High Five For Friday

        It’s Friday! I cannot tell you how excited I am for the three day weekend ahead of me! Now let me tell you a little bit about what has happened before this weekend…

        1. I finally received my copy of this gem! I have been dying to read it, so I was so excited when it came in the mail. I’ve already started it, and let me just say, it is wonderful. Roseanna M. White always does an exceptional job, and I can tell The Lost Heiress will not be any different. Here’s the synopsis:

                Brook Eden has never known where she truly belongs.             When her friend Justin uncovers the fact that she is

        possibly a missing heiress from Yorkshire, Brook leaves

        the sun of the Mediterranean to travel to the moors of the                 North Sea and the estate of her supposed family.

                The mystery of her mother’s death haunts her, and                   though her father is quick to accept her, the rest of the 

        family and the servants of Whitby Park are not. Only 

        when Brook’s life is threatened do they draw close—but 

        will their loyalty come too late to save Brook from the 

        same threat that led to tragedy for her mother?

                As heir to a dukedom, Justin is no stranger to 

        balancing responsibilities. When the matters of his estate 

        force him far from Brook, the distance between them

        reveals that their friendship has grown into something 

        much more. But how can their very different loyalties 

        and responsibilities ever come together?

                And then for a second time, the heiress of Whitby 

        Park is stolen away because of the very rare treasure in 

        her possession—and those who can save her still aren’t 

        sure whom to trust.

        Doesn’t that sound wonderful? I cannot wait to finish this book and review it for you. Be looking out for that because it is coming soon!

        2. Everything is on track for my first giveaway! I cannot tell you how excited I am! Not only are giveaways super exciting, but the book I’m giving away (The Chase by Kyle and Kelsey Kupecky for those of you who don’t already know) is so wonderful! I’m almost done with my copy of it, and I really am loving it! It is such a great book and I am so glad they wrote it! I’ll tell you more when I post my review and giveaway on Monday.

        3. Sorry to have another thing about books, but I really cannot write a list of the highlights of my week without listing the amazing novel I just finished yesterday. A Noble Masquerade by Kristi Ann Hunter is by far one of my favorite books of all time. It really was so, so good. I can’t even tell you how wonderful it is without pouring out my whole review right here on this post. So, all I’m going to say is, come back tomorrow and read my review to see how much I loved it.

        4. We have (finally!) cleaned out the youth room at my church! It needed to be cleaned and organized so badly, so I am so glad we finally got around to it. And we moved the furniture into a more functional, and fun, setting, and I’m so excited to see how that plays out in the future. If you cannot tell, I really am so hyped about my calling into youth ministry. I just love it so much! Even though I don’t have my degree (yet) I can at least help out, and that means the world to me. All I can say is that there will be plenty more posts about anything youth related in the future.

        5. I helped throw the best surprise birthday party for one of my friends! It was such a blast just putting it together and working to keep the surprise (there were 22 other girls involved) but the best part was how genuinely surprised she was, and how much she loved what we had done. She was so completely and utterly excited and touched by the gesture, and I really loved seeing the expressions on her face as we carried out all of our surprises. And she has been such a blessing to us, so it really was great to get to bless her in return.

        Well, that is my week! Happy Friday and three day weekend to you!

Linking up at Spreading My Joy, Della Devoted, A. Liz Adventures, Meet @ the Barre, and The Diary of a Real Housewife.

All credit for the synopsis of The Lost Heiress goes to Roseanna M. White and Bethany House Publishers.

High Five for Friday

        Another week has come and gone, and let me say, I am soooooo glad it’s finally the weekend! But, I have to admit, this week hasn’t been all bad…

        1. I have officially moved! It was a big transition, even though it wasn’t much of a distance, but I have to say, I am very glad everything worked out and that I am able to be here. While it was a bit of a whirlwind, I know this is where the Lord wants me to be, so I’m super pumped to see what He has in store. I’ll keep you posted.

        2. Currently I am reading The Prayer Box by Lisa Wingate, and I am LOVING it. Up until this point, I hadn’t read anything by her, but I am so glad I picked up this one. Lisa’s writing is phenomenal; every scene flows effortlessly into the perfect story that draws you in and keeps you wanting more. I cannot wait to finish this story, and I’m already anticipating reading the rest more by her. As soon as I finish this one, I’ll let you know what I think of it as a whole. Because of the move, I’m a little behind schedule, otherwise I would’ve already finished and reviewed this one, but either way, it’ll get posted eventually (wink, wink).

        3. Everything is on track for my very first giveaway!! I’m planning on (as long as nothing comes up and throws me off track) having it start September 7^th, so look out for that! I’m already so excited to get to read The Chase, so the fact that I get to give a copy away as well makes me super happy. For those of you who don’t know, The Chase is a new book for girls all about trusting God with your happily ever after, and it’s by Kyle Kupecky—a Christian Recording Artist—and his wife Kelsey—who is also the daughter of New York Times Bestselling Author Karen Kingsbury. Anyway, I cannot wait to share this book with you, so come back September 7^th for my giveaway!

