Girls To Grow

Nurturing moms in their walk with God

Saturday Salutes ~ Enemies of Faith, Everyday Rituals with Kids, and Care Packages

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Hope your week has been a good one! It’s been a fairly quiet week here, which has been nice. Enjoy these helpful posts I’ve come across recently!

Carolina shares The Enemies of Faith and How to Overcome Them.

Kristen writes For All the Parents Who Don’t Know What They Are Doing (So, Basically Everyone)

Christie has 10 Everyday Rituals That Mean a Lot to Kids.

Jenn has 9 Psalms to Read with Your Kids at Bedtime.

I immediately pinned this post of 15 Adorably Unique College Care Packages You Can Order on Etsy. I didn’t even realize this was a thing! Some of these care packages would work for more than just a college student who’s away from home.

These Chicken Bacon Ranch Pull Apart Rolls will be making an appearance on our menu soon!

This week I’m reading Steve Robinson’s book Covert Cows and Chick-fil-A: How Faith, Cows, and Chicken Built an Iconic Brand. It’s an excellent read…except I’m frequently craving a CFA chicken sandwich!!

Hope you have a wonderful weekend!

This post may contain affiliate links, which means that if you click on a product link and make a purchase, I’ll receive a small percentage from any sales.  This does not affect your price in any way.

Saturday Salutes ~ Meditation, Growing in Busy Seasons, and Change

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Our week centered around Hurricane Dorian. My daughter was out of school all week and my husband’s office was closed, so we spent lots of time at home together.

Thursday we had winds around 40mph and plenty of rain. We lost electricity for about six hours. When it was over, there was small debris in the yard and a few branches down, but that was it.

We’re very thankful that there was no significant damage here, but know that many suffered great loss due to the hurricane. Our thoughts and prayers are with those families.

Here are the posts I found to highlight this week.

Kay shares a very practical method for meditation that I want to use myself in Why and How to Meditate on Scripture.

Jennifer gives advice on How to Be a Godly Woman in a Modern World.

Brianna tells us How to Grow in the Busy Seasons.

As we headed down to Florida a couple of weekends ago to drop our oldest daughter off at college, my sister sent me Deena’s post Change and the Unchangeable. It was one of the best things I’ve read about sending your child to college.

I enjoyed reading through these 15 Easy Tips for a More Inviting Home.

Today we’ll just be over here getting ready for what will hopefully be a “normal” week ahead! Hope you have a wonderful weekend!!

Saturday Salutes ~ Knowing Your Child’s Heart, Recipes I’m Trying, and the Books I Read in August

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We’re settling into a new rhythm here at home. Our daughter seems to be adjusting well to college, and I get excited when we receive little updates from her.

Here are some helpful posts I’ve found around the Web lately.

Lori shares 10 Ways to Dial into Your Child’s Heart.

Susan gives advice on How to See the Sweetness in the Stress of Caring for Two Generations.

Ayanna lists 5 Simple Steps to Becoming a Better Wife.

I’m always looking for a new recipe to take to breakfast for our Sunday School class. This Croissant Breakfast Egg Casserole is what I’ll be trying next!

I also want to try more sheet pan dinners. Both this Sheet Pan Pasta Bake with Chicken and Kale and this Sheet Pan Pesto Chicken with Asparagus, Tomatoes, and Walnuts will be on our menu soon.

I read one non-fiction book in August, but it was fairly long. First: Sandra Day O’Connor by Evan Thomas was a very interesting read. Now that I have this author’s perspective, I’d like to read a couple of other books about the first woman appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court.

I finished two fiction books, both by Laura Frantz. Lately, I seem to find an author I like and read all his/her books in a row. Both The Colonel’s Lady and Courting Morrow Little were excellent reads.

We’ll be getting lots of house projects done this weekend, including updating and rearranging our younger daughter’s bedroom. Hope you have a wonderful weekend!

This post may contain affiliate links, which means that if you click on a product link and make a purchase, I’ll receive a small percentage from any sales.  This does not affect your price in any way.

Saturday Salutes ~ Planning for the School Year, College Drop Off, and Beloved Picture Books

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Our daughters and I are making the last trip of the summer to spend a few days with my family out-of-state. We’ll be back for the girls to have a few more “sleep-in” mornings before our youngest starts school on August 19th. I know it’s cliched, but seriously, where has the summer gone??

Some weeks I have to dig for posts to share here, but this week I found some really good ones just in my regular blog browsing.

You know this post is right up my alley – College Drop Off: How to Handle this Gut-Wrenching Milestone.

Lisa shares A Mom’s Guide to a Great School Year.

