Weekend Goodie Basket

I‘ve been storing up some quality posts to share with you guys… I feel like a chipmunk that’s been storing up nuts for weeks. I’ve finally got enough to share, it’s time for a chipmunk party! That totally didn’t work, but I think I’m just gonna leave it and we can celebrate failure together.

{Awesome.}

Thanks to a friend of mine, just last week {or was it the week before?} I came across a site I hadn’t visited before called Pennington Point. This awesome Mama-of-9 {straight up Mama of nine, y’all — no twins or adoptions or blended families — this lady gave birth 9 times! Not that there is anything wrong with other methods of becoming a mother…I just think that’s amazing…!} has a great series going on called Intentionally Parenting Your Toddler. I don’t think I’m the only Mama of small kiddies around here, so I thought I’d share in case it might be an encouragement to you, too! The most recent post in the series, Part Four, went up on June 25th.

I sometimes feel like I’ve read every suggestion ever written on these here internets about living on a budget, but this gal over at Blissful and Domestic has some very good recommendations in a post called How Does She Live on a Budget, where she talks about how her family of four lives on $14,000 a year. Even if you’re just skimming, be sure to check out the links at the bottom to other posts that get more specific, like Cutting the Grocery Bill in Half and Fresh Produce All Month Long. (Still working my way through that last one.)

Lord help us to change the way we live with a heart to change the way we give!

An “internet friend” of mine, Lisa-Jo Baker, or “the Gypsy Mama,” {who is awesome and has written me some real-life emails of encouragement as I navigate the path of a marriage divided between two home continents} guest posted over at Ann Voskamp’s A Holy Experience last week. Her post felt like it was just for me, but I thought it might also be for you, too. Is there anything in your life you’re avoiding instead of embracing? Please enjoy How the Size of Your House Has Nothing to Do With the Size of Your Life.

I’ve since really started moving into the house we’ve lived in since December. Good story for another day.

Also from A Holy Experience… Ann spoke so many of the words in my heart, words I have been forgetting, things I have been struggling to try to remember, about the body of Christ worldwide, what it looks like, what it could look like, after her recent trip to Haiti. So, Read this to get messed up.

And just a quick reminder… if you’re in the wee Washington area and thinking about hopping down to Music in the Streets for a wee while tomorrow night, look for the Bear, the Tiger, the Hubs and yours truly, because we’ll be passing out flyers with Quiver Tree $10 off coupons! It’s a good chance to score a little Quiver Tree plunder!

Stay cool this weekend…

xCC