        4. Another thing I am reading at the moment is Your Best Happily Ever After by Ginger Kolbaba. I’ve been reading it as my devotions the last couple of weeks, and I absolutely LOVE it. As I’ve read page after page, I’ve learned so much about what it means to really live out the ‘happily ever after’ God has for you. I’ve been enjoying it immensely, and I cannot wait to share my full review with you!

        5. Oh, I almost forgot! The lock-in I mentioned I was planning on last weeks’ post went really well! It was so much fun, and I know all the teens enjoyed themselves. It was also just such a great time of bonding for everyone, especially since we are currently in transition and without a youth pastor. Anyway, it was an absolute blast, full of great games like Sardines and Hunger Games Dodgeball, and lots and lots of pizza. I cannot wait to help out with another one!

        There’s my highlights for my week. I cannot wait to see what next week holds!

        Happy Friday!

Linking up at High Five for Friday, Five on Friday, FridayFavorites @ Meet at the Barre, and Friday Favorites @ The Diary of a RealHousewife.

All credit for the photo of Your Best Happily Ever After goes to my sister, Allie. Check out her blog here.

High Five for Friday

        It’s Friday! You know how some weeks it seems to take forever to get to the weekend? Well, this was one of those weeks. But it’s finally here now, and I’m gonna celebrate! Though I have to say, this week hasn’t been all bad…

        1. I’m setting up for my first ever giveaway!!! I’m so excited I can barely stand it! I’m not a hundred percent sure what day it will start, but it will most likely be September 7^th through the 14^th (both are Mondays, by the way). Unfortunately that seems like an eternity away, but that’s because the book I’m giving away doesn’t even come out in stores until the 1^st, and the copy I’ve already ordered to give away won’t get to me until the 3^rd. Plus, that will give me some time to actually read my copy so I can tell you how wonderful it is so that you’ll want to win the giveaway even more. What book is it, you ask? Just the one book I have been looking forward to the most ever since I first heard of it. It’s called The Chase: Trusting God with Your Happily Ever After and it is by Christian Recording Artist Kyle Kupecky and his wife Kelsey, who is also the daughter of New York Times Bestselling Author Karen Kingsbury. Here’s the description:

        Only God could have written a love story as beautiful as Kyle and Kelsey Kupecky’s. from their teenage days thousands of miles apart when they separately wrote letters to their future spouses, to a chance meeting backstage at a concert, their story brings hope and inspiration to every girl.

        It’s easy to get impatient for the future to play out, especially when it comes to love. Before long you find yourself chasing the perfect guy and trying to write your own happily ever after. But the truth is, your best future won’t be found chasing boys—it’ll only come by first chasing God.

        In The Chase, Kyle and Kelsey take turns telling their story, with Kelsey sharing secrets to a godly relationship and Kyle revealing the truth about what guys really think. Together they’ll show you how to put God first, protect your heart, deal with the loneliness and peer pressure that come along with purity, and see yourself as God does.

        Are you ready to trust God with your very own happily ever after? Let the chase begin!

        Doesn’t that sound amazing! I’m absolutely dying to read it. Anyway, keep an eye out for my giveaway; I’ll be posting more details soon!

        2. This week I have to give God a huge, huge thank you for the blessings he has given me. The main reason I say this as one of my highlights is because of the people God has placed in my life, and how much they mean to me. You see, I’m going to be moving (not far, just residences) next week, and an absolutely amazing couple who goes to my church—and are also more like family to me than anything else—have been going above and beyond trying to help make this move as easy as possible. Last Sunday, they had mentioned something about helping me out, but I had been quick to assure them that, while that meant the world to me, I didn’t want them to have to go out of their way and that they didn’t have to do that.

        Well, they knew they didn’t have to, but they wanted to, so on Wednesday they brought it up again, and they—along with my best friend—had me sit down and write out everything else I needed before move-in day so they could help me pick it up. I cannot tell you how blessed I felt as I sat there among some of the people I love the most as they tried to help me by reminding me of things I might need that I hadn’t thought of, and then offering to purchase it for me. I have never been so thankful for the way God gives you exactly the blessing you desired, right when you needed it most. And I’m not talking about the act of helping as much as how loved I felt by their offer. Even if they never actually did a single thing to help, just the way they offered and the way they showed how much they loved me meant more than they will ever know.

