Book Review: Unglued Devotional

I had the opportunity to read the Unglued Devotional: 60 Days of Imperfect Progress, the companion to Lysa TerKeurst's book Unglued: Making Wise Choices in the Midst of Raw Emotions. Both the book and the devotional are aimed towards helping women conquer the negative emotions that sometimes pop up, and rather use our emotions to encourage, uplift, and show compassion.

Lysa is a talented story teller (if you've ever heard her speak, she has this fabulous Southern accent that really makes you want to listen!), and her stories are very relateable. Each day during this 60 day journey, the devotional presents a verse, a thought of the day, introduces a relevant story about emotions and not allowing them to get the best of us, and finishes with a prayer towards fulfilling the goal of the day. I really enjoyed this devotional, and it gave me a lot of points to consider, and small goals to work towards. The book is even subtitled: "60 Days of Imperfect Progress", which took a lot of the pressure off. I don't need to be perfect, I just need to have a heart that is willing to change my habits.

One of my favorite devotions was regarding something I've written a few blog posts about, and have been trying to cultivate daily in my own life: an Attitude of Gratitude. My favorite line really spoke volumes about the source of true joy. When we praise God, despite what our emotions or circumstances dictate, we "stop being blind to all that's right and see so many more reasons to praise God. And when my heart is full of praise, my emotions aren't nearly as prone to coming unglued" (TerKeurst 100).

Lysa's book is full of Biblically sound advice, and was a very enjoyable read. I enjoyed the stories, and realized that some progress is better than no progress in controlling our emotions. My kids still know how to push those buttons, but now I have some tools and encouragement to help me overcome my first reaction of letting that temper show. 

*Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of Unglued: Devotional from Zondervan publishers via BookSneeze. All opinions and comments regarding the book are my own, and have not been influenced in any way.

Saving Money...Every Penny Counts

To simplify our budget, I track all our expenses on a computer program that allows me to categorize transactions and follow how and where we spend every penny. I take a look at our budget every month to keep an eye out for overspending, and at the end of the year I tally up exactly how much I spent in every budget category.

This week I sat down and looked at our expenses from last year. "This can't be right!" I kept thinking to myself as I reviewed each budget category. We had gone over budget in several categories that didn't include any large or planned purchases. And what's worse, I didn't notice these overages during my monthly budget reviews. Why did this happen, and how can I prevent this from happening again?

We went over budget in clothing, and I don't consider myself to be much of a clothes shopper. I took a deeper look at every transaction from the year that involved purchasing clothes. I was shocked! $4 here, $6 there, $5 here...buying clearance clothing every once in a while for my daughter ended up costing way more than I had expected. And, what's worse, most of the clothes my daughter never even wore!

Since we started an informal homeschool curriculum this year, I budgeted for things like art supplies, books, and educational toys. I don't even remember what I bought, but I spent double what I had budgeted for the year, simply because the little purchases added up! $0.99 watercolors, a $5 book, an educational toy on clearance...it combined to take a huge bite out of my budget!

In the first few months of this current pregnancy I was very sick, and it prevented me from going shopping or even leaving the house too often. I never went to the store just "to check out the deals". My husband would stop by the store with a detailed list, and wouldn't browse the aisles like I tend to do. We have saved so much money the last few months from avoiding impromptu shopping trips. And, the funny thing? I haven't even missed it!

By keeping in mind that every little purchase adds up, it makes it easier to "just say no" to the deals that you think you can't live without. Yes, if there's a sale on something I know I'll use, we stock up, if there is a need for something we will purchase it, and that occasional trip to Target for an Icee does the body good, but the next time I walk into a store and try to justify buying something because "it's only a few dollars", I'll remember how quickly a few dollars adds up, and I can think of many ways I'd rather spend our money.

My Goals for the Week

Well, I didn't even make any goals last week, so that should show you how much I actually got done! The hyperemesis is still hanging on...though I'm only 11 weeks and it didn't subside until week 37 with my last pregnancy. I'm just happy to get through each day right now, so my goals are a little less ambitious than they would be non-pregnant.
Here are my goals from last time:
Finish and Publish Two Blog Posts
It took two weeks, but I got both Saving Money During the Holidays posts up: Getting Organized and Saving When Online Shopping
Encourage Someone with a Phone Call, Note, Or Email
Come up with a Plan for Meals
I am SO blessed that friends and family have been bringing us meals, so I don't need to worry about dinners right now!
Spend 15 Minutes per day Reading to My Daughter
Accomplished this goal almost every day.
Worry Less, Trust More
Continuing Goal.

