jamie y. watkins

Author: jywatkins

  • I’m Scared Too

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    jywatkins
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    In one week, Chad and I will be getting on a plane and flying across the ocean to Europe, to France. We are so excited to revisit the beautiful Alsatian city where we studied abroad, where we began our romance ten years ago. We love France. And we watched with grief and sorrow and fear…

  • I Used to Think Having Faith Meant Having Answers

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    I used to think having faith meant having answers, and now I think having faith means living with the questions. When I became a Christian and started attending church and bible study and youth group in high school, it was exciting, like making a new friend. You get to know each other. You play games and go…

  • {pretty, happy, funny, real}

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          ~ Capturing the context of contentment in everyday life ~ {pretty} This has been one pretty autumn! The trees have been so gorgeous lately. I especially love the Japanese maple in our front yard. My parents have one in their front yard, too, so it’s fun that our house shares that with the house…

  • Marriage: An Exercise in Sacrifice

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    Today Chad and I are celebrating our sixth wedding anniversary. Every September 20, we try to think back on the past year, about how we’ve grown or changed or what went wrong and what went right. And my first thoughts this year are about sacrifice. Marriage isn’t always about sacrifice. There are definitely times when you…

  • Tomatoes

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    When I was younger and my mom would ask me to help with dinner, one of my least favorite things to do was cut up tomatoes. Sometimes they needed to be diced for tacos, or sliced for hamburgers, or quartered for salad. But no matter what, I didn’t want to do it. Something about the…

  • {pretty, happy, funny, real}

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    jywatkins
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    ~ Capturing the context of contentment in everyday life ~ {pretty} With the help of family and friends, I hosted a 30th birthday for my husband Chad this past weekend. It was fun and I really got into the decorations. I used maps and crossword puzzles and chalkboards and some other items to dress up…

  • {pretty, happy, funny, real}

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    jywatkins
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    ~ Capturing the context of contentment in everyday life ~ {pretty} On my mom’s birthday, we went for a hike to see some waterfalls across the border in Pennsylvania. It was a gorgeous day and one of my sisters came with her two kids. The waterfalls were very pretty and the mist kept us cool…

  • Happy Birthday Mom!

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    I started to write a post about my mom for her birthday, but I didn’t really know where to begin. So this post is made up of some of my best memories or what comes to mind first when I think of my amazing mother. Happy birthday, mom! ——- Recently, my mom and my sisters…

  • I Have a Voice

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    jywatkins
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    Last October, I worked at a girls’ leadership conference. My team and I trained the adult chaperones on how to guide the teen girls through community projects that addressed one of several social justice topics. The goal of the conference was to empower the girls to find an issue in their community and address it…

  • Parenting: Pets & People

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    Last week, we had to take Olive Oil to the vet to have her teeth cleaned. This was the second time in two weeks that we had to take her to the vet, and since she has anxiety, it’s a big deal. Taking her to the vet, or anywhere for that matter, is an ordeal,…