Friday Favorites

Happy Friday, friends! I'm linking up with Andrea from Momfessionals for this weekly blog post.

It's been a great week around here, one filled with lots of fun things. I thought I'd share some of the highlights.

Bible study day is always one of my favorites every week. Believe it or not, we only have three more weeks of our study, then we'll be off until the end of January. I am so thankful to be able to meet each week in person and though I know so many who cannot because of needing to be careful health wise, I do not take this for granted. Each time I pray over our small group at the beginning of our class each week, I thank the Lord for the privilege we have of meeting and fellowship with like-minded women who love the Lord.

I ordered a study for me to do on my own in the month of December and it should arrive tomorrow.

It's called The Weary World Rejoices. I'm a sucker for a beautiful book and this one looks like it won't disappoint. (I'll keep you posted.)

Saturday was my favorite type of day: dreary and cold enough for a sweater! My mom totally made the day better and she was up for some window shopping as much as I was. We went to an open house on our town square, at a store called Southern Farmhouse and we both almost died at all the beautiful things. Neither one of us bought anything, but I can't stop thinking about a coffee mug I saw in there that I love and may go back and purchase. 

Speaking of favorites—our town square is one of my favorite places of all time. I love going out of town, but every time I come home, I am struck with the beauty of our town that feels small. 

Friday night was one of the date nights that I'll always remember as a favorite. Todd and I have been wanting to try Cousin's Maine Lobster Truck for quite some time, so we drove to Lewisburg, Mississippi to try it out for the first time. They were parked in the middle of a neighborhood and this is where we were parked as we waited. (It was a long drive to get to dinner, but it was worth the drive, the wait and the money it cost. It's one of the best things I've eaten in a while.)

They definitely win the festive award, don't they? I loved their decorations! 

I read one of my favorite passages in Scripture this week as I read along in the chronological Bible I've been making my way through. This is the verse I pray over my family more than any other thing: that they would love the Lord with all their hearts, souls, minds and strength and that they would love others as they love themselves.

As I'm writing this blog post on Thursday afternoon, I'm drinking a cup of my favorite coffee (pictured above) in a Christmas coffee mug I never put away last year and listening to Michael Buble on Spotify. Does it get any better?

Another favorite from this week was the fact that I decided to watch one Hallmark Christmas movie every day. I have enjoyed every movie I've watched and I am officially ready for the Christmas season. (My favorites from the week so far are A Christmas Love Story, Christmas at Pemberley Manor and Christmas in the Air. Those are not new ones, but they're new to me.)

One of my favorite pictures popped up on my Timehop this week—this is my son Drew holding little baby Carson (he's almost five now). We were camping with friends and it was all hands on deck all weekend long with Carson. I have a similar picture of Jonah helping entertain him, but Carson loved Drew and Drew had just rocked the little guy to sleep. Does this picture not melt you? 

Because I love nail polish, I have to share this. This is the color I've worn the last month and a half and I don't see myself quitting with it yet. I love dark nail polish in the cooler months and the girl who takes care of me each time picked this for me when I told her what I wanted.

I also love Lincoln Park After Dark, but Black Cherry Chutney is right up there with my old favorite.

Another (not) favorite thing that happened this week was that Jonah, Noah and I all had appointments to get our teeth cleaned. I love our dentist and the sweet ladies who take care of us, this just isn't my favorite thing to have done. That same day I had a baby shower to go to and that was fun. Who doesn't love a baby shower?! 

Shannon from swtblessings.com released the November Scripture writing plan yesterday and it's a topic she hasn't ever broached, but I think it's so appropriate for us all and especially in our country. Scripture writing is a favorite part of my quiet time each morning—care to join me? 

That's about all I've got for today's post. Thanks for reading my blog! Love to all. 

Life Lately

Happy Thursday, friends. 

I saw this on Tuesday and it made me laugh out loud. In all seriousness, I am praying for our country. My church gave out a list of things to pray over our nation and I have been using it everyday to pray the Scriptures over our country. I started out by making each verse that we prayed with the corresponding day into an image to share, but then I went out of town and fell behind and never started again. 

I've been dreading this coming week for quite some time, not because of the actual election, but because of how I'm afraid it might drag out. I am praying for that, as well, that the Lord would give us a miracle and that we would know quickly who won. If you are local to me, my church is hosting a night of prayer on Sunday night this weekend. I'd love for you to join us! It'll be in our fellowship hall and we will spend the evening in prayer for our nation, its leaders and this election. 

On a lighter note—

If I didn't have the peace that only Jesus brings, I don't know if I could on in life. And funny memes help too, like this one above. I laughed out loud when I saw this. It's a dream of mine to be a flower grandmother someday. Have you seen the picture of two grandmothers as the flower girls that went viral a few years ago? I think it's a brilliant idea and they're equally as cute as young children.

