Six Things I Do Every Single Day That Make My Life Better.

I want to start this off by painting a picture of my current life for you. I am in the trenches of toddlerhood, y'all. I also work (like, an actual job that requires me to do actual things) from home. My house is never all clean at once. I am rarely dressed with my hair and makeup done. My to-do list overflows to the next day 110% of the time. No matter what my intentions are in the morning, I end most days as a passenger on the hot mess express. It's just what this season of life looks like.
I say that so you don't think I have this routine where I wake up in my Pinterest perfect home (lol, no) that's nice and clean (also no) and do these things stress-free while looking like an instagram model (lolzzz never). 
It's more like, I do these things every day, often in my pajamas, in a messy house, in between doing dishes and emails and FaceTime meetings and fixing snacks and phone calls. 
But I do them. 
Every day.
1. Drink alllll the water. || So much freakin' water. Have a headache? Drink water. Skin breaking out? Chug some water. Have a project due that you haven't started yet? Girrrrrl you better hydrate. I feel 100% better when I drink enough water. 
2. Practice Gratitude. || A list of five things I'm grateful for, from that day, every single day. When I start my day from this perspective, I'm more open to the good that day has to offer. Gratitude changes your perspective. 
3. Move Intentionally. || I really wanna say workout, but I definitely don't workout every day. But even on the days I don't workout, I make sure to spend at least a few minutes moving my body on purpose. Whether it's an actual workout or just going for a walk, I make sure I don't spend the entire day in one place (which, when you work from home, can be really easy to do). 
4. Skincare. || I have finally realized that if I am not nice to my skin, it will not be nice to me. I don't fall asleep with makeup on anymore. My skincare routine is a few minutes of self-care that benefits me in the moment and in the long run. These are the products I use, if you're curious.
5. Reflect. || I'm gonna put a whole post together just on this topic, but this is often my favorite part of my day. I ask myself two questions: 1) How was yesterday? 2) How will today be better? I reflect on the highs and lows of the day before, then I dive into how I hope I will be better today. 
6. Inspire. || This world can be a dark place, guys. If you're a caring person, it can really weigh you down. It's so important to make sure you're feeding yourself inspiration and staying centered on the good. Ways I do this: Devotions in the Bible app (you can find short little notes about any topic you can think of), reviewing my notes from things that have inspired me (Like Rise Conference), looking at content from people I admire (Mel Robbins, Rachel Hollis, John Maxwell, etc.), and reading books that encourage to me.
These things are so simple and all make the biggest difference. My days are better when I do them. My life is better when I do them. 

I've learned that if I wait until I have my life together to do things that are good for me, I'll never do them. If I wait until my house and hair are clean on the same day to practice gratitude, there would never be another thankful list written again. 
No matter what season of life you're in, find a few things that make your days better. Maybe it's meditating, or taking a walk. Maybe it's reading before bed, or making yourself drink a green smoothie. Find things that you know make your life better, then actually do them. 
Whether your hair is clean or not. 

I Think You Can, I Think You Can, I Think You Can.

I'm in a group chat with my three best friends. It's full of memes, embarrassing stories, and venting sessions. But, when you need it to be, it's the best pep talk ever. 
My friend Kayla started a fitness motivation group where a group of Instagram friends hold each other accountable to their goals-fitness and otherwise. It's inspiring and convicting and has been so good for me. 
I just finished Girl, Wash Your Face and am truly overflowing with inspiration from it. It has kept me awake at night in the best way possible. It has pushed me and fueled me and made me write things down and dream out loud and believe in myself.
All of those things together have cumulated in me feeling like I can do anything. They've got me feeling so inspired and my cup is overflowing with belief in myself and my dreams. I've been waking up in the morning with my brain resembling The Little Engine That Could, saying over and over, I think I can, I think I can, I think I can. 
Maybe your cup isn't feeling too full right now. Maybe you don't have an awesome group chat that talks you up when you need it. Maybe you're not riding the high of some "you can do it!" book. Maybe the thought of saying (and believing) "I think I can" seems false and overwhelming. 
That's okay. 
I think you can.  
Everyone deserves a support system. Everyone deserves cheerleaders in their life when things get hard and they get tired. Everyone deserves someone who will make you believe in yourself, no matter what. 
And if you can't find that anywhere in your life right now...not in a book or a podcast or a group or a friend or a therapist's office or within yourself...if that voice is missing from your life, let me just be a stand-in today, okay? 
I truly, truly think you can. 

