4 hours ago
I read thirty-five books last year! I far exceeded my expectations as far as how many books I would read in 2012 - I thought for sure it would be a slow reading year with a toddler and being pregnant and all. But after reading eighteen in 2011 and nineteen in 2010, I'm pretty impressed with myself!
I like to keep a record of the books I read and my thoughts on them, so I'm just going to do a few words on each book - like a super-brief mini review. If you want more of my thoughts on any of these books, just let me know! Here we go. In no particular order...
Miss Billy by Eleanor H. Porter - The same author that wrote Pollyanna. Loved it!
Our Last Great Hope: Awakening the Great Commission by Ronnie Floyd - Very good, read my full review here.
The Cat Who Ate Danish Modern by Lillian Jackson Braun - I liked it!
Decorating Schemes by Ginny Aiken - Pretty good, liked it.
Last Light by Terri Blackstock - Intense plot, I liked it. I want to read the next book.
Kisses From Katie: A Story Of Relentless Love and Redemption by Katie Davis - Very good, inspiring!
When The Cradle Is Empty: Coping WIth Infertility by John Van Regenmorter - Very good, I'd recommend it to anyone struggling to get pregnant.
Simple Secrets to A Happy Life by Luci Swindoll - Loved it, lots of good wisdom, read my full review here.
Scrapping Plans by Rebecca Seitz - Didn't like it, wasn't well written or researched - read my review here.
One Thousand Gifts A Dare To Live Fully Right Where You Are by Ann Voskamp - Overall I thought it was good and thought-provoking. Didn't like the way she put certain things, but the poetry of her writing was inspiring.
Misconception: One Couple's Journey from Embryo Mix-Up to Miracle Baby by Paul and Shannon Morell - Wow, I can't imagine going through this - very interesting read. I just read "Inconceivable" by Sean and Carolyn Savage, the other couple involved in the mix-up, and I couldn't put it down. I'd recommend reading both books if you read this one, it was interesting to read both sides of the story.
Rocket Boys by Homer Hickam (not pictures because I remembered this one later) - A few situations that I didn't quite want to read about in the book, but overall I really enjoyed it.
Sixty Acres and a Bride by Regina Jennings - Liked it.
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins - Meh. Read my review here.
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott (audiobook) - Obviously it was good.
Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis - Excellent, a must-read. I love C.S. Lewis's writing. He was such a deep-thinker.
Common Sense by Thomas Paine - Classic. You can't review American classics. It was good!
Winnie the Pooh by A. A. Milne - Read it to Wyatt, loved it!
Take Three by Karen Kingsbury - First let me say that thesis the third book in the series, and I did not like the first two books in this series which I read a couple years ago. I didn't like reading how one of the characters falls into sinful relationships, and though Karen Kingsbury can write about these topics tastefully most of the time, I felt her descriptions in the first two books were bordering on inappropriate, for me. But I picked up the series again this year, and I thought this book was appropriate, and her books are always hard to put down.
Take Four by Karen Kingsbury - It was good.
Leaving, Learning, Longing, and Loving (Four books, Bailey Flannigan series) by Karen Kingsbury - This series builds off of the previous series, which is the whole reason I read the two books above. I wanted to find out what happened to Bailey Flannigan. This series did not end like I expected, but I enjoyed it, and after I got used to the idea that it was not going to go the way I thought, I was very happy with the story.
The 13th Hour by Richard Doetsch - Note: There is language, descriptive violence, and a couple other things in this book that I wanted to include a warning on. Just be aware. Not sure I would recommend it because of the above warning, but the plot had me on the edge of my seat, and it was well-written. I think if they cleaned it up a bit it would make a great movie.
Tidewater Inn by Colleen Coble - Kind of slow-moving, but it was good, read my review here.
Dreaming In Black and White by Laura Jensen Walker - Christian Chic-lit, I enjoyed it.
Fatal Distractions: Conquering Destructive Temptations by Kay Arthur - Bible study, very good, read my review here.
