Up Next: #SheReadsTruth

I'm rounding the corner towards the final stretch of the Bible in 90 Days (just kidding...it's been precisely 315 days, to date). 

This "little" Year 32 challenge has been a bit more of a marathon than a sprint. It's kept me in the Bible for many hours this past year, but I've been reading it more as a story and to gain an overview and less as a daily devotion.

As part of HelloMornings, I've re-cracked the spine to Jesus Calling, a great way to start each day, but it's also my second time through this particular devotional.

[Quick HM side note: the summer session ended last week and the early mornings were great for my physical, mental and spiritual health. Fall session begins August 20.]

Now I think I'm ready for something new.

Several weeks ago, I kept seeing phrases like Soul Detox and #SheReadsTruth popping up via "friends" on Instagram and Twitter.

I'm a researcher (analytical beaver here) so I poked around a little. The Soul Detox plan is a 35-day plan found on YouVersion and designed to help you identify what's chipping away at your soul, and what's getting in the way of you becoming the person who God created you to be.

A group of women got together a couple of months ago and created the hastag #SheReadsTruth as a means for an on-line community of women to connect as they journeyed through the same scripture on the same day alongside each other {the whole story here}. 

The Soul Detox plan was the first study they used. Living the Surrendered Life was the second.

This Thursday, the #SheReadsTruth community is starting a NEW study {to be announced Thursday morning!}

She Reads Truth provides a Bible reading plan for each day, a weekly truth to memorize (and display), and a community of women to offer encouragement and accountability.

Want to give it a try? 

Follow these steps {via She Reads Truth}: 

1) Download the YouVersion app on your smart phone. Don’t have a smart phone? Create a login via your web browser. 

2) The new reading plan will be announced early Thursday (7/12) morning. After it's announced, go to the Plans section + search for it. 

3) Stay connected through the She Reads Truth blog or the Twitter or Instagram feeds. If you post regarding the study/community, be sure to tag it with the phrase #SheReadsTruth.

4) Keep a journal. Write down what strikes you. Take a picture. Record your journey. Share what you're learning. Encourage others. Let yourself be encouraged.

5) Read, learn, grow, connect, share, move, journey, see. Each day. Every day. Repeat.

Sound interesting? Doable? Necessary?

Yeah, me too. Hope you'll be joining this new sort of truth-filled community along with me!

31 Days to Clean {The Reboot}

I just finished up a mini-round of 31 Days to Clean along with my friends and cleaning cohorts-in-crime, Theresa and Lisa.

The Reboot blog series follows the same theme as Sarah Mae's original 31 Days to Clean e-book (finding the holy in cleaning), but she also experimented with some new challenges as she prepares to turn her e-book into an actual book. {My thoughts from the original 31 Days to Clean challenge here.}

In Sarah Mae's words: "...cleaning is a practical part of this life, and all of life is worship, and in the cleaning there is worship as well."

She covered a variety of "Mary" (heart) challenges designed to help us persevere, focus, and be content, as well as a lot of "Martha" (practical) challenges such as cleaning out our closets and tackling our laundry piles.

The biggest take-away for me was something called a 15 minute challenge. The idea was to pick an area to tackle, set the timer for 15 minutes, and then become a "cleaning tornado" and see how much you could get done in the allotted time. For bonus points, she suggested getting in touch with a couple of friends and completing the challenge simultaneously.

I know, I know. TRY not to be jealous of how fun my life is.

Actual iPhone footage of a 15 minute challenge in action:

Maybe this just means my life is a little dull right now, but I found these little 15 minute challenges exciting, invigorating, and extremely productive. I also stand by my belief that just about everything is more fun when you do it in community.

Are you tired of slogging through messy counters, overflowing closets, and endless mounds of laundry?

Are you having trouble finding the joy, the love, and the life in the mundane?

This challenge is for you! It's time to put the fun back into cleaning. (Or at least make it bearable).

