Welcome to my weekly post I share a peek into our lives, talk about things I'm loving, share links to interesting articles or helpful ideas I've collected throughout the past week, and just talk about whatever is on my heart! 🙂
Silas has been loving Flag Football!
Some friends (who lived in Laos) invited us over for a traditional Lao meal — including no silverware! It was so yummy!
I can’t sing the praises of this book enough and how it’s changing my life! Read more here.
Earlier this week, I had to disappoint some people I love in a big way.
I had been wrestling with a decision for the fall and I felt God leading me in one direction, but I knew that to commit to that direction would mean saying no to something big in my life. And that big no was going to affect people I love dearly.
I had meetings. I prayed. Jesse and I talked. And I just knew in my heart what the right decision was.
But having to personally tell these people I love what my decision was made me super uncomfortable… because I didn't know how they would react and I was pretty sure that there would be some significant disappointment (which there was).
As soon as the disappointment and sadness was expressed, everything in my heart wanted to backtrack on my decision. To say, "You know what? Never mind. I'm just going to do what you'd like for me to do."
But I didn't. It still felt icky and I still felt conflicted about it, but I didn't give in to people-pleasing! Instead, I reached out to the people who were sad and upset personally and talked things through with them on a deeper level.
In the end, it was all resolved in a gracious way and we can move forward as good friends. But not only that, we all see how me saying no to this thing is going to actually allow other people to step more into their callings in my place!
As I was thinking about all of this, I heard @alliworthington say a profound quote on @anniefdowns podcast yesterday: "Disappointing people is part of living out your callings."
Whoa! Go read that again!
That's a powerful reminder that not only will we disappoint people, but it is actually a normal, healthy thing. And what I'm also learning is that, sometimes, disappointing people allows those same people to live out their own callings more! Because it gives them the space to step into something else that they wouldn't have been able to otherwise.
Moms of littles, I know it's exhausting right now. I know it feels like all you do is wipe noses and bottoms, cut up food, make more food, try to appease a crying baby, change yet another diaper, wash more dirty laundry, and try to figure out when you're going to get a shower.
I just want to encourage you, even though it seems like it, it won't be this way forever. Keep teaching and nurturing and loving on your kids, and someday soon, you’ll be able to take naps and showers without having to plan for them three days in advance.
Soon, you'll have kids who take themselves potty, buckle their own seatbelts, get themselves dressed, and pick up after themselves.
And then, in just a few years, you'll wake up to kids who do your laundry and cook you pancakes and and put your furniture together (like my kids have been doing for me since we moved!) and don't need you for much other than long talks, praying for and with them them, hanging out to watch shows and have fun together, and just doing life together (well, and also maybe needing you to drive them to all their social activities! 😉)
Photo is of my babes in 2011. When Silas was incredibly shy, Kaitlynn would only wear skirts or dresses, and Kathrynne still let me pick out her clothes for her.
Man, I love these kids. So much has changed since this photo, but one thing that hasn't changed is the joy and life they bring to our lives!
Do your mornings feel crazy & chaotic? Do you wish you could figure out how to wake up with excitement for your day?
Do you often feel stressed and overwhelmed by your to do list? Does it feel like you'll never get ahead, never get on top of things, and never have breathing room in your life?
If so, I want to invite you to join me for Make Over Your Mornings LIVE — a 14-day online accountability community & group coaching experience that I'm hosting. And it starts TOMORROW!
Go here for all the details! It's just $15 to join (if you've already purchased my course!) — and that includes access to the private Facebook group with me, daily accountability check-ins that I'll be monitoring and interacting with you on, and 3 one-hour LIVE coaching sessions with me.
During the next two weeks, I'm going to be working on tweaking our own morning routine and evening routine to serve our family better and will be bringing you on the journey with me as I experiment with some new ideas, too!
Registration ends on Monday evening! Don't miss out. Just click here to join me!
2018 Goals Update
Personal Goals
1. Read 100 non-self-help books that will build me up/encourage me/inspire me/recharge me. (Fiction/story-driven/biographies/inspirational living books/devotionals.) See the list of 44 books I plan to read this year.
**Progress: 17 books read so far this year
2. Read through the entire Bible.
**Progress: I'm using the Robert Murray M'Cheyne plan and am all caught up— yay!
3. Write one handwritten note to someone every week.
**Progress: 15 notes written so far this year
4. Run 500 miles.
**Progress: 126 miles run so far
Marriage Goal
5. Go on an overnight trip with Jesse without the kids.Jesse and I went to NYC together in January.
Family Goals
6. Read 10 books aloud with the kids.
**Progress: I've finished one book so far.
7. Take the kids to South Africa.
**Progress: We nailed down dates for our trip!
8. Go on a family road trip.
Financial Goals
9. Save up to pay cash to finish off an office for me and workout room for Jesse and me in the basement in our new house.
10. Replenish our Emergency Fund (we dipped into it to replace my car when it got totaled because of the carpet beetle infestation.)
Business Goals
11. Increase our gross income from the business by 8%.
12. Launch 5 new courses.
**Progress: 4 Weeks to a More Productive Life launched in January and Content Creation 101 launched in February. We launched the 4-Week Blog Coaching Program in March and we launched a new YourBloggingUniversity.com course in March!
Links You Should Check Out:
