The Table: A monthly newsletter with stuff for the soul.

August 2021 Edition

Table Talk…

It seems that I’m sending these newsletters out later and later each month — I can’t believe August will be over in a week! In our house, we are preparing for the excitement of back-to-school. My son will be entering kindergarten, my daughter 9th grade, and I’ll be finishing up year 2 of my seminary studies. So, needless to say, things are busy in our house!

The truth is, though, that I love this time of year. Getting back into routines and daily rhythms is just so good for my soul. I feel most aligned when I and my family am deeply engaged in work, in study, in living out our calling as God’s beloved on this earth. And since I love autumn and back-to-school season so much, I find I look forward to it most of the year long. What happens, though, is that I get so busy looking ahead that I miss out on what’s going on in the present. I miss out on special moments and memories in the right here, right now because I’m too preoccupied with thinking about what’s next. Maybe you can relate?

This summer, I tried very hard to be intentional and be present, and it turned out to be an incredible season full of sweet family time that I will cherish in the days to come. I suppose I’ve begun learning my lesson: that “what’s next” is never promised to us so the most important thing we can do is be fully here, in whatever the place is in which our feet are planted.

What about you? Do you struggle with staying present, or does it come naturally to you? I’d love to hear from you in the comments!

I’m still compiling the launch team for my book, and I’d love for you to be on it! A launch team is a group of people who will read and review the book, as well as help spread the word about its release. Launch team members get perks like

• 20% off your book order

• exclusive AMA (ask me anything) author chats

• giveaways — including a cash grand prize!

If you have a friend or family member that you think would enjoy being on the team — or if you still haven’t signed up — you can use this link. Thank you from the bottom of my heart!

5 Things That Are Giving Me Life This Month…

1) The movie Vivo on Netflix. It features music from Lin-Manuel Miranda and is a great film for the entire family!

2) Succulent Studios. It’s a subscription service that sends two small succulent plants each month for only $12 + shipping. This is my second month, and I’m enjoying adding some much-needed greenery to our new home. If you want to try $5 off your first box, just use my referral link!

3) This new hair dryer brush that I picked up from Target. I have thick, curly hair, and this cuts down on drying and styling time drastically. Definitely one of my best purchases!

4) Bullet journaling. I used to do this more frequently and found it to be a great way to exercise creativity while tracking my thoughts and emotions, as well as planning out my days and weeks. Have you tried it? Or do you prefer regular words-on-paper journaling?

5) Our whale and dolphin watching cruise that we took on vacation in Cape May. Sadly, we didn’t see any whales, but there were tons of dolphins, including a baby that we got to see! Sea creatures are special to both Atticus and I, so it was really neat to be able to experience that as a family.

In Case You Missed It…

• An excerpt from an older piece of mine was featured in the “Life In The Finger Lakes” magazine

• I shared some hard news about my mother and her health

• I wrote honestly about my feelings regarding church these days

On My Plate…

I got a plethora of zucchini this summer, so I’ve been sneaking it into the kids’ foods as a way to make sure they’re getting some extra veggies. A favorite is chocolate chip zucchini bread; we like this recipe from Two Peas & Their Pod.

Young Living Oils…

What's in this month’s Young Living box? Soooo many goodies! I keep telling you: Young Living is not just oils!

• Mini hand sanitizers for the kids for back to school

• Lip balms to put in their backpacks

• CBD muscle balm because Kyle’s back has been bothering him

• Facial toner (their skincare is the only kind I use)

• Immune system boosting oils like Thieves and Egyptian Gold

• Thieves foaming hand soaps

If you're not on Subscribe to Save (STS), why the heck not?? There are so many goodies you can get for FREE! Let me help hook you up!

STS offers you a percentage back for each month you order, plus promos each month and free products along the way! Does your favorite subscription reward program do that? My favorite bulls-eye store only offers 5% (still love you, Tar-jay) & Kyle and I are earning 25% back with YL after more than a year.