thankful 365 project + week 4

This is my attempt at being thankful every day... for little things & big things.

Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, 

for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 

I post every day, via Instagram @sarah_brightside.

If you don't follow me there, here are my snapshots from this week!

28/365. Thankful for friends from church, who let us borrow these dvds.

I know I am a little bit late getting into this show, but I am loving it so far!

27/365. Thankful for a beautiful Sunday, that felt like spring.

It was so amazing to spend some time outside, playing tennis!

26/365. Thankful for a grey sky. 

Every once in a while it's one of my favorite things.

25/365. Thankful for memories with my beautiful grandma & aunt. I love them so much.

Last week, my family got the difficult news that my (great) Aunt Suellen has been put on hospice. She has battled cancer (& more) for a long time now & she has been so strong for so long. It was not a total surprise, but honestly news like that catches you off guard anytime. 

My family has been SO BLESSED to be close to her over the years & we have some very special memories with her... But it is still really hard. My grandma is on her way to Ohio today, to be with her.

24/365. Thankful to be able to write down some of my thoughts & prayers.

23/365. Thankful for my new business cards.

I love my new design!

22/365.  Thankful for yummy honey.

I am sure most of you already saw my post about tea + honey! :)

And because I am loving pumpkin lately...

tea + honey

I just love that pretty little honey jar (from Target) and I figured it was worthy of a photo shoot.

It makes the honey look so pretty and I just can't help but think of Winnie the Pooh, hehe!

And I figured it was perfect for tea time!!

I usually drink my tea unsweetened or with just a bit of honey! 

And I am curious...

What are your favorite kinds of tea?

How do you like your tea?

thankful 365 project + week 3

This is my attempt at being thankful every day... for little things & big things.

Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, 
for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 

I post every day, via Instagram @sarah_brightside.
If you don't follow me there, here are my snapshots from this week!

And here are a few more snapshots from the past week...

... A few of my favorite old downtown buildings. I so love their character!

... Seeing pretty things while at my favorite antique shop. 

(I bought a couple of things that I will share later.)

... Puzzle finished (finally)   +   A stop at my favorite ice cream spot

... First attempt at knitting on double-pointed needles.

... Watching a nostalgic tv show (circa 1992, the good old days... haha!)

inspired by: kitchen + recipe

This is my kind of kitchen!! 

I love the white ceilings & of course, the sky light. 

I love the contrast of the wood island against the white walls & the stone floors. 

I love the open shelves for the beautiful dishes in whites, blues & greens.

I love how light just seems to flood the whole space!

And, because it is fun to daydream every once in awhile,

I could see myself in this kitchen, making something like this...

kitchen found here     //     recipe found here

the virtue of steadiness

For Christmas, I got one of the most wonderful devotional books, A Jane Austen Devotional.

Each devotion has an excerpt from one of Jane Austen's books, followed by a devotion & verse that applies.

Plus, it is a beautiful fabric-covered book... I love it!!

One of my favorite devotions that I have read so far is called, "The Virtue of Steadiness" & the excerpt of this devotion is from Emma, which is -possibly- my favorite of Austen's books! 

"She played and sang;- and drew in almost every style; but steadiness had always been wanting; 

and in nothing had she approached the degree of excellence which she would have been glad to command..."

In this part of the book Jane Austen is talking about Emma's lack of steadiness in her life. I love the character of Emma for many reasons, but throughout the book we are reminded that Emma often fails at finishing her projects, paintings, reading lists, etc. She always seems to think & speak highly of herself in those areas, but she is always missing the follow through. She may have good intentions, but she lacks diligence. 

The author of the devotion talks about how the lack of steadiness can affect us greatly in our society today... Entertainment, social media, news, etc. are all right at our fingertips! That isn't all bad, but it does mean that there are distractions everywhere we look and that can make it hard to stay focused on what is important. Distractions can quickly lead us away from God's purposes for our lives.

That message stuck with me, because we are still in the swing of a new year, filled with fresh goals & plans!

And I know that I need daily encouragement in that area. Any goals or plans we have tend to start off easy, but they never stay that way for long, so we need perseverance. Also, it's easy to let ourselves think that doing a job with just enough effort to get by is "good enough". But it's not, because God expects our very best in all that we do. So, instead of relying on ourselves to do difficult things or even mundane tasks, we should be asking God for the abilities to accomplish them. And we should be trying our very best to stay focused on what we are doing. 

