from us to you. :)

  

The holidays have been very busy for us, as has getting back into the swing of things with school since I've been pretty sick for the past week. I'm not sure when I'll start back posting regularly, so I just wanted to share a few pictures from Christmas and say that I hope everyone had a very wonderful holiday season and happy new year! :)

I hope you are all able to reflect on the past year and go into 2012 with a fresh outlook and new goals. And that you have a very blessed new year.

From our family to y'all, thanks for following and sharing in our lives with us! And we can't wait to see what's in store!

thrifting thursday - wearing nothing new.

Hey guys! I just finished packing the last of our twenty-five shoe boxes and my hands are killing me from all the rubberbands I had to stretch. So I'm just going to share this pretty awesome TED talk the wonderful husband found the other night.

Watch. Enjoy. Take something from it.
And please let us know what you got out of the video! I'd love to talk about it.

get out there.

 

(source)

I am such a perfectionist. And my motto in life tends to be, "If I can't do it right I'm not going to do it at all." I hate letting myself down and I hate letting others down because I feel like if I make mistakes or screw something up I'll be a failure and there will be no coming back from it. But I've slowly been learning that an attitude like that does you more harm than good.

It's OKAY to make mistakes. In fact, it's a good thing. Mistakes are what allow us to grow as individuals. They help us learn and change. And if we don't embrace that - if we just sit there scared of making them - then we miss out on so many experiences in life.

I used to think this even stretched out to my relationship with God. I knew that my sins were forgiven, but I still thought that I had to do everything I could to strive and strive and strive to be perfect for Him. Every week I would come to church feeling guilty and broken for all the things I had done wrong, make all these promises to Him that I would get it right the next week and then end up screwing it up all over again. It took me YEARS to finally realize that's not how He works. 

He has covered those of us who will accept it with his amazing grace because He KNOWS we're going to make mistakes. And people expect each other to make mistakes too. Because we're growing and learning and changing. Because we're only human and we can't get it all right and we aren't expected to. And that's something we have to learn to embrace about ourselves. Because if we don't, we're not living. We're just spending all of our time scared of life and scared of our own capabilities.

That's all. Just sharing what was on my mind today. This is something I've been wrestling with lately and it definitely helps to get it written out. :)  

What do YOU think?

why i thrift.

So. I get pretty passionate about a few things, and one of them is personal style. I'm a big believer in putting time, effort and thought into how you look everyday because I believe that how you choose to present yourself to the world speaks VOLUMES about who you are as a person.

Because my personal style is so important to me, I have developed quite an, um, fondness for shopping. I love clothing, accessories, shoes, make-up and all you can do with them! I'm a pretty artistic person and because don't always have time to sit down with a paintbrush and canvas as my creative outlet, I have found that I can funnel some of that creative energy through the way I dress.

In order to keep my individuality and to be able to constantly satisfy that part of me that wants to be creative with my personal style and use it as a way to express myself, I have had to really stop and look at how I shop, and had to be very intentional about the way I do so. One of the biggest intentional choices I have made in the past year is to start doing as much shopping as possible at thrift stores. And as I have become a more avid thrift store shopper, it has become something in which I very strongly believe. I no longer do it just because I can find some good deals, or because there are really great unique pieces in thrift stores. There are SO many more reasons why it's important to me. And this post is going to be the first of many where I hope to start sharing this important part of my life with y'all.

But for today, I just wanted to show you why it TOTALLY pays to thrift. I don't know how many of you go to your local thrift stores or buy clothes from them. But I do know that I personally know a lot of people who have attached quite a stigma to shopping at a Goodwill or something similar. And I used to be the same way. Promise! There was a time when I only shopped at the mall and you would have had to have paid me money to get me to go in a thrift store. But after some time and after a good bit of heart change, I realized I was TOTALLY not above wearing someone else's clothes. And that I am no better than the people to whom I'm donating clothes. And I'm doing a lot of good for society and the environment by helping produce less waste when I buy re-used clothing. And I'm doing a lot of good for my family when I'm saving money on clothing. And when I spend less on clothes, I have that much more to put toward things that are more important.

But anway. Enough preaching. Here are some pictures of some stuff I wear that's either vintage or thrifted. Please excuse the quality - I took them with my iPod!

So here's an outfit I wear pretty regularly. This is a vintage 80's shirt from Goodwill for $3. And I've had at least three people ask me where I got it.

Can you guess what was thrifted here? If you guessed the dress, shoes and purse then you're right. I got them all from Goodwill together for $10 total. The dress is a Target brand, which I normally don't buy at thrift stores, but it was in perfect condition. This goes to show, though, that you can find a wide range of items.

Here is a vintage 80's sweater I got at Goodwill for $3.79. It's still in excellent condition and it is totally my style. Finds like these are why I thrift. Because I know I'm not going to find them anywhere else.

So if you've read this far, I am not at all trying to sound all braggy-braggy. I'm not trying to be, like, "Look at me! I buy used clothes and that makes me better than all y'all who don't!" I'm really just trying to share something with you guys that's important to me and help y'all understand WHY it's so important. And maybe, just maybe, if you've never tried it...you might get the guts to do it. Because, if nothing else, I think it's a ton of fun just to go try on some of the crazy clothes you might find and get some good pictures! And Nate and I like to go on the weekends together and see what kind of random things we can get into. Because you really never know what you'll see or find at a thrift store.

And if you're interested in more information, here some links you can check out:

The Tyranny of Trends (a great article on fashion, trends, and the impact on society)

Adored Austin (one of my favorite bloggers who is a serious thrifter)

my edit. (another of my favorite bloggers who is thrifting inspiration)

Thank y'all for reading! And please leave comments! I would love to hear what you have to say on the subject. And any questions you might have. I want to keep this topic going, maybe even start a "Thrifting Thursday" or something. Who knows? But only if I feel like it'll go somewhere! It's kind of a leap from the personal blogging that I've been doing, but it's something that's been on my mind for awhile now. So FEEDBACK PLEASE AND THANK YOU! :)

loving a person.

I just wanted to share this song with y'all because it is one that has been a theme for the challenges I'm going through and the growth I'm facing lately. I hope you can get something out of it or see the beauty in it. :)

"Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins."
1 Peter 4:8

dreams.

Abide in the simple and noble regions of thy life, obey thy heart. – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Write down your top three dreams. Now write down what’s holding you back from them.
(Author: Michael Rad)

It's been awhile since I've done a trust30 post. I had committed. I was sticking to that commitment. And then I just let life get in the way of it. But I'm getting back on track now. No clue how long it will take to get through all of the prompts, but they WILL all be done.


Anyway. To my top three dreams.


ONE.
To have at least two children and stay at home with them until they are in school. Right now, this dream hasn't been fulfilled because Nate and I are waiting until we're in a more stable living environment where we actually have room to at least put a crib. We're living somewhere cheap now to save money so we can move to that more stable place soon. We're also working on saving money so we can afford for me to stay home with the children and better provide for them. So maybe these things aren't keeping us from fulfilling our dream, but rather helping us to reach it more quickly?

TWO. 
To more seriously pursue my artwork. Currently, I feel like I'm not doing much to reach toward this dream due to lack of time. I feel like there are so many other things I need to be focusing my time and energy on that I push this to the back burner. I keep telling myself that once I get these other things figured out, then I'll start focusing on my art. I have a feeling that if I started focusing on my art more, I would probably be more productive in my everyday life because I would have a creative outlet. I just haven't done anything about it yet. I'm going to make that an actual tangible goal this week. I am going to start spending at least one hour a week creating. 

THREE. 
To be in charge of whatever it is I am doing as a teacher - whether it means having my own classroom or doing behavioral therapy and creating my own programs. I have been working for two years now under the supervision and direction of other educators. I have a BA and a M.Ed. and experience and a good bit of knowledge (I think) and I have so many things that I want to do with my children. I am ready to have that responsibility. With the job I found most recently, I was finally given a taste of that responsibility and it was WONDERFUL. Unfortunately, it was just for a summer extension program and due to the fact that it is a private school where there is already an amazing staff, I might not be able to stay into the fall with a full-time position. And due to the job market and the way things are in the education world right now, it has been difficult to find the job I'm looking for. But I'm still looking. And still pushing forward. And despite the things that might be holding me back, I am going to continue pushing until this dream does come true.

What are your dreams?

 

i've got the power.

My inspiration for the day, or the week, or for whenever.
I've needed to keep telling myself this a lot lately. Thought I'd share.

(source)

PS. Anyone have this song stuck in their head now? Because I sure do.

fault and change.

trust30 day number eighteen.
I really really like today's topic.

I must be myself. I cannot break myself any longer for you, or you. - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Think of all the things that are not working in your life. That job you don’t like, that relationship that’s not working, those friends that annoy you. Now turn them all on you. Imagine that everything that’s not working in your life, is your fault. How would you approach it? What would you work on to change your life to the state that you want it to be?

(Author: Carlos Miceli)

I think this topic is too broad for me to approach on this blog, but it really has given me a new way to look at the issues I have in my life. I try not to spend all of my time whining and complaining about things, but I know I'm guilty of doing so.


Reading this prompt has reminded me that I spend more time than I should approaching problems I have with others from the perspective that THEY are the ones that need to change to make everything better. Instead, I could be the one making the changes to remedy the situation.


Sometimes, the problem might really be me and I just need to step outside of the situation to realize it. And sometimes, the problem might actually be the other person. But if I start making efforts to do things differently in my interactions with them, then maybe our relationship will start to change and we can begin to make progress on the issues between us.


This approach might not always be effective, but I'm pretty sure anybody is going to see more positive results from it than from constantly pointing fingers at others and not taking personal responsibility when conflicts or problems arise. I know I'm guilty of placing blame when I should be looking at myself on a regular basis. And today I'm making a promise to myself that I am going to stop doing that. I'm going to start asking myself what I could be doing differently to better my relationships with people, make situations better, or solve whatever the problem is that has arisen.

God, grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change,
the courage to change the things I can,
and the wisdom to know the difference.

What do you think about this approach to the issues that arise in your life? Do you think it's effective?

wholly strange and new.

Day sixteen. Can't believe I'm over halfway through this and I haven't slacked off yet.

When good is near you, when you have life in yourself, it is not by any known or accustomed way; you shall not discern the foot-prints of any other; you shall not see the face of man; you shall not hear any name;—— the way, the thought, the good, shall be wholly strange and new. - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Can you remember a moment in your life when you had life in yourself and it was wholly strange and new? Can you remember the moment when you stopped walking a path of someone else, and started cutting your own?

Write about that moment. And if you haven’t experienced it yet, let the miracle play out in your mind’s eye and write about that moment in your future.

(Author: Bridget Pilloud)

I think my life has been full of a lot of little moments like this. Times when I have chosen to do what is right for me, no matter what everyone else might think. There were the times in college when I made the decision not to go out every night with my roommates. There was the point where Nate and I sat down and made it a point to pay off all our debt and live a financially responsible lifestyle.

But one particular time stands out to me more than the others, because it was a turning point for me in multiple areas of my life.

I had gone off to school for my freshman year of college and had a lot of difficulty adjusting (for a number of reasons which I will not go into now because I could probably write a book on the subject). And after a semester and about a month, I ended up moving back home. My parents and I sat down together and worked out a plan for me to follow, which included me taking the rest of the semester and the summer off to work full time, going to the local tech school in the fall, and then seeing how much progress I had made at that point.

