9 Feb 2017

Nothing to Prove (a review)

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Every single week, there is one specific area where I feel like I have to prove something.  Don’t we all – you may have more than one area, but I know specifically there is one area.  Sometimes there are more, but always this one.

And this doesn’t communicate to my heart that I am loved.

When we always feel like we have to compare or measure up – or we feel that we will never master or hit the mark – we feel unwelcomed and insignificant.

In Jennie Allen’s new book Nothing to Prove, she knocks it out of the park with creative prose on Bible stories, the highlight and masterful connection of the Gospel in every chapter, and you can tell she loves women.

Yall, this girl understands the gospel and loves women.  You need to read this book.  I even loaned it out and already want it back to re-read all of it – and underline more of it.  It will be a yearly re-read for sure.

Thanks to Blogging for Books for this book. All opinions are my own.

9 Feb 2017

The Art of Control

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If you love purple mosleskins, you will definitely want to enter this giveway, which also includes a book, bag, bracelet and more!

I have always liked to be in control.  I can tell it in my driving, my learning, and my relationships.  This is one area that has been the hardest in terms of living the Christian life.  I’ve really never doubted God’s sovereignty – but if His sovereignty is true, then I am definitely not in control.

Shannon Popkins’ book Control Girl is a good heart searcher to see if you might have control issues too. And in some way I think we all do.

I loved how Shannon shared personal stories and was real about her own struggle with control.  Even though she wrote this as a Bible study, I think it was more of a book that included Scriptures and make sure you ask yourself some questions.  She didn’t really hit the Bible study part hard.  Bible studies study the Bible, dig in, really take time to invest in the Word itself.  While this book was well-written I think it missed the mark on the Bible study part.  That isn’t to say it doesn’t have merit – it would still be a good book to read.  And maybe you can take the Scriptures she gives you and invest and dig deep in the Scriptures – more than she does.

24 Jan 2017

Adventures of books and boys

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This past weekend we started a new adventure in the life of our boys – puddle jumping.  We had so much rain and then the shoes came off and the pants got rolled up.

And the boys had so much fun.  It is a great adventure being a boy mom.  And we even do adventure in our reading, singing, and television shows.  We love to watch Paw Patrol and Winnie the Pooh.  We sing made up Marshall (Paw Patrol) songs about being heroes.  We read Little House on the Prairie books at bedtime, all about wolves and canvas colored wagons and snakes.

That’s one of the reasons I wanted to read Eden: An Animal’s Parable.  And I tried to read it, I read portions of it to my husband.  I thought it would be more like Narnia or Charlotte’s Web where the animals talk.  But, I was totally confused and lost and then with confusion I wasn’t interested in the book at all.  So, while there may be an exact audience out there for this book, it wasn’t this audience.

Thanks to Litfuse for the book. All opinions are my own.

You can win a kindle Fire on behalf of the book fairies! 🙂

22 Dec 2016

Quiet Time Plans for the New Year

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New Years is almost upon us.  We start thinking about our plans for reading and for goals, for lists, and new adventures. How we want to grow?  What we want to stop or pursue.

This year my plan was to read through the Word and write down what it tells me about God.  Its been rather insightful, even though I’ve not gotten as far as I would like.  I think I will keep at it though not as systematically as I’ve done this year.  I love flipping through already read passages and quickly seeing how God shows up in the Word.  How brilliantly he displays himself.

This next year, I want to read the Gospels and tell what they tell me about how Jesus, the Son of God, makes God known to the world because He reflects His Father, perfectly.

Two new devotionals I’m going to start out with: Earth Psalms (which I just got for Christmas) from Francine Rivers (a review later) and Waiting for Wonder.  Litfuse sent me this book (all these opinions are my own) and I’m super excited to really dig into this book and study the life of Sarah.  In the Old Testament, we read and study so much about Abraham, but we don’t know much about Sarah – or maybe not as much as we would like.  In this book, Marlo Schelesky, writes for women who are anticipating what God is going to do in their life – much like what Sarah had to do.  Wait  and Wonder.  She picks up the Biblical narrative of Sarah and adds to it (like making some of it fictional).  I think any woman who has ever waited for anything should be able to understand and internalize many thoughts she puts out there.  I love how it is chock full of Scripture and will use it in the new year to not only study the Word more, but hopefully bring my heart around to God’s in this prolonged season of unknown we are in as a family.

You can this waiting for wonder gift pack! Head over and find out how!

 

21 Dec 2016

Coloring and the Gospel

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I love being creative.  That is no secret, especially on this blog and my instagram account.

And when books, encouragement in the Word, and creativity combine – that’s definitely a winner.  That’s why I love lettering the Word and using colors to help the Word come alive and be a pictured part of my day.

