DIY Prayer Flip-Book

I've found the best way for me to pray is to keep a prayer journal.  I already wrote a post about the reasons why, so you can read that if you're curious.

In my prayer journal, I usually write out my personal prayer for the day, and then make a list of people in my life who need prayer.  My only complaint is that I was writing the same names down on that list day after day after day, and it just seemed like there should be a better way.

I finally came up with a simple solution to this: create a prayer flip book to keep all my friends' and families' prayer requests in one place.

All you need are index cards, a ring to hold everything together, and writing utensils.  I used Paper Mate marker pens because they are the best things ever.  I am slightly obsessed.

 I wrote the name or thing that needs prayer on the front of the card, and any specific prayer requests on the back.  I left room on all the cards so I can add more requests as I hear about them. 

And just like that, my prayer time just became a little more efficient.  I like this idea, and I am thinking about making a scripture memorization flip book as well.

I think this would be a great idea for kids who are learning to pray.  They could make and decorate their own little prayer flip books for friends and family members.

Weekend Love

Weekends are pretty much the best things ever, am I right?  We had a pretty busy and fun one around here!

• We celebrated Father's Day with my Dad on Friday night.  We had (gluten free) pizza and (sugar free) ice cream, and then had a giant bonfire.  

• During my spare time this weekend I started watching Pretty Little Liars because I found the first season on Netflix, and am completely addicted (*hangs head in shame*)

• ...and I also worked hard on Etsy stuff.  That's right, I'm finally opening an Etsy shop!  Sometime in the next couple of weeks.  Stay tuned!

• On Saturday Luke and I went to our first wedding of the season for our friends Katy and Adam.  It was beautiful!  I really love weddings.  Our next one is next Saturday in Columbus for Luke's cousin.  We're turning it into a little weekend trip, so I'm excited.  

• We spent Sunday afternoon at a little cookout to celebrate Luke's adorable baby cousin's baptism.  It was fun to spend the afternoon with family!  Good food and Mexican Train were also involved, to make a good day even better.  All babies, including Lilly, seem to have a fascination with Luke's face. I think it's the facial hair.  Lilly crawled all over Luke all day, and really loved grabbing his face:

What a fun Father's Day weekend!  To end this post, I'd like to wish a Happy Father's Day to my awesome father! ...and to my awesome husband.  While he is not a father yet, I know he'll be the best one ever someday, and that deserves an honorary "Happy Father's Day!" in my book. 

High Five for Friday

I'm linking up again with Lauren for High Five For Friday.  This past week was full of blessings, and here are just a few:

1. I already wrote about this, but I had my first weigh-in for the Prism Diet this week, and lost more than I expected!  I've lost 10 lbs since I started the program, but 15 lbs since last winter when I was my heaviest ever.  I have already reached my goal weight, so I'm just going to work on maintaining now.  Here are before and after photos (the only picture of me since the weight loss was in a dressing room, trying on a dress for my friend Lindsey's wedding, so excuse the poor quality).  I'm on the left in the first picture.  I probably didn't have to tell you that, because Sarah is a stick.

2. Speaking of that dress, it is my second big blessing of the week.  I am in my friend Lindsey's wedding in August, and she told all her bridesmaids to just buy a purple sundress.  And I found mine!  I love the color blocking.  I can't wait to wear it on her special day!

3. Did you make it to Bath & Body Works for their huge sale this week?  I took a little shopping trip the other day and just happened to catch it.  Almost everything was $3-$4 or 50% - 75% off!  I could have easily gone crazy, but I limited myself to two summery hand soaps for my bathroom. 

4. I had fun going out with a couple of friends, shopping for a service project, and then going out to dinner on Wednesday.  While at Target, they told me I had to try Izze sparkling fruit juice.  I know I'm late to the party on this one, but YUM.  I tried blackberry, and it was so flavorful and refreshing. They're naturally sweetened with fruit juice, so they're totally legal on the Prism Diet.  Win.

5.  I'm excited to celebrate Father's Day!  My family is actually celebrating tonight because of a scheduling conflict on Sunday.  We're having pizza with whole wheat crust (my first in about two months) and hanging out at my parents' house.  I am so blessed to have such a great dad!  I made him a little gift that I thought was cute -- I totally snagged the idea from Pinterest, here.

Have a blessed weekend!

Supplying Beauty at Home

I've always been interested in the Proverbs 31 woman, but even more than normal in the past couple of weeks.  I've been re-reading Elizabeth George's book Beautiful in God's Eyes during my morning quiet time.  It is an excellent book, and has really ignited a passion in me again to emulate this God-honoring woman.

