ONE WORD BREAKFAST 2016

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Last Saturday I had my annual One Word Breakfast (2015, 2014). It was a smaller crowd then usual but I was totally okay with that. I woke up early and actually managed to have everything ready before the girls came!!

I made these overnight waffles again and seriously, they were better than ever!!! They aren't sweet, which I love because I load my waffles with seriously sweet toppings. And the ones made near the end of the batch were perfectly crispy on the outside and soft on the inside! (anyone know how to make the entire batch like that??)

I kept the decor pretty simple...craft paper wrapping paper as a table runner, blooms of course and one of my Valentine's prints on each plate.

Besides stuffing our faces with delicousness, we also shared about our One Words for 2016. Because of the smaller group, we were really able to open up and encourage one another. My heart was soo full after! 

Oh and this year we had the cutest of guests...little sweet Finnley Mae...

Isn't she the sweetest?? Oh my heart!!! 

I'll share my one word for 2016 in March (along with the recap from last year's, ha!) and hopefully some of the other ladies will share theirs as well! And if you have a word for 2016, I'd love for you to share it on here! Email me at laura at ssheart dot com !!

XO,
laura

REMEMBERING WHEN YOUR EMOTIONS KEEP FORGETTING

Oh pregnancy hormones. They are a real thing. Maybe not for everyone, maybe some people are completely calm and the same as before...but that's not me. Sure, there are some days I feel like myself but then there are other days/moments when I'm not feeling like that at all....and don't get me wrong, BTB (before the bump) Laura wasn't always chill. I definitely had many moments of madness but man, this preggers thing seems to bring a lot more moments of madness than moments of calmness.

Today was one of those days where I was highly emotional...(I think a factor may be staying up way past my bedtime to see James play at Sugar last night lol) I was cranky. I was stressed. I was worried. I didn't want to stay in this mood so I laced up my runners and put on my way too tight running jacket and headed to a place I've gone when I needed to clear my mind and hear from God.

I think there is beauty in going to a place that has remembrance. I frequented this oceanside running trail often when James and I lived in our old apartment. In good times, and in really hard times I would run and God would be so kind and gentle with me. Today was the same.

As I ran (at a much slower pace than BTB lols), I was reminded of God's faithfulness. As I looked out to the sea, I remembered how He has met me too many times to count. He's brought us through so much and He won't stop now and even though I'm finding my emotions all over the place, I know that He is greater than my feelings. I will remember this truth when my emotions keep forgetting it. He is good and He is faithful.

xo,
laura

WHEN THINGS DON'T GO ACCORDING TO PLAN

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I like to think that I am an expert traveller. My mum is a travel agent for goodness sake. I was raised to travel. And that I've done. England, France, Germany, Italy, Ireland, Greece, Ukraine, Belgium, India, Hong Kong, Trinidad, Mexico. I love airplanes and everything about them. This has always been my mindset.

Until things don't go according to plan.....

I am a planner. I like neat trip itineraries. I memorize all my flight times. I always know where my passport is. We planned our most recent vacation very well. Three nights in Austin, a short flight to Fort Lauderdale and then 7 nights on a Caribbean cruise...YES. The plans were good and doable.

Our time in Austin was wonderful. We sooo enjoyed our time with Ryan & Joy. We even enjoyed their crazy stormy weather....until it messed up our travel plans. Now I'm not going to go into a travel plans gone horrible rant here but I will say our travel plans got heavily messed up due to weather and we ended up missing our cruise by two hours. Bummer. Thankfully, I have a wonderful mum who quickly booked us a flight to Turks & Caicos the next day so we could meet up with our cruise the following morning. 

Through it all, I kept asking God..."WHY!!!"....we prayed for things to work out and they were not working out and I wish I could tell you He told me some amazing reason for why it didn't work out for us but the honest truth is "I don't know?" but what I do know is sometimes things don't always go according to plan and that's okay. You cannot control everything and that is okay...that is more than okay. Life can sometimes be very unpredictable and it can be very annoying but all you can do is continue to trust God and know that He is good and He is faithful. In the end, things will work out.

