It’s pretty universal that The 10 Commandments are good metrics for morality in our society. Do not steal, do not murder, honor your parents. These are intuitive rules that I believe we are all born with – the distinction from right and wrong.

However, there is one commandment that is not intuitive in our society: #4: Keep the Sabbath Holy, aka: take one day off a week and rest. Of all of the commandments, this is probably the one that most people consider “optional.” And why is that? It’s resting. It’s not like God is asking us to do something that hard. Just relax, rest, enjoy His presence. Should be easy!

And yet my natural reaction is “You’re asking me to take a day off and do nothing but rest? But I have too much to do! You don’t really mean that do you, God? Surely you know how much I have to get done today.”

Psalm 127:1-2 says:

“Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain. It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved sleep.”

I love that – For he gives to his beloved sleep.

How often do we wake up early, go to bed late, constantly feeling tired? I was getting into bed the other night and said to J: “Wouldn’t it be so nice if we didn’t have to sleep? If I could just get stuff done in these next 8 hours instead of sleeping? I would be so productive!”

But that’s exactly why God calls us to rest: to have a daily reminder that He is God and we are not. We have to let go of our control and trust that He will work in the midst of our rest. We are asked us to take a break from our work, our tasks, our lists so that we can rely on his faithfulness and trust that He will provide and give us abundantly more than we ask or imagine.

If God saved us when we were His enemies – how much more will He take care of us as His sons and daughters?

Seeking RestMy Pretty Pennies -

Happy Wednesday y’all! Today I’d like to talk about routine and creating an ideal day. I am borrowing this post idea by Nancy Ray, one of my friends from college and an amazing photographer that lives in Raleigh. She recently posted on her blog what her ideal day would look like — not a day on vacation or in a perfect world, but an ideal work day in your busy life.

I love this exercise because it looks at where you are — whether you’re a student, full-time employee, freelancer or stay-at-home parent — and allows you to make the most of what your typical day holds. What would your life look like if you lived every day like your ideal one?

My ideal day…

{read more}

6 am: Wake up (no snoozing!) and work out – go for a run, bike ride, or yoga in my living room

6:45: Take a shower

7 am: Make coffee and read my Bible on my balcony and then pray for my day, my husband, my family/friends, the world

7:45: Dry hair, get ready for the day

8:15: Check personal email, make sure to grab any breakfast or lunch items and place any recipes or dry ingredients for the evening’s meal on the counter (based on my weekly meal plan)

8:30: Leave for work

9 am: Arrive at work and eat a healthy breakfast

9 – 12: Work!

12:00: Go for a 30-minute walk outside and make any personal phone calls

12:30: Eat lunch and read a book or work on tomorrow’s blog post

1- 3:30: Work!

3:00: Take a 15 minute break and eat a healthy snack and take a quick walk around the office or outside

3:15 -  5:30: Work!

5:45-6:00: Close out email and make sure desk is clean; call friends and family on my way home from work

6:30: Arrive home and start making dinner (which was scheduled in my weekly meal plan)

7:00 – Eat dinner and then spend the evening with J (washing dishes, reading, taking a walk, going for a bike ride, crafting while we watch TV, blog)

9:30: Finish writing any personal emails, make our lunch and pick out what to wear for tomorrow

10:00: Get in bed and read

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Voila! That’s my ideal “work” day. And the best part is that it is completely attainable — something that I can easily strive for each day I wake up. :)

What would your ideal day look like? Do you have a desk job or can you be more flexible with your work schedule?

Wellness Wednesday :: My Ideal DayMy Pretty Pennies -

I’m a list girl. I love making them, I love crossing things off, and I love the structure that it gives me for reaching my goals. I have even been known to write things down after I’ve already accomplished, just to feel the satisfaction of crossing it off. (Come on, I know I’m not the only one who does that – anyone else?)

I think that’s why of all the financial gurus out there, Dave Ramsey’s financial system resonated the most with me. I don’t agree with everything he says (for example, I use credit cards for perks), but really appreciated that he gives 7 clear steps I can cross off on my way to financial freedom.

Here are the Baby Steps that Dave gives:

1. $1,000 to start an Emergency Fund
2. Pay off all debt using the Debt Snowball
3. 3 to 6 months of expenses in savings
4. Invest 15% of household income into Roth IRAs and pre-tax retirement
5. College funding for children
6. Pay off home early
7. Build wealth and give!

I know it’s not kosher to talk money with people you know (hi friends and family who read this blog!), but I don’t really care anymore. J and I are happily on Step #3. I say happily because it can (and has) taken people years to get out of Step #2. (Hello? Remember the first two years of this blog?) But once you are debt free, it’s amazing how the dollars you used to allocate to pay off loans or car payments (or weddings!) are now transferred to savings!

For me and J, we’re striving to save $10,000 in an Emergency Fund (and are really stinking close to that goal!). It is unlikely that both of us will lose both our jobs at the same time, so we think $10,000 will be enough for now to cover any major emergencies. Eventually we will increase that amount when we have a house or kids, since there are a lot more potentially emergencies that can happen with more assets (and yes, I’m calling children an asset:).

