Our Fall Decor

Before we put away all of our Thanksgiving/Fall decor, I wanted to share what our home looked like during the months of October and November. This post will be mostly pictures (there's not much to say about pumpkins and candy corns).

We didn't carve a pumpkin this year. I was a little disappointed because Justin has carved some great pumpkins in the past and knew this year would be no different. Since he failed me, I guess next year he will have to carve two to make up for this year. :)






I made these cute candy corns with poster board and yarn. You can make your own too. I found the idea on Pintrest.


Now, that Thanksgiving is over, it's time to put everything away and start putting up our Christmas decorations!!

Jar of Hearts

Normally I keep all my posts pretty light and fun, but I wanted to share something a little different this time. I hope you will find it to be encouraging.

I can't remember the first time I heard Christina Perri's song "Jar of Hearts," but it wasn't long after hearing it that I that went to iTunes and purchased it. I really liked the song, and as with all songs I really like, I listened to it over and over. After listening to it many times I started to notice an interesting parallel in the song.

If you haven't heard the song, she is basically singing about a guy who keeps coming back to her and is constantly trying to bring her down with his lies. However, the lyrics also give a relatively accurate depiction of the fact that as a follower of Christ, I also have someone who is constantly trying to bring me down with his lies and to convince me that my Savior is not all He claims to be.

Over the past few weeks our church as been doing a sermon series on spiritual warfare. At the end of the first sermon, I thought about how perfectly this song summed up what Satan tries to do during those spiritual battles in our lives and what our response to him should be. It's not a perfect metaphor, but there are definitely some strong parallels. If you have not heard the song before I encourage you to listen to it.

Book Bazaar

I love reading, but that wasn't always the case. When I was a kid I didn't spend much time with my nose in a book. I guess I was so busy playing with my dolls or pretending I was a teenager. When I was in college I would get a book and start reading it, but you know how it is when you are in college. If you are not reading something for school you just aren't reading anything at all.

However, in the past few years my love for reading has really grown. I almost always carry a book around with me (you never know when you will have time to stop and read a few pages).
I don't really like to buy books though. I would much rather check a book out at the library. As a result, I have become a big fan of MC's annual book bazaar. Last year I got a lot of great books for really cheap. I am sad to say that I have yet to finished reading all of them but I am working on it. You can read about those books here.

Since I no longer work at MC I had to find out all the details from Justin. Looking back at my last post I knew the book bazaar took place sometime in early fall. I would ask Justin almost every week if he had received any emails about it. Finally, while I was driving on campus I saw the sign announcing the book bazaar. I was super excited!

Once again, I stocked up. I have to say that I am not very familiar with many of these books, but for only $1.00 per book you really can't go wrong.



Here is the list of the all the books I bought at the book bazaar.

1. Thin Rich Pretty: Beth Harbison
2. Burnt Toast: Teri Hatcher
3. True Colors: Kristin Hannah
4. The Road to Eden's Ridge: M.L Rose
5. A Reliable Wife: Robert Goolrick
6. The Ninth Wife: Amy Stolls
7. And One Last Thing: Molly Harper
8. The Three Weissmanns of Westport: Cathleen Schine
9. The Lost Recipe for Happiness: Barbara O'Neal
10. Irreplaceable: Stephen Lovely
11. The Beach House: Sally John
12. Body Surfing: Anita Shreve
13. No One You Know: Michelle Richamond
14. Lost and Found Jacqueline Sheehan
15. Let Them Eat Cake:Sandra Byrd
16. In Her Shoes: Jennifer Weiner
    

I have set a goal for myself to read all the books I have purchased before the next book bazaar. Well, maybe just the ones that I bought at last year's book bazaar. I also might start writing my book reviews again. You will just have to wait and see.