And they did end up working for us. We arrived on the island of Grand Turk, we stayed in a cute little hotel, witnessed a beautiful sunset and met up with our cruise the next morning and enjoyed five nights of Caribbean bliss.

And how good is that sunset?

xo,
laura

SHE READS TRUTH

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I'm a morning person. Always have been, hopefully always will be. I am not a night owl. Wanna watch a movie at 10pm? HA! I'll be asleep in 20 minutes, just you wait.

But let's get something straight....being a morning person doesn't mean I wake up super happy, ready to change the world. I need some time first.

Here's my usual morning routine:
Alarm goes off around 6:30am.
Snooze once (sometimes twice if I'm real tired).
Get up.
Feed Coco.
Turn on espresso machine.
Make americano.
Curl up on my chair or couch.
Spend time with God.

This is my special time. Time to sit, time to think, time to drink coffee, time to read and time to talk to Jesus. This is my sacred time. This time allows me to gather my thoughts and rest in Him before the day before me. I love this time. 

I don't always get this time. Sometimes I sleep too late, sometimes I'm lazy, sometimes I make other plans. But I never regret it when I take the time to meet with God in the morning....never ever.

In this time I usually read some sort of teaching on the Bible (& the Bible of course). For the past number of years I've been reading Jesus Calling. I absolutely love it. I also do Bible reading plans through the Bible App. But the other day I decided to check out She Reads Truth and YOU GUYS...I love it.

I know SRT has been around for awhile but I just downloaded the app yesterday and I'm hooked! SRT is all about helping women connect with Jesus through His Word. They have a daily devotional that you can sign up for through email but they also have an app. I loooove the app. There's a ton of different plans that you can download for free and also ones you can buy. You can also go on their website and past devotionals for free too.

I purchased the women in the word plan and I'm loving it! The plan includes Bible readings and a devotional. 

They have a lot of other features as well and I just got an email today that they are launching a site for dudes! He Reads Truth !! Check it out if you're a boy reader or if you have a man in your life.

Oh and they also have a ton of cute lock screens....

Pretty sweet hey? I woke up this morning pumped for my morning coffee and excited to dive into my reading plan. If you haven't checked out She Reads Truth yet, I highly recommend it!!! 

Do you have any devotionals that you love? I'd love to know! Please let me know in the comments below.

XO,

s.s.♥︎.

SUMMER GOALS

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Back in June, James and I ate pizza in Beacon Hill Park and then talked summer goals over Beacon ice cream (THE BEST!) Usually I'm soooo game for making a billion crazy goals but this season things are different.

This is the first summer in years where I'm not doing something HUGE like speaking at camp, road tripping, going on a missions trip, GETTING MARRIED! The past summers were absolutely wonderful but this year I really feel God is telling me to rest. Soak in the gorgeous island summer. Eat cherries. Go to the beach. Read a book (or ten.) Put up art on the walls. Nap in the hammock. And don't feel guilty.

This may sound really wonderful but I'm a girl who really enjoys doing those big things. I like having a full schedule. I like serving at camps. I like going across the world. I like doing a billion big things.

But that's not what God has called me to this summer. Slowing down is hard for me. I'm used to the quick pace. But right now He's calling me to be content with a blank page in my agenda. (GASP!)

But I have a feeling. I have a feeling something is up His sleeve...all this slowing down, all this rest...maybe what it really is, is an invitation to rest in Him.

Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.
-Matthew 11 MSG

Unforced rhythms of grace? Live freely and lightly? Count me in.

I'm sabbathing this summer. I'm going to read books. I'm going to the beach. I'm going to put my feet in the ocean. And through all that, I'm going to spend time with my God who's whispering in my ear, "let's rest." 

xo,

s.s.♥︎.