It’s lovely to be able to say that July was an easier month. :) Paul’s health issues are settling down (we’re down to every other week doctor appointments) and my DIL is doing better (the PT is helping with her sciatic pain and she is starting to be functional again).

The simplifying I’ve done has helped and I’m starting to feel saner and more relaxed. We have a few time-sensitive projects, but the rest is “do as we are able.”

(sunflowers growing by the chicken coop)

Our world is very rural and pretty. Social distancing still makes life a bit odd. We did attend “car church” and Paul and I do minimal shopping.

Spiritual Growth –

• Read a daily devotional.
• Have personal and weekly Bible study (with doing).
• Read 2 books about spiritual growth topics.
       🗸 When to Walk Away by Gary Thomas
       🗸 The 7-Day Prayer Warrior Experience by Stormie Omartian
       🗸 Get Your Life Back by John Eldredge
       🗸 Beautiful Outlaw by John Eldredge
• Prayer and Meditation

I’m actually a bit behind in my devotional (Live in Grace, Walk in Love) because I’m re-reading Beautiful Outlaw. Jesus is so delightful and this book encourages me to get to know Him in my everyday walk.

My Bible study/doing is still on again, off again, so I continue to read and prayerfully apply scripture to my life. (I’m guessing this will be the norm over summer with all its projects and family life.)

I fell off the prayer journaling wagon and I’m trying to climb back on.

Marriage –

• Be more intentional about conversation.
• Sex more days than not.
• Create a bucket list for 2020.
       🗸 Oregon coast
       a writing retreat
       Farm to Table event (Mont Lamm)
       Riverfront Park (in Spokane)
       🗸 seasonal foraging (morels & huckleberries)

Though July was an easier month, it had its physical challenges. Tiredness is not conducive to conversation or sex. I’m limping along and plan to do better in August.

Paul and I did get to go huckleberry picking together. Aside from the crazy mountain roads (huckleberries only grow at a certain elevation), it was a fun experience. A first for me and we have lots of huckleberries tucked away in our freezer.

Family and Friends –

• Drink more coffee.
• Babysit the grandkids.
• Be present and engaged at our weekly family night.

Coffee with a couple of friends and lots and lots of babysitting.

The weekly family nights are becoming fun again. There are so many summer projects on the property (a bunny barn, an above ground pool, a garden shed, and more). Everyone is brainstorming and negotiating help needed. The grandkids are at a fun age. They are “helping” too.

Personal / Emotional –

• Be artsy-fartsy.
• Be a good bunny mommy.
• Learn four new songs on my ukelele (and play them well).
       🗸 Happy Birthday
• Play in the dirt.

I did a little bit of tangling this month, but no new songs (though I did get to play Happy Birthday one family night).

The summer heat is a bit of a challenge, but our garden is producing a fair amount of produce. I’ve weaned a whole new batch of baby bunnies and they are delightful fun.

They’re 8 weeks old and ready for a new home.
Anyone want a pet bunny?

Physical –

• Stick with the 6-8 hour eating window.
• Have a day of rest each week
• Develop an exercise program.
• Keep doing Kegels.

I’ve actually lost a bit of weight (more about what I eat than the intermittent fasting). I stayed within my eating window and have been (irregularly) doing my Kegels. And I’ve been doing better about having rest time. I don’t always get a day off (hopefully soon), but I’m able to simplify a couple of days a week. Exercise is feeding bunnies, gardening, and doing a truckload of housework.

baby hubbard squash

Occupational / Vocational –

• Make regular time to work on and improve The Marriage Bed site.
• Create a writing schedule for TGW posts.
• Be more regular about posting on Meemaw’s Place (my personal blog).

All my writing has crawled along this month, though I did start putting The Generous Wife on Instagram. (I like Instagram. It’s very artsy-fartsy.)

Financial / Office –

• Update our budget. 🗸done
• Update and clean up my files and folders (hard copy 🗸done and digital).
• Keep the email corralled.
• Bookkeeping – Stay current week by week, both ministry and personal.
• Trello.

My files are looking nicer. I won’t say they’re done just yet, but close. My email is a bit messy but still doable. Ministry bookkeeping is up to date, personal is lagging a bit.

I’ve been using Trello in place of a bullet journal and for the most part, it’s been great. It did not work well for my bunny records so I moved them to files on LibreOffice. I like it so much, I’m considering moving everything there. Hmmm. Still thinking about it.

Physical Environment –

• Be more consistent with housework.
• Do the next few steps in building our house.
• Plant more trees. (🗸 1 cherry, 1 tupelo)

Housework is still a heavy two-household load and I get the important things done. We eat. We have clean clothes. We don’t trip over much.

form board setup for bunny barn

Paul’s been doing prep for cement work. Later today we’ll be getting a new sidewalk up to the house, cement support for a couple of small beams, and a foundation wall for the winter bunny barn. A cement truck is pretty exciting fun where we live, especially for the grandkids.

No new trees (it’s just too hot). I’ll add a few more in the fall.

Goodbye, July. Hello, August!

What dreadful hot weather we have! It keeps one in a continual state of inelegance. Jane Austen

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• Prayer Prompt: Thank God for all the good in your life.
• Gary Thomas Think About What You Think About Check out Philippians 4:8.
• Ultimate Bundles: The Ultimate Homeschooling Bundle Well, this is it! Last day to pick up this bundle of great resources. (sale over)

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