Weekend Mondays

Welcome to a wonderful weekend Monday on Mitchael Journey! I'm so glad you're here :) Mondays are one of my favorite days -- I link-up at Oak + Oats to share my posts and build community, I have Art Journal connect group, and it is a family day for us --  since Sunday is a work day for him, Monday is my husband's day off! We really have enjoyed our Mondays, and I'm excited to share today, that my first guest post is LIVE on Homegrown State of Mind TODAY!
Check it out HERE:

Go explore Julie's blog, read her story, her posts and be sure to add some comments on my post over there to show some lovin' from Mitchael Journey!

You can link to Julie's blog at anytime through her button on my side bar. It has been so fun to collaborate with her :) AND --stay tuned, she will be guest posting on Mitchael Journey soon and she is going in on a GIVEAWAY with myself and Kelli at A Deeper Joy in August! There's a lot to get excited about today, my weekend Monday!

5 Big accomplishments for me this week in regards to blogging:

• I made a Facebook Page for Mitchael Journey --LIKE it HERE and let me know what you think!
• I learned what a Favicon was and designed one for my page using this free generator! So now, instead of the silly Blogger symbol -- I have my own little blue triangles! I actually took a screenshot on my Chromebook from my blog background! The result? Look at that lovely tab! vs.
• I made a new FREE Printables tab that I am looking forward to building into more resources!
• aaand I BOUGHT A DOMAIN NAME! Notice that there is no longer .blogspot attached to my website! I went through Go Daddy.com and got a sweet deal! They are always running promotions or coupons through their site or RetailMeNot! Simple, clean MitchaelJourney.com! Paid up for the next 2 years!
• My first guest post is LIVE - One more shot out! Don't forget to check it out HERE! It has been so fun to write for Julie's blog, kinda fun to have a goal and deadline, actually!

And there you have it! 

Comment below and let me know!
Do you like the new additions? What have you been changing on your blog?

Blessings, 

Flashback Fourth

I have so many wonderful childhood memories from celebrating Independence Day with my family! Today I'm going to have you step into my world -- a journal that I kept as a log book and outlet to record my daily life as a kid! I want to welcome you to my Composition Notebook! I actually have quite a stack of these ol' notebooks, filled with stories that make me smile and laugh, full of nostalgia! Where will I flashback today? To an illustrated version of what I wanted to remember from 14 years ago, July 4th, 2000.

I started with my classic date heading with the 2000 overlapping like the Olympic rings and description of what I was wearing. And of course, it was a tie-dye red, white, and blue shirt! Proud and Patriotic!

I love the part in the above pages where both my mom and dad are present -- Mom reading to us in the pool! In the water, who could believe that? She was so cool and risky! And then my dad, washing the car and shooting some hoops with my sister -- if you can make it out in my handwriting, I'm pretty impressed by him!

I wrote of the 300 fireworks my neighbors had purchased, a solo man-and-his-dog canoe trip that I felt was pretty epic, and a passage of scripture that I was memorizing, Psalm 119:17-19. So far, I haven't memorized the whole thing, who knows if I ever will, but I still have the first 42 verses committed to memory, and believe it or not, but there's even a tune to go with it! I am blessed by my hard work as a youth memorizing scripture. Psalm 119-- that was just one I decided to memorize on my own to see how far I could get! You were a pretty cool kid, Andrea Greene -- I have a lot to learn from that age of myself!

And now, page 4 -- the FIREWORKS and our family tradition...the MUMMY ROLL! Each year we always went to the same place to watch fireworks as a family, a large grassy hill where we would await the show. My dad would bring a large raggedy quilt and we knew that the wait for dark skies would be filled with dizziness and laughter! We would lay down on one end of the quilt, get all rolled, tucked, and wrapped up, and then pushed down the hill like little mummies unraveling right at the foot of the hill! Whew! We'd get going quite fast down that big hill -- oh, the Mummy Roll!

My quirky tales of the 4th are complete with fireworks taped in the pages, drawings of some sort of antenna-ed representation of my family, weather, trampolines, canoes, kittens, and 3-legged dogs! The important part about it all, my family was found throughout those pages, and all of my daily journal pages, for that matter. Sometimes I am struck when I see my son or other kids experiencing new things and remember...this is their childhood! Be present in the pages of their story, how they would tell it! Read to them in the pool, wash the car -- but then shoot some hoops, roll them down the hill and watch in amazement as sparks burst through the sky in remembrance and celebration!

Remember When

a guest post by my husband, Josh Mitchael

®Sarah Kay Crawford

September 17th, of 2011 was an incredible day- the day I committed to loving, caring for, and cherishing my best friend for the rest of my life. I’ve heard a lot of people talk about their wedding day and, honestly, I’ve come to find that too many of them say something like, “it was all a blur” and “it was the most stressful experience of my life” or my favorite, “oh, I don’t remember it at all”. Well...for a few of significant reasons, I remember our wedding day very well.

