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Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Christmas Gift Guide 2012

Whether it's a list of suggestions for yourself, your mom, your friend,  your sister or sister in law, all of these items will be well loved and cherished. 

With all of our shopping done, and a LOT of it done online, I'm pumped. Great gifts, no lines, no stress. It arrives at my house! In a box! Wrap it and done.

SO, I've brought you the best of the internet.  

The guide to all the women in your life. Or just print this out and hand it to your person. They'll thank you. 





Chunky Brushed Gold Chain Bracelet+ Falling leaf earrings + Circle Letter Initial Ring


boom. your shopping is done. except for the men. they'll get their own wishlist. promise.

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Tuesday things

Hello. I'm Lauren and this is my blog. Sorry for not writing and neglecting it. I'm working on changing that. 



 1. Thanksgiving is Thursday, yet I'm already in sit around and sleep and eat mode. 

 2. I'm going to be having a BIG SALE in the shop for black Friday. Stay tuned for that one. 

 3. I'm anxiously awaiting Friday so I can decorate for Christmas. I'm working on a few different DIY projects, which I will share later. 



 4. I ran a marathon last week, and although it was good, it was much different than I thought it would be. More on that later. It deserves a whole post. 

 5. Christmas shopping is almost done! BUT, I'll be putting together a list of my favorite things and sharing. Tomorrow. So come back for that. 

6. Community is good and hard to find. Cherish yours, whether it's your biological family, your online blogging family, a girlfriend, your book club, or your neighbors. If it's your place to love and be loved, be thankful for it.

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

just start already

Have you ever been in a season of life that just feels strange? Nothing's wrong on the outside, but yet your heart can't find the place it wants to call home? You flip from activity to activity looking for that community, yet your hands turn up empty each time?



 It's harder to handle when you've had real community. When you know the sweetness of calling friends in the middle of the night, or taking dinner because you know they've had a rough week. It deepens the ache--the pit of a hole that knows there's a place for living gospel that isn't being filled. And yet, we've been blessed. Those people exist for us, just not here. They're spread out, but the bond doesn't break. The Bible talks about community, and the people in Acts seemed to find it so easily.

And yet, we're here. Still searching. Still trusting that there are a people for us, in this city. A people who will sit in our house until midnight and drink wine. People that will ask the questions that don't have answers, and let the silence loom. There are people for us here, that will laugh and love and learn. So this week, instead of just waiting, we're starting.

We're making the awkward phone calls to the acquaintances and telling these people that we want to be friends. It's the worst and hardest parts of dating, but you have to do it go get to the good stuff. Sure, we'll be rejected a few times, but once you've had the real, life-bringing community, nothing else will do.

So we're picking up the phone and starting already.

Thursday, November 8, 2012

currently

it's race week. Like, as in: my marathon is on Sunday. and this is whats going on in my land in the days leading upto the race.



Reading: motivational running posts. running magazines. the list I'm making in my head to repeat to myself in the hard miles.

Eating: Pasta, potatoes, rice. All things carbo-licious.

Listening to: running playlist. Includes Justin Bieber, Rhianna, and Beyonce. It's grand.

Feeling: I'm oscillating between extreme excitement and pure nerves. It's a roller coaster. Wishing: this week wasn't dragging so I could do the run already!

Drinking: water. lots and lots and lots of water.

Watching: lots of movies. Fast and the Furious: Tokyo drift was last night's pick. Night before: Aliens. We like to keep it different.

Doing: a lot of nothing. resting, laying on the couch. trying not to count the minutes until Mom and Dad arrive. But if you want to count along, we're at just over 31 hours.

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

making room to breathe

SO, 31 days ended a while ago and I'm not near finished with that series. And if I'm honest, I don't know what I'm going to do about it. For now, the plan is to continue to write it. Just for me. It's something where I'm being taught and it's painful and good for me to keep writing it. So, if you're interested, I'll try to keep you updated about how that is going.

but this post is about something different.

it's about how to balance life + blogging. I don't know if balance really exists. Maybe we're just in seasons. And some seasons are completely devoted to one or two things and thats's ok.

because for me, I put an inordinate amount of pressure on myself to get a post out there every day. and then it doesn't happen. and 2 weeks go by, and the pressure only builds. How can I go back to blogging after being so bad at it?

And the other things pile, and pile and pile. And I say yes, yes yes. Then--the do nothing stage. I shink and shudder as I look at the list and I cry and do nothing.

So here I am. A bad blogger. Trying to make time for everything. And in that, cutting a lot.  Because I need to make some room for myself to breathe.

I am running the San Antonio marathon this Sunday--and the plan for this week was rest. Rest from running, rest from stress. Just rest. Focus on the goal, watch a lot of movies. And if I'm honest, I've failed pretty bad at that too. 

So this place, and my life, is returning to those goals.

Serving my God
Loving my family
Representing Christ in all I do at work.
Being a part of community.
Running Seek First.

And everything above that, it's extra. Because in doing all those things, I need to make sure I have room to breathe.