That business you want to launch? I think you can. The amount of money you're trying to save to allow you to be a stay-at-home parent? I think you can. The book you're trying to write? I think you can. The benchmark you're trying to reach with your business this year? I think you can. That vacation home you want to buy so you can fulfill your dream of retiring by the beach? I think you can. 
I think you can do it because I think I can do it. I don't say that lightly, I don't gloss over it like a pretty and pink inspiring quote on Pinterest that I love in the moment and then never read again. I really, honestly, in the depths of my soul believe we can do it. I believe if we truly try, really give it our all, we can do it. And if we're not gonna try, what the heck are we doing here? 
I hope you have the best support system in the whole world. I hope you're surrounded by encouragers who are constantly reminding you that you can do these things. But I also know there's a good chance that that's not the case. 
So hey, let me be a loud, honest voice in your ear today: You can do it. 

What is it That You Want to Do?

That's a broad question, right? What is it that you want to do? 
I don't mean with your whole life. Honestly, I don't know if any of us ever figure out the one thing we want to do with our lives. Or if there even is just one thing. That's not what I'm talking about. 
I'm talking about that thing (or things) that, regardless of anything else, you know you want to do. 
We all have things that, deep down, we know we want to do. And we wait. For whatever reason. Sometimes for good reasons, sometimes for stupid reasons. We think we aren't good enough, that now's not the right time, that we should be better prepared...and we wait.
Last week, someone asked me on Instagram what the secret was to blogging when you have a baby. Babies are sweet and lovely, but they are little time suckers. They have a way of making a whole day vanish before you even get started on your to-do list, and that can make things like blogging fall away. 
Anyway, I thought about it for a bit before responding, and I was kind of bummed that I didn't have any cool, secretive tips. I didn't even have any fun tips. So I wrote back an honest answer: I sleep less. I don't watch as much Netflix as I would like. And I do a lot of one-handed, bleary-eyed typing on my phone when Jack needs me to hold him. 
As I typed that out, I felt less bummed and more just proud of myself. I didn't have a secret recipe, but I was doing it. Blogging and writing are things I want to go for, so I do. I set my alarm for outrageous hours and just do it. In the most inconvenient of times. In the most sleep deprived, busy, overwhelming times. Because I want it. I'm not some huge success, but I'm going for it. 
Sometimes, you just need someone to tell you to go for it. To look deep inside yourself, see that thing you want to do, and just do it. Go for it. Take that first step, or ninth step, or last step. Get started. Finish. Just do it. 

So let me be that person for you today. Maybe I know you in real-life, or maybe we're internet friends, or maybe I'm a stranger who's words you pop by and read sometimes. Whatever it is, for today, let me be the person who tells you that you should go for it. 
Let me also be the person to tell you that it doesn't have to be pretty or well-executed or an instantly huge success to be a win. When you start trying, it's a win. 
Want to blog? You can. You might not have that pretty white desk in your own office with perfect natural light, where you get six uninterrupted hours a day to build your empire. It might look more like typing things into your phone as you get ideas throughout the day, while you're juggling your job and your kid and who knows what else, and then setting your alarm for a horrid hour so you can put those thoughts into a blog post. That's what it looks like for me right now. 
Want to run a marathon? BLESS YOU, I will never understand why you want to do this, but I know you can do it. Go for more walks this week. Maybe try a jog next week. Buy some new running shoes*. Just get started. 
Maybe you want to go back to school, or become a journalist, or get a new job, or take a new adventure, or start a new journey, or write a book, or open a coffee shop. Whatever that thing is inside of you, the thing that's always quietly (and sometimes not so quietly) there, hanging out just below the surface, begging you to take a chance....you. can. do. it. 
It's the first Friday in February of 2017. You'll never get this Friday back. It seems like the perfect day to get started, doesn't it? 
Do it. Get started. Take your first step. 
I'll be cheering for you all the way. 
*denotes affiliate link, disclosure here.

