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8 Pages

February 18, 2019 by Michelle Filed Under: Life, Marriage, Reading Leave a Comment

Happy Monday, Friends! Today is, among a few things: National Drink Wine Day, President’s Day AND my big brother’s 40th birthday! Which is so incredibly hard to believe… 40 years… I remember when my parents turned 40, and to be in that camp so many years later seems so surreal. But alas, we are here and I’m hoping my brother has been celebrated today by those closest to him!

Now, I wanted to share with you today about my most recent 8 pages book. Last fall, Andrew and I had the privilege of going to a conference where one of the speakers strongly encouraged the audience to be reading every single day. At least 8 pages.

Confession, I am NOT a reader. I don’t enjoy sitting still, which you generally have to do to read. I like to be active, to be moving, so this challenge really was like a dare to me. Could I do it? Sure. Would I do it? er. maybe.

Andrew and I accepted the challenge when we got back home from that little conference and we’ve been reading 8 pages almost every night since then. I will admit that some nights we get to bed too late or are just plain exhausted, and we skip, but we try our best to make this a priority at night. We’re going for good/great, not perfection.

I have been choosing books that push me both spiritually and personally and my most recent book was Your Money, Your Marriage. I honestly cannot even recall how I found this book, or why exactly I wanted to read it, but nonetheless it proved to be a great book. Encouraging couples to not only commit to loyalty within their marriages, but also within the context of their finances.
I’m going to detour for just a sec, so bear with me. If I were to take a poll today of my readers, how many of you have made a purchase in the last 48 hours that your spouse doesn’t know about?

Guilty.

One section of the book, that I actually highlighted reads like this,

When you buy whatever you want to buy, whenever you want to buy it, and your spouse does the same thing, you end up spending more than you make. When you detest the idea of a budget because it controls what you can and can’t do, you miss the mark for a secure financial future every single time. The illusion of being in control leads to the exact opposite when it comes to your money and your marriage. You wind up with your finances and relationship careening out of control.

I don’t know if y’all remember a few years ago I wrote a post about the word budget being a bad word. I’ve never liked a budget. I’ve never wanted to be constrained by it. But the night I read this paragraph above, I was slapped in the face. And quite honestly, I felt overly convicted, remorseful and embarrassed. I flagged it in the book so that I could come back and read it again {and again, and again…} after the book was finished.

I think my purpose in sharing this excerpt and book with you is that it reminded me that when Andrew and I became a union, we became one. Our hearts joined, our homes joined, our finances joined…and while we do all the things of married couples that show we are ONE, our finances haven’t been that way. So if this is a challenge to you as it was to me, make some small changes. Realize that the things you do in secret don’t help your marriage or your finances.

Back to the 8 pages…
I’m sure many of you read so much more than I do, and that is super. I applaud you! If you don’t even read the mere 8 pages that I’ve started reading, I would like to extend the challenge to you. Put down the phone or the remote a little earlier than ‘normal’. Get into your cozy bed, or couch or chair and find yourself a really good book. Whether you like fiction, historical, self-help or even just your Bible. Reading has so many benefits, that I’ve even experienced in the few short months that I’ve been doing my 8 pages: stress reduction, more/better sleep, better memory, cheap entertainment {library books are FREEEE!}.

I’m not quite sure what my next good read will be, but if the anticipation is killing you, and you’d like to follow along in my next 8 pages, follow me on Instagram – I will often post an excerpt from my nights’ reading in my stories! Until next time…

Three Books!

September 13, 2016 by Michelle Filed Under: Life 1 Comment

So Monday’s post-prompt from the Blogtember Challenge was: Three books! One you just read, one you’re currently reading, and one you want to read.

Honestly, this one just makes me feel so bad!  I.am.not.a.reader!

I don’t have time to sit and read.

I don’t want to sit still enough to read.

I want to do other things with my time.

Alas.

I really do want to read.

But it.is.such.a time.commitment!

I think I am still reading For the Love by Jen Hatmaker!for-the-love  Granted I’m almost done, but this one has been in progress for some time now.  I read it at bed time, if I have the strength enough to pull myself away from Instagram and Pinterest…they’re so addictive.

I’ve most recently read magazines – Real Simple and HGTV.  I also read a devotional {most of you know this about me already} every morning via She Reads Truth – and currently we are in the book of Hosea.

