Because all good things in life deserve a preface:

- I'm doing a 30x30 challenge where I'm trying to only wear 30 items of clothing for approximately 30 outfits. It's taking a little longer than 30 days because I'm an oompa loompa of a human and sometimes live in yoga pants. Read more here. 
- I think there are more important things than what I wear in this world and I always feel the need to say that. Like the gospel. And people. And a lot more. But this has been a fun challenge and it's certainly spurred me to get dressed and get creative more often. 


Let's dive right in! 
I have a lot to catch up on! 

I do not remember where I wore this. But it's my favorite 6 year old Anthro trench, thrifted dress,
black walmart skinnies, and boots. 

I'll be honest. I was reaching with these boots. I really wanted them to work.
I gauge my outfits by instagram response occasionally and this one got no love.
It's ok, I'm not a hipster. I can't wear boots.

I call this oufit "not your average park mom". black jeans, white tee,
leather jacket and melodyjoy cowl. My feet froze at this park visit.

One of my more favorite outfits ever. h&m $5 navy flares, old tweed jacket from Anthropologie,
white tee and fun infinity scarf. 

I threw this in there to keep it real. i call this "doing my best impression of Where's Waldo?"

another favorite outfit. sequined nautical top. paisley vintage scarf.
high waisted wide leg pants. completely thrifted outfit. 

seeing some repeats! thrifted dress, tights, cowl, jacket.
to church we go! 

aaaaand datenight. loafers. jeans. cardi. vintage scarf.
all thrifted. and the first thing we did on our date was rummage
through some free second hand clothes. love my husband. 

It's been so fun to do this little challenge. 

I think once we're settled in our new home, I'll be glad to incorporate some old faves back into the mix, but it's been so nice and stretching to look at my closet with some fresh eyes.

Ya know? 

So here's a question: 

what do you do to mix it up when you get in a style rut? 

let's talk:)  

....................................

ps: this  happens tomorrow!  I'm so excited to 

show you all the changes coming to my shop! 

Get excited and spread the word! 

the important bits

I thought I'd share some of the tidbits of our new little in between life here in Fort Weezy.

this is me & Benja. you gotta appreciate any kid who will still kiss you AND make faces with you.

- We're nearing the very end of our transition season and hope, hope, hope we'll be moving into our new house next week. It's a sweet little (big to us!) house in a neighborhood that we love and we've just been waiting on a new heater and shower to be installed. I'm hoping that this weekend includes lots of praying over the rooms and painting! 


- In the meantime, we've still been staying with our close friends/pastor & his wife and it's been a blast. It looks like lots of coffee, lots of laughing in the kitchen, lots of kiddos, lots of deep talks and sharpening, and lots of dishes. We're anxious to give our friends their home back, but we will treasure this season for a long time to come. 

one half of elijas. if he looks somber, it's cause he's missing his partner in crime.

- One funny and precious thing that has developed in this season: Elijas. Our friends have a little boy named Elijah and of course, we have an Elias. And together, they form - Elijas. And they're basically inseperable. Thick as thieves. If they don't get to play for hours on end, they get sad and when we talk to either party about the fact that we are eventually moving out of the same home, tears come. I love those sweet boys and I can't wait to see how the Lord uses their friendship for His glory. 

I don't suggest baking bread for friends when you're on HCG.

- We're still doing the HCG diet and it's still woopin' my ever loving tail. I think I've got about one week left and I feel like if I eat another serving of cabbage, .... well. I'll stop before I complain. On the upside, I have been off my thyroid meds for about a month! Hallelujah! And my skin looks less like a puberty-ridden teenager than it has in years! 

some elements that I'll have worked into the new prints! 

- I'm getting ready to do a big Design shop Relaunch this week! New prints, some mixed-media including some hand-drawn art. I'm redoing the way my shop works, hopefully making it easier to customize prints, easier to buy three get one free, and easier to purchase custom work. There will most definitely be a MASSIVE amount of prints on sale as well, as I go from about 60 listings to 30. Maybe Thursday? Hopefully?! If I work real hard! 

these two. and their mugshots.  love them. even when they're up to no good and smell like poop

- Lastly, I've never been so sharpened so much as I have in the past few weeks that we've been at Gospel Community. I'm so blessed by this community that I've barely begun to dig into. I'm so excited to serve with them and learn from them and grow together. I think you'd be so blessed to pop by this site where all our videos/sermons are stored and stay awhile. 


