A Little Catch-Up

☕ Saturday, September 19, 2026

Hello, friends,

Today is a little bit of a catch-up. As I sat here with my coffee this morning, I started thinking about everything that’s been going on lately, and I realized something: this blog doesn’t have to be perfect. The things I do don’t have to be perfect either.

I’ve gotten into the habit of writing every day, and I really do enjoy it. I enjoy sitting down with my coffee and putting my thoughts into words. But sometimes life happens, and this week it just didn’t happen. Thursday I had epidural injections in my neck, and I didn’t post.

Honestly, I didn’t even think about it. Friday was spent resting and taking it easy, so there wasn’t a post that day either.

And you know what? That’s okay.

Today I’m sitting in a quiet house. Matt is off helping a friend with his home, and Garrett is at a birthday party with some friends. So I’m sitting here thinking about the things I need to do, the things I want to do, and the things that probably aren’t going to get done today. And I’m okay with that too.

The biggest thing I need to do is pray.

There is so much to pray about right now. We’ve had numerous prayer requests come through conversations with church members and their families, and there seems to be so much illness and sickness going on. There are people who are hurting, people who are dealing with difficult circumstances, and people who are lost and need to find the Lord. And then, of course, every one of us has our own personal things that we’re carrying.

I think sometimes prayer is one of the simplest things we can do, yet it’s also one of the things we don’t always do.

We hold things inside. We worry about them. We try to figure them out ourselves. We carry things around because we think we can handle them, when really we need to take them to God and leave them there.

I feel like that’s becoming a recurring theme in this blog, and maybe that’s because I need the reminder just as much as anyone else. I need to remind myself that I don’t have to carry everything. I need to give it to God.

The Bible tells us,

“Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.” 1 Peter 5:7 (KJV)

I love that verse because it doesn’t tell us to hold onto our cares and try to manage them better. It tells us to cast them upon Him because He cares for us.

There is plenty on my own plate right now, too. I’m two weeks into my GLP-1, and I’ll take my third shot on Monday. So far, things are going well. I haven’t weighed myself in a little over a week, but after my first week I was down two pounds, so that’s exciting.

But honestly, the biggest change I’ve noticed isn’t the number on the scale. I’m just not nearly as hungry as I was before. The food noise is gone, and the cravings that used to constantly be in the back of my mind aren’t there like they were. That’s been a pretty amazing change for me.

Now I’m having to learn how to make sure I’m actually eating enough of the things my body needs, especially protein. And that is harder than it sounds when you’re not hungry. I’m working on preparing, prepping, and planning so I have good options ready instead of waiting until I’m hungry and trying to figure something out.

Today I’m hoping to prep some breakfasts for the week and make a couple of high-protein spinach dip bowls. I found the recipe, and it sounds so yummy. I’m really hoping they taste as good as they sound, because that’s always the gamble with a new recipe!

And no, I’m not saying this blog is turning into a recipe blog or a food blog. Honestly, I’m not completely sure where this blog is going.

It’s on my business website, and part of me thinks, It needs to be about my business. But then another part of me thinks, This is me. This is who I am. My business is a part of my life, but it isn’t my entire life.

And maybe that’s what makes this work.

Three Hearts Keepsakes is something I do because I love creating things for people. I love the idea that something I make can make someone else’s day a little more special. On Monday, I’m working on a personalized ornament for a Mary Kay consultant I know through selling Mary Kay. I can’t show it because it’s a gift, but it’s really neat, and it’s very personalized to her.

That is really the direction I want to take my business.

Yes, I have shirts and other products that aren’t personalized, and I love those too. But I want to be able to create things that fit you. I want people to come to me and say, “This is what I want,” and for me to be able to create something that’s just exactly what they had in mind.

I’m not completely sure how I’m going to make all of that happen yet, but thankfully we live in a world where the internet can teach us just about anything. So I’ll keep learning and figuring it out.

I guess that’s really where I am right now.

I’m learning.

I’m figuring things out.

I’m trying to take better care of myself. I’m trying to grow my business. I’m trying to be a good wife and mom. I’m trying to keep up with work and everything else life puts in front of me. And sometimes I get it all done, and sometimes I don’t.

And I’m learning that it doesn’t have to be perfect.

Maybe this blog doesn’t have to be perfectly consistent to be worthwhile. Maybe I don’t have to have every part of my life figured out before I can share what I’m learning. Maybe sometimes the most honest conversations are the ones where we admit that we’re still figuring things out.

What I do know is that I don’t want any of us to get so busy with everything else that we drift away from our Bibles or our relationship with God.

There is so much happening around us, and we all have things we’re carrying. So don’t forget to take those things to God. Talk to Him. Give Him the things you can’t fix yourself. And when you don’t know what else to do, pray.

Because God is always with us.

Even when the house is quiet.

Even when we miss a day.

Even when we don’t have all the answers.

He’s there.

And that’s a pretty good place to end today’s coffee and conversation.

Until tomorrow, friends. ❤️

Mandy