Nothing Inspires Me Quite Like Fall & Winter.

If I had to choose a way to describe life right now, I think I'd say in love. Or maybe enjoyed. Or I'd choose content. Or savor. Or possibly inspired. 

I am just so in love with life right now. I'm in love with Chris being home, and I'm in love with getting to spend so much time with him.

I'm so enjoying how the weather is, how I've been able to break out the boots and sweaters. Only for like an hour in the morning, but still...I'll take what I can get.

I'm so content with where I am. There's so much up in the air right now, like: Where will we match? Will we be happy with it? When will the baby come? What will life be like once he gets here? Will we be able to make everything work? Regardless of the uncertainty, I'm still so perfectly content with this stage. It's unlike me, but even though I have zero of the answers, I have so much peace.

I'm savoring every moment. After spending so much time away from Chris, I'm soaking up even the normal moments as if they might be snatched away from me at any time. And really-isn't that how we should always live? I'm savoring the mugs of pumpkin spiced coffee, the early mornings snuggled under the covers, the nights spent watching movies and feeling the babe move all around, knowing that pretty soon, he'll be moving out in the world with the rest of us.

Being pregnant is hard-for real, it's really freaking hard work-but I'm still savoring this season so very much.

And absolutely nothing makes me feel inspired quite like fall and winter. The scents, the weather, the tastes, the colors, the coziness. The happiness of all that this fall means to me. I just wake up every day feeling so thankful, and so inspired to just live. Sure, sometimes I wake up in pain, or on the verge of throwing up, but even then-I'm still so inspired by this beautiful season.

What's inspiring you lately? 

You Can Do It: Over and Over and Over.

You can do it. I write these words and see these words all the time. I see them in post after post, articles on Buzzfeed, inspiring pinterest quotes. I say these words to friends, to family, to coworkers. I smile when they are said to me.

It can sometimes seem redundant, saying and seeing and writing these words again and again so that they seem to lose their meaning. But still, we have to keep saying them. We have to keep encouraging, keep believing, and keep fighting the loneliness of being the only one who believes in your dreams.

Because often, even if someone can't do it, hearing that they can is the only thing they need in the entire universe for that to change.

Don't let those words become so repetitive that they begin to sound cliché. Don't let the abundance of pretty images online that share the same words take away from the meaning of someone saying those words to you. Don't let the fifty-second encouraging article you've read this week take away from the importance of saying those words to other people.

When someone says these words to you, you are no longer alone. Someone else believes in you and your journey. And when you say them to someone else, you are no longer alone. Because you believe in them and their journey. So keep saying, keep writing, keep believing.

You can do it. You can do it. You can do it. 

9 Quotes to Read When You Forget How Amazing You Are.

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Memories.

Today is one of my favorite days of the year.

In case you were wondering, December 24th is my favorite day of the year.  Followed by Christmas.  And then whatever day we go to Universal's Grinchmas.  And then Thanksgiving.  But today is on the list of my favorite days.

Its our annual candy making party!  Because, in my mom's words, you need to find a way to involve candy with Halloween once you get too old to trick-or-treat.

Tonight will be fun.  We'll make some great candy, but we'll also mess up a lot.  We'll burn some, ruin some, and some simply won't turn out right no matter what.  But we'll laugh about it, talk about life, and make memories.

That's why nights like tonight are my favorite.  Because I love making memories with the people that I love.

We can get caught up in being busy.  In thinking we're important.  We can often become overwhelmed and think we have too much to do to take time to make memories.  And that's just sad.

A friend of my parents passed away last night.  They went and sat with his family after, and my mom said his family sat around and told all kinds of stories about his life and the memories they had made.  In that moment, I'm sure it didn't matter how busy they had been over the years.  How important their job was.  How overwhelmed they had been twenty years ago.

I'm sure they were incredibly grateful for the memories they were able to hold and cherish in that moment.

Don't be too busy to live your life--really live it.  Don't be too caught up in the stress of every day to notice when a moment is begging to become a memory.  Don't walk away from that because you think your current circumstance is too important.

Memories are a beautiful gift, and one that you can give yourself.  Live your life open to moments like that, and suddenly, the business you thought was so important?  It won't be.  It never was.