I had a life up at school. I had friends, a church, a boyfriend who I was still seeing long-distance. I had every intention of doing what my parents wanted (no more, no less) and then moving right back up to school.

But then things started to change. Once I was back home, I started to get involved in a church. I met Nate. And I started to see my life up at this other school in a different light. Up there, I was stuck in a rut. I had issues I had to work through, and the environment I was in up there - the people and things around me - were not supportive of my working through those issues.

I remember the night like it was yesterday. Making the decision to stay at home final. It didn't magically solve all of my problems. That took quite a few years. Honestly, I'm still working through a lot. But that moment was the turning point in my life when I decided that I was going to start doing what was best for me, no matter what the world thought I needed to be doing. The path has not been a clear cut, straight, or even a flat one by any means. I've fallen down and sometimes I haven't thought I'd have the strength to get back up. Sometimes I haven't had the strength to get back up, and it's only been with the help of wonderful people like my husband or by the grace of God. And sometimes I've climbed and climbed up giant hills only to get to the top and run freely down the other side with the breeze in my hair.

But I have made it. And it's my path. And that feels pretty good. :)

one thing.

Here's day fifteen of the trust30 challenge.

Do your work, and I shall know you. Do your work, and you shall reinforce yourself. – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Take a moment, step back from your concerns, and focus on one thing: You have one life to achieve everything you’ve ever wanted. Sounds simple, but when you really focus on it, let it seep into your consciousness, you realize you only have about 100 years to get every single thing you’ve ever wanted to do. No second chances. This is your only shot. Suddenly, this means you should have started yesterday. No more waiting for permission or resources to start. Today is the day you make the rest of your life happen. Write down one thing you’ve always wanted to do and how you will achieve that goal. Don’t be afraid to be very specific in how you’ll achieve it: once you start achieving, your goals will get bigger and your capability to meet them will grow.

(Author: Colin Wright)

I don't have a lot of goals in life, just a few specific ones. I've achieved quite a few, and I'm well on my way to accomplishing one or two more right now. But there's one in particular that I've put on the backburner for awhile now because I have been so focused on other things.

I want to be an artist. Not in the sense that I'm famous or that I have my work in galleries. I just want to consistently put time and effort into my work. I want to experience growth.

I want to create.

Over the next week, I'm going to take some time to figure out what I can do to accomplish this. And then I'll get back to you with my list.

And now I ask you...what is the one thing you want to do in your life?

alternative paths.

Today's trust30 prompt:

When good is near you, when you have life in yourself, it is not by any known or accustomed way; you shall not discern the foot-prints of any other; you shall not see the face of man; you shall not hear any name; the way, the thought, the good, shall be wholly strange and new. - Ralph Waldo Emerson

The world buzzes about goals and visions. Focus. Create a vivid picture of exactly where you want to go. Dream big, then don’t let anything or anyone stop you. The problem, as Daniel Gilbert wrote in Stumbling Upon Happiness, is that we’re horrible at forecasting how we’ll really feel 10 or 20 years from now – once we’ve gotten what we dreamed of. Often, we get there only to say, “That’s not what I thought it would be,” and ask, “What now?” Ambition is good. Blind ambition is not. It blocks out not only distraction, but the many opportunities that might take you off course but that may also lead you in a new direction. Consistent daily action is only a virtue when bundled with a willingness to remain open to the unknown. In this exercise, look at your current quest and ask, “What alternative opportunities, interpretations and paths am I not seeing?” They’re always there, but you’ve got to choose to see them.

(Author: Jonathan Fields)

Where do I want to be in ten years? I want to be a wife. I want to be a mother. I want to be serving the Lord. I want to be working with children who have special needs. I want to be an artist.

I don't have a ten year plan, or a five year plan. I don't even have a plan for a year from now. I know what I want to accomplish within the next two months. And I'm taking that one day at a time, as God continues to reveal His will to me. But there are no decisions that are set in stone. And I'm not closed off to any paths to the goals that Nate and I have, or so focused on reaching them in a certain way that I miss out on alternative routes.