I shared this picture on social media and said that I was feeling the Christmas spirit with all the Hallmark movies and Christmas music and that I was ready to decorate. I never thought it'd get so many comments, but most of them are from my husband and his friends! They're all losing the battle of the decorations going up early this year because of the train wreck that 2020 has been. It makes me laugh that they all feel so strongly about this, but a happy wife equals a happy life and that is all I'm saying.

(I'll wait until after Halloween, but I'm thinking next week is the time to get it all out of the attic.)

Do you ever doodle like this? I was at a Bible study Monday night and doodled on this page of notes I'd taken from a passage we read that night in Acts. I then went and did something similar on almost every page of the notebook I'm using as a journal right now. Writing and doodling actually helps me play closer attention to something being taught. It's like background noise to me—when I was a young girl, Mom always let me keep the tv on in my room when I did my homework because she knew I needed the backgroud noise to help me focus. Call it crazy or whatever, but it worked. I'm glad she realized my need for that. You were and still are a good mom, Mommy. 💗

This was also me on that same night. I found a stash of M&M's and partook of their goodness.

Wednesday was Bible study at my church, which is a day I love so much. I have gotten to know the sweetest of ladies this semester in our study and I am always so grateful for the contribution they all bring to our discussion each week. I love it when women open up and share their lives—it's such a rare thing for someone to feel comfortable enough to do that, so I love when moments like that happen and we get a glimpse into their hearts to see what it is that makes them who they are right now. It's an honor to be able to lead women in discussion each week and an opportunity I don't take lightly. I genuinely pray for them and love them, and who doesn't love meeting new friends? We were a very small group in the morning small group, but those smaller groups are usually when the good stuff happens. Most people are more comfortable in a very small setting.

I am not ashamed to admit that I have sat and done this exact thing every day this week: when I eat lunch, I come and sit in my chair and watch a Hallmark Christmas movie. It's so relaxing to me! I am so glad I finally decided to subscribe to the Frndly app so that I can watch these movies.

My shameless plug for relieving stress is to find something like this that relaxes you and own it. I'm not one for "treating myself" or anything like that because I'm a fairly frugal person, but relaxing is something we all need from time to time. I have issues with anxiety and every once in a while it rears its ugly head in my life, so I do things like this to help me unwind. I will also say I only do this AFTER I've had my quiet time each day—I encourage you never to neglect time with Jesus everyday, but a little midday break like this is good for us all sometimes. I also may read, write in my journal or memorize Scripture to help my anxious self.

Well. I suppose I will jump off of here and go get dressed. Jonah, Noah and I all have dental appointments this morning to get our teeth cleaned and after that I have a baby shower to go to. I hope you have a great day! Thanks for reading; love to all! 

Wednesday Encouragement

Happy Wednesday, friends. I thought I'd share some things that have been inspiring to me this week—some the Lord revealed to me as I was praying and some things are just things I always say and share with people. I hope you're encouraged by reading this blog post.

I was talking with two different friends recently, at seperate times, when this very Scripture or thought was brought up in our conversations. One friend who works in a very challenging work environment has these Scripture cards that she has at her desk where she works each day. She does this to share with others and to encourage her own self in her harsh work environment. I think it's a brilliant idea to do that kind of thing and is why I bought her the Scripture cards for her birthday. She is also writing down verses that jump out to her in her journal and I do that very same thing.

I do this for two reasons: one is so that God's Word will be hidden in my heart. For me personally, the more I write out the Word of God, the more I remember it and can easily recall the Scripture. I'm not as good at the addresses as I used to be, but thanks to Google, I can always easily find the reference. The second reason is because I journal for the same reason I write on this blog—to remember. Remembering is Scriptural and in the Old Testament, I always love the passages where someone lays down a stone somewhere specific; so that they can remember what the Lord did for them. The other friend I was talking to about was telling me about how she is learning to pray Scripture, which is also something I love to do myself. How do I pray Scripture, you wonder? First off, to pray Scripture I need to know Scripture! Again with the writing out of all the verses. The second way I do this is very simple: I just take a verse like this one above and I might say something like, "Lord, help me to hide Your Word in my heart so that I won't sin against You." You get the gist. 

*I told my friend on this day when we talked on the phone that a great resource for this is a book called Prayer Portions by Sylvia Guinter. My friend Denise enlightened me on this book years ago at a Bible study I used to attend. I've never forgotten it and it's made a huge impact in my prayer life.

