In March, it was all about what’s in our Grocery Carts
This month, we are chatting all about our Quiet and Prayer time.
This is a personal topic for many, and I know everyone has their own faith life and practices. Today, I’m sharing what has worked best for me in my prayer life as an adult and how I have incorporated my relationship with God in my every day life as I have gotten older.
I have gone to church my entire life. I went to Catholic grade school, high school, and college, so I always felt like I had a good relationship with God. As an adult, I wanted to grow more in my faith life and that came in the form of making more time for prayer every day.
Every morning, I begin my day with a daily prayer/reflection. I like to ease into my day with quiet time before the days gets busy.
I use the app Laudate, which contains daily readings, prayers and reflections. During special seasons in the Catholic church, like Advent and Lent, I spend more time in my prayer by reading other devotionals I get through my Church, they typically contain a reading and reflection and prayer.
This was the one I was using for this Lenten season at the end of the day before bed.
After some prayer and intention time, I spend time journaling about my day, what happened, what was good or bad, what’s stressing me out and what’s bringing me joy. I really like to take the time for reflection before the day begins, plus it gets all my thoughts out on paper and out of my mind. This takes about ten to fifteen minutes depending on how much I need to unpack, haha! Once my quiet time in the morning is done, it’s off to start the day.
At the end of the day, I have been working to unwind and have a few minutes of quiet time before getting ready for bed. I started the year by reading Near in the Night, it’s a companion piece to Sure as the Sunrise by Emily Ley.
It’s 100 daily devotionals and reflections. I made my way through Sure as the Sunrise last year in the mornings and have been making my way through Near in the Night this year. I did take a brief pause for Lent, but now, I’m back into it. I like the different devotionals and prompts that Ley writes and I like the room for daily and weekly reflection that she provides. After a little bit of quiet time, it’s time for bed.
Everyone has the own relationship with their faith life, some may choose to go to Church every day, while others may only go once a week. Faith is such a personal choice, and everyone has to decide for themselves what works best for them. I have found that incorporating time in the morning and night to spend time on my faith life is what matters most to me, so I make it a priority every day. There is always room for more time with God, but at this stage in my life this is what works for me.
If you are struggling with a faith life, I hope this encourages you to explore what else is out there for you.
See you back here on Friday for another edition of Friday Favorites!
I hope you have had a great week so far. It’s crazy to think we are at the end of February, with one more day to go as it’s a Leap Year!
This month went by much faster than January, there were more things on the calendar, more time with friends, and much better weather-all good things in my book. Although I know we are not out of the woods yet with winter, knowing we are closer to the end than the beginning is a huge win! There’s more daylight, the days are getting longer, and the temperatures are slowly but surely rising. Spring, I can hear you knocking on my door.
As we get ready for a new month and season, I’m sharing some of the highlights from the past month for this month’s edition of Currently.
What I’ve Been Up To: The month started with some really warm days. Temperatures hit the 50’s and we had lots of sunshine. I didn’t realize how much I missed the sun until we got it back for a few days. I made it a point to get outside for lots of fresh air. I always like to take advantage of the warm weather and stay active. One of my favorite ways to enjoy both is by taking long walks with my dogs and making phone calls. I love getting my steps in and catching up with friends or family on the phone.
We love a good coffee shop date!
I also have enjoyed time with family and cozing up on the winter days by watching movies or reading. Give me a blanket, light me a candle, and some form of entertainment and I am one happy gal!
Cozy afternoons on the couch
What I’m Wearing: This hasn’t been too much of an exciting month when it comes to clothes. I tried my best to wear my reds and pinks in honor of Valentine’s Day. I also got a lot of wear out of one of my favorite red coats from Old Navy. I love that you can dress up or down in an outfit with this coat. I have worn it out to dinners and work and with leggings and boots.
A look at an outfit for a night out.
What I’m Reading: This was such a good reading month for me. I read a variety of books and genres.
