Hello Friends,

September is finally here! I love summer, but there’s something special about the way summer just slowly rolls into Autumn from September to October. It’s definitely one of my favorite times of the year!

August was… interesting. We had a fair amount of things going on with out church plant and unfortunately, I managed to catch a cough that lasted almost the entire month. I think I’m finally on the mend.

So, there have definitely been highs and lows this month! Here’s what we’ve been up to…

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August Highlights:

• A baptism service at church. It’s always so exciting to see people make the decision to follow the Lord in Believers Baptism. This was a particularly special Sunday for us as we added new members to our church.
• Freezing corn. We had a fun time freezing corn for the winter with my husband’s family. Now we have plenty of sweet corn in the freezer for quite some time!
• Police Appreciation Day at church. This was another exciting event we had at our church. We had a great turnout with first-time and returning visitors and we enjoyed a wonderful picnic afterwards.

August Reads:

Here are some of my favorite books from this past month…

The Proper Care and Feeding of Husbands by Dr. Laura Schlessinger

This book needs to come with a caveat right up front: this is a secular book written by an author that does not claim to be a Christian. As a result, there is some language in the book and maybe a few other things I would not agree with. However, with that being said, this book was excellent! The advice in the book was a lot more biblical than many other marriage books out there – even my husband read and agreed with much of the book (he kept snatching it away to read for himself!). The advice is very practical and straight-forward providing a helpful “road map” of sorts for wives who want to take great care of their husbands!

So, if you’re a wife, I would definitely consider reading this book – just go into it realizing that this is not a Christian book – although the author does have high morals and a rather biblical view of marriage regardless.

I gave this book 4 stars on Goodreads. You can find a copy here or on ThriftBooks.

The Home Edit by Clea Shearer

This was such a beautiful and inspiring book to page through! I always find it helpful to see pictures of organized and attractive spaces, so I definitely enjoyed this one. There were a LOT of helpful tips and tricks for organizing throughout the book as well. I liked the way it was divided up by sections of the home (kitchen, playroom, bathrooms, etc.). My only complaint is that many of the homes pictured are not your average and ordinary homes but instead homes owned by celebrities and wealthy families. It would have been nice to see some more “ordinary homes.” Regardless, I enjoyed the book and will definitely reference in again – especially when organizing my own home!

I gave this book 4 stars on Goodreads. You can find a copy here. 

Refresh by Shona Murray

This was my second time reading this book – I definitely needed to be reminded of it’s contents. This one is so good. I am definitely a task-oriented person and because of that, I am prone to burnout. I am just not naturally good at pacing myself. Well, this book is all about living a grace-paced life. A lot more notes were jotted down this time around, and I underlined statements and truths I want to remember in the future. I’m pretty sure this book is one I will reference again and again in the future.

I gave this book 5 stars on Goodreads. You can grab a copy here or on ThriftBooks. 

August Goals:

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

In August, I made some more progress organizing all our photos on my computer and flash drives. I also updated my homemaking binder – printing favorite recipes from my Pinterest account and adding them to my recipe section. Catching up on my reading goal for this year was another win from this past month. We also finalized some ministry plans for this coming Autumn!

August Favorites:

Things we’ve been loving…

Red Raspberry Leaf Tea – Since I’ve been sick and fighting a cold, I have had multiple, multiple cups of this tea! It’s high in vitamins and minerals so I’ve been making it a priority to consume often. Most people think of Red Raspberry Leaf Tea as “pregnancy tea” but I consider it a great option for immune support! You can find some here.

Zucchini Corn Chowder – This was a really yummy way to use up some of the leftover zucchini I had in my fridge from our garden. This soup had a lot of great flavor (don’t skimp on the salt and seasonings). I also added some carrots which the recipe did not call for.  You can find the recipe here.

Autumn Leaf Garland – I love these simple (yet pretty and cozy!) garlands. They have battery operated white lights attached to them so they are especially nice at night. I purchased mine from Amazon last year and they are still available at a reasonable price! Find them here.

I Would Love to Know

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

Until Next Time!