Thankful Thursday

 

Happy Thursday, friends! I hope your week is going well. Mine is—it's actually flying right by. I will say that I wish this part would slow down just a bit. I only have one more weekend that Todd will be home with me before he resumes his old schedule. Even though he had surgery and had to spend those weeks recovering from home, I'm grateful for the time we've had at home together. I kind of think our life is about to change drastically once again with one son moving away and with Todd getting a new job that will make even busier; you can see why I want this time to slow down a bit. 

I'm so glad you're here linking up with me each week! More than that, I hope that practicing intentional daily gratitude has made a difference in your life like it has mine. 

Here are some things I am thankful for this week:

• time with Jesus that has been extra sweet this week

I was reading a difficult portion of Scripture yesterday morning, and rather than read it, I listened to it instead. Doing that one thing helped tremendously! We're going back and forth between the books of 2 Samuel, 1 Chronicles, and Psalms. Yesterday we were reading more about genealogies, and I was having a hard time coming away with a God-shot, as Tara Leigh Cobble from The Bible Recap calls it. I borrowed from what she said: in reading yesterday, the family history lesson paused, and a story was injected right in the middle of that. It was about Jabez and a prayer that he prayed. (Remember that old book from the 90's?) She went on to say that she wasn't sure if Jabez's prayer was beneficial for others or if it was for more selfish reasons. Nonetheless, God lovingly receives all of our prayers, no matter the intent of the heart. He will always answer the prayers that we lift up to Him in the way that He knows is best. Isn't that such a beautiful and comforting thought? 

• moments of worship

I don't get to participate in corporate worship as much as I used to, now that I'm in the bookstore working at our church. Part of that statement makes me extremely sad, but then I remember that I have moments of worship throughout all of my days. Yes, I do still go into the service on Sunday mornings, even if it's a bit late, but I do usually catch one or two songs being sung before the preaching starts. Just last night as I wrote this from the bookstore during church hours, I had worship music playing over my Bluetooth speaker and was able to worship while I was in here alone. God is gracious to give me these moments! 

• authors who inspire

All of you know that I recently took an online course about writing a book with Joanna Weaver, but I haven't mentioned that I am also participating in a virtual email course with another one of my favorite authors, the beloved Fiona Ferris. Speaking of her, I just finished an excellent book that she wrote on this topic. As much as I love her, I've only read her eBooks that are available on Amazon; yesterday at Shay's recommendation, I bought my first physical copy by her. I can't wait for it to get here this weekend. She is the best and easy quick read of an author that I have ever read and loved. 

• friends and co-workers willing to pitch in

We have a huge event happening here at our church next week: a collegiate summit for college leaders in this area and the ones surrounding. We're expecting 700 people in the building on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday of next week. This is the first time we've ever held anything here of that capacity, and it is definitely my first time to be running the store that will be in charge of providing all of the drinks and snacks. I could have easily have gotten overwhelmed at this task, but thanks to my wonderful friends and co-workers, so many people are offering to pitch in and lend helping hands. I'm so grateful for them! 

• great books to read
• the fact that Todd does the housework when I'm not home
• boys that will eat anything and never complain
• friends that I get to see weekly at my job
• my wonderful church home (way more than just a place to work)
• delicious coffee drinks that I have learned to make
• mercy and grace upon grace

What are you thankful for this week? I'd love to hear from you! Thanks for reading my blog, friends. Love to all! 

p.s. I'm not sure why it says that this link party can't be here, but just click on the blue button and you can still link up. Does this have to do with me buying the domain recently? If you're techy and know the answer, please share!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

What's Up Wednesday

 

Happy Wednesday, friends! I'm joining in with Sheaffer and Shay for today's blog post. I'm going to jump right in, and then I'll wrap this post up with an exciting announcement. I hope you stay tuned! 

What we're eating this week: 

Apparently, this is the week that I'm gone every night, so I'm either eating out, or eating what I made for them to enjoy after I leave. On Monday night we had the annual sheriff's department dinner, so Todd and I ate there. On Tuesday night (after working longer than usual because of a funeral), I made something quick and easy, which is just nachos with taco meat and Rotel. It's always delicious! We'll probably have leftovers tonight since I'm working again, and tomorrow night I'm eating out with one of my best friends, but I'm making dinner for the family while I work that day. I can tell you one thing I was I was eating right now, and that is Jeni's Gooey Butter Cake flavored ice cream in a homemade waffle cone.

