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Monthly Recaps

June Monthly Recap

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Happy Saturday, friends! I hope you are having just as great a weekend as I am! Today I’m going to give you a review of my month, and hopefully I will get some feedback on yours!

Books

This month I have been in the process of rereading the Keeper of the Lost Cities series along with many other Keeper fans. Shannon Messenger, the author of the series, is doing a Keeper-Read-Along, where each week, we read one of the books in the series. I’ve already gotten through the first two books, Keeper of the Lost Cities and Exile. I’m almost finished with the third book, Everblaze. I’m really enjoying it so far!

I’m still reading the other series I was working on as well, The Mitford Years. I’m on the fifth book, called A New Song, and still loving it!

I will probably finish A New Song and Everblaze tomorrow, which means I will have completed my goal of five books this month! Yay!

Writing

I regret to say I didn’t get much writing done this month. I was really focused on reading. I’ve made a new writing goal for July, and I’m confident I’m going to do better.

Blogging

This month did not go very well in the blogging area for me. I only got three posts out, and I didn’t get very many views. But I know I will do better next month.

Bullet Journal

Yay! This was the area I excelled in! I got a lot done in my bullet journal this month, and I am really excited to show you the pictures of next month! I worked very hard on them, and I think I did really well!

The picture you saw at the top of the post was my title page, and if you can’t tell, the two themes for this month are watermelons and patriotic colors. I found the watermelon idea on Pinterest, and I decided to also do some red, white (or in this case, gray), and blue since July fourth is coming up. The picture above is my monthly overview. On the left page, I have my calendar, notes section (to mark down special events), goals section, and a quote (also found on Pinterest). On the right page, I have my books section (where I write down what books I’ve read), memories section (where I jot down special things I want to remember), sleep tracker, writing section (where I record how much time I spend writing each week), and blogging section.

This is my mood tracker, and I came up with this idea on my own (amazing, right?). I am not the best artist, but I’m working on it. I combined all the moods I could think of into three categories, and then I can choose a color according to the moods I felt most and color in the correct section of the watermelon rind.

I did use Pinterest for this page. I was tired of using the same layout and wanted to try something new. For each habit, when I’ve completed it, I’ll color in the date with a colored pencil. Hopefully, I’ll like this layout better than the last.

Well, that’s it! How did June go for you? Have you enjoyed your summer break? Are you a Keeper fan? Are you looking forward to July? Let me know in the comments! Have a great weekend!

Thanks for reading! Happy writing!

He stores up sound wisdom for the upright; he is a shield to those who walk in integrity, guarding the paths of justice and watching over the way of his saints (Proverbs 2:7-8 ESV).

Creativity

Twelve Ways to Spark your Creativity

floraj5604

We’ve all done it. We’ve all felt it. We’ve all sat, staring at a blank screen, notebook, or painting canvas for hours on end as we wonder why we couldn’t stop painting/writing/or whatever you do yesterday while today we just can’t do it.

I did number nine. It was amazing how many I could come up with while standing outside!

Well, my friends, today’s your lucky day. I’m going to help you bring your creativity back. I’ve done some research and came up with a list of tips to get your creative juices flowing. So, let’s dive in!

  1. Eat a snack. After you eat, you’ll feel revived and ready to get after it again!
  2. Go for a run. Moving around helps you wake up and be energized. You could also just do a few simple stretches.
  3. Take a shower. Yes, that does help! It gives you time to take a break and restart.
  4. Move you eyes from side to side. Yes, I’m serious. Look from left to right and back again. This helps the left side and right side of your brain start working together to come up with a solution.
  5. Sit quietly for a few minutes. Try to not think at all, just sit. Then, after you’ve done that, you may be able to come up with a few ideas.
  6. Remind yourself of what you’re doing. Ask yourself, “What’s the big idea?” Why are you doing what you’re doing?
  7. Go outside. Like I said before, moving will help you get thinking, but so does being out in nature.
  8. Take a break and do something else. Read a book, brush your hair, reorganize your desk, pet your cat, play with your dog.
  9. Get out a piece of paper and just write. Write anything. Describe what you see around you. Explain how you’re feeling. Or, you could just write simple words. Apple. Water. Blanket.
  10. Look around. Creativity is everywhere! Let it inspire you.
  11. Listen to a motivating song. It could even just be your favorite song.
  12. Go on vacation. I don’t mean just taking a small break. I mean go away for a couple of days. I know you can’t just pack up and leave, but maybe it’s time for you get off of work and get away.

Make a list of these tips to put in your work desk. You can even add a few of your own.

Did these tips help you? Do you have any you would like to share? Please do! We all need inspiration sometimes! I hope my post helped you!

Thanks for reading! Happy writing!

If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him! (Luke 11:13 ESV)