here's to books, and reading lots of them

After my last post, I think today calls for something lighter, and a bit more colorful. Thus, books. 

I talked about this in my goals post, but for the sake of avoiding link overload, I won't link that post here. However, it's about 2 down from this one if you wanted to check it out.

BOOKS.

I want to read more of them, and especially these colorful classics. I usually get a bit lost in the classic novels, but I'd like to push myself a bit more this next year and navigate my way through the difficult language they often use. 

I have always loved to read and only within the last couple of years have I struggled to find books that keep me hooked for more than 7 or so chapters. I read a lot of great books last year, but I also started and never finished a lot of so-so, "B list" books. A possible future blog post topic?? I need a page turner to keep me interested, I can't have any of that Nicholas Sparks mushy stuff. Throw me a thriller with intense, controversial topics and you won't move me from the couch!

In addition to the classics, here's a few of the books on my list this year: The Divergent series [namely because it's said to mirror the Hunger Games trilogy with it's Utopian feel], Salem Falls, and I'd really like to finish the Harry Potter series! I don't know about you, but sometimes I suffer from impulse book buying. It's a real thing! I love to buy books, so I'd also like to work my way through the many piles of unread books stashed on my bookshelf. 

Do you read books? What are some of your favorite authors? Sure I have tons of "to-reads" stashed on my shelf, but I'm always happy to impulsively add to that collection :)

If you don't know where to start

Sitting down for a daily devotional time has always been a struggle of mine. And before you click the "X" in the top corner because you're not trying to read another boring blog post about church and Bibles, just hang with me for a minute. It's never been that I didn't believe, or that I sought to discover truths elsewhere. In fact, there have been brief periods in life where my personal study time was thriving and my Jesus thumping heart was popping out of my chest. But like most people, that excitement fades in and out over time when life picks up and more or less, gets in the way. However, I think there were multiple factors involved in my lack of Bible reading.

You see, I grew up with Bible teaching Christians all around me. I grew up in a Baptist church [until 8th grade] and went to a highly conservative Christian school starting in 5th grade. It wasn't until my freshman year in high school that I ventured into a world quite unfamiliar to me, that of public school where political correctness and talking about Jesus didn't really coincide. That year of my life is another blog post in and of itself, so I won't get into that right now. Needless to say, I found my way back to the conservative Christian school and into my comfort zone of Bible teaching Christians.

There were a LOT of things I didn't agree with in my private school and even more things I didn't agree with from the Baptist church I grew up in. But the constant presence of "good people," and the Bible really put me into a comfort zone of sorts. It was so easy to keep up on everything because it was fed to me everywhere I looked.

This isn't a post to say that I lost it once I stepped into the real world because I had been so sheltered all of my life. In fact, that couldn't be further from the truth because I had an amazing support system of friends and wonderful parents that didn't "hide" the real world from me during my youth. But it is a post to say that I lost my groove for a period of time.

There were months, if not years where I didn't open my Bible outside of church. I would leave my Bible in the car just to avoid the guilt I faced each time I saw it sitting on my nightstand collecting dust. Rest assured, I'd remove the dust each Sunday morning so it didn't stare me straight in the face while I sat in church. During this so to speak dry spell, it wasn't that I stopped believing. But the thought of opening my Bible and digging into it just seemed daunting. I mean, I had to do this on my own now. I had to figure out what stuff meant and how genealogies connected, which translation was correct and decide where to start.

The all to familiar stories like Noah's Ark, Jesus feeding the five thousand, and The good Samaritan became fuzzy to me and facing the facts that I had actually forgotten details surrounding some of the most "famous" stories in the Bible embarrassed me. So instead of trying to remember these stories I just shut down and decided it was just "too confusing," to seek out answers. Instead, I read a lot of really good Christian books. I let other authors do the hard part. Instead of opening the Bible for myself, I relied on some of the best Christian authors to interpret who Jesus was to me. Woops.

God has been working on my heart for the last few months though. He's been working on it in so many ways that I had no idea even needed "working." He's really shown me the importance of opening the Bible and reading it. Not opening a book from your favorite Christian author and reading it, not listening to sermons from your Pastor on podcast, but the Bible. Don't allow another person to interpret who God is to you. Find out who God is on your own! It's great that Max Lucado and Beth Moore have created such a wonderful line of helpful books to read. But that's really all they are, just books with slanted opinions. The things mentioned above are all wonderful tools that help us grow, but they should never replace the good old fashioned concept of actually opening your Bible.

So if you're like me and looking at your Bible scares you and seems daunting, just know that it's normal. It's a huge book full of history, stories, love, grace, and so many other things. But the secret I've discovered in the last few weeks is just doing it. Something changed in my heart and I decided that I was tired of saying no so I just said yes!

I found an amazing online community of other women studying the Bible called She Reads Truth. The studies from SRT have been really encouraging and I'm so glad that God dropped that gem into my lap. I also picked up a Daily Reading Bible from the bookstore which will take me through the entire Bible in one year. I don't remember the last time I was this excited to read the Bible every day, but something clicked and God really stirred up a desire in my heart to see this goal through.