® Sarah Kay Crawford

® Becca Pascoe

The first reason had to do with something Andrea and I decided when we got engaged- we wanted to remember our wedding day! I know...crazy right? We had seen a lot of our friends get married and shared I likes and dislikes of the ceremony, music, reception, cake, etc. The more we talked the more we started to see how much work goes into a wedding. Now, I’m not at all suggesting that we didn’t want to put a lot of work into our wedding. After all, Andrea and I spent most of our engagement apart. Communication was hard. Thank heavens for technology. We planned the wedding over Skype dates and sporadic phone calls. We worked hard to keep things simple, affordable, and enjoyable.

® Heather Charise Foley

The second reason I can recall much of my wedding day is because IT WAS A BLAST! I’m not sure how many dudes can actually say they had a good time at their wedding. It’s not because I love weddings either (confession- there are many things I would choose to do before attending a wedding...shocking). I had my best friends for groomsmen and so many of our friends and family (over 300 people) came out to support and witness our marriage. We had fun, laughed, cried a little, and all because we wanted to make it a day to remember, not one that was so insane we would be unable to process it.

® Heather Charise Foley 

The final reason I can recall my wedding day is most essential- we centered our marriage on Christ’s love for his people. Andrea and I are committed to loving God, loving each other, loving people, and showing it so we can see can help as many people as possible become totally committed to Jesus Christ. We figured why not make our wedding all about the crazy love of God.

® Becca Pascoe

I’m crazy in love with Andrea because she is a reflection of Jesus. She is compassionate, an exhorter, and an incredible servant. She is so intelligent it’s embarrassing for me sometimes. She is healthy not only when it comes to physical food, but she continually fills herself through prayer, reading the Word, and investing in people. I couldn’t have found a better friend and hotter wife to marry...Yes she is very hot.

If you’re getting engaged and getting married soon, I have wisdom to share with you:

1. Love God, love each other, love people, and show it.

2. Nurture and cherish your relationship with your wife. Marry her everyday.

3. Pray, read scripture, and serve together. God honoring couples are unstoppable.

® Becca Pascoe

Here’s some practical reminders and advice once you tie the knot:

1. You’re on the same team. Work together to resolve conflict.

2. Do not talk about money after 9pm. At that point there’s nothing you can do about it.

3. Have sex. You’re married. It’s worship :)

4. Go on dates often. Make your spouse feel like they’re just as hot if not hotter than when you first started dating and couldn’t keep your eyes off of each other.

5. Talk about your finances. Give at least 10% to God. Create margin in your finances. Spend money on things that actually matter. Save money all the time.

6. Set aside at least 15 minutes each day to talk. We call this FaceTime. Makes sense- time in each other’s faces. Be open and honest. Put down your freaking smart phone. Listen. It matters.

© Heather Charise Foley

I love you, Andrea!

-Josh

Mitchael Family Update June 2014

Wow! Is it July already? -- We just completed our 4th month here in South Florida, and we are loving being involved at Coastal Community Church! Josh and I are having a blast co-hosting connect groups this summer! Josh is co-leading a Music Connect group for songwriting and musicianship, and I am helping with an Art Journal small group! Both communities meet weekly and are such a creative outlet for us and those involved :) I also have begun serving in Coastal Kids and student ministry, Catalyst -- which has been such a blast! We have continued to serve on Adopt-a-Block -- myself with the kiddos and Josh praying down the block or cooking up the hot-diggity-dogs!

other big things this month -- 

1. Jay, Jennifer and Jayni visited us! We had a wonderful reunion together and enjoyed one another's company. The Mitchaels rented a vacation home with space for us, and we had a restful and memorable time! We took them to one of our favorite places --Butterfly World! 

 

Did you know Coconut Creek is nicknamed the butterfly capital of the world? You know I like that! My mom and I raised Monarch and Eastern Black Swallowtails for many many years (and she still does when she has time between mission trips and children's ministry at church!) I love LOVE to share the beauty and wonder of butterflies with family and friends! Need proof of my butterfly obsession? Look no further than my childhood scrapbook::

We also got to make a trip up to Melbourne to visit Josh's uncle for a chill day by the coast. Thank you for visiting, family we love you and miss you!  

2. I've started writing more on the blog, hoping to make it a regular part of my routine and a way to stay connected with friends and family and to meet and resource people with similar interests and activities! Please comment and share if you like what I'm writing, I'd love some feedback! I also made a Facebook page, for those that want to receive updates there:: Mitchael Journey

If you'd like to get caught up, click below to view some of the top posts this month:

• Anyone Want a Free Essential Oil?
• Updates on the MUSIC page
• Art Journaling Intro
• Having Fun Isn't Hard When You've Got a Library Card!

3. Technology is my friend -- thank you friends and family for letting me see your faces on video chat! Here is a picture of my wonderful sister, Natalie and her darling baby girl!

4. This month was Father's Day and Josh's 25th birthday! 

JOSH--You are the BEST!!! I am so proud of you and am SO blessed to be able to treasure you as my husband and live life alongside you! You're an amazing daddy -- thank you for being who you are!

Thanks for reading! I'd love to hear from you:: What was one of your favorite memories from June?