Friday, March 30, 2018

FRIDAY FAVORITES #52.

Happy Good Friday, sweet friends!!


I've got Friday Favorites for you so here's #1.


I'm going to tell you something.  I used to be really confused as a kid about why they would call today "Good" Friday.  I mean, Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, a completely blameless and innocent man, and God's own son, was crucified on this day.  Why call it good?  I never really understood.

Until I did.

When Jesus died on that cross, it was the beginning of the culmination of God's plan of salvation for us all.  Jesus knew his death was coming but he also knew he would CONQUER DEATH.  Meaning he was coming back after three days, ALIVE.  And without his death, the rest couldn't happen. Jesus paid our debt so that we could be washed clean.  

The timeline.  


I'm sorry but let me break this down.  Pilate condemns Jesus to death in the morning for claiming to be the Son of God.  Later that morning, Jesus is beaten and nailed to a cross.  And then Jesus dies and darkness covers the land.  Out of nowhere.  Randomly in the middle of the afternoon.  I mean, if you were a non-believer and witnessed that, how do you not believe after that?  

Later Jesus is laid to rest in the tomb.  A giant boulder is rolled in front of it and a guard is placed outside.  And yet, 3 days later, when they roll the stone away...the tomb is empty.  Um....clue #2 non-believers!  And then, Jesus shows back up.  Completely healed.  Walking. Talking.  And basically saying "Didn't I try to tell you?  Now will you believe?!".  

How ANYONE could reject Christ after being there, in person, to see all of that, I have no idea. 

"For God so loved the world (US!!), that He gave his only son.  That whoever believes in Him (Jesus Christ) will not perish, but have ETERNAL LIFE.  For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him."  (my version of John 3:16-17)

And Romans 10:9, "If you declare with your mouth, Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, then you will be saved."

Look, I know we don't all have the same faith.  But this is what I always tell people who don't believe.  We are all going to die one day.  Are you willing to say without a shadow of a doubt that this isn't real and risk it all? Because what if you're wrong?  

If you've got questions about all of this, I would love to point you to this awesome website.  It's like google for Bible questions.
I will never be able to fully understand it all or be able to answer every single question.  I'm always learning and always growing in my own faith.  But I LOVE this website.  Type in your question in the search box and find answers.  Sometimes I just go here and type in questions of my own instead of having an ordinary quiet time.


Aaaannnyyywayyyyy....

I'm not sure how to segway into something way more superficial like my favorite wedges or earrings.  So I'm just going to jump on in.  ;)

I should probably call this one my un-favorite of the week.


Ok y'all.  I was all kinds of excited about this book.  I talked about it a few times before and it was released this week.  But guess what?  It. Was. AWFUL.

To be fair, this is not the consensus of everyone apparently.  I read the reviews on Goodreads and Amazon and it was rated around a 4 out of 5 stars on average.  This is mind-blowing to me.  People were raving about this being a page-turner and "couldn't put it down".  I seriously wondered if they read the same book I did.

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Here was my review on Goodreads:

Oh. my. goodness. This book was such a huge disappointment. After reading Jessica Strawser's first book very recently (and really liking it), I was so excited to read this one. The publisher's summary was incredibly intriguing. Unfortunately, the summary was a hundred times more exciting than the actual book. 



The book is BORING. Dull. Nothing happens until a tiny little twist at the very very end that isn't even that exciting.




Kristin goes missing with her kids after a firepit party with all the neighbor wives (that we don't even get to hear about). Signs point to the husband. (Duh.) I won't spoil anything but I will say this book was insanely predictable and that would be ok if the plot were interesting. But it's not. Exactly what you think happened, did happen. There was one moment of drama towards the very end but even that was a yawn. 




The only part that was interesting was the very end when Clara goes to visit her mom. Finally, you get some "Oh wow, didn't see that coming" type responses. But it is not worth it to read this whole book for. I'm amazed at how many 5 star reviews it got but it seems like most of those were people who got early copies so maybe they felt obligated to gush about it? (Gush about what though? NOTHING HAPPENED!!)




