Time for more books!

 

Look at me, blogging twice in 6 months! And, it's more book reviews coming at cha! 

These two books were pretty great. First up, Holy Noticing: The Bible, Your Brain, and the Mindful Space Between Moments  by Charles Stone.  This book actually took me a while to get through. Not that it was so terrible, but there is so much to unpack that I wanted to go slow through it. The bible instructs us to be mindful and meditate on God's word. This book dives into that, and into the science of it. Neuroscience is so fascinating, and to see what they are just now discovering, and comparing that to what's written in the bible, thousands of years ago, it's simply amazing. I'd recommend this book to anyone who is interested in in seeing science prove what the bible says about hacking our brains. 

Next up is The 4 Habits of Joy-Filled Marriages: How 15 Minutes a Day Will Help You Stay in Love by Marcus Warner and Chris M. Coursey

I love a good marriage book. If we're not actively working on our marriage and relationship, then it's stagnant. So I knew I had to read this one. Who doesn't need more joy in their life & marriage?   Marcus and Chris also get into neuroscience of keeping joy regular and problems small. It's another brain/relationship hack! They also throw in some short exercises, which is fabulous. You get to immediately try out what you just learned. It's a short book, a quick read for the reluctant spouse, but meaty enough to actually improve your "Joy Gap" if you put a little effort into it. I'd recommend this book to all married couples, even engaged couples! 

Disclaimer: I receive complimentary books from various sources, including, publishers, publicists, authors, and/or NetGalley. I am not required to write a positive review and have not received any compensation. The opinions shared here are my own entirely. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255

Holy Moly

 

    Wow, my last post was February of 2020. TWENTY TWENTY. The year that wrecked the world. I didn't intend to step away from my website for this long. Then again, has anything gone according to plan in the last year? I am more active on Instagram, if you'd like to follow along there- @TheArtsyCajun

     So, to catch you up on us, let's start from Feb. of 2020. We'd decided that we would move to Florida. We took a quick trip to Panama City Beach/Seaside area to scope it out and determined that we could live there and it would be similar to our Hawaii life... except not so far away from family and friends.  We came back, covid hit everywhere, and we'd already put our house up for sale. 

     This caused multiple problems, as you can imagine. I am immunocompromised, so it was terrifying to allow people in our home. We had assurances from realtors that they'd wear masks and were not allowed to touch anything. Of course, I doused the house in sanitizer after everyone left. At the same time, we were searching for a home to buy in Florida. That's difficult. We did have walk throughs- which in covid era meant our Florida realtor went through the homes on video chat & we "saw" everything. 

    We had huge interest in our home, and had put offers into a Florida home. That home turned out to be hurricane/water damaged that they lied about, and so we were able to back out of the contract once the inspection report stated the damages. 

Around the same time, we had a member of my husband's family get diagnosed with cancer. Our family was rocked. But, they proved to be super human and beat it! (I told you it's been too long since I've blogged) 

    We stayed home, no visitors, no outings. We had groceries delivered, and that's how we lived for the last year and then some. To say that both of us come out of a year of quarantine , just us, and everyone is alive is a testament to our emotional intelligence progress from the last few years of therapy. I cant imagine how this year would've ended if it happened pre-therapy. 

    For now, we've moved to North Illinois, near family. It's been torture to be so close but we can't just pop in for visits as often as we'd like. Things are now opening up more, we've ventured out a bit, and are both fully vaccinated. Even though hearing that we may need boosters doesn't exactly knock my anxiety down as much as I thought the vaxxs would. So, we've relied heavily, as most have, on technology to communicate with our loved ones and friends. That also opens the door to us STAYING our our devices and not being present here. It's a double edged sword, isn't it?

    Which leads me to my next subject, this book. This amazing book right here. 

    Built to Belong: Discovering the Power of Community over Competition. 

    This book should be a must read for anyone using social media, Christian or not. My teenage and preteen years did not include social media. Even so, as a __ year old, I catch myself being caught in the comparison game of it all. Not intending to, I compare other's highlight reels to my boring bits of life. I'm setting myself up for disaster, yet I do it over & over. A tragic loop. This book dives into the heart of that. 

