Hello Friends,

Happy May! I hope your week (and the brand new month) are off to a great start!

April was a refreshing month but went by way too quickly – as they all do.

Spring is having a very hard time making it’s way to Pennsylvania. We have glimpses of it throughout the week with warm weather and bees buzzing, but then it rains and gets very, very cold again. Hopefully, the warm weather will be here to stay soon! 

Let’s go ahead and jump right in to this month’s review.

Disclaimer: This post does contain some affiliate links. This means if you click on a link and make a purchase I will receive a very small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you for supporting my blog in this way!

April Highlights:

Some highlights from our month…

• Christ Conference at Church – over Easter weekend our church hosted a Christ Conference to celebrate the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. I was able to teach a class for kids during each of the services and it was a lot of fun! It’s exciting to watch kids learn about Jesus and why he came to die on the cross!
• Field Trip with Friends – a friend and I took our kids on a day trip to the Crayola Experience. It was quite an adventure (and a really crazy day!) but all the little ones involved has a BLAST. I’m pretty sure it took me a whole day to recover from the craziness! 😉
• Time with Family – with Easter and some other family get-togethers this past month, we had some really nice times catching up with family members!

April Reads:

These are the books I read this month…

Together is a Beautiful Place by Bailey T. Hurley

Ahhh, I loved this one! It’s always so helpful to read a book on friendship (for adults) because making and keeping friends in adulthood can be challenging. Life changes so much when you become an adult, that often includes getting married, moving, changing churches, becoming a mom, etc. All of these things can have a huge impact on our friendships! Not to mention, making new friends feels so much more awkward as an adult! Bailey did such a great job with this book – it was hard to put down. I could relate to her friendship struggles so much, and I especially appreciated the chapter where she talked about transitions in life and friendship because I have been there! Bailey doesn’t just talk about the good parts of friendships, but the tough aspects too, and she gives great advice for navigating them! I did not agree with everything in the book, but overall, it was very helpful and enjoyable!

I gave it five stars on Goodreads.

P.S. I was gifted an advance copy of this book from the author, but the thoughts and opinions I expressed are all my own. Together is a Beautiful Place is currently available for pre-order and will be released in just a few weeks!

God is More than Enough by Jim Berg

This book is SO good – especially if you struggle with guilt, anxiety, anger, fear, depression, etc. Basically, I would say it’s a must-read for any Christian! I grew up listening to/learning from Jim Berg as he taught through these principles in Quieting a Noisy Soul as well as his book Changed Into His Image. But WOW, how quickly we can forget these truths when life gets busy!

This book has a lot of the same material that is found in Quieting a Noisy Soul (which is a seminar on DVD) but the book is not as detailed. However, it’s still AMAZING and a book that I highly recommend for anyone that finds themself with a noisy heart and soul.

I gave this book five stars on Goodreads.

Finding True Rest in a Busy Life by Shaunti Feldhahn

This was a tiny little booklet that I enjoyed reading throughout the month. It was a great book to read before bed. This booklet has 20 short and sweet chapters that talk about finding joy and rest even in the midst of a busy life. I thought the book was very encouraging and will likely pick it up again in the future.

I gave this book 5 stars on Goodreads.

Be Fruitful and Multiply by Nancy Campbell 

I enjoyed this book although I certainly have mixed feelings about it. The heart and message behind the book was great. Christians in general do not value children the way that we ought, and the author did an excellent job of pointing out the Bible’s view of children and God’s desire to bless Christian couples and families with children. Unfortunately, I think the author swung the pendulum a bit too far in the opposite direction and some of the applications she drew from various passages were a bit of a stretch.

You can read a more detailed review of this book on Goodreads, but in the end I gave it 3 stars.

Simply Clean by Becky Rapinchuck

I’ve loved this book since I was a newlywed! However, it took me awhile to get a copy of my own, and I just finished reading through it for a second time. I love the easy to follow schedules and routines that are laid out in the book. For my spring cleaning this year, I am doing the 7-Day Simply Clean Kick Start and then will (hopefully) follow with the 28-Day Simply Clean Challenge. You would think a cleaning book would be boring – this one is not! Becky really motivates you to clean your home and shows you how to go about it in a simple and manageable way!

I gave this book 5 starts (again!) 😉

Please remember that just because I read and enjoy a book does not mean I recommend it wholeheartedly. Read any book with discernment and always compare what you read to the perfect standard of God’s Holy Word!

April Goals:

I use the Powersheets Intentional Goal Planner to plan and keep track of my monthly and yearly goals. 

A few goals from this past month were –

• Prepping for our Christ Conference at Church
• Switching out my Fall/Winter wardrobe for my Spring/Summer clothing
• Taking a social media break

All of these things have been done! My social media break will likely carry over into this month as well since it was a short one.

April Favorites:

Here are a few favorite things from the month of April –

Everyone 3 in 1 Lavender Soap – This stuff smells heavenly and I love that it’s made with all-natural ingredients. It also comes in a huge bottle so a little goes a long way.

ACURE Curiously Clarifying Shampoo – I have such a hard time finding a natural brand of shampoo that will properly clean my thick (and oily-prone) hair. I heard good things about this brand so I decided to try it and… it works! My hair actually feels clean after using it and doesn’t leave an oily residue on my hair. So far, I’m very pleased with it! 🙂

Haagen-Dasz Coffee Ice Cream – This brand of ice cream is simply amazing… and the coffee flavor is literally the best and creamiest coffee ice cream I have ever had in my life. The ingredients are also super clean with no fake stuff, which is another reason why I love this brand + flavor! It’s pricey though, so this is an occasional treat that I like to grab at Walmart from time to time.

I Would Love to Know

• Do you have a favorite memory from January?
• Did you read any good books?
• Did you accomplish any goals?
• Are there any favorite things you’ve been loving?

Until Next Time,