        3. More nail designs! The middle nail on that hand is a little messed up, but that’s okay (I’m not very patient when waiting for them to dry). Unfortunately I have to say this isn’t my favorite design, but I do like it nonetheless. And I am positive that I will be doing stripes again—I really want to try chevron by I’m not sure if I’m brave enough yet. Speaking of nail designs…

        4. I’m working on my very first nail tutorials! Isn’t that exciting? While they aren’t going to be videos (I know I’m not brave enough for that just yet), they will be step by step instructions with quite a few pictures to lead you through! I’m thinking I will have at least one design every 1^st and 3^rd Monday, although I’m not entirely sure just yet. We’ll see, but either way, I will have some tutorials soon! Since I’m moving, it might not be until next month, but rest assured, they are coming!

        5. Last but not least, I just read The Captive Maiden by Melanie Dickerson. I know I always talk about books, but I really couldn’t help it this time. The Captive Maiden was absolutely amazing! I read it all yesterday, and I loved every bit of it. I have never, ever melted into a little puddle as many times as I did reading this novel. It was by far one of the sweetest books I have ever read, and the suspense just about killed me! I cannot wait to review this book, but I’m waiting until Tuesday since I own this one and want to post it as a part of my regular “My Bookshelf” posts I always do on Tuesdays. So, look out for that review, because I will have a lot more gushing—and swooning—over this book to do!

        Happy Friday!

Linking up at High Five for Friday.

All credit for the photo of The Captive Maiden goes to my sister Allie. Check out her blog here.


All credit for the italicized synopsis of The Chase goes to Kyle & Kelsey Kupecky and Revell Publishing.

High Five for Friday

Happy Friday! This is my first time linking-up at High Five for Friday, so I’m super excited. My sister has been doing it for a while now and she loves it, so I thought I’d give it a try! Here goes!

                1. Although I feel like all I ever post about is books, I have to mention one of the novels I read a few days ago because it really was one of the highlights of my week. I absolutely love to find stories that not only are interesting, fun stories to read, but also bless you in little ways you never expected they would, and Sweetwater Gap by Denise Hunter was one of those books. Even now, three days after I finished it, I cannot stop thinking about it; it was that great.

You can check out my full review here.

                2. I’ve started my first audiobook!! I know, I know, I’m a little late jumping on board the ‘audiobook train’, but I was so worried I wouldn’t like them nearly as much as physical books. So I kept putting off trying my first one, insisting I would—just not yet. However, this week I picked one up from the library, just for the fun of it—and with my life picking up speed over the next few weeks I knew I would need to go over to the dark side (ha ha). Anyway, I knew it was time. And I love it. I’m listening to Mrs. Grant and Madame Jule by Jennifer Chiavarini and I cannot get enough. The book is wonderful, so that helps, but it’s also great to be able to get some of my reading done while painting my nails or cleaning or doing whatever else it is that needs to be done. I’ll let you know my full impression of both the story and the audiobook after I finish it in the next couple of weeks.

                3. I have a confession to make. I have become totally and completely obsessed with nail art. I don’t know how or why—up until a few weeks ago I rarely even painted my nails at all—but all the sudden nail art became one of my favorite things to do. Although it is slightly time-consuming, depending on the design, I love coming up with different designs, color schemes, and patterns, like the ones in the picture below (I did those yesterday). I’m thinking sometime in the next week or so I’ll do a post about my most recent nail designs and give you some steps on how to do them. Nail art might become one of my new things! We’ll see…

                4. I’m getting a haircut today! I know, I know, that’s a highlight of my week? It’s just a haircut, right? Wrong. I haven’t had a haircut since May, and I sorely need one, but with everything going on I just haven’t had a chance to get one. So that is a really big highlight for my week. Last time I went I got my curly locks cut into a nice asymmetrical-bob-sort-thing, with the front being a bit longer than the back. I also got layers (curly-hair typically must have them), and I got the back stacked a bit, which I really loved. So today, I’m just getting it shaped up and back to that haircut because so far—with my short hair anyway—that is my favorite style so far.

                5. I have closing program practice tonight! I’m super excited because I know it will be loads of fun. My church, for the last couple of years, has done a summer long Vacation Bible School instead of just the week long one, which everyone really has come to love. Each year, at the end of the summer, they put on a closing program for the whole church, where they sing their VBS songs and show pictures of what they’ve done and learned, and there are usually a few skits. This year, the skit is a bit longer and has a few more characters than usual, so our children’s director asked a few people who weren’t in the children’s department to do the acting instead, so that she could really get the point across, and it would be fun for the kids to watch. So, I am one of those actors, and it is a blast. The skit is adorable and funny, and I love the rest of the actors; they make everything hilarious, including practices. There is never a dull moment with any of them, and since one of them is my best friend and the other two are absolute goofballs, I am sure tonight’s practice will be more fun and less work.

                So, that’s my week! Happy Friday!!!

Linking up at Bright on a Budget. 

All credit for the photo of Mrs. Grant and Madame Jule goes to Amazon.