April Knight, in her two coloring books, combines her love of the Scripture and encouraging others with her love of art, drawing and coloring.  This one, more than others I’ve seen, offer a devotional and just allows for a small getaway in your day to be creative and focus and meditate on the Word.

One thing all of us need to more is repeat and rehearse the Gospel to us.  We live in a world full of expectations and self-imposed expectations that we will never be able to meet.  The Gospel frees us from those.  And coloring the Gospel might allow us a break from the expectations and time just to square our hearts and minds on truth.

Thanks Litfuse for these coloring books!  All opinions are my own.

19 Dec 2016

Engaging Your Community During the Holidays

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Back in high school, I worked at a Christian bookstore.  Some of the best memories were concerts and friendships and knowing when all the new DC Talk, Steven Curtis Chapman, and 4Him music came out.  I loved seeing all the new Max Lucado books and cute Pass it One cards.  One of the downsides were all the cheesy Christian t-shirts (ripped from secular companies) and the cheesy books (some of which are still out there).

As a teenager, even though I had been saved for over a decade at that point, I was just learning how to pray, interact with Scripture, have a quiet time, share my faith – all the things that a growing Christian does.  Some of the books that were helpful were those little “Scripture” books that were a list of scriptures you could pray if you : were afraid, needed advice, scared of people, didn’t know anyone, had spaghetti on your tie (well, not really but you get my drift).  Some were helpful, some verses were pulled out of the context they were in in the Bible.  But, really, they helped you learn to pray God’s Word for any situation you were in.

What I know now that I didn’t know then, is how cruel this world could be.  How much sin totally affects and effects our lives – every bit of it.  And if sin affects my heart, it must affect those around me.  Now, that we are more than two decades out from my Christian bookstore days, I know even more of the people around me and the pain and reality that intersect their 24/7.

Amelia Rhodes, in her helpful prayer book, Pray A to Z, doesn’t teach us how to pray, but she gives examples of prayers that could be prayed for your community : your family, your neighbors, your co-workers, your church members, your friends – and gives a verse and sample prayer that could help you – jump start or continue – in how to pray for these.

Here is just a sample:

Adoption (I know so many in this process right now)

Abuse (unfortunately, I know some who have been or who are in a type of abuse)

Law Makers (are there any lawmakers that you know?)

Law Enforcement (the Word speaks to their lives as they protect the community, especially with all the violence escalating in our communities)

Pain (physical, mental, chronic)

Prince of Peace (especially around Christmas time, people are in search of peace more than usual).

What a great way to engage your people this holiday season – ask them how you can pray for them.  And, if time permits, stop and pray right then.  If you are just passing them and have a brief second, please pray later (don’t forget) and shoot them a text or a snail mail letter recording that prayer, or just telling them you prayed.  Maybe it won’t seem like a big deal to them in the moment, but I’m sure they will remember your kindness and gospel opportunity later.

This is also a great way to teach little ones some practical ways to pray – it is systematic and has verses and prayers right there, on one page.  It will teach kids to invest in the lives of others so they know what to pray and it will teach them how to include God’s Word in their prayers back to Him.

Thanks to Litfuse for this book and all opinions are my own.

1 Dec 2016

Ways to Fight for Your Marriage (Giveaway)

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Some things in life are not worth fighting over: team sports, lesser theological topics, some political issues, etc.  But, there are definitely some things worth fighting for: marriage is one of them.  And the only one you are totally responsible for is your own.  Yes, you can pour into other couples and their marriage and you can disciple others, but ultimately you are only responsible for your own.

Being married for 5 years, and having gone through some really difficult circumstances in those 5 years: out-of-state moves, job changes, traumatic birth, another birth soon after, commission jobs, change in life direction, loss of friendships, damaging personal relationships…we’ve had to fight for our marriage.

Here are some things we do to fight for our marriage:

