the simple things

it's spring and starting to feel like summer!  hallelujah.  there is something that just comes alive in me when the temperature warms up, the sun shines, and the leaves begin to green.  i am an outside girl through and through.

i started thinking earlier this week about how fast summer seems to slip by.  it's almost like we rejoice when the temperature starts to warm up and then all of a sudden we trade our bare feet and iced coffee for scarves and spiced lattes.  just thinking about it gets me a little overwhelmed because i want to make sure i squeeze out every little goodness summer has to offer.

so, i decided that i'm going to focus on two little phrases during these summer months to ease the anxiety of it slipping by too quickly and to help keep me intentional about what really matters.

ready for it? (drumroll....)

keep it simple. 
and
be fearless. 

i love the simple things.  great coffee in the morning, getting dirty in the garden, a family walk to the park, fresh sheets on our bed.  some times i don't take the time to relax and realize the amazing goodness that god has already blessed me with.  i really want to stop and savor god's blessings as much as possible this summer.

and, this being fearless thing has me so excited.  being vulnerable and fearless has been on my mind for quite a few months.  i love adventure and community, but i don't always take the time to actually seek it out and foster it.  i tend to just daydream about my crazy ideas without actually taking a step forward with anything.  so, i'm choosing to be a little more fearless this summer.  when my brain says "no" or is hesitant about something fun ... i'm going to give it a whirl instead!

it will be fun to document a few of my thoughts on here throughout the summer months.  is there anything that you're focusing on this summer?

rainy run

image source

I was able to sneak out for a long, slow run over the weekend.  It was exactly the thing that my muscles and mind needed.  I turned left at the end of our driveway and chose the open, rural roads instead of the city sidewalks to the right.  It wasn't raining when I left, but small drops started falling about halfway through.  I have such an (over!)active mind, so I usually try to use my runs as a time to clear my mind, be quiet, and just focus.  All that I could hear throughout the entire time was "I make all things new".  Over and over and over.  

I'm just so amazed that no matter how far I fall.  How messy I get.  No matter what crisis I think I'm in. God continues to make all things new.  Every day.  Every season.  

I know this is something that is often mentioned, but I think we go throughout life forgetting that we have a choice between the new and the old.  Some times it's hard to remember that we have a choice.  Some times it is just easier to stay bitter or lazy or disinterested for awhile.  We have to remind ourselves that this life is not all about us.  Our God is trustworthy and faithful.  There is so much beauty in how God always makes things new.  How every season starts, ends, and is made beautiful.  

I just couldn't keep these thoughts to myself.  Have a great start to your week.  

the choice

{source}

I sit down and try to write.  It's almost like I have so many thoughts just bouncing around in my head and I'm trying to slow down to catch one of them to savor and put down on paper.  But, alas I'm too slow.  The thoughts escape out of my hands before I can grasp them and I sit there, feeling overwhelmed.

Overwhelmed, but excited.

I have emotions and inspirations pulsating through me.  I'm starting to see beauty and life and purpose in things that seemed dormant before.

I feel alive again after a season of hibernating.

I want to sit and savor.  Savor the streams of sunlight hitting the wood floor.  Savor the baby coos that are quickly turning to babbling + talking.  Savor the endless inspiration I have for creative project after creative project.  Savor the courageous vulnerability that is daring inside of me.

So, that's what I'm choosing to do.  I'm slowing down to savor.  To taste.  To see.  To feel.  To appreciate.

And to prepare myself for the moving part that will follow.  The part where the pen hits the page.  The brush strokes the canvas.  The details and determination come into play.  Action.

Because, I'm so good with the inspiration.  With the thinking.  And the over-thinking.

But, the action is another story.  With intentionality comes vulnerability.  

Some times it's safe to stay in the thinking part.  But, I don't want to stay safe.  I don't want to be comfortable.  So often I've complained of being paralyzed, creatively dry, lacking purpose, searching for beauty with no beauty to find.

I'm deciding that action is a choice.  A choice I want to be daring enough to make.

So, I'm going to allow myself to savor for a little while.  Soak it all in.

And then, I'm going to step out in faith and out of fear.

Because this life is meant to be lived.

And I'm going to live it.

ephesians 2:10

for we are god's masterpiece. 

he created us anew in christ jesus, 

so we can do the things he planned for us long ago. 

eph. 2:10

***

this verse continues to come to me while i'm running.  showering.  writing.  making dinner.  when i'm trying to get comfortable and fall asleep at night.  

for some reason, i can't shake it.  it's a verse that i've heard time and time again, but it's starting to take on a different meaning to me.  

we are his workmanship.  his masterpiece.  

masterpiece?  really?  do i really believe that and live that out? 

we are designed.  we have unique purpose.  unique perspective.  unique lives, characteristics, quirks, and passions.  (and, let me tell you, i've been blessed with many quirks.  endearing quirks as we like to call them in our house.)

i'm starting to realize the power this verse has when i meditate on it and believe it.  i'm realizing that my mind has such power over how i feel and live.  if i think about myself and my life in a certain way, i'm going to start to believe whatever it is my mind is telling me.  the version of myself that god sees is still there, it's just buried under layers and walls of other lies and stories i've told myself.  and living from behind all those walls and barriers is so suffocating and destructive.

our minds are so powerful. 

but, thankfully, god is even more powerful. 

i'm finding that this has to be a daily reminder for me.  a renewal of my mind right before my feet hit the chilly floor.  

also, how amazing + beautiful is the book of ephesians?  i've always felt a tug towards it, but i'm loving it more and more each time i come back to read through it. 

have a wonderful day, everyone!