May's Small Ad Sponsors

This year is just flying by! I can't believe that May is more than half over. Man!

Today I want to introduce you all to some of the lovely blogs who sponsored TYD through a small ad. If you're interested in sponsoring for June, you can sign up and see the rates here. Spots are already being reserved, however, so I'd recommend hurrying over. :)

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Melissa @ The Life of a Not So Ordinary Wife

Faith, Fun and Photos

I am Melissa from The Life of a Not So Ordinary Wife. I'm just a girl in love with many things including God, my husband, reading novels, sewing, baking, couponing, graphic design, blogging and so much more!

My blog is a place where I can expose my heart to the world. I'm not too good at talking about what I'm feeling, but writing it down, now that I can do! My husband and I have struggled with infertility our whole marriage and I feel like God has really given me a heart for those women dealing with the same issues! You can read more about our story on the "About Me" section of my blog.

Connect: blog - twitter - facebook - pinterest

Ladio @ My Structured Chaos

Inspiration, Lifestyle, Creation

The My Structured Chaos blog was created out of a need to release myself from college stress and express my insirations and interests. But, now as a new wife, and mother, it has morphed into a place where I can put my feet up and relax.

A little bit of lifestyle, inspirationg, and resources found, and I hope that you will stop by.

Connect: blog - shop - twitter - facebook

Stephanie @ Whatever is Lovely and Noble

Honest, Inviting, Hopeful

I'm a disciple of Yeshua, committed to His intention and purpose for my life. I'm a wife learning how to make my home a place of peace. I'm passionate about teaching the Word to women who want to know the Truth about His sacrifice and His idea for His Church. This blog is my outlet; my space to share my recipes, DIY projects and sometimes my heart.

Connect: blog - twitter - pinterest

Jeanne @ Life in Cleveland 

Parenting, Knitting, Creating

Hi! I'm Jeanne aka Sourire11. I was an architect, knitter, and world traveler before my life was happily hijacked by a fashion obsessed redhead and a baby so chill we call him the dude. Now I blog mainly about raising them in the city I love, Cleveland, Ohio.

Connect: blog - etsy - facebook - twitter - 

pinterest - instagram - flickr

Tammy @ Twelve Discovery Drive

Travels, Discovery, Passion

Hi, my name is Tammy and I blog over at Twelve Discovery Drive! I’m a recent empty nester trying to discover new and exciting possibilities through the world of blogging. I have set a goal to try one new thing each month for the next twelve months. That’s how I came up with the name of my blog – Twelve New Things to Discover who I am and the Drive to just do it!

In a nutshell….

• I’ve been married for 7 years and I met my husband on match.com
• I have two daughters and a step-son
• I work full-time
• I LOVE to travel and see new things
• I was in the Marines for 7 years
• I love home improvement projects and gardening around the house

I have an Etsy shop where I sell upcycled domino tile necklaces and screen printed military style IPad bags and Messenger bags. The bags all have a vintage image screen printed on the front. This is something I learned how to do just this year and it has been so much fun!

I recently took a trip to Rome and London and my blog will be full of stories about those places - hope you'll stop by and check out the Drive.

Connect: blog - shop - twitter - facebook - pinterest

PS. This week, Three Years Down was featured over on The Pickled Poppy, one of this month's large sponsors. Maybe check it out if you have time after seeing these lovely ladies in action.

Truth-Filled Thursdays

Welcome to week three of Truth-Filled Thursdays. Simply post your favorite bible verse this week, using whatever "medium" you would like (text, graphic, scanned in sketch, anything you'd like), then connect with other faith-filled bloggers participating as well.

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Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, with unveiled face, beholdingthe glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.

2 Corinthians 3:17-18

oh how I would love to trust in this and live in freedom.

<center><a href="http://www.threeyearsdown.com/search/label/Truth-Filled%20Thursdays"><img border="0" src="http://i1109.photobucket.com/albums/h424/ThreeYearsDown/TFT125x125-001.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"/></a></center>Please include the link-up button in your post. Thank you. 

Journey Through Pinterest

Now that I am cooking for myself + the Boyfriend (and sometimes the baby) I realized what a bachelorette rut I got into during my year in Big City. I resolved to start being more creative in my meals, but wasn't sure how I would start.

Then I saw my giant pin-board of recipes and was convicted. It's so easy to feel lovely and crafty and creative on pinterest... until it's two hours later and I haven't done anything ACTUALLY productive and am simply super jealous of all the gorgeous crafts I have yet to accomplish.

