Hello Friends,

Wow! What a busy summer it has been so far. As a church planting family, summers are extra busy because we have a lot of events going on at church. When the weather is nice, there are more opportunities for outreach which means more people to reach and more growth going on at church. It’s an exciting time for sure!

Last month, when I was supposed to be writing my June Review, our family was busy preparing for a few days of family camp. I never got around to writing my review so I decided to combine June and July. I will try to condense things a bit so this post doesn’t get too long!

Here’s what we’ve been up to…

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June and July Highlights:

Some highlights from our month…

• Our first over-night guests. Adam and I hosted our first overnight guests (in this home) and it was so much fun! Some friends joined us for a weekend to help out with one of summer outreaches at church. We loved the fellowship and it was such a blessing to have extra help for our outreach.
• Adam and I became an Aunt and Uncle! Yup, we finally earned the title of “Aunt” and “Uncle.” Our first little nephew is super cute. 🙂
• Family camp. Our little family got to go away for a few days for our first family camp experience. It was so refreshing to get away and be challenged spiritually. It’s an experience that won’t be forgotten anytime soon!
• New brothers and sisters in Christ! This past month (at our church) we have seen several people make professions of faith. I can’t even begin to tell you how exciting it is to see someone make the choice of faith and repentance and see how it changes their lives! What an amazing privilege to share the good news of the Gospel!

June and July Reads:

I have read quite a few books in the past two months, so I’ll just share my favorites….

Simplify Your Life and Simplify Your Time by Marcia Ramsland

These two books were so helpful to me! With a busy life where I wear many different hats, it can be difficult to balance and manage it all. These two books gave me some really helpful tips and encouragement for managing my life and my time while also completing my own unique projects and goals. Some of the info may have been a little “dated” but overall, I found both books to be very helpful especially in this season of my life.

I gave Simplify Your Life 5 stars and Simplify Your Time 4 stars on Goodreads.

Eve in Exile by Rebekah Merkle

This is a book on the history of feminism and the author’s opinion on where they went wrong and what we can do differently. The first part of the book was all about feminism and it’s history (and the author did a really great job of making this part interesting). The second part was a practical response for today’s women and what we can do differently in our homemaking. The entire book was very good – I just wish the second part has a little more meat to it. Overall, I would definitely recommend the book and will likely read (or at least reference it) again in the future.

I gave this book 4 stars on Goodreads. 

Your Clothes Say It For You by Elizabeth Rice Handford

This is an “old” book by today’s standard but I thoroughly enjoyed it. Even though I have read many different books on modesty, I still enjoy reading a new one from time to time. This one brought out some unique thoughts and perspectives that I never considered before. It was also very heavy on Scripture (KJV only) which is always very refreshing – it wasn’t just the author’s opinion! Some may find this book old-fashioned and strict, but the author has a sweet spirit in her writing, and I believe its truths are still applicable for women today.

I gave this book 5 stars on Goodreads.

The Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod

This book was definitely one of the most motivating books I’ve read in awhile. As someone that has been a night owl for many many years, the fact that this book is helping to turn me into a morning person is HUGE. This is a secular book, so there is definitely some self-help/humanistic jargon that needs to be overlooked. I’ve taken some of the principles shared in this book to start waking up earlier to read my Bible, pray, journal, and read for learning. Waking up an hour or so before the rest of my family has made such a big difference! I have time to wake up, spend time with the Lord, and do some things I enjoy. Because I’m up earlier, my days are much more productive as well. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and highlighted a LOT – I plan to go back and review it again very soon. However, because there was a fair amount of stuff in the book that I disagreed with, I only gave this book 3 stars on Goodreads.

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!

June and July Goals:

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

This entire year I have been trying to organize and get on top of our family photos. I am definitely making progress – it’s just slow and time consuming! In June, I was able to finish another photo book (I’m catching up from the past 4-5 years!). It has been fun, but I will be very glad when this project is finished hopefully by the end of this year!

Some of my other goals from the past two months have revolved around ministry outreaches at church!

June and July Favorites:

Here are a few favorite things from June and July…

Daniel’s new backpack and sketchpad.

We have graduated from the diaper bag! Instead, Daniel has his own little backpack that he carries with some diapers, a change of clothing and some toys to keep him busy on-the-go and especially at church! This backpack is a little big for him, but honestly the perfect size for a growing toddler (he will grow into it!). Also, this sketchpad has been a lifesaver at church and during certain situations where Daniel needs to keep busy and be relatively quiet at the same time.  He loves drawing with this thing and I would highly recommend it (just watch out as this device does come with a button battery, which can be dangerous for littles ones if swallowed). I only let him use this sketchpad under adult supervision.

Chocolate Zucchini Bread

We are growing zucchini in our garden this year and (as zucchinis usually do) they are producing a good amount! I would probably be embarrassed to tell you how many times I have made this recipe in the past few weeks (always doubling it for the freezer and to share with friends!). Seriously, if you need a good recipe to use up some zucchini – this is it!  You can find the recipe here.

I Would Love to Know

• Do you have a favorite memory from June or July?
• Did you read any good books?
• Did you accomplish any goals?
• Are there any favorite things you’ve been loving?
• Until Next Time!