grand haven adventure

This weekend, Josh randomly decided that he wanted to go to Grand Haven. So we went.

what I wore: simple beach style

skirt: buffalo exchange, cardigan: marshalls

belt: forever21, bracelet: vintage

what he wore:

shirt: topman, sweatshirt: urban outfitters

shorts: urban outfitters, shoes: sperry's

the end.

Blogiversary GIVEAWAY: the smashbook!

Today I am so excited to celebrate my 1 YEAR BLOGIVERSARY with YOU, my lovely readers!! As you may know, I am a BIG fan of smash books, and SO many people have been asking me about them and want to get into "smash booking"! So.. how perfect is my very first giveaway!? Who wouldn't want a free smashbook??

{k & co website}

My little explanation: A smash book is kind of like scrap-booking but without all the hassle and with more freedom! It's also like journaling, but more creative and fun. With the smash book, you can quickly paste in a movie ticket, something funny that happened, a fortune paper, the date, where  you went, who you were with, and your favorite part of the day. Later you can add photos, buttons, or cute embellishments! It helps you keep track of all the moments in your life that you would normally never scrapbook about! The accessories like smash pads, stamps, stickers, clips, and tape are all REALLY handy and fun when putting together a page.

 {my smash book}

Click here to look inside the different books to see what the pages look like OR

watch this awesome video overview by Two Peas in a Bucket

Accessories:

Smash Tape (polka dot/like this)

Smash Pad (Family, blank, special occasions, 

entertainment, 2 of us, word of mouth, travel)

Pockets (small/large)

Calendar smash pockets

Smash Clips

Pink Smash Stick (pen & glue)

Smash stickies 

Smash tabs

Flag smash clips

Smash bands

ONE Winner will receive a smashbook of their choice 

between the 6 styles above AND one accessory from the list. 

The giveaway will close on Sunday June 3rd, 

and the winner will be announced June 4th.

You have an opportunity to put in 11 entries today, AND each time you tweet about the giveaway you will receive additional entries everyday until June 3rd. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

come sponsor with me!

Exciting changes...
In the past, a joyful journal has offered free sponsorship. I have loved offering free sponsorship to bloggers looking to get their blog or shop name out there because I was in the same boat. I never understood why bloggers made hundreds off of sponsorship.. it didn't seem right to me. Now, I am starting something new that I am really excited about. A joyful journal will be using advertisement as a 100% support fund for various needs. Hopefully in the near future my shop (a joyful creation) will re-open as a 100% support fund as well. Currently, all the advertisement proceeds will fund myself and this blog in a learning ministry opportunity. If I make it, I will be attending the influence conference, to meet with hundreds of christian bloggers around the world to grow in our faith together as a bloggers and learn how to influence a media driven generation with the Gospel! This is one of my dreams!


Opportunities for you...
So, with all of this.. you have a wonderful opportunity to advertise your blog/shop/business on a joyful journal for a cheap price AND you get to support the ministry outreach of this blog! Here are the details:


Large Sponsor Spot: $10

• 200 x 220 sidebar ad for TWO months 
• Introduction post
• Optional giveaway
• Twitter updates

Medium Sponsor Spot: $8

• 200 x 150 sidebar ad for TWO months
• Introduction post

CLICK HERE TO RESERVE YOUR SPOT
limited availability!

inner joy {fruit of the spirit series}

This week (from left to right): breakfast for dinner, raccoon hunting in the attic of new home (gross!), smash booking, starbucks run, new hair color (eek!), orange juice morning

Inner Joy....
Someone asked me a question the other day, and they said, "Without thinking for more than a second, how do you think God feels about you?" I knew my answer wasn't the truth, and it hit me hard. I began to ask myself, "Why was that my answer? Why didn't I say how I know God feels about me?" I do know how God feels about all of his people, he sees no flaws in us, he keeps no record of wrongs, and he loves us unconditionally. My realization here was that..

people don't believe the truth because it's still unnatural to them.

When someone experiences a loss in their family, people don't want to believe that God is good. Believing that God is not worth their time anymore is "natural" because blaming God on their family loss is easier than saying that He's good. In simple form... How do you praise God when your life sucks?

In my situation when my friend asked me that question, it was easier for me to believe that God was disappointed in me than that he loved me because I was letting my circumstances be bigger than God's truth. In reality, whatever happens in my life has no hold on God's feelings about me.. I just need to work on internalizing how God feels about me to make it natural.

