Create a Go-To



Decision fatigue is a thing. Your brain only has so much decision making power at the start of the day so things you can put on autopilot can help you save some of that energy for more important stuff that comes up. Trying to pull together an outfit when you're running late or whip up a new meal after a tough day at work can be too much. I know for me in the late afternoon or evening it can feel like my brain has shut down while I'm standing in front of the pantry because I didn't have a plan.

Spend some time today choosing things to help you when you don't have the time or bandwith to make new choices. Pull together new outfits and experiment with meals when you have time for it to be fun and you can enjoy being creative. Then you'll have those backups in your hip pocket when you just can't even with all the things.

Have a go-to:

 Outfit: It should be comfortable and you should feel good in it.

Dinner: It should have no more than 5 ingredients that you always have on hand and should take about 30 minutes.

Response: If you are going through a transition or have something about your life that people always ask about like when are you having a baby, what are you going to do with that major, or how is she handling that diagnosis, come up with a standard response for everyone who asks. That way you don't get caught off guard or say something you regret because you were thinking on your feet. 

Elevator pitch: Your quick and dirty answer when someone asks you what you do, what your goals are or what you are creating.

Gift: That one thing from your favorite shop that is always a hit. Bonus points if they gift wrap!

I'll bet you can come up with some other useful ones!

This is one of the small changes that can make our lives easier, prevent overwhelm, and allow us to function with less stress.

Planting in the Harsh Winter


When we think about spring some pretty cheerful ideas come to mind especially for gardeners but all the planting doesn't take place on beautiful spring days. That works if you want cucumbers and zinnias in July but if you want a lovely spring garden you must plant it months ahead in the fall of the previous year. I hardly ever get around to it because that's when I'm usually busy finishing up the honey chores. So for me the tulip and daffodil bulbs are often planted in the worst weather. This isn't ideal and they should be planted a few weeks sooner though living in the south gives me a bit more leeway. Still I've been out in a sleeting snow before trying to get them in the ground before Christmas. Somehow I always seem to end up planting them in the freezing cold with a wind blowing, my nose running and the cold seeping through my clothes. 

Isn't that just like life? The future beautiful harvest that will be a joy to you is often planted in a merciless cold season. Perhaps you are raising children and struggling with finances or relationships. It could be you are helping a friend when you are feeling depleted and as if you need help yourself. In the harshest seasons of life hopelessness lurks around the door and you lay awake nights wondering what to do.

I encourage you not to despair because it might just be that hanging on through whatever dark and cold season you are in is going to result in a beautiful harvest you haven't had the glimmer of hope to imagine yet. Persistence, courage, and faith are fruits that seem to be planted in the harshest winters. 

Something happens in the cold. There are plants who need a season of cold to become their most beautiful when it's time to bloom. We all crave comfortable circumstances and easy lives, but there is little growth there. Growth is a forceful determined thing, a struggle. The relentlessness of growth is what leads to the beautiful blooms that brighten the world and cheer the heart. If you are struggling through a cold season do not give up. The breakthrough you're waiting for may need a quiet time in the dark for nourishment you don't understand yet. Often further down the road the purpose of the bleak periods is made clear and it always gives you the ability to encourage someone who is in their own dark night. How are we going to know how much someone needs warmth and shelter if we've never felt a cold wind?

Let's pray that our growth is relentless no matter the circumstances. Remember the blossom of your beautiful endurance will give hope to others.