The Dirt Road

“And they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength...they shall run and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.” -Isaiah 40:31 

I went running this week.  Twice.  I ran a mile each time, and although this may not seem like a monumental occurrence, it kind of is.  I had my fourth baby ten weeks ago on Thursday, and I've never started working out after giving birth until about a year, or in some cases much longer.  It's hard because I'm not one of those people who can work out when I'm pregnant.  I wish I was, because I know it's much healthier, but I'm just not.  

I was in good shape before I got pregnant, but during my pregnancy I only went running once.  It was about a week after I found out, and I was super proud of myself.  I accurately informed my sister as we were running together that I had already worked out more in this pregnancy than in my other three combined.  0+0+0<1.  Unfortunately, the trend couldn't last and I didn't seriously workout again. 

This is my first blog post since February, and I think my running may have something to do with that.  As Julia Cameron says in The Artist's Way, many people's creativity is strongly influenced and released by exercise. Sometimes even just a brisk walk can get the creative juices flowing.  
That seems to be true for me.

I love running.  (Actually, as out of shape as I am right now I am still at the point where I HATE running, but you know what I mean.) I love running because it forces me to focus on something outside of myself and rely on strength from without instead of falling back on my own strength within.  On Monday that strength was my husband, graciously running along beside me, letting me set the pace as well as the distance when he easily could have tripled both. Thursday I was alone, and running in the heat of the day on a dirt road that suddenly became an international highway.  Car after car zoomed past me going at least 30 mph instead of the legally required 20, kicking dust up off the road and straight into my lungs.  I thought about quitting as I greedily gulped in as much oxygen as Gunnison (with its 7,700 feet elevation) was willing to share with me, and I listed all the reasons it would make sense to walk instead.  Then I started to pray.

I can be overly self-sufficient. Sometimes it's easy to stay in my little comfort zone where I am in control. But as I prayed, I remembered that there is a God who made me, who is bigger than I am and a source of strength outside of my own weakness.  In the big things and small things, He is there to offer strength and encouragement.  I am not on my own. And I finished the mile. 

Out of the Box

You guys!  I am so excited to tell you that my very dear friend Lauren from The Thinking Closet is releasing the paperback version of her book, Thinking Outside the Gift Box, and it's available for pre-order now!

I have mentioned Lauren on the blog several times as she is the queen of creative inspiration and all things DIY.  Her blog is both informative and uplifting, and I enjoy her writing so much that I read every post, even though (as I've said before) I can't DIY my own stick figures.

Lauren and I met in a literature class in college, and we became fast friends getting distracted sharing Marcus Aurelius quotes while studying for a quiz. We had the joy of being in our college's theatre group together, and many of my favorite college memories are with Lauren.  After college, we were bridesmaids in each other's weddings, and we have tried to visit one another as often as the geographical distance between us permits.  Here we are, trying on hats during my visit to Orlando last May.

It is so fitting that Lauren's first book would be about loving other people through creative gift-giving.  Lauren is the most creative person I know, and she has a never-ending supply of gift ideas. She is the kind of person who knows exactly what to do and say to make you feel seen and loved, and it is so generous of her to share many of those ideas with us in her book.  It is a fun and easy read, and it comes just in time to help ease the stress of holiday gift-giving.  The gift ideas are not expensive, and there are lots of options for those who are (like me) less craftily inclined.

Lauren released her book last year as an eBook, and everyone who read it raved about how helpful it was.  I love to have an actual book to hold in my hands, and it seems I am not the only one.  By popular demand, there is now the paperback option.  For those who do prefer to read electronically, there is a PDF package available, and there is also the ultimate package that comes with the paperback book signed by the author and a gift-giving supply kit with four surprise items.  Just click on this link to browse through all three packages and find out which is the best one for you.  And, as an added bonus, once you buy your first copy, Lauren will send you an email with a discount code to purchase additional gift copies at a discounted price. Lauren is an expert storyteller, and she will keep you engaged from the very first page till the end of the book.

When I read her book for the first time, I was surprised and happy to find that I was mentioned in it a couple of times.  :)  I'm proud to have gotten to be even a tiny part of such a wonderful project.

Please let me know if you get her book, and what you think!  I'd love to chat about it.  Happy gifting, everyone!

*Full Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you make a purchase after clicking through, ginabooton.com may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you for your support.

Small Moments

Photo by Suzanne Tadros Photography

I'm sitting on the couch reading a book while my crazy kids are playing “monkeys” in the other room.  There's a lot of "Ooh ooh! Ah ah!" going on, and the clanging of toy pots and pans.  I am tired.  I'm twelve weeks pregnant and have been struggling with morning sickness for the last six weeks.  For me, “morning sickness” is a misnomer as I start feeling nauseated in the morning and get increasingly worse all day until I finally just have to go to bed early and try again the next day. 

But I love the sound of my kiddos laughing and playing, and I’m thankful that I can get lost in a good book and forget about the dizzying nausea for a while.  I love being pregnant, sick or not, and I love thinking about and praying for this new little life inside of me. 

