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5 Reasons Sisters are Awesome Best Friends

My sister and I have always been best friends, pretty much since she was born. The older I’ve gotten, the more I’ve realized how unique the relationship between sisters is, and the more I’ve come to appreciate having my sister as my best friend! Here are five of the many reasons having a sister is awesome 🙂

5 Reasons Sisters are Awesome Best Friends
Photo credit: Unsplash
  1. You’re always together. Especially when you’re growing up, so much of your daily lives are lived together. That also means you have more opportunities to get upset with each other, but you have to learn how to deal with conflict and how to get along, because she’s still going to be there tomorrow! But the best part about doing everything together is that you have a friend with you all the time, whether you’re going to school, church, events, or just living your life.
  2. She understands you. Sisters know you better than anyone, and they understand your dreams, fears, and motivations. You grew up together, probably in the same house with the same parents and a lot of the same experiences, so you understand each other in a way no one else can.
  3. You can be yourself around her. You don’t have to worry about what she thinks of you; she’s your sister, you can’t scare her away! Even if you do or say something silly, she’ll be right there to laugh with you, not look down on you or think you’re really strange.
  4. You can talk about anything. She’s the person you know won’t judge you, and she’s the one who best understands where you’re coming from. You know you can trust her to listen and give good advice, and you can be a listening ear for her too.
  5. She’ll always be there. You know you can count on her throughout all the changes and stages in your life. Other friendships may come and go, but sisters are friends for life!
- Jen 1 Comment

Five on Friday

Happy Friday! 🙂 I know I’ve been a little absent here on the blog lately…not exactly keeping up with my goal of posting twice a week. So while I’m working on some posts for next week, I thought I would share with you five things I’m loving this week!

1. We’ve had some serious winter weather for the last two weeks, but the last couple of days have been sunny and in the 40s-50s! It’s so nice to go outside without a winter coat, and to know that spring is just around the corner. It’s been a bright spot in the middle of winter…because I’m sure we’ll be back to our normal snowy and cold soon!

2. My latest favorite song is Love Broke Thru by TobyMac. So good!

3. My fun adventure this month was driving down to visit my sister at college a couple of weeks ago. It was so fun to spend the weekend with her, get to know her friends, and go to a few of her classes. Now she’ll be home in a little over a week for spring break!

4. I’m making progress on my embroidery project! This is the third out of six designs I’m embroidering, and then my plan is to make them into a wall hanging. I’m much better at embroidering than sewing, so we’ll see how that goes!

5. I know this isn’t a unique sentiment, but I absolutely love Fixer Upper. I love seeing the transformations in the homes Chip and Joanna work on for their clients, but I think what sets their show apart from other home improvement shows is seeing their relationship play out, how well they work together and how they seem to have a lot of fun doing it. Reading their book and knowing a little more of their life story makes the show even more fun to watch!

What’s been making you happy/inspiring you lately?

- Jen 1 Comment

You Are Loved

It’s Valentine’s Day…a holiday almost everyone loves or hates. If today is a hard day for you, or even if you do have a Valentine this year, I just wanted to remind you how much you are loved. No matter who you are or what you do, you are loved unconditionally, relentlessly, sacrificially, and completely by the God who created you and sent His Son to redeem you and prove to you how much He loves you. Whatever your relationship status is, I hope these verses encourage you today!

“…But you are a God of forgiveness, gracious and merciful, slow to become angry, and rich in unfailing love….” — Nehemiah 9:17

“I will be glad and rejoice in your unfailing love, for you have seen my troubles, and you care about the anguish of my soul..” — Psalm 31:7

“Let your unfailing love surround us, LORD, for our hope is in you alone.” — Psalm 33:22

“‘For the mountains may move and the hills disappear, but even then my faithful love for you will remain. My covenant of blessing will never be broken,’ says the LORD, who has mercy on you.” — Isaiah 54:10

