Favorite Links, link ups

What I Learned – Spring 2018

I love taking time for a quarterly review of life with Emily P. Freeman. March, April, and May were exciting months for our family.

I turned forty and our oldest became a teenager!

You can read my letter to our son here. I embraced this new decade with joy and anticipation and I’m still not regretting that decision.

I was also reminded this quarter of how far a coach’s impact can reach with time and energy invested. We had such an amazing weekend catching up with former teammates, coaches, players and wives. Taking time to publically thank Andy was a small but special part of that time.

Work/Life balance is a constant work in progress

My Powersheets check-in, as well as my chat with Daniel from First Team Fathers, were great reminders of how far I’ve come in a long and short amount of time as well as how much life we have walked through as a married couple and family of four.

In our current season, we are all thriving in different ways, but we aren’t without our pain points. That’s life though, isn’t it? A constant work in progress.

I’ve Missed Reading

I’ve been wrapped up in writing the last six months and both crafting and reading were set to the side. I’m so thankful to have a reason to read as a part of the Holy Hustle book launch team. Crystal Stine’s timing is perfect.

I also listened to Braving the Wilderness by Brene Brown recently and Cory Booker’s United. A benefit of working from home is being able to listen to audiobooks while I work!

Reviews of all three books will soon post on my blog.

What have you learned this spring? I’m linking up with Emily P. Freeman. We’d love for you to join the conversation!

Favorite Links, link ups

Share Four Somethings – April

I’m linking up with Heather Gerwing for another month of #sharefoursomethings.

Something Loved

I have SO many emails to deal with every day. With an increased client load (wahoo!) it was starting to get out of control on a regular basis. But this new trick has fixed my email chaos and that’s something I’m LOVING!

How to Save Your Gmail Emails to Google Drive (Bonus….this works for Yahoo emails too!)

Something Said

I turned 40 last month. Here are my thoughts on this milestone.

Here’s a preview: “As I reflect on the last decade, I can’t believe how much has happened. At the same time, I can’t picture a different path.”

Something Learned

With summer just around the corner, I’ve started collecting ideas for the weeks when the boys aren’t in camps. This year they should have a half and half summer in that half the weeks are booked.

Library trips are a year-round staple in our home, but over the summer it is harder to find series to hold the middle schooler’s interest. At parent-teacher conferences, it was suggested that non-fiction, biographies, and auto-biographies enter the rotation.

This list of Nonfiction Books for Curious Middle Schoolers is a great place to start!

Something Read

I’ve found myself leaning toward introverted tendencies in the last several years. I wasn’t sure if my health was a factor, but this article cleared things up for me. Whether I’ve always been an introvert or have developed into one…these 12 things definitely needed these days.

12 Things Introverts Absolutely Need to be Happy

“Introverts have unique needs that are different from those of extroverts. We’re not always looking for the next party, and we may be just as happy staying home. So what does it take to avoid feeling exhausted and drained? Here are 12 things that just about every introvert needs to be happy.” Keep reading here…

Share Four Somethings Link Up

link ups

March Four Somethings

It’s hard to believe another month is almost over! We’ve had a great one here with a getaway to Kanas City, spring break and birthday celebrations. I’m linking up with Heather Gerwing for another month of Share Four Somethings!

Share Four Somethings Link Up

Something Loved

I’m loving my new blog layout. I’m not sure I’ll ever be 100% content, but this is the closest I’ve gotten to the website that sits in my head. WordPress has so many cool template options, but you still have to know how to place things on pages and connect links.

Something Said

We had the opportunity to spend the weekend with some of our favorite coaching families spread across the country at the beginning of March.

We spent time laughing and catching up, and we celebrated the 50th of someone special, my husband’s college coach. I write about Andy’s impact some here. It was an important reminder for us to listen to others speak as well as reflect on our own story. A Football Coach’s impact can reach far and last a lifetime.

Something Learned

I learned that I’ve hit maximum capacity. After a year of saying no to volunteering and other activities, I felt a release to step back into life a bit and before I knew it I had more on my plate than I could accomplish. Thankfully Powersheets is helping me keep a great perspective on what my actual goals should include. (Hint…I’ve added back to my list to say no)

Something Read

Legacy is not a buzzword in our family, it is calling, but it’s hard to know if you are building the right legacy most days. I loved this post from Kristen Strong How to Build a Life Remembered by Others was just what I needed to hear.

Here’s a preview:

“Perhaps like you, I learned in the early morning hours of February 21^st that Billy Graham had died at 99 years of age. And as my daughter and I wound our way through the slushy, snowy roads toward her school that day, we listened as our radio station payed tribute to this man who for so many was a hero of the faith. One of the radio co-hosts mentioned that while she couldn’t say Billy Graham’s gospel sharing had specifically crossed her own walk of faith, he reminded her of key people in her life who’s sharing did. Through remembering Billy Graham, she remembered those people who spoke life and hope to her along the way.” Read the rest on Kristen’s blog.

link ups

What I’ve Learned February 2018

What I've Learned

It’s our quiet season, but we our weekends are still filled with sports. We’re cheering from the sidelines of indoor soccer, archery and basketball these days and I’m so thankful for volunteer coaches and amazing opportunities.

The past few months I’ve transitioned from a season of intentional stillness to a season of expectantly waiting with a position of readiness. I feel a freedom to say yes, but interestingly the opportunities which have crossed my path have resulted in no’s for the most part.

Here’s What I’ve Been Learning:

Ready:

A position of obedience does not immediately open a door. My #oneword2018 is Ready, but two months in I’m still not sure for what.

Reading:

I can meet a goal if I set my mind to it, but every goal requires saying yes to one thing and no to something else. I read 20 books this year, and I didn’t have any time for crafting. This year I’m focusing on reading 12 books and finding space to create.

Simplifying is a Constant Work in Progress:

“Create flexible routines so each part of your life works together rather than competes for time and attention.” A Simplified Life by Emily Ley

link ups

Four Somethings February 2018 Edition

Share Four Somethings Link Up I’m linking up with Heather Gerwing again this month for #sharefoursomethings. You can head to her blog to see what others are sharing.

Something Loved

We’ve been diffusing On Guard like crazy in the hopes of avoiding or minimizing the flu this year. This recipe for DIY cleaning wipes (think clorox wipes) is AWESOMELY easy and it uses doTerra foaming handwash, something I already use daily.

Something Said

Luvvie Ajayi’s Ted Talk is 10 minutes of honesty. If you’re having a hard time finding your words in the chaos and noise of this season I encourage you to listen and ask yourself the three questions suggested. Above all, remember, your voice is important, and your words matter.

“Ajayi shares three questions to ask yourself if you’re teetering on the edge of speaking up or quieting down — and encourages all of us to get a little more comfortable with being uncomfortable.”

Something Learned

Carrageenan is something in some of my most frequently used doTerra products. I’ve been leery of it because it’s an additive. But, this article has presented new research!

Something Read

This is What ‘Self-Care’ REALLY Means Because it’s Not All Salt Baths and Chocolate Cake

“Self-care is often a very unbeautiful thing.

It is making a spreadsheet of your debt and enforcing a morning routine and cooking yourself healthy meals and no longer just running from your problems and calling the distraction a solution.

It is often doing the ugliest thing that you have to do, like sweat through another workout or tell a toxic friend you don’t want to see them anymore or get a second job so you can have a savings account or figure out a way to accept yourself so that you’re not constantly exhausted from trying to be everything, all the time and then needing to take deliberate, mandated breaks from living to do basic things like drop some oil into a bath and read Marie Claire and turn your phone off for the day.”