[PS:  Do you have a shop?  The second handmade fair is coming up soon and we would love to have you participate!  Email me for more information!]

Set your mind on what is right.

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Your thoughts control so much of your life.

What do you spend most of your time thinking about?  Good things?  Sad things?  Things you're worrying over?  Things that may go wrong?

Think about the good things.  Think about the happy things.  Don't waste time thinking and worrying about the things that don't matter, the things you have no control over.

Spend 24 hours making a conscious effort to think more about the good and less about the bad.  You'll be amazed at how much better your day seems.

Happy Wednesday!  Here's to happy thoughts. 

As only you can.

I'm over at Milk + Crown today with my shop, and one of the things Kristyn asked me was my favorite quote that I live and work by.  I realized I'd never blogged about my favorite quote, so today seemed like a good time to do so!

I fell in love with Neil Gaiman's writing in college.  

What, you don't fall in love with books? 

This is my favorite thing he's ever said, and this is my favorite part of my favorite thing he's ever said:  

"Don't forget to make some art: write or draw or build or sing or live as only you can."

As only you can. 

You. 

I love that he includes life in his explanation of art.  Because living your life is just as much art as writing or drawing is.  And just like no two people can paint the same, no two people can live the same. 

My life is pretty normal.  There's nothing extraordinarily spectacular about it. 

I'm a wife. 

I like to write. 

I'm an office assistant. 

I have an etsy shop. 

Anyone can be a wife.  Anyone can put words down on a page, can organize receipts, can make paper flowers.  But this is the life that I have, and only I can live it. 

And when I live it, as only I can, it becomes something beautiful.  It becomes extraordinarily spectacular art. 

Whatever life God has given you may not seem like anything exciting to you. 

You may think that everything you do, someone else could do. 

But that's just not true. 

No one can live your life for you.  Only you can live your life the way it was meant to be lived. 

When you view it that way, you can't help but view it as something special.  As a gift.  As something spectacular. 

Going to work or being a friend or cleaning a house or driving a car or answering a phone. All of it.  Spectacular. 

So do it. 

Live as only you can. 

And if you do that, I promise you, you will surprise yourself. 

Check out this month's featured sponsor:

Today, I believe..

Today, I believe in laughter. 

{especially with your best friend}

I believe in things that make your heart happy.

{just hanging out on the dining room table.  No big.}

I believe that crafting makes your life better.

I believe in giving away free things, just because it's Wednesday.
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What do you believe in today?

Higher than I.

There are days where I feel like where I want to be is so far away from where I actually am. 

Weeks that are so busy, I feel like I should receive a worst wife of the year award for all the things I didn't get done. 

Days where work is so stressful that when I finish for the day, I want to sleep for two days.

Where my to-do list and got-done list are vastly different in size.   

And sometimes, all of these things happen at once. 

And that, my friends, is what we call overwhelming.

Overwhelmed looks different for everyone, but it happens to all of us, every once in a while. 

It would be really cool if we could just talk about our dreams and go after them and reach them, all the while keeping up with our to-do lists and the rest of life like pros, and never ever feel overwhelmed.  

But I'm pretty sure that's impossible.

Something I do know, though, is this: when my heart is overwhelmed, there is a Rock higher than I. {Psalm 61:2}

He knows I'm overwhelmed, and He is there.  To listen, to encourage, to renew and refresh. 

In an overwhelming world, He is a steady foundation--those don't come along too often. 

This is an incredible gift we have been given. 

A constant in our busy lives.  A quiet place in the midst of a world that never stops making noise. 

And sometimes, we need that. 

If you're overwhelmed today, I hope you take refuge in a God that knows you inside and out, and is there for you every second of your incredibly busy day. 

And if you're not overwhelmed, remember to be thankful that we have such a God, and take a few moments to rest in Him anyway. 

I hope you all have an amazing Tuesday!  Head over to Chevron & Lace to enter to win yourself some pretty things!

Freedom.

I had an amazing time celebrating yesterday, as I know the majority of America did.

my amazing parents.

fourth of july snuggles. 

just chillin' in the pool, no big. 

