Forgiveness, Parenting, and Saving Money

Hey Friend! One thing I say often about our parenting style is “We aren’t trying to raise great kids, we’re trying to raise great adults.” We are only 14 years into that effort, but so far we like what we are seeing. We expect a lot our of our kiddos, but we also do our best to pour a lot into them. We want our kids to see us growing ourselves and teach them how to do the same.

Mindset Matters

A little over 12 years ago, our train of thinking was interrupted in the best way. We were challenged by people that we respected to intentionally focus on becoming the best version of ourselves. One of the main ways of doing this was reading (obviously reading the bible daily is priority #1), so today I want to share with you a couple of books that I think you’ll find valuable. One I just finished reading, one I read years ago and am now listening to with my kids.

The one I just finished is Forgiving What You Can’t Forget by Lysa Terkeurst. Full disclosure, I am not a huge fan of hers (no need to explain why here) but I think she hit the nail on the head with this book. What I liked is that although this lesson on forgiveness came to her through extreme circumstances, it’s still applicable to those of us who just need to learn how to best practice forgiveness (even small everyday hurts need to be dealt with the correct way).

After reading Unoffendable (that I shared with you in a previous message) I realized that I needed a lesson on forgiveness and what it looks like in real life. Obviously, as a Christian, I always believed in forgiveness but I realized I wasn’t the best at practicing it. This book approached forgiveness in a way that I think will bring healing and freedom to many but will also give practical tips to help us simply love others better.

Next up, The Travelers Gift by Andy Andrews. This was one of the first books we read 12 years ago when we started our project of growing ourselves to become not just better leaders, but better persons.

Actually, Andy is the one who taught us the concept of raising great adults.

This is the book that we are now listening to with our kids. I downloaded the audio version for free using Overdrive (Free app that allows you to “checkout” ebooks from your local library. I use it all the time and it saves me a ton of money!) and anytime we are all in the car together for at least 15 minutes we listen to it instead of music. He teaches leadership principles in the format of short stories using historical figures. My kids (ages 7-14) are really enjoying it and it has sparked some neat conversations. I would actually recommend all of Andy’s books, if you’re looking for a next read.

Finally, for some really big news…SLIM IS ON SALE!!!!!

If you’re looking for a formal description, here you go: AdvoCare Slim combines green coffee extract and garcinia cambogia fruit extract to support appetite control and weight management when consumed with a healthy diet and exercise. AdvoCare Slim also contains chromium, an essential nutrient involved in the metabolism of fat and storage of carbohydrates.

But in my simple terms, this yummy drink helps me from eating all-the-things every afternoon and gives me a small energy boost. It’s really good mixed with Rehydrate, Collagen, or BioCharge.

Here’s to you being YOUR (not someone else’s) very best while you run YOUR race! 💛

Your Friend,