Something the Lord gently reminded me of yesterday in prayer was this statement that I keep thinking of: Have I prayed about something as much as I've talked about it to someone? I've had a few really frustrating moments so far this week (Thank you, 2020!) and I spent some sweet time confessing it all to the Lord in my prayer time. The verse I thought of as I prayed was this one:

If it's something taking up space in my mind and heart, it's worth confessing to the Lord in prayer. He is so good to us, for those of us who know Him and love Him and He bears our burdens for us. I say it all the time—He is such a good Father. I honestly cannot fathom how someone who doesn't know Jesus as their Lord and Savior makes it through life. I know they must be miserable and fearful/anxious every second of their lives. Life with Him is hard—thanks to 2020, we can all attest to this, but life without Him? It would be impossible. I don't say that lightly and I know so many people who don't know Him, but I pray for them every single day, that the Lord would send someone to minister to them where they are and that they would respond to Him in obedience. 

The funny thing about prayer is that it's instant, at least it usually is when I pray. Just yesterday I was getting dressed and listening to worship music and I just started confessing all these thoughts to the Lord. Worship music helps me in my prayer life, also and I will mention again that you should go find me on Spotify. I am allboys-us. Just search that somewhere on the app and check out some of my playlists. My favorite one is Worship 2020 that I created on my own and the songs make me feel really close to Jesus. After I prayed, I instantly felt lighter in my heart because I truly transferred the weight of what I was bearing to the Lord, who gladly bears my burdens.

I didn't actually mean for this whole post to be about prayer, but I know there's a reason for that, so I pray this reaches who it needs to reach and that you're encouraged and inspired in your prayer life. It's so simple, friends, there is nothing complicated about prayer. I think too often we make it so much more complicated that what it really is, but I just picture Jesus right beside me at my kitchen table and I talk to Him like He is my best friend. I pour it all out to Him, because He knows what is on my heart and in my mind, so why wouldn't I just confess it all to Him in prayer? Prayer is the most underused and underrated tool we have in our spiritual arsenal. I say 'spiritual arsenal' because there is a spiritual battle going on ALL AROUND US. Ephesians 6 talks about this, I encourage you to read it for yourself. One way we can be suited up in our spiritual armor is by praying and the best way to fight that battle is in prayer. A consistent prayer life is evident by the peace you see someone walking in. That's not to say we don't all slip up in this area every so often, we do because we're all human. But you'll know when your prayer life is lacking, because you will have an intense lack of peace. I promise you this is true, I have experienced it so many times. Just pick back up with today and start praying again. It's so simple, but here is how I pray: I like to use the acronym ACTS—Adoration (praising God for His attributes), Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication (praying for others).

Well, thanks for reading my blog, friends. Love to all. 

Tuesday Things

 Happy Tuesday, friends! I thought I'd share some random things and pictures I've collected over the last few days and weeks. This is one of those "random" posts I always used to make. There is no rhyme or reason for any of this, it's all just stuff on my heart or on my phone, some is serious and some things are funny. 

Every year I see this post and it makes me laugh and agree. I am so over all the political posts on social media and am ready for it to be over soon. I don't know if that's how it'll happen, but I am praying and hoping that my social media will be fun and lighthearted someday soon.

Some nights after dinner, Drew will come in and just hang out with us at the kitchen counter after dinner and almost every time he does this, he will disappear—to do this. Some days are long and I supposed he's tired at the end of his days. This always makes me laugh.

Debi wanted to take this picture of me while I was at her house. I love that she wanted to take a picture of me and I love that she makes that smile you see here come to my face. I enjoyed myself immensely while I stayed with her and my sister Lisa. I always feel completely at home when I'm with them both.

I came across this picture a few weeks ago. My dad has the greatest smile and when we are together we laugh very often. We both love reliving funny things that have happened in our lives and we love to talk about all of our memories together.

I sent this to Graham a couple of weeks ago. It made me laugh really, really hard. It's very true.

I came across this verse when I was reading in the Chronological Bible yesterday. It's one of my favorite Bible verses and my my most often uttered prayer to the Lord over my family.

Speaking of my family, don't you love nights when you already know what's for dinner? We're having one of my favorite things tonight, which happens to also be something everyone else loves. It's just chicken in the crock-pot, but I serve it with rice, shredded cheese and warmed tortillas. I eat mine like soup and add in beans and Rotel tomatoes. It's so good and so easy. All I do is cover the chicken with water and add in fajita and taco seasonings.

That's about all I have for this Tuesday morning. Thanks for reading! Love to all. 

weekending

 

Happy Monday, friends! I'm linking up with Tanya from The Other Side of the Road for this blog post.

