I'm Being Selfish

[I have no idea where this photo is from, but I love it. I found it on Pinterest. If anyone knows where it came from, I will gladly give credit!]

That Start Experiment I was so excited about? Yeah, I failed miserably. Like, I didn't really make it past day ten...except that "what's your favorite inspirational song" day. I rocked that one...and then rocked out to the massive Spotify playlist.

But I didn't meet, or really even work on my dream for this project. I had high hopes, then just didn't do. I have plenty of reasons why I didn't. It was VBS time. I had a massive cold. Maybe it's not the right dream for this phase of my life. I'm thinking, partially, that the problem was it's not a big enough dream at this time in my life for me to be motivated enough to set time aside for it. And that's okay.

During this 24 day experiment, I did make progress on my fitness goals. I kept up with my fitness challenges, and made it to the gym a few times (when my health allowed me to). I made a giant workout calendar counting down til the main event (more details later). And I love the atmosphere of the group! Every time I log into Facebook I'm greeted with silliness and dream-chasing, which makes it impossible to not make progress in some way.

But, the first-ever Start Experiment is over now. We live, we learn, we move on....to Round Two! The second-ever Start Experiment starts Sunday and the theme is "Audacious". Exciting!

I've been debating whether or not to stay on for this second round, because lately I've just felt lousy. My cold is finally clearing up, but I'm just exhausted in every possible way. I've even slept through my alarm clock(s) three days this week, which is so not like me! I've neglected this blog. I've neglected my journaling. I've been doing the bare minimum of life. So I've felt like I don't have the energy to take on this new challenge.

But today I was thinking. And internet surfing. Which led me to a bunch of posts about introverts (particularly this one from a fellow Starter). Now, I've know since before I knew the word that I was an introvert. But today I realized that it's probably a major cause of my problem right now. I spent July so super busy with very little down time: I had my usual work, ministry, family/friends commitments, plus two very big, very draining events, and a few smaller ones. Then we slammed into August, with life and parties and again, I've given myself no real rest. At all. I realized last week that I haven't made it to the river once yet this summer. And I LOVE the river. It's my happy place, and I haven't been in over a year. The one true day off I had in 7 weeks I had planned to go but it was stormy.

So, my risk for Round Two (and this might seem weird to some of you), is to be selfish. Not just at 5am, like Acuff says, but all the time. For the 24 days of the Experiment I'm going to be selfish as much as possible. I'm going to say no to things. I'm going to intentionally take one day completely off each week for Ashley time. I'm going to get a pedicure. I'm going to go to the river. I'm going to dig into my Bible. I'm going to eat healthy and get my exercise in every day. I'm going to read lots. And swim. I haven't gone swimming all summer. I'm going to blast my music and dance around my room. I'm going to dream of my next project. I'm going to do whatever I feel like doing to recharge and relax. I believe that this is the only way I will be able to continue the things I need to do.

"But Ashley," you're saying, "The experiment is about punching fear in the face and being audacious! How can you punch fear in the face or be audacious if you're not doing anything?"

Great question. Have you looked at the definition of audacious? I like the third one on dictionary.com the best: recklessly bold in defiance of convention, propriety, law, or the like;

Convention says I need to accomplish something big in this time. But really, I know myself. If I push myself to do do do this month, I will spend the rest of the year sick, tired, and stressed, wanting to give up the things I love doing. I don't want to get to that point. So I'm going to be selfish. And that is scary! I've still got bills to pay, a ministry to run, and this isn't a goal many people will fully understand. But if I'm going to be happy, healthy, and doing everything God designed me for, then I need to take the time to be selfish.

It's hard, but I have to. And I have to learn how to better juggle all these different things with regular Ashley-time. So that's my goal for this next round of StartExp: to be selfish and learn how to make true rest a part of my life.

What do you think about my plan to be selfish? Have you or do you do something similar? How do you incorporate real rest into your crazy life? 

What I Did This Week

This week was crazy. It was Vacation Bible School time, and the day before VBS I got sick. Some nasty summer cold/sinus infection thing that left me with no voice for the second half of the week. And of course, because I was in my Busiest Week of the Year, I didn't take care of myself as I should have, so I am still sick.

Hence the lack of blogging this week. And the lack of productivity beyond VBS. So, here's a little glimpse into my week:

I got a little teeny-tiny bit addicted to Kiera Cass's Selection. Like, stay-up-reading-til-3am-the-night-before-VBS-prep-day addicted. I read both books in the series, the bonus e-book, the deleted scenes, and many many tumblr posts in three days. All while VBS was happening. So, yeah, I might be addicted.

What is The Selection, you ask? It's a YA novel series that is basically Hunger Games meets The Bachelor meets Princess Academy. It's awesome. And after internet stalking researching Kiera Cass, she's now on my list of Famous People I Wanna Be Best Friends With. If you decide to get into it, just be warned that the next book in the series isn't out until May 2014, and Kiera likes cliffhangers. She's like the Moffat of YA romantic fiction.

As I think I mentioned, it was VBS week here in Ashley Land! We did Group's Kingdom Rock and it was so much fun! Plus, I got to wear my princess dress, so that's always fun :) It was our eighth year of VBS, and we had 80 kids-our largest year to date! Almost everything about the way we run VBS changed this year, and it went surprisingly well! No major issues and everyone left knowing how to STAND STRONG! The Bible lessons and activities were all so engaging and exciting, even to teach!

Our decorations were pretty awesome, too. See that drawbridge I'm standing on? It actually goes up and down. How awesome is that?! (Thanks Durands!) I love having people who can make my wacky VBS plans and ideas come true. And kudos to those people for not acting like it's weird when I say things like "how do I build a working drawbridge?" or "Can we have a life-size pyramid that the kids can walk through?" or "I'm going to turn this giant wall into a spaceship." or "will this be secure if I hang a bowling ball off it and swing it towards one of my staff's heads?" Anything can happen at VBS!

VBS is a ton of work, but so fun and so worth it. Thank you soooo much to all the staff who helped make this year such a success! It was a pleasure working with all of you!

July's Adventure: Stand Up Paddleboarding!

Guys. I went SUPing. I'm a SUPer...ish. Okay, maybe I'm not a SUPer, but I did it and didn't fall off! Also, I'm not actually sure if SUPer and SUPing are real words....but I'm using them anyways.

What is SUPing, you ask? Stand Up Paddleboarding! And let me tell you, So. Much. Fun!

We went to Nashoba Paddler's in Groton, MA. They only have four boards right now, because they're testing to see how well they do. If others have as much fun as we did, they will definitely be getting more boards! They had great prices, and the staff was super friendly and helpful. Tiny little place, but I would definitely go back.

I hate watersports. I hate and fear jumping or falling into water. I like swimming, but that's about it. So I didn't expect to like SUPing. I didn't expect to be able to stand up. I expected to fall several times. I expected to have some horrifically hilarious mishap and come home bruised and bleeding. But none of that happened!

That's me on the right!

Yes, it took me a little while to work up the courage to actually stand up on the board. Yes, I freaked out a few times. But then...I did it! I even survived and kept my balance when a giant bug attacked me. By the end I was even getting adventurous and trying tricks. In case you were wondering, yes. Yes, I can do front squats on a SUP.

So if you have the chance, I highly recommend Stand Up Paddleboarding. It was a blast!

Start Experiment

[source]

(Guys, I have a .gif in my post. I feel all special and stuff!)

But seriously, I'm going on an adventure with Jon Acuff! And I'm not even leaving my house! A few weeks ago, Jon posted a short-lived invitation looking for people to go on a 24 day adventure, no questions asked. Of course, I applied, and thought I wasn't chosen until I got my email yesterday inviting me to the super secret Facebook group for our adventure. 

Over 2,500 of us answered the call for adventurers and will be spending 24 days encouraging and challenging each other as we each risk something. That something will be unique to each of us, something that will help us get closer to our dreams. 

I had a hard time deciding what to pick. Originally I had decided "kick butt at the gym and in the kitchen", but since I've already been doing that, it felt pretty lame to make that my risk. But after journalling and praying a little bit, I found my risk. The details are a secret for right now, but suffice it to say that I will risk by taking time out of my busiest month of the year to work on a HUGE project that I'm really excited about. It combines two of my biggest passions seamlessly and is something bigger than me. I may will need some of you to help me make it happen. 

But I'm excited. Most of you know how much I love Jon Acuff's stuff, and to be a part of this experiment is super awesome. Even though I know I will be exhausted this month anyways, I am determined to spend some time on this project to see what God does in and through me with it.

Also, I may be in need of a white board.

Do you have any adventures and risk on the horizon? Please share!

Swirling Bumping Thoughts

Ever feel like there's too much going on in your mind? Like you can literally feel it swirling around in there and making a mess? That's how I'm feeling this evening. Wish I could get it all out on paper, nice and organized and complete so it wouldn't bump around up there, but every time I get a piece out, ten more take it's place. I can't win! My mind palace is not as efficient as Sherlock's.

There's too many projects and plans and ideas and possibilities all floating around in my head. I don't have the brainwidth or calendar time to act on them all! And let me tell you, there are some really good ones trapped in there. Hopefully I'll find a way to organize them so I can share them with you.

