canvas
avatar by on April 29, 2013   •   22 Comments Personal Growth You

We are all artists

As you start this week, may you find a nugget of courage to do the hard thing your heart is aching to do. May you find enough freedom to do something brave and risky, something that taps that gift you were given but haven’t yet fully and outwardly exercised.

We are all artists in some way, whether our media is watercolor, keyboard, food, camera, numbers, or diaper. What is the main thing keeping you from doing your art—is it time, money, courage, or encouragement? Do you have a voice this week telling you that your work isn’t important?

May you combat lies with truth this week, and may you dare to be you, in the small ways and big. May you look in the mirror and in the words of your journal and love who you truly are.

And may you find enough courage to acknowledge your artistry, and to recognize the little ways your life teems with canvases.

notebook
avatar by on April 29, 2013   •   Personal Growth You

Need a crazy amount of reading material?

This e-book bundle sale has now ended. Bummed? You can still buy the e-books individually—head here to check out the lineup.

I don’t normally post twice in a day, so here’s this week’s benediction if you’re looking for it. But I wanted to quickly let you all know about a pretty sweet deal starting today that includes my ebook, One Bite at a Time. For the next six days, there’s an insane load of cool things sold as a bundle—waaaaay on sale.

Here’s the short-and-sweet info: 97 e-books and e-courses, written by 75 bloggers, on sale for $29.97. The value is just over $600. I’m not good at math, but that’s looking like $570 off the retail price. Head here to see what’s all included.

Now, I’m not big on pushing you to buy things you don’t need, nor am I big on more equaling better—so in some ways, you might be thinking 97 items are WAY too much for you to handle. I understand. But there are a few reasons I think this sale might be good for some of you…

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Vintage-Lego-Ad
avatar by on April 25, 2013   •   Books Giveaways Inspiration You

Poem: What it is is Beautiful

Don’t we all ask ourselves: How can I be more present? How can I find more enjoyment in these days, right now? How can I appreciate what I have, before trying to rush on to the next stage of life?

I wrestle with these questions all the time. I want everything in my life to line up with my ideals, so I tend to attack each day as if it were a project to manage. But isn’t life supposed to be a feast of experiences to taste and savor, instead?

Having kids has reminded me that imagination is transformative. Everything doesn’t have to be as we think it is. We can see the trappings of our lives differently.

This, for me, is the point of all poetry. It’s a small and seemingly insignificant thing — but in that concision, it can deliver a potent shot of perspective.

The following poem is the title poem from my book (newly-released on Amazon, for the price of a greeting card). Its title is a reference to a LEGO ad from the 1980s. I chose it because it’s the perfect reminder: It doesn’t matter what type of chaos we’re looking at — we can choose to see this life with new eyes.
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boatandbirds
avatar by on April 18, 2013   •   39 Comments Inspiration You

Lectio divina: paying attention

The poet Mary Oliver writes that the way to live a life is this: “Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it.” I love the poem, but it convicts me. I worry that I’m losing my capacity to pay attention.

Just as I spend hours toggling between different windows in my web browser, I flit from thought to thought, task to task. In order to focus on one thing, I have to intentionally withdrawal myself from the distractions. It takes effort.

I’m far from alone in this; Nicholas Carr’s 2011 book, The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains, was acclaimed as a “Silent Spring for the literary mind.”

I worry about this because I believe that paying attention is important, and not just for my productivity at work and for my relationships with those around me. I’m concerned with the ways my “monkey mind” affects my spirit.
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hamster
avatar by on April 17, 2013   •   69 Comments Work You

How to work from home without losing your mind {what a fulltime job, 3 kids, 1 dog and a hamster have taught me}

I work from a desk in the corner of our kids’ small playroom. Full time. Usually more. For almost three years now. Managing social media, strategic relationships {and the website (in)courage} for DaySpring, a subsidiary of Hallmark.

It’s the most rewarding job I’ve ever had.

And while I wish I had a Martha Stewart style office, I’m learning ways to make life between the Legos and the baby dolls work for this work season.

Right now there is a curly-haired, toddler girl napping in the room next door and two boys who will need to be picked up from school and fed large quantities of food this afternoon. There is a hamster chugging circles on his wheel and last night’s dishes are still on the dinner table.

It’s a good day.

But it requires a peculiar kind of rhythm to make it work.

So here’s what I’ve learned from the last three years about working from home without losing your mind.
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