January Joy Dare Day 9

I'm really enjoying this! I know I'll be looking forward to doing this every day.

If you're just jumping in, I'm joining in with Ann Voscamp in her January Joy Dare over at her blog.

Today (January 9) is: A gift in your hand, a gift you walked by, a gift you sat with:

Also, today is my sister in law, Andrea's birthday (yay) AND my sister and brother-in-law's 2nd anniversary (yay) and Adrian's little pal, Morgan's 1st birthday (yay)! Lots to celebrate today!



January Joy Dare Day 8

January Joy Dare Day 8

Light that Caught You, A Reflection that Surprised you, A Shadow that Fell Lovely

All the same thing - but all too precious not to share.

Love my guys.

January Joy Dare Day 7

Day 7: 3 Graces from People you love

I feel like this is up for interpretation, but here you go (Adrian was such a good little traveler today for a full 12 hour car ride - so proud- and such a blessing!):

Hope you all are having a good day!

Fill In the Blank Friday/ January Joy Dare

1.   One of my favorite things to do when I have free time is take a nap, blog, edit pictures, re-make my blog, catch up on cleaning, do some sewing.

 

2.   When I have free time I tend to relish it. "Free time" doesn't happen extremely often.

3.  If I had an entire day completely to myself I would not know what to do with myself! I'd probably clean the house, take a nap, call a friend, go to the beach, go shopping at girlie places, and do other things that I don't have much time to do (but don't really miss).

4.  I would prefer to spend my free time (alone or with others...) with others. It's no fun to be alone.

5.  Most of my free time happens  at night after Adrian goes to sleep. I love cuddling with Nick and watching movies and talking.

6.  The best thing about free time is  being able to relax and not worry.

7.  The next time I have free time I should probably fold and put away laundry, wash dishes again, vacuum the house again, wash the baby toys, clean the bathrooms or sleep but instead, I'll probably  just sit and enjoy sitting and either sew or blog or both.

 January Joy Dare

January 6th: One thing in your bag, your fridge, your heart

January's Joy Dare (Inspired by A Holy Experience)

A few beloved friends introduced me to the book, "One Thousand Gifts" by Ann Voscamp. It is a wonderful book, however, Mrs. Voscamp's writing style is extremely unique and I had a hard time keeping up with the entire book (many of my friends love it, and if you are reading this you should pick it up and read it too).  Despite this, I have grown to love her blog. It is deeply personal, very transparent, inspirational, and encouraging - plus, most of her posts include beautiful pictures that I really enjoy.  

When reading her blog today, I found this:

 

Too bad I found it on the 5th of January, but I want to join in! If you did too, let me know.

January 5th: Something you're reading, you're making, you're seeing.

Wordless Wednesday

Our Morning in Black and White

Hard-Core Xylophonist

 

Baby Rockstar.

New Years Resolutions

I always make new years resolutions. I always get excited about making them. I don't always keep them (not on purpose) but I like them. I have been thinking of things I want to work on for a few months now.

Here are my resolutions:

1. Quiet time with the Lord. I have ALWAYS struggled with this as I hate hate rituals (that often lead to complacency) with the Lord. I hate doing the same thing every day, and I hate feeling like I'm just checking a box with God when I sit down at a certain time every day to do it. This is not okay. I'm being really transparent with you here, but this is a real problem of mine. So, this year, I'm going to try extra hard to make daily, enjoyable, purposeful time with the Lord.

In that same note, this same resolution continues in my desire to work on and eventually become better at:

Praying for my husband and son

Thanking the Lord during prayer

Memorizing and applying scripture

Sometimes I feel like I'm the only one who truly struggles with being a daily, genuine Christian. I am constantly at odds with my flesh. My selfishness, my sarcasm, my hormones (or emotions or exhaustion or any other difficulty we as women/mothers face) often gets in the way, and too often trumps my desire to let my relationship with the Lord shine through.  I hate that.  I will never be one of those people who "gets" philosophy and theology easily, which may be surprising if you know my mother, but that's not an excuse for me to not try.

Encouragement for you, though, if by chance you are reading this and identifying with it - as Christians, we NEVER "arrive". There is never an end to God. We never stop growing. It is taboo in the church to admit that we are human and struggle with being like Christ, and I miss not having anyone to talk to about this and encourage together.

2. (On a different note) - I want to exercise/eat better during my next pregnancy. And yes, this is a new years resolution because we're hoping to have another precious baby in the near future.

3. I want to be a better housewife with a better attitude. I don't love to clean, I don't love to do laundry, and I don't love to organize anything. I don't even like it. But as I do it, I always am glad I did it, so I want to establish a better routine for keeping up the house and keeping it clean.

4. I want to build on the relationships I've been given. Relationships do not come naturally for me, and I want to be better at calling first/texting first/writing first with my friends (especially the ones who are relocating to far away places such as California).

I also want to be kinder, gentler, softer, more forgiving, more loving, quicker to hug, quicker to encourage, less emotional, a better friend, a better wife, a better mother. 

Happy New Year