The 4 Vans

Okay Mama, lets get this planning show on the road!

Have you started your holiday planning yet? All I have done it started thinking I can’t believe Christmas is going to be upon us before we know it. I’ve thought a little bit about my menu and who will be in attendance for Thanksgiving but…… thats about it.

The last few years I have used an Christmas Gift List Tracker app. I definitely recommend using one of the several that are in the app store. It not only helps you keep your list of gifts and people to buy for organized but it also helps you stay on budget for each person and all your gift giving.

Have you ever tried one of the holiday planning guides you can download on etsy. I have tried only one and as great if an idea as it seemed I could not seem to stay with it. Let me know in the comments if you have and which one you use. I need all the help I can get this time of year. Or if you have other ideas for organizing your holiday plans please let me know. I would love to hear about what is working for you.

XOXO, Jill

I love fall! I love the cooler weather, sweaters, and boots. I love all the colors and I love pumpkin spice. It is seriously my favorite time of year. Here is one of my favorite fall recipes and it is so easy to make.

Pumpkin Spice Bread

Ingredients

• 1 Can Pumpkin
• 1 Box Spice Cake
• Chocolate Chips (As much or as little as you like) I do a small handful
• Cream Cheese Frosting

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray small cake pan with non stick spray. Mix together cake mix, pumpkin and chocolate chips. Spoon into cake pan and smooth out top. Bake for 25 – 30 minutes. Insert tooth pick at center to ensure it is done. Cool. Frost with Cream Cheese Frosting.

How often do you allow yourself to just Dream?

I hope you sit down with a cup of tea or coffee and take time to dream about all sorts of things. A creative mind is a happy mind.

I have included a free printable for you below to help you list a few dreams on paper. There are not rules just think about things you might like to accomplish, learn, or be in the future. When you are done with your list hang on to it, there will be another printable to follow up on this one.

God Bless! Jill

Galatians 5:22-23 ~ But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness, self-control, against such things there is no law.

I love what Galatians says in this verse. I yearn to be a wise and gracious woman. I want to possess all of these wonderful qualities listed in this verse. When we turn to God in prayer and throughout difficult times we feel peace. Do you ever pray to God for Self-Control? He tells us the fruit of the spirit is self-control, I have struggled with my weight ever since I had children. My goodness is it stressful, at least I tell myself that all the time. When in actuality if I just pulled up my big girl panties its not actually that stressful. There is some very easy steps I can take to solve my struggle but I seem to not want to step up and deal. I would prefer to eat my cake and say this is stressful all at the same time. Or at least right after I ate that delicious piece of cake. Seriously Jill!

So recently, I have made a promise to myself, (and ladies do your best to never break a promise you make to yourself) I am going to think of my body as a gift from God and He wants me to take care of the body He has blessed me with. So instead of indulging in something that brings me no real pleasure. I am going to stop and think if what I am about to put in my mouth is nourishing to my body. It does not mean I will not have an occasional dessert but it does mean I will cut down on how much desserts I indulge in. I am also trying to move my body more, I am not big at this time in my life on a big workout routine but I feel great when I take a walk and enjoy nature.

I love planner’s! I think I have tried every single one out there.

They all offer great pros and and some cons for me as well. For me my planner has to be functional first and pretty second. I need my planner to work for me not me and my schedule working for my planner.

Here is what I am currently using.

Isn’t she beautiful! I love pink and this binder is the perfect color pink with Rose Gold corners! LOVE!!!

What I love is you can create and customize for your own needs. When you open mine up I have a pretty file folder that I have cut in half and created into a dashboard for my sticky notes and sticky tabs. I just re-did my dashboard for spring and summer. I’m loving the pretty flowers and bright colors! It makes me smile every time I open it up.

I like to use file folder for my dividers as well. It makes in easy to customize the look your going for. I like to change mine out seasonally. Just cut you folders in half and hole punch the side with the tab. Super easy and beautiful!

The thing I love most about this planner is I can create my own printables or buy them on an Etsy shop and download and print them myself. The options for downloadable printables are endless on Esty. Here is one I purchased and downloaded for a calendar. I prefer the two page spread, I love having all the room to write. This one has a goals and tasks section which I love as well.

I also found this goal planning printable on Etsy. I love the format of this one, I is like a mind map that you can customize for your own categories. I use Love, Spiritual, Relationships, Career, Finance. I love using different color pen for each category.

This is a printable I created for my daily tasks and appointments. I need something large to write everything in. I don’t like to anything cramped in a small place, it looks too cluttered for me. I use the Notes section for my menu planning and things I need to follow up on.

The last section is for notes and lists, I just regular notebook paper.