If you want to read a REAL thriller/mystery be sure to check out The Wife Between Us, The Last Mrs. Parrish, The Woman in Cabin 10...etc. And for all the hype this book got as "the next Big Little Lies...? Not even close.




Clearly, I was super disappointed with this book. I feel bad I even mentioned being excited about it on my blog. I also feel bad for the review but it's my honest opinion on the book. I'm sure there will be people who won't agree. I certainly don't agree with all those rave reviews. To each his own. :)


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So yeah...I do not recommend this book. It was just so boring.  Maybe I was spoiled because of books like the ones I listed above that are chock full of twists and turns.  If you are expecting that kind of book then this is not it.

 However, I will also say that it seems like almost everyone LOVED Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine and I basically hated that book.  And it's got almost a 5 star rating on Amazon.  I'm not sure what I missed but it just wasn't enjoyable.  And apparently, Reese Witherspoon is making it into a movie because she liked it so much.  #gofigure 

So that's just a disclaimer that all of these are my personal opinions and you may love books I hate and hate books I love.  ;)

If you are wondering what I'm reading now, I decided to go lighter with a beach read. (Follow me on Goodreads HERE.  I keep it pretty current.)

I knew I wanted a fun, light, chick-lit book this time.  All of my books lately have been autobiographies or thrillers for the most part and all of our warm Texas weather is getting me pumped for summer.

I chose The Beach at Painter's Cove because of the ratings.  I've never read one of Shelley Noble's books but honestly, I loved the cover and the reviews were just too good to ignore.


We shall see!  I don't trust ratings anymore. ;)


I'm still trying to learn to love gardening because I do love how flowers and plants look.  I am just a complete newbie at how to take care of them.  Yesterday I finished up orders for the day earlier than expected and headed to Lowe's for some pretty planters and flowers.



I got hydrangeas for my DIY spray-painted planters by my front door.



This was the before.




I love a good spray paint DIY project.  

I've got a few more things to update on the front porch before I'm completely happy.  I'm headed to Target today so I'll be on the lookout for this one which I think will be so pretty.

Look what just opened!!  I met up with my girlfriends on Monday night for dinner and I saw this!  I can't wait to try it out!  Paula is supposed to be stopping in sometime soon but I heard they aren't saying exactly when.  




I feel like this would be a really fun BIG girls' night out!  Any takers??  ;)


I was browsing Zulily the other day and I ran across this.

I just had to have it.  The only beach bag I have is a giant one that holds all of my family's stuff.  So I thought this one would be perfect for just me and my junk.  It'll also make a great little travel bag for car and plane trips. PLUS...it matches my blog.  So there's that.  ;)

I posted it in my Facebook group the other day and a couple of other people have them and love them.  Under $25 while they last!  Find them HERE.


If you're anything like me, you don't love parading around in a swimsuit anymore.  My lower half is my worst half.  If that's a thing.  haha.  So I can't just run around on a beach or waterpark with bikini bottoms and that's it.  My tush is just not small enough for all that.  But I've had these little swim shorts for a couple of years now and I LOVE LOVE LOVE them.  I can slip them on over my swim bottoms when I want a little more coverage and if I want to swim in them, I can do that too!  

The best part is the super soft foldover waistband.  No wicked muffin top, y'all.  ;)


Anyway, I had a friend ask me about them this week which is what made me think of them.  She remembered me talking about them last year in our beach vacay recaps.

Find them HERE.

**Updated to add that a friend of mine found these on Amazon for just $25!  AND they have them in turquoise as well!  Score!  Find them HERE.

Other swim favorites:


And if you missed my What's Up Wednesday post be sure to check that out HERE.


So that's it for today!  I hope you all have an amazing Easter weekend with your families!



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5 comments

  1. Happy Easter Weekend.
    What a bummer about the book!
    I love your DIY flower pots. I can't wait to get outside and plant my pots! IT needs to get a little warmer here!

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  2. Such great words, Amanda! ❤️❤️❤️

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  3. You're going to have to let me know how that book turns out!! I need a light chick lit read :) .

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  4. I always love your excitement about Jesus. I can totally picture you talking at the beginning of this post. Love you, friend.

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  5. That scout bag is adorable! Zulilly always has the best stuff!

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