Lost and Found in Paris– Lost and Found in Paris is about a young woman who travels to Paris for work after a major shift in her relationship. She’s hoping to find herself and deliver a piece of artwork to a client. When the artwork goes missing, she’s forced to go on a bit of a treasure hunt around Paris with someone she meets in the city of lights. Through the course of the book, she learns more about herself than she was ever anticipating. I loved this book and it’s in the running for a top book of the year.
Love and Olives– This is the third book in the “Love” trilogy. Jenna Evans Welch wrote two other books, one that takes place in Italy and another in Greece. This book, Love and Olives follows a girl in high school who travels to Greece to work on her relationship with her dad and help him with a big project. While she’s visiting, she learns more about her father and why he left her for Greece. I loved the setting and the characters. After reading it, I want to book a trip to Greece.
The Unexpected Joy of the Ordinary– This book was more psychologically heavy. The Unexpected Joy of the Ordinary is all about finding the joy in everyday happenings. I was interested in the concept but sometimes got lost in the science behind it. I liked how the author brought in her own experiences to make it relatable but found some of her examples and stories to be a bit sad and dark. I learned a handful of things from the book, but it wasn’t my favorite.
The Little Italian Hotel-“The Little Italian Hotel” follows a talk show host who ends up taking her anniversary trip alone. Rather than go with her husband, she invites four strangers to accompany her. The five people bond over heartbreak and become friends as they create memories during their three-week trip abroad. I listened to the book as an audiobook in the car, while I was jogging, and while I was cleaning and doing things around the house. I like the narrator’s voice and she had me hooked the entire time.
Thicker than Water– “Thicker than Water” is by actress, Kerry Washington. She talked about her upbringing, getting into acting, and secrets about her childhood that she learned as an adult. Washington focused more on how she got to where she is today than her career in TV and film. I appreciated her candor in tackling different challenges as she grew up.
What I’m Watching: I did my best to watch some of the movies and series up for awards this season. I also made some headway in my watchlist on Netflix and Amazon Prime including some older rom-coms. I have been enjoying watching or rewatching them the past few weeks. I did however start a new mini-series which has brought me great joy!
Sanditon– PBS mini-series follows a young woman who goes to live with a family who has plans to build up a town by the water. There’s romance, drama, dealing with the class system, and of course, a beautiful backdrop where it all takes place. If you enjoy old British shows or movies, give it a try! There are three seasons, and each season has six to eight episodes. This has been holding me over until Bridgerton is back in the spring.
What Inspires Me: I have been keeping up with my cooking in the kitchen which has brought me lots of joy. I love researching to find a recipe for a meal and then I love taking the time to prepare it, but my favorite part is seeing people’s reactions to trying it. Some of my recipes have been wins, others have flopped, but that’s all a part of the process. I aim to try one new recipe a week if my schedule allows. I also have been using my air fryer more and have tried different recipes, thanks to Pinterest. Here are some of the recipes I have made.
Air Fryer Blackened Chicken Caesar Salad
Air Fryer Chicken Caprese
Stir Fry
Brownie Truffles
Baked Chicken Fajitas
Air Fryer Potatoes
A Veggies and Rice Stir fry
Baked Chicken Nachos
What I Accomplished: This month started with the Super Bowl and a fun spread I put together for my family. We are Steelers fans, so we didn’t have a team in the game, but it was fun to watch, especially the ending in overtime! I enjoyed the commercials and half-time show and of course, all the snacks!
Just a few days later, we celebrated Valentine’s Day. I put together little treat bags for my gals who live by me and sent some cards to my friends who live out of town. I love doing little things to shower my people with love. I also made my some heart-shaped cookies for my family, which were a hit too.
Valentine’s Day cookies are always a must!
Valentine’s Day also fell on Ash Wednesday, so I started Lent with a new devotional that I got from my church that I will work my way through for the next several weeks.
Sweet Valentine’s gifts
Celebrating Valentine’s Day with some fondue
Goals from Last Month: I was happy that I got to celebrate my gals for Galentine’s Day by catching up with them in person for coffee, a meal, or a shopping trip, or via Facetime or call. The older I get, the more I want to make sure I continue to make time for my friends no matter the distance. I also enjoyed celebrating Valentine’s Day and making the most out of the winter months.