Life is good right now. And we're heading in the direction we want to be, and the direction that seems to be right. And I think we're going to be okay. :)

fear.

trust30.

These are the voices which we hear in solitude, but they grow faint and inaudible as we enter into the world. Society everywhere is in conspiracy against the manhood of every one of its members. – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Is fear holding you back from living your fullest life and being truly self expressed? Put yourself in the shoes of the you who’s already lived your dream and write out the answers to the following:

Is the insecurity you’re defending worth the dream you’ll never realize? or the love you’ll never venture? or the joy you’ll never feel?

Will the blunder matter in 10 years? Or 10 weeks? Or 10 days? Or 10 minutes?

Can you be happy being anything less than who you really are?

Now Do. The Thing. You Fear.

(Author: Lachlan Cotter)

I guess the obvious answer to all of these questions is no. It's not worth giving up my dreams, love, and joy because I'm holding on to insecurities. And boy, do I ever hold on to insecurities. I am the queen of insecurity.

Mistakes I make now most likely won't matter down the road. At least in the negative sense. As long as I don't let them. It's up to me to decide how I let my mistakes shape my future. I can choose to let them bring me down or I can choose to learn from them and let them drive my personal growth.

It's entirely my choice whether I let those times I screw up feed into my insecurity or I turn them into learning experiences that help me move toward my goals in life. And I'm working very hard to choose the latter. I don't always make the right decision, but it gets easier as I grow as a person and get closer to my goals.

I think it's really hard to be truly happy if you aren't fully being yourself. There's a discontent that comes along with not living up to your full potential. Until you can begin facing your insecurities and start pushing yourself forward in spite of then, I'm not sure that happiness can really be achieved.

What do y'all think? I feel like this could go quite a few different ways...

divine idea.

officially on day eleven of the challenge.

Imitation is Suicide. Insist on yourself; never imitate. – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Write down in which areas of your life you have to overcome these suicidal tendencies of imitation, and how you can transform them into a newborn you – one that doesn’t hide its uniqueness, but thrives on it. There is a “divine idea which each of us represents” – which is yours?

(Author: Fabian Kruse)

I don't know that I necessarily have the tendency to imitate others. I think my tendency is more to blend in. If I see that I am different than whoever I am around in some way, I start to automatically tone down that part of my personality. I don't like to stand out and be different. It scares the living daylights out of me. So instead of letting things about myself that people might actually like shine through, I dim the lights until I'm at a brightness where I just fit in with everyone else. 

I think this tends to stifle my growth and my potential as an individual. Actually, let me take that back. I KNOW it does. It's something I'm working extremely hard on. I have a quote on my Facebook that I have to read daily, sometimes more than once a day, that I'd like to share with y'all because it helps serve as a reminder that I should never be ashamed of who I am or try to hide who I am.

“Our worst fear is not that we are inadequate, our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, ‘who am I to be so brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous?’ Actually, who are we not to be? You are a child of God: Your playing small doesn’t serve the world. There is nothing enlightening about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We were born to make manifest the glory of God within us. It is not just in some of us, it is in everyone and as we let our own light shine we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.” - Marianne Williamson

I don't know that there is one specific area of my life in which I tend to hide my unique self. I think I pretty much do this across the board.

I would say that my goal is to continue to step out of my comfort zone professionally, spiritually and artistically. And now that I have addressed this prompt I'm definitely going to look at how I can do that more specifically.

Gah. These prompts aren't easy. It's more difficult than I thought it would be to think through these topics and then put my thoughts out there.

Thoughts?

your personal message.

trust30.

To believe your own thought, to believe that what is true for you in your private heart is true for all men, that is genius. – Ralph Waldo Emerson

What is burning deep inside of you? If you could spread your personal message RIGHT NOW to 1 million people, what would you say?

