{March Goals}

"'and my people shall be satisfied with my goodness,'
declares the Lord." Jeremiah 31:14

This morning I was reflecting on notes from listening to Lisa Chan speak at a women's conference a couple years ago. Y'all, she is such a beautiful gem! She brought a powerful message from the Word & I have been challenged by it countless times since then. At that conference, Lisa shared a fantastic analogy of our lives here on earth:

We're all on a camping trip - off-roading, traveling along the road the Lord has put before us. It may be a 70- or 80-year trip down this dusty, bumpy road & that's all it is. This world isn't our home, or our final destination. She challenged us to ask:

Am I living as if I'm not of this world? Or have I tried to set up camp, kicking my feet up & making myself as comfy as possible? If we gorge ourselves on the things of this world, we won't have a huge appetite left for Christ.

Matthew 6:19-21 reminds us of where to place our value/treasures:

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth & rust destroy and where thieves break in & steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys & where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

So, the questions to ask ourselves are: What is my treasure? What do I treasure?

When I'm setting goals & thinking through what I want to be about each month, I try to reflect on this principle: We are only temporarily here on this earth. Jesus is enough. He should be our heart's greatest joy, hope, treasure. Lay up treasures in heaven, dear sisters.

May this be true of us all: "God, stamp eternity on my eyelids." {Lisa Chan}

March Goals

>> Finish reading On Photography & Happiest Baby on the Block (carryover)
>> Clean out 2014 hard drive (carryover)
>> Paint end tables (carryover)
>> Make pillow covers (carryover)
>> Buy frames + hang photos
>> Make laundry detergent
>> Enjoy a Girls' Weekend getaway
>> Review our budget + plan for April

April Gratefulgrams

"Every good gift & every perfect gift is from above, & comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning." {James 1:17}

Yesterday was quite the day - all kinds of things going on, going to & from work in the pouring rain, missing my exit on the highway followed by more traffic to navigate through, plus to top it all off, I burnt a HOLE in the bottom of our tea kettle when I did get home last night!

But God - He is ever faithful, remains the Great I am even when we have one of those days when even the tea turns out wrong. He is the Blesser & because His great mercy, I am thankful today. Here are just a few things I'm grateful for in April:

1.  Memorizing God's Word with my SG ladies / 2. Sweet surprise words of encouragement from Deano / 3. Celebrating love & engagement with new friends / 4. A long walk/talk with DaraLynn / 5. Working alongside Laura for a beautiful Easter wedding / 6. Catching up over dinner with friends

March Gratefulgrams

"The life of faith is lived one day at a time, & it has to be lived - not always looked forward to as though 'real living' were around the next corner. It is today for which we are responsible. God still owns tomorrow." Elisabeth Elliot

There are days - sometimes Mondays, sometimes Thursdays - when I can look at the hours ahead, the things that need to be done & say, "Ughh, not this. I can't wait for _ _ _ _ _ _ _ to happen." Reading through Let Me Be a Woman by Elisabeth Elliot over the past few weeks has challenged me to examine my heart, my motives in this life.

This body & my spirit are not my own; I was bought with a price (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). Christ died for me, that I might live for Him (2 Corinthians 5:15). Does my day-to-day reflect that knowledge? He is faithful, just, compassionate, holy & good. I want to feast in His presence daily & live each moment bringing Him more glory & honor.

1. Thankful for Hubby who cares for me when I'm sick / 2. Here's to cutting off the old (literally) & embracing the new. Eek!! / 3. Long-distance celebrating with my sis who passed her real estate exam! / 4. Hiking, talking & laughing up a storm with these amazing ladies. / 5. Finding creative inspiration is good for the soul. / 6. Winding through hallways upon hallways with this guy.

Advice for Brides: Making decisions

The first free moment we had after getting engaged last spring, I made a quick trip to Target for a very special purchase: a wedding planning binder! I found a beautiful pink watercolor pattern & it was even on sale! It was so exciting to have it & begin filling it with different hair, dress & makeup ideas from bridal mags plus inspiration for a venue, centerpieces and more.

Slowly but surely I began to collect more ideas & options for our wedding but realized something: I wasn't making any decisions.

One Saturday I went on Etsy to look through save the dates options & searched by color, theme, style, price. There were probably hundreds of results with each new search. And I wanted to look through ALL of them. Every. single. one! Dean came over later that day & was like, "Sooo are we ever going to even have time to mail them out?"

Which leads me to today's tip for brides: a huge part of getting married is making decisions.

Guest list, order of bridesmaids, rehearsal dinner menu, ceremony music. These are just a few of the decisions that are the behind-the-scenes of actually planning your wedding. But instead of crossing things off the list, I just wanted to linger around each decision, gathering every possible choice, but not actually picking out the color/time/place. And with all the amazing wedding sites, blogs & online shops, it would've taken me years to look at it all!

My now hubby, on the other hand, was in a different mindset as we started to plan & helped encourage us to actually be choosey. If you're hired a wedding planner, this is the exact kind of situation where having their expertise & guidance is a huge asset! Our wedding planner Sami was incredible about guiding us through the process & keeping us on track with everything from picking our venue to reception flowers.

> If you're like me & you LOVE having tons of options, that's great but don't let them all stay options. Set a deadline for when you want to have reached a decision.
> Enlist your fiance's support! We realized I could've looked at save the dates, bridesmaid dresses and more all the up until our wedding day if it hadn't been a team effort.
> There's a time for everything. If there's something you don't need make a decision about right away, like guest favors, then give yourself time to enjoy browsing the options.
> Narrow it down to a few faves & let your fiance/maid of honor/wedding planner weigh in.

Hope these tips help those who are planning! Have y'all struggled with making decisions? What are some ways you've worked through it?

Advice for Brides: The Top 5

Advice for Brides: Get more sleep

Advice for Brides: Seeing your groom

Advice for Brides: Your bridal party

Advice for Brides: Creating your registry

Advice for Brides: Putting the wed in wedding

{March Goals}

Spring is getting closer. I can feel it! Although by the looks of the snow-covered tree tops outside & blankets of white covering the ground, it seems like we may have taken a step back toward winter. But here we are, in March 2014! Whew, I was just looking back over my goals for last year & it's awesome to see how much growth I've gained & discipline I've learned along the way. 

If you're wanting to set goals for yourself but are unsure if what things offer a worthy focus, try asking yourself these questions:

1. Will this goal help my life vision?
2. Does this goal also help other people?
3. Why would I spend my time on this goal?
4. Does this goal align with my core?

By testing your goals this way, you'll ultimately be getting at the WHY, the reason for doing it. So thankful to Lara Casey for her incredible gift in making goal-setting for others happen! 

March Goals

>> Look over past prayer journal entries & reflect upon God's faithfulness
>> Finish reading The Meaning of Marriage (carryover from February)
>> Celebrate 1 year of LMP! More details on that to come!!
>> Chat with designer about LMP logo & branding
>> Price insurance & accounting with our agent
>> Encourage my SG ladies toward God's truth
>> Hang & display photos, Scripture & art in our home
>> Put our prayer chalkboard up (I picked the spot, just need to put it up!)
>> Aim to be in bed by 11 & up to by 6:30
>> Set aside one day to truly rest
>> Take walks
>> Review Scripture memory verses/weekly
>> Work on being the first to admit to wrong & apologize in all relationships

"There is no great with Thee, there is no small, For thou art all, & fillest all in all." Amy Carmichael