This week's goals:
Goal #1
Be Grateful and Look at the Positive
It's hard to have a good attitude when you're sick every waking second and unable to do the things you're used to. But, I am going to try and put all my energy into looking at my blessings, and nothing else.

Goal #2
Do Something Nice for the Family and Friends Who Have Brought Us Meals
It's been such a blessing to have dinner taken care of, so I'm thinking of a nice way to thank the family and friends who have been bringing us meals.

Goal #3
Do One Art Project and Read Everyday with My Daughter
My daughter loves doing art, so I want to put aside an easy project we can do together.

Goal #4
Get My Calendar in Order
With the holidays coming up, we have a busy couple months. I need to write down all my appointments, Christmas lists, and parties down before I forget! Pregnancy brain is a real condition, after all :)  

Goal #5
Spend 15 Minutes in Devotional Time Every Day.
With my daughter waking up early, and my only wanting to sleep in, I haven't spent much time reading my Bible the last couple weeks, and I really need to get back into it.

Do you have any goals this week? I would love for you to share them!

My Goals for the Week

Last week was crazy around here. Besides the relentless 24-hour morning sickness and fatigue of early pregnancy, I also came down with a cold that morphed into a sinus infection, and somehow caught the stomach flu. Now that last week is behind us, and this sinus infection is almost cleared out, I can look at my goals again. Here are my goals from last week:

Have a positive attitude and look at the positive more than the negative.
I tried, but, it was a tough week!
Do an art project with my daughter.
We did a "Clown Fish" art project. Basically just a clown fish cut out and paint. But, she had fun!
Get some headway on Christmas shopping.
I got some great ideas and even purchased a gift!
Encourage someone with a phone call, note, or email
I fell behind on this last week, but have several people in mind that could use encouragement this week.
Worry Less, Trust More
This is a continuing goal that I can always improve in, so I won't be crossing it off :)


Here are my goals for this coming week:

Goal #1
Finish and Publish Two Blog Posts
I have a few holiday related posts I want to finish this week!

Goal #2
Encourage Someone with a Phone Call, Note, Or Email
There is always someone that needs encouragement!

Goal #3
Come up with a Plan for Meals
We've been eating out more than I would like the last month, so I hope to plan out a few meals that don't require much (or any) preparation, so we can eat at home.

Goal #4
Spend 15 Minutes per day Reading to My Daughter
We've been falling out of regular reading time lately, so I want to restore that to our routine.

Goal #5
Worry Less, Trust More
Continuing Goal...remembering that God knows what is best for me, not me!

Do you have any goals? I'd love to hear about your goals for the week! Share them here or on our Save Money, Live Joyfully Facebook Community!

Goals for the Week

I've been trying to set goals for myself at the beginning of the week so I can create focus and purpose to my actions during the week. I've kind of lost sight of "real" goals the last few weeks, and have been focused on just surviving this morning sickness. But, since I'm feeling good today, I'm going to try and get some mini-goals down on paper screen for the week.

Goal #1
Have a positive attitude and look at the positive more than the negative.
I wish I were a "glass half-full" person by nature, but having a good attitude is a definite challenge for me.

Goal #2
Do an art project with my daughter.
I haven't been able to do a lot of schoolwork/art projects with my daughter the last few weeks, so my goal is to do one full art project with her. 

Goal #3
Get some headway on Christmas shopping.
I'm usually much further along than I am now on Christmas shopping by this time of year. So, I hope to get some ideas for Christmas gifts and start researching the best prices.

Goal #4
Encourage someone with a phone call, note, or email
If you've ever been down, you know the importance of someone else telling you they're there and they care. I hope to encourage someone who is struggling this week.

Goal #5
Worry Less, Trust More
I am a worrier. To the nth degree. When I'm not worrying about something, I worry about why I'm not worried about anything. It hurts my brain too. But, this week I want to worry less, and trust that God has everything in His hand and will.

Do you have any goals? I'd love to hear about your goals for the week! Share them here or on our Save Money, Live Joyfully Facebook Community!