Simple Pleasures

Practicing Gratitude

'Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow.' 
-Melody Beady

I spoke at my grandmother's funeral about all of the lessons she had taught me. One of the things she taught me was that while things may not be well with my circumstances, they can be well with my soul. At the time I spoke at her funeral, I knew this was possible, because I saw her live it out. Now, I am starting to see how she mastered this. She was always thankful. Thankful for her family. For all her many blessings. It's gratitude that makes joy amidst the hard stuff possible. As I read and receive godly counsel and wisdom during a rough season, the concept of practicing gratitude continues to surface at every corner. I'm learning that practicing gratitude must be intentional. It is forcing me to pause, stop, and look around for all the little daily blessings.

So today, I started a gratitude journal. I went to Michaels to ensure I would have the prettiest gratitude journal known to man! I'm thankful for pretty.

A Few Favorite Things

My mom bought me this eye shadow palette as a present! I love it so much. 

Spring is upon us and that means it's time for capris and cute loafers! Especially pink champagne colored loafers!

I've been wearing Amazing Grace for several years. I love the name and the scent! I will never wear another perfume.

Making 30 Look Cool

There was something so 30ish about my Wednesday evening. Spending an evening doing this would not look as cool if I was 29 or 31. It just wouldn't. 

 

Brave

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”  Joshua 1:9

My definition of brave and courageous changes as I experience more life.  It definitely changed as I've been reading Emily Freeman's blog. Brave once meant someone climbing a crazy big mountain or jumping out of a plane. Now, I see it differently. Brave is being strong and courageous because God commanded it. It’s obedience. Brave fits in to the everyday. Sometimes it looks like getting out of bed and putting one foot in front of the other. Other times it can look like saying no to a request that was flattering and good for the ego but not good for the soul. It is choosing truth over feelings. It’s choosing to extend grace to yourself; Not just others. It’s moving on from the comfortable and familiar. It’s being love led, not fear driven. It’s smiling when you feel like crying and allowing yourself to cry when you are expected to smile. It’s choosing simplicity over busy. It’s admitting you are wrong and trusting your gut when you know something is right. It’s wisdom in knowing when you’ve fought long enough, and it’s time to wave the white flag. It’s loving and serving when it feels as if you have not one more ounce to give. It’s keeping on, keeping on. It's grace, because if God commands us to be brave, then he will equip us. 

In a recent blog post, Emily says, "Christ’s pursuit of me is more important than my pursuit of anything else." She then goes on to quote Phillips Brooks.

“Feed on Christ, and then go live your life, and it is Christ in you that lives your life, that helps the poor, that tells only the truth, that fights the battle and that wins the crown.”

It takes some plain ol' bravery to not just rush and go live your life and chase your dreams without pause or hesitation. Our dreams are so dear to us. So much so that we forget to "feed on Christ" and let Him live out our life in us. I'm not there yet, but I'm trying. And trying is brave. Grace makes up for my lack.

Ann Voskamp said:

In the flesh, you’re a mess.

In Christ, you amaze.

Get. That. In.

I think believing that over our messy feelings is brave.

Thankful Day 12: An Invitation to Live

"I get the invitation every morning when I wake up to actually live a life of complete engagement, a life of whimsy, a life where love does. It doesn't come in an envelope. It's ushered in by a sunrise, the sound of a bird, or the smell of coffee drifting lazily from the kitchen. It's the invitation to actually live, to fully participate in this amazing life for one more day....Turning down this invitation comes in lots of flavors. It looks like numbing yourself or distracting yourself or seeing something really beautiful as normal. It can also look like refusing to forgive or not being grateful or getting wrapped up around the axle of fear or envy. I think every day God sends us an invitation to live and sometimes we forget to show up or get head-faked into thinking we haven't really been invited. But, you see, we have been invited, every day, all over again." Bob Goff

Thankful on the Weekend

I was out of town this weekend with limited internet service! Here are a few things I found myself thankful for this weekend:

• Strawberry cobbler...Thank you, Jesus!
• Spending the weekend in a 200 year old farmhouse
• Fall
• Historical tours
• Wings, pizza, and football
• Heat and power
• Dirt roads
• Long talks at the kitchen table
• Leaves
• Deep conversations
• Crisp mornings
• Creaking floors
• Holding hands
• Sweet tea
• Hotdogs, baked beans, and chips
• A man who reads
• Grace, grace, grace.

Thankful Day 2: Vulnerability

Becoming involved in a new romantic relationship has made me vulnerable. Taking a chance on love is one of the biggest risks there is. Falling in love is one of the best feelings in the world, and it ending is one of the worst. There is no grey in love when it comes to the stark dichotomoty of falling in love and breaking up. Some go their whole lives sabotaging their chances of falling in love in fear of the latter. Some find the idea of rejection and another failed relationship so daunting that taking a chance on love is not worth it. 