Blind Dates Can Be Murder by Mindy Starns Clark - I love this series, good book.
Elementary, My Dear Watkins by Mindy Starns Clark - Same series, last book, I liked it!
Covenant Child: A Story Of Promises Kept by Terri Blackstock - Good, but one of those stories where you get really frustrated with the characters until the end of the book when they come to their senses!
Beyond the Farthest Star by Brock and Bodie Theone - Okay, kind of depressing, I thought.
Miss Match by Erynn Mangum - Christian chic-lit. I enjoyed it, though I wasn't quite sure if the author was trying to send a message about predestination through some of the book . . . which is a completely different topic, but if you might get frustrated by that, be aware. But I thought it was humorous and fun!
Bringing Up Girls: Practical Advice and Encouragement For Those Shaping the Next Generation Of Women by James Dobson - It was very good! Definitely would recommend it to moms of girls.
Parenting Isn't For Cowards by James Dobson - Excellent parenting book, easy to read, I'd recommend it.
How My Soul Yearns by Ashley Wells - An Infertility story by a fellow blogger, I enjoyed it, though my heart broke for her too. However, I tracked down her blog, and the story has a happy ending - she is now the foster (and hopefully soon, adoptive) mother of four precious children!
And that's it! Once again, if you want to know a more detailed opinion from me on any particular book, let me know!
Last weekend I threw my sister a baby shower. For those new readers out there, my sister is pregnant with her first baby, a BOY! My first nephew!
When I first thought about throwing her a shower I knew I wanted to do a cute theme, but I needed something cost-effective. So I went on a hunt and finally settled on a "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" theme! It ended up being perfect because it was easy to do a lot of cute decorations, without having to spend a ton of money on custom pieces. I made the invitations and decorations myself, and the star shapes were easy to incorporate into the food.
Overall, I really like the way it turned out! Thank goodness for my mom and cousin though - they came over to help me clean. There is no way I could have pulled the rest of it together without their help! And my family pitched in sandwiches, salads, etc. to round out the food - it was a team effort, for sure!
Without further ado, here are some pictures!
(The blank spots on the invitation are just where I removed name, address, etc.)
(I made stars out of scrapbook paper and also used some gold star ornaments I bought.)
Star-shaped jigglers.
Star-shaped cookies with jolly ranchers in the center.
Pinapple punch.
"Congratulations on Your New Little Star" - thanks to my mom for getting the cake!
The spread! You can't see here, but I had little star cutouts scattered on the table.
Presents!
My grandma always makes a diaper cake for her grandbaby and great-grandbaby showers.
My beautiful sister!
Doesn't she have the cutest little baby bump? It's so fun seeing my sister pregnant!
We played several different games, including the string-measuring game (pictured above), "break the water" with ice cubes and plastic babies, the clothespin game (a baby shower classic for our family), a drawing contest (drawing a baby with the paper on top of your head), and a baby item memory game!
Present-opening! She got most of the things she needed!
My mom with Gwen.
Me and my girl.
Me and both my kiddos! Couldn't get Wyatt to sit still though - he was trying to squirm out of his chair here!
My sister, mom, sister-in-law, and me!
Me and my sis!
Overall I think the shower was as success! I can't wait to meet my sweet nephew - I'm pretty sure he's going to be pretty much adorable. Only a couple more months at the most!
Laura from The B Family Blog was kind enough to write a guest post for me while I figure out this being-a-mom-of-two thing, and I was so excited when she told me she was going to write about her testimony! I love reading stories of how people come to know Jesus, and Laura's is a cool story that can only be attributed to the Lord "nudging" her, if you will. Thank you so much for sharing your story and guest posting for me Laura!
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Hi! I’m Laura and I blog over at The B Family Blog. I’m excited to guest post for Callie while she is busy snuggling the newest addition to her beautiful family. A little about me, I’m a wife to an amazing man, Joe and mommy to the light of my life, Olivia. I’m 29 years young and a (new) lover of Jesus. Here’s a little bit about my journey to finding the Lord.
