We have traveled so much this summer, and between that and the normal summer life with kids, I haven't had time for much writing lately. And to add to that, I'll be taking the month of August off from blogging. It's my first time homeschooling my daughter (first grade...how hard could it be?), so we'll be settling into that. In addition, I'm going to be doing some reorganizing on the blog and creating a new space for wedding-related content. But in the meantime I thought it would be fun to do a little post with some things I've been enjoying lately.

Tuesdays with Nancy Guthrie - This is one of my new favorite things about living in Nashville. On Tuesday evenings this summer, Nancy Guthrie taught a Bible study open to all women in the area. We've gone through Exodus, and it has been fantastic. Nancy's extensive time studying the Word, and her focus on Christ as seen in the O.T., leads her listeners to worship week after week. And she leads in an interactive style, which is especially fun when you have women from several local churches present. She facilitates a spirit of unity among the "sistren." If you need a study to do in a group or personally, check out her series on the O.T. It's just so good.

The Hiding Place - I grew up knowing about Corrie Ten Boom, seeing the movie adaptation of The Hiding Place, and treasuring the fact that we shared a birthday (incidentally, she also died on her birthday in 1983, the day I was born), but I had never read the book until I started it last week while traveling. Technically I'm listening to it on CD, and the reader (Nadia May) does a wonderful job. If, like me, you've never read it, I highly recomend it. 

Republic Wireless - Erik and I recently switched our phone plan over to this company, and we have been so thrilled with the results. A friend first mentioned RW on Facebook, and it sounded too good to be true. Basically, it's a no-contract phone service provider that relies first on Wi-Fi. So you make calls and send texts over Wi-Fi. But when you're away from Wi-Fi they tap into cell towers. Our call quality has been good, and we're each paying $10/month with no contract. The only catch is you have to use their phones, which are really good, but not iPhones. So if you're addicted to iOS, this is not for you. But we're saving $70+/month, so I'm a fan. And bonus, if you use a referral link you get $20 off your first month! (And so do we...but this shameless plug is really meant to help you...I promise...shoot me a comment with your email address and I'll send you a code if you're interested).

Banana "ice cream" - I can't believe I just discovered this, and it was the Aldi website (I LOVE Aldi) that led me to it. If you take frozen banana slices, put em in the food processor, add a little milk and vanilla (and maybe Nutella), and cream it up, you have a healthy alternative to ice cream. It's my new favorite. I think you could also thin it a bit more and freeze it in popsicle molds.

Beezus and Ramona - I just finished reading this to my kids. I don't know if I ever read these books as a kid, but my 4-year-old and 6-year-old really enjoyed this first one. Beverly Cleary wrote so many--I'm wondering which one to read with them next. Any recommendations?

TGCW14 Content - At the end of June I attended The Gospel Coalition Women's Conference in Orlando with my friend Amber and my mom. It was a packed schedule of plenary talks and breakout sessions, and a great opportunity to meet in person some of the women I've come to love through our online interaction. Today the audio and video from these sessions is now available HERE. The plenary sessions walk through the book of Nehemiah, and the breakouts are on a variety of topics (other than my personal breakout session with Amber in the lazy river, my favorite non-Nehemiah-related talk, out of the 3 I heard, was Jen Wilkin's titled "Our Daughters' Great Worth"--super good, whether you have daughters or not).

So what's new with you? Is there something you're enjoying right now, or that you've recently discovered? Leave a comment and fill me in.