Whew! What a month June was! I had fun reviewing everything that happened and also wondering how it all happened in just 4 weeks. God’s grace was so evident to carry us through all of this… and there’s probably a good reason why I’m tired this week. 🙂
Here are some of the highlights from June:
We started out the month with a bang by launching my brand-new 14-day online course: Make Over Your Mornings. To date, we have sold over 14,000 courses and fully funded a really cool project in South Africa.
I’m humbly grateful and overwhelmed by you all and your incredible response to this resource. Thank you for the constant stream of emails you’ve been sending me about how it’s impacting your life.
We also launched something I’ve been wanting to launch for a long time — a weekly email newsletter from me personally. This email newsletter is filled with some behind-the-scenes stories and tidbits that you won’t read on the blog, some personal encouragement from me, plus helpful links and resources.
If you purchased a copy of Make Over Your Mornings, it should land in your inbox every Saturday morning. I’m having so much fun putting it together — and am loving getting to interact with a group of you on a more personal level (well, as personal as email can be!)
Silas went with me to San Francisco. It was a whirlwind trip, but we had so much fun getting to see new things — like the Golden Gate Bridge!
I spoke at a homeschool conference in Virginia.
Our kids went to Pine Cove’s Camp in the City at our church.
Kaitlynn and I got to see our beloved Jackie Evancho in concert with the Nashville Symphony.
Jesse and I got to enjoy quite a bit of one-on-one time while our kids were at camp during the day.
Kathrynne got to go with me to the Atlanta Say Goodbye to Survival Mode Event — and thought the spread in the green room they had for us was pretty amazing (so did I!)
We celebrated this beautiful girl’s eighth birthday with shopping and more fun one-on-one time fun together.
I faced some fear gremlins and flew to NYC (by myself!) and recorded a segment on John Stossel’s show on Fox Business.
We met up with my sister and her family in Atlanta for a few days of fun.
And then we came home and vegged for a few days before leaving again for a few days in Kansas for the 4th of July.
My 12 Goals for 2015
Marriage
- Read 1 book per month on marriage.
- Read in January: 52 Ways to Wow Your Husband
- Read in February: From This Day Forward
- Read in March: For Married Women Only
- Read in April: 50 Frugal Dates
- Read in May: Red Hot Romance Tips
- Read in June: 31 Days to a Happy Husband
- Write at least 1 love note to Jesse each week.
- Done in January
- Done in February
- Done in March
- Done in April
- Done in May
- Done in June
Motherhood
- Read at least 1 book aloud to the kids per month.
- Read in January: James and the Giant Peach
- Read in February: The Imagination Station Book 15
- Read in March: The Imagination Station Book 16, Thoughts to Make Your Heart Sing
- Read in April: Caleb’s Story
- Read in May: Pedro’s Journal
- Read in June: McBroom’s Wonderful One-Acre Farm
- Write 1 love note to each child every month.
- Done in January.
- Done in February.
- Done in March.
- Done in April.
- Done in May.
- Done in June.
Myself
- Complete all She Reads Truth 2015 Bible Studies + memory work.
- Done in January — I absolutely loved the John study.
- Done in February — I really enjoyed the Esther study.
- Done in March — The Lent study was so, so good!
- Done in April — I loved the Timothy study!
- Done in May — I’m so enjoying the Women in the Word study.
- Done in June — I’m continuing to enjoy the Women in the Word study!
- Done in January — I absolutely loved the John study.
- Read 1 fiction book per month.
- Read in January: What Alice Forgot
- Read in February: The Cricket in Times Square (read aloud to the kids)
- Read in March: Lizzy & Jane
- Read in April: Dear Mr. Knightley
- Read in May: Walk the World’s Rim (read aloud to the kids)
- Read in June: Rare Bird (I know it’s not fiction, but I’m going to count it because I got sucked into the story like I would a fiction book. I started two other fiction books and ended up deciding not to finish either of them because they were too fluffy for me.)
MoneySavingMom.com
Hire a local personal assistant.- Done! And I’m so grateful! My new assistant, Ashley, is amazing!
- Done! And I’m so grateful! My new assistant, Ashley, is amazing!
- Launch 2 courses.
- Woot! Woot! We launched Make Over Your Mornings in May!
- We’re working hard on a free 5-day video course we’ll be launching with my new book, Money-Making Mom.