July 11, 2012 is a day that really changed my life, the CORE of mine and my family’s lives. On July 11, 2012 I accepted the Lord as my savior and became a Christian. First, I guess I should back up! I grew up in a (non-practicing) Roman Catholic household. My family fulfilled the minimum requirements so I could be baptized, make my 1st communion and confirmation. That was it, no more church for us. Rarely any talk of God in our home other than before meal prayers on major holidays, obligatory things, if you will.
In 2010, my husband and I got married and were expecting a baby girl all in the same year. Once Olivia was born, we baptized her at the urging of our family but something just didn’t feel right. After her baptism we never went back to church. A year and a half later I began to feel a nudge from God. I discussed how I was feeling with my husband and he too agreed that something was missing. That following weekend we decided we’d do some ‘church shopping’. Right near where we said “I Do” is a fairly large church that always has a ton of cars in their parking lot every Sunday morning. That was our first stop… and we never left.
When we walked into the church that Sunday morning we were immediately greeted and made to feel welcome. We were showed the nursery and ushered to a seat, a seat that is now our home every Sunday. When the service started everyone stood and the music was so joyful and beautiful. Everyone there was praising Him and it was such an amazing moment to be a part of. Tears stung my eyes as I felt the Holy Spirit working within me, telling me this was it, this was where I was meant to be.
I spoke with a woman, who is now my ‘mentor’ after the service and she invited me to participate in a discipleship program with her to learn more about Christianity, their beliefs and help me grow in my relationship with Jesus. I accepted and have been meeting with her weekly since July. We talk about real life, how to glorify Him in everything I do, how to pray, how to be a Godly wife and mother…the list goes on and on. She’s truly been such an important part of my salvation and I’m so thankful that God put her in my life at that moment.
Finding the Lord has truly changed my life for the better. My marriage has improved, my parenting has gotten better, my desire to do good has changed, all because of Him. I’m still learning and very, very new at this so I make tons of mistakes and need help praying and growing in my faith but knowing that I serve a forgiving God who loves unconditionally has made all the difference in my life.
Callie – congratulations on your sweet baby girl. Thank you for sharing your blog with me and letting me share my heart!
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Hi! I’m Laura and I blog over at The B Family Blog. I’m excited to guest post for Callie while she is busy snuggling the newest addition to her beautiful family. A little about me, I’m a wife to an amazing man, Joe and mommy to the light of my life, Olivia. I’m 29 years young and a (new) lover of Jesus. Here’s a little bit about my journey to finding the Lord.
July 11, 2012 is a day that really changed my life, the CORE of mine and my family’s lives. On July 11, 2012 I accepted the Lord as my savior and became a Christian. First, I guess I should back up! I grew up in a (non-practicing) Roman Catholic household. My family fulfilled the minimum requirements so I could be baptized, make my 1st communion and confirmation. That was it, no more church for us. Rarely any talk of God in our home other than before meal prayers on major holidays, obligatory things, if you will.
In 2010, my husband and I got married and were expecting a baby girl all in the same year. Once Olivia was born, we baptized her at the urging of our family but something just didn’t feel right. After her baptism we never went back to church. A year and a half later I began to feel a nudge from God. I discussed how I was feeling with my husband and he too agreed that something was missing. That following weekend we decided we’d do some ‘church shopping’. Right near where we said “I Do” is a fairly large church that always has a ton of cars in their parking lot every Sunday morning. That was our first stop… and we never left.
When we walked into the church that Sunday morning we were immediately greeted and made to feel welcome. We were showed the nursery and ushered to a seat, a seat that is now our home every Sunday. When the service started everyone stood and the music was so joyful and beautiful. Everyone there was praising Him and it was such an amazing moment to be a part of. Tears stung my eyes as I felt the Holy Spirit working within me, telling me this was it, this was where I was meant to be.