What I'm reminiscing about: 

On that same note, I'm still thinking about the weekend away with these sweet friends! We had such a great time getting to know each other. It was fun to be able to talk in real life, and about the things that we don't really mention on our blogs. There was a lot of information we shared with one another that we all just agreed to not talk about with anyone else outside of those walls. It's wonderful to have friends you can trust with things that you don't really talk about, you know? 

On a different note, I'm also reminiscing about the graduation season! My social media memories are flooded with all the fun events that my boys had when they were graduating. So many of you also have upcoming graduations that you're looking forward to; it's such an exciting time in life for these young people! The world feels like it's theirs for the taking, and I hope that they have success in going forward. 

What I'm loving:

Lots and lots of things! I'm loving all the green I see out our windows at home, I'm loving the temps we're having this week, which actually feel like spring and not early summer or late winter, the new shirt I bought myself this weekend that's my favorite brand, the sunshine, the French dip I chose for my nails this time and the bright red I picked for my toes, a necklace that my sister bought for me, bangle style bracelets, some black pants that I "found" in my closet that I'd forgotten about, Everything But the Bagel seasoned kettle chips from Trader Joe's...I could go on, but I'll stop with those. 

What I've been up to:

Work. Dogs. Church. Trying to stick to healthy eating. 🤣 Reading. Watching episodes of When Calls the Heart as they come on each Sunday night. (I usually watch them on either Friday or Saturday mornings.) Writing. Praying. Lots of good things! 

What I'm dreading:

I'm  dreading the end of May, when Noah is hoping to make the move to Dallas. I have experienced this once already, and I cried for the whole week that Drew packed up his room, but I didn't cry the night he made the move. I have no idea what this time will be like, but I've already shed tears. I know that this is what we're supposed to do: raise them to be on their own. I'm happy for him, but my heart is breaking for Jonah (his twin) and myself. Our sons are really close in their relationship, so this will be hard to adjust to. I know I'll be fine and that he will probably love it there, but if he stays there, nothing will ever be the same. My heart almost can't take it! Feel free to pray for me! (I made myself cry writing this.) 🤣 Parenting adult kids is not for the faint of heart. 

What I'm working on:

At work I am working on cleaning out my two closets. I'm making slow progress! I'm working on putting my phone away more. I'm working on my attitude toward a hurtful situation my husband is going through. 

What I'm excited about: 

I'm excited about summer and my first swim (float) of the season! I love pool days so much; they're my favorite way to relax in the heat of summer. 

What I'm watching/reading:

Todd and I are watching On Patrol live on Peacock, and The Big Bang Theory on Max. And if I'm alone, I watch my usual favorite and movies. I'm reading the best books lately! I'll share about them next Thursday on May 2nd. Speaking of that, you should visit my blog that day, because Joanne, Tanya, Marilyn and I are starting a new link party titled Share Your Shelf. We'll host this link up on the first Thursday of every month; all we ask is that you use the graphic that Joanne created somewhere in your post and that you share some comment love with the others who link up. 

I hope you'll join us! 

What I'm listening to:

If I don't have Spotify playing, I'm listening to YouTube channel with a pretty background image and jazz music playing in the background. 

What I'm wearing:

Whatever the weather calls for is what I'm wearing! 

Here are a couple of things I've worn recently: my favorite faded jeans on Saturday out with my mom and sister, and this new Umgee top that I found at a boutique last weekend (2nd picture). 

What I'm doing this weekend:

This will be the last weekend that Todd is home for most of the weekend. Next weekend he can go back to riding shifts with the sheriff's department, and soon after that he is starting a new job with the state of Tennessee with the department of transportation. He'll be in one of those emergency vehicles that you see on the sides of the Interstate helping people with break downs or in situations where a wreck has occurred. He'll have weekend shifts starting out, most likely, so this will take him away from us for a while. I know we're going out to dinner at least once this weekend, and we'll make a Sam's run for the bookstore while we're out. There is a huge conference being held at our church next week, and I'm working more hours than normal for that. I have to stock up on all the things! 

What I'm looking forward to next month:

I'm looking forward to seeing another sister that will be here from Denver (Lisa, this time) and also seeing my niece Erika and her four girls at the end of the month. They are not coming together, this will be two separate occasions. 

