Oh thoughts….you gotta love ‘em haha

I think for most of us thoughts can be such a tricky thing and here’s why…

They seem so real!!!!

And they are just there like all the time and we don’t feel like we’re choosing them rather they’re choosing us

I mean who wakes up and thinks “ today I want to think of all the ways I don’t measure up… or you know what sounds good?!? I’m going to rehearse all the mistakes and ways I have failed in my life in between all the downtime in my real life…

Sounds ridiculous and sad but it’s what happens.

And because we don’t actually set out to do those examples I just gave, when those things enter into our thoughts we perceive them as truth because they’re there and are speaking to us…

And they sound like they know what they're talking about and even come with hard facts many times to back up their argument.

Expectations have been a tricky thing for me…

My younger adult self was a very black and white thinker so things needed to fit neatly into good and bad buckets and yeah...it wasn’t always pretty.

I always envisioned this perfect scenario in every area of my life only to be left disappointed because….as we know life isn’t a perfect scenario...

For the longest time, I didn’t realize this is what was happening and how I kept repeating this loop of setting myself up to be let down.

When I found myself being disappointed in an outcome I usually found a way to blame myself or others for not trying hard enough or whatever reason seemed fitting.

Anyone else related to this particular loop with expectations?

I’ve talked about and thought a lot about this idea of living our lives on autopilot. I don’t have the statistics right in front of me but it’s amazing how much of our day and how we think and act is just an automated response to how we’ve been living.

It’s just how we are wired...when we repeat certain thoughts and actions they become so ingrained in us that we don’t even think about the details anymore. We’ve all experienced getting into the car to go somewhere and that we go to frequently and arriving and not even remembering the process of getting there.

Even though we are wired for these habits to become so ingrained in us we are also wired for change. And FALL is all about change and that’s what i want to talk about today...3 things we can learn in this season of FALL.

In the last year and the last couple of months, I’ve gained 2 new beautiful granddaughters. And I’ve been reminded watching these new little lives in the first days and weeks and months of life, the need of being held and not only held but held tight.
They even make special swaddling blankets that my youngest granddaughter got to model for a company in her first few weeks of life haha.

But you’ve probably seen why swaddling works...because when you lay them down it’s like their little bodies can’t control their movements...and they are startled by the freedom…

Trust is an easy word to talk about and much harder to actually live out.

It’s easy for me to say, “I trust God,” after all I’m a Christian and that’s what we do…

Or is it?!?

I’ve been challenged with this issue of trust…

And have recognized how easy it is for me to say and think I am while simultaneously trying to control everything.

That’s Not trust... That’s control.

Do you remember as a child counting down the days till summer? I know I did that every year and it wasn’t because I was looking forward to a particular activity or trip.. It was because I was looking forward to FREE TIME to follow my curiosity.

I believe a big reason for this is we tend to live our lives according to the loudest voices and opinions, and influences around us. And this isn’t something that we start as adults...it goes back to us as kids and what we saw and experienced around us and ultimately what we felt was expected for us to be normal and successful and accepted.

This typically doesn’t happen because of any kind of wrong intention. Most of us grew up around people that loved and cared for us on a deep and generous level. But as you learn as you get older, everyone is living out of their own experiences of living life and hopefully you find more grace in your heart realizing that for the most part everyone is doing the best they can in the season they are in. Hopefully we are all choosing to learn and grow and allowing the Holy Spirit to teach us and lead us into truth.

Last weekend was Mother’s day and I had shared something on social about my mom, capacity, women, strength and comparison and it got me thinking about more about those things that I thought we could talk about today...

This was the first Mothers Day without my Mom. The actual day honestly wasn’t any different than any day has been for me since her passing. I’ve learned waves of grief show up when they want to and that

learning to live life without the person that gave me life is a new way that will take some time...and that’s ok.

I shared in the post that my Mother had such a large capacity in how she lived her life. And even though I’m her daughter and many aspects of my life mirrors hers...I learned pretty quick that my capacity was quite different from hers.

I want to talk capacity and comparison today because I think these 2 things have the potential to really hold us back from living the life we were designed for.

So what does capacity mean?

A dictionary def says

an individual's mental or physical ability faculty or potential for treating, experiencing, or appreciating

Just hearing the definition makes me feel a little less than haha

I’m joking but I’m not… lol

Hi Everyone! I’m doing something a little different today on the podcast. I’m actually sharing an episode from a podcast that my husband and I started this past December called Becoming One.

Marriage and relationships are something we find ourselves talking about a lot with each other as well as when we teach and share. Our hope is to create a space for real talk around the relationship of marriage as well the original intention God had for this sacred union from the start. We also think it’s a great resource for those of you that are listening that aren’t married right now but desire to be in the future.