I spoke with a woman, who is now my ‘mentor’ after the service and she invited me to participate in a discipleship program with her to learn more about Christianity, their beliefs and help me grow in my relationship with Jesus. I accepted and have been meeting with her weekly since July. We talk about real life, how to glorify Him in everything I do, how to pray, how to be a Godly wife and mother…the list goes on and on. She’s truly been such an important part of my salvation and I’m so thankful that God put her in my life at that moment.
Finding the Lord has truly changed my life for the better. My marriage has improved, my parenting has gotten better, my desire to do good has changed, all because of Him. I’m still learning and very, very new at this so I make tons of mistakes and need help praying and growing in my faith but knowing that I serve a forgiving God who loves unconditionally has made all the difference in my life.
Callie – congratulations on your sweet baby girl. Thank you for sharing your blog with me and letting me share my heart!
Today I'm sharing a guest post from my long-time blog friend, Katie from State of Change! I asked Katie to post about balancing blogging and motherhood because we've had a few conversations about finding that "balance". I think she has some great things to say, so read on! Thanks, Katie, for guest posting for me!
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Hey Through Clouded Glass readers! I'm happy to be entertaining you today while our Callie is off smelling sweet baby hair and learning more about being a mama to a little girl. I'm going to write today on something that I'm sure you have heard brought up a thousand times in the blogosphere: the balance of blogging.
How do you balance maintaining a blog and also a home?
How do you spend the golden amount of time on your blog to grow it and also help some little kids to grow?
How do you spend time with your family, have dinner on the table, have a clean home, catch up with friends, and have a blog post scheduled for the same time every day?
My answer to that? You don't. At least, I don't.
I know there are plenty of people who have a formula. Stay up late. Blog X Number of Hours during the day divided between naps and after the kids are in bed. Set aside a big chunk of time on the weekend. But you know what? That just doesn't work for me.
I feel like those things put my blog as the priority. It makes it seem like in order to thrive I have to set aside time for my blog. I have to help my little blog business grow. I need that time. When truth is, I don't.
I need to love and care for my children. I need to cherish my husband and our time together. I need to make sure that I've done the laundry so that we have clothes for the next day and I don't have to wear my old maternity pants to Target (not that this has ever happened...ahem...).
Sure, there are things that need to get done. But in my life, blogging should be on the want list rather than the need list. I want to write. It is a way for my soul to breathe. I always want it to be that way, and I know that I don't want it to become strictly an obligation. I also know what should be getting the greatest amount of my time, energy, and focus isn't a space on the internet, it is this:
In a way, instead of worrying too much about balance, I treasure a little bit of imbalance.
Do you have a blogging balance? Or do you embrace the imbalance?
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Hey Through Clouded Glass readers! I'm happy to be entertaining you today while our Callie is off smelling sweet baby hair and learning more about being a mama to a little girl. I'm going to write today on something that I'm sure you have heard brought up a thousand times in the blogosphere: the balance of blogging.
How do you balance maintaining a blog and also a home?
How do you spend the golden amount of time on your blog to grow it and also help some little kids to grow?
How do you spend time with your family, have dinner on the table, have a clean home, catch up with friends, and have a blog post scheduled for the same time every day?
My answer to that? You don't. At least, I don't.
I know there are plenty of people who have a formula. Stay up late. Blog X Number of Hours during the day divided between naps and after the kids are in bed. Set aside a big chunk of time on the weekend. But you know what? That just doesn't work for me.
I feel like those things put my blog as the priority. It makes it seem like in order to thrive I have to set aside time for my blog. I have to help my little blog business grow. I need that time. When truth is, I don't.
I need to love and care for my children. I need to cherish my husband and our time together. I need to make sure that I've done the laundry so that we have clothes for the next day and I don't have to wear my old maternity pants to Target (not that this has ever happened...ahem...).
Sure, there are things that need to get done. But in my life, blogging should be on the want list rather than the need list. I want to write. It is a way for my soul to breathe. I always want it to be that way, and I know that I don't want it to become strictly an obligation. I also know what should be getting the greatest amount of my time, energy, and focus isn't a space on the internet, it is this:
In a way, instead of worrying too much about balance, I treasure a little bit of imbalance.