I had such a great weekend! My husband got it started off in a great way—he told me he wanted to go out for dinner and he had a place in mind. We both follow Cousin's Maine Lobster food truck on social media and he's been wanting to try them for weeks, so we decided to make Friday night the night. We laughed because we had to drive forever to go find them in Lewisburg, Mississippi and by the time we found them, I needed a restroom, which of course there wasn't one. Todd just went and ordered for us and about thirty minutes after the fact, we had our lobster rolls and tater tots.

This was where we found them, in the middle of a neighborhood near this house. We decided it was worth the drive, worth the wait and worth the money for a one time thing. It was expensive! But it was so, so good. The roll itself was pretty small, but they packed a ton of lobster meat onto it; we both had it prepared the Maine way—cold, with a little bit of mayonnaise on a toasted brioche bun.

I am telling you, it was good. My mouth watered as I typed that last sentence.

We went to find a restroom for me (thanks to all the water I've been drinking) and we sat and ate it all in his truck. We came home after this and changed into pajamas and watched The Voice. 

I woke up and watched a Hallmark Christmas movie Saturday morning, then Mom and I went to a Christmas open house at Southern Farmhouse on our town square. 

We were sneaking this with our masks down, but can you tell we were in our happy place?!

We were swooning over all the beauty. This little shop is one of my favorite shops in our town. I plan on doing as much shopping as I can this Christmas season at small businesses like this one. I also have a few other favorite spots: CJ Lilly, also on the square; The Paisley Rooster, a cute little boutique with all kinds of great clothing and jewelry and a friend of mine who sells jewelry. I know the guys in my life will want things only found on Amazon, but as much as I'm able, I hope to support these small businesses.

I love our little town and I love our town square. It was very cool and overcast here on Saturday, which is the most perfect fall day. I was reminded of how the weather so obviously affects personalities—I was in the best mood all day and was more than happy to just walk around and window shop. I didn't spend a dime on anything that day. To top it off, we went to one of our favorite places to eat for lunch, The Silver Caboose which is also on our square.

I was back home before one, then just stayed home for the rest of the day. Todd watched football, I sat and worked on blog posts for this week and eventually picked up a book to read. For dinner that night, I made my sister Debi's recipe for her chicken pot pie. It was so good and we have leftovers!

I was at church bright and early on Sunday morning for praise team rehearsal. Church was so good! There was a baby dedication, SIX baptisms, great music and the sermon was incredible. For the rest of the day, we just relaxed and watched shows on HGTV. It was a nice afternoon, even if I felt slightly guilty for skipping choir practice. How was your weekend? I'd love to hear from you! 

Thanks for reading my blog. Love to all.

Friday Favorites

 

Happy Friday, friends! I'm linking up with Andrea from Momfessionals for this blog post. 

The first part of my week was spent in Colorado and on Thursday, I posted a giant blog post all about our sisters trip. Just go to the post below this one to read it, if you haven't and want to do so, but sister time is my favorite time! We had a blast and I was sad to say goodbye to everyone on Monday/Tuesday. Here are some of my favorite highlights from the trip.

My niece Erika has TWO sets of twin girls! In this picture above are Maci (left) and Madi, and below are Kylie (left) and Kinsley.

Debi and I are in this picture above, Trish and I in the one below and in that last one is Lisa and me. 

Favorite trip, favorite people and fun times! 

It was life back to normal on Wednesday and I was at church that morning bright and early for Bible study. 

We offer the same study on both Wednesday mornings and nights and in the morning option, we always have a short time of worship. This was the three of us who sang this week—Meagan (on the right) and I always sing for this, but this week, Sandra joined us for the song I picked. We sang Is He Worthy by Chris Tomlin. These are a couple of my favorite people! And it's always an honor to be able to help lead in worship any way and any time. 

Yesterday was a favorite day as well, because after I picked up my groceries, I stayed home. Y'all know that's my favorite. I cleaned out the pantry and the fridge and talked to my friend about a couple of things I'm helping her with, then I sat and watched a Hallmark movie. 

Today is a repeat of yesterday. My dad isn't coming over today, so though I'll miss him, I'm glad for a day to catch up on laundry and other things around the house. I have no idea what the plans are for the weekend, but I know what we'll be eating for dinner and I'm considering that a win. 

Lastly, I posted this verse yesterday because I have prayed it so much lately over people who have asked me to pray for them. I've even prayed this over someone I don't know, but who I know about as he and his family walk through a very difficult time right now. (I know of him through a Bible study I participate in.) I've experienced this verse to be true in my life, but if I neglect time with Jesus, I don't feel Him close by. When we come close to Him, He comes close to us. I just feel like someone may need to hear that today. When things are going crazy in your life, examine your quiet time. I've experienced it before myself and I know I will again someday, but it's never too late to pick up right where we left off. 

Thanks for reading! Love to all.