I keep mine pretty simple.

I first got the idea to make this planner when I seen this binder on a Youtube channel – Milk and Honey. She shows this planner several times, definitely jump over there and check out the way she has it set up.

Isaiah 41:10 Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will help you; I will hold on to you with my righteous right hand.

How many times in our life have we felt like things may not be ok? Or we are worried for one of our children or loved ones? Life can be scary and worrisome. I am probably one of the biggest worriers there is. I worry about things to the point I give myself anxiety. I wring my hands and lay awake at night fearful of what an outcome might be.

When I get into these situations I try to rely on Isaiah 41:10 “Do not fear, for I am you; do not be afraid, for I am your God”. That is so powerful and comforting to know that God has this, and what is best is He does not want us to stew and worry. He wants us to put our Faith in Him. He has us, it may not be easy but it will be ok and that is something we can all rest easy in. Cast your fears upon Him. When you are worried, take a moment to talk to God about what you are going through, He already knows but Pray and lift them to Him. Pray for understanding and wisdom and Pray that His will be done. Ask Him to bring Peace to your heart.

God Bless!

Here is my key tips to living a content and peaceful life.

• Be thankful for what you already have. Stop and think about what you have and Cherish it. If you don’t cherish it, it is probably time to remove it from your home. Donate it to somewhere that accepts donations and bless someone else’s life.
• If your life is complicated try to uncomplicate it. Stop ask yourself what is making life so complicated and stressful. One of my tricks is I ask myself “Do I have any control of this situation?” and “Will is matter is 6 months or a year?” If the answer is no then you need to let is go and stop stressing. If the answer is yes, spend some time thinking what you can do to make things simpler. Is it a conversation you need to have with someone, or is it as simple of re-evaluating how you are dealing with a situation.
• Stop and take care of yourself, give yourself permission to take care of yourself. Take a bubble bath or go on a date with your spouse. Whatever it may be, make sure you take some time to fill your mental and physical tank so you are not running on empty. If you are working with a full tank you will be happier and more present for your family. You know when you fly the stewardess says in the case of an emergency put your air mask on before you help the person sitting next to you. Same thing here, if you are not at your best and feeling recharged how to you expect to be your best for your family and friends? You can’t.
• Spend quality time with your family, let them know how much they mean to you by spending some quality time with them.
• If you have kids spend some one on one time with each one of them. Find out what is happening in their life. As kids get into their teenage years they don’t open up as much as they did when they were younger, give them lots of opportunity to know they can come and talk to you.
• Give yourself time to renew your spirit, for me that is spending time each day, journaling, reading my Bible, and Praying. I am at the most peace when I am spending time with God.
• Love your children for who they are not who you think they should be. Just because we are raising them or have raised them does not mean they are going to be anything like us. My girls could not be more different. I don’t think they have anything in common besides the fact they are family and they do look a little bit alike. Other than that they are good at different things, they express themselves differently, what would upset on would not be a big deal to the other, and their interests are very different. Which goes to show just how different and unique we all are. Love the people in your life for who they are and celebrate them for what they mean to you. There is a book called the

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Its different for all of us. How important is it to you to be the best version of you?

If it is important to you here are 5 things you should do now to be the best version of you.

1. Make your bed everyday. Making your bed is the first step to feeling like you are ready to start your day on the right foot. And who wants to come home to a messy bedroom? Not me. Your bedroom is a place for you to rest and recharge, it should be a place of peace and tranquility. If it isn’t it time to get it that way, and that does not mean breaking the bank. Your bedroom should be decluttered and tidy and you will feel better and more restful. After all it really head to de-stress in a cluttered stressful room.
2. Create a morning routine. It does not matter if you work out of the home or in the home, you need a morning routine. It does not need to be complicated, just a routine that helps you start your day with a smile on your face.
3. Do you have time set aside for you and a place in your home you can go and feel at peace? If not, than schedule some time for yourself and find a place in your home that brings you happiness and peace. It should be a place where you can pray, journal, read, mediate. It should be quite and have a few things close be that bring you joy.
4. Get moving! Don’t just sit there and be a bump on a log, move! Go for a walk or do some Yoga. Anything, just move your body and get your blood moving. Trust me it will help your mood and happiness. Just google what happens to our overall mood when we exercise.
5. Prioritize you, practice self care. Take a bubble bath, paint your nails, go have coffee with a best girlfriend. Just prioritize you, if you don’t you’re not going to be the best for your family. You will be running on empty. And let’s face it, when we are running on empty we get cranky and that is not helpful for anyone. Take care of you and love yourself.

Be the best version of you!

Hi Friends! I hope you got a chance to read Part 1 of this post.