“Long ago the LORD said to Israel: ‘I have loved you, my people, with an everlasting love. With unfailing love I have drawn you to myself.'” — Jeremiah 31:3

‘”For the LORD your God is living among you. He is a mighty savior. He will take delight in you with gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.’” — Zephaniah 3:17

“So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.” — John 13:34-35

“I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love. When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father’s commandments and remain in His love. I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow! This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you. There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” — John 15:9-13

“But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.” — Romans 5:8

“And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.” — Romans 8:38-39

“Owe nothing to anyone—except for your obligation to love one another. If you love your neighbor, you will fulfill the requirements of God’s law.” — Romans 13:8

“And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.” — Ephesians 3:18-19

“This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us.” — 1 John 4:10-12

 

- Jen 3 Comments

What I Read in January

I’ve really been on a roll reading this year! It helps to have a Kindle Unlimited subscription 😉 (thanks, Dad and Mom!). At least half of the books I read in January were Kindle Unlimited books. I also read a few other books I’ve been wanting to read for a while! So let’s jump right in and see what I read last month.

What I Read in January | Grace to Grow Blog

  • I didn’t keep track of which ones I read in December or January, but since Christmas I’ve read at least 15 books by Jenn Faulk through Kindle Unlimited. I’ve talked before about how much I love her books, so I’m not going to take the time to describe them all, but I really enjoyed them! Her books alone are a good reason to subscribe to Kindle Unlimited, but I’m excited to see what else I find this year 🙂

  • A Memory Between Us and Blue Skies Tomorrow (Books 2 and 3 of the Wings of Glory series by Sarah Sundin) | I’ve said before how much I love Sarah Sundin’s books, and these two were no exception! These were the conclusion of her first WWII historical romance series, about three pilots who were brothers. Blue Skies Tomorrow was my favorite book of hers so far! I really loved the main characters and felt like I was rooting for them the whole time, as they each faced struggles that drew them together, then forced them apart, then drew them back together again as they grew in their faith. The last quarter or so of the book really kept me on the edge of my seat! 😉 I know that sounds kind of vague, but it was a really good story that makes you think and sticks with you for a while.

  • A Perfect Ambition (Book 1 of the Worthington Destiny series by Dr. Kevin Leman and Jeff Nesbit) | This was another book I found on Kindle Unlimited. It’s the first in a series about the 3 Worthington children, who are descendants of one of the richest families in America, going back multiple generations. One is an assistant attorney general, one is the head of the family’s stock holdings, and one is a entrepreneur who is passionate about the environment. In this book, a crisis happens that brings all three siblings together and changes the direction of their lives. It was pretty interesting, but it didn’t really have the typical plot structure of conflict, climax and resolution, so I didn’t think it was really a satisfying story. I guess I’ll need to read all three books to really get the point, and I might someday, but I’m not rushing out to buy them. If they were on Kindle Unlimited too, that would be another story 🙂

  • Nothing but Trouble, Double Trouble, and Licensed for Trouble (Books 1-3 of the PJ Sugar series by Susan May Warren) | Susan May Warren is one of my favorite authors, and I love that her different series cover so many different genres! These three books had a little mystery, a little comedy, and a little romance. They aren’t your typical Christian romance novels though; you have to read all three books to really get all of PJ’s story. She was known as the town troublemaker growing up, and these books tell her story of coming back to her hometown after 10 years as a nomad with many different jobs. She really struggled to find her place and her purpose in life, and to learn how to see herself the way God sees her rather than how she thinks everyone else sees her. Her new career as a private investigator makes for fun reading, too! She gets herself into quite the scrapes sometimes 🙂

I’m guessing I probably read about 8 of those 15 Jenn Faulk books in January, so that puts me at 14 books total so far this year. A little more than 10% of my goal of 100 books this year, so I think that’s a good start! I’ve never really kept track of the books I’ve read before, so this year I’m keeping a list in my new bullet journal. It’s really fun to watch the list of completed books grow! I also got new books from two of my favorite authors on January 31st, so look for reviews of those as part of my “What I Read in February” post.

