The Great Mug Experiment

I’m a list maker. I thrive on making lists and crossing things off. I will even write something down that I’ve already completed simply for the pure joy of crossing it off.

In the latter part of 2019, one of the goals on my list was to decrease my caffeine intake. Even though I live in a tropical environment I actually prefer a steaming hot beverage all throughout the day. I began swapping out my several cups of coffee for herbal tea. I’d use the same mug throughout the day, reusing a tea bag for the morning and then refreshing it in the afternoon with a new one or two. One day I used my Seattle mug. As I took sips of my Peach Detox tea I began thinking of my best friend who lives in Seattle. I felt prompted to pray for her, blessing her home and family, asking the Lord to be near her at work and give her peace and grace. 

Initially, I thought it was just a prompting of prayer that my friend needed that day, but the next time I used that Seattle mug, I did the same thing. I prayed over my best friend all day. That’s when inspiration hit. If drinking hot tea all day in the same mug is reminding me to pray for my best friend, then I need more mugs that remind me to pray for my loved ones. So for Christmas, I requested mugs from my husband and children that remind me of them. 

Some are older mugs, like my Seattle mug, and some are newer, like the one my neighbor gave me for Christmas and didn’t even know about my Great Mug Experiment!

There is so much pressure as humans to do everything well. Walk 10,000 steps each day, cook meals from scratch, have an amazing marriage, raise wonderful children, work full time, not to mention volunteering, praying, reading the Bible, and giving to others. It’s quite overwhelming. 

I love the idea of having a reminder in my everyday life to pray for those I love. It’s not taking any time away from my to-do list, but rather adding to my day as I’m thinking about them, thanking God for them, and praying over their lives. 

What’s an everyday trigger that would remind you to connect your heart with God’s? Maybe it’s not a coffee mug, but a post-it note on your bathroom mirror, or a key chain that reminds you as you sit in the car line, or something else that is uniquely you. 

As I’ve been making my lists for 2020 I’ve been praying over you, dear friend. My purpose with this blog is to encourage you to be brave in your everyday life. I don’t know what direction my writing will take this year, but I’m grateful you’re on this journey with me. Let’s be brave together. 

Can You Really Choose Peace During Chaos?

Two weeks before my daughter’s wedding, I received this text regarding our rental house, “The house has bed bugs, but I’m sure it will be fine before you get here.”

Wait...what? Uh, no.

I am a planner. It’s what I do for my job as an executive assistant to look at the big picture of an event and pull out all the details that need attention. Helping my daughter with her wedding plans were no different so I reserved a house for the six of us for wedding week, months in advance (the wedding was several states away), and now those plans just got eaten up by bed bugs.

I’m not a huge fan of change, but I am also not a huge fan of itching at my daughter’s wedding and possibly bringing bugs back to my home. A few phone calls later I received my money back from my fully paid reservation and booked a hotel, sans bed bugs.

Why is it in the last few weeks leading up to a wedding there is a level of chaos and last minute changes? Family drama, the venue not returning our calls, bed bugs…

I texted a dear friend and mentor and asked her to pray. I was struggling to not be entirely enveloped by the drama and chaos. I had purposed in my heart that when the big day comes I want to be fully present as the mother of the bride. I don’t want to be THAT mom that misses all the joy and excitement of the day because of details. My mentor agreed to pray and encouraged me to place scripture or a quote as a background on my phone of that would remind me to stay in the center of God’s peace.

Brilliant.

One of my favorite scriptures is Isaiah 26:3, “You will keep him (me) in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he (I) trusts in you” (I like to personalize it so it’s more of a confession over my soul). Every time I looked at my phone I was reminded to stay in peace. Trust the Lord. He has my best interest at heart. He loves me. He has good things for me. He loves my daughter and her future husband and has ordained this day for His good pleasure.

Having a verse on my phone acted as a trigger to align my heart to His. And honestly, how many times do we look at our phones each day? It also helped me to see God’s mercy through it all. It allowed me to press into gratitude and realize God’s mercy that WE did not discover the bed bugs, but had a full 2 weeks to find alternate lodging.