    I love that Natalie gets into how to build a community around yourself, how to stop competition in it's tracks and live out the hashtag #communityovercompetition. We moved to a new town, too far for randomly visiting old friends, but during a pandemic. As if it wasn't hard enough to find good friends on a regular day? To have this book as I start venturing out more into this covid world, gives me the best foundation to build a new community, one that isn't in the game of comparison, from the ground up. As she says in the book, we weren't meant to live live alone. 

    I'd suggest this book for all ages and stages in life. 

Disclaimer: I receive complimentary books from various sources, including, publishers, publicists, authors, and/or NetGalley. I am not required to write a positive review and have not received any compensation. The opinions shared here are my own entirely. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255

Hiya!

It's been a while, hasn't it? Life is still running at a million miles per hour, but I thought I'd give a little update on things and tell you what I'm enjoying this Summer! 

Update: I'm now an official 200hour Registered YogaFaith Teacher! It is thrilling to be able to say that! My LLC came in, I have the insurance squared away, all I have to do now is build enough courage to teach some classes! I know the first class will be the hardest, but yikes! I still need to finish up my Trauma Sensitive YogaFaith modules online, and then I'll have that certification under my belt as well. A detailed recap of my whole road to get to this point is coming soon, but for now that's where I am. You can follow along on my Facebook page- Shine Christian Yoga, LLC and on My Instagram- ShineChristianYoga , where I am more active about updating and posting. 
  God has stretched me in this, and I know this is only the beginning. I'm terrified and also equally excited to see where he leads me in this! 


Some of the things I'm loving this Summer are- 

Books, of course there will be books on this list! You know me! 

From Moody Publishers- 
Images and Idols- We have a creative God. And it's no doubt in my mind that we are made in His image. So, of course we have some creativity, too! As children, we have no problem being creative in all sorts of ways. School even encourage it by giving us arts & craft time. Then, as we grow, maybe we were harshly judged by others or even ourselves, our crafts became not that great, or whatever was said to make us quit being vulnerable through our creativity. This book goes in detail to explain to us how God can use creativity for His glory. Being vulnerable while having God use you as a vessel somehow isn't so scary anymore. Great book when you need that little nudge. 

Marriage: Its Foundation, Theology, And Mission in a Changing World by
Curt HamnerJohn TrentJohn TrentRebekah J. ByrdEric L. JohnsonErik Thoennes

This book is beautiful, inside and out. It's one that I would include in a wedding gift. Marriage is hard! Especially in a day where the world is trying to pull you in all different directions at break neck speed. The idea of marriage changes from generation to generation, but I feel like this generation has it mostly wrong. It could be a result of many things. I believe, however, that it's not a surprise we've pulled away from God's true reason for marriage the same way most of the world has pulled away from the bible as their life's instruction book. And this book is from many theologians, so you get many points of view on the subject. Love it and will recommend/gift this book to many. 

Other things like- 

Large Ice cube tray similar to this. I don't know why it's taken me this long to realize that larger ice cubes = longer cold but I'm LOVING these things! 

On Poshmark

FriYayy mug by Rongrong DeVoe. I mean- how sassy is she? And how much do you want to be THIS put together on a Friday? This is my official Friday coffee mug, if you must know. 

This plant. I can't remember the name of it, but it is going nuts in this little corner of the living room! My black thumb is widely known, but this plant doesn't seem to notice! It's doubled in size since we got it, um, maybe a year ago? If that. LOVE plants that live! 

Of course these doggies because, well, because they're down right adorable and I can't get enough! We all try to sleep on a king sized bed... try being the key word! They hog the bed sooooo bad! We did try to make them sleep in their beds on the floor for a few nights. Then, Ginny (smaller dog) snuck up in the bed one night. In my sleepy brain, i remember the feeling of pure joy thinking, "This is such a treat!" and scooching her away from Husband so he wouldn't notice she was in the bed and kick her out! Did you hear me? I was harboring a fugitive in the bed for cuddles and ELATED about it! That's when I knew I could kid myself no longer and let them in the bed at night. 



And my Yoga Faith Community. I said it during my 7 day training, my life is now Before YogaFaith and After YogaFaith. The closeness I feel with God is incredible. The whole process of being a YogaFaith Teacher is indescribable. I will blog about it later, but it's just... really indescribable. If you just want to experience a class, look for one in your area. Even if you have to drive a ways to get to it, do it! 
 But the love, support, and friendships I've made with my YogaFaith sisters are bonds that will never break because they were formed and are rooted in God's love! I just can't express how I feel about it enough. Don't get me wrong here, I'm not worshiping YogaFaith, I'm just so thankful that it helped me clear the clutter in the way of developing a deeper relationship to God. If that makes sense. It's amazing, and you should definitely try a class! 