What have you been reading? Found any good books lately? 🙂

- Jen Leave a comment

3 Awesome Pro-Life Organizations

I have always been pro-life. I have always believed that abortion is wrong and made sure I voted for pro-life political candidates. But in the last couple of years, I’ve started to become even more saddened by abortion, both for the babies who will never live and for the mothers who felt pressured or guilted into getting an abortion, and who will live with the consequences for the rest of their lives. I’ve started to realize that it’s not enough to say I’m pro-life, but that I need to be pro-active: I need to do something about it! I’m still not completely sure what that will look like for me, but I wanted to share with you some pro-life organizations who do a great job taking care of moms and babies. These are just a few groups that I know of and that I’ve supported, but I know there are many more great groups out there!

3 Awesome Pro-Life Organizations | Grace to Grow Blog

— CareNet | CareNet is a nationwide network of pregnancy centers. Here’s more about their vision and mission:

Vision – Care Net envisions a culture where women and men faced with pregnancy decisions are transformed by the gospel of Jesus Christ and empowered to choose life for their unborn children and abundant life for their families.   

Mission – Acknowledging that every human life begins at conception and is worthy of protection, Care Net offers compassion, hope, and help to anyone considering abortion by presenting them with realistic alternatives and Christ-centered support through our life-affirming network of pregnancy centers, organizations, and individuals.

There’s a CareNet pregnancy center in the area where I live, and I learned about them through several churches in the area. They do baby bottle fundraising drives, where churches pass out baby bottles for the congregation to fill up with change or cash. It’s a great way to get churches involved, and I’m glad my church participates! Pregnancy centers are definitely on the front lines of the pro-life movement, and CareNet is a great example of that.

— Embrace Grace | Embrace Grace is another great way for churches to get involved with promoting a culture of life! Here’s how they describe what they do:

WHAT WE DO:

Embrace Grace, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization formed for the purpose of providing emotional, practical and spiritual support for single, young women and their families who find themselves in an unintended pregnancy. The primary goal of Embrace Grace is to empower churches across the nation to be a safe and non-judging place for the girls to run to when they find out they are pregnant, instead of the last place they are welcomed because of shame and guilt. 

WHY WE EXIST: 

Most churches advocate life and discourage women from getting abortions, but once a brave and courageous girl chooses life, a lot of times the church then steps away and has nothing to offer her for support at that point. She is then left with nine months of being scared, worried and feeling alone. She journeys into a season of being a single mom without direction and guidance from a spiritual family. This is where the Body of Christ can minister to women who are desperately searching for a Savior. This is where we can speak into their lives and hearts that will have an impact for generations to come! 

I love the heart behind their ministry and how they equip local churches to make a difference in their communities. More than just saying we’re pro-life, we need to be pro-love. Our message means nothing unless we actually do something to help the women facing unplanned pregnancies.

— Save the Storks | I first learned about Save the Storks from a friend of friend, who used to work for my college but now works for Save the Storks. They work with pregnancy centers in a variety of ways, but the most unique way is through mobile pregnancy centers called Stork Buses: “Our [mobile medical units] allow pregnancy resource centers to operate anywhere abortion-vulnerable women are likely to be – outside of abortion clinics, on university campuses, and at public events. These mobile pregnancy centers minimize the distance and roadblocks between women who most need the help of a pregnancy resource center. We believe going mobile is one of the most effective strategies for reaching women contemplating abortion. We’ve seen it profoundly expand the reach and increase the impact of pregnancy centers all over the nation.” They have 20 buses on the road and 20 more in production, and they’ve helped to save over 1,000 babies. This is a really unique and effective way to reach mothers and babies! They also sell some awesome t-shirts and accessories, and even their own coffee!

If you know of any other great pro-life organizations, please share them in the comments! I would love to learn more about other pro-life ministries and help them however I can. I’d love to hear your thoughts!