What about you? 
What are you up to? 
...........

ps: I have a few sponsorship spots  open for March. I'd love to partner with your business/blog/shop.  Email me  at jessi connolly at gmail for me details  or check out the info here. 

knowing.

Good morning ya'll! Jessi here. 
My sweet friend Jacqueline is guest posting 
this morning and I for one, couldn't be more thankful!
Enjoy and go give Jac a hiya over at BabEblessings! 

.......................

Lately I’ve been questioning myself a lot on a lot of
things. My self-confidence has been super low, and postpartum hasn’t helped
much in that department. I’ve been searching the world around me to get my
confidence back instead of searching the word. Until I remembered something a
wise woman once showed me.

My best friend’s mom is such an amazing woman for Christ.
She worked children’s ministry at my church for years. I don’t think I’ll ever
forget waiting for Sunday mornings so I could hang out with Aunt Jayne again. The
past few years she’s lead a table at the weekly women’s bible study at church
and each session reminds us of who we are in God’s eyes, and who he created us
to be. She would give us a list of things the bible said about us, and then
gave us the great suggestion of ‘hopping’ through the bible reminding ourselves
of what God said.

So I pulled out my bible and found the list, and got to
work. I highlighted each verse and beside it wrote the next verse to go to next
to it. It reminded me of who I am, and what God says about me. 

It also brought me to some realizations.

 The light of the Gospel shines in me, am I letting it out? Does it shine
to the world?

 I am more than a conqueror, so why do I keep letting things conquer
me?

I have the mind of
Christ – so if Christ says it, and everything he says is true, then I need
to start believing it and standing on it.

I know I’m not alone in this, I know a lot of us are going
through trials right now and we have lost sight of who we are in Christ. It’s
so easy to look to the world to try and find validation. Am I a good mom? Am I
a good friend? Am I a good wife? What do my friends think? What does my husband
think? What do my parents think? Questions I seem to ask every day, but instead
of looking to them, I need to look to Him.

I think the one verse that has stuck with me the most is 2
Timothy 1:9. Who has saved us and called
us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own
purpose and grace by which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began.  It’s not about our works, it’s about our holy
calling and his purpose working through that calling. He had our purpose mapped
out for use before time began. Just thinking about that gives me peace and
makes me feel so great. God set my purpose in action before time began. He knew
I would be here, and who I would touch and what I would do.

Here’s a copy of the verses and what they say. The original
is from Joyce Meyer, but it’s been changed and added to quite a few times. 

Knowing

I hope you take even just a moment to remember who you are
in Christ, and what the Father thinks about you. I know you’re pretty awesome!

 

scripture doodle for life.

If you've sat next to me in church or followed me on twitter, you'll know I'm a doodler. 
And this is the lady to blame. 

There's so much I could say about April. 
She's an amazing artist. 
She's beautiful.
She loves Jesus something fierce. 
She dresses like I don't know what. 
The most recent issue of Vogue mixed with the Holy Spirit. 
And I feel like the Lord has used her to mix some things up in my heart and awake my super creaky and squeaky creative side. 
And I know He's using her to do that with women EVERYWHERE. 

some of April's doodles

And part of that is through her scripture doodle ministry. 
She calls scripture doodle a creative movement of illustrating God's Word. 
And it's basically this.
You have a prayer, a verse, a passage of scripture that is messing with your heart - or you want it to, as you're stewing on it, you doodle it, draw it, scratch it out in chicken scratch... and see how the Lord opens it up as you make a physical representation of it. 

some of my (very inferior to April's) doodles

And the best part is, she's using twitter to let it be a blessing to the world. 
She's tweeting pictures of her scripture doodles and other peoples as well. 
And I have a feeling it will massively bless your soul. 

psalm 23:4

Today, she's hosting a special tweet/scripturedoodle fest through psalm 23. 
Here's the sneak peek of my psalm 23 doodle, but be sure to check out all the great things April has to offer. 
Follow her on twitter here. 
Follow scripturedoodle here. 
Visit scripturedoodle here. 

