The Little Brown Notebook

Today I would like to share you one of the things Andrew and I do together.

In July of last year I bought a brown notebook after I had seen a similar idea on Pinterest. (I know, I mention Pinterest a lot. It's just super awesome for finding ideas) I call it, The Little Brown Notebook!

 The idea I found was to write a note in the book (something you like about the person, something you are especially thankful for that the person does for you, little love notes) and hide the notebook somewhere for the other person to find it. 

This could be anywhere. I've hidden it in the sheets of his bed, under his pillow. I've found it in my folded clothes, in my backpack. The point is to be sneaky. I really like this because it’s a fun and really inexpensive way to surprise the other person. I love giving Andrew little gifts. (I'm super excited to post about some of the cute things I've made him, It's really difficult to find gifts to make for one another when you are dating, and it's also difficult to come up with date ideas, so I'm planning on posting more about these later)

Happy Saturday!!

My Bible Reading Plan

I recently read through the whole bible using one of those Bible in a year books but I don't feel like I got very much out of it. I only read the three chapters a day so I could just get through it. I wasn't reading to learn anything. So I'm hoping to read through the bible again, (but not so rushed) and I needed a way to really get something out of it. My goal is to read through the bible, one chapter at a time (not necessarily in order). I'm not picky about how long it will take me. I just really want to get something out of it. I'd like to show you guys the reading plan I found. A couple months ago I found this blog on pinterest.

It's the SOAP bible reading plan, which stands for Scripture, Observation, Application and Prayer. All you need is a bible, a notebook and something to write with.

Here's how it works:

You read through a chapter of the bible and then you pick a verse that stands out (I like to underline the verses I like as I go and then pick one of those).

 To start, I write down the chapter I am reading at the top of the page, and under that I write the date.

Then, I write and "S" and I write down the verse that stood out to me the most.

Under that I write an "O" and I write down what I observed from the verse.

Next, I write an "A" and next to it I write how I think this verse applies to my life right now.

Finally, I write a "P" and I write out a prayer asking God to help me apply and thanking Him for what He has shown me.

I really like this way of reading the bible, but I've had a really hard time recently of actually doing it. One of my goals in April (which I will post more about later) is to read my bible at least 5 times a week.

Do you have a favourite method to read your bible? How do you keep yourself motivated?

Happy Thursday!

Couples Devotions

Hey Everyone!

So you have heard me mention my boyfriend Andrew before a couple times. I thought today I would introduce you to him officially and tell you a little bit about the devotions that we are doing as a couple.

Here is a recent picture of us. 

We bought mugs that match our camp names. 

My camp name is Rubik's and his is Stripes. 

I will tell you the whole story of how we started dating in a different post. For now I will just tell you the basics. We met at camp, and we have been dating for almost 2 and a half years! (2 years, 4 months and 27 days to be exact). Andrew recently accepted the CILT director position at the camp we both go to. CILT is a program that future staff members go through in order to become great leaders. I will tell you more about CILT later. Anyways, when Andrew accepted the CILT director position I thought I would get him a devotion book. I had been thinking of doing this for years, but I never mustered up the courage to do it.

I decided that we should do a devotional together. I had bought a book called Devotions for the God Girl by HayleyDiMarco a while ago but I had never gotten around to actually using it. I decided to get Andrew the guy's version of the book Devotions for the God Guy by Michael DiMarco. They are both one year devotionals so I thought it would be great to read them together and keep each other on track. We are on day 13 and so far it's going great. I really like my book; the devotions are short, but really powerful. I know that short isn't always better, but in this case it really works with my schedule. I'm hoping to get back into my bible reading in April. And I promise I will post more about that soon!

       

I guess what I'm getting at is that I thought doing a devotional book together would be awkward, but so far, it's great and I would highly recommend that couples do something like this. It really is rewarding.

What devotions are you doing right now? If you are in a relationship, do you do devotions with each other or separately?

Happy Wednesday!

Current Favourites

Here are a few of my current favourite things:

 1) Kiss Goodnight by Tyler Shaw

I've liked this song for a while now, but I just bought it off of iTunes today (I know, what took me so long!) I really like this song. It's really easy to sing to in the car and the artist's voice is absolutely beautiful.

2) My TOMS

I got TOMS a week or two ago, I have wanted them for probably around a year (I know, I know, why didn't I just buy them a year ago?!) Well, last year I had really bad back troubles from an old soccer injury, and because of it I have orthopedics that I have to wear. My back has been feeling so much better though, so finally I can get TOMS and not have to worry about wearing orthopedics with them. I love them!

3) S'mores Tea from Teopia

I absolutely love this tea. I've had it for a while and I really hope they still make it when I run out. I will definitely be buying more.

4) This weather!

Spring has finally arrived, even though it is only a couple degrees above zero, it is so nice outside. And the snow is FINALLY melting!! I can't wait until I can ditch my winter coat.

5) My Semester Almost Being Over!

I only have 7 more days of class left. I am so excited to finish the semester and get started with my summer! And I'm also excited to be able to spend more time updating this blog and making it super awesome! April 15th can't get here fast enough

What are your current favourite things?

Happy Tuesday!

Messy Mondays

So I've been watching this youtube channel for quite a while now.  And I thought I would share it with you. They have really funny, clean humor that is really quite clever.  One of the members Kelli has a blog which I follow. You should check her out, she's pretty awesome. Here's Kelli's Blog!

Here is today's video

I hope you guys like it!

Happy Monday!

Senor Panda

Hey Everyone! First I would like to apologize for the inconsistency and somewhat randomness of my blogs as I start this journey. My second semester in university will be concluding in 2 weeks (AHHH!!!) and then I have exams, So I'm fairly busy. But believe me, starting after April 15th (my last exam), I have big plans for this blog. I am so looking forward to it.

In the meantime, today I thought I would write about the hamster my boyfriend got. It's a complicated story…

Last week (March 17th) my boyfriend Andrew got a hamster named Oreo. I helped him pick it out and choose a name and everything. It was all very exciting. Unfortunately, Oreo passed away yesterday. So Andrew and I made a trip to the pet store to get a new hamster. Here is a picture of Oreo.

 The pet store we went to graciously gave us a new hamster. Which brings me to the title of today's post.

I'd like to introduce you to Panda. He looks a lot like Oreo. His full name is Senor Panda. He is extremely cute, even though he bites a bit. Here is a picture of him!

Update: Unfortunately, Panda passed away last night. Rest In Peace Senor Panda!

                                

As a side note Andrew got a blog! Here is Andrew's blog

Happy Sunday!

Learning to "Blog"

Today I'm not feeling very productive. So instead of writing my annotated bibliography about deforestation I decided to explore things about making my blog prettier. I added buttons along the side, so you can follow me on various social media things! It's sad how proud I am of this. Anyways, I thought I would share with you how I figured it out.

I found this blog which helped me figure out how to put the buttons on to the blog. Super clear and helpful.

I also found this blog, which has a bunch of buttons in a variety of colours to download.

Hopefully these help if you are looking to create your own blog. I'm still learning, but I'm finding this so much fun. I'm still working out in my head exactly how I am going to organize this blog. For a software engineering student, it's kindof sad how much I don't know.

Happy Thursday!