ILLUMINATE 2015 ♥︎
*insert emoji hallelujah hands* WHAT A WEEKEND!!!! Seriously, Illuminate 2015 was out of this world! I still can't stop smiling. Over 300 girls and volunteers gathered and man oh man did we ever PARTAY!!!
First of all, I want to thank the incredible team of volunteers who worked their butts off!!! We could not have done what we did without you! Thank you thank you thank you!!!
This year's theme was BRAVE! God was calling His daughters to step out and live the BRAVE lives He has called them to. We were BORN TO BE BRAVE!
So many highlights!! But here's a few:
- Seeing 46 girls make decisions for Jesus on Friday night (I will never ever get tired of that!!!)
- Seeing our team just KILL IT!!!!
- Hearing from my friends Jenna Liesch & Kim Moran and also testimonies from so brave women...love you Kristy!!
- Hanging out with my new friend in ministry (& our first official house guest) Lindsay....love ya girl!
- CONFETTI!
- Seeing pure JOY on the girls' faces as massive balloons were dropped and we all celebrated what God has done!
There were lots of other highlights but I'm way too tired to type them all out! I'm looking forward to hearing the testimonies & seeing the fruit that will come out of Illuminate 2015...already I'm SO pumped for Illuminate 2016...yeeehaaaaaw!
FYI- I'll be back to regular blogging now (3x or maybe even more each week)! Thanks for letting me take that little break and thank you for following along!
Love you to the moon & back,
s.s.♥︎.
HAPPY MAIL // WHY I SUBSCRIBED TO BIRCHBOX CANADA
Probably, my least favourite store in the world to go to is HOME DEPOT. James could spend hours and hours in there. I, on the other hand, get anxious and want to leave as soon as I arrive. We joke how Home Depot is to James as Sephora is to me. Sephora is my happy place. I could hang out in there for hours on end...seriously.
I worked in cosmetics for a number of years and it left me with a great obsession for all things makeup and skin care. I love trying new products and seeing what works for me....which is why I was sooo pumped to start subscribing to BIRCHBOX. I've seen this monthly beauty boxes and I've always thought they've looked awesome.
I researched a bunch and settled on BIRCHBOX. BIRCHBOX just started a Canadian box last winter. I really liked their packaging and brands that they work with. So how it works is I pay $15/month and they send me an awesome box with deluxe size samples! You then use the products and if you want, you can review them on their website. The awesome thing about it is you get points every time you review..those points add up to $$ off their online store...aka free fullsize products if you have enough points!
Every month I plan on reviewing the box and let you know if it's worth it. I really liked this month's!
It included a shampoo, lip stain, body butter, face scrub and perfume...and don't forget the super cute box it came in!! Can't wait to try it all and let you know how I like the products!
I'd love to know if you subscribe to any of these beauty boxes. If you do, let me know which one and tell me how you like it!
Oh and if you're interested in getting BIRCHBOX click HERE!
Can't wait for March's box!!!
xo,
s.s.♥︎.
HELLO
Hiiiiii!
Sorry I've been so M.I.A. lately...February has been extremely nutty for me with all the Illuminate prep and a bajillion other things! BUT I have many more exciting posts that will come once the craziness has subsided...
- more on budgeting- on what is tithing all about, and how to budget when you're married!
- ONE WORDS!!- I've been holding out on these because just last Saturday I had my annual one word breakfast so now I have pretty photos to accompany the one words...and oh my goodness, every lady came with an inspiring story so get PUMPED!
- Wardrobe posts- Spring is here in my city so after Illuminate, James and I are planning to take some more photos!
- Book Club- Have you finished Jojo Moyers, The Girl You Left Behind? We're going to discuss it next week!
Hope you have an amazing weekend! This afternoon James and I will be attending our church's marriage retreat...so excited for a night in a hotel and to hear from the amazing John and Helen Burns from Relate Church...and to hang with other couples in our church...it's going to be so FUN!
xoxo,
s.s.♥︎.
