Restless, Found, & Love, Skip, Jump

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Here is a list of the books that I’m excited to read on my upcoming trip to California in a few weeks.

All four of these are relatively new and have come out within the past year. They also all received really good reviews so I’m looking forward to reading them for myself.

Found by Micha Boyett

Why Not Today by Matthew Cork & Kenneth Kemp

Love Skip Jump by Shelene Bryan

Restless by Jennie Allen

If you’ve read any of them, let me know what you think. Any other book recommendations for the summer?

5 Ways to live a more vibrant life

Photo taken in Ireland

Photo taken in Ireland

 

While each of these concepts may seem really simple…they are probably not things that we are doing every single day.

1. Be very mindful of what you put in your body

The food that you eat has such a big impact on everything that you do. Until I was in grad school, I wasn’t as careful about what I ate and I often found myself feeling lethargic and depleted of energy.

As I started to include more fruits and particularly more veggies into my diet, my demeanor and attitude changed as well. I had energy that I had not had in years and I overall felt so much better and more confident with myself.

2. Take your sleep seriously

Getting enough sleep can either either make or break your entire day. If you wake up exhausted it makes it so much more difficult to be productive the rest of the day.

Lack of sleep can also make it more difficult for your body to fight diseases. I know from my own experiences that during times in my life where I wasn’t sleeping well…I almost always seemed to pick up some type of cold, flu, or other sickness.

3. Spend some time outside

Even a 5 minute break at several points throughout the day will leave you feeling so much more refreshed.

I also find a 10-20 minute walk at least a few days a week to be really helpful. A walk is also a great time to either reflect on your day or think through what you want to do that day or week without the technological distractions that are usually with us.

4. Love. Love. Love

This could be either taking time to indulge in a hobby, game, or activity that you love or spending more time with a person or people that you love.

You probably won’t remember the hours that you spent in front of the tv but you will certainly remember the fun times and experiences that you had with the people that you love.

5. Start reading

Without a doubt…reading is one of my favorite things in the world. I could sit in a room with a stack of books and be happy all day long.

Most of the time I read non-fiction and inspirational books but once in a while I get in the mood to read a beautiful story or tale.

Whatever it is that speaks to you, make more time in your day or week to read the books that speak truth and love into your life.

Pick at least one of the 5 tips above and think about how you can incorporate it into your life or the life of your family? Let me know how it goes and leave me a comment below!

Have a wonderful week!

Also, I’m still looking for a few more interviews or guest posts for the blog. If you are either currently living or traveling abroad or have in the past…send me an email at betsy.ramser@gmail.com and I would love to feature you on the blog!

My Summer Reading List

As most of you know…I absolutely LOVE to read. Reading has always been a big part of my life for as long as I can remember and I still try to do it on a daily basis.

I’m looking for some new books to check out this summer and I wanted to share with you a few titles that have caught my eye.

If you’ve read any of these please leave me a comment and let me know what you think! I’d love to hear your thoughts or reviews.

Hope Runs: An American Tourist, A Kenyan Boy, A Journey of Redemption

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Miracles Now

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The Promise of A Pencil

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Out Of Our Minds: Learning to be Creative

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If you’ve read any of these or have heard any positive negative reviews, feel free to let me know! What are you currently reading? Anything worth sharing with the community? Leave a comment and let us know!

Have a wonderful day!

 

Friday Favorites

 

Some of my absolute favorite books

Some of my absolute favorite books

 

Happy Friday! One of the biggest and most asked questions that I get from friends, family, bloggers, readers, etc…is what book should I read?

So, here are a few of my favorites. I have read most of these books multiple times and I know that I will read them all again in the future.

These are the books that I would recommend if you were a close friend and we were going out for coffee together.

These are the books that I constantly find myself quoting over and over again to the point where I start to feel like I need to find some more favorite books. But then I realize that they are just too good to stop talking about.

And if you’re a man thinking that a lot of these don’t apply to you…think again. Even my fiancee finds himself quoting Cold Tangerines to me which means it’s too good to pass up.

I know that I talk about books quite often…but if you’re anything like me then I’m sure you understand why that is. For an avid reader, books hold such a special place in your life. A retreat from the world, new adventures, ideas and concepts that you never realized existed.

Books make my life so much more exciting. I love hearing someone else’s voice and ideas really come through in their writing.

It’s magical.

That being said…here’s a list of each of the books pictured above:

  • Cold Tangerines
  • Bittersweet
  • Bread & Wine
  • Start With Why
  • Persuasion
  • The Art of Non-Conformity
  • Start Something that Matters
  • The Fire Starter Sessions
  • Love Does
  • Sun Stand Still
  • The Monk & the Riddle

Starting in the second grade I’ve always loved to read and it continues to be one of my favorite hobbies when I have free-time.

Have you already read any of these books?

Are there others that you would recommend? If so, send me a message or leave a comment below!

Have a wonderful Friday,

Much love

Notes From a Blue Bike

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I’ve been reading a new book called “Notes from a Blue Bike” by Tsh Oxenreider. I’m absolutely LOVING it and I find that I relate so much to her experiences of living overseas and of the transition that comes when moving back to the states.

Something else that I really love about the book is that there are beautifully written quotes in between some of the chapters.

Although I’ve loved quite a few of them (you may have seen my pics on instagram this week) this Robert Frost quote has been my favorite thus far.

I’m about 100 pages in so far so I’ll keep you updated as I continue reading the book.

Hope you are having a wonderful and blessed monday morning.

Much love.

Also, click here to check out Notes from a Blue Bike on Amazon! I highly recommend it!