Do you have a blogging balance? Or do you embrace the imbalance?
The other day I was scrolling through one of my social network feeds, and I came across a photo of a postpartum belly with stretch marks.
The caption on the photo is what caught my attention - it said "For every woman who is unhappy with her postpartum marks is another who wishes she had them."
Those of you who have been reading my blog for a while know that it wasn't easy for me to get pregnant with either of my children - and I loved this quote because it is so true, and it's something I have thought often about similar pregnancy and postpartum "complaints".
I read through some of the comments on the photo, because I felt it made such a good point - and many of the comments were from people analyzing this poor girl's stretch marks - how far postpartum was she, her habits during pregnancy, and those "thank goodness I didn't get stretch marks like that" type comments.
I was a bit taken aback. First of all because her belly really didn't look bad - my stretch marks are worse, at least at the moment. But secondly because it seemed as if these people were completely missing the point.
Yes, pregnancy can be uncomfortable, even painful. And yes, your body will never be the same afterward. But to have a child, to carry them in your womb? It's a privilege to be able to experience any of it at all, even the unpleasant sides of child-bearing. There are women out there who wish more than anything that they could have a few stretch marks on their bellies.
I feel so blessed to have the stretch marks, even as bad as they are. They are a reminder of what I once thought I might never have - my greatest earthly gifts, my children.
There is no way I would change any of it.
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I wanted to share this poem I found as well, because it is beautiful, and it fits in nicely with my feelings on the subject of stretch marks . . .
"When I put on my bikini,
I get all kinds of stares.
They don't know how I can act
like they're not even there.
They once were red as fire,
and although they'll slowly fade
They'll always remind me of
the life that we once made.
I've got a mark for every worry,
and trust there were not few.
One for each and every time
you kicked me while you grew.
A stripe for each chubby cheek,
10 fingers and 10 toes.
Another for the times I've held you tight
and kissed your nose.
I watched my body swell so large
while you grew big inside
and I couldn't care much less about them,
blinded by my pride.
Now they remind me of your smiles
and the hairs atop your head,
And someday they'll remind me
of the funny things you said.
They're my zebra stripes, my stretch marks,
my war and battle scars,
And I'll never be too bothered
because I know that you are ours.
They may not be too flattering
to my midsection, it's true,
But I'd get them again all over
if it meant that I'd get you."
-Poem by Caitlyn Blake, shared with permission.
Originally posted here and also shared on Birth Without Fear
Today I have a guest post written by Leslie at Did You Hear About The Morgans?! Leslie is going to talk about marriage today and how she has incorporated a 101 in 1001 list into that - it's a great idea, I think! Read on to get all the details, and thanks Leslie for guest posting for me while I adjust to having two kiddos!
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A few months back I started reading a little ole blog called Through Clouded Glass written by Callie. ;-)
I have no idea how I found it but I did and I love it. I connect with Callie so much because she is a Christian wife and a mom. I'm two of the three and hope to be 3/3 one day in the future. I was honored when Callie said she would like for me to write a guest post for her blog so HERE GOES!
I'm Leslie Morgan and I blog over at Did YOU Hear about the Morgans? I have been married to my husband, Matt, since 1/1/11. We live in Spartanburg, SC. I'm a Speech Language Pathologist and Matt works at The Home Depot and is a Photographer as well! We love our little life and are just chasing our dreams.
Matt and I have a great relationship. We enjoy traveling together and doing other fun things together. Because of that, we decided to do a 101 in 1001 list TOGETHER. Well, let's be honest, it was my idea but when I mentioned it to Matt he was all for it. I was thrilled because I knew it would be a great relationship builder and fun at the same time.
We made our list together of 51 goals and then we each made 25 individual goals. Y'all, it was hard to come up with 101 goals. We wanted them to be achievable obviously BUT not just easy peasy goals either. Since we got married on New Year's Day we decided that our first anniversary and the first of the year would be the perfect day to start! The end date is September 28th, 2014.
You can link here to find our most updated list and all of the goals we have met.