So, if you don't know where to start, just start at the beginning. I encourage you to make it easier on yourself and grab a daily reading Bible or a One Year Bible as a tool to help you dive in! I've found that in just the few weeks that I've started doing these things I've seen huge changes in my spirit, and I know you will too :)

The year of intentional living | 2 0 1 4

2 0 1 4  is here and although I, nor any other person is awesome at keeping resolutions, I’ve decided that it’s fair to give myself and my business a few goals to acknowledge through out this next year!

Okay self, listen.

G o a l   O n e  | Maintain a steady quiet time through out twenty-fourteen, at least once a day. If you’re feeling crazy then aim for morning and night but if nothing more, at least once. Let’s be real, the least you could do is offer your Heavenly Father an hour each day. Right now you’re on day 3 of studying women in the Bible and it feels fantastic, remember how much better your day is when it starts and ends with God.

G o a l   T w o  | Time management. To be frank, your time management skills are near awful. Set office hours, set timers, focus, be organized. Be conscious of how your time is spent, away from work. It’s okay to relax and it’s okay to take time off but laziness isn’t okay. Limit yourself to checking instagram twice per day, an nothing more.

G o a l   T h r e e | Unplug once a month [eventually once a week?]. Be present with friends, family, and especially your husband. Pick your day at the beginning of the month so you know it’s coming. Make this day together special and don’t cheat. No phone or computer.

G o a l   F o u r   | Your business will only grow if you tend to it. Blog, network, practice, learn, grow, give Jesus all credit and praise. Set monthly goals for Nicole Dianne and keep up with those goals. January goals: blog twice per week & update images on your website [your galleries are almost a year old, let's catch up]. 

G o a l   F i v e  | Read more books. You love books, they’re all over your house. Commit to finishing one of them for goodness sakes. This rolls back to goals two and three, managing your time and unplugging more often. The more you unplug and manage your time better, the more time you’ll have to enjoy the luxury of reading a good book.

If I were to sum up my goals for 2014 into one word, it would be intentional. ”Intentional: [done on purpose; deliberate].” With out intentionally thinking through and praying over these goals each month, it’s likely they won’t be carried out to the fullest. It’s my hope that I’ll remember to check in each month and cross things off the list as better habits form.  Though I intend to keep up with everything mentioned above, intentional living will go beyond these five goals, and dip into the deepest desire of my heart. I desperately want to show those closest to me and those who are mere acquaintances the love of Christ, and how drastically He changes lives. God has been speaking to me a lot in this area, urging me to share my testimony and “do the uncomfortable.” So if I randomly talk to you about God, just go with it…I’m only trying to obey the One who created you and I, and I want you to know Him too :)

Here’s to an intentional 2014 filled with blessings for you and I both!

It's a mess, but it's not the end.

So there's a lot that's a mess right now, a lot of fairly standard mumbo-jumbo but it feels like a mess. There are mounds of laundry taking over my room, and there's been more take-out nights than I'd like to admit. Projects have been put off, and I can't tell you the last time I've been to the gym. All very average things, but sometimes it piles up and becomes a little out of control.

One of my very best friends mentioned to me that she recently started meditating before work. The meditation has been crucial to centering her focus on positive thoughts before she begins her daily tasks. This reminded me of the importance that prayer is in my life. Starting out my day and going through my day in communication with my Heavenly Father is SO important. My ever growing list of "messy" can easily be shamed if I made more time for prayer and centered my day on Christ.  Though it feels like the world is starting to pile on top of me, I'm taking comfort in the truth that each morning brings with it, a new day. This new day brings new opportunities and areas for improvement. Tomorrow I will try to do better, make healthier decisions, stay on task, and attempt to mend the messy areas.

Our little place is all decked out in C h r i s t m a s   c h e e r  so I'll walk head-on into the mess with an extra pep in my step. It's totally normal for sparkly decorations to add fuel to the mundane, right?

Little by little I'll conquer my very normal, average mess :)

Speaking of the gym, and not going to it, I think I'll eat my advent chocolate now.

When Holidays Collide, an ode to pre-Thanksgiving Christmas c h e e r

While I admit last week's weird, hotter-than-usual, November weather was pretty rad compared to snow storms and rain downpours...I'll also admit that a big part of me is ready for sweaters and scarves. This next week promises just that, rain and weather that dips into the 50's, so that's fabulous in my book. I feel as though I'll be happy about it for roughly 2 weeks and then I'll be over the cold again, but I'll plead not guilty until such a revelation comes ;)

And since we're on the topic of November. I know everyone thinks Thanksgiving gets little to no attention, and while that's true to an extent, I've had some thoughts brewing about that lately. For me, the Holiday season includes Thanksgiving and Christmas. Is this normal for anyone else? I always assumed it was, kind of until recently. Why does everybody freak out about people decorating for Christmas before Thanksgiving? Is there a secret code somewhere that says "Green trees in homes wrapped with twinkle lights must not be looked at while one gives thanks"...?? Just because a person puts up a reindeer decoration and starts burning freshly cut pine scented candles, it by no means suggests they're any less thankful than a person who hangs a "Thankful banner," and sets their table with turkey place holders. Nope, it really doesn't. Look, I still have gourds and a scarecrow out...but I also have an elf on my kitchen table!