What have you been up to lately? I'd love to hear! Thanks for reading my blog today, friends! Love to all! 

a day in the life post on a Tuesday

 

Happy Tuesday, friends! I'm taking notes from Joanne and Maria; I decided to write my version of a day in the life post. This will have a few pictures with commentary, since I always forget to start taking pictures throughout my day. I hope you enjoy tagging along throughout my day! I decided to document a normal Tuesday, which was April 16th. 

I woke up at 5:05 on this day. Would you believe that I never have to set an alarm clock? I feel like the Lord just wakes me up each day; I say that because He is my first and last conversation each and everyday of my life. When I wake up in the morning, I always thank Him for a new day and His new mercies, and I greet Him with telling Him good morning. I learned this from my friend Sheila who lives as a missionary wife in Iceland; I've been starting my day like this for the last twelve years. Before coming downstairs, I wake the dogs up and get them out of their prospective sleeping rooms of choice, and we all go outside together. I take treats with me to entice them to be quick about their early morning business! After that I make my one and only cup of coffee, and bring it into the living room to watch the weather and to read blogs. 

I allow myself about an hour for this, then I get up and have my quiet time. Sometimes I sit and listen to the Bible being read to me as I read along in my own, and sometimes I listen as I sit and make notes. I like that I have options! Sometimes I even multitask, depending on the time and how busy I am that day. On this particular day, I made lunches, I folded some laundry, then I went upstairs to get dressed at 7:45. I did that and made the bed, then I left for work at 8:30. I normally talk to my mom then, but I'd missed a call from my sister Lisa that weekend, so I called her instead. We talked for almost thirty minutes while I sat in my car before going inside. I picked up my keys from my mailbox in the church office, and then I got started on the day!

One of the pastors on staff, my friend AJ, walked in with me and he actually made the coffee for me that morning, though I usually would do myself. I thought it was sweet that he offered! Sometimes when I'm not there, a staff person will come in and do this, because most people have keys into the bookstore, or to the rooms that are beside it. I let him do that, while I put my things away, turned on my bluetooth speaker, and made a visit to the safe to set the registers up for the day. After he made the coffee, I started cleaning up from Sunday. Normally I would clean before leaving, but I wasn't there that Sunday and my friend covered for me. I certainly don't expect her to clean afterward, because it takes at least twenty minutes to do that after everyone has left. Me being me, I just like to do this each week on that day. After I got all of the carafes clean again, I put them away on my cart and started welcoming the ladies coming in for Bible study. They were collecting a gift for someone that morning, so they were in and out of the kitchen to hide a basket they'd made and filled for one of them. They were also getting coffee and talking to me, which I love. 

And speaking of that, my friend Mandy came in after that and we caught up for a few minutes as well. We both shared some things that were troubling us, and we ended up praying over each other before she left again. Our friend Darlene was in there as well, and she just joined right in. Do you see why I love my job? In the process of all that, the cappuccino machine sort of leaked all over the place and spewed out a lot of the mix inside, so I stopped what I was working on after they left to figure all of that out. And the ice machine was turned off and completely empty! I was wondering to myself what in the world had happened on Sunday, but I don't really think that anything happened; things just went crazy on me that day. I restocked the drink cooler and the snacks, then I sat down to close one of the registers for the week and counted all the money. 

I got all of that squared away in the other register, then I cleaned some more, then I finally sat down at the computer to place my Coca-Cola order. By this time, it was 12:15, so I closed up early and left to meet my mom and sisters for lunch. I had a sister here in town that I hadn't yet seen since I was gone the weekend before, and she was going back home the next day. We ate lunch, then I came back home to sit for a bit before I had to leave again to pick up the groceries I'd ordered while waiting on them to get to the restaurant. I also made a Sam's order to be shipped to us while I waited, to restock on our protein drinks. I sat down to rest, and Chloe the puppy jumped into my lap, so she and I took a little twenty minute nap together. I was so tired and was fighting off a headache because of rain that was moving into the area. I emptied the dishwasher, put away my things from work, got comfy for the evening and preheated the oven for dinner, then left to pick up my groceries. (Two of the boys were here, so I didn't leave the oven on and unattended, obviously.) Todd had come back home from a motorcycle ride, so he and Jonah put everything away for me while I assembled our quiches, and then we ate dinner by five.  