Some of our favorites have been....
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A few months back I started reading a little ole blog called Through Clouded Glass written by Callie. ;-)
I have no idea how I found it but I did and I love it. I connect with Callie so much because she is a Christian wife and a mom. I'm two of the three and hope to be 3/3 one day in the future. I was honored when Callie said she would like for me to write a guest post for her blog so HERE GOES!
I'm Leslie Morgan and I blog over at Did YOU Hear about the Morgans? I have been married to my husband, Matt, since 1/1/11. We live in Spartanburg, SC. I'm a Speech Language Pathologist and Matt works at The Home Depot and is a Photographer as well! We love our little life and are just chasing our dreams.
Matt and I have a great relationship. We enjoy traveling together and doing other fun things together. Because of that, we decided to do a 101 in 1001 list TOGETHER. Well, let's be honest, it was my idea but when I mentioned it to Matt he was all for it. I was thrilled because I knew it would be a great relationship builder and fun at the same time.
We made our list together of 51 goals and then we each made 25 individual goals. Y'all, it was hard to come up with 101 goals. We wanted them to be achievable obviously BUT not just easy peasy goals either. Since we got married on New Year's Day we decided that our first anniversary and the first of the year would be the perfect day to start! The end date is September 28th, 2014.
Side note: We chose a 101 in 1001 list because it was over a longer period of time but not too long. Also, it goes throughout each season several times so if there are a couple of "big" things that we can only do in certain seasons, we have time to do them all!
You can link here to find our most updated list and all of the goals we have met.
Some of our favorites have been....
-Sell something on Etsy---We have become a little crafty mostly out of necessity at first and then for fun! We have sold 7 items so far. We have been super busy with other aspects of life so we have no sold much in a while but plan to get back to it in the new year.
-Visit the Biltmore---We did this in August when my Mom was in town! SUCH A BLAST! If you live local or visit the Asheville area, you must see it!
-Start a small business----We have actually done this TWICE. Matt started his photography business and I have started a Scentsy business. We are still on the ground floor of both but it's so fun.
-(one of my goals) Find a yummy Low Country Boil recipe and make it---Delicious, I tell you! This was a a good goal.
-(one of Matt's goals) Take Leslie to an Air Show---The Mr. grew up with his Dad in the AF so they loved Air Shows and until we met, I didn't even know what they were! We went this past summer and it was so fun. Hope to do it again some day.
So there you have it, our 101 in 1001 list. Guys, this has been one of the most rewarding things we have done in our short 2 years of marriage. If you are looking for a way to reconnect and/or just grow in your marriage, I think this is a good way to do just that!
Thanks for reading! Come check out our blog sometime and Keep Callie and her family in your thoughts and prayers as they enjoy their time as a family of 4!
P.S. If you have any questions about a 101 in 1001 list, let me know. Also, if you're interested in Scentsy, check out my site :)
Today I'm sharing a guest post from Lauren over at The Unlikely Runners, as she talks about her relationship with her fiancé (congratulations again Lauren!), and choosing a spouse. Thanks for guest posting for me, Lauren!
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Hi! I’m Lauren and I blog over at The Unlikely Runners. Most of the time you can find me talking about running, working out, healthy eating, fitness and marathon training, but I just recently got engaged so now you will often find posts that document my adventures with my fiancé, Alex. When Callie first asked for people to volunteer as guest posters I was a little hesitant; I am not married {yet} and I don’t have kids {yet}, so I really didn’t fall into the category of her main readers. However, I feel like God has blessed me in so many ways over the last 2 years of my life and I just couldn’t pass up an opportunity to share with you how He has worked in me.
You see, a little over 2 years ago I was living in a place that I knew God was not happy with; I had made many poor choices in my life through college and I ended up in a marriage that was detrimental to me and my family as well as living a life with no real career path and no focus or motivation. I grew up attending church and I was surrounded by Christian morals my whole life, but during this time in my life I lost many friends and hurt many family members and I hurt myself in a lot of ways too. But God is faithful in all ways.