And maybe before you say, "oh! I can't draw" or "I'm not creative!" find some crayons under your couch and try a sketch. See if the Lord doesn't open up something you thought was buried or nonexistent. 

gypsy for Jesus?

I blame you, cute gypsy girl from Sherlock Holmes. 
The true story is I most definitely fell asleep during Sherlock Holmes, but every time I woke up I thought - "man, I want to be a gypsy". The jewel tones! The full, nappy hair that I already have! The floppy hat! The blatant disregard for editing when it comes to accessories! I want to be a gypsy!". 

And then I found a $3 floppy hat from H&M and it was on. 

And heaven help me, ya'll. 
I may have had a conversation with my husband where I may have used the phrase "gypsy for Jesus". If I can spiritualize wearing floppy hats and flowy skirts, I will try. 
No for real - it still seems right to me. 
Except gypsies are notorious crooks. 
Oh well. Maybe we can give them a new reputation?


Bring on the bangles. 
And please tell me I'm not the only weirdy who gets hooked on some sort of visual scheme and wants to integrate it into every single ever loving piece of their life. 
Chevron anyone? 
Missoni knows what I'm talking about. 
either way -
this gypsy loves yall. 

win-win.

Love to support adoptions? yes. 
Love God's word? yes. 
Want to shepherd your kiddos well? yes. 
Know any kids anywhere? yes. 


This, friends, is what we call a win-win. 

If you don't already know about Truthcards, trust me - YOU WANT TO. 
My friend Jenna, who is a super genuine loving and beautiful mama to three beautiful bebe girls, started a company with her husband making flashcards of scripture for kiddos. 
Truthcards are INVALUABLE in our home and I know they'd be a blessing in yours. 


Not only is Jenna a great mom and business owner, 
but she's also a super precious friend. 
And this week, she's donating the profits of Truthcards to her friends Jessica & Travis as they raise money to adopt a little girl. Here are Jenna's words about their fundraiser. 

Jessica Carpenter is one of the most beautiful people that I know, both inside and out. Over the past several years, I’ve had the privilege of seeing the Lord increase her beauty with His refining fire. Recently, a big part of that process has been the fleshing out of His call for their family to adopt a daughter. I picture Jessica’s mind like an incredibly organized whirlwind. She reads, thinks, talks and types faster than anyone that I know and is a social networking queen. The Lord is using these gifts for His glory. Jessica and her husband Travis have become a voice for the voiceless orphans of this world. Through their call to adopt, they have read books, attended conferences, hosted a conference, joined an Adoption Missional Community and more… Jess has tweeted, blogged, Facebooked and told the world about it along the way, opening many hearts to the idea of caring for orphans (James 1:27) along the way. The Carpenter family has a goal of raising $28,000. For Jessica’s birthday, I wanted to give her the gift of easing the burden of fundraising. So, through Saturday, February 25, all proceeds from Truthcards sales will go directly to the Carpenter Adoption Fund.

And knowing Jessica, I have to agree. She's a serious joy. And a whirlwind o' goodness. 

So here's my encouragement: 

buy truthcards, because they're amazing. 

but also because this week - they go to help bring a baby girl home to a family. 

You can read more & buy Truthcards right here. 

You can read more about the Carpenter family and their adoption here. 

You can also follow Jessica & Jenna on twitter, because they're awesome:). 

like an arrow.

this girl is learning that walks in the snow are the best

I'm still praying and mulling over what the Lord wants from Naptime Diaries in 2012. 

I know it's February. But I just moved, so I'm giving myself some grace:). 

I can't get away from the phrase "a true story" no matter how hard I try. 

At the same time I feel burdened to tell an absolutely true story, I feel this new and fresh burden to keep my life safe. And over time I've noticed a completely parallel burden emerging to keep this story safe. 

Because it's only my story for a split second of the day.

And then it becomes everyone else's story and how much right do I have to tell that?

So while my favorite blogs to read are those where I can saddle up with a cup of coffee and hear a sister's heart and see her days and learn from her and laugh with her, I realize I've offered none of that myself. I've been the quiet girl at the coffee date which is literally the exact opposite of who I know He's made me to be. 