Elizabeth writes Who You Are Is Not Outside You…and 17 Other Things I Want My High School Daughter to Know.

Jennifer has a great list of books in her post Every Child Will Treasure These Beloved Picture Books.

Arleen tells us Why You Should Stop Hitting the Snooze.

You might be surprised by what Jennifer says is The Homemaker’s Best Friend.

Hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Saturday Salutes ~ God’s Plans, Calming Psalms, and a Reading Update

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Much has happened in the last couple of weeks! My husband and I celebrated our 28th anniversary on July 27th. Our daughters have been away at camp all this week, so we took a quick overnight trip to Kiawah Island. It’s been nice to have time for just the two of us!

Now I’m ready to welcome our girls back home this afternoon. It’s only three weeks until we drop our oldest off for her freshman year at college. I’m trying to process all that while preparing our youngest for her junior year of high school which starts on August 19th.

Here are some helpful posts I found over the past few weeks.

Jennifer asks Are Your Deadlines Flexible to God’s Plans?

Briana lists 4 Questions to Ask Yourself to Prune Away What Hinders Growth.

Danielle gives us 7 Psalms to Help Calm Anxiety.

Chelsia shares 5 Ways to Be Supportive of a Spouse Who Travels for Work.

And if you plan to travel with your children, Cori has Our Favorite Things to Do in NYC in the Summer with Kids.

Here’s an update on the books I’ve finished lately.

Both of my non-fiction books were re-reads. The Next Right Thing by Emily P. Freeman and Give Them Wings by Carol Kuykendall and Krista Gilbert were just what I need for the month ahead!

I read two fiction books. Effective Immediately was the third book in The Agency Series by Chautona Havig. I really enjoyed Love Starts with Elle by Rachel Hauck.

Hope you have a wonderful weekend!

This post may contain affiliate links, which means that if you click on a product link and make a purchase, I’ll receive a small percentage from any sales.  This does not affect your price in any way.

Saturday Salutes ~ Growing in Faith, Hard Parenting Tips, and Cheap Summer Activities

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It’s the weekend again! I realized this week that my younger daughter begins her junior year of high school one month from yesterday. I’m trying not to let that get lost in the shuffle of college preparations for our oldest!

In the meantime, we’re fitting a lot into this final month of summer…including some family badminton matches. We have a set similar to this one that’s held up well so far in our backyard.

I didn’t intend to have so many parenting posts in this roundup, but that’s what I found this past week.

Ayanna has suggestions for Why You Are Not Growing in Your Faith.

If you have teen or young adult children, I highly recommend you read Lisa’s 7 of the Hardest Parenting Tips You Will Ever Need.

Nancy shares 3 Choices Your Teen Needs to Make Every Day.

Lara lists 7 Things Your Strong-Willed Child Needs from You.

Mary shows us 10 Kids’ Summer Activities Using Dollar Tree Items.

Hope you have a wonderful weekend!

(This post may contain affiliate links, which means that if you click on a product link and make a purchase, I’ll receive a small percentage from any sales.  This does not affect your price in any way.)

Saturday Salutes ~ Your Personal Growth, Emotional Teens, and a Yummy Brownie Recipe

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Hard to believe another week of July is behind us! It’s the height of summer heat and humidity here in South Carolina. Beyond the air conditioning, it’s all about the cut-up watermelon in the fridge, smoothies in our Ninja blender (still my favorite blender ever!) and ice cream in the freezer.

Hope you’re beating the heat wherever you are! Here are some helpful posts I’ve read this week.

Courtney reminds us This I Know – God is for You!

Ayanna tells us Why Personal Growth Should Not Be Optional.

Tricia tells us What You Really Need to Know About Emotional Teens.

We’re reminded to make the most of our summer in The Mid-Summer Happiness Hustle.

My younger daughter’s been cooking again (yay!) and this Chicken Bacon Ranch Baked Penne was another winner!

And then…these S’mores Poke Brownies…all I can say is that it’s a good thing she only has time to bake during the summer or I’d be seriously on a sugar high all the time! I’m not even a fan of marshmallows, but these were SO good.

Have a wonderful weekend!!

(This post may contain affiliate or sponsored links. All opinions expressed are my own.)

Saturday Salutes ~ Prayers for Direction, July 4th Decorating, and Books I Read in June

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Jennifer shares 10 Verses to Pray for God’s Direction.

Anna gives us 5 Bad Habits to Avoid This Summer.

I pinned Christy’s Seven Tips for Helping Your Adult Kids Through Struggles so I could refer back to it in a few years.

Kathy has cute ideas for Quick and Easy Fourth of July Decorating.

