Frivolity & Focus

I'm starting with my future focus thoughts.  I've been feeling some stress and overwhelm as I think about all the moving parts and potential changes at play in my life right now.  But we get a choice in how we feel and how we frame things, and the way we think about it matters more than anything for our stress level and perception of our lives... I prefer to think in metaphors, so here goes:  God is good, and He is worthy of my trust!  This is a season in my life that resembles the colorful chaos and new life of Spring.  I have spent significant time in my life quietly cocooning and planning and preparing in a super-relaxed, chill Wintery season --  I know that season well and appreciate it more than most (in real life and in the metaphor).  I have had melancholy Fall seasons where relationships that were once so vibrant and full of life faded and fell away.  There was color and beauty in the losses there, and God was with me in that loneliness and grief.  New seeds were planted and watered, and they are growing now.  There are new dreams and hopes and ambitions, along with old ones that have resurfaced.  I feel alive and present and engaged in a way that's still fresh and exciting for me!  What a gift to be in a bright and messy Spring season now!  I prefer this fullness of life to sleepwalking through it - I want to feel it all and trust God's power to carry me through and sustain me in the things that feel new and big and scary!  God is in every season, and He is with me and for me!  His love is strong and His grace is sufficient, so I will take this journey one day at a time and keep my eyes on Him.  Someday in the near future, all this new growth will be in the full bloom of a season that feels more like Summer... I will finally be a mom, strong and healthy, with a meaningful new career and beautiful new opportunities to be a voice of hope and healing!!  Then there will be new challenges and new seasons, because that is the pattern of our lives.  It's exciting and vibrant and beautiful and chaotic to be in the midst of this Springtime season.  New life, new colorful flowers, new weeds to uproot, new people, new ideas, new growth, new problems, new warmth, new hope... and feeling more alive and awake to all the emotions that come along with that.  This time is leading to greater things that I've been dreaming of and working toward for years, and it all matters!  The particular intensity of this season will not last forever, but I will  lean on Jesus and make the most of it, appreciating all God is doing in me and around me while it's here!! ❤

This is me most days. lol  

If the right guy comes along and I am confident about that, fantastic! If not, Jesus and my friends and family will be enough, and I will love and be loved and have a meaningful and happy life either way! =)

Catching up with my former classmate, Hannah, at CHA's Tennis Banquet last night!

Kyndal Faith kept crunching her ice in my ear and dancing around to fend off the boredom, making me laugh - silly kids are the very best! =)

*To be clear, relationships and family matter deeply to me.  I just know marriage is not the only key to fulfillment, as some Christians incorrectly assume.  Anyway, here's to knowing what matters and setting goals and habit systems that help us get there!! ❤

There are memes scattered in through the rest of this post...

J Michael nine years ago this week.

Charlene passing out candy to the boys after church on Sunday! =)

Love the last sentence below!  What we model matters.

Accurate... it's why it's so important for me to track and plan ahead of time!

More driveway volleyball fun before our family dinner at Mom and Dad's on Monday night!

A fun flashback to our pandemic park walk in May of 2020!  

This is Jace - his memory is excellent for *very specific* things! lol

Aww, memories of Limewire and WinMX and the epic burned CD collection!  I miss the American Idol songs and random SNL skits even now... you can't find that goodness on iTunes! lol

❤ ❤ ❤

Ha I do wonder this!

Yessss!

❤

Another very important question that I ponder at some point every year... stay red or go blonde!?? lol  I make these stupid collages to help me decide, but they're no help at all... other than encouraging me to keep switching back and forth, which is likely.

So blonde or red?  Sideswept bangs or no bangs?

Feel free to text me your vote before my hair appointment next month! lol

The "hangry" moods are real. Lol

I guess that's all I've got for you today... some frivolous fun with memes, and some reframing future focus. =)  Happy Wednesday!

"All of my life,

In every season,

YOU ARE STILL GOD!

I have a reason to sing.

I have a reason to worship!"

~Hillsong, Desert Song