Inner joy comes when you let go of the world, and let Jesus in.

Let go of your past, believe in the power of forgiveness. 

Believe that you are a NEW creation.

Let go of the lies you're believing! Let go of fear.

Let go of rejection.

The more you let Jesus in, the more responses of the lord's JOY you'll experience.

{because, the joy of the lord is your strength! Nehemiah 8:10, Psalm 28:7}

"Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will." Romans 12:1

"Do not conform to the patter of this world..." = Instead of pattern of this world, insert your specific need. Do not conform to fear, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind! When you make the switch in your mind on what you believe and what you live for, you'll receive inner joy. I'm excited to continue to meditate and pray about inner joy this week.. how about you?? What have you been learning recently about inner joy?

Be sure to visit these other ladies involved in the series! 

Out Loud in My Head

There is Beauty in Letting Go

Broken Rubies

The Rabbit Hole Chronicles

The Ever-changing Thought

a peek inside my smash book & announcement!

Back in February, you may remember this post on my discovery of the smash book! Well, I did end up getting one and it has definitely surpassed my expectations! The smash book is SO fun! I love how quick and simple it is, and it looks good no matter what you put in it! 

Here's a sneak peek at my smash book that I'm currently making for all the little photos, tickets, and memories that Josh and I have had over the years that was piling up in a box! {DIY instagram mini prints found here}

And.. on MAY 25th (next friday) 

I will be celebrating my ONE YEAR BLOGIVERSARY 

with my FIRST giveaway of a SMASH BOOK (of winner's choice) 
and an accessory!! Don't forget to check back!!

Follow my blog with Bloglovin --lauren

a perfect skirt by Bennair

photos by Keegan Adriance

skirt: Bennair, top: J crew

cardigan: forever 21, necklace: buffalo exchange

belt: thrifted, shoes: borrowed 

This skirt by BENNAIR is absolutely beautiful. The fabric is excellent quality, and Brianne's sewing is very professional. She custom made this skirt for me, and it couldn't fit more perfectly! I was so excited, I think I've worn it 6 times already. It goes with basically everything in my closet! So if you're looking for a unique piece (skirts, dresses, tops) that you just can't seem to find in the stores, or if you're have trouble finding things that fit, I highly recommend Bennair, she's a sweet girl to work with.

Check out her shop today! She's got some cute summer designs made up!

linking up here.

LOVE {fruit of the spirit series}

I am so excited to share with you a new series titled "fruit of the spirit", that sweet Karen invited me to be a part of! As soon as she told me what it was going to be about and the meaning behind it, I knew I wanted to join the series! So.. basically every week I am going to read, journal, pray, and meditate on one of the fruits and then blog about it!

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, 

goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; 

against such things there is no law."

Galatians 5:22-23

This week we started with love.. and I knew it would be overwhelming to dig deep into love because it's so big, and so important to my faith. I decided to focus on a small part of love. The questions a lot of people seem to ask. 

Does God really love me that much? 

How could God love me? or 

How could I love that person? 

How could I love the parent that abused me, 

or the friend who went behind my back, 

or the people I hate?

The story of Hosea and Gomer {Hosea 1-14} paints a perfect picture of how much God loves us. In this story, Hosea has entered into a covenant with Gomer just as God has entered into a covenant with us, his people. 

We are adulterers, running to other lovers. What other lovers do you have in your life that you need to get in check with?

God allows us to chase the wind, however, he does not walk away from us. He does not abandon us. He is ready to welcome us home! There is nothing in us that can evoke the love of God, and there is nothing in us that can exhaust the love of God. He will wait for us to return. God sees no flaws in you, he loves you for not what you have done, but who you are in Him! Accept that and then give it away to people that need the love of God.. to the people you avoid.

I don't know about you, but this love is hard. I can't imagine having this kind of love like God has for us, but this is the love that we need to have, and it's the love that we need to desire to have and work at. I encourage you to pray for love this week, that we may be a community of people who have the love of God in our spirits wherever we go.  

This is a modern story of Hosea and Gomer, and it really puts it into perspective for our modern culture today. I promise it's worth the watch!

Be sure to visit these other ladies involved in the series! 

Out Loud in My Head

There is Beauty in Letting Go

Broken Rubies

The Rabbit Hole Chronicles

The Ever-changing Thought