Mondays usually have a long to do list. All of the creative studio things are supposed to take precedence, but somehow the day often turns into running errands, cleaning the house, and trying new recipes. The Saturday things spill into my Monday things. I wish it was Monday that spilled into the rest of the week.
Today I found myself hopeful to make makowiec (Ma-KOH-viets) for Easter, planning to use time between the lines of my agenda for kneading and baking. Grandma’s poppyseed roll was always something I looked forward to on holidays, and I was content to pursue that tradition today and bury my hands in some sugary dough. Then I found my yeast was three years expired (could it really have been that long?). No worries, I’ll just run to the store, and while I’m there I can fill my cart so I don’t have to go back again (multi-tasking!). But as I penciled out my list, I realized my error. I was once again putting “second things” first, and before I knew it, Monday would be gone and I would be feeling guilty once more for not stepping foot in my studio.
Often, it is the good things that distract us from the better things.
Lately, this has been a much heavier problem for me than the question of “bread or no bread.” Over the past three years, many new directions have been surfacing. Doorways presenting themselves wide open, requiring nothing but a step forward. So far, although each has offered enticing rewards, they have each revealed themselves truly as distraction; and each time, I have eventually found myself at peace for leaving those doors open for others to walk through.
With each new opportunity that comes, I feel my eyes open a little wider. I do not have to jump at everything that is offered or available to me. And this can be more freeing than filling my life with whatever comes my way.
It is true, sometimes I feel anxious of waiting, ready to leap into the next thing, striving for more, tired of feeling empty, lost, or bored; but if I don’t wait for the right thing, that leap will only lead to empty rewards and I’ll soon be looking to leap out. So I am content in waiting anxiously and letting the world pass me by until the right moment comes with clear new direction that does not distract from my higher purpose. Most of me hopes that moment will come tomorrow. But the small part of me, the trusting part of me, knows that tomorrow may tell me to continue to wait.
Here are four of my recent favorite books that have helped me to find my way and to stay on the straight path:
Susie Larson: Your Beautiful Purpose: Discovering and Enjoying What God Can Do Through You
“Life is too precious to live simply in reaction to our busy schedules or to our binding fears. We have work to do that will change us, fulfill us, stretch and beautify us.”
Lysa Terkeurst: The Best Yes: Making Wise Decisions in the Midst of Endless Demands
“The decisions you make today matter. Every decision points your life in the direction you are about to travel. No decision is an isolated choice. It’s a chain of events. If you choose wisely, your future will reflect that. But if you don’t choose wisely, the decisions you make now will take you to places you don’t want to be later.
Bonnie Gray: Finding Spiritual Whitespace: Awakening Your Soul to Rest
“Sometimes, it’s time to say goodbye to what once gave you comfort, so you can face the place of empty and surrender yourself to what your heart truly longs for.“
Emily Freeman: A Million Little Ways: Uncover the Art You Were Made to Live
“You are in a season of waiting. When you finally show up ready to release your art by being the person you believe you are created to be, there may be nothing more disheartening than to be asked to wait. The waiting can drive us mad if we let it. It can become a merciless dictator, shoving us into shapes we aren’t made for, shapes of worry and doubt and short tempers. But the waiting can also grow us, shape us from the inside out for sacred work. “
Mondays usually have a long to do list. All of the creative studio things are supposed to take precedence, but somehow the day often turns into running errands, cleaning the house, and trying new recipes. The Saturday things spill into my Monday things. I wish it was Monday that spilled into the rest of the week.
Today I found myself hopeful to make makowiec (Ma-KOH-viets) for Easter, planning to use time between the lines of my agenda for kneading and baking. Grandma’s poppyseed roll was always something I looked forward to on holidays, and I was content to pursue that tradition today and bury my hands in some sugary dough. Then I found my yeast was three years expired (could it really have been that long?). No worries, I’ll just run to the store, and while I’m there I can fill my cart so I don’t have to go back again (multi-tasking!). But as I penciled out my list, I realized my error. I was once again putting “second things” first, and before I knew it, Monday would be gone and I would be feeling guilty once more for not stepping foot in my studio.
Often, it is the good things that distract us from the better things.
Lately, this has been a much heavier problem for me than the question of “bread or no bread.” Over the past three years, many new directions have been surfacing. Doorways presenting themselves wide open, requiring nothing but a step forward. So far, although each has offered enticing rewards, they have each revealed themselves truly as distraction; and each time, I have eventually found myself at peace for leaving those doors open for others to walk through.
With each new opportunity that comes, I feel my eyes open a little wider. I do not have to jump at everything that is offered or available to me. And this can be more freeing than filling my life with whatever comes my way.
It is true, sometimes I feel anxious of waiting, ready to leap into the next thing, striving for more, tired of feeling empty, lost, or bored; but if I don’t wait for the right thing, that leap will only lead to empty rewards and I’ll soon be looking to leap out. So I am content in waiting anxiously and letting the world pass me by until the right moment comes with clear new direction that does not distract from my higher purpose. Most of me hopes that moment will come tomorrow. But the small part of me, the trusting part of me, knows that tomorrow may tell me to continue to wait.
Here are four of my recent favorite books that have helped me to find my way and to stay on the straight path:
Susie Larson: Your Beautiful Purpose: Discovering and Enjoying What God Can Do Through You
“Life is too precious to live simply in reaction to our busy schedules or to our binding fears. We have work to do that will change us, fulfill us, stretch and beautify us.”
Lysa Terkeurst: The Best Yes: Making Wise Decisions in the Midst of Endless Demands
“The decisions you make today matter. Every decision points your life in the direction you are about to travel. No decision is an isolated choice. It’s a chain of events. If you choose wisely, your future will reflect that. But if you don’t choose wisely, the decisions you make now will take you to places you don’t want to be later.
Bonnie Gray: Finding Spiritual Whitespace: Awakening Your Soul to Rest
“Sometimes, it’s time to say goodbye to what once gave you comfort, so you can face the place of empty and surrender yourself to what your heart truly longs for.“
Emily Freeman: A Million Little Ways: Uncover the Art You Were Made to Live
“You are in a season of waiting. When you finally show up ready to release your art by being the person you believe you are created to be, there may be nothing more disheartening than to be asked to wait. The waiting can drive us mad if we let it. It can become a merciless dictator, shoving us into shapes we aren’t made for, shapes of worry and doubt and short tempers. But the waiting can also grow us, shape us from the inside out for sacred work. “
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