With the prompting of this topic, I picked up a book I started a year or so ago – one that a friend gave me, and I’ve been diligent each night since Sunday to read it and I must say, I am really enjoying it and am on the tail end!sparkly-green-earrings

 

I have no idea of what I want to read next – and am willing to take suggestions.  I just need it to be a really captivating book.  No murder mystery novels {I don’t do nightmares…} or romance junk {Song of Solomon is good enough for me!}.  Something really good.

Thoughts on that?  What have you read recently that was captivating?!

 

The Library

November 17, 2015 by Michelle Filed Under: Being a Mom, Life 3 Comments

Y’all.  I went to the library last night for the first time since we moved back to Columbia (2+ years ago!) and it was SO.MUCH.FUN!

First of all, I LOVE the library.  I remember in highschool, it was a fun night when my friend Stephanie picked me up in her Bronco II to go to the library where we would sit and do research {and talk about boys} on whatever paper we were writing that week for Mrs. Kitching’s English class!

I love a thesaurus {I think I’ve confessed that before}.  Someone gave me one for graduation maybe, and I love it…it’s great for Bananagrams or Scattergories…

Okay so back to last night.  I took the last part of my lunch at the end of the day and left work early.  Andrew agreed to get the kiddos from daycare so I knew I had plenty of time to get to our local library branch.

It was my first time going and I was giddy!

I walked up to the counter and there sat a lovely lady who had just a wonderful sense of humor, and was simply delightful.

She got me signed up for a card and told me about all the things I could do with my new membership.

Then, a lady walked in with two small boys…I looked at them and back to the lady, “How old does a child have to be to be able to get a library card?”

“Born.” was her simple reply!  Then of course, she laughed.  {Reynolds is going to LOVE this place, I thought!}

She asked if I needed help and I told her that if she could point me in the general direction of books for small kids {under 3}, I felt like I could take it from there.  Plus, I wanted to explore just a little.

I took a deep breath, smiled and walked over to the picture books.

“This is so great! So fun!”  I think I even giggled to myself as I scanned the titles and cover pictures.  “Reynolds is going to have so much fun here {as will Eliza Jane…}!!”

“The board books are along the wall…the bottom two shelves”, she told me.

20151116_170920

I made my way over to the books along the wall.

20151116_170928

Um…a place for kids to draw and color?!  Eliza Jane will love this place too!

I picked out a few books..just a few.  The nice lady told me I could borrow up to SIXTY {6-0} items at one time.  Holey moley.  I think I only got 14 🙂

20151116_172135

So here’s probably the most exciting thing about all of this.

Besides all the options that we have at the library {movies, magazines, borrowing from other libraries, online resources, etc.}…it’s FREE!

HA!  I bet you all knew/know this…

Andrew asked how much it was to rent all those books.

I looked at him like he had 3 heads, “The library is free, babe.”

“Free?”

“Yeah, you check out stuff from the library…it’s free.  There’s nothing to pay.”

He seemed confused.

“You don’t have to pay anything unless you have late fees….”

“OH…that must be why I’m thinking that you have to pay for them…I must have had late fees….”

………………………………………………………………………………….

There you have it ladies and gents.

Go get you a library card, check out some great books, but be sure to return them when they are due, else you WILL have to pay something…late fees. 🙂

Blog-tember Challenge: Day 26

September 26, 2015 by Michelle Filed Under: Life, Work Leave a Comment

Well, we’re in the last days of this fun Blog-tember Challenge, 2015!

Today’s challenge is to share with y’all the books I’m currently reading and those on the to-read list.

I’ll start with the currently reading list.Books Currently Reading

  • Ephesians with my She Reads Truth app – so good.  I love Paul’s writings and this study is just fantastic.  The gals at SRT have been gifted with beautiful hearts and the ability to teach through their writings.
  • Leadership As An Identity – another one that is so good.  I just recently started reading this book as part of a mentoring program I’m doing.  It’s a very easy read and has wonderful reminders of those Biblical principals that we all should strive to live by, but especially those of us in leadership positions.  I’ve had so many good take-aways from this book.
  • The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People – um.  This one I’ve struggled with, to be honest. I’m reading it with one of my employees who requested to read this book as a goal of his this year.  I know it’s one of those “must read” books, but I don’t love it.  I think the habits are great reminders of those things we need to be doing day in and day out.  But this book to me is long and drawn-out.  Maybe it’s my impatient nature…I want to hurry up and get to the point and then move on to the next….
  • The 17 Essential Qualities of a Team Player – I read this book a few years ago with my boss and another manager at our company and really enjoyed it then.  This time around I’m reading it with another employee, as a goal she had for herself this year.  It’s an easy read and is set up as short principles to grasp for someone who wants to be extraordinary in the workplace.  Adjectives such as “Mission Conscious, Committed and Disciplined” are words that we all want to describe us as team players.
  • Dinner: The Playbook – a sweet co-worker friend gave me this book and it is fantastically comical and practical all at once.  I think I’m still trying to convince myself that I CAN do what the author says I can….  I’m re-reading it and making plans.  We’ll see what happens in the next few weeks!

