• Faith,  Life,  Marriage

    Here’s To Blogging Full-Time + Why I’m Choosing This Path

    January 17, 2017

    It’s official! I am a full-time blogger and stay at home wife. I can’t believe it. That sentence just brings me so much joy. In my last post, I explained how my husband was waiting on some big news from his job regarding a promotion. We heard back about that job and it was not at all what we were led on to believe it was. At first we were very disappointed and confused. We really felt like God was leading us on a new path. But since the job was not what we thought it was going to be, we weren’t sure how this would be possible anymore. There was a lot of confusion, some anger, and some tears, but God showed up big time like he always does. To make a long story short, Tommy is continuing to work with his dad as a welder, and learning as much as he can about his dad’s business in the coming years, to hopefully eventually take over the business down the road. We are so thankful that everything worked out to an even better plan than we originally thought!

    So what that means for me is I get to pursue my dream of blogging full-time! As you can see, there has already been a lot of changes on my blog over the weekend. I ended up switching over to a self-hosting site (which was the biggest headache ever), and was able to customize my blog to finally look the way that I’ve always dreamed of it looking.

    Why I Am Choosing To Be A Stay At Home Wife

    I know that I keep mentioning that I feel like God is leading me to “stay at home” or “work at home”, so I want to explain a little bit more about what that means to me and why I feel like God is calling me to it.

    As a little girl, the one dream that I can remember far outweighing all of the others was being a wife and mom. God answered my long-standing prayer of being a wife on May 22, 2016. It has been a dream since then honestly, but not at all what I thought it would be like. Since then, I’ve written so much about how lost, far from God, and confused I’ve felt. I’ve also written about how much anxiety I have been struggling with since getting married. It honestly didn’t make much sense to me because this is what I’ve always wanted. Why was it so hard?

    It took me a long time and a lot of seeking God for it to finally make sense. God showed me that I was feeling so stressed and lost because I had too much on my plate. Working full-time, at a pretty demanding job no less, didn’t give me much time and much less energy to really get things done at home. I always felt like I was behind on my chores around the house, that I was failing at cooking healthy meals, and that I just was always tired and always on edge. Not exactly how you want to feel during your first year of marriage.

    This was particularly hard on me because my husband and I believe that as a wife or husband, our first priorities should be our family. This just looks differently for both of us. As a wife, that means to me that it is my job to manage my home, meaning cooking healthy meals, cleaning and organizing our home, etc. While we believe it is my husband’s job to provide. So because I felt such a high call to manage the home, I felt like such a failure because I knew I wasn’t doing this to the best of my ability. (Please note, my husband does help me around the house and I really do enjoy working at home. He does not expect these things of me or get angry with me if I am not doing a good job with them. He always lovingly helps me if I am behind.)

    I had no idea how I would ever have the time to do these things well, but when my anxiety got to be so bad, my husband and I felt the only healthy option I had was to quit my job, and seek God as to what to do next. It has been a long, long road but this is why I am choosing to be a stay at home wife and finally feel like I have the time to really manage my home and set the peaceful atmosphere for my husband and guests that I’ve always wanted to.

    What You Can Expect From Me + What Topics I Plan To Write About

    I’ve always, always talked about wanting to post more on here. I honestly have never posted consistently. I plan to have a post up every day, Monday-Friday! As far as topics, I plan to write about my journey to getting a handle on being a stay at home wife – including things like meal planning, my cleaning schedule, and how I budget. I also want to continue on with the healthy eating series I just started. I want to write more extensively about marriage and what I’ve learned so far. I am also going to start sharing wedding details and sharing our pictures, which I’m really excited about! That’s it for the most part, I plan on sharing book reviews when I have them and as always, what God is teaching me. I’m so excited for this new season and am so thankful to be able to share it with you!

     

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  • Coffee Dates,  Faith,  Life

    Let’s Have Coffee || Vol. 5

    January 10, 2017

    If we were having coffee, I’d tell you that I’m excited for 2017. 2016 was a somewhat tough year but it was the year I became a wife so I will always look back on it with thanksgiving. All that to say though that I am excited for my first full year as a wife, and just a change of pace as the new year begins.

    If we were having coffee, I’d tell you that I am working through the devotional Wife After God and am loving it. I think it’s such a great start to the beginning of the first full year of being a wife. What books have you read that were really helpful for your marriage?

    If we were having coffee, I’d say that since I quit my job my life feels all out of sorts. I never in a million years would have guessed that God would do something this crazy and flip my world upside down in the best way, but I am learning to embrace the change and cling to God and see where exactly He may be leading me.

    If we were having coffee, I would ask you how you find the time to do house work and work full time (if you are a wife and full time worker that is). When I was working full time I always always felt like I was behind on everything. While there was enough time to technically get everything done, there wasn’t enough time to do it all and enjoy it. I wonder if anyone else has that feeling also or if that was just me? Something tells me that that is not how God intends for us to live though.

    If we were having coffee, I’d tell you that I got the Simplified Planner by Emily Ley this year for Christmas and I absolutely adore it. I could never stay motivated when I tried to use a planner in the past, but there is just something about this planner that I just love. It’s just so well designed and I just love the encouraging quotes on each page. Do you use a planner? If so, which one?

