A Life Well "Created"...

In the past several months I have really been wrestling with the whole concept of being busy vs just being.  I remember my mentor in high school often reminding me, "Don't get so busy in the doing that you forget the being."  And I have really felt challenged to learn how to just "be".  In the past this was not an easy concept for me to wrap my brain around.  I lived to be busy, it felt like that was just who I was.  I was the girl who lived her life in her day planner cause otherwise all the tasks on the "to do" list might not get done, and if every single appointment, assignment, meeting etc was not written down, it would fall through the cracks.  I was so busy that I had to be over-organized (my nickname in college was OCD... lol let's just say I definitely came by it honestly!) otherwise I'd fall apart.  I rarely said no to anyone or anything, and taking care of myself was not high on the priority list.


Even in the past few years I have consistently found myself with several large projects on the go, which often left me feeling overwhelmed and wondering when I'd have some free time to do something other than a quick tidy of our house.  But I don't want to live like this.  I no longer want to have so much on the go that when a friend asks if I'd like to go for Starbucks that we have to plan for two weeks from now cause our calendar is too full.  I am determined to change and that this year is the beginning of a dramatic mind shift...


And I can honestly say the shift has begun...


The chapter of my life as a church bookkeeper has officially been closed.  Justin and I took all the boxes and files to the church office last week... while I'm still sad for the reason of why I'm done, it still feels like a huge weight has been lifted to know that I'm finished.


I know I feel much less overwhelmed when my surroundings are tidy and last week I deliberately puttered in our kitchen for while getting it back to how it should be... really tidying the counters, putting things properly away... let's just say I love a clean counter!


Our wedding thank you cards are so close to being done.  I have made a deliberate choice to quit beating myself up that they weren't out months ago... but life just kinda got in the way, and they got set on a shelf... My goal is to have them out this weekend...(one of those big projects I'll be very happy to check of the "to do" list!)


Last week I was fortunate to spend every night at home... I'm such a homebody so for me this is a serious treat!  Perhaps after the busyness of the holiday season, this is the reason I'm feeling like I have a better grasp on life...


I have had time to spend with friends this week, and I don't feel guilty that I should be working on something else... I am SO grateful for the very special women God has graciously given to me as friends... this week I will have been able to see each of them... and a few others too!


I have taken some time to quilt in the past week... I hadn't done any of that for over a month, it felt good to flip on the switch on my sewing machine...


I made two cards last night... I haven't actually made any cards since last spring - just after our wedding -  it was really nice to be creative and create!  


So in light of all of this, when I came across this quote this morning, I felt like it so encapsulated my heart at this very moment: 

If you want your life to be a magnificent story, 

then begin by realizing that you are the author 

and every day you have the opportunity to write a new page.

-Mark Houlahan

I want to write a magnificent story... but I don't want to just write it...I want to create it with photos, fabric, fun patterns, my computer, scrapbooking....


Here's to the beginning of a life well "created"!