OUR HOME // MASTER BEDROOM (BEFORE)
Well you've seen the before photos of our living room, dining room, and the suite (well, the before AND after of the suite...now it's rented out so we won't be able to show more photos!) and now it's time to show you the master bedroom!!
The master bedroom didn't win the house for us. It was a plain old room, with a mediocre closet (bigger than our apartment so that's a win!) and a decent window. It was hard to envision anything inspirational when we first viewed it because of the old owner's furniture....80s oriental vibes are not so my thing.
Wow, looking at these photos, I don't even recognize our current room!! So far we've done new floors, new walls and new white furniture and let me tell you, it has made a world of difference!
This is the room that we're the closest to finishing. We got a new bed, dresser and bed side tables but I'm on the hunt for a sweet mirror and plant or chair for a corner.
I'm all about peaceful vibes in the master bedroom. I'm not attracted to anything bright (big surprise there, ha!). Cool greys and lots of white. I want the master to be a room where I walk in and can take a big deep breath and then take a nice long nap. :)
Here's what's been inspiring me for the bedroom:
Ah there are so many elements from each one of those rooms that I'm in love with. Even though I'm all about peaceful vibes, I still want to add a touch of girly-ness like in the form of a girly chandelier or a cute fluffy stool like in that second photo. Ohhhhh I could dream about this room forever!!!
Which rooms are you loving??
xoxo,
s.s.♥︎.
WHAT I'VE LEARNED FROM (ALMOST) 2.5 YEARS OF MARRIAGE
Oh goodness this could be a long post. It could also be a post I can look back on in twenty years and LOL at. I do realize I'm a rookie when it comes to marriage. 2.5 years can still be considered newlywed life! So do forgive me if I sound naive, I'm no marriage expert!
Since we've been talking about relationships the past few days (here are the posts... Not Settling, My #1 Relationship Rule, Dancing with Myself) it's about time I talked about marriage!!
So what can I say about marriage?
1. It's crazy hard yet crazy amazing.
And I guess that's a thing you can guarantee about marriage...it will be awesome but it will be hard. When you love someone, you have to be vulnerable. You just can't love without vulnerability. And when we are vulnerable, when we trust someone with our delicate hearts, we will get hurt...it's inevitable. People are people and we make mistakes. C.S. Lewis says it best, so let's let him take it away....
“To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything and your heart will be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact you must give it to no one, not even an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements. Lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket, safe, dark, motionless, airless, it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. To love is to be vulnerable.”
- C.S. Lewis
To be honest, James and I have had many ups and many downs in our marriage. We've had high seasons and we've had low seasons. Things have been really good and things have been really hard. But through it all, we have fought for our marriage. Whether it has been one of us or both of us, we have persevered, we haven't given up.
There are some verses from 1 Corinthians 13 which have been such an encouragement and anchor to remind me how I ought to love James. I have these words written on a sticky note on my work computer and honestly I find myself reading them at least once a week.
Love is patient, love is kind.
It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
It does not dishonour others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.
Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.
It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
This is the type of love that I vowed to love James with. A love that is not surface level but has incredibly deep roots. On that day, 2.5 years ago, I vowed to love him with a love that always protects, always trusts, always hopes and always perseveres.
Through the easy times, obviously it has been easy to love him in this way but ahhhh through those painstaking seasons, it has been hard BUT it has been worth it.
2. Know your best days are before you.
Our motto for our marriage has been, "Grow old along with me, the best is yet to be." I will view our marriage through the eyes of HOPE. Through the 2.5 years, things have only gotten better as we have grown closer. And I know we have many many future obstacles but God has been so faithful and I know that is not going to change so I refuse to look to the future with a pessimistic view. I believe wholeheartedly that the best is yet to be.
3. Prayer changes things.
Pray for your spouse. Every single day. Prayer works and changes things. #nuffsaid
Happy Valentine's Day everyone! Hope you have the BEST day whether you are in a relationship or not. Know that you are LOVED!!!!!!
xoxo,
s.s.♥︎.