• A Song Full of Memory | Playlist of Life

      by SimplyHollyJo on March 2, 2021 , No Comments

      One of the recent blog hops from Exhale, a writing group that I’m in, was called “Playlist.” You were meant to take a song that evoked a memory, and share that memory in writing. At this time I thought it was an amazing prompt, but absolutely nothing came to mind for me. It doesn’t help that I don’t get nearly as much time as I use to to listen to my own music anymore. My kids are either anti-music, or only want kids music, depending on the day. I tucked the prompt away though, because again, I knew it was […]

      Faith, Life
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    • July Bible Reading Plans | Bible Engagement

      by SimplyHollyJo on June 30, 2020 , No Comments

      Who needs some guidance for staying in the Word this month? Just me? Okay. Anyway, while gathering some resources for getting organized this summer, I found some fun July bible reading plans. Some even had fun activities or writing aspects. I thought I would share some of them here for anyone else that might be looking for some fun direction. Freedom Themed: What better way to celebrate the month of July than with verses about freedom and being set free! I love how this one is organized and themed! Power of the written word: I am a huge fan of […]

      Faith
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    • A Mother’s Love | Love After Babies

      by SimplyHollyJo on February 24, 2020 , No Comments

      I’ve talked about how having kids has changed my relationship with God, and how it has changed my relationship with myself. Now I’m going to talk about how it’s changed my view on a mother’s love. Specifically when it comes to my own mother. As a mom, some days are great, some days are ho-hum, a some days are awful. The why’s behind any of those types of days are vast. My attitude, their attitude, weather, sleep, activities, growth, interests, family, outsiders, etc. So much. There is A LOT that goes into making a marriage work. You’re marrying two people […]

      Babies, Faith, Motherhood
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    • Loving Yourself as a Mom | Love After Babies

      by SimplyHollyJo on February 18, 2020 , No Comments

      Loving yourself as a mom. So much to unpack there. Right now I want to talk about how having kids has changed how I view myself, how I talk to myself, and simply how I love myself. We are our own worst critics. We are the ones that we talk to the most day to day, and we often don’t say very nice things. This is something I’ve been aware of, of course, but the significance of it has only heightened since becoming a mom. I am so much more aware of how I talk to myself, in my head […]

      Babies, Faith, Kids, Motherhood
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    • God’s Love in a New Light | Love After Babies

      by SimplyHollyJo on February 10, 2020 , No Comments

      Having children changes your life, and you yourself, in so many ways. One of the aspects of change that I didn’t think through until after I had kids, was how it would change my understanding of God. I’ve definitely seen God’s love in a new light. Once I had kids, I suddenly had this whole new outlook on God’s roll in my life, as well as just how patient He is with me on a day to day level. In the everyday struggle of teaching and disciplining (discipling), my boys, I am constantly reminded of my own shortcomings and imperfections. God […]

      Faith, Motherhood
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    • February Bible Reading Plans | Bible Reading Roundup

      by SimplyHollyJo on January 31, 2020 , No Comments

      I’m really loving these monthly Bible reading plans. The simplicity of planning out daily engagement with the Bible just works for me. I need small chunks to track instead of giant mountains, I suppose. I especially love when they are thematic. It’s nice to have a theme to focus on each month. So now you can benefit from my new love, as well as my researching nature. Today I’m sharing some of the February Bible reading plans I found online. I haven’t found many that are actually 29 days for a leap year. It makes sense to a point, but […]

      Faith
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    • Creating a Family Mission Statement

      by SimplyHollyJo on January 13, 2020 , No Comments

      A family mission statement has been on my radar for years. I saw them online and heard of multiple families using them to focus themselves and really hone in on what kind of family they want to grow. It seemed like a great idea, but I had no idea where to begin! Most places told me to have a family meeting and discuss the characteristics and qualities we would all like to have as a family. My boys are currently 4 and 2 and I knew that would go over well. I also thought my husband would simply say, “Whatever […]

      Faith, Motherhood
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    • Bible Reading Plans for the New Year

      by SimplyHollyJo on December 30, 2019 , 1 Comment

      I’m loving all the resources for Bible reading plans available online, for free! It’s nice to have a direction each month to kind of guide my Bible engagement. It also feeds my love of lists and checking things off said lists! Below I am sharing a small roundup of Bible reading plans that I found online for the beginning of the new year. I am sure there are TONS more out there to try, but I wanted to share some to help those that need it. Sometimes it’s nice to have some of the research done for you, especially in […]

      Faith
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    • The Importance of Self-Care for Moms | #MotherhoodMonday

      by SimplyHollyJo on September 23, 2019 , No Comments

      Self-care is so important. I’m serious. Everyone talks about it, but not all of us commit to it. I remember feeling SUPER isolated as a new mother. I was in a new town, a new state, I was an introvert, and I was taking care of a helpless newborn when I was on an emotion rollercoaster and hardly sleeping. Sounds great, huh? The newborn is rough for all sorts of reasons, but every stage of motherhood brings its own ups and downs. We as mothers need to always remember to take care of ourselves as well. It’s not selfish, it’s […]

      Faith, Motherhood
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    • My Secret to Understanding the Bible

      by SimplyHollyJo on September 24, 2018 , No Comments

      I have to confess: I often don’t understand the bible. I grew up in a Christian home. We went to church every Sunday. I learned to pray early on and it became a part of my daily life. But reading the bible was another story. I never did it consistently. I would read it and some times I would really connect, other times I would hardly understand what I had just read. It can get very confusing, and often cause more questions than anything. Fast forward several years and I started attending Westside Family Church in Lenexa. I finally felt […]

      Faith, Recommendations + Reviews
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