5

5 ways i am learning to really live:

BE THANKFUL, NOT WISHFUL.
this has changed how i process everything!  i kid you. not.  it really stretches my mind to remember how everything is a gift.  big, little, beautiful, and the ugly is a gift too.  for ugliness allows us to take another chance to see something in a different way.  wishful is just a bunch of "i wants".  thankful is a frame of mind.

THE MOMENT IS NOW.
don't wait until tomorrow.  pay the bills, take a walk, play games with my little, call my friend i haven't talked to in awhile, really sink a kiss on the husband.  now.  each day goes by so fast, and if i wait too long, i may not have another chance.

BE INTENTIONAL WITH MONEY.
oh, the root of all evil.  this has been my hardest to tame.  it means, for me saying no when i really want to say yes.  i really want to teach my girls that material things don't matter.  but making moments magical and beautiful are.  invest in those.

CREATE.
i am now dedicating one day a week to art,  just like i did in the summer.  but the start of the year was busy, and i lost it.  but we all are, as a family, making this a priority.  sometimes it's coloring and painting.  and sometimes it is a little more complicated.  but it's always fun.

GET OUTSIDE.
since we have acreage, woods, trees, and ponds all in our backyard there is no reason we should be inside.  so, even if it's raining we all go.  out.  and play.  wet.  doesn't matter.  and we really feel how small we are in this great big world.  and what better playground is nature.  god did good.