Summary: One of our favorite parts of the holiday season is thinking back on the year! Reflection is a crucial part to growth, celebration, and goal setting. We hope you take time to talk with those you love about all you’ve learned and experienced this year! Mentioned This Episode: -Check out this guide for reflection and goal setting: -Elle’s word for the year was “patience”. She learned about engaging with the slow process of growth! -Laura’s word for the year was “appreciation”. She felt a deeper desire and willingness to love and serve her husband. -Looking forward to 2020, Laura is hoping for intentionality with her family and Elle is hoping for rhythm and routine.

Is there anything more magical than Christmas music playing while it snows outside and you hang Christmas lights? If you’re looking to update your Christmas selection, look no further! Top Christmas Albums 12. Cee Lo’s Magic Moment 11.  Michael Smith’s Christmastime 10. Penny and Sparrow’s Christmas Songs 9. Mannheim Steamroller’s Christmas Album (Check out this amazing light show at 913 E Evergreen Street in Wheaton, IL. They’re raising money for Muscular Dystrophy!) 8. John Legend’s A Legendary Christmas 7. Dave Barnes’ A Very Merry Christmas Dave's Funny Christmas Video 6. Bing Crosby’s The Best of Christmas 5. Glee’s The Christmas Album 4. Michael Buble’s Christmas 3. Justin Bieber’s Under the Mistletoe  Taylor Flash Mob 2. Charlie Brown Christmas, Vince Guaraldi Trio 1. Amy Grant’s A Christmas Album

Summary: Who doesn’t love a good Christmas movie?! Don’t miss out on this full list of movies we love! Mentioned This Episode: Movies We Love: The Grinch, Family Stone, Four Christmases, The Holiday, The Christmas Calendar, The Princess Switch. Coming Soon: Last Christmas, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, Frozen 2, The Knight Before Christmas, Listener Faves: Home Alone, Miracle on 34th Street, It’s a Wonderful Life, Die Hard, Santa Clause, I’ll Be Home for Christmas, Sleepless in Seattle, Little Women, The Muppets, Rudolph, Polar Express, Christmas Vacation. Happy movie watching!

Summary: Everyone is telling you what to buy--we thought we’d tell you what NOT to buy! Listen in to get helpful do’s and don’t’s! Mentioned This Episode: -Gift ideas: subscriptions (cheese of the month?! Magazines), meaningful maps or menus framed! -DON’T: Unmentionables, squatty potties, specific decorations. -DO: Get rid of annoying pets, chocolate, fruit of the month, gift cards to great stores, a night of babysitting for a friend.

Summary: While the holidays bring lots of cheer, sometimes the difficult parts of life feel magnified in these moments. The pain of losing a loved one, the tricky feelings of comparison, or even the struggle of family dynamics all play a role in the holiday season. Elle and Laura encourage listeners to engage with these difficult topics and to be the type of friend that allows for both joy and pain. Praying you all have a meaningful Thanksgivings and feel deep gratitude for who God was, is, and has been to you. And of course, We're grateful for YOU! Thanks for listening each week.

Summary: There’s no time like the holidays to lean in to tradition! Whether it’s pumpkin pies with homemade whipped cream, new holiday ornaments each year, or a fresh pair of Christmas jammies on Christmas Eve, we think cultivating traditions in with your family and friends is an important part of the season. Elle and Laura talk about their own experiences with tradition,what color Christmas lights they use, favorite Christmas cookies, and everything in between! Let's Be Honest: Sometimes you need conversation starters around the Holidays! We highly recommend diving into the Enneagram with your relatives. It will make for lively conversation that will hopefully help you get to know each other better! We recommend checking out The Road Back to You by Ian Morgan Cron or The Sacred Enneagram by Chris Heuertz. And seriously-someone print out a test for all their relatives and let us know how it goes. Mentioned This Episode: Favorite Christmas Traditions: Laura-Chinese food on Christmas or Christmas Eve! Elle-Buying her kids classic novels every year with a letter on the inside of the book cover. Favorite Thanksgiving Food: Elle-Homemade noodles (ask Elle if you need a recipe!) Laura-Stuffing and Rolls! Favorite Thanksgiving Tradition: Laura: The Armstrongs cook their turkey a different way every year. This year they’re trying a sous vide approach! Elle: Playing the “thankful game” or using corn kernels to think of what everyone around the table is thankful for. Favorite Christmas Cookie: Elle: Hershey’s kiss peanut butter cookies and her mom’s delicious seven layer Christmas bars! Laura: Gingersnaps, Snickerdoodles, sugar cookies with Christmas decorations! Favorite Christmas Tradition: Elle: Christmas Eve drive followed by opening presents! Laura: Picking out Christmas ornaments for her boys.

