Here are the resources, moments, places, things, and memories from July and August that were my favorites.
Europe, of course — Most people love summer because the schedule slows down. However, my summers tend to be absolutely bonkers busy and summer 2019 was no exception. But it was filled with so many incredible adventures! The biggest was getting to go to Europe! This summer Joe and I visited Norway and France and it was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. It had to top this summer’s favorites.
Modern Mrs. Darcy’s Summer Reading Guide — Even though summer doesn’t slow down for me, I do love to chill out on my reading list and read some more indulgent fiction. Modern Mrs. Darcy always has some great recommendations.
Manual and Co. Dairy Bar — The ice cream place that still shows up on my favorites list every summer.
IKEA — Aka, the newlywed’s favorite store. We just got amazing dining room chairs there.
Norwegian chocolate — Norwegians swear their chocolate is the best, and I think I’d agree. We came home from Europe with pounds of chocolate and are still feasting on its bounty.
VBS — I love serving in our VBS ministry. It’s one of my favorite weeks of the year and this year was no exception.
Listening to the Bible — I primarily read the Bible, and I love doing that. But I’ve also been inspired to listen more to the Bible. And it’s blessed me a ton.
PrayerMate — My mom and I have been reading A Call to Spiritual Reformation by D.A. Carson which is a book about prayer. It’s been convicting me and pushing me to make changes in my prayer life to be more disciplined and consistent. PrayerMate is an app my dad has been raving about for years but this summer I finally downloaded it and have found it so helpful.
Tim Keller sermons — I’ve been listening to a lot of Keller sermons lately (I’m subscribed to his sermons in my podcast app), and let me tell you: it’s a better way to spend your drives than listening to pop music (all the time, at least… I do love me some good pop music sometimes =P).
Running — If you’ve read my book, you know I used to love running. I ran all the time. But then I sorta got bored out of it and fell out of it. Joe loves running, though, and there are a bunch of beautiful trails around our house. We’ve just started running together, and it’s a lot of fun. (Though the 5 bug bites I’ve got out of two runs have been… less fun.)
What have been your favorites from the past month?