That's all I have for you right now, but be sure to keep checking in as I'll be able to post more when my schedule clears up soon! 

What are you loving this Summer? Comment below; I'd love to hear it! 

*I received these books complimentary in exchange for my honest opinion.*

Well, well, well...

Hey Y'all! I know, you're wondering, "Who's this chick?" It's been way too long! This won't be a long update post, or empty promises about posting more. Honestly- I don't think about this blog daily. What it is is a little update on life & what I want to do with this blog from here on out.

This blog was my baby for so long! In the midst of life changes like buying our first home, becoming a foster home, having our first foster children here for 6 months until they moved on. More health setbacks. Tough realizations about how much our lives have changed from when we met to now dealing with my health issues stopping us from being who we were. Lots & lots of changes! This blog was shoved not only on the back burner, but in the back of the deepest closet, like basement closet that only sees the light of day once a year type of shoving! For that, I'm sorry! 

This blog was my outlet. My little space in the world to share what craft projects I was trying, what recipes I loved. I posted 5 times a week, and once all the other life things started piling on top of me, I couldn't keep up. Something had to give, and the blog was it.

So, what do I want this blog to be now? What will you see from here on out? Well, more of my life, more personal things. The Mr. and I are transitioning into & finally dealing with many things, and the blog will reflect that. Some of what you will see is:

• Trying to become Vegan- more whole foods, plant based to see if it will help with my health issues. (Fibromyalgia, Endometriosis, Arthritis, Severe Migraines 8 times a month, etc.)

• On that note, you'll see more about how we are coming to terms with the health issues. What's helping me at the moment, how we are trying to plan a more fulfilling life while dealing with the issues.

• More crafting updates on my creative journey. How I try to carve out time to paint & draw more than I have been. Also, the journey from an idea of a product I want to offer in my shop, through creating it & finally posting it. 

• I am toying with the idea of recording short YouTube videos, studio vlogs, painting time-lapses, tutorials, etc. I'm thinking that videos will be easier than long blog posts. What do you think?

• More on my faith, how I have to cling to Jesus more and more to stay joyful during this life with health problems.

• More book reviews, especially ones that really make me think or change things about my life.

Lots of new things going on in my life, and I still want to share it with you! I have accepted that I won't be able to post 5 times a week like before, but I still love the blogging community and want this space to continue!

What are you looking forward to the most? Comment below! 

And don't forget- I update the most on my Instagram, so don't forget to follow me there to see what I'm up to!

Less scrolling, more enjoying

  Lately, I've been pretty silent on the blog, aside from reviewing books and things that I love. This wasn't a scheduled break from blogging, just a natural one where my focus shifted from writing to real life.

  Dealing with Fibromyalgia and all that comes with it is exhausting... physically and emotionally. Some days, it's hard to accept that I cannot do it all- family, homemaking, and blogging/Etsy shop. It's frustrating when your body can't keep up with your mind.  The only bonus of this is when you have to force rest, you have extremely cute cuddle buddies! Ginny is like a noodle, just molds to whatever space she can fit in!

  So, a little update for you. We've been trying to finish up little home projects. It's finally feeling like a home instead of a house, which makes all the difference in the world when it's Winter here in Chicago-land. Thankfully, this Winter wasn't all that terrible, but the cabin fever starts getting tough around this time. And when I see all of my family and friends in the South already in shorts outside- yeah, that doesn't help me!

  We did have a couple of warm days where Ginny and I stayed outside as long as we could to soak up some sun! The Mr. came home from work & let me know I was getting a little too pink, so we loaded up in the car and drove to get some frozen custard.  Almost just like Summer!

  I've also felt called to get serious about my walk with God. This could be due to the awesome books I'm fortunate enough to be able to review, or to my community group from church. Whatever the reason, I have been pulled to spend my mornings deep in quiet time- and figuring out exactly what "Quiet time" (with God) means to me. How and what do I do? How long do I need to be in bible study? How long to spend praying? Does bible studies and devotionals count as "Quiet time?" All sorts of questions to answer so that I get the most out of the time I spend with Jesus.