  1.  Sometimes, you go to bed angry.  Ok – we’ve all heard the saying don’t go to bed angry, and the principle is biblical (don’t let the sun go down upon your anger).  We’ve learned that one thing we can do when we are angry with each other is sometimes just go to bed.  When we are tired and crabby and angry – we usually don’t have healthy conversations.  So, we will call it a night, go to bed, and typically by morning, we are better.  We will still have some things to talk about, but we have rested, prayed, and calmed down.
  2. Taco Night.  Often times during the week my husband and I don’t eat meals together.  He’s at work, I eat with the kids, he gets home late, etc.  But, on Sunday nights, as far as it is up to us, about 830pm, after the kids are in bed, I get Chipotle tacos and guac – 12$ if we buy two guacs.  We sit on the couch, talk, eat, laugh.  Sometimes we will talk for about 3 hours – something we did when we were dating, married but didn’t have children, you know the scene.  Sometimes we will watch a show on Netflix (right now: Leverage, West Wing, Blacklist).  Just sitting shoulder to shoulder, eating yummy food (that I didn’t have to cook), and talking or just being with each other – ends our weekend, long Sunday, and spurs us on to be married another week.  I love it!
  3. Being in the Word.  We do not do our devotions together.  We actually find it hard to pray together and it is something we are working at.  But, we do each have time in the Word each day, and that helps us love God and love each other better.  I often tell him what I need: more of Jesus, more of him.  Two things I can never have too much of.  Cary and Dena Dyer have written a book for couples, a compilation of their story as a couple, humor, biblical wisdom for married couples, and discussion questions.  A couple things I really liked about the book was they shared their own stories.  Some marriage books give tips and pointers but don’t delve into their personal marriage any.  I love people’s stories and I want to know how they live their marriage each day.  Another thing I liked was the talking points at the end of each chapter.  Some couples find it hard to talk – or find things to talk about – and need help.  One thing I didn’t like was that I couldn’t see my husband reading this book.  It didn’t seem to fit a guy writing/reading style.  I know most books are bought and read by women.  So, maybe how a wife could do incorporate Love at First Fight into her marriage is by bringing up some of the questions to her husband.
  4. Get the long vision.  I heard one time that marriage is a long walk in the same direction.  Get a long vision of marriage.  We seemingly have been in one hard season after another in our 5 years of marriage.  And maybe one day the hard season will end, but we know that we wouldn’t want to walk these hard seasons alone, or with anyone else.

If you would like to win a copy of Love at First Fight, just leave a comment on your best marriage tip.  Sponsored by Shiloh Publishers and Sidedoor Communications.  All thoughts are my own.

11 Nov 2016

Finding Lovely

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Papa the Veteran

Happy Friday.

One of the people I’ve known the longest in my life is my Papa.  For all but 8 months of my life growing up (until I went to college), he lived across the pasture from me.  He taught me to fish and make french fries from scratch.  He always called me Kimberly.  He taught me how to pick oranges and muscadines.  He fought in battles to make this country what it is today.  And at 93, he is still mowing his yard, and having conversations about the government or fishing to anyone who will listen.  Thanks Papa for serving our country!

You don’t need to be planning a wedding, or going to a wedding to enjoy these cocktails. On a side note, I got to hang out with Cathy this week at our Pursuit Communities Atlanta Friendsgiving.  I made a tart, did the place cards, many others brought yummy foods, Mandi hosted the event, we sat around the table discussing our craft, our families, our histories and our futures.  Thankful for this creative group.

All you moms out there – you need to read this.  So gospel centered and right on point.

I do love a good cookbook, but there are so many out there.  How do you pick a good cookbook?

Tonight, if it were just my mister and me, I would make this soup, and have some of this apple pie, and just hang out on the couch.

Raising kids makes me think about a lot: how I was raised, how I want to raise my boys, what does it mean to be a family in 2016 and beyond.

 

 

 

4 Nov 2016

Finding Lovely

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Finding Lovely

To say its been a hard week over here, may just be an understatement.  But, in those moments, God still wants me to pursue him, pursue a grateful heart, cry out to him with everything I’m feeling (he’s not surprised by any of it).  He gives me Himself, He gives me friends that accept crazy texts in the middle of the day, who pray for me.  He also gives me lots of lovelies that I find here.

This is the post each week where I get to share these lovelies with you.  Enjoy.

This soup looks crazy good.  I’m definitely making it next week.

I showed these to my husband.  I’d love all these pretty things to organize my home office.  Which currently is my dining room table and a desk positioned in a beautiful bay window.

I love this momma and these chocolate cookies.

Podcasts are amazing.  I’ve been listening to these this week: DC preaching, real life momma and ministry, and raising boys.

And since i’m not really traveling any time soon, I thought I would post about a little place I would love to go – especially in the fall or winter when I could snuggle by the fire.

What are some lovelies that you have found this week?

 

14 Oct 2016

Coffee with: Cathy of Cathy Nugent Weddings

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I really love Southern friends.  I mean, just hearing yall, a sweet laughter, and an hospitable chat over a cup of coffee, can definitely set a new friendship, a fun morning, and a commonality in all things southern and creative.

Atlanta has been blessed with a young girl from Texas who loves all things wedding.  i met Cathy in our Pursuit ATL group, and we’ve already had coffee.  So, I wanted to introduce yall to her.  Whether you are planning a wedding, or just love to hear a creative chat about what she loves, including her husband, her dog, and mochas – then keep reading.  If you are planning on getting married soon in the ATL metro, or know someone who is, she’s your girl!

