This past week has been one of settling. The class I am teaching is progressing nicely. I am excited about the projects my students are working on this semester {researching Internet communities – holler!}. My application to my new program has been submitted and I am waiting for to hear whether or not I have been accepted {a few weeks away}. And, in most recent news, I decided to drop one of my classes this semester. I have been on this crazy mission to get my PhD done as quickly as possible {in five years instead of six}, and I finally realized it’s not worth killing myself to cut off a semester or two of school {and I love school right? Hopefully I still love it when I’m in my 30s, because I will still be attending until I am 32 or 33!}. So I dropped a class, even though I was enjoying it and really liked the teacher, because it doesn’t relate very closely to my current research and I just can’t handle twelve hours of school, while trying to be a wife, a blogger, a servant at my church, and a good friend, and while trying to keep a clean house and exercise regularly. I feel like this is another moment of humility, where God says “Jen, you cannot do it all. Please stop trying.” I am obeying. Yes, this means I will probably have one if not two babies {God willing} while I am still in grad school, but babies and books are cute together, don’t you think? And without further ado, here is my week via Phoebe. Love that girl. One of my new best friends; no offense to my other best friends… J Resting after a walk with a good friend // Making homemade lemon squares with fresh lemons! Nothing beats an LGO breakfast // I miss Bekah already! Arnie P! Add him to the best friends list // Can't get enough of my pastor's sweet newborn! Flats... everyday y'all // Double batch of banana bread {Micah only had to beg for two months} xoxo,Jen *Linking up with Life Made Lovely and Aisle to Aloha!* ... Read more
Flowers Fade Friday: Verse for the Year
I know many people make resolutions or goals for the new year {I made some too!} and others pick a word to be their theme for the next twelve months, which I also think is a great idea. However, I was at church on New Year’s morning and it struck me… why not have a verse for the new year? Instead of choosing my own word, why not let God’s Word guide me in 2012? Our pastor preached a verse that stuck out to me as a great summary of how I want to live my life this year: And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us.-1 John 3:23 Step 1: Believe in the name of Jesus... Of course, I believe in Jesus. He is my Savior. I have entrusted my life to Him. But do I believe in Him on a daily basis? When I am tempted to sin, do I believe that Jesus, who conquered death, can conquer any sin in me? When I am uncertain about the future, do I believe that Jesus has a plan for me that will always lead to His glory and my own holiness? When I feel forlorn, angry, or desperate, do I believe Jesus' promises? That he will give me rest, provide for all my needs, and give me strength when I am weak? When I am captivated by idols and the things of this world, will I believe that Christ is my greatest treasure and highest joy and turn from all that is NOT Him? I want to believe in Jesus in new ways this year... I want my faith in Him to creep into every corner of my life and bring His light to areas I have kept dark with my self-reliance and lack of trust in my Savior. Step two: Love one another... Sure, I love others. I love my husband, my family, my friends, the people at my church. But, again, do I allow love to seep through all areas of my life? Do I seek to love those who are unlovable? Who are needy and can't give me anything in return? Am I patient with those who annoy me or ask for "too much" of my time? Do I love only when it's convenient? When it means meeting a friend for coffee, but not when it means helping a friend move? Do I give Micah enough loving attention? Or do I cherish my own to-do list more than interacting with the husband God blessed me with? Do I idolize a clean home or do I love people by inviting them in, even when the floor needs to be swept and there is clutter on the counters? Do I love others by sharing Jesus with them or do I, in selfish, hesitant pride, keep my lips shut when my heart knows the overflowing riches of Christ's goodness? I want this year to be marked with love. I want to love people I've sinfully neglected to love in the past. I want to love when it hurts, when it's inconvenient, when it seems, from my narrow human view, unfruitful or pointless. I want to love like Christ loves me. Will you join me? Do you have a verse that can lead you to repentance and increased holiness this year? xoxo,Jen P.S. I am HONORED to be over at Wild-and-Precious doing a giveaway today! I love Blair. Go check it out! Linking up with Casey, Ashley and Jami. ... Read more
Making money blogging…
Hi friends, I have a little opportunity for you today. I was recently contacted by some business savvy guy friends of mine about a blogging business opportunity. These two friends are starting a business to manage advertisements for female bloggers of the mommy-blog/handmade/indie biz genre… meaning YOU {most likely}! I honestly don’t fully understand how it works, but here’s the gist:You know those weird e-mails you sometimes get from random companies trying to get ad space on your site? If you ever look up the company, sometimes they are a hoax, but sometimes not, right? If you are anything like me, too many of them are hoax-y and I pretty much just delete them as soon as I see them in my inbox. However, there are many ways to make money off blogging and I would hate to think I am passing up an opportunity to make a little money for the fam {the teaching assistant stipend only goes so far} by my hasty e-mail deleting. Enter this new blogging business opportunity. My friends Blake and Debt Ninja are starting a business where they take care of these weird ad offers for you. Anytime you get one of the e-mails, you pass it on to the service at Punch Debt in the Face. These two gents figure out whether it’s a hoax or not, and if it’s not they negotiate a rate for you with the company wanting to advertise. Then you {and the circle of bloggers in the network} get to host the ad on your site and make money off of it. You give the Debt Ninja service just 10% of the profits from the specific ad as their commission for negotiating the ad rate for you. And if you don’t make money from the ad, you don’t owe them anything. The key to this service? The more mommy/craft/indie bloggers in the network, the more successful the program is for everybody, because everyone who uses the service gets to post the legit ads on their blogs, even if the offer wasn’t originally e-mailed to you personally. I know this seems strange, but apparently it works really well for financial bloggers {Debt Ninja made $11,000 off his own blog in 2011}, so these guys want to try it out in the mommy blog market to see if it will work there too. I honestly would never even write about this on my blog if I didn’t 100% trust the two guys doing it. These are guys I went to high school with, did YoungLife with, and go camping with every summer. Legit Christian husbands of my friends. And Debt Ninja runs a very successful, nationally known financial blog called Punch Debt in the Face. Check it out! Please e-mail ads@punchdebtintheface.com if you are interested in joining this ad-sharing network! I am not being compensated for the this post. Just helping out some friends {them and YOU}! {via Lisa Leonard - one of the first bloggers I followed when I started my research a year ago!} xoxo,Jen ... Read more
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