After our (phase 1) emergency fund is complete, then all of our saving efforts will go to saving for a house down payment and investing in our retirement accounts. It is certainly a buyer’s market out there and we’re getting antsy as we continue to waste away our dollars in rent. We certainly don’t want to rush into buying a house, and there are a thousand of things to factor into that decision, but we want to make some sacrifices to save as much as we can to get into a house sooner rather than later. I’m not sure what kind of timing that may entail, but if we can be in a house in two years then I’ll be pretty satisfied. But who knows? We may not even be in Raleigh in two years.

So that’s where we are! What about you? Which Baby Step are you on? What is your magic Emergency Fund savings number? Is it 3 to 6 months of your paycheck amount? Or is it 3 to 6 months of the bare minimum expenses?

Emergency Funds: An Update on our FinancesMy Pretty Pennies -

1. The most I’ve spent this last week was on cable/internet bill, aside from what we saved from our 5/15 paycheck.

2. Today I am thankful for great friendships. This past Friday we went to a goodbye party for an amazing couple J and I have gotten to know in the last year, and it was so cool to look around the party and see so many close relationships with friends whom we didn’t even know a year ago.

3. Money can’t buy happiness. One free thing I did last week that made me happy was going to church! I have been out of town for the past four weekends (whew!) and it was so nice to take it easy this weekend and go to back to our church.

4. I will consider this week a success if I get over a nasty cold (one of the reasons why I didn’t blog very much last week… sorry! This girl needs her rest).

5. I am really trying to get over my fear of spiders. In fact, there’s a spider that has made its home on my balcony and at first I really wanted to kill it and clean its web, but have decided to tolerate it and see if we can cohabitate together. If it stays away from me, I will stay away from him. My friends, this is revolutionary for me! (Although my real fear is granddaddy long legs… and I have yet to face one of them with any ounce of courage yet this year.)

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Weekly Money Check-Up is a weekly series on My Pretty Pennies. To participate, fill in the blanks in the comments section, or post it on your blog and link below. If you do post it on your blog, please credit MPP and link it back here. Thank you for participating!

1. The most I’ve spent this last week was on _____.
2. Today I am thankful ___________.
3. Money can’t buy happiness. One free thing I did last week that made me happy was_____________.
4. I will consider this week a success if I _____________.
5. I am really trying to ________________.

Weekly Money Check-Up: 5/21My Pretty Pennies -

I love bike rides, especially at the beach where the land is flat and you ride with the wind. Saturday morning we decided to get some exercise and rented bikes at a cute little shop. It was by far my favorite thing we did all weekend!

The weather was absolutely perfect. Ah to be riding in the sunshine again!

Bike Riding on the BeachMy Pretty Pennies -

My goodness did I have a wonderful weekend! I have actually had a series of great long weekends lately and am getting used to these four-day weeks. ;) This is my second beach weekend with friends in the last month. The last beach trip I got there to find out my camera battery was dead (boo) so this trip I took a ton of pictures to make up for it.

Friday: We all arrived to the beach Thursday evening at our friend Christen’s grandmother’s beach house. J and I went to see Wicked Thursday night, so we came right after the play ended, which was 10:30 or so, which meant we arrived at the beach at 2am to find the Parkers and Gregorys waiting up for us. Friday morning we woke up and had a full day at the beach together.

The boys weren’t exactly up for lounging in chairs all day, so they played bocce ball, frisbee, and then got bored again and started to bury J in the sand. We thought it would be funny to turn them into a 3-headed mermaid, although I don’t know if you can really tell from this picture.

Friday evening we decided to eat at home, so the girls fixed the meal and then enjoyed a cocktail on the deck while the boys finished it on the grill. We made margaritas with tequila, limeade and pineapple-orange juice. Yum!

After dinner we played Dominion, a game that the Gregorys introduced us all to a few months ago. Between the three couples, we had all of the expansions and stayed up late playing a few rounds.

Saturday: We woke up to another beautiful day and decided to rent bicycles to ride along the beach. It was so much fun! In fact, I took about a hundred pictures from that event so I’ll capture those in its own post. :)

The boys managed to turn anything into a game.

That evening we had another cocktail before going out to eat for some seafood.

After dinner we went for ice cream and the girls went for another bike ride while the boys sat on the patio and smoked cigars.

Sunday: I woke up really early so I decided to take a little walk on the beach. There’s something so lovely and peaceful about walking on the quiet beach at sunrise.

That morning we packed up, cleaned the house and finished off our food for lunch. It was such a fun beach trip and we were so sad to leave… but if you have to leave the beach, better to leave on an overcast day. We’ve already started planning our next beach trip, so I have a feeling we’ll all be back sooner than we think. :)

My Beachy WeekendMy Pretty Pennies -

1. The most I’ve spent this last week was on groceries. We have a membership to BJ’s (which is like a Sam’s Club or Costco), and it saves us a lot of money in the long run, but each trip feels expensive since we buy a lot of bulk items.