1. Tell us about your story? Who are you?

So, my name is Cathy Nugent! Before you ask if I am related to Ted, I think my husband is somewhere in there but I have yet to meet him! I am a 23 year old living the life of owning her own creative business after taking a leap of faith, and let me tell you: it is my dream job! I am a wedding planner, coordinator, and designer who loves to blog. I also like to dabble in calligraphy on the side as well as be a regular attender at weekly craft nights with my bible study girls, so I guess you could call me the jack of all trades. I am married to a cowboy, and we have a chocolate lab fur baby together named Beaux. I have lived all over the country growing up, but I am currently planting my roots here in Atlanta after moving here in June with my husband. We moved from College Station, Texas where we actually met while we attended Texas A&M University. (Whoop! Go Aggies!) Anyone who knows me knows that I have a high key obsession with Fixer Upper, and I pride myself on having Joanna Gaines as my spirit animal. My husband and I dream of one day buying our own fixer upper here in Georgia!

2. How did you come to love weddings so much that you wanted it to be your full time job?

To be honest, I fell in love with weddings when I met my husband. It was one of those things where we knew right away that God had brought us together. I became one of those girls who had a secret wedding Pinterest board! How my business started was actually opposite how many other people in the industry got their start. After I got engaged, I actually had a wedding blog where I would write about wedding stuff and my own wedding planning. My husband and I were long distance a lot of our engagement and my family was so spread out that it was hard to have everyone so involved. I’m known as the crafty one among my friends, and I have always loved to write, so I used my blog as the opportunity to share with the world what I was up to (with never failing to add in a whole lot of sass). Before I knew it I had a following, and my office hours as a TA turned into wedding planning sessions. I realized how much I was helping people and how much people listened to what I had to say. (and better yet, how much I loved it!) After a lot of prayer I took a leap of faith in starting a business out of my blog and skills, and I have never turned back since!

3.  How does your faith inspire your work?

I am a firm believer that my work would be nothing without my faith. Period. I have yet to wake up to face a day without praying for God to lead me to the people who need me. With that being said, I feel like God’s love is what I strive to be seen through my work because, after all, “We love because He first loved us.” My dream is for everyone who comes into contact with my work – whether bride and groom or just a wedding guest – to be overwhelmed with the feeling of God’s love.

4.  What is your favorite part of wedding planning?

My favorite part of the wedding planning is seeing the excitement of the bride and groom after they’ve just gotten married. I am a firm believer that everyone deserves to have their best-day-ever on their wedding day, and being able to help bring a couple’s dream wedding day to life is one of the most rewarding things I have ever done. It makes my heart so full to know that they will remember nothing but how amazing their day truly was – because they got married! All of the stress I may have faced getting everything perfect melts away when I see the smiles on their faces. It’s one of my favorite things in the whole world.

5.  Since you are in the wedding business – about love, what is your favorite part about your own wedding and what do you love most about your mister?

I think my favorite part of my own wedding day was our wedding ceremony. Although it rained on and off all day and the ceremony was forced to be moved inside, it was even more perfect than I originally had planned it to be. It was a lot more cozy, and the room was overflowing with just so much love. (To the point my non-emotional husband actually choked up reading his vows!)
Although he’s not the emotional type, I am definitely way too emotional so it evens it out! I think what I love the most about my husband is how from day 1, he has lead our relationship like God has called the husband to do. And most importantly, he makes me want to be a better wife as he is constantly leading me closer to Jesus. He loves me well and has been a true protector and provider over me.
6. How does the creative community work together in this industry?
The creative community that I have found in Atlanta is absolutely amazing. I feel so blessed each and every day for the support of those in the industry running the same race that I am. Through vendor communities such as the Rising Tide Society as well as Pursuit, there is really a sense of community over competition and helping each other out. Together there is an amazing support system, problem solving help, and a close knit of referrals to help out each other’s businesses. Plus, I get to have coffee with amazing people like you on the regular, so it makes me enjoy what I do even more!
7. What’s your fave coffee shop and what would you drink?
Kimberly, you know how much I love coffee. There’s just something about the amazing conversations that can happen over a good cup of coffee. Since I am new to Atlanta, I am still searching out them all. I am a sucker for trying new coffee shops! So far I have fallen in love with Octane in West Midtown and Cool Beans Coffee Roasters in Marietta Square. Don’t tell my husband because we are suppose to be on a diet, but I can’t help but order a Mocha!
We’ve already talked about our mutual love of Cafe Intermezzo – so maybe a late night work session.  Can’t wait to hear her co-teach a meet-up next week on blogging – definitely one of my loves that often gets put to the back burner.