Despite Texas showing us record hot temps, we survived and thrived on our trip! J and I loved getting to spend time together and having extra time with my mom and our family there was a big bonus! We missed Logan - it's the longest I've been away from him - but he had so much fun with Gma, Gpa and his Uncas that we enjoyed our time away. Why did we go to Texas? I am an independent distributor of Premier Designs Jewelry and our National Convention (Rally as we call it) was in Fort Worth. We made a trip to Waco to see the Magnolia Silos, Market, and Table, visited family, and spent three … [Read more...]
4 Questions to Ask for a More Purposeful Marriage
Purposeful living is something the Lord has been teaching me a lot about lately. When my father died, I was convicted even more of the importance of living with intention. We aren't promised tomorrow and each day with our loved ones truly is a gift. I think that before my dad got sick, I would have said that with a little sass - like yeah, yeah each day is a gift. But I don't want to take it for granted anymore! God has been shifting my focus toward living on purpose, with intention, doing the things that really matter while I'm here on this earth! God calls His people to live abundant … [Read more...]
10 Ways to Choose Love When Marriage is Hard
Love isn't a feeling, it's a choice. I probably heard that a hundred times leading up to my wedding, but didn't really understand it until the first big hurdle we faced as a married couple. We've walked through job loss and unemployment, sickness, difficult work situations, death and loss in our short 4 years of marriage. And I'm finally starting to understand the idea that love is in fact a choice. I choose how I respond to my spouse when things get hard. As I was thinking about this lesson God is teaching me, I made a list of 10 ways to choose love when marriage is hard. You can read … [Read more...]
Mom Essentials: How to Look Pulled Together When Life is Anything But
Introducing Mom Essentials - A line of jewelry specifically curated for mamas and the hard and beautiful work they do. When I first became a mom, I didn't have make time for myself. I felt frumpy and gross the majority of the time, and while some of that comes with the territory of new mommydom, I honestly didn't know that it didn't have to be my reality for the rest of forever. I didn't know how to put an outfit together anymore and the only accessories I was wearing were a breast pump and spit up. If any of this made you eek out "omygosh that's me!", then keep reading because I … [Read more...]
To the Woman in the Valley
The valley is deep. We were discussing the verse "Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death" at my GriefShare class last week and one of the ladies who had just lost her husband was sharing her discouragement. When you are walking through a valley, it can feel as though there is no way out. Dark, hopeless, endless. As though nothing will ever be the same, be normal, be tolerable ever again. Maybe you are walking through a valley right now. Maybe you just experienced a great loss - the death of a loved one, the realization that a dream won't come to fruition, a … [Read more...]