I think my message would be pretty simple. It would be that God loves you. No matter what. No matter who you are. No matter what you've done. No matter what issues you have or what your situation is.

HE. LOVES. YOU.

Enough to sacrifice His son for you. Enough to taken on all your sin and the punishment for all of that sin for you. And enough to forgive you for every single bit of that sin. Every little thing you have done in the past. And every little thing you will do in the future. Gone. Washed away. So far away. Down to the ocean floor. If only you're willing to recognize that you are a sinner and accept Him and all that He has done for you into your life.

There's more to the story, but that's really the important part.

I know it's a pretty controversial message. I know not everyone agrees with it. But it's my message. And it's my truth. And it's what I live my life for. And it has changed my life. So I really can't keep it to myself, can I?

As for my 'post-it' challenge, I figured out a couple small steps I can take to put myself on the right path:

• I have started waking up at 6:30 every morning NO MATTER WHAT.
• I have started every morning with a quick devotion. Since I tend to need motivation from somewhere else, a quick Bible verse and inspirational read will give me that drive I need to start the day off right.
• I have started carrying around a small notebook that I can use specifically for ideas I have or for things I think of throughout the day that I want or need to do. I so often forget about these things because I tell myself I'll write them down later or do them later and then never do.

So, there are my first three small things. Not much, but it's a start.

So, do you have a personal message you would like to share with the world? Or at least with the few people who read our blog? ;)

afraid to do.

Check out the trust30 project here.

The other terror that scares us from self-trust is our consistency; a reverence for our past act or word, because the eyes of others have no other data for computing our orbit than our past acts, and we are loath to disappoint them. - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Emerson says: “Always do what you are afraid to do.” What is ‘too scary’ to write about? Try doing it now.

I'm a perfectionist. At everything in life. So I think the scariest thing for me to write about is failure. The 'what ifs?' What if I screw this up? What if I don't succeed at something? What if I don't get it right the first time? What if someone doesn't like me? What if I don't meet my goal? The list could go on forever. And believe me, in my mind, it does.

I think I avoid writing about all of these fears because it makes them that much more real to me. If they're out there on paper or on the internet, the possibility of them coming true is even stronger.

Rationally, I know it's crazy. And rationally, I think writing about it actually helps on some level. Even though it scares the crap out of me. Because it forces me to face whatever I'm afraid of and it forces me to think about it on another level. And it helps me to see that facing my fears head on might not be quite as bad as I think it is. Possibly.

So. There it is.

What are you afraid to put out there?

post-it.

Somehow I missed this prompt awhile back, so I'm going back to do it now. If you haven't figured out what I'm doing yet, go to the trust30 site to check it out.

That which each can do best, none but his Maker can teach him. Where is the master who could have taught Shakespeare? Where is the master who could have instructed Franklin, or Washington, or Bacon, or Newton? . . . Shakespeare will never be made by the study of Shakespeare. Do that which is assigned you, and you cannot hope too much or dare too much. – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Identify one of your biggest challenges at the moment (ie I don’t feel passionate about my work) and turn it into a question (ie How can I do work I’m passionate about?) Write it on a post-it and put it up on your bathroom mirror or the back of your front door. After 48-hours, journal what answers came up for you and be sure to evaluate them.

Bonus: tweet or blog a photo of your post-it.

I think my biggest challenge right now is that I'm not enough of a self-starter. I tend to need someone or something else to get me motivated. Once that happens I'm good to go, but it's that initial push that's difficult for me. I have trouble getting up and getting started in the mornings. I have trouble beginning projects. But after I've made it over that hump (which for me, can sometimes be more like a mountain) I'm good to go.

So, I guess my question is, "What can I do to be come more of a self-starter?"

I would love to hear your thoughts on the matter. Any help would be very much appreciated! And, as always, I would also love to hear what your post-it question would be. :)

And I will get back to you in 48 hours.