Lighten Up!

Letting go of the burdens that weigh you down

It’s a new year. A fresh, clean slate to write our new story. A beginning. You should feel happy and excited. And part of you is just that. There’s another part, though, that is still bogged down in last year. Weighted down by the past – past issues, past relationships, past stuff. Unforgiveness, hurts, jealousies, lousy breaks.

What happens when you want to start fresh but it seems impossible because of the weight? That heaviness that settles around you until you can’t breathe. You try to ignore it. You try to move on into that brand new sparkling new year but it’s holding you back. It’s like swimming in molasses, pulling you down, keeping you in the mire.

Why are you stuck in all that goo? Because you think you have to solve all the problems, because you have to have all the answers, because you must fix everything before you can move forward?

What would happen if you let go? Just let go of all that heavy stuff that holds your heart and mind captive. Would the world fall apart? Are you Atlas holding up the world on your shoulders?

You want to be your own god and have all the power. Do you have a god complex?

Read this excerpt from Beth Moore in “Portraits of Devotion:”

“Our first reaction upon hearing this bit of truth might be to deny it—that we’ve never had a desire to be God. But how often do we take immediate responsibility for handling most of the problems in our midst? How often do we try changing the people we know and feeding our control addiction with the drug of manipulation? Simply put, we try to play God, and frankly, it’s exhausting.”

When you are trying to fix everything in your life, that’s when it gets heavy and tiring.

It is impossible to move into the new year when you are still carrying the old year on your back.

Let go. If it’s too heavy, put it all down. Give it to God and let Him be the creator and sovereign God that He is. Your God is huge! He is able and ready to take on that weight.

“Approach the throne of grace with confidence, with eyes on Him, not on yourself.”

Then, you can enter the new year with joy and gladness!

Lighten Up!

 

No Resolutions for 2015!

 

2015 New Year

 

2015. A new year. A fresh start. A clean slate.

All of that sounds good. And it is good.
But, sometimes, I get stuck on striving to make it all just right. Perfect, in fact.
This tends to make me so paralyzed that I just stop and end up not doing anything.
Not planning. Not starting.
Just being STUCK!

This is certainly not how I want to start the new year.
So, I am taking a different path this year.
The following is a list of things I will be focused on in 2015.
They are not hard and fast resolutions. Those make me stressed and stuck.
They don’t have deadlines. So, there is no pressure.
The focus is not on negatives. After all, I need and thrive on positives.

So here are the things I intend to do in 2015:

  1. Celebrate! When I have successes, I will take the time to celebrate. I will recognize that any small accomplishment moves me forward in my life.
  2. Prioritize. Make the important things the first things I do each day. Say ‘Yes’ to the things I truly value.
  3. Focus on one thing at a time. Multi-tasking is really a myth. We can only truly focus on one thing in any given moment. I will strive to honor this.
  4. Be present in each moment with the people I am with. Show them they are important to me.
  5. Limit social media. My real life is calling! Placing limits on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram will help me focus on the important.
  6. Allow down time. I need time for relaxation and renewal. This is not pampering, it is necessary.
  7. Do things that bring me joy! Plan to spend more time focused on things that make me smile and add value to my life.
  8. Accept God’s grace and mercy. This will keep me from being too hard on myself and allow me to give others grace, too.
  9. Be grateful. Strive to make a habit of giving thanks for the blessings I have everyday.
  10. Put God first. Always.
What are your intentions for the new year?

10 Reasons to Love Fall

pumpkin and squash

Change is in the air – the leaves are starting to glow, the weather is a bit cooler and football season is in full gear. But there are other reasons I’m enjoying the beautiful fall season God has given us.

1. a trip to Jackson’s Orchard to get crisp Gala apples and a pie pumpkin
2. soccer games with our grandsons
3. pleasant morning walks with my dog, Dodger
4. delicious paleo pumpkin pancakes
5. leaving the windows open to catch the cool breeze
6. the nourishment of a pumpkin smoothie this morning
7. spending the day learning at Creative Live
8. starting fall projects and gifts for Christmas
9. more time to paint
10. Fall Bible studies

I hope you are finding ways to enjoy the blessings of the season. God is good!

5 Action Steps to More Inspired Days

What does it mean to be inspired? Where is inspiration found? Who can be an inspiration to you? Is it even important?

Definition:
To inspire is to invigorate or stir a person to creative action, to arouse or create a feeling or idea, and/or to direct, guide and influence a person to a particular state of being.

Who Can Do It?
Anyone can be an inspiration.

Is It Important?
Yes, it is extremely important. So important that without it people lose hope and live unfulfilled, meaningless lives. As women, we need a good dose of inspiration daily. It is what breathes life into us. It is hope.

Where Can Inspiration Be Found?
Inspiration can be found all around us. But you must look for it. Open eyes must be preceded by open hearts.

Okay, so How Do I Get Inspired?

5 Action Steps to More Inspired Days:
1)     Choose a new activity you’ve been wanting to try. Salsa dancing? Getting a master’s  degree?    Even something as simple as a new restaurant can be a source of inspiration

2)     Sign up for a class with your local junior college or community education program.

3)     Explore a new hobby.

4)     Keep a journal. This will give you a place to keep your thoughts together as you brainstorm, set achievable goals and put your inspirations into motion.

5)     If we are out of touch with ourselves, sometimes it can be a process to find out what inspires us. Use that journal to close out your day. Record the best things that happened during the day and what brought you joy. Soon you will notice a pattern. Follow that road where it may lead.

 

Quotes to Inspire

Be Creative

Leaving the nest is scary.
– Julia Cameron

Why do we self-sabotage our creativity?

When our child brings home a picture from school and says, “Look what I did!” As Moms we ooh and aah about it and honor it by putting it on the refrigerator. We sincerely value their efforts and wouldn’t think of criticizing our child’s honest work in being creative.

But what happens when it comes to ourselves? We nit pick and say we ‘aren’t creative.’ We don’t believe we can do ‘good enough’ work. What happened? We grew up. All the play has been knocked out of us. God never intended for us to lose our ability to be creative. In fact, He created us to be just that. We are created in His image. That means all of us have that creative spark.

Let’s start nurturing our creativity. Start today. Do something creative and then celebrate that creative act. Stifle the urge to judge your creation. It’s not about your creation’s value or quality. The act of creating is enough.

One of the purposes of this website is to help you create a rich creative life that nurtures and supports our God-given souls and the gifts He has given us to use on this earth.

Having a creative life isn’t a goal on your “to do” list. It is who we are deep down.

We often become too focused on the outcome rather than the process. Just start where you are and go create something. Creating fills empty spaces within us that can’t be filled with shopping or eating, or decorating or redecorating our homes.

God has given us the desire and ability to create an extraordinary life, but this only happens when we allow His Spirit to infuse our ordinary days with creative juice. The challenges and opportunities He places in our life are simple sparks to ignite and fuel our creativity to inspire us to be more like Him—the ultimate Creator.

Quotes for the Creative Spirit