I fed the dogs before we sat down to eat, then Noah cleaned the kitchen for me, so I put away the things that had been in the dryer, finally sitting down again for the evening at six to work on blog posts for the week. Todd was out riding his bike, so I finished the blog work, and watched the latest episode of When Calls the Heart. After he got home, he showered, we watched a few episodes of The Big Bang Theory, then I was in bed at nine. I was beat after the day (and the weekend) and was still fighting the sinus headache that never really went away, even with the medicine I took. I turned on a show to watch for a few minutes in bed, but I didn't last long. I felt myself dozing off, put my phone down and slept peacefully until 5:20 the next morning. 

If you're still here, thanks for tagging along! Even if you're in a different stage of life, you should consider doing one of these posts; I always find them so interesting. As always, thank you for reading my blog today, friends. Love to all! 

I am linking up with Joanne that I mentioned at the start of this post today. 

Hello Monday!

 

Happy Monday, friends! I'm linking up with Holly and Sarah for today's post. I hope you had a good weekend! Mine was excellent, because I finally got to see my dad. Before I get to that, though, I woke up early that morning and decided to treat myself to a movie. I watched this one that I'd recorded on YTTV from Hallmark. It was really good! Have you watched this one? I love Erin Krakow from her days of being on Army Wives. 

I enjoyed a lazy morning at home of doing laundry and cleaning. Todd took one of the dogs to the vet for one of our sons, and he got back home shortly before Dad got here. About my dad, though: he's been having really bad back issues that pretty much kept him at home and unable to be active. It's been five weeks since he's been to my house, and I hadn't seen him since his birthday on March 29th. Needless to say, it was wonderful to start this up again! He's feeling back to his old self, and I am relieved. It was a cool, rainy day, but that didn't stop us from going out. He was willing to ride with me to get my car washed from the road trip I'd taken last week, and then we picked up our lunch and brought it back home to eat. 

Even the dogs seemed glad to see him again! We got our lunch from Chick Fil A and stayed here until about three thirty, when I took him home. 

This place will always be home to me! 

I love the Spanish influence in his house; those tiles are every bit as beautiful in person, and so is his front door. I decided to take a picture of it so that I could show you. He said that it was hand carved by someone in Mexico; I love it so much!

I got us some water when we settled in, and I wanted to share this one as well, because I love unique glassware. 

We beat Sandy back to his house by just a few minutes, but it was nice to sit and chat with her too. I'm always glad that on these days she gets to get out and do something for herself; that just means that I don't spend as much time with her as I do Dad. I'm always happy to stay and chat for a bit before leaving. I left there around 4:45, and while I was gone, Todd ordered us sushi takeout from our favorite place here by our house. It was delicious! Noah enjoyed my leftovers when he got home from work. For the rest of the night, I read the book I'd started last week, because my goal was to finish it over the weekend. I was only at about five percent on Friday night. Speaking of books, you should come back to my blog on Wednesday; I have an exciting announcement! 

I was up early again on Saturday, so I read for a while, then I got dressed and left to get a pedicure when they opened. 

I think that this just may be my favorite way to pamper myself! I enjoyed every minute of this, and I love the color I picked.

It's OPI's Dutch Tulips. It's a really pretty coral color that looks bright red. I love it after having having Alpaca My Bags on for the last two months. I finished up with that, came back home for a few minutes to drop off the cup I'd taken with me, then left again to meet up with my mom and sister. Our day together was short and sweet; we ran a couple of errands together, ate lunch, then split back up around twelve. I met Todd at Costco after I dropped them off, and we shopped together, then he rode his bike a bit while the weather was nice. 

Sometimes when I look at his new skinny self, I'm shocked at what I see. I think he looks amazing after two years of major weight loss! I'm really proud of him; I took this picture right above, because one thing I love about him is how friendly of a guy he is. The lady that worked at Costco was helping him find his size in a new shirt that they were putting out. He loves this one brand of athletic shirts from there, and he got himself three new ones. They're thin and long sleeved, which are good for him to wear around the house and even while he's riding his bike on warmer days. Also, when he wears a cap backwards like that, my heart skips a beat, because it reminds me of him in high school. 😍 

After Costco, we split ways; I went to fill up my car with gas, and then I met up with my young friend that I mentioned last week. She helped me with some techy things on my blog; I don't know if you've noticed, but I have a new URL address: joyfuljenn.com. This is something that I did that is a product of our blogging friends weekend in Nashville! We all talked about this while we were together, so I decided to go ahead and buy my domain when I came back home. But look at that coffee shop! How cute is that? Holly and I each got a treat to go with our coffees. She had a cappuccino, and I had regular coffee. I immediately texted this picture to Amy, because I know she appreciates a good coffee shop.