Our younger daughter made this Parmesan Crusted Steak and Potato Sheet Pan Dinner for us a few weeks ago, and it was delicious! I made it again last week, but substituted fresh green beans for the asparagus since my husband doesn’t like asparagus.

This week she baked Death by Oreo Cupcakes and they were very tasty, too!

I read a little more than usual this month, thanks to our cruise vacation! Four of the books were non-fiction reads.

The Proximity Principle by Ken Coleman had valuable, practical advice for putting yourself in a position to grow and develop your career and find the job you want.

I read The Next Right Thing by Emily P. Freeman on my Hoopla app for free. Even before I finished it, I ordered the hardcover edition from Amazon. I rarely buy physical books anymore, but I found myself wanting to underline things and make notes all through the book. I’m now reading it through again. If you’re facing any decisions – or think you will be in the near future – I highly recommend this book.

Loving My Actual Neighbor by Alexandra Kuykendall centered on seven practical ways we can be a neighbor to the people right around us.

The Day the World Came to Town: 9/11 in Gander, Newfoundland by Jim Defede is an account of what happened in this small town when a number of planes were diverted to its airport due to US air space being closed on September 11, 2001. I had never thought about the effect of 9/11 on flights headed to the United States that had to be redirected due to our air space being shut down. This was an interesting book that followed the stories of a number of passengers on those flights.

I also read three fiction books.

I think I’ve read – and enjoyed – all of Katherine Reay’s books, and her latest, The Printed Letter Bookshop, might be one of my favorites.

Mismatched by Chautona Havig is the second book in The Agency Files series. I think I liked it better than the first one!

Once I got into Drummer in the Dark by T. Davis Bunn, I realized I’d read it a long time ago. However, I didn’t remember how it ended, so I read the whole thing again!

Hope you have a wonderful weekend!

(This post may contain affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links and make a purchase, I’ll receive a small percentage from any sales.  This does not affect your price in any way.)

Saturday Salutes ~ College Good-Bye’s, Generous People, and Books for Boys

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It’s been a week since we returned home from our cruise vacation. I already shared pictures on Instagram, but here’s a brief recap.

We sailed from Miami for seven nights on Royal Caribbean’s Symphony of the Seas. We stopped in Roatan, Honduras; Costa Maya, Mexico; Cozumel, Mexico; and at Cococay, which is Royal Caribbean’s private island in the Bahamas.

Walking a nature trail in Honduras
On a nature walk in Honduras

This was our “family vacation/oldest daughter’s graduation/milestone birthday for my husband and me this year” trip. Lots of firsts ~ I ziplined (the others had done it before), we interacted with dolphins at Dolphinaris in Cozumel, the rest of the family tried paddleboarding, and we all rode jet skis.

We rode bikes to a little village in Costa Maya

We didn’t pay for the Internet package onboard, so we were unplugged all week. It was great!

Morning view in Miami before we got off the ship

Now for some helpful posts I found recently!

Going to need Beth’s advice in a few months! She shares How to Tell Your Daughter Goodbye at College.

I love the story Dave shares in Generous People Make Me Smile.

Sarah asks Who Else Wants to Break Up with Comparison?

Jennifer lists 20 Books to Capture the Imagination of the Boys in Your Life.

Julie has a practical list of 62 Things to Declutter That You’ll Never Miss.

It’s been back to real life here this past week. I even made our hotel reservations for the weekend we drop our daughter off at college in August (sadness!!)

Hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Saturday Salutes ~ Prayer, Road Trip Hacks, and May Reading

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Kathryn writes about How to Talk to God in Prayer.

Lisa shares 7 Signs Your Little Girl is Becoming a Teen.

Dan lists 13 Rules for My Teenager.

Ayren has 23 Family Road Trip Hacks That Will Save Your Sanity This Summer.

And while I’m not planning a trip to Europe at this point, I still enjoyed Shruti’s post on Top 10 Cheapest Countries to Visit in Europe in 2019.

On to the books I read in May.

My one short non-fiction read this month was The Latte Factor: Why You Don’t Have to Be Rich to Live Rich by David Bach and John David Mann. It’s a neat little parable about how to achieve financial freedom.

I finished three fiction books in May.

The Memory House by Rachel Hauck was an excellent read. That led me to read another book of Hauck’s, The Wedding Chapel, which was also very good. Both were sweet and moving stories, with a touch of romance and a satisfying ending.

Justified Means by Chautona Havig was more of a mystery/suspense read, but I enjoyed it as well – and have plans to read the next book in the series.

Can you relate to this??

Hope you have a wonderful weekend!!