But, we have to. Whether it's a new relationship or any other risk, we must embrace vulnerable places and seasons. Because that is where living happens. Real, messy, scary, exhilerating living! It's where we come to the end of ourselves and have to trust something bigger than us. Vulnerability demands that we hand over our personal control of a situation. It demands being fully present, choosing to focus on the now and not the fears of what tomorrow may hold. If we don't, vulnerability will breed insecurity, anxiety, and panic.

I'm thankful for vulnerability. I'm thankful that vulnerability offers me the opportunity to trust God with my heart and my fears. Vulnerability dealt with in a healthy manner makes a scary thing like love worthy of pursuit! 

31 Days of Thankfulness Day 1: Halloween

It's November. The month where we celebrate Thanksgiving, my favorite holiday. Every year around this same season, I feel compelled to be more intentional about counting my blessings and being aware and mindful to the gifts that are all around me. So, to do that, I am going to attempt blogging each day in November about things that I'm thankful for. 

Today, I am thankful for Halloween. Weird. I know. But Halloween provided me with the chance to be silly, eat more candy than I should, wear tacky earrings, bake cute cupcakes, dress Lulu up as a hotdog, and sip on hot apple cider. I loved handing out candy to the precious little children. They never cease to amaze me as I watch them use their imagination and truly own their character. I love that little girls not only dress up as princesses, fairies, butterflies, and lady bugs, but that they also own that character. the boys embrace their God given adventurous spirit, believing they are a ninja, a knight, and a pirate. No one tells them to do this. It's innate. They BELEIVE they are that magical character. I found myself thankful to experiece Halloween through children. I couldn't help but think that God was reminding me to own my royal identity in Christ. What if we believed, for just one second, that we are who God says we are?? Our lives would look drastically different. 

 

 

Stop the Glorification of Busy

Busy isn't bad.The glorification of busy is. I'm involved with a lot of activities and organizations. I even prayed for discernment as to whether I should take on this or that. In my gut, I felt a strong no. In my humaness and prideful self, I found all the reasons for a yes. I rationalized myself into a big fat yes. To keep it simple, I disobeyed God. As a result, I'm struggling with balance. I'm struggling to stay healthy physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. My friendships are suffering as well. While the consequences of my yes will be challenging for the rest of the year, I am thankful for the grace that will be extended in the mean time. He's merciful that way. I know he will see me through and enable me to get things done well.

I think of Mary and Martha when Jesus visited their home. I get Martha! I don't get Mary and her sweet self one bit. I try. But dang, Jesus was coming over! Bless Martha's heart. I'm sure she wanted to impress Jesus. Who wouldn't?! You know the house and food was just perfect. People were probably raving about her lovely presentation and preparation for the guest of honor. I get that. I love hearing people tell me what a great job I am doing. How beautful things look. How I'm changing lives. My pride and ego fuel my glorification of busy. Because the more I do, the more affirmation I receive. Is that the primary reason I do the things I do? Not at all. But it plays a role in preventing myself from giving up certain things I know are good and I know I am passionate about. I am fine at saying no to things I don't like. Saying no to things I love and care about is the challenge. Heck, I want to save the world! Problem is, that was never my job to begin with. The need for affirmation is not bad, but it is strong and can lead to over committment. In a basic sense the glorification of busy is a reflection of where my identity lies. When busy is glorified, then it's safe to say my identitiy has become performance and to-do list based; not Jesus based.

It's OK to say no amidst a craving for yes. We've got to look at what is behind that craving. What's driving that need for more activity. I guarantee, pride is at the root. It renders us ineffective. Being involved with 10 great things sounds great on paper, but are we really doing a good job? Being committed to 1 or 2 activities may feel 'less than,' but I guarantee more powerful results will ensue. Busy cheats us out of quality in its pursuit of quantity.

Update.....

If I ever become disenchanted with my life, all I need to do is look through pictures and see how blessed, busy, and fullfilled I am! I am thinking about scrapbooking again in addition to blogging more. With what time? I'm not sure yet. Here are a few recent happenings!

My girlfriends took me to the beach for my 30th! We had so much fun laying out, eating, and relaxing! I'm not a big party person, so this was perfect. I love them to pieces.

My girls threw me a small party and made me the sweetest book. I might have cried.

We recently had a homemade icecream party, too!

And of course, I've been decorating. It's always a work in progress! I'm really into bright colors right now!

Now, I am at the beach with my seniors. They are currently out but have instructions to text me on the hour saying they are alive. That's all I need. We had spaghetti for dinner, and I suprised them with a little present this morning!

Abigail made smoothies for us to drink while we watched Valentine's Day! 

We went to Murrill's Inlet last night! We had dinner at Creek Ratz, and the girls danced with the band. They definitely "wobbled." Lord. Help. Me.

I didn't take a break from my exercising! I was pretty excited about running on the beach! Dedication right here, y'all.

Fun. stuff.