In comes my newest challenge to myself. I am going to try to make once recipe from pinterest at least once every two weeks. I'd like to do once a week, but sometimes it's just impossible to stray from spaghetti and tacos. #truestory.

By the way, does it drive anyone else crazy that the new Mac OS not only autocorrects, but is convinced that pinterest is not a word?

My first foray into this challenge was also my first attempt at making smoothies. I had recently purchased both strawberries and bananas at the grocery store, and fortuitously found this smoothie recipe while hopping around a few blogs. 

I pinned it... and quickly decided this would be the recipe I would make.

It was good, but incredibly tart. The strawberries I used were not very sweet on their own and the recipe calls for quite a bit of lemon juice in comparison to the rest of the ingredients. The Boyfriend also just pipped in and said he thinks the banana was too ripe. My advice would be to taste all of your ingredients before you pour them in, and make adjustments accordingly.

Ignore my mostly chipped off nail polish, please.

I doubled the ingredients to make enough for both myself and the Boyfriend. If I could make it again I would add half a cup of sugar, and only 3/4 of a lemon. Of course, that half cup of sugar probably ruins all of the health benefits of the smoothie, but it'd be delish!

I don't know if I will retry this recipe because it created a pretty decent sized mess and did not produce a large serving. Although I might change my mind once I get better and more efficient at smoothie making :).

Are you a smoothie making pro? What's your favorite recipe?

Forgiveness {Guest Post}

I am so honored to share a post with you guys by Sage from over at Sweet and Sage. Sage is one of TYD's May sponsors and it has been a true joy to get to know her. Sage and I do not share the same religious beliefs, and it has been really enlightening for me to learn her views and opinions.

Sage also shares a lot of kind advice over at her blog. I'd highly recommend checking her out!

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Honor Yourself By Choosing To Forgive

Guest post by Sage Grayson from Sweet and Sage

I’d like to start this post by asking you to think about something that happened to you that you feel is completely unforgivable.

What was the situation? Who was involved? How did you feel afterwards?Perhaps someone stole from you, or destroyed a priceless possession, or spread vicious rumors about you.Maybe you suffered emotional cruelty, physical abuse, or rape.It might not seem like it now, but choosing to forgive the person who did that deplorable thing to you is one of the most loving things you can do for yourself.Forgiveness is not about changing the other person, getting them to apologize, or making them feel as terrible as they made you feel.It is about honoring yourself and choosing love and compassion over hate and anger.Excuses We Use to Avoid Forgiveness

• They were wrong. This might be true. The other person might have done something truly horrific to you. Forgiveness doesn’t mean that you condone what they have done; it means that you will not continue to be the victim long after the actual event.
• They don’t deserve it. They probably don’t deserve your forgiveness, but being forgiving isn’t about them. By choosing to forgive, you are doing something kind for yourself.
• I don’t want to let go of my anger. I really get this. Sometimes it feels like our anger and hurt is the only thing we can hold on to. The Buddha said, “Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned.” Let it go.
• They’re dead or I don’t know where they are. The person who wronged you doesn’t have to be close by or alive for you to forgive them. Even if they are still in the picture, I urge you NOT to go up to them and say, “I forgive you for [lying to me, burning down my house, etc.].” Forgiveness is personal and should be experienced by yourself.
• They wouldn’t forgive me. Maybe you both were wrong. Friendships can end when both parties feel like the other person is to blame. Even if they won’t forgive you for your part of the mess, you can still focus your energy on forgiving them.

Benefits of Forgiveness

• Less stress. You might actually feel your chest open up when you forgive someone. It may feel like you can take a full breath for the first time in years. Imagine how much less stressed you’ll be when you stop reliving the other person’s transgression in your mind over and over again.
• More happiness. This should be obvious, but when you remove hatred and anger from your life, you create an open space where happiness can come in. Perhaps you never enjoyed your job because you couldn’t forgive a coworker for “stealing” a promotion you wanted. When you let go and forgive, you can experience all the good things about your current job and be happy with where you are right now.
• Peace to move on. Whenever I forgive someone, I feel at peace. This serenity allows me to leave that unfortunate experience behind me and move on to better things.
• Learning a life lesson. No one wants to experience hurt, but by choosing forgiveness, you can see it as an opportunity to learn. For instance, if you are forgiving an abusive ex-spouse, you are also learning to trust your instincts and be aware of “red flags” in future relationships.
• Growing and being the bigger person. OK, this is the self-righteous reason to forgive someone. When you are forgiving, you can feel good with the knowledge that you are the bigger person by being open to love and forgiveness. Many people refuse to forgive, so be proud that you’ve made this choice.