The other day I read the chapter in the book about this little verse: Proverbs 31:10 - "Her price is much higher than jewels."

Elizabeth George writes about how life was bleak in Israel when this verse was written.  Times were hard, and most people did not own any jewels.  Therefore, the woman -- wife, daughter, mother, etc. -- became the "jewel" in her own home.  I don't know about you, but this  not only makes me feel special, but also like I have a huge duty:

My job is to provide the beauty in my home, and in my husband's and future children's lives. 

As they say, with great power comes great responsibility.  As I mulled this tiny verse over and over in my head the other day, I realized what a huge deal this is.  I have the power to make or ruin Luke's entire day.  And I have the power to make our home a place that he looks forward to, or dreads entering at the end of a long day.  

Supplying the beauty in my home is not something that comes naturally, and it's not easy.  It won't happen if I'm lazy or passive.  So I decided to be proactive, and made a list of ways to supply beauty:

1. Keep the house clean.  Set a cleaning schedule and stick to it.

2. Pray for my husband daily (one trick I like to use is to pray for him every time I catch a glimpse of my wedding band).

3. Pray for my family, friends, future children, and others who enter our home. 

4. Provide filling, healthy, and tasty meals and snacks.

5. Help to make sure the outside of my house looks inviting in a way that Luke is proud to live here.

6. Do all I can to make sure Luke has a stress-free day at work by making sure I keep up with his laundry, sending him an encouraging text or two, refraining from texting him about problems or questions, and making a good lunch for him.  I actually just started packing his lunch this week, but that is another story for another day.

7. Cultivate a peaceful feeling in my home by playing Christian music, lighting scented candles, or decorating it to make it pretty. 

8. Live a life of integrity, and be responsible and proactive about getting things done so that Luke will "have full confidence" in me.

***

Those are just a few ways to supply beauty in my home, but I'm sure there are many, many more, especially in homes with children.  So what are some ideas you have about ways to supply beauty in your homes?  I would love to hear any ideas, and might write a second post on this topic if I get a lot of good ones!

Linking up here:

The Gift of Quality Time

I have read Gary Chapman's book The Five Love Languages twice in its entirety, and I've often gone back and read parts of it many more times than that.  This is a great book for anyone to read even if you're not married, because it can really be applied to any relationship, not just marriage.

I heard Gary Chapman recently on a podcast, and it put me in the mood to re-discover the five love languages.

They are: quality time, words of affirmation, physical touch, acts of service, and receiving gifts  (and those are also in order from most important to least important for me, personally).

I decided to do a little series where I talk about a love language each Wednesday.  Today I'm starting with quality time because it's obviously the one I'm most familiar with, being that it's my primary love language.

Luke and I couldn't be more different when it comes to our love languages.  Where I crave quality time spent with him, I seriously think he could go weeks without even going on a date with me, and he'd be fine.  And there's nothing wrong with that -- it just means we're different, and we receive love in different ways!  For example, Luke loves to sneak up behind me and grab me around the waist when I'm washing dishes, and he loves to tickle me, etc...whereas I don't naturally think to do those things to him because physical touch isn't as high on my list as it is on his.  All that to say that we need to learn how to love our spouses through their native love language because it is certainly not something that we automatically do.

So let's delve more deeply into the topic of the day: quality time.

What exactly is quality time? 
It's one on one time spent together with no distractions.  It's undivided attention.  It's a shared activity or conversation.

What things do not qualify as quality time?
It's not sitting together and watching TV.  It's not being together while one or both of you are on your cell phones or computers.  It's not one-sided conversation.

How can I better love my spouse whose love language is quality time?

• Put the cell phone or computer away during a date night
• Give them your undivided attention when they are talking to you
• Be the one to suggest a date night every once in awhile.  There isn't much I like better than when Luke does this.
• Go on dates that include a shared activity like hiking, biking, playing a game together, going to an amusement park, etc.
• Avoid going on too many movie dates.  Movies are fun every once in awhile, but they don't fill that need for your spouse to spend quality time with you. 

What can I do if my love language is quality time, and my spouse's is not?

• Know that if your spouse's primary love language differs from yours (and it probably does) that they truly don't understand your need for quality time.  You need to clearly communicate to them that that's what you need. You also need to make sure they understand the difference between spending quality time together, and just spending time together. 
• Start taking interest in your spouse's interests.  When Luke and I first started dating, I had no interest in sports whatsoever.  However, now that we're married, I love going to Indians games and Ohio State games with him.  It may not be my first choice of an activity, but it is always a chance to spend hours of quality time with him.  Another example is that Luke loves tractor pulls.  He goes to at least one every year.  And while I don't understand the fascination, when I had the chance to go to one with him this weekend, I was very excited and enjoyed it very much!  It helped that a few of my girl friends were there to talk to as well, but I really enjoyed it!  So again, be proactive about spending quality time with your spouse if you're the one who needs it. 

