Currently: May 2025 🌿
Let Them, summer plans, and celebrations!
May Recap
May is one of my favorite months of the year. And this year has been no different.
We celebrated my sister-in-law as we anxiously await the arrival of my precious baby niece any day now! We played pickleball with my family. Everything turned green again! We celebrated my 25th birthday, and I got the cutest new Kindle case from All Things Lily Ann! I worked a beautiful wedding on a perfect Indiana spring day. I soaked up the last few weeks of school with my students. And now, we are spending the last few days of May in Tennessee celebrating at our friend’s wedding!
It has been a month full of so many of my favorite things - sunshine, green, celebrations, reading, walks, and time with people we love. I am so thankful!
Reading
The Love Haters by Katherine Center - This is the perfect summery, pool or beach read! It is set in Key West and follows a coast guard swimmer and a woman making a promo video about him. It made me laugh out loud but also had emotional depth and the sweetest found family. No spice, mild infrequent language.
As You Ice It by Emma St. Clair - I thought I finished the Appies series earlier this year, but then I found out this seventh book came out this month! Of course, I immediately picked it up and loved being transported right back to the small town of Harvest Hollow. Camden and Naomi were super cute, and I loved watching their families blend together. This book and the whole series, has some of the best examples of healthy, fun, adult male and female friendships - the group texts are some of my favorite parts. Please read this series - no spice!
The Let Them Theory by Mel Robbins - This book has been super popular recently, and I wanted to see what everyone was talking about! I took lots of little pieces of advice, and my favorite part was the section on adult friendships!
When you say Let Them, you make a decision not to allow other people’s behavior stress you out or bother you. When you say Let Me, you reset your stress response and take responsibility for how you respond.
Watching
With the end of school, busy weekends, travel, and the sun going down later, I really have not been watching much at all! However, something I am planning on doing soon is reading The Summer I Turned Pretty series so I can finally watch the Netflix adaptation!
Listening
I’m the Problem by Morgan Wallen - Morgan Wallen released a new album with 37 songs just in time for summer!
Firm Foundation (He Won’t) by Cody Carnes - This song is one of my favorite songs to listen to when I need to reset my mind on what is true and important during my day.
Christ is my firm foundation, the rock on which I stand. When everything around me is shaken, I’ve never been more glad that I put my faith in Jesus - ‘cause He’s never let me down. He’s faithful in every season, so why would He fail now? He won’t.
Thinking
Summer! I think this year is the most excited I have been for summer since I was a kid. I feel like in Tennessee, you get a week or two of spring and a week or two of fall, but most of the year is winter and summer. In Indiana, spring has felt like an actual season, and it has made me so ready for the warm, long, carefree days of summer. I am so excited for a new routine, reading by the pool, and lots of sunshine. Along with being excited for summer in general, I have also been so excited to set some new goals for the summer. I want to start running and trying some new workout classes. I also want to continue to try new hobbies and go deeper in ones I already have - like writing! Maybe this will be the summer I finally start writing a book?!
Stopping Negative Thought Patterns - I saw a quote on Pinterest this morning that said, “you are safe, these are just thoughts.” I feel like this past month, I have really been working on stepping outside of my thoughts when I feel them starting to spiral. I play “Firm Foundation,” or I list off things I am grateful for. I try to put things back into perspective and not let things that are not urgent or important to consume my energy and thoughts. With anxiety, our bodies feel like what we are worrying about is actually happening. So taking some deep breaths, and reminding myself that they are just thoughts, not reality, can be really helpful.
Nature and Our Bodies - Last week, I wrote all about how to get a good night of sleep, and there were so many things that filled me with awe at how God designed nature to support our bodies. Sunlight at dawn and dusk helps set our circadian rhythm. It is the coolest at night while we are sleeping, and our bodies also cool down while we sleep. Lately, I have noticed a huge positive correlation between time spent in sunlight and my heart rate variability. I am just so thankful for how God gave us things we need right outside our door!
Quote
This quote from The Let Them Theory really resonated with me.
“Put in the reps. It’s a phrase my buddy bestselling author Jeff Walker always says, ‘Success is about putting in the reps.’ What’s that mean? Simple: To be successful, to lose weight, to write a book, or to become a YouTuber, you have to show up every day and do the boring, irritating, and uncomfortable work. You’ve got to put in the reps.”
What is something you need to “put in the reps” for?
Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed this newsletter, it would mean so much to me if you would share it with a friend!
Take care,
Caroline
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