So here it is friend. 

Do you have some coffee? 

I'll tell you straight up that this HCG diet is making me lose my taste for coffee. 

Hence the tea I'd be drinking if we were together. 

And that is a heart issue. I'm laughing now, but it's true. 

Because if I'm not a coffee drinker, who am I?

Through laughter I'd agree that I'm a daughter of the most High King. 

But Oh, I love some coffee. 

pink pancakes

Anyhow, you wanted an update? 

Well, we moved to Fort Wayne two weeks ago and we are living in a sweet and precious limbo. Nick is spending the bulk of his days at the church and figuring out his place there and I'm with the Connolly brood and in the other times we're figuring out how to have a family-run Etsy shop. And we're living with our precious new friends and we're awed by their graciousness and we're in that funny limbo of wanting to stay in a perpetual sleepover and yearning to give them their own space. Yearning to have our own space, you know - just so that we can have THEM over.

kiddos crafting it up. 

And community is a precious limbo too. 

In the quiet moments, I have that heart-burn-in-the-bottom-of-your-stomach ache that screams, "WHY DID YOU LEAVE A PLACE WHERE YOU WERE KNOWN?". A place where you could cry at community group, you could go to breakfast with your best friends with only five minutes prior planning, you could pop in for a playdate, you could drive two hours and cuddle with your sister and your mom or let your kids play with their cousins. And that fleshly voices deceivingly asks, "What if you're never known here? What if you're misunderstood here? What if you don't fit here?". And in an instant, the deeply implanted truth of His Spirit reminds me that I'm known by the One who named me. Argument over. 

gloriana at the vday party

But the obvious for me would normally be to jump in. In all ways. Volunteer, Serve, Meet, Greet, Play, Talk, Get to know, Build. And yet, sweetly, this time - I feel like the Lord is reminding me of hindsight. And I can look back on other seasons of transition  and see myself clambering to make and to build and know and to jump in, and it was just too much for this small-plated-sister. So instead, no matter how many wonderful women I meet or how many playdates I am tempted to set up right now, for the most part - I'm just living. Meeting the needs of our crew, and our business, and looking for a place to settle so we can then, dig into some community. 

precious arrow painting by Hello Hue, a vday gift from my man. 

My friend and discipler, Elizabeth, said something that blessed my heart so much I am claiming it. Begging the Lord for it to be so. When I told her the story of Fort Wayne and moving and Gospel Community, she said - it seemed like an arrow. (which is of course a precious reference for me) But she said it's like when an arrow is being pulled back to be set free and it is pulling and stretching and painful. She compared that to the season we've just walked through. It's not been miserable or tormenting, but it's been stretching and pulling and hard in plenty of ways. And she spoke that it seemed that this next season was the letting go of the arrow - to fly forward. 

Is that such a beautiful thing to speak or what? 

And I'm saying, Yes Lord - let it be.

I think we've been pulled and stretched and I can almost perceive that the Lord is holding this arrow very still as we settle. As He aims us. Gets us ready. And maybe sloughs off some of the debris left still on our hearts. 

And I pray He lets go soon. 

And I pray He sends this family out into His world, for His glory. 

Fast and gentle, mighty and humbled. 

Like an arrow. 

vday.

In honor of the day, I want to tell you one thing I love about each of my valentines. 

Nick: I love that you are so incredibly quick to forgive. I've never seen you not forgive.
Elias: I am obsessed with your ability to comprehend biblical concepts. I am positive that you understand the passover better than I do. 
Gloriana: Oh girl. I love your nod. Your incessant, hopeful, helpful, persistent little nod of your head. Only a mama can know what lies behind a nod like that.
Benja: I love that you're breaking out of the old I'm-going-to-pretend-like-I-don't-like-anyone shell. Nala the dog, Ben at church, and me - we're all on to you. You LIKE us. 


In all seriousness, Connolly Family: I love you guys. 
I don't deserve to be the wife and mama of such a special brood. 
I love you all so much. 