Sweet treats with friends
Goals from this Month: I am hoping this next month brings an increase in temperatures, more time outside, and more time doing what I love. I’m in a season of gratitude and being present in the moment and I’m working on not stressing about things out of my control. I hope I can continue with that mission in the coming weeks. I am also looking forward to some bonus family time with my brothers being home from school for Spring Break. I am also looking forward to a show at the end of the month. Spring is coming, I can feel it.
Fresh cookies to round out the month
That’s a look into life lately.
Tell me: as we gear up for a new season, what are you looking forward to the most? Let me know in the comments below! Enjoy your bonus day of February! See you back here on Friday!
Happy Easter! I hope you all had enjoyable Easter Celebrations if you celebrate. It was so nice to get home for more than a weekend. During my time home, I was able to see family, get errands done, and relax for a few days. Today, I am back to school and ready to finish out the semester strong with the last few weeks.
Today, I wanted to take the time to share with you something that I have been working on for the last 40 days. Every year, I was always try to make my Lenten sacrifice something meaningful, whether it’s giving up fast food, desserts, or a certain thing I use every day. This year, I wanted to make a big change not only for the spiritual sacrifice but for my health. I decided to give up carbs. Now, that might seem huge and vague so let me explain it down more.
I kept this posted in my room as a reminder every day
I wanted to really challenge myself, but I also wanted to see a change in myself. While I was in Rome over spring break. I kept saying how hard it was going to be from eating delicious authentic, Italian food to go back to eating American food. I also indulged a lot while I was in Rome and I wanted to change my eating habits when I returned. I realized this would be the perfect opportunity to make changes in my diet.
When I returned from Italy (although it was a few days after Lent had started), I cut out a lot of things from my diet. I cut out bread, pasta, chips, crackers, and potatoes (I love potatoes whether it’s baked potatoes, mashed potatoes, French fries, tater tots, waffle fries etc). That’s all I cut out, so yes, I did eat a cookie here or there, some popcorn when I went to the movies, or cereal in the morning. I didn’t cut out all carbs but certain foods that I would eat daily.
It was quite a challenge. The bread and the pasta were the hardest things to not eat especially since it is in so much of our food, I couldn’t eat pizza, sandwiches, waffles, donuts, pancakes, Mac and cheese, and more foods that I would have grabbed without taking a second thought. This challenge did force me to step out of my comfort zone by eating more vegetables, fruits, and meat. With all this food out of my diet what did I eat?
For breakfast, I would often eat fruit or a bowl of cereal (yes, I know that has carbs but I needed to find a balance), for lunch in the past would typically get a grilled chicken wrap-but during Lent I would opt for just grilled chicken and lettuce instead of a wrap. For dinner I would often have a big salad with grilled chicken, or soup, or another type of meat. Although, the options of food choices would sometimes get boring, I would try to change up my meals with different fruit or vegetables.
Through the 40 days of Lent I did notice a change in myself, I had more energy and I felt more full by eating cleaner and not having a lot of processed foods in my diet. I also noticed that by reaching for water instead of a sugary drink made me feel more healthier. I also attempted to take pictures each week to see my progress but that stopped after the second week. Plus, I didn’t necessarily do this to lose weight, but rather to sacrifice something and be healthier.
Now that my 40 days of no carbs will I go back? Yes and No. Yes, if I want waffled fries and a burger, I’m going to get waffle fries and a burger. But I want to try to eat more greens and lean meats instead of turning to bread and pasta all the time. When I am at school I eat healthier since I am on the go more and busier, however, when I am at home, it’s hard to resist homemade meals, but with summer approaching I’m going to try my best to keep choosing healthier options in my diet.
I hope this inspires you to try to make changes in your diet, it doesn’t have to be as extreme as this but maybe opting to cut out soda or fried food from your diet, you will be amazed at how you feel at the end of it. What did you give up for Lent? Would you be interested in giving up something this major?