2. Today I am thankful for the kind responses I got on my post last Wednesday regarding our new roommate for the summer. I am humbled by the kind words in the comments and in emails – thank you readers!

3. Money can’t buy happiness. One free thing I did last week that made me happy was go to see Wicked! We saw it on Thursday night and it was amazing! I had seen it before in New York, but this was J’s first time and we both enjoyed it immensely. (Okay, it wasn’t free, but was discounted through work and paid for months ago, so that kind of counts.)

4. I will consider this week a success if I spend at least 20 minutes each morning reading my Bible. I have gotten out of the habit of reading it consistently and would really like to get back in the routine.

5. My favorite Disney character is Belle. She was most like me, since I was a major bookworm, and Beauty and the Beast was the first movie I ever saw in theaters.

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Weekly Money Check-Up is a weekly series on My Pretty Pennies. To participate, fill in the blanks in the comments section, or post it on your blog and link below. If you do post it on your blog, please credit MPP and link it back here. Thank you for participating!

1. The most I’ve spent this last week was on _____.
2. Today I am thankful ___________.
3. Money can’t buy happiness. One free thing I did last week that made me happy was_____________.
4. I will consider this week a success if I _____________.
5. My favorite Disney character is __________.

Weekly Money Check-Up: 5/14My Pretty Pennies -

Happy Wednesday! Today I’d like to talk about work out schedules… do you prefer to work out in the mornings or the evenings?

I go through phases, but usually I work out with the sun. In the winter, I like to work out in the mornings because when the sun sets at 4:30 pm, the only thing this girl wants to do is get cozy on the couch and eat something warm. But in the summertime when the sun stays up for hours, I love running or going for a bike ride in the evening after work when the sun stays up for hours and it’s okay to eat dinner at 8:30. However, my favorite time of day is mid-morning, but that is only possible on the weekend and usually only when I am in town (which seems like never these days!).

So do tell — when is your favorite time to work out?

(photo credit)

Wellness Wednesday :: Morning or Evening Exercise?My Pretty Pennies -

I hinted at this Monday, but J’s friend (we’ll call him “Dupree”) will be living with us for three months this summer and is arriving today.

It all started back in March. Dupree lives in Atlanta and was going through a very rough time. I won’t get into all the details, but he ended up losing a fiancée, found himself penniless, and didn’t have a place to live after May. He was in the bottom of a deep, dark pit. He came to stay with us a few weekends to figure things out, and J and I decided to invite him to stay for the summer to help him get his feet back on the ground. He’s in the middle of getting his doctorate degree and will spend his time here doing research for a grant, working at a pool to earn some money, and we’ll be helping him create a budget, get in shape, and work through some tough stuff he’s dealt with for a while.

You may be thinking we’re crazy for cramming three people into a small two-bedroom apartment for three months, and maybe we are! But it was one of those decisions where we felt convicted to help and ended up being an easy one to make. I was reading Acts a few months ago and admired how the early Church would sacrifice their possessions to help those in need. It says “there was not a needy person among them, for each distributed what they had to those who had a need.” (Acts 4:34-35) What would the church look like today if Christians really lived like that? If Christians today didn’t keep to themselves in their own individualistic bubble, but truly opened their homes, gave generously, had real friendships with outcasts, and sacrificed their belongings and time?  It would probably look like the early church, where their numbers were multiplying daily because there was something different about a group that gave that generously and loved that strongly.

You may be thinking “Amen! That’s the way we should all live every day!” but when it comes to your own life? You kind of choke on that amen as you think of how it may really affect the things you love. I’ll be completely honest – as much as I care for Dupree, this summer may be really hard. I like my stuff. I don’t really want to share my bathroom, my space, my food, my time, my husband… but I’ve already seen countless prayers answered in his life and truly feel that God is going to do amazing things in Dupree’s life and ours. Maybe not huge in the way the world sees it, but if I can learn to sacrifice my time, one idol I cherish deeply, then that’s an amazing work in itself.

So I don’t share this today to tell you how awesome we are (because really, we’re not!), but I share this only to ask for prayer for Dupree during this summer and for us as we attempt to live out the gospel to him on a daily basis. (And I also share this to introduce him in case I reference him later during any future posts.:) There’s something so comforting and safe being obedient to God, even when you don’t know what the future will hold, and I’m so excited to see how He will work this summer. I’ll be sure to keep you updated on the summer’s joys and challenges in the months to come. :)

(photo credit)

You, Me and DupreeMy Pretty Pennies -

Baking Gigi’s caramel cake:

Running errands around Greensboro with my mom:

Family gathering Friday night:

My view from the hammock:

Petals enjoying the crowd:

All dressed up for the funeral:

A joint family effort to bury Gigi:

Naptime after the reception:

Cinco de Greensboro with the 15 cousins & spouses at Sticks & Stones:

A frozen yogurt after-party:

In summary, it was a wonderful weekend spent with family and celebrating my lovely grandmother. :)

My Weekend via InstagramMy Pretty Pennies -