I understand all of the people who hate that it's become a pushed hallmark holiday and I'll agree with you wholeheartedly. Retailers have turned this holiday season into something it was never intended to be. So, let's take back the things we love about this Holiday season and just enjoy it. Enjoy the fact that people are excited for a season where they get to spend time with more family and carry on years old traditions. Understand that for some people, part of gearing up for the Holiday season includes decorating *gasp* BEFORE Thanksgiving, and they will still be just as thankful as you are when they gather with their families. For other families they're home suffers an identity crisis between elves and scarecrows while they're excited for both of the holidays around the corner.

*note* If you're one of these said "Holiday haters" before the day of Thanks, I'd hope you won't be wrapping up your goodbyes at 7pm Thursday night so you can stand in line at Best Buy ON Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving at 8pm is not Black Friday. By shopping on Thanksgiving, you've completely taken away somebody else's time with their family who is forced to work their minimum wage, retail job away from their families and contradicted your "no Christmas before Thanksgiving anthem." More often than not, these are the people who sing their Christmas anthems early in the season, but I felt as though it was important to note this :)

This whole anti all things Christmas before Thanksgiving has always baffled me, so I hope this opens some people's eyes to the fact that it really doesn't matter what decorations are up, what music is playing or what date Thanksgiving falls on. All people celebrate the Holidays in unique ways so let's not make people feel bad for enjoying things differently than you do. I for one, absolutely love to decorate for Christmas so I don't think I should have to defend that love to people who enjoy having turkeys all over their house. I'm really excited for Thanksgiving and don't plan to overlook it this season just because I have an elf decoration on my table and a Christmas movie on my TV.

Fall is still here but little by little winter is showing her crisp self to us which means we're nearing twinkle light overload [something nobody can be upset about], loads of Christmas posts, and vlogmas by some of my favorite youtubers. These are all things I'm thrilled about. You'll have to excuse me while I drink my pumpkin spice chai and watch a Lifetime Christmas movie.

See what I did there? Pumpkins colliding with Christmas ;)

Let's intentionally love who we are, shall we?

Comparison is a dangerous area to dip your toes in, yet somehow we all fall prey to it's tight grip on us. As an individual in a creative industry, fighting to make myself "stand out" among the rest of them, I find that I constantly compare my work, and myself to everybody else. Those little comparisons creep in, ummmm...daily. "I need to blog more, I need to have better material, my website is lame, my instagram isn't always cohesive like hers, my time management blows sometimes, I need more photo shoots, I hate that I still have a day-job, HOW do I organize my book keeping better like all of them...bla bla bla," insecurities, and comparisons daily. I'm no stranger to the ball park of "Everybody else is better than me, I should step up my game."

But you know what? I'm working as hard as I can to be the best person I can, serve my clients as best I can, make a caramel latte the best that I can and serve my friends and family with all that I have. So while I may not be as great as "so and so" and have a cohesive instagram and flawless brand for my business, I need to remember that having it all together isn't actually a truth for anyone. I know it's probably silly to say that because obviously we all know there isn't a person on this planet that totally has their life or business together perfectly. But sometimes vocalizing that truth helps it to sink in a bit deeper.

I'm an imperfect person, striving to be a perfectionist...where's the logic in that? God has given me and you specialized talents. We help each other grow in these areas by being as awesome as we know how at our given talents. We aren't expected to be perfect because God is the perfect One. Our job is to work hard to the best of our abilities, give every bit of praise back to God [you may think you're the most awesome person around, but it was actually God who made you super awesome, so shoot it back to Him mmkay?], and most importantly [well, not as important as giving God your praises, but for the sake of making a point here] love yourself and be proud of yourself. Be totally and completely proud of where you're at in life, and what you've accomplished thus far. It's really okay if it's taken you longer than other people to round out a goal you've been working toward for months or even years.

How cool would it be if when God looked down here at all of His children playing in this big ol' world, He saw us playing together nicely, encouraging one another and loving who we are? Loving the different journeys that we're on to becoming the people He's designed us to be. I think He would smile a great big smile and sigh happy sighs of "My kids get it, they get just how beautiful and perfect they are to me, doing what they were designed to do with the best of their abilities."


Be the best you that you know how to be. And to quote a wise man, “Today you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than You.” -Dr. Suess

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florals by Thistle and Honey Floral 

Welcome, October

I started last year's October post with the same title. I'm so original.

As of today, I have officially worn sweats, drank hot chocolate, burned Fall candles, and purchased a gourd. It's safe to say that Fall has landed in our corner of town.

I thoroughly enjoy this time of year now that I don't have school. I never understood why everybody loved Fall so passionately, but now I do. It's fabulous.

Also, hazelnut chai's are my jam right now. Not so great for your health, but sometimes that's a sacrifice I'm willing to take.