Why did we celebrate?
Well, most of us were taking advantage of a day off.
But the reason we celebrate?
We celebrate our freedom.
We live in a beautiful and place were we have freedom that is not given in many other places because of the sacrifices that many made on our behalf.
So we celebrate.
We eat hotdogs and go swimming and watch fireworks and spend the day with the people we love.
Because we are free, and that is worth celebrating.

I had an amazing day yesterday, and I am so thankful for the freedom I have.
It made me think of how I am not only free because of the country I live in, but I am free in another aspect, too.
I have an ultimate freedom because of an ultimate sacrifice.

The Bible reminds us over and over again that we have freedom. That we have been set free.

I run in the path of Your commands, for You have set my heart free. 

-Psalm 119:32

So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. 

-John 8:36

Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.

-2 Corinthians 3:17

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.

-Galatians 5:1

In Him and through faith in Him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.

-Ephesians 3:12

I am so incredibly thankful for that freedom.  That is a freedom worth celebrating.  
Remember that.  
You have been given the incredibly precious gift of ultimate freedom. 
So celebrate.
Not just sometimes, on special occassions. 
Not just on Sundays. 
Live a life of celebration because of the freedom you have been given. 
Jesus didn't come so we could have stuffy, boring lives that don't really amount to anything. 
He came so we could have life. 
Not only life, but abundant life. 
And abundant life is worth celebrating. 
An abundant life is a life celebrated. 
So celebrate. 

Wednesday.

Happy Wednesday, beautiful people!

Today is a brand new day full of so much potential.
It has the ability to be a starting point of something new, if you want it to be.
Today can be the day you look back on and realize that was the day you started something really great.
It can be a day full of memories.
A day of hard work.
A day of blissful summer laziness.
A day of quiet.
A day of dreams.
Today can be anything you want it to be.
Don't let that kind of potential pass by you!  Make today into whatever you want it to be. 
Live and work and laugh and relax and dream and explore and be happy today.

Just because you can.

Well hello there.

I'm back!
And apparently my blog post letting you guys know I was going awol didn't actually post..so, sorry about that.
I've been in Haiti!  I went on a medical trip there with my husband (a medical student), and we were a part of a team that pretty much set up a little clinic in a different village each day where people could see a doctor, get medicine, and do other things they don't have resources to do over there.

I could write a lot about Haiti.
I could write about how it was really wonderful.
How beautiful all the places we went were.
How amazing it was to get to help people who were really, truly in need.
I could write about how hard it was.
How it was scary to fall asleep with people screaming bloody murder and playing voodoo drums outside.
How heartbreaking it was to have to turn hundreds of people away that probably won't be able to get the help they need.
I could write a lot about it, and eventually, I probably will.  But today, I want to write about something else.
About how it feels to come back from a trip like that.

I started thinking about this while I was still there, because I know how hard things like that usually are.
You spend a week immersed in utter poverty, and then you come home to America.
And for awhile you feel passionate and purposeful.
And then you feel guilty.
And then you just forget.

I was read this while I was over there:
"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." -James 1:27

That verse always encourages me so much, but when I read it then, it honestly made me sad.  Because over there, it was so easy.  Orphans and widows were everywhere with great needs, and it was easy to look after them when that's what the whole purpose of being there was.  But here?  In America?  Not so much.
Because realistically, am I going to be able to take care of orphans and widows every day of my life here?  No.  So is it ever going to be possible to have real and pure religion here? That just bothered me.

So I did what I usually do when I get frustrated with something I read in the Bible: I kept reading.  And I found this, and it was exactly what I needed to hear:
"But if you fulfill the royal law as expressed in this scripture, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself," you are doing well." -James 2:8

I may not come in contact with widows and orphans every day.  I won't always be able to hand out medicine to those that are sick.  But love people?  That I can do.  And here, I think that can sometimes be worth more than food or medicine or anything material, because the good portion of people I run into on a daily basis aren't lacking material things.  But love, a love so pure that it's the same love someone would show themselves--that is rare.  And that is something everyone needs.

That encouraged me so much.  I may not can help people as much as I would like to be able to, but I can sure love the heck out of them.  And if I love them--really love them, without motives or requiring anything in return--then hey, I'm doing okay.