Summary: What could be more exciting and honest than talking about money in the holiday season?! Elle and Laura encourage listeners to have a spirit of generosity and intentionality this holiday season. They talk about gift giving and receiving, tips for saving, and how to give more thoughtful gifts this year. This is a must-listen before you enter a season that is so revolved around cash money! Let's Be Honest: If you are sick of getting ONE THOUSAND emails every morning full of deals that aren’t really deals-you need to try unroll.me! This is a game changer for your everyday inbox. It helps you unsubscribe quickly and organize the ads you do not want to receive. Check it out! Mentioned This Episode: Tips for saving: Use cashback on your credit card to save for Christmas money. Use the app Qapital to save your money throughout the year without having to be overly thoughtful about it. Have a game plan: come up with how much you want to spend before you start brainstorming gifts. Use Aldi! Save on ingredients for the many Christmas foods you’ll be making!

Summary: It's the holiday season! And with the seasons comes all sorts of opportunities and challenges.  This week, Elle and Laura talk about gratitude. The often talked about but rarely practiced word that constantly circles the holidays. They talk about the peace and contentment practicing gratitude brings, along with the feelings of greed, envy, and arrogance that undermine gratitude. They suggest different ways to practice gratitude like setting reminders on your phone, speaking it outloud rather than keeping it in your head, and looking at people as image bearers of Jesus. This episode is a must as you enter your seasons of giving thanks! Let's Be Honest: The wonderful, but slightly crazy, Laura just finished Whole30, and here's her advice. Don't do Whole 30! BUT, if you do, break the 30 days with a delicious Ghiradelli chocolate square. She recommends mint, and Elle recommends raspberry! Here's to a season of eating!  Mentioned This Episode: Happy 5th of November. Elle and Laura talk about the famous phrase from the movie V for Vendetta. Turns out the phrase is from a famous poem called (believe it or not) "The Fifth of November" which refers to Guy Fawkes' now infamous plan to blow up London's Houses of Parliament on November 5th, 1605. Now ya know! Two verses Elle and Laura reference are Psalm107:8-9 and Colossians 3:17.  Living Honestly: Check out The Honestly Podcast instagram this week for gratitude prompts! Take time to think each day about what makes you grateful! 

Summary: Waiting is an inescapable part of life. Laura and Elle talk about the disappointments we face in the midst of waiting. Whether you’re waiting for that perfect job, a best friend, or answers to life’s toughest questions—God speaks to your waiting. Elle and Laura talk about their own seasons of waiting and how God met them time and time again. Let’s Be Honest: -If you’re not watching The Great British Baking Show, get on board!! It’s the least competitive baking competition that makes you feel happy, hungry, and will almost definitely make you talk in a British accent. Mentioned This Episode: -Laura is doing Whole30. Just saying. -The Craig Groeschel podcast. This is a MUST listen. In this episode he interviews Rich Froning Jr. (an incredible CrossFit athlete) about what it takes to be the best in your field. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/63-q-a-with-crossfit-champion-rich-froning/id1070649025?i=1000453782002 -

Summary: This week Elle and Laura welcomed on their favorite people in the world: their husbands! Mark Wilkerson and Grant Armstrong graced the podcast with lots of wisdom and even more laughter. You won’t want to miss this episode where both couples share honestly about difficult seasons in their own marriages, expectations they brought in to marriage, and how they’ve grown to love and appreciate each other’s quirks and giftings. Let’s Be Honest: Grant and Mark poke fun at the large amount of time this wonderful podcast takes! They tease Elle and Laura about being off on their expectations of time requirements, but also encourage listeners to make space for their significant others to pursue things that matter to them.