus…give me joy.” I opened up my bible app and the daily verse was:

“I love the Lord, because he has heard my voice and my pleas for mercy. Because he inclined his ear to me, therefore I will call on him as long as I live.” Psalm 116:1-2

I am constantly blown away by the love and care God has for me. To meet me in such a request. To show me love in such small ways. The Creator of the universe, cares about me? What? Awesome.

day_01510

p.s. This screen shot was taken as I was preparing to write my blog! I did get up a little later today, but not THAT late. 😉

Day 1501 – 7 Ways I’ve Changed To Live A Better Life

Posted on by
Reply

You know I’ve had a lot of life changing things happen over the last month or so…today I want to tell you the changes I’ve made that have really helped to give me a better life and business.

1. Using My Fitness Pal regularly.

I tried it a few months ago…and it really helped! In my pride I thought, oh, it’s cool, I got this. Yea, after a few months of enjoying food and drink to excess, I don’t got this. Trying on clothes the other day really drove this point home! What I’ve loved about it this time around is how it’s helped motivate me to workout! When you log workouts, it gives you more calories to intake! I can also see how I’m doing and know when I can splurge. Like last night when we had decaf coffee with Irish cream on the deck in the moonlight!

day_01501a

2. Making sure I have a clean desk…and room.

When it looks likes this….

day_01501b

I get so little work done! I get distracted so much easier. Having only the thing(s) I’m working on out on the desk helps me keep focus and get the work done. I mean, look at this! Doesn’t it make you want to work?!

day_01501c

3. Asking “Will what I’m doing make me money?”

This one has been HUGE for me. It keeps me focused and only spending time on those things (answering emails, making phone calls, etc.) If I do those things first, I can focus more on the things that don’t necessarily bring in the money. For example, you want to make sure you have a clean, spell checked website…but if you’re spending 20 hours of your week re-doing things that are just “making it pretty” you’ve wasted your time. I am MOST guilty of this! Whew! The time I’ve spent updating my website. Shesh!

4. Finding a system to keep my tasks in my face.

There a million ways to list your tasks and ensure you accomplish them. There are apps, there are programs, you can write them down on a piece of paper and cross them off. I’ve struggled with this a bit, always trying to find the best (and most motivating!) way. I started one this week and I’m actually pretty excited about it!

I bought a new calendar this weekend…because I needed 2014….but also because I LOVE office supplies. Oh my gosh, back to school is my poison! I have to stay away from Target and their 1 cent notebooks! (Side note:, Bret did not have to buy a SINGLE notebook while he was in school because of my extensive notebook stash….though, I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing…)

Anyways, I found this great calendar with month breakdowns and weekly/daily breakdowns. 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. with 15 minute breakdowns. It’s enough to make an OCD person like me jump up and down! I filled out Monday on Sunday night….I was very detailed…even including things like showering and working out. Bret started student teaching on Monday, and I had plans of getting up with him around 6:30/7. When the alarm went off and I felt the pull to snooze (one of my BIGGEST struggles), I thought about my timeline for the day and thought, you know, I’m going to get up because this will put me ahead of schedule. It was a huge motivator for me.

I think it’s important to do this the night before, namely because I didn’t last night and I slept later than I should have (not TOO much though).

image4

5. Moving my devotion location.

I used to do my devotions at my desk, in front of the computer. It worked for a while, it did. But it’s sooooo much easier to get distracted with the computer and all of its notifications right there in your face.

I’m now sitting on a couch in our room and it’s been great.

6. Using a devotion reading plan on my phone.

One of my friends shared a reading plan she started on YouVersion/bible.com and I was interested. I’m on day 11 out of 12 now and it’s been great! The app will do pop up reminders as well as show you only what you need to read that day. So, if you’re reading Psalm 119:30-34, it only shows those verses. It’s also easy to navigate through your readings. You can even adjust if you’ve fallen behind! Today SHOULD be day 15! While, I don’t recommend pushing it back and using that as an excuse…it doesn’t make you feel bad when you miss a day. Can I get an amen on yearly reading plans?!

7. Watching/listening to videos while on the treadmill.

Since I’ve been trying to be more diligent with working out AND learning about business, I’ve started to find videos totaling the amount of time I plan on working out, and watching them while I’m on the treadmill. I did that today and it was really great! lol, I think it’s more to distract me from the walking/running though. 😉 Ah well, two birds, one stone.

So what have you found to help you life a better life?