  Basically, that's been my life for the last couple of months. Just really focusing inward and less on social media. The Lord has really been convicting me that less time spent on mindless scrolling equals more time I can invest in Him and my family. And that, my friends, makes the rough chronic pain days more bearable. I don't want to spend what rare good moments I have in the day on empty things, mindless scrolling. I want to make them count!  That being said, I still have neglected this blog more than I wanted to. Writing posts that mean more, have more substance to them over posting just to be posting, is something I want to focus on as well. I have roughly 40-something posts in my draft folder, so my goal is to finish those so I can get that off my to-do list.  So, be on the lookout for more posts coming soon!

  How do you squeeze in more quality time in your day? Comment below!

The one that brightened my day

 I'm so grateful for Charlene From Bisons to Buckeyes, for many reasons. She is my accountability partner, but I'm so happy that she can cut me a little slack because I haven't been up to speed on everything lately! And especially humbled and grateful because she nominated me for The Versatile Blogger Award!

The rules for this are quite simple and are as follows:

• Thank the person who nominated you.
• Include a link to their blog(s).
• Write seven facts about yourself.
• Nominate fifteen bloggers to pass the award along to

So, I have to write seven facts about me. Hopefully, these are facts that I haven't posted before!

1. I like things clean, sometimes OCD kind of clean.

2. For the last year, I haven't colored my hair! And yes, I see a couple of gray hairs sticking out now and then, but that's okay.  Now, if it all goes gray in 2 years, I may have to revisit the non-coloring issue!

3. I have tons of dreams and goals, most of which will never happen, but I love to dream!

4. I love plants, but always manage to kill them, even an aloe plant. Yep, black thumb over here.

5.  Martinelli's Apple Juice in the little apple containers is a weakness of mine! I always have to stop myself from drinking more than one a day! 
6.  Man, these are getting harder! Um, let's see... I've always wanted curly hair, and I try my best to make it so, but my hair is stick straight and I just need to learn to live with it I guess! 
7.  Give me a wide open space, a beautiful sky, and a book and I'm happy as a clam!

Now, to nominate, I'll just do a few- 

Aimee from Stories + Moments
Jen from It's My Life
Amanda from His and Her Hobbies
Jess from Polished Arrow
Rebecca from Knit By God's Hand

Is blogging a craft in today's society?

I mean, is it? I know that for me, starting a blog was merely a means to an end. I had loads of travel photos and stories to show friends and family. Crafts were being done, and friends wanted to know exactly how replicate them. Food was prepared and folks wanted the recipe. It sounds a bit selfish, but I just didn't want to write a million emails to everyone. So now, someone will inquire and I simply say, "It's on the blog"! 

Disclaimer- I am many things, a writer I am not. I can paint anything you want. I will sketch your child's face like no other. I will decorate the tar out of a space, and I can just about sew and crochet anything your heart desires. OH! And I can cook like the dickens, but I am no writer. If you are an English major, I am terribly sorry. And if you are still reading in spite of the horrid grammar, I salute you!  You are awesome and I love that you are hanging in there! So for me, I just write as if you are sitting in front of me and we are chatting away. Which probably is the culprit of the horrible grammar. 

Getting back on course, I know there are bloggers out there who write so beautifully. I am in awe of them. And I'm sure that their blogs are works of art. Blogging/writing is their craft. They probably have written many things and are published. So, for them, a blog post isn't just slapping down words in a hurry, it's skillfully crafted and molded and it shows! But for the average blogger, how much time do you actually spend on a post? Not an important, life changing post, but just the average, mid-week post? I can honestly tell you, I spend about 30 minutes. And that INCLUDES editing photos with watermarks! 

One thing I told myself when I started this blog, is that I would always be authentic. I never claimed to be a writer, but I still didn't want to be so horrible at it that it embarrassed my family, (which they don't even really read my blog). So I didn't want to change all words and abuse the thesaurus. I wanted my readers to read it exactly how I would talk to them if we were face to face, incorrect grammar and all!  

My question remains, is blogging a craft in this world chalk full of technology? What would dear Jane Austen think of blogging? 

Hope everyone has a great Saturday!