Those are all of the books I’m currently reading.  And trust me, as someone who isn’t really a “read-er”, this is a lot of reading! 🙂

On my end table in our den I have a stack of magazines that I really would like to read/flip through: Real Simple, Better Homes & Gardens and HGTV – all favorites  and regulars for the end table.

Books I want to read…Books To read

In getting ready for the Holiday Season {it is really just around the next corner!}, I have a book that was given to us last year, Unwrapping the Greatest Gift, that I really want to be geared up to read and soak in during Advent.

I also really want to get my hands on For the Love that just came out last month – and I’ve heard really great things about this book.

The last book that I really want to get through right now is one that came out this Summer: Real Simple’s Guide to Real Life.  I really enjoy the magazine and figure that the book has to be pretty great too.

There’s a part of me that thinks the want to read list is going to be on pause for the next few months, probably until 2016 arrives…mainly because our life is already busy enough as it is and we’re about to be in the wild and crazy holiday season!  I guess we’ll see!!

I would love to know what you’re reading these days!  Is there anything that you’re really wanting to get your hands on?

 

Blog-tember Challenge: Day 14

September 14, 2015 by Michelle Filed Under: Being a Mom, Life 4 Comments

Happy Monday, Friends!!

I hope you had a wonderful weekend!

Eliza Jane is finally on the mend!  Really!  After four days of fever last week and a mild rash on Sunday…I think we’re finally in the clear.  Bless her sweet heart…she was having a tough go of it!

 

So…today is Monday! and we’re half-way through this Blog-tember Challenge Whoop!

I did skip day 13 {yesterday} → creating a collage of this season of my life.  I couldn’t really find any pictures of myself juggling all of life’s responsibilities all the while looking June Clever-ish – in my freshly pressed dress and string of pearls! Hahaha!

Blog-tember Day 14

{This photo is of some of my top 10 books!}

Today is day 14 of the challenge and I’m tasked with telling you about the 5 books that have impacted my life the most.

The first is a given: My Bible.  There is no other book that has all the answers.  All of them.  There are self-help books out there; books that can give you 5 or 10 steps to a better {fill in the blank}.  But this one is the end-all, be-all.  Jeremiah 29:13

The next four are not in any particular order, but have all been a great influence on who I am as a wife, mother, boss/leader/co-worker, friend and believer:

Love and Respect – one of the best books I’ve ever read.  It’s about marriage, and if you’re looking for a way to invigorate your marriage, read it.  But be prepared to both recognize: 1. where you’re missing the mark and 2. where you need to make some changes in your life.  It’s a game changer.

The Passionate Mom – so good.  I read it over my Sabbatical this Spring and it helped me understand/remember that no two kids {people} are the same.  What I do as a mom for Reynolds might not work/be appropriate/show love the same way for Eliza Jane.  I hope that makes sense.

It also talks about setting boundaries as a parent.  We are their protector and we don’t need to be ashamed of protecting our kids.  God has given them into our care for a period of time and it is our right/duty/purpose and joy to parent them in a way that is bold and courageous.  Be passionate about being a real parent!!

The 5 Levels of Leadership – a work-related book.  This one I started last fall and finished up this Spring during my Sabbatical.  It’s focus is on becoming a better leader.  I manage people for a living.  I love managing people, but it’s a challenge in many ways {people are challenging in case you didn’t know!}.  I have an amazing team, with wonderful individuals with their own unique sets of talents and gifts.  I think, and hope, that this book has enabled me to become a better leader for them, especially over the last year.

Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World – ah.  Slow down.  Sllloooowwww down.  Remember Mary and Martha?  Mary wanted to just sit at Jesus’ feet.  Martha was busy serving Him.  This book helps blend the joys of sitting/resting/being still before our Lord with the desires of the serving/leading/doing that many of us feel called to.  It’s really great for those of us who might struggle with one because we’re so passionate about the other.

In case you were wondering, I’m a “Martha” struggling to be more of a “Mary”…

Those are my five books of influence!  What are yours?

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