If you missed it, here are the links to all 13 days of the reboot:

Day 1 | Distractions

Day 2 | Sitting before doing (distractions, part II).

Day 3 | When life becomes worship (on priorities).

Day 4 | Lazy bones.

Day 5 | How to become a slave.

Day 6 | Share your why.

Day 7 | How to clean when you would rather be outside.

Day 8 | I don't want to clean (wah!)

Day 9 | How to be a cleaning tornado.

Day 10 | Do you struggle with LBS?

Day 11 | Live cleaning today!

Day 12 | There is worship in the cleaning.

Day 13 | What I would say to my younger self about cleaning.

Happy cleaning!

Hello Mornings!

I spotted the HelloMornings Challenge on my bloggy buddy Jane's Facebook page last week {Jane authors two great blogs, Girl Meets Paper and the Unofficial Homeschooler.} I was instantly intrigued by the idea of maximizing my mornings and wanted to know more.

I followed the link and started digging around a site called Inspired to Action which is written by a woman named Kat (she's also a contributor over at Simple Mom) and is full of tips and tools for inspired moms.

The HelloMornings Challenge is a tri-annual on-line event designed to help women all over the world develop the life giving morning habit of waking up early to spend time with God, intentionally plan their days, and exercise regularly.

You know me: I love a good challenge. I have thoroughly enjoyed the other challenges I've participated in recently, including our workout challenge (Week 75 and going strong!), 31 Days to Clean, and 40 bags in 40 days.

I realize this isn't for everyone (i.e. feel free to play your I-still-have-a-baby free pass), but for me I'm in a good spot to give this a go. I have been getting good, consistent sleep for more than two years now.

(Note: While we have no claims to early potty training fame, we did have three babies who slept through the night at 2-3 months old and then took regular 3 hours naps until school age. Sometimes I like to remind myself of those champion sleep habits when they're driving my crazy in other areas.)

I find myself more productive early in the day, and I've had some success in the past year or so getting up early to swim or run once or twice a week. When we were working through 31 Days to Clean last spring, I was committed to early rising for that month or so in order to work through the daily devotion before the day really started. Sometimes I get up early to get a jump on my work-from-home to-do's as well. 

However, I am looking for something a little more sustainable this time around. I would like to make this an honest to goodness habit, especially since life only seems to be getting crazier as the kids grow with school schedules, homework, extracurricular activities, and less and less of a reliable nap time.

When I wait and let the kids wake me up, I'm usually up around 7:15am (don't hate us...hubby and the big kids don't need to leave the house until 8:45am so there's no reason for us to be up especially early). 

For the challenge, I'm going to shoot for 5:45/6:00am. I'm not sure exactly what this newly created time slot will look like for me - I'll work through that this week before we get started, but I'm guessing it will be a combination of quiet time (I'm determined to finish reading through the Bible ASAP) and planning out my day, and then sometimes it will involve exercise and sometimes it will mean getting a jump on my work for the day.

I think the key to success here, as with most things, is to have someone (or a group of someones) keeping you accountable. Theresa is climbing on board the early rising wagon with me, and we'll see if we can entice anyone else to join us as well. 

The challenge is actually centered around checking in with others via Facebook, Twitter, or email to make sure you're all up and at 'em. Genius. 

[For the other two sessions throughout the year, they will set you up with an on-line community, but for the summer session, it's up to you to find your own peeps.]

If you're still reading this post, I'm guessing something is resonating with you. If you'd like to register for HelloMornings, you can click on the button below. The challenge is completely free, and they provide you with some great resources including a free e-book, devotional {Love Like Him}, prayer calendar, simple exercise tips, and printable planning sheets.

The next session starts this Monday, May 14, so there's no time to drag your feet. Now's the time to browse the resources, gather some early bird wannabes, sign-up on-line, and get your early morning plan in place. 

Oh, and don't forget to set your alarm.