Living as a Victorious Christian Woman

One of my favorite high school memories is driver’s ed, which just happened to be in the middle of the floods of 1993, a memorable time itself. Before we were allowed out in the driver’s ed cars, we had to sit in driving simulators and drive along with a video. The simulators would transmit our actions to the instructor, who could see if our reaction times were good enough to move on. Just like it was yesterday, I remember complaining because the video seemed unrealistic - it showed a little girl running into the street, someone opening their car door into traffic, a dog crossing the street, car horns in the background, a driver running a stop sign ... on and one for several minutes. How could I concentrate on driving when they were throwing all these other people and situations into the mix? Low and behold, on the way home from one of those driver’s ed classes, my very own street turned into one of those videos. There were kids playing on the sidewalk, people getting in and out of the...

It would be so wonderful to find a planner that fills all my needs, every day, no matter what’s happening this week. But there’s not. Even the planner pages I design and create myself aren’t perfect. There are some days that I don’t get them all filled out, sometimes I need another section, or a different section or way more space to write in. And all of that is ok. The pages that work for me today may not work for you, and they may not even work for me tomorrow. That’s the reality of daily life and the not-so-important stuff we tend to focus on. On Tuesday this week, for example, I needed a few more lists and planning spaces than normal. That meant covering up some of those sections I would normally use. And that’s ok. Just because I spent time and effort creating “the perfect page” for myself, it doesn’t mean that I have to use it exactly the same way every day. Most of the time this page fits my needs, but every day is different. I’m not going to beat myself up because I need a bigg...

When we adopted Parker, we knew that he had thunderstorm anxiety. He had some medicine to take the edge off, but it wasn’t really helping the situation. Plan B was just cuddling and loving and turning on some music to drown out the rumbles. Earlier this week, though, Diesel took it upon himself to help Parker feel better during a pretty intense storm. Parker was by himself on the couch, panting, and Diesel jumped up and sat next to him. This was unusual in itself, as Diesel normally doesn’t get worked up over what’s going on around him. After a few minutes, he moved around to Parker’s side and just kept him company. He didn’t seem to mind that Parker’s panting was shaking the entire couch. He just sat there, touching Parker’s side with his leg. Eventually, when Diesel saw that Parker was calming down, he laid with his head on Parker’s back. Even when a flash of lightning would make Parker shake and pant again, Diesel would just shift a little and calm him back down. It was very possibl...

Yesterday was the first day of spring, so now it’s official - winter is over! To celebrate warmer, more beautiful days, I turned my Saturday planner pages into a breath of fresh, spring air! You can do the same with just a few spring-themed supplies. * Washi tape in spring florals and bright colors. * Journal block stickers can be backgrounds for quotes and phrases. * Die cuts of the leaves and flowers we can’t wait to see again outside! * Acrylic dots and other flat embellishments. When I shopped in my own craft room, I found so many spring-themed supplies that I forgot I even had. When I pulled them all out, there will be enough to make cards and journals for days, as well as several planner spreads in the spring days to come. At least you know where I’ll be.

One of my goals for 2020 has been to exercise some self control and not buy absolutely everything I think I need. The best example of this is shopping out of my own craft room instead of buying new supplies. So when I saw a video of a woman organizing her washi tape in a clear box with little dividers and tabs, I said to myself, Self, you can find something even better in your own stash.  This stacking basket was a vintage find at The Shop Iowa City , a fun store just an hour and a half from us. I fell in love with its uniqueness, but I never had a use for it ... until now! My washi tapes fit perfectly inside, standing on their edge so I can see the patterns and then layered on top. All three baskets are fairly deep, so I was able to fit almost my entire collection of washi tapes in here. It’s as though they were made for it! When I’m not using them, the lids go on and they get stacked back up on the open end of the handles. Two little wicker rings lock the top basket in place. And...