My three-year-old son Logan is convinced that the baby is a boy.  I guess he’s decided that two big sisters are all the sisters any guy needs.  Every time he talks about the baby he says, “my little brother” or “him.”  I always remind him that the baby could be a girl, too.  One day, after we had that discussion several times, he sighed and said, “Mommy.  I just want to think about the baby is a boy, and I don’t want to talk about this anymore.”  It was so hard not to laugh.  I nodded and gave him a hug, deciding to give him a break from reality for a while. It was an ordinary afternoon.  We were sitting on the couch together because I was too tired and sick to do anything else, and yet we made one of my favorite memories of him so far.

 

I've been thinking a lot about the small moments of motherhood lately.  A few weeks ago, my friend Suzanne came and took some pictures of my kids and me at home.  We were just doing the things that we do every morning, having breakfast, getting ready for school. I didn’t even change out of my yoga pants.  The pictures are perfect.

I love the reminder to pay attention.  That the days of motherhood, which can seem monotonous at times, are made up of a million little opportunities to stop and notice.  To breathe in my kids and who they are, right now.  To breathe out gratitude.

Sometimes, when I get off my computer or stop worrying about the next thing on my to do list, when I remember to pay attention, I can drink it all in and just be still.

The anticipation of my first sip of coffee in the morning.

Photo by Suzanne Tadros Photography.

A tea party with my daughter.

Photo by Suzanne Tadros Photography.

A photo shoot with my son.

Photo by Suzanne Tadros Photography.

Then life speeds up again.  I get back on my computer, or I have to rush the kids out the door to go to school.  But I notice that the more I stop to pay attention, the less chaotic it all seems.

Here’s to finding joy in the little things.  To remembering to stop and pay attention.  To being in the moment--not all the time, but more.  Happy Sunday, friends.

The Gift of Yummy Drinks

It's fall--my favorite season.   The chill in the air in the morning, the crisp leaves under my feet, visiting pumpkin patches, and especially a cup of something warm in my hands.  I've been celebrating by drastically upping my daily intake of Teamotions tea.  Nothing says fall to me quite like a cup of Rooibos Coconut Chai with half and half and a little bit of raw sugar.   I especially love it when I'm able to make an extra cup for someone I love.

My friend Lauren from The Thinking Closet wrote a post this week about five meaningful ways to give the gift of a yummy drink, and what better time to gift someone with a yummy warm drink than in the fall?

As an added bonus, at the end of her post, you can enter to win a Teamotions gift set of your choice, donated by me.  Valued at $50, the gift set comes with a ceramic mug, stainless steel infuser, tin of Teamotions tea, and perfect tea scoop.  Read Lauren's post and snag your chance to win here. Hurry, the giveaway ends on Monday, October 12th at 11:59 p.m. Eastern.

Happy fall, and good luck, friends!

Weekend Away: Momcon 2015

I just got back from the annual MOPS International leadership conference. This year it was in Indianapolis and I was able to travel with several other women from my MOPS group.  I had an amazing time.  Matt Maher performed and the main-stage speakers included Amena Brown, Jen Hatmaker, and Bob Goff, among others.  If you ever have the chance to go and hear Amena Brown perform her spoken word poetry, you should absolutely do it.  She was phenomenal.  The weekend was full of good conversations with new friends and great advice on parenting and how to be a more intentional wife. I have pages and pages of notes to go through and digest over the next few weeks and a stack of books to read.

If you're looking for books on parenting, I highly recommend Wild Things: The Art of Nurturing Boys by David S. Thomas and Stephen James, as well as All You Need to Know About Raising Girls by Melissa Travathan and Sissy Goff.  I had the opportunity to hear both David Thomas and Sissy Goff speak this weekend.  David was absolutely hilarious and they were both insightful and engaging speakers.  In those two short sessions, I learned things about my son and daughters that have already changed some of the way I parent now and will be especially helpful as they get older.  I couldn't get in line to buy their books fast enough, and I plan to spend time on their website, raisingboysandgirls.com, taking advantage of the tons of resources and information about parenting.

When asked what my favorite part of the weekend was, I found it hard to say. The whole weekend was my favorite, really.  I missed Anton and the kids like crazy, but I'm glad I had the opportunity to go and be filled up and connect with other women.  It made me so thankful for A. and his willingness to cover things at home so I could go, and thankful that my sister could help with my kids and watch Molly and Hazel for me.

As I thought about what I wanted to say to you guys about the conference, I kept going back to Bob Goff.  Last year, my husband read the book, Love Does, at the suggestion of his aunt and then recommended it to me.  Even though everything he told me about it sounded wonderful, I didn't get around to reading it.  I will now.

Bob Goff was a great speaker.  He took us off guard with his almost childlike enthusiasm and excitement.  We weren't allowed to stay one more minute in our comfort zone.  His message was so simple, and scary hard at the same time.  Jesus didn't call us to play it safe.  We're defined by the way that we love people.  Love everybody--always.  Live in grace, walk in love.