***

Even if neither you nor your spouse have the love language of quality time, certainly someone in your life does.  A sister, friend, or a co-worker?  Planning to spend some quality time with them is a great way to reach out! 

Linking up here:

Strawberry Banana "Mock"shake

I am on a bit of a high this week: we had our first weigh-in last Sunday for Prism, and I lost more than I expected!  I actually weigh less now than I did on our wedding day, and am .6 lbs away from my goal weight!  Also, I lost 2 inches around my waist!  (I also lost almost 2 inches around my bust.  What?!  I didn't need to lose ANY there, and hope I don't lose anymore! haha).

The fact that I basically hit my goal weight during phase 1 makes me really want to make a new goal weight, and lose 5 more lbs.  But I know that's a slippery slope, and I'm happy with the way I look and the way my clothes are fitting, so I'm going to simply work on maintaining during the next 6 weeks.  and if I happen to lose a little more, then great!  But that's not my goal. 

I was getting slightly tired of eating healthy, and even cheated a bit last week and had a few scoops of ice cream.  But after hearing that I've lost weight, I feel like I hit my second wind in this program!  I got more excited about having a healthy menu, and trying new recipes.  

Also, it helps that in the next phase of the program I'm allowed to have whole wheat flour, baked or boiled potatoes, and sugar-free frozen desserts!  You have no idea how excited I am to eat sugar free chocolate pudding!  

On top of that, I made a delicious dessert after lunch yesterday: a strawberry banana "mock"shake.

It's a "mock"shake instead of a milk shake because it does not include milk or ice cream.  Here are the details:

Ingredients:

10 Strawberries

1 medium banana 

1 cup plain Greek yogurt

1 packet Stevia sweetener

Serves: 2

Calories:137

Directions:

Cut up 10 strawberries

And a medium banana

Throw 'em in the blender with 1 cup plain Greek Yogurt (it has to be plain.  ANY flavored yogurt is filled with sugar, and you might as well be eating ice cream!)

Throw in 1-2 packs of Stevia sweetener, depending on your taste, and blend it all until liquified.

In about 5 minutes, you have a delicious dessert that tastes just like a milkshake!  With all the vitamins of fruit, and the protein of Greek yogurt.  And all only 137 calories (if you divide it in 2.  One person could easily eat the whole mixture, in which case it would be 274 calories. Not that I'm speaking from experience, or anything).

(Sorry for the bad picture quality.  I've got to start using a camera instead of my iPhone all the time)

This is so smooth and delicious!  Next I'm thinking about trying a chocolate peanut butter "mock"shake for those days when I just need to satisfy my sweet tooth!  

What Waiting Has Taught Me

June 16 will mark two years of waiting for a child for me and Luke.  That's 24 months, 104 weeks, and 736 days.

At this point I feel like there isn't much I wouldn't do for a baby of my own.  It's just a very strong yearning I have inside of me.  Trust me, there have been a million times where I've wished that yearning wasn't there.  I would give anything to be more like my sister (I don't think she would mind my sharing that she has no interest in ever having kids).  But it just won't go away. 

This waiting, as hard as it has been, has taught me something so amazing about God's love! The other day it hit me:  if I am feeling this much love for a child that doesn't even exist yet, and I know I would do anything to have that child in my life, and I'd do anything for that child, how much more must God be that way toward us?

I know I will understand this more when I actually have a child of my own, because while I think I know what it would feel like, I know I really won't know the depth of a mother's love until I'm actually holding my child.  

However, this waiting must be a fraction of what the Lord feels when He is waiting for us, His children, to make the decision to follow Him. 

While this waiting isn't easy, and quite frankly I'm sick of it, God is willing to wait an eternity (or close) for us to make the decision to call Him "Father."  It blows me away when I think about it. Two years of waiting has almost been frustrating enough for me to throw in the towel.  It is completely incomprehensible how He could love us so much, that He would wait many lifetimes for His children.  

I may get discouraged when I think of how long I've had to wait.  But in the grand scheme of things, it hasn't been that long at all.  And I have a God that loves me an unfathomable amount, and He is in charge of my life!  Obviously if I've waited this long, it's for a good reason, because he definitely knows what He's doing!