Reading the Bible Cover to Cover

I've been a Christians since I was quite young, and had a desire to grow in my faith since I was a teenager. That's enough years that you might be tempted to think that spending time in the Word has become second nature to me.
It hasn't.
I struggle everyday, every week, every month, to properly prioritize and savor time spent with God in His Word the Bible. And some months, weeks, days, I fail miserably. Growing up it was ingrained in me that I needed to spend time in daily in the Word and that having some sort of plan was more useful than reading on a whim. What do you do, though, when you have a high failure rate on being daily consistent with ANYTHING in life?

I found my solution a couple years ago when I followed a reading plan by a YouTuber, Anna Willemstein. She created a reading plan that had readings only on week days, leaving the weekend for either making up for missed readings or doing a separate reading. It was awesome!

When I added "Read the Bible Cover to Cover" to my 30 before 30 list, I knew I was going to have to do something similar. A google search later, and I found a great site to customize a reading plan for my time frame and reading days!

So it's a little less than a year, reading on M-F only. On August 4th, 2020 I'll have finished reading completely through the Bible.

This site even has a the option to download it in an ical format (that I then imported into google calendars) for an easy way to keep track.

Hope you find this tool as helpful as I am!
Mrs. Troyer

Massive Final Bathroom Update

If you've followed the blog for a little while, you know we spent about 8 months slowly chipping away at a massive bathroom project. I'm super excited to say that it's been complete for a few months now! To show you a snapshot of the process I need to take you back to May of 2013.

Unfortunately this is the only photo of this bathroom I have from before we moved in. The light fixtures kept burning out bulbs. The sink took up 1/3 of the bathroom. The tub shower took up another 1/3. It had a patterned wallboard and built-ins.

The plan sounded straight forward:
1. Take out the tub
2. Put in the washer and dryer
3. Replace the window
4. Replace the toilet and sink

And if you have ever done any home improvement, you are laughing at us right now

Fast forward to August 2018. We were preparing to have our windows replaced and wanted to have them install our new window in our new wall. Que the bathroom demo.

While doing demolition, we uncovered some pipe issues both under the sink and under the tub. But at this stage we just capped the pipes and called it a day. We were on a time crunch to get the drywall up on the one wall for the window.

Fall of 2018, windows went in, I painted 75% of the exterior, and we were officially living as a 5 tush family in 1 toilet house.

Next order of business was to get a light working so we could finish the walls and fix the plumbing issues. That was something of an ordeal. It included renting a concrete saw to use in the house, and I have no desire to ever tackle a plumbing problem like that again (to be clear, Chad and his dad tackled the plumbing problems).

Somewhere along the way, I hit my breaking point. Hours of mudding and sanding, mudding and sanding, mudding and sanding, only to discover we were using a subpar product. I found myself crying over a bathroom, yup.

Finally, the walls passed hubby inspection for smoothness, time to paint!

Compared to the previous step, I flew through the painting and we were reading for flooring and fixtures!

With the ceiling up, the insulation would finally stop falling on us while we worked.

We had a little trouble getting the washer and dryer to fit through the doorway (should have measured first). But my dream of having laundry on the main floor was coming true!

All that was left was trim.

And it's done! We have some smaller home improvement projects we are in the middle of currently, but nothing as big as this bathroom project. I think the take away for me is that our next house needs to have the laundry room on the main level already and maybe have 3 toilets not just 2.

I also think from here on out I'll be a bit more timid in our DIY home improvement endeavors. If you made it to the end of this massive post, congratulations!

Mrs. Troyer

Grateful List - August 5, 2019

The day is officially over, I'm 29 years old. I have a tendency to get moody and frustrated when I realize that time is moving at an ever increasing speed and it doesn't feel like I'm keeping up. When those feelings surface, one of my most effective weapons is gratitude. Here's my list for today, in no particular order.

1. Small town libraries
2. Frozen mini Reeses cups
3. The piano arranger Victor Labenske
4. My momma, coming to spend my birthday afternoon with me
5. Days that Chad is able to come home at a decent time
6. Pup snuggles while my parents dog sit for my brother
7. The hope of the homeschool year to come
8. Lori Wick books on our library app (particularly the English Garden series)
9. Children's books with silly words and phrases
10. The passing of time as it relates to my kids
11. The unique construction of our house that lends itself to keeping in the cool air
12. Also the lone air conditioner in our living room
13. Tennis shoes that keep my sciatica from being terrible
14. Dishwashers....always
15. Classico pasta sauce for having the perfect shape and size jars for drinking glasses

These are the small things that as I look back on today were bright spots. There is so much to be thankful for in my life, home, town, country, faith, etc. Sometimes to realign my daily attitude, it helps to examine the smaller things.

Recognizing these small blessings may not hold the key to catching up to the life that is speeding by. But maybe it can help to slightly slow down the speeding life just a smidge.

Mrs. Troyer

30 Before 30

Tomorrow I turn 29 years old.
Age is one of those common threads we have among the entire population. No one wants to believe the numbers that come at the increasingly quicker rate each year. I know I'm not alone in being almost 30 and frantically looking around and wondering if I accomplished anything in my 20s. (Don't worry, I know I did.)
For my final year in my 20s, I've decided to be a little more intentional about what I accomplish. So I've written a 30 before 30 Goal list. I've spent over 6 months working on this list, writing it, adding to it, scribbling things out - trying to make sure the things included are doable and specific to me (not just found on someone else's goal list). Not everything is big, somethings are silly, one is even pretty much a gimme because it's already planned. In no particular order here's my list!

30 Before 30 Goals

1. Spend one night away alone
2. Complete intentional blogging for a year
3. Make a blanket for Northern Michigan Relief Sale
4. Teach Alexi to make a complete supper
5. Explore 3 active activity
6. Compile 30 go-to meals
7. Read 30 books for me
8. Reread Chronicles of Narnia
9. Reread Lord of the Rings
10. Pick and hang decorations
11. Finish kids' birth-to-year scrapbooks
12. Read the Bible cover to cover in a year
13. Visit Dow Gardens
14. Write a personal missions statement
15. Commission a custom art piece
16. Get a perm
17. Finish and hang the Star Wars puzzle
18. Learn to write left handed
19. Relearn Euchre
20. Journey to toe touching
21. Watch a sunrise and sunset
22. Read Little Women
23. Memorize 30 Hymns/Worship Songs
24. Go to Disney World
25. Finish the hand-me-down crochet blanket
26. Individual date with each kid
27. Finish watching Castle
28. Finish watching Bones
29. Host 6 get-togethers with friends
30. Get to know my family tree (learn my legacy)

Can't wait to get to work and accomplish some fun goals!

Mrs. Troyer