My then husband made some very, very poor choices and it eventually led to our divorce; a divorce that was painful at the time but a true blessing in disguise from God. It was at this point that I was able to experience true, unending love from my Heavenly Father. He gave me family, He gave me new friends and a new church and He gave me the therapy of running, all of this leading to a healing process that I am still in awe of.
Fast forward to one year after my divorce and God brings a wonderful, Godly man to the single’s group at my church. His name was Alex. After several months of hanging out with Alex within the boundaries of our single’s ministry and after much persuasion from a friend I agreed to meet him for coffee, just to talk! I had no intentions of dating anyone, I was very happily single, I was enjoying my job and my friends and running races was my passion. But God clearly had other plans for me, and I’m so glad that He did.
One year and 15 days after we officially started dating Alex asked me to marry him! We are planning a Memorial Day weekend wedding in Texas and I have never been happier in my life.
But why do I tell you all of this? While I am no expert at relationships and while I clearly don’t have all the answers I did want to share with you some things that God has taught me about relationships, specifically in how to chose a proper spouse, in hopes that you might take on some new insight, whether that be for your future spouse or current spouse.
Be Like Minded
This sounds so easy but it can truly be a challenge. Just because you seem to enjoy the same things or meet doing something you like or think is important, it doesn’t always mean that you are like minded. For us there were several things on this list (we each had separate lists we had made prior to even meeting each other) that we both knew neither one of us were going to compromise on. For example, it was important to both of us that Church and our beliefs be the same, it was also important for us that things like jobs and financial security/budgeting were important to us as well as what we wanted out of our futures. Being like minded for us meant finding someone that you were compatible with in the deep root issues but someone who could still push you and grow you in new areas of your life. Alex and I take our faith seriously, we both desire strong careers, we both agree on children and the timing of them, and we both think our families are very important to us, just to name a few things.
Be Humble
One of the things I love most about Alex is his willingness to put my needs and desires way above his own, he does this not only because he loves me but because Christ called him to. I try every day not to take this for granted and to imitate his behavior and consider his needs and desires above my own. This is hard, I have to constantly be in prayer about my own selfishness, but I love and more importantly respect Alex and I realize that our happiness as a couple is dependent upon each of our needs being met. In planning for our future we make sure that we listen to each other first and respect that we will sometimes have differences of opinions or we may want different things but if we honor each other through the process we will be better for it.
Respect
This one is huge for me because coming from my last relationship I realized just how little respect there was for me and my family. I wanted to make sure that I found a man who not only respected himself enough to take care of himself and his friends and family but also one who respected me and my life and my family. God has shown me so many things about His love for me in the way that Alex respects me and my family, each day is another blessing. For Alex and I, respect can be as simple as me allowing him time to do the things that he loves (like play tennis with his friends 2 nights a week, goodness knows he respects me enough to let me train for a marathon) to something as big as us making the decision early on that we wanted to respect each other by not having sex before marriage. Respect is something that is so minuscule, but it speaks volumes.
Share
I love to run; I think that’s pretty obvious. I haven’t always loved to run but it is something that has become very significant in my life and it gives me confidence and joy, so I run, a lot. Alex on the other hand doesn’t really like running, most Saturday mornings I’m up and running 10+ miles before he even thinks about waking up and doing anything for the day. I like to spend my weekends traveling to different races, Alex likes to clean and tinker with his “toys” (aka, electronic stuff I know nothing about). But what ultimately makes our relationship work is for each of us to take interest in what the other person loves to do. It took us a while to find a balance in sharing our passions with each other; initially I had visions of he and I training for Ironmans together on the weekends while he had visions of sitting on the couch and getting his robot working. We have had to slowly learn that some things can be shared but only to a certain extent. He does a much better job at this than I do because quite often he will come with me to races whether he’s running or not. And while I may not be able to help him with his robots I can most definitely ask him about them and listen while he shares his passions with me.