And also in honor of the day, how about two new prints and a QUICK 24 hours sale? 
If your hunny forgot to buy you a gift, 
or you forgot to buy your hunny a gift (oh gasp)
or you just need an excuse for some new scripture prints in your home - today's the day. 

Until midnight PST, use coupon code VDAY30 for 30% off everything in the shop! 

Like, maybe, specifically, these two: 

psalm 139

do everything

Or any of these oldies & goodies.

it is well, strength & dignity, tears, greatest

But most of all, have a precious valentines.

Tell somebody you love em. 

And tell them who else loves them. 

Amen?

double me over

On that morning, I'm so upright. 
In my own eyes. 
Popping or crawling or dragging from bed and starting the work. 
Like the woman who cares for her house as I 
clean them
dress them
clean me
dress me
feed me
Fuss and pester over the hairs and the old mascara and 
the too tight pants. 


And hours passed and
there are bites of the tongue
and sweat on the brow
and children to herd
and cars to park
and then
We're there. 


Hopefully, hopefully. 
In the throne room. 
Before Him, with our brothers and sisters
calling and crying and keeping our eyes fast on Him. 
Fingers over my mumbling lips and then arms 
thrust in praise. 


And then.
Doubled over. 
Hunched in my chair 
as I feel the weight of Him
cleaning me
(by His blood)
dressing me 
(in righteousness)
feeding me 
(with his goodness and wholeness). 


And the rags I'm wearing feel like just that. 
And the paint on my face feels like just that. 
I'm just a lady. 
Doubled over by the goodness of God. 
Staring down at a journal, a coffee cup, some shoes that now 
make me feel silly for trying to 
dress up this life. 


If you can 
Well, You always Can. 
Double me over, Father. 
On the Monday.
On Thursday. 
In the middle of the day. 
In the middle of the night. 
Pry my fingers open till I relinquish every
shred of mighty or strong or capable. 
And fill this weakened 
doubled over girl
with Your strength alone. 

30x30, take two and other things

Hi friends! 
It's Wednesday, right? 
I'll tell you, we're starting to get some bearings in this little in between season before we move into our own house here, but the one schedule thing I haven't even begun to figure out is when in the world I am going to blog. 
I think I'll definitely be going back to writing all posts in one day and posting them throughout the week. 


In the meantime, here are some other things that I'm PLANNING 
on blogging about when the time arises: 
- the rest of the chosen conference
- naptime no more
- some new changes with the design business
- some thoughts on grace & obedience I had after this sermon


However, while I wait for the time to make that work, how about another installment of 30x30? I've actually worn a few more 30x30 outfits than I'm posting, but somehow not finding the time during the day to snap a quick pic of them! 
But I'm still really loving the parameters of the challenge. 
And how much it makes me realize that I. NEED. TO. MIX. IT. UP. 

this was my moving day outfit. fancy, huh?
(comfy boyfriend jeans, button down shirt)

first day in Indiana outfit. the headbow just felt right.
(boyfriend jeans, navy cardigan, scarf in hair)

wore this out to eat with the fam and to run some errands
(floral top, grey cardigan, gingham shoes)

just a day in Fort Wayne
(navajo shirt, black jeans) 

Ok, ok. See this is good evidence. 

Today I've got to mix it up. Some different shoes, some different bottoms. 

I'm on the job. 

....................

Also, a few of you have asked about what kind of cleanse/diet we're doing. 

I know it's a leetle controversial and you have may not have even heard of it, 

but we're doing the HCG diet. The kind you get from a doctor, not a weirdy off the internet. I don't think it's for everyone and I wouldn't suggest it to most friends. 

While I will absolutely not be bummed to lose 15 or 20 pounds, I am mostly doing it for my thyroid health - to hopefully be able to go off medication and restart my endocrine system. 

How do we feel? 

I felt AWFUL for about 48 hours, but now I'm five days in and I truly, truly, truly feel great. 

I mean - my body feels great, not hungry, not lethargic, happy to be getting smaller. 

But my heart feels all sorts of yuck as the Lord works out this discipline in me. Again. 

I get straight up MAD when I look at pinterest and see all sorts of yummy food that I can't have for right now. 

I want to feed my flesh and it just isn't going to happen for awhile. 

