Things I Love...Or Wish I Owned So I could Love Them

Basically the title says it all.  I've been enjoying reading blogs who share their favorite things so I thought I'd do the same!  Unfortunately, I don't actually own a few of the things I love.  I mean, sometimes the budget is tight and I can't shop..but just you wait, pretty things, I am coming for you!


We were gifted this cup for Christmas.  At first I thought it was kinda weird looking...I have never seen it on TV so I didn't know anything about it.  But, yes, it does live up to it's name.  WOW CUP is AMAZING!  It doesn't spill AT ALL.  I repeat.  It does not spill.  They come in fun colors & are a great price.  WOW!

This is a shop that I've found while browsing through Instagram.  I love it for a few reasons.  1. Her collection is inspired by her children, who btw, are adorbs. 2. The Bear Collection is amazeballs and all kinds of cute..  I'm prettty sure I've begged Matthew to let me buy a sweater & tee for John and I.  But, alas.  Tight budget.   But, just you wait, Bear Collection!  I'm ordering you soon!!!  and 3. She is a mom-entreprenuer.  I love seeing women get creative, be good mommies & run a business.  It's empowering & encouraging & kinda makes me wanna support them!

Enjoy Essential is a new marketplace that I love looking through.  It was started by Cady from Boughtin Baby and it's so much fun.  She is also the one to thank for John's awesome "Cool Story Bro." tee that we bought during a Flash Sale on her IG account (which you can find the link to on her blog).  I loooove love love it.  It's comfy, stylish & an awesome color.  Thanks, Cady!   

I'm so excited to start reading this book.  I've heard it's a great read.  And, uh, it's written by none other than D.J. Tanner.  Who, I guess is actually named Candace Cameron Bure. Ha, just kidding.  I knew that.  Anyway, I ordered it online & it's scheduled to arrive on Saturday.  I look forward to reading it, being encouraged and of course #reshapingitall.

 

Oh yah, and i'm also loving this blog post.  

...and this Etsy shop.  Um.  Super cute stuff, Correne.  And she's a mom starting up a business! Love these women with passion and drive! 

 I think that's it for now! Do you have any cool shops, blogs or books you wanna share!?  I'd love to hear about 'em! 

 Oops, I almost forget!  I also love this guy.  But he's not for sale.  He's mine!

Radical. Church Zero.

Do you remember back to my January post about being RADICAL?  No...probably not.  so read it here. 

I'll wait until you're done.


Finished?  Okay...good. 

I mentioned that my life needed to change.  I mentioned that being content is no longer good enough and I needed a heart transplant...take out my heart and give me God's heart.  Not literally.  That's creepy.  But, you know what I mean. 

Anywho, a few paragraphs into that post...I mentioned about joining a small church plant that originated from my home church.  This itty bitty church is called Refuge Long Beach.  It may be small...but it is POWERFUL...and it is RADICAL.  Seriously, it is an odd group of affluent, old, young, poor, the lost, the rejected, the poor, the homeless & the forsaken.  Basically...it's like Jesus gathered "the least of these" and threw them all into an auditorium and called it our church.  It's AMAZING & in the short time I've been there I've seen lives changed.  Men go from homeless to sheltered & employed.  Families paving the way for children to grow up in a home filled with Christ....The point is, this isn't just a church like your average church.  It's the church that God intended...it's the Scriptural church of Acts.  It would make the apostle Paul proud.  The pastor at our church, Peyton, he is to blame for all of this.  He is the one who pioneered the church plant (along with a slew of other amazing men & women) and he is a radical, blunt, funny & a Jesus loving guy.  Not to mention, he and his crazy cool wife have adopted & are adopting again.  You may recognize them from this post...They are still waiting for their sweet boy, wherever he may be & I ask that you pray for them in this!  But, Peyton wrote a book.  It's called Church Zero & it's radical. 

From the back cover:

 

It’s Time to punch delete and Hit ‘Reset.’

 

What happened to the Western Church? When did we stop being radical, dangerous, and impossible to ignore? Why are we losing the generation under 30 and reaching so few nonbelievers?

 

In Church Zero, Peyton Jones says one of our big problems is this: we squeeze our leaders into a mold that cuts their hair and drains away their commando strength.

 

Scripture lays out a leadership model that worked explosively in the first century—but frankly, we’re scared of it. We don’t have to be. When properly understood, Christ’s model can help your church live the way the body was meant to live, truly making a difference in your community.   Church Zero gives the blueprints for how the Western Church might start rebuilding from the ground up if a pipe bomb were placed underneath all of our church structures overnight. What would tomorrow look like if we had to restart from a biblical ground zero? 

 

Church Zero will help us once again become a radical, dangerous people who cannot be ignored. It’s time to break out of the matrix.

 

 

How does this matter to anything I've been talking about here about orphans?  How is this at all relevant to my desire to change the world?  It has everything to do with these things.  The church needs to change.  There are rolls that need to be filled in the church, like that of apostle & prophet & when we can do that we will change the world & expand the kingdom of God.  For reals.  Don't believe me?  Read the book.  Peyton will share his heart for a reformed church to be built from the ground up & he will do it with Scripture & way too many pop culture references!  It's amazing!  I per-ordered my copy for my Kindle & am about half way done...but I have a special gift for you, too.  You can download & read this book for FREE!  But for a limited time only.  Go HERE, to Amazon & download your free digital copy.  Promise you won't be disappointed.

And, if you miss the chance to download it for FREE, buy a copy!  It's worth your $15 & not to mention, the publisher is a non-profit.  So, any profit that they do make...it goes to third world country missions.  You get an awesome book.  Win.  Those in need hear the gospel preached.  Win.

Move Over Oprah's Book Club!

For our engagement party, Matthew's mother gave us one of the greatest gifts ever. I love it! It is an amazing book called Love & Respect. I am not usually into books with a cause (other than the Bible!), I'm more into easy reading, but I cannot put it down & even Matt has begun to pick it up and read!

What an idea this author had...to take scripture and write a whole book about how when God's word is lived out in our daily lives good fruit is produced. What an obvious idea, right!? But, unfortunately, it does take an entire book to show what a beautiful thing marriage can be when God's people are faithful to His Word.

At times as I read this book I was slightly overwhelmed to read testimonies from other couples about just how easy it is to jump on the "crazy cycle" but in the end...I am even MORE excited to become Matthew's wife, and feel so encouraged to start jumping on the "energizing cycle" and soon be on the "rewarding cycle." Read the book and see what I mean!!

Getting married? Already married? I know with 2 months until I am even married I don't have much credibility to my name as far as marriage advice goes...but I know one thing: Love & Respect is a must read!

So husbands ought to love their own wife & let the wife see that she respects her husband (Ephesians 5).