Between my best friend and my mother teaching me how to bargain shop like a pro, and loving finding new styles I’ve tried to find ways to stretch every dollar while also getting timeless clothes. There’s some rules of thumb for my methods. Shop wherever you like, with a list, and if you like anything else, take a picture of it, and consider it for at least 24 hours, or call or text someone and ask for their opinion if you can justify it to them, you may have a winner. Clearance is your friend, but it’s not perfect, sometimes stores stock way too much of a great item, and…

You’ve read it before, maybe it was a celebrity’s Instagram caption or maybe you saw a middle schooler wearing a hat with the phrase emblazoned on it, or maybe you just heard a Taylor Swift song. Wherever you heard it, “Haters gonna hate” is definitely part of slang these days. What I’d like to challenge people to do is to not just think of their haters as always wrong or overly critical but let them help you think critically about yourself, you don’t have to give them credit obviously but next time someone “hates on you” think of what may have made them say or do something. I mean, why…

Meditation. It’s something that I was consistently steered away from as a kid because of the darker side of it. Take eastern practices where it is used to clear you mind. Not a good thing to say the least. What I’ve learned as I’ve gotten older, and watched a sermon recently about is how meditation is good for Christians, as long as the meditation is about focusing on God. So worship in song and in meditation, you can even combine them honestly. Also understand that God’s always got you… even when you’re sleeping. That was a new revelation for me even if it’s obvious. I tend to think a lot…

I’ve had a water bottle in my backpack or by my side pretty much everywhere I go since, about 4th grade when a teacher gave me one I liked. Unfortunately, that one I had to throw, but soon after my family bought others. In middle school we used aluminum ones with screw tops, in high school I really liked Camelbaks, in college I had found a aluminum one with a straw that worked for a while. the flip top broke off that one and now I’m using a silicon sleeved, covered one with a straw from Ello. I’ve had a Nalgene on backup since high school as well. I drink…

Last night at the youth group I volunteer with we had a great time talking about stewardship. It was very interesting and helpful to hear about scarcity and abundance mindsets in this context. We talked about how scarcity mindsets lead to greed, and selfishness. And how, alternatively, an abundance mindset leads to generosity. It’s a good challenge to think about changing our perspective. We ended the evening going into our local neighborhood and giving bags of treats and thank you cards to local businesses. Each leader drove the students around and they went about going up to each business and handing them a bag, or leaving it in at the…

Today I am finishing a trial run at a co-working facility in my area. I saw an offer for a free week, and thought it could be good to try out as I may be working remote in the future. It’s more expensive than I thought it would be. I mean it would actually be cheaper for me go out to eat at a coffee shop, and chill there for most of the work day. Maybe I shouldn’t be surprised, because space costs money but, it definitely threw me off, and I’m writing this at one of the cheaper options availible. It’s not perfect, and the vibe isn’t exactly what…