Anyhow, moral of the story is:

much more I'd like to write

I need to wear my other shoes

I'm not hungry, but I need to hunger for the Lord more.

.................................................

how's your Wednesday going? 

please tell me you can relate to those:)

here.

I'm here this morning: 
- On my laptop, printing prints, processing orders, drinking coffee. 
- In this beautiful temporary space, at our precious friends house, as we wait for the Lord to point us to our "permanent" Fort Wayne spot. 
- Excited and hopeful and excited (againabout all that the Lord is doing. 
- Tired and a little grumpy from a health/weight loss cleanse we're doing. but please don't try to talk me out if it. I'm looking at you, mom. 
- Realizing that as I pour out the sacrifice of my life on God's altar, His Spirit pours into me. 
- Dreaming of all sorts of businessy things - new printer, new products, and asking the Lord to stretch me as this family business grows. 
- Remembering how much I love creating and all at once, itching to be done with my "work time" so I can grab my kids and bear hug them and ask the Lord to work through me as I love them. 


Where are you? 
What's going on with you?
I want to hear. 
(you know, when I'm done with the bear hugs)

30x30, take one!

I think it’s about time.

Now, bahahahahaha, let’s get it clear right off the bat: this is no fashion blog.  I might get friendly with the red lipstick and the cigarette pants, but I’m no Much Love Illy or Kendi Everyday. (I do however love those girls, especially that Much Love Illy) BUT I was faced with an interesting combination of dilemmas/oppurtunities concerning this month of February.

A.     

      - We have freshly moved to Indiana.

B.   -  During our first few weeks here, we are staying with friends till we find the perfect place for our family to live – so we’re living out of suitcases, not touchin’ our boxes.

C.   -  Nick and I are doing a little diet/cleansing sort of situation for weight loss and health. 

D.   - All of those things have the potential to make me want to live in yoga pants and no makeup, but I don’t feel so hot in yoga pants and no makeup after a day or two, so I knew I needed some help.

And help came in the form of the 30x30 challenge!

I’ve always wanted to do one and now I have no excuse, or rather – the perfect excuse! Here are the guidelines, made up by the wonderful Kendie: 

1.     Pick 30 items of clothing and make 3o outfits of them. 

        Here are my amendments for myself:

2.     Shoes must be included in the 30 items, not accessories or coats.

3.     No shopping for 30 days.

4.     Workout clothes & pajamas don’t count and if I need to spend a day in yoga pants,      whatever. It's 30 outfits, not 30 days. 

So here are the items I picked for my 30x30 challenge:

(shiny black patent flats, silver glitter shoes, menswear loafers, brown pumps, short cowboy boots, timberlands, slouchy grey boots) 

((pants - high waisted jeans, black skinnies, dark wash skinnies, boyfriend comfy jeans, black cigarette pants, black tights, grey tights))

((navajo print shirt, black & white short sleeve t's, glitter striped boatneck, purple ombre shirt, floral tank, striped button down, black ruffle boatneck))

((black leather jacket, grey cardigan, tweed jacket, navy cardigan))

     ((black buttondown shirtdress, black babydoll dress, floral skirt))

I think that's about 29 things. I'm not gonna add one more because there is always the fear that I forgot something and will want to add it in midway:) 

But mostly, yeah, I'm excited. 

This is going to be a super fun month to document in this way! It's already been fun!

I'll just start today with my first 3 outfits and take it bit by bit. 

If you're just bursting at the seams to see them sooner (bahahahahaha), you can follow me on twitter. 

dark skinnies, loafers, white tee, grey cardigan, & melodyjoy1983 cowl
where I wore it: eye doctor, packing at our house, community group

numero dos: dark skinners, black ruffle shirt, black patent leather shoes.
where I wore it: bible study, family time, double date with mom & stepdad

loafers, grey tights, blue cardigan, navy free people dress
where I wore it: lunch date with mom, playing on the Carolina beach with kiddos (changed my shoes), double date with Rubes, Hunkle Josh, Robert & April. 

Ok, more to come soon. 
Anyone else want to jump on in and do a 30x30 with me? 
ps: thanks for all your encouragement about our move. 
We're loving us some Indiana!