I have found over the last few years that often the greatest blessings come from reaching the end of a journey, 

even with all of it's ups & downs. And even if it doesn't end up being how we thought or hoped it would be, God still teaches us more about ourselves & about Him in those times! And that, all by itself, should make the journey worth it!

That was a message that I needed to hear! And thankfully, I have been able to apply it to my life easily because of the verse that was with the devotion... I feel like it was a perfect verse for me, right now!

Now finish the work, so that your eager willingness to do it
may be matched by your completion of it, according to your means.

2 Corinthians 8:11

So, I decided to make that one of my focus verses for this year!

I plan to print it in big lettering & post it in a place that I will see everyday, until I have it memorized.

It will serve as a great reminder!

thankful 365 project + week 2

This is my attempt at being thankful every day... for little things & big things.

Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, 
for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 

I post every day, via Instagram @sarah_brightside.
If you don't follow me there, here are my snapshots from this week!

snapshots + being thankful everyday

cozy, warm blanket  //  new essie polish from my sister

building a star wars model with my brother  //  cutest R2D2 ever (hehe!)

new years eve spinach & feta puffs  //  working on a puzzle (still not finished)

a new calendar for 2013  //  a healthy snack

a new work out video  //  my new leaf & turquoise necklace, from my mom

always so thankful for my doggie  //  neighborhood horses on a beautiful winter walk

encouraging scripture in my new devotional  //  colorful sweater & scarf

I have always loved the idea of doing a photo-a-day project. I have tried once before & failed...

But, now that I have Instagram I thought it would be much easier! I wanted to pick a theme for my photos,

 so that they would all go together, yet I wanted something that would allow me to have lots of options for

 different photos from day-to-day life! So... I decided that my theme would be "thankfulness"!!

I think it is so important to be able to find things to be thankful for, every day!!

Honestly, God has blessed me more than I deserve & most days it's not to hard to be thankful... 

Yet that doesn't mean that I always I express my gratitude to Him like I should.

So... doing a project like this will help me to stay focused on the positive in my life, daily! 

And most of all, it will help remind me to give thanks to GOD every day, because every good gift is from Him! 

(James 1:17)

Some of these snapshots are a part of my "Thankful 365" series! 

As the year goes on I will talk more about this project.

I hope you have something to be thankful for today!

2013, a life of purpose

(a little late...)

I can't believe 2013 is here!

It always sounds so glamours to have New Years resolutions, but they don't have a very good reputation
& so often they are not based in reality. We forget about the real work that it takes to reach the rewards.
 However, I do think that it is very important to have goals through out life. We should always be striving for
 growth & joy in life... And I have always felt that the start of a new year is a good time to plan for new goals
 & evaluate past goals. Sometimes in life we quit before we should. Sometimes we fail. Often goals need to
 be changed or re-set... And I think that's OK, because that is reality. As long as we don't give up
& we keep taking steps forward!

So... over the past couple of days I have been making a little list of a few goals that I have for this year...
 Truthfully, most of them are pretty typical goals, for me. They are similar to the goals that I have had years
 before. I think my goals are often the same, because they are very important to me & I don't want to give up
 on them, even if I have struggled in the past. I want to live with them every day of my life, not just for a
period of time. And I need yearly, monthly & daily reminders to strive after them! It is less about making
"New Years resolutions" & more about reminding myself to strive after my "Life Goals"!!

My most important goal is to "live with godly-purpose in all things"! I have seen many people chose a word
 for the year. A word that they will focus on. I thought a good word for me this year would be PURPOSE.
I want to face all of the goals on this list, all of the goals I haven't shared & even everyday tasks with godly
 purpose. I want to be intentional when I pray & read God's word. I want to take care of myself to honor
& bring glory to God, not for vanity's sake. I want to wholly trust God with my life & be used by God!
In everything I do, I want to make sure that I am doing it with pure motives & that it will please God!

So, there are my goals for 2013 & beyond...
They will be easy sometimes & hard other times.

If I mess up one week, I will try again the next!

I love that every new year brings hope.

Every New Day Brings Hope!

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord,
“plans to prosper you and not to harm you, 
plans to give you hope and a future.”
{  Jeremiah 29:11 }