I left the coffee shop at four, came home and unloaded the Costco groceries, then left again with Todd. We made plans to meet his parents for dinner, and we ended the evening at their house. I made him pose with me! 

We visited for a while, then came home, took showers, and got comfy. I ate this cookie that my son brought home for me and had zero regrets until it woke me up at 3 a.m.. I should have known better! I finally started feeling better and slept until five, then I got up and got dressed. I read some more until I left, and after church Drew came over. It was so good to see him! I hadn't seen him since his birthday dinner on April 3rd. For the rest of the day I read and enjoyed being at home and comfy. The weather was kind of cool on Sunday, so I took an amazing Sunday afternoon nap while the house was quiet, then I finished the book I talked about wanting to finish. Todd helped me with some more techy issues on my blog, and I was in bed pretty early. It was a great and full weekend! 

Have you heard that a third (full) installment of the Father of the Bride series is coming out this fall??! I am so excited about this and will be making plans to see it in the theater. These are my favorite movies! It's about their daughter Megan that's getting married. Did you ever watch the short YouTube video in 2020 that they put out? It was cute, too! 

What did you do that you loved this weekend? I'd love to hear from you! Thanks for reading my blog, friends. Love to all!

Friday Favorites: 4.19.2024.

 

Happy Friday, friends! I'm linking up with Andrea and Erika for today's favorite blog post of the week. How has your week been? Mine has been great! I hope you can say the same, friends. Here are a few of my favorites from this week...

Nashville sights, sounds, and foods were my favorite this week! 

From fabulous bakeries to my favorite prayer space in Franklin and everything in between, it was such a fun weekend away with my blogging friends! In case you missed that post, here's the recap that I wrote on Tuesday.

My Bible reading has been some of my favorite past times this week. I'm reading mostly in 1 Samuel, and going back and forth between that and the book of Psalm, when David was running from king Saul to spare his own life. Just Wednesday morning I read one of my favorite verses...

God is my helper; the Lord is the sustainer of my life. (Psalm 54:4)

This cozy little space is my favorite "home away from home". Within this space I have met new friends and rekindled old friendships, prayer has happened, laughter has been abundant, tears have been shed, hugs have been given, encouragement flows freely whether from me encouraging someone or (more than likely) someone encouraging me. My Pastor has passed along Godly wisdom, and hopefully I've passed along some of that to someone else. I walked away on Wednesday with the lights on waiting for me to return that night feeling grateful. 

My friend Sheila recommended this study to me on Wednesday. Bible studies are my favorite; it's been ages since I've done a Bible study that I didn't help write. It feels good to do this right now at this time in life. I am really looking forward to this one! I'm not doing it with a group or anything, just on my own and at my own pace. 

On a lighter note, have you tried these chips?! They're my absolute favorite right now. 

The beautiful sky was my favorite as I walked out of church last night! As usual, this picture doesn't do it justice. 

After work on Thursday, I went to get my nails done and didn't come back home until after dinner. Todd and I met at our favorite Mexican restaurant and ran into one of my best friends for the second time while we were eating there. Andrea doesn't even live in my area, and yet I keep running into her! How funny is that? 

I don't know what it means about me, but I've been super neutral with my nails lately. It's been years since I've had a French manicure, but it just might be my new favorite. 

Another favorite from the week has been texting with one of the girls I used to mentor when she was in youth. She and I made plans to meet and catch up on Saturday, and I'm hoping she can help me with some techy things. I can't wait to meet with her! 

Did you catch my other blog posts this week? I'll link them below.

Tuesday was a girl's trip recap.

Wednesday was a hodgepodge of things.

Thursday was Thankful Thursday. 

What was a favorite of yours from the week? I'd love to hear from you! Thanks for reading my blog today, friends! Love to all.