    If we were having coffee, I’d maybe just possibly let you in on a possible dream that I think God may be growing in my heart. I already have known forever that I wanted to work from home, but never thought it a real possibility. But now that I am home I have come across so many people who have made it work so I wonder if it is actually a possibility for me. I wouldn’t know if I should talk about it because it feels too good to be real, but if I’m feeling brave enough I might let you in on that little secret. 😉

    If we were having coffee, I’d of course want to know how you are really doing. I’d want to hear your heart and if this new year has been a breathe of fresh air to you. I’d ask how your relationship with Jesus is, and let you in on the fact that I have been spending so much more time with Him than I think I ever have. Having so much free time has opened the door to me being able to spend as much time as I can reading my bible and it has changed my outlook on life, and something tells me this is only the beginning.

    Today I’m linking up with Erin from Erin Salmon Writes. Come join us!

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  • Faith,  Life

    My 2017 Bucket List

    January 1, 2017

    Happy New Year!! I am so excited to see this new year. 2016 had a lot of joys, but it was also a very challenging year. There were a lot of changes for me and I learned that I do not do well when it comes to changes. In 2017 I want to learn to trust God even more, despite what my feelings are telling me, or what my circumstances seem. God has been nothing but good to me and I want to challenge myself and you to trust Him even when things are uncertain.

    In 2017 I want to:

    • Run a 5k
    • Read 25 books
    • Visit Hawaii
    • Run 5 mi
    • Go to a country concert
    • Finish reading through the Bible

    I’m sure  I will add to this list as the year goes on, but for now this is enough for me to focus on. What is on your bucket list for 2017?

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  • Faith,  Life

    A Huge Announcement: I’m Unemployed

    December 28, 2016

    Hi friends. I just dropped by to tell you guys about a huge change in my life. God is doing something crazy and shaking my world up. As of this week, I am currently unemployed. To me this is a very scary journey that I am about to go on. I have always prided myself on how productive I am. Whether it be working full-time and going to school full-time, or planning a wedding in less than 6 months, while working full-time, or working full-time and trying to be an awesome wife, I’ve always prided myself on how much stuff I can do, and do well.

    And in turn I have gotten my worth from these things as well. God is really trying to pull back the curtain on this, and let me tell you, it has been hard to see behind that. I have been riddled with anxiety and stress since making the choice to quit my job, but I know that God is asking me to lay this down at his feet and watch him do something amazing.

    Ever since I got married, I have been struggling with anxiety, more so in the last two to three months, which I have written about a lot since then. I believe this is because I have felt the pressure of trying to be good enough, working so hard at work and also at home, that I have started to lose myself in the process.

    I have felt God asking me to leave my job for the past couple months in different ways. But when I was offered a full-time position at my current company, I just couldn’t understand how a blessing like that could not be from God. But now that I look back on it, I think it could have been a test, to see what are my priorities. I chose wrong, and wanted to be a great wife, and great worker, all while chasing these things, and leaving behind my relationship with God.

    But I finally heard him speak clearly to me at church on the Christmas Eve services we went to, and he asked me if I was willing to inconvenience myself for him. Was I willing to choose a path that others might laugh at, or a path where others might think I’m lazy? Was I willing to live counter-culturally? Don’t get me wrong, like I said before, I am terrified, but I am stepping out in faith and knowing that God is going to show up because He always does.

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  • Faith,  Life,  Marriage

    Merry Christmas!

    December 26, 2016

    I know it’s a little late but the past two days have been crazy. I just wanted to drop in and say Merry Christmas to everyone. I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday and was able to spend time reflecting on the great gift that is Jesus.

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  • Coffee Dates,  Faith,  Life,  Marriage

    Let’s Have Coffee || Vol. 4

    December 14, 2016

    If we were having coffee, I’d tell you that this month has been a hard one so far. My anxiety has been flaring up again, and I think I finally figured out what’s causing it but it took soo long to figure out what it was, and I’m still not sure if knowing what the reason is, is going to make it go away.

    If we were having coffee, I’d share with you that I cannot believe that Tommy and I have been married for almost 7 months. I’m actually quite sad that the newness has worn off and we are now closer to being married for a year than we are to when we got married.

    If we were having coffee, I’d dig deep and ask what your biggest struggle is right now. If you’re comfortable I’d love to actually chat about this, email me? Mine is just staying positive. The cold weather has come on fast and strong already and it has really taken its toll on my emotions. I have a feeling it is going to be a long winter ahead. (Although I do have a surviving the winter post coming soon!)

    If we were having coffee, I’d share that I am actually attempting to take a break from coffee until Christmas. If I drink too much of it, which I have been doing, it throws my stomach completely off, so I unfortunately think it’s best if I stop drinking it for a little bit. I also think it is making my anxiety worse so we will see how these next two weeks go.

    If we were having coffee, I’d tell you that I went to the gym tonight, by myself might I add, and ran/walked for 2 and a half miles! I am so proud of myself and have felt much better after doing so. It gave me so much energy for the rest of the night and I think it might just be the trick to managing my anxiety as well. Let’s just pray I stick to it! I think my mental sanity might be at steak if I don’t haha.

    If we were having coffee, I’d apologize that the majority of the things that I wanted to talk about tonight were erring on the side of sad, it’s just where my heart is lately. I’m hoping to turn it around for the rest of the month though, Christmas is coming soon! Hope you all are doing well. I’d love to hear from you! If we were having coffee what would you want to share with me? Are you having a rough start to the winter season like me, or are you loving it so far?

    Today I’m linking up with Erin from Erin Salmon Writes.

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