The Secret Sauce (Post #17)

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In today’s fast-paced, super-sized world, don’t we all just want to hit the easy button…you know, land that deal of a lifetime with virtually no effort, lose 10 pounds while you sleep, and create the perfect home life in 3 simple steps. Yet, we all know the old adage that if something seems too good to be true, it probably is.

The truth is, there is no easy button. Doing the right things well takes effort and intentionality. It always has. There are natural, universal laws at play – we reap what we sow. The farmer cannot reap a harvest of soy beans if she planted a crop of peas.

And so it begs the question: if we reap discontentment, what are we sowing. Or, to frame it another way, if we want to harvest a fully-satisfied, joy-filled life (otherwise known as The Enough Life), what should we be sowing? How can we be intentional about planting seeds of contentment, satisfaction, and joy in our lives? What can we do to focus our minds on our gratitude for what we have rather than ruminating on what we lack?

Here’s one suggestion – start a gratitude or blessing journal. Spend at least 1 minute at the start and end of your day in your journal. Write down what you are thankful for, the blessings in your life, and what gives you joy. Ponder these things in your heart, review them periodically, and keep writing. You will be amazed at the harvest you can reap with an investment just 1 or 2 minutes.

Enough gratitude…that just may be the secret sauce!

Happy New Year – 2021 (Post #12)

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It’s so cliché, but today actually is the first day of the rest of your life, and mine. It also happens to be the first day of the new year, at least on the Gregorian calendar. I am grateful and relieved to have 2020 behind us. What a strange year! Who could have ever imagined what it held in store? Nonetheless, today I will salute 2020 and bid it farewell.

I don’t know about you, but I decided to refrain from making any 2021 New Year’s Resolutions. While the commitment may be genuine at the time, New Year’s Resolutions are most certainly doomed to failure, leaving a wake of regret and disappointment. No, I’m choosing not to carry that load around anymore (even if I am carrying around the same body weight I was resolved to take off last year).

Instead, I will step boldly into 2021. I will endeavor to make every day better than the last. I believe God always has more possibility awaiting us. So, I will make a new kind of commitment, but instead of looking toward this year I will look toward the rest of my life – taking it one day at a time. Instead of carnal goals like loosing weight or saving money, though I do hope to do both this next year, I will endeavor to focus on that which supports my soul and my spirit.

  • I will leave my past failures in the past, I will not dredge them up and take them with me into the new year.
  • I will deny shame any place in my life. Life is too short for shame and blame.
  • I will be thankful for all of the blessings and hardships I have had thus far in my life, for those experiences have shaped who I have become.
  • I will embrace an attitude of gratitude, for what I have (like my adorable dog!) and what I don’t have.

What does your soul and spirit need in this new year? Be kind to yourself and take it one day at a time. I’m in your corner…and I hope 2021 brings you ENOUGH of all you truly desire!

The Secret Sauce…(Post #3)

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In today’s fast-paced, super-sized world, don’t we all just want to hit the easy button…you know, land that deal of a lifetime with virtually no effort, lose 10 pounds while you sleep, and create the perfect home life in 3 simple steps. Yet, we all know the old adage that if something seems too good to be true, it probably is.

The truth is, there is no easy button. Doing the right things well takes effort and intentionality. It always has. There are natural, universal laws at play – we reap what we sow. The farmer cannot reap a harvest of soy beans if she planted a crop of peas.

And so it begs the question: if we reap discontentment, what are we sowing. Or, to frame it another way, if we want to harvest a fully-satisfied, joy-filled life of contentment (otherwise known as The Enough Life), what should we be sowing?

There, my friends, is the secret sauce: contentment. How can we be intentional about planting seeds of contentment, satisfaction, and joy in our lives? What can we do to focus our minds on our gratitude for what we have rather than ruminating on what we lack?

One suggestion to start with – start a gratitude or blessing journal and write down everything you are thankful for, every blessing and joy in your life. Spend at least 1 minute at the start and end of your day in your journal.

Enough gratitude…that just may be the secret sauce!