We can choose to let chaos and drama act act the trigger for us to react to life’s hurdles, or we can let the perfect words of God act as the trigger for us to re-align with His purpose and presence. It’s our choice. What reminder do you need throughout the day? Find one online or use the image above to put on your phone. Comment in the box below to let me know how it has helped you.

You matter, dear friend. Your story matters. Fight for peace as you live out your story.

Small Adjustments to Big Change

I’ve been thinking about the large gestures and grand overtures in desiring change in our lives. With each new year we want to be better, faster, more kind, more resilient, and yet none of these things happen overnight. In order to reach our goals, we have to make small corrections, small adjustments to our rudder of life.

When my children were little I was overwhelmed with the thought of all that I needed to teach them. How can I possibly cram in everything they need to know in 18 short years?

Small adjustments.

When my firstborn daughter was about 16 months old, we began doing family devotions after dinner time. I found a book that had 365 poems about God and we used that to launch our time together after dinner, talking about God. She was adorable and always wanted to do motions to the words. Knowing that faith is personal, we let her take the lead.

As the years have progressed, our family has found different books to help us navigate through the years spanning from toddlers to teenagers. We’ve not been religious about family devotions, but it’s been a beautiful springboard for my children to talk about their day, the struggles they’re facing, and how the devotional from the reading impacts and/or challenges them.

As my children are becoming young adults the discussions have shifted from us modeling our faith, to them showing us their faith. It’s a thing of wonderment, as a parent, to sit back and listen to my sons discuss how they are sharing their faith at school, what challenges they face as they read the Bible on their own, and how they are including God in their everyday life. To me, this is a big change from when they were little, but it all started with a small adjustment.

Can I encourage you to make a small adjustment in your day? Take 5-10 minutes after dinner, or before breakfast, or whatever works for your family, and read through a devotional or a few pages from a book together. It just may change their lives.

If you’d like to see a collection of some of the books we’ve used through the years, click on this Goodreads link.

4 Tips on How to Be Fully Present this Holiday

I’m in my 10th year as a choir/band mom. My oldest began choir her 6th grade year which led the charge for all her siblings to join in music in one form or another. This means that I’ve sat in many auditoriums, theatres, and stadiums getting my ears tickled by the sounds of music. It’s funny how we’ll be sitting through the program and recognize a song that a different child sang or played at another time and place.

The songs haven’t changed much, but there has been a dramatic shift that has not gone unnoticed. As the students are giving the gift of music, the audience is inevitably on their phones. It’s devastating, really. The addiction to phones steals priceless memories that cannot be replaced.

I was recently at the happiest place on earth watching an entertaining performance by the main cast. A couple standing next to us was trying to capture the moment with a perfect picture. They took a picture, then looked at it on their phone. Then took another, then looked at it. Then took yet another one and looked at it. This continued until the show was over. They had missed the event entirely.

They were so intent on sharing that they were not present.

I work virtually and my phone helps me get my work done throughout the day. It is a tool I use to serve my job, not the other way around. I do not serve my phone. When it dings, I don’t jump to its command. But I fear our phones are becoming a dominant voice that’s drowning out the voices and attention of our loved ones. How can we turn this around?

Here are 4 tips that may help you be fully present this holiday:

1. Move your social media to the last page on your phone. This helps me not default to tapping on social media when I have an extra minute. As you’re swiping to get to the link, ask yourself if you really need to check it right now.

2. Turn off notifications.  I have a strong dislike for notifications. They’re interrupters and upset my flow during the day. Again, I don’t jump to the “ding” on my phone. It’s there to serve me and I will check it when it fits my schedule. If it’s an emergency, they’ll call.

3. Remove the pressure of having to capture every moment. My husband recently took me to a concert. The hall forbade any recording or pictures. It was so delightful to sit and listen and not worry about having to take video to share with others. This was a special memory for just my husband and I to share.

4. Put the phone down. This is hard, I know. But feast your eyes on the faces you’re with. Breathe in the smells of the season. Delight your heart on the giggles and smiles that are shared. Be fully present.