I need to figure out how to better manage my time to get these extra non-work, non-church-work ideas and projects into real life. Jon Acuff may have it right with the 5Club, but I don't think my body will allow me to get up and hustling at 5am. Especially since I'm working 3-11pm this month. But I really do need to find some time (and shut off the tv) for dreaming and planning. Because usually if I have down time, I want to shut off. I sit on the couch and veg out with mindless tv and Pinterest. I've got some ideas on this, so I just need to put it into action.

Would you like to help me start on one of these projects? Leave me a comment with a conversion/salvation story from the Bible (reference appreciated). And when I say salvation, I mean a person turning to God and being eternally saved kind of thing, not like the Israelites were saved from Egypt kind of thing.

How do you find time to dream and plan for those extra things bumping around your mind?

June's Adventure: TAZA!

June's Adventure in the Year of Awesome is complete! Can't believe we're halfway through the year. Crazy! We've got some really awesome adventures planned for the second half of the year, which will make up for the past few months being a little lame (which is why they haven't been documented on the blog.) Although, March was pretty great. We tried yoga. April was an Indian restaurant, and May was a really lame museum.

So anyways. Today we went for a tour of the Taza Chocolate Factory. (Sorry for the picture quality. I forgot my camera so this was all from my phone.)

Now, you may know that I don't eat chocolate unless it's fair trade. Once I learned about the slave labor involved in much of the chocolate industry, I couldn't go near it with a clear conscience. Seriously, I had half a Snickers bar in my purse at that conference and it made me nauseous when I tried to finish it. 

But Taza is Direct Trade and publishes their full reports on their site. I also learned on the tour that they have recently incorporated a third-party to keep them accountable. So I can eat their chocolate in good conscience! YAY!!! Plus, they are better for you than regular chocolates. Most of Taza's chocolate has just two ingredients: Cocoa beans and cane sugar. 

And there are such delicious flavors! I left with the cinnamon one, but it was hard to choose between that, the coconut, vanilla, salt & pepper, and more. (I don't have a picture of the chocolate; I was too busy taste-testing. But enjoy us in hairnets!)

Our guide Allie was awesome. She was perky and super knowledgeable about the process and sourcing of Taza. And she dealt beautifully with the two older ladies who were driving everyone else nuts. They were asking the weirdest questions, and trying to seem like they knew everything, when in reality they knew nothing. And then they kept complaining about the chocolate! But Allie was polite, helpful, and just plain great. We learned a lot about the chocolate-making process, as well as differences between processes. Allie, keep it up! You were the perfect tour guide! We loved this adventure!

We had a lot of fun. And a lot of yummy chocolate. So head over to Taza chocolate sometime! We got a Groupon for it, but it would totally be worth the full price tour ticket.

What's your favorite chocolate flavor? Ever take an awesome factory tour? I'd love to know so I can check it out!

"Stealing The Preacher"

The Archer men are back, and Crockett's taking the spotlight in the latest book by Karen Witemeyer!

I have loved Karen's books since I first found them a year or so ago, and have been wishing for my own Archer brother since The Short Straw Bride. In Stealing the Preacher, I get to pretend!

Crockett is fulfilling his dream to become a preacher when he is stolen off the train and given as a gift to the outlaw's daughter for her birthday! Crockett is sure this is just a quick detour on the road to God's Perfect Will, but what if God's plans are different than he previously thought? Crockett might be willing to change his plans...if a certain redhead would be part of the new one!

Joanna Robbins had been praying for a minister for their small town, but never expected her father to kidnap one for her! Despite the unusual circumstances, Joanna is determined not to let this opportunity slip away, but will Crockett be willing to help? And why does Joanna suddenly feel jealous when the town flirt sets her sights on the preacher?

This book has everything that makes inspirational romance so great: it's a western, with a strong redemption/forgiveness message, colorful characters, drama, and just enough cheese to make you smile. There was one line about Crockett's swagger that made me both groan and smile! It may be cheesy at times, but what good romance isn't?

Karen Witemeyer is one of my favorite authors lately. Her characters are so compelling and quirky that you believe they really exist somewhere in this world. In this case, Joanna, Crockett, Jackson, and the rest of the gang are all such well-thought-out characters that you can't help but feel for them in the story. The storyline has a number of twists that pop up unexpectedly and keep you reading late into the night, to make sure your new friends make it through! But even in these trials, the characters remain true to themselves and come out stronger for it.

I loved getting to revisit the Archer's and can't wait for the next book to see how Neill finds his own love. I would also love to see a future book about Jackson. I know he's just a boy in this one, but he's such an intriguing character and I would love to get to know him more, and see his happily-ever-after come to life.

You should definitely read this book. And then the rest of Karen's books. Enjoy this short trailer for the book!

Recommended 4/5 Stars

*I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.