Bob Goff speaking on Friday at Momcon.

He talked about how as Christians, we are under the banner of Christ.  That either changes nothing in our lives or it changes absolutely everything.  I thought of my parents, and the extravagant way that they love. Especially the way they love those who have been unloved or unwanted before.  I was inspired to be more like Bob, and more like my parents, but to do it in whatever way looks like me.  He said, "Go be you.  And go love everybody."

I'm looking forward to seeing what that looks like in my life, and I'm going to start by picking up a copy of his book.  Love Does.

Forever Young

My mom's high school yearbook picture.

My mom turned sixty-five last week.  She looks and seems so much younger though, and I've been trying to pinpoint exactly why. Besides good genes (here's to hoping she passed those down to me, right?) I think a lot of it is her attitude.

She's never had a problem admitting her age, and she enjoys her birthdays. If anyone ever asks her how she feels about getting older she says, "It sure beats the alternative."  She laughs a lot, loves her grandbabies, and will often sit down on the floor with them to play or read books.  She is more focused on other people than herself, and she is happy to be where she is.

Just the other day I was talking to my dear friend Rachel and I asked her, “When did we get this old?”  Even as I said it I knew that we're still young.  We’re both only 34, and Lord willing, we still have a lot of life ahead of us.  But a whole lot has happened since we became friends when we were fourteen.  Sometimes we both worry that this season is the best yet, or ever.  Our kids are young and cute and at home.  It's easy to worry that the next stage in life will be different and therefore not as good.  But when I look at my parents I don't worry as much.  

My mom and dad do foster care full time.  They pour their hearts and lives into the kids they work with, and they love what they do.  When I look at the way they live their lives I’m not afraid of growing older.  They make being grandparents look good.

  
As I was getting this post ready this week, and thinking about my mom's birthday and aging gracefully, I opened a piece of chocolate with this message:

Thank you, Dove. :) 

If at First You Don't Succeed...

An Update on The Artist's Way

You guys.  I did it.  I finished The Artist's Way.  (I'll wait a moment for you to clap, jump up and down excitedly, or wipe a tear from your eye as you are overcome with pride in me and joy at my accomplishment.)  But, seriously.  I finished The Artist's Way!  I read the last chapter on July 26^th, completed my exercises, and on August 2nd I wrote out my final end-of-the-week check in.  I even read the appendix.

My perfectionism really had to take a back seat on this one.  I don't know if there was a single week where I did my morning pages all seven days (Julia would be so disappointed in me) and there was at least one week where I didn't do my morning pages at all.  I also skipped a week completely, turning my twelve-week course into thirteen weeks.  But I finished it, nonetheless.

When I was working on my Life without a Compass post last week, I got out my journal to fact check what that first four-wheeling trip was like.  I found a journal entry from November 22, 2005 where I laughed about picking up The Artist's Way again after it had been “only two years” since the last time I'd tried to read it.  I then congratulated myself on two days in a row of doing my morning pages and wrote out the contract she has at the beginning of the book.  I'm not sure how long I stuck with it that time, but I don't think it was very long.

I'm kind of surprised I even let myself start reading it again. Surprised my perfectionism and the voice in my head shouting that I'd just quit again didn't stop me before I got going.  But I really think it was the conscious decision to put my perfectionism aside, to keep going even if I had to skip a week somewhere, to read the chapter and do the exercises even if I didn't do my morning pages every single day, that kept me going. And I'm so glad I did.  I feel like I benefitted from it tremendously.  And you know what?  I'm planning on getting up tomorrow morning and doing my morning pages.  

I have to laugh at my tenacity at refusing to give up the idea of making it through that book.  I decided I wanted to read it for the first time over fourteen years ago.  It might have taken me awhile, but by golly, I got it done.  Just call me Tenacious G.

I've been trying to think about what my take away is from reading that book over the last twelve, um, I mean thirteen, weeks has been.  What I want to tell my closest friends and my kids about it.  Other than the fact that I loved reading it and I want to be like Julia Cameron when I grow up, I think I learned these main things:

1.  We all really are creative.  All of us.  God is creative and He created us to be that way too.  How cool is that?

2.  Morning pages work.  They really do.  I think everyone should do them.  Imperfectly. Sporadically.  Occasionally even, but do them.  Use them to free up your thoughts and shut down the critic screening every single thing you think and say and do.

3.  Don't be afraid to admit that you are creative.  Own it a little.  Who cares if no one agrees with you?  Julia does, and she's awesome.  

4.  Give yourself freedom to pursue what interests you.  Make time for it.  Don't be afraid that you're too old or it's too late.  You're not and it's not.     

5.  Don't be afraid to try new things with your creativity.  It can be fun.  It might surprise you how fun.  It might surprise you how scary, too, but you can handle it.    

I realize that if I'm not careful my "key points take away" could easily become as long as the book, so I'll stop there.  You can read more about my journey with The Artist’s Way here and here and here.  

Happy creating, friends.