The reason I wanted to share it with you today is to let you know about a marriage challenge we started and invite you to join us if you’d like. We really believe this challenge can transform your marriage.

So hope you enjoy listening and jump in the challenge with us!

I wanted to continue with some takeaways from this story of Esther that I shared from in the last episode…

There were several things that jumped out at me from this story in the book of Esther that I believe are helpful to us as well in living out the plans and purposes God has for our lives.

1. The first thing that stood out to me is the circumstances and experiences of Esther’s life (that in reality were hard and heartbreaking) those things didn’t disqualify her...they prepared her.

You see Esther was living in Persia after her family had been exiled after Israel had been conquered by Nebuchnezzar of Babylon, who then had been conquered by the Persian Empire. She then found herself orphaned after both of her parents died and was taken in by an older cousin who raised her as his daughter.

Several years ago I started seeing 4:14 and at first it was here and there and then it was literally all day, everyday. As I mentioned, that is the birthday of my oldest daughter and I mentioned it to her and we would share with each other that we kept seeing it.

For those that are listening that don’t know me well...I’m not one to be hyper spiritual about things. (I realize that can be someone's perspective haha and that some of you might think of me in that way) but I’ve been around people that are always having dreams and visions and seeing signs in every single thing and that’s not me.

And I know the whole thing about once something is in your mind you start seeing it (ex of car) but whatever the reason I was seeing 4:14.

With the welcoming of spring i want to invite you to some good old spring cleaning...and I’m not just talking about purging your pantry but I’m inviting you to

Spring cleaning... spirit, soul and body!

What is it about spring that makes you want to throw open the windows and get moving?!?

I think it’s the sunshine and warmer days that gives us an energy boost. I always say Fall is my favorite until Spring comes around.

I admit I’m not exactly a lover of cleaning but I am a lover of growing so if I’ve got to do a little cleaning to make room for some growth then I’m here for it!

Ok, so I’m pretty sure we all know what Spring cleaning looks like in our homes but what does that look like for the rest of our lives?

How can we declutter our lives... our spirits, our souls, our bodies?!?

To keep it simple and in ways we are familiar with I’m going to stay with this idea of “spring cleaning” as it pertains to our homes

It’s seems like yesterday and forever again ago all at the same time but today actually marks 1 month of my mother breathing her last breath on this earth.

I hesitated even putting out the previous episode as once the tears started coming they weren’t easy to stop. But then I felt like to not put it out there went against some of what I was sharing.

And as excited as we all can be at the start of a new year here we are a few weeks in and it’s easy to revert back to the ways that are comfortable to us…

I heard a statistic this past week and I didn’t look it up so sorry if it’s not accurate, but I’ve heard the point of it before so I’ll share but the person said that 80% of the thoughts we have each day are on “auto-pilot”

Is that not crazy?!?

But I believe it!

Happy new year friends!

Here we are in the first full week of 2021 and I don’t know what the view is from your life’s window right now...but it’s already looking pretty eventful from my view.

As usual for this time of year lot of talk about goals and resolutions and word for the year...and if you’ve been around a while you know my thoughts about these things...you have a word rise up in you for the start of a new year GREAT…. You have ZERO positive or productive words rising up… still great!

You alive you’re here…

Hi friends! Here we are in the final days of 2020 and what a year!

I know this year has held different circumstances for each of us. For me it has been such a mix of beautiful + challenging moments.

I wanted to end this year with something that God dropped in my spirit in the last couple of weeks that made such a BIG difference in my life this past year.

My faith is always so stirred up when I read about Mary’s encounter with the Angel and the Holy Spirit coming upon her and her response in this encounter…

I admit it…

I’m one of those women that loved being pregnant!

The last 3 of my 5 children were born within a 4 years span and one day my husband mentioned to me that the old saying lots of women say that “you’ll know where you’re done having more children” well he was thinking maybe that feeling doesn’t happen with everyone so I might not want to look for that to be the determining factor!

As I was praying + playing in my journal on a rainy Fall morning recently, I found myself doodling leaves and writing these words...

“What needs to fall away in my life?
What dead thing that is barely holding on needs to be released and fall away?

Change is good...
And a natural part of growth.

Don’t resist the things falling away.
Appreciate them for what they brought to you in their season and celebrate the change that their falling away is bringing to you.”

👉🏼Are you sensing or desiring the need for some things to fall away during this season?

Sharing some thoughts from my heart on an early morning drive to an appointment around the Election here in the US...

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