Laugh together
Alex and I both tend to be your more serious, type-A kinds of people; we like plans, schedules, maps, details, information, etc. At times we both have our ideas of “the right way” to accomplish certain things or we both have the “right answer” for a certain problem but underneath all of that we can laugh at each other and make fun of our high maintenance ways. Just the other day we were arguing {discussing, mind you} about our guest list (oh heaven help us, did anyone else have guest list issues?) and it got to the point where I was nearly in tears over the matter. But low and behold Alex makes a light-hearted comment and we are both laughing at the matter. And now we joke about it. Although our guest list does still bring lots of discussion we are now more light-hearted about it and generally laugh and make jokes about our disagreement. At the end of the day we will probably always be serious people but we do know how to make each other laugh and I think that’s so important.
Before I leave I want to give you a passage that has really spoken to me as we have been preparing for our engagement and our wedding and that is Philippians 2:1-18.
Thank you for letting me share and I hope you get a chance to stop on by and say HI!
I have a guest post for you today from Veronica from Adventures of D and V, and she has a great recipe to share with you! Thanks for guest posting for me while we adjust to having another baby around here, Veronica!
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Hi there! I hope you are having a wonderful winter day! While Callie is snuggling her new little girl, I get to share a special (and super easy) recipe with you! But first, let me introduce myself. My name is Veronica. And I am the "V" in the Adventures of D and V. "D" is my best friend and husband Daniel.
About 3 years ago we embarked on a great adventures ~ married life!
We started our little bog to document our every day adventures that we have together.
We have adventures in
and LOTS of
Just to name a few.
Many of our adventures revolve around our little fixer upper house.
We are currently in the middle of "Operation: Finish Basement".
Click {here} to find out more about that!
My favorite room in our whole house is the kitchen!
I have so many good memories in kitchens. I loved watching my mom, grandmas, and great-grandmas cook. I loved when they would let me "help" when I was little. And when I got older they would teach me how they made the most delicious treats for me and my family to enjoy. Now that I have a kitchen of my own, I love making meals for friends and family. You could say that cooking is one of my love languages! Many of the recipes I make have special memories attached to them, which makes the treat all the more special.
Every Christmas my Grandma Seger would make a smorgasbord of different Christmas candies. Special treats that she would only make at Christmas time. Chocolate covered cherries, peanut brittle, and turtles to name a few. All home made. She would package the treats in little boxes. And she took requests to make each box special. My special order was peanut brittle with out the peanuts. (yep, I'm a little weird like that!) Anyway, EVERYONE who knew my Grandma Seger (and even people who didn't know her) hoped each year that they would get a box of this special candy. Sadly, my Grandma Seger passed away this summer {You can read my 10 favorite memories of here HERE}. Now she is in heaven with Jesus, but while she was still here, I got to learn how to make some of her special candies! And today I am going to teach you how to make a family favorite.
All you need is 5 ingredients: 2 c. Rice Krispies, 1 1/2 c. Peanut Butter Captain Crunch, 1/2 can of mixed nuts, 2 c. mini marshmallows, and l package (24 oz.) Vanilla Almond Bark (normally found by the chocolate chips in the baking section of the grocery store).
Step 1: Melt Vanilla Almond Bark.
You can follow the directions on the package. It can be melted in the microwave, on the stove top, or in the oven. My Grandma melted hers in the oven, in a glass baking dish, so I do too. I set the oven to 250 degrees and stir evey 3 minutes or so....
Until it is melted like this
Step 2: Carefully mix in all the other ingredients.
Tip #1 - You kind of need to work fast because as the almond bark cools, it hardens.
Tip #2 - Mix the cereal and nuts in first, add marshmallows last, it helps so the keep their form, you don't want them to melt too much.
Step 3: Use a spoon to scoop golf ball sized clumps of the mixture on to a wax paper lined cookie sheet.
Step 4: Let the clumps cool completely. It should only take 20 minutes of so.
Step 5: Peel off and enjoy!
They are a little salty, a little sweet, a little crunchy, and a little squishy.
Something for everyone!
Do you have any special memories attached to special recipes?
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