It’s barely October, but I assure you Christmas is just around the corner. Walk into your local shopping center and you will start seeing the signs – the holidays are coming! Every year the holidays seem to show up earlier and earlier and you can’t deny the energy that comes like a freight train with it! Now, I’m all for the PSLs (Pumpkin Spice Lattes), boots, and cozy afternoons on the couch watching movies (HA! That’s funny, right? Hang with me for a second!), but I hate the “hustle, bustle” …
Tips & Insight
Jesus and Yoga: How yoga is good for my relationship with Christ
As a Christian of 20 years, a yogi for 7, and fitness instructor for 2, I’m hosting a Christ-Focused Yoga session because I want to share the powerful experience of using yoga for prayer, worship and praise of the Creator. But, I know there are a lot of questions about yoga and spirituality, so I thought I’d share why, theologically, and how I personally and practically integrate the two. First off, there are many different types and styles of yoga. Even within the same style of yoga, an …
From a Place of Emptiness
Being in a place of emptiness is teaching me a valuable lesson. What I am putting into my mind and heart is what will come out. For the last few weeks I have been trying to write blogs and be more loving and encouraging to my family. Instead, I have found that I am mentally and emotionally dry, used up and exhausted. But why? After going through the She Reads Truth Lent Bible study, I stopped reading my Bible. I got busy and tired, and my daily reading of inspiration and truth fell out …
Favorite Things Giveaway!!!
FAVORITE THINGS GIVEAWAY CONTINUES!!! Enter {HERE} One lucky winner will be chosen and they will receive their choice of our Spring 2016 Lifestyle Apparel Line for Week #2 of our Favorite Things Giveaway! We kicked off April with Silk & Stone Designs Jewelry in our Insta-Loop Giveaway and we are thrilled to announce the winner is.... Ashley will receive this lovely wrap bracelet as the winner of our week one Insta-Loop Giveaway! Congratulations Ashely! …
The Pursuit of Happiness
Confession: I get inspiration from the sides of Lulu Lemon shopping bags. I admit it--I’m compelled to live in light of the words on the bag. There’s one part of Lulu Lemon’s “manifesto” that leaves me feeling more discouraged than inspired, though. The saying says, “The pursuit of happiness is the source of all unhappiness.” I think I understand where the Lulu team is coming from--I agree we could all learn to be a little more content and grateful right where we are. Another Better …
7 Easy Steps to Financial Accountability
Creating and staying on a budget can be very difficult especially during the Holiday Season. The demands on our wallets can leave us in danger of going not only over budget but also into debt... In this article I will talk about a system that our family has adopted that has helped to give us a better understanding of where our money is going and how we put it to use! I will be honest it's been very difficult for my husband and I who are both pretty 'go with the flow' kind of people to take …
5 Ways to Take the Hassle Out of the Holidays
If you are busy and often take on a lot at once (and don’t we all?), then the holidays can be a really stressful time of year. Here are some reminders and ideas on how to survive the season and the fast approaching New Year ahead. 1. Plan ahead: If you are able to prepare, usually life goes a lot smother. What kind of things during the holidays might you plan for? One obvious one is gifts. Make a list of whom you need to give to and plan accordingly. I also suggest that you have a few gifts …
Adventures in Meal Prepping
When I first decided to attempt meal prepping, it was out of complete necessity...aaaand a tiny bit of desperation. Just a tiny bit! (Don't ask my husband to confirm that.) My family's schedule was getting increasingly hectic, and with growing frequency, I would find myself completely unprepared and staring into the refridgerator at dinner time asking myself, "What the heck am I going to make that takes 10 minutes?!" Eggs. Yep. More often than not, the answer was some variety of churched up …
Cancer – A Spiritual Battle
One sunny crisp morning, I headed into one of my local Starbucks, aka, my happy place, and ordered a giant hot tea and oatmeal. As I chatted with the barista, a young man about the age of 27 (ok, when it’s a man, do you say, baristo?) and with the usual small talk, he asked me, “So, any fun plans this weekend?” My response came very naturally, without any self-pity or woe, I said with a chuckle, “uh, no. I’ll be at the children’s hospital all weekend.” He then asked, with causal curiosity, “Oh …
Young Mother’s battle with Cancer
On the afternoon of Friday March 27th; 10 days after my 27th Birthday, 6 days after my 5 year Wedding Anniversary, 4 days shy of starting the paperwork to buy our first home, a month shy of my oldest child turning 5, and less than two weeks away from undergoing our first deployment as a family… I was diagnosed with Stage 2B Hodgkin's Lymphoma. The feelings that I experienced at that time were unexplainable. I have had so many angry feelings & emotions running through me that as I sit here …