Mom.

In honor of it being the week of Mother's Day, I thought it would be an appropriate time to tell you guys about some of the best things my mother has taught me.  Honestly, I could probably fill an entire book about the things she has taught me, but here are some highlights. 

1.  The twenty-seven fling boogie. 

My mother has a perceptual fear that I am going to become a hoarder.  Seriously.  It's her favorite thing in the world to throw things away.  Sometimes she would "help" me clean my room by trying to throw everything away.  I would try to tell her I had a sentimental attachment to something, she would say "Oh, okay.  I'll take a picture of it for you and you can hang it on your wall and look at it everyday" and proceed to throw said object away. 

Once she read a book that taught a horrific clever little game called the twenty-seven fling boogie, where you set the timer for fifteen minutes and by the time it dings, you have to throw twenty-seven things away.  She would bust into the room with a trash bag and timer and say we were going to play a game.  She tried to make it fun with music and laughter, but me and my little brother usually just cried as we were forced to say goodbye to our beloved broken crayons and dusty old shoes.  

 I made fun of her forever, but now that I have my own house, I have a strong desire to throw everything that's even mildly cluttered away. 

2. Do not care what other people think about you.  If people talk about you, it's because they have small minds. 

I cannot even count the times growing up that I would go to my mom in tears because of what someone had said about me.  Each time I did, she would respond in the best of ways.  

"How sad and boring their life must be, that they have to fill up their free time by talking about you."  

She never taught me to retaliate, but rather to gracefully move on, giving them nothing else to say. 

She instilled this so much in me that now, at twenty-one, if someone is gossiping or talking bad about me, rather than being tempted to retaliate with my own gossip, my first thought is always, "what a boring life you must have."  

clearly we have that whole not caring thing under control. 

3. To love books and words and writing. 

I owe my love of reading and writing to my mom.  She was my teacher growing up, and she did everything she could to cultivate my love of books and writing.  She would often write one sentence on a piece of paper and tell me to fill the rest of the paper with a story. 

When I was eight, I started to write poems and rhymes.  Every time I showed her, she would read them out loud at dinner and hang them on the refrigerator.  Any time I wrote something, she would stop what she was doing to tell me that I was a great writer and she loved my work.  I think she did this because she knew the impact that those words had on my eight year old heart would carry over to my twenty-one year old heart.

4. Don't give pigs your pearls. 

This is one of the most important things my mom ever taught me.  There's a verse in the Bible that says, "Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs.  If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces." (Matthew 7:6)

She taught me early on that not everyone values the same things you do, and not everyone is trustworthy enough to be your close friend.  Love all, but don't trust all.  Don't share your secrets and dreams with someone who won't appreciate them, for they will only disappoint and discourage you.  Don't share the intimate parts of your life with just anyone, for those are pearls, and pearls are sacred.  Don't waste your time sharing important things with those who will not appreciate you, for you are worth more than that. 

5.  "You've got brains in your head and feet in your shoes, you can steer yourself any direction you choose!"

My mom rarely let a day go by without telling me I could do anything I set my mind to.  As a child, whether I wanted to be a doctor, a firefighter, a princess, a singer, a movie star...she would tell me I could do it.  Not only that, but that I was going to be the best doctor/firefighter/princess/singer/movie star there ever was.  This empowered me in a way that only a mother's words can, and now, whenever I feel discouraged by others about my dreams, in my heart I can always come back to this place:  my mom believes in me. 

There are billions of other things my mom taught me.  To celebrate every day.  That thrifting is the best.  To decorate for any possible holiday.  That fall is a holiday.  To wear whatever I want.  To read my Bible.  To put your family first.  That it's okay to say no. To always make time for inside jokes.  And many, many more. 

Everyone jokes that eventually you turn into your mother, but I honestly could not thing of another person I would be more honored to be like. 

Remember to thank your mothers this week!

on writing.

Sometimes it's just really refreshing to inspire yourself about your dreams. 

My dream is to be a writer.  I don't know what yours is, but I figure if you like reading blogs, there's probably a little bit of a writer inside of you, and you might like some inspiration of your own. 

 

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happy writing, friends.