There’s no right or wrong way to forgive someone, but I caution you against confronting the person you want to forgive. It doesn’t matter if that person wants your forgiveness or if they think they’ve done nothing wrong.

In my experience, forgiveness is more meaningful when you go through the process on your own.

How To Forgive

• Write a letter. Write a letter to the person you want to forgive. Be as detailed as you want. Get all of your anger and hurt feelings out of you and onto the paper. When you are finished, fold up the paper and write “I forgive you” on the outside. Then burn the letter, shred it, bury it in the backyard, or otherwise dispose of it. You are in fact disposing of the burden that has been holding you down.
• Perform a ritual. You might already know a forgiveness ritual or practice from your own religion. If not, here’s a simple one. Sit at a table and put a candle in the center of the table. Light the candle and look at the flame while saying, “[Person’s name], I forgive you for [blank]. I let go of my [anger, sadness, whatever emotions you are feeling]. I wish you peace, and I release you.” Say as much as you need to say until you feel calm and content. Then blow out the flame. Imaging your bad feelings leaving your life as the smoke blows away.
• Meditate. Sit somewhere quiet and focus on the bad situation. Take a long, slow breath in through your nose, then exhale through your mouth. On the exhale, visualize the bad memories/feelings flowing out of you. Imagine the picture in your mind getting smaller and dimmer with each exhale until you feel ready to forgive and let go. Sit and focus on opening your heart and mind to forgiveness and filling the space inside you where the bad memories once were.

Forgiveness might not be easy, but you are worthy of a life without anger, grudges, and resentment.What’s stopping you from forgiving someone?Like this post? Visit me at Sweet and Sage for more kind advice for everyday life.

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Brittany's Note: At the end of her post Sage offered ways to forgive. She asked that I include my own recommendations as well.  I believe that her advice on how to forgive is very applicable to Christians, just with a small modification. I would recommend prayer and meditation on God's word on the subject. It was so lovely to share in a conversation on this subject.

Has this post impacted you? Is there someone you need to forgive? I know Sage and I would love to hear your input on this subject.

{LOVE} More May Sponsors

I am so blessed by these lovely ladies and their sponsorship of TYD. Remember, if you purchase ad space by the end of today, you will save 25% off of the month of June with the promo code "JuneLove."


I asked this month's sponsors to described their blogs or shops in three words, and then tell us a little bit about themselves. Make sure to pay them a visit and show them some love!

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One of this month's Large sponsors is Autumn at the Pickled Poppy. If you remember, I promised to tell you more about her last time because she was swamped with a craft sale. Hope it went well, Autumn!

handmade, pretty, stitchy

The Pickled Poppy is a place where I share about my pursuit of simple living, my faith, adventures in mommyhood, and all things crafty and handmade. I also have a little shop full of clutches, writstlets, headbands, and anything else I deem pretty enough to share.

Connect with Autumn around the web: 
Blog - Etsy - Twitter - Pinterest - Facebook

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Our medium sponsors this month are Danielle and Katlyn.


Danielle has a FANTASTIC blog over at Framed Frosting. If you haven't made friends with her, you should really start working on it, especially if your'e a blogger.  She's a fantastic resource.

colorful, fashion, personal

My name is Danielle and I blog over at Framed Frosting. On my blog, you'll find me writing about all things fashion and beauty related. You'll also see that I'm coordinating a Secret Blogger swap for the month of May! I'd love for you to come check it out and sign up to participate too! [Brittany's note: The swap ends on May 11th, so HURRY over to sign up!]

Connect with Danielle around the web: 

Blog - Twitter - Facebook - Pinterest - Bloglovin'

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Katlyn's guest post last week was a huge hit, so I'm guessing many of you already know who she is! If not, make sure to swing by her blog and show her some love!

Kind, Fun, Unique

The Dreamy Meadow is a lifestyle blog about life, love, and everything in between. I am a military wife and mother to a rambunctious 1 year old, so you'll bet your sweet bippy that there are going to be tons of stories for me to share. I love meeting new friends so stop on over and say hi!

Connect with Katlyn around the web:

Blog - Shop - Twitter - Blog FB - Shop FB - Google+ - Pinterest