- Woot! Woot! We launched Make Over Your Mornings in May!
- Launch our new product line (slated to soft launch later this year).
- Release my third book (slated to come out November 2015).
- We’re in the middle of gearing up for marketing and publicity and are in the midst of the final edits. Can’t wait to tell you more about this book in the coming months!
- We’re in the middle of gearing up for marketing and publicity and are in the midst of the final edits. Can’t wait to tell you more about this book in the coming months!
Money
Increase last year’s overall giving totals by 10% in 2015.- Part of my going to South Africa was to investigate the possibility of our family personally supporting the work of Take Action. After coming home, we both felt this was the direction we were supposed to take and our partnership with them will allow us to meet this goal. We’re so thrilled with what God is doing there in South Africa and, for those who have joined us in this through the #TenDollarTribe.
- Part of my going to South Africa was to investigate the possibility of our family personally supporting the work of Take Action. After coming home, we both felt this was the direction we were supposed to take and our partnership with them will allow us to meet this goal. We’re so thrilled with what God is doing there in South Africa and, for those who have joined us in this through the #TenDollarTribe.
- Finish funding our Rental House #3 Savings Account.
- We’re at 75%. We’re starting to look at houses in earnest and getting excited about the possibility of buying another rental again.
How are you doing on YOUR goals for 2015?
If you set goals for this year, I’d love to hear how you are doing on them! Leave a comment telling us about your progress on them or leave the link to your blog post about them. Here’s to a year of living with purpose, intentional, impact, and meaning!
- We’re at 75%. We’re starting to look at houses in earnest and getting excited about the possibility of buying another rental again.
My New Year’s Resolution is to develop good habits for my health. In June, my habit was applying sunscreen daily. I did a great job at this – I know i missed a few days here or there but I didn’t allow myself an internal debate on whether or not to wear it. I just did put it on and I placed it in several places to make it convenient.
In July, I’m remembering to wear my nightguard before I go to sleep. I clench and grind my teeth and I’d been having pain from not wearing it. Since the month began, the pain has subsided. This is a simple habit, but I need time to continue to internalize my other good habits. I still have to think about them (they are part of a daily checklist) and ultimately I want them to become as automatic as putting on my seat belt.
I’m also committing to do one thing a week to try to make friends in the Portland area (we moved here in April). I’ve found moms groups and I’m going to one event tomorrow for one group and another next week. I really don’t want to go and put myself out there (I’m an introvert like you Crystal), but I need life-giving friendships to sustain me. I’ve followed your advice and started praying not only for God to bring these women into my life but I’ve started praying for those women and their intentions just like I did when I was dating and hoping to meet a husband. That worked out well as God led to me a wonderful man, so I’m trusting this will too!
Your goals and achievements are always so inspiring! I’ve followed your blogs ever since your Biblical Womanhood blogging days. I also love setting big goals and generally do follow through, yet I struggle a lot with guilt as I feel like I often prioritize my *productivity* (i.e. crossing another thing off my list…) over *people* (my husband, children, and relationships with friends). As a highly productive person, do you ever struggle with this or have suggestions to find a proper balance?
I so get this! I think, for me, being intentional to set “people goals” instead of just “productivity goals” has been very helpful — setting goals to spend time with my kids, invest in my marriage, invest in friendships & ministry, etc. has been extremely helpful to remind me of what matters most.
Just wanted to comment that I love that you list the books you’re reading. Based on your prior recommendation, I checked out “Dear Mr. Knightley” from the library. I haven’t devoured a novel that quickly in a LONG time. I’ve been encouraged by your blog in many ways through the past years I’ve been reading. Keep up the good work!
Yay! So glad you enjoyed it!
I appreciate your regular updates! It is so encouraging to hear how other people are plugging away at their goals.
I have only followed your blog for a week now, but this week I started your makeover your morning class and affiliates program. Let me just say that this blog post about goals is yet another way you inspire me to live better! And it is such a blessing to see someone crediting the Lord for their success. I look forward to following you for a long time. Have a pleasant day!
Aw, thank you so much for your sweet encouragement! And welcome!
I saw McBroom on the read out-loud list. Just made my day as I loved that book growing up and got it for my kiddos too. The big family working together. Just seeing the title makes me smile!
It was such a fun book!