In my last post I talked a lot about giving yourself permission to prioritize yourself.

In this post I am going to talk about a few habits you should do right now to be the best version of yourself.

1. Get moving. Move your body. Get your blood flowing. Take a walk, do some yoga, or just do some relaxing stretches. It does not always need to be about burning a bunch of calories. It can also be just thinking about what is good for your body and having the desire to take of your body.
2. Fruits and Veggies. Nourish your body with all the wonderful antioxidants that fruit and veggies have. You will feel so much better and more energized if you eat food that is good for you.
3. Hydrate. There are so many benefits to drinking water. I currently do my best to drink half of my body weight in ounces everyday. Jump on Amazon and find a water bottle that you really love, then keep track of how many ounces are in the water bottle and how many of them you should be drinking each day.
4. Keep your commitments. Sometimes its hard in our busy day to day life to keep all the commitments we make. But if you make it you should keep it, if you reschedule and backout it gets easier and easier to not follow through.
5. Cherish the things you have, try to get rid of the perfectionist attitude. Life is messy, its not perfect. No one has a pinterest perfect life. Stop trying to fix things or make them better, just allow yourself to love things as they are. If you look at most pictures on Pinterest you will find that what makes the homes and spaces so appealing is the lack of clutter. Decluttering a space is cheap and easy and you will feel so much better if you don’t have to contend with stuff all over surfaces.

God Bless, Jill

Don’t Forget to Prioritize You…….

Hi Friends! Hope you are all doing well!

I did something this week that I have never done before, and it was wonderful. I spent a whole week prioritizing me.

The reason for my week of self care was, I have been have a difficult time lately. I have struggled for quite a long time with anxiety. I also have some other health issues, and the anxiety compounds my already existing health issues. I have felt like I am really struggling to keep up for the past few months so I have decided to take a break. Not just a little break but a big break. My heart, soul, and mind really need me to prioritize me. And this last week that is just what I did.

As anyone who reads my blog knows I have a strong Faith and when I struggle I do my best to turn to the Lord for wisdom and strength. Which is exactly what I did a lot of this last week, and I have to say I can feel my heart healing.

I want to share a bit about my journey this past week. I hope if you are in the same position as I have been, you will give yourself permission to prioritize you.

I spent a lot of time reading my Bible, Praying, and Meditation on what I was reading. I can’t put into words the peace I felt. It was truly remarkable and so replenishing to my soul.

I journaled more that I think I have in the past year. For me journaling is how I think and soul search. I spent a lot of time thinking about what is stressful to me and what made me feel uneasy. I basically started to unpack my emotional backpack. And goodness was there a lot of things to unpack once I started the process. There was one day in particular that I really struggled with one of my current challenges. It was one of those things that I just keep putting on that back burner and not really dealing with because I was feeling too hurt to face my feelings. It was easier to just feel angry and hurt. I think sometimes we don’t deal or face certain struggles as somewhat of a survival. It’s hard for me to explain how much I felt God leading me through this particular situation.

I journaled more that I have think I have in the last year. For me journaling is how I think and soul search. I journaled everyday and sometime multiple times a day. I could feel God leading me each day as I would sit down and think about what was causing me unreast, anxiety, and worry. There was one day in particular that was so hard and so wonderful at the sametime. There is something that I have really been struggling with for the past few months. I have felt hurt and angry. And the worst part is, I have basically have been putting my stressful ugly emotional mess on the back burner. It was easier for me just to be upset, than face how I was feeling. I have been doing a bang up job feeling like a victim. Not Good! When the day came to unpack this emotional turmoil I was feeling. It became clear to me, I also played a part in what has been going on. It was as eye opening experience, not easy to face but I am thankful and humbled by the revelation of a few things I need to work on.

Here I am at the end of my week, and I have a few new perspectives.

Self care does not just mean taking the time to pamper yourself and relax. It is also doing your best to be the best version of yourself. I think everyone has a different set of things they need to work on to be the best version of themselves. For me it starts with giving myself the permission to prioritize myself. That is hard for me, but what I came to understand is, if I am not prioritizing myself I am not going to be my best for my family. And that is so important to me. I want to be there for my family, I want them to know and feel my love, support, and appreciation for them. I want to create a home that is a safe haven for all of us, that we can decompress, laugh, cry, and be together in. A place where my kids can bring their friends to and know that they will be welcomed. A place to gather as a family and create lasting memories.

I hope this inspires you to grab a cup of coffee or tea, sit down in a quite space and spend some time journaling, praying, or reading. I pray the Lord leads you and provides you with the wisdom you need to navigate whatever you may be going through.

God Bless, Jill