Congrats on selling 14,000 courses and funding the project in South Africa. I applaud your generosity!!
San Francisco is such a fun place. It’s such a great city to walk and explore. How exciting for Silas to be able to join you on a trip!
You have inspired me with keeping up with my yearly goals. I all too frequently have set them, but not followed through. It makes me a little proud of myself to see what I’ve accomplished 😉 Thanks for keeping me accountable!
I am sooo not a reader even though I’d like to be. If you could recommend one of the marriage books you’ve read recently, which would it be? Thanks!!
Tell me what you’re looking for: practical ideas to keep the romance or more foundational principles? I’d recommend different books depending upon what you’re looking for. 🙂
We have a strong marriage and will be celebrating our 10 year anniversary next week. So…what is a great book with practical ideas to keep the romance?
Also, thank you so much for your blog. Like I said, I am not much of a reader, but I do visit YOUR blog daily and love it! I appreciate the personal aspect of it, as well. I know you get dozens of comments and questions, so I was thrilled to see you took the time to respond to my comment this morning. Thanks again!:)
Thanks so much for your kind encouragement! Some of my personal favorites are Sheet Music and Rekindling the Romance. My husband and I have also enjoyed Men Are Like Waffles, Women Are Like Spaghetti.
I’ve always been inspired by your marriage and family goals. Now, as a new blogger who is starting into the world of book-writing, I am enjoying seeing the progress you’ve made on your business goals. Thanks for sharing!
We have a house in Wichita that we are thinking about selling if you are interested! Feel free to email me:)
Love your blog!
Shoot me an email with the house specs and I’ll pass it onto my husband: crystal @ moneysavingmom.com
We do six month goals and just finished with evaluating them at the beginning of July. I posted a summary of the review on our blog loosechangeliving.com. Two of the goals – Reduce the piles of household paper and engage in regular physical activity we will continue with for the next six months. Four new goals were developed and I will be posting them later this week on our blog. Goal setting is vital and provides a road map to destination you desire to go to. We highly recommend them!
Okay almost in tears reading the description of Rare Bird.
I found it so helpful to read about how a family processes such horrific grief… to know better how to be compassionate in such difficult situations. It was really raw and definitely not sugar coated, but a good read. Note: There is quite a bit of language in it.
I just wanted to say, I can’t believe Kaitlynn is eight! I remember when she was born and you posted about it on MSM. That means I have been reading and following you for a LONG time. 🙂 Happy belated to her.
That’s a LONG time! Thanks for being such a loyal and long-time reader!
I want to be encouraged but mostly just feel inadequate when reading everything you’ve done so far. I’m not sure how you accomplish all that you do!
Please don’t be discouraged and remember a few things:
1. I am t-i-r-e-d and taking a few weeks of R&R in July. I could never keep up at the pace I kept in June. There are power-through-and-pray-for-supernatural-grace seasons and June was one of them. But now it’s time to recharge my batteries!
2. My husband and I work together as a true team — he helps with grocery shopping, cleaning, cooking, taking kids to lessons, homeschooling, and business stuff. He picked up a lot of slack this past month as he wanted me to say “yes” much more than I usually do and pulled more than his fair share to make it happen.
3. I have a fantastic team who helped me pull of the MOYM launch. They did a LOT of the behind-the-scenes work, answered thousands of emails, and ran interference for me on issues overnight so I could get a few hours of sleep during the 24-hour launch period. I would have been chained to the computer for days and months behind on work if it were not for them.
4. My kids are older and, for the most part, much more of a help than a hindrance. They help with cleaning, laundry, meals, getting everyone out the door, packing for trips… it’s a much different reality now than it was three or four years ago when I still had kids in diapers and kids waking up multiple times per night.
5. I wake up every day and ask God to multiply the strength and time I have to allow me to do what He’s called me to do… and He is always faithful, even when I have no idea how it’s all going to get done! I continue to feel very confident that I’m in the center of His will and He continues to provide grace and strength for each hour.
6. You probably did hundreds of things this past month that I *didn’t* do. So be encouraged with that!
As always Crystal, you inspire me!
Coffee date with you is a MUST on my agenda this week… I miss you! And thanks for your sweet message yesterday!
Crystal, just reading your blog for the first time – you’re a go-getter, woman! Keep up the good work. You inspire me!
Aw, thanks so much for your sweet encouragement!