Hello, 2023! I’m not sure what you hold, but I sure am hopeful for some good things. I already feel like the wealthiest woman in the world, as we’ve had several weeks of health! It truly feels like everything I could ever ask for. We haven’t been this healthy for this long since October of 2021. I tear up thinking about how grateful I am for that, and I’m fighting a spirit of fear as we return to school and preschool, knowing that sickness is not a thing to be feared. Holding my head high, declaring “I will not fear!” Also believing and knowing our immune systems are stronger than ever.

As I have prepared for the Contentment Challenge (started yesterday for me!), I am crazy excited. I know that sounds wild, but I am clinging to the fruit I’ve seen in the past, knowing that abundance also comes from discipline. While also giving up shopping, I’m committing to a new workout routine 5 days a week (I’m a beachbody newbie but am loving their workouts), along with their 2B mindset eating plan for eliminating sugar and focusing on eating healthy, whole foods, focusing a lot on veggies and protein!

I’ll also saying goodbye to social media for the next 3 months. From 1/10 - 4/10, maybe longer. Very much so enjoying this break already. Keeping my heart open to what God wants to do in my life during this time, and afterwards.

I know my flesh is going to fight me. Hard. I know what’s around the corner, and how my adult tantrums will flare up when I see something I want. I know I’ll feel sad when I can’t have that dessert or bread I’m used to grabbing without thought. And I know how my thumb and brain has been trained so well to access Instagram whenever I want it, several times a day, so there’s going to be a lot of dying to self and creating new habits.

I need this desperately. I know that dying to myself allows Christ to be magnified. I know I’ll hear His voice more clearly. I know I’ll have hard days (including day 1… shew, last night was a doozy), and the boundaries I’ve set in place will force me to turn to Him. I’m ready to get quiet, to go dark, and to do that internal work of discipline that brings abundant life!

I’m ready to read. To journal. To write. To paint. To lift heavy weights. To try new food. To play with the kids. To speak life. To be outside a lot more. To be hidden. To look up. To embrace discipline. And to enjoy the fruit of all of this. Let’s go, 2023.

Here are my goals for 2023!

1. Strengthen and Nourish my body
   I have quit the gym and signed up for beachbody. After a year of an expensive gym that I loved but could never enjoy because of sickness rotating through our family, I am saying goodbye to that guilt and obligation. I signed up for something I could actually do from home. I just completed my first BB 4 week program and I already feel so incredible! (I even did it all the way through Christmas!)

2. Track our finances and spending
   Will and I are passionate about how we spend our money, but we have gotten too relaxed with our budget. Step one : track everything. Where is all of our money going? What subscriptions do we not use anymore? Why am I spending so dang much on groceries? (Also my gameplan is to primarily switch to Sam’s Club and Aldi this year!) + no spending on the Contentment Challenge. I’m hoping this will bring a lot of clarity on where we are and where we are headed. With this, we are really hoping to increase our giving this year as well.

3. Enjoy and celebrate our marriage (15 years this June!)
   Every 5th year, we go big. Our 5th anniversary, we lived on a boat in the BVI for a week! For our 10th, we went to Italy for 12 days. This year? No clue. But we are excited to celebrate! We are also hoping to do 1 or 2 marriage retreats, and re - up our regular date nights.

4. Disciple our kids
   I’ve been convicted that my homeschool days are too focused on getting everything done, and less about their hearts. So after Beaufort is dropped at preschool and Benji is down for his nap, my plan is to stop and pray with my girls, and review our catechism and the scripture with it. Just a simple homeschool day routine that I hope will help! We will also continue our church involvement, worship and prayer at home, and random conversations about God as their hearts are curious - probably the most important thing!

5. Love my sisters well
   Specifically, Sissy, Sam, Jess, Reba, Katherine, and my Bible study girls. This is a real sister, sis-in-law, bestie mashup. But I want to show up for them in more real ways, and spend more time with them. Each of them are looking ahead to something new in their lives that are big! I want to show up as their biggest cheerleader and listening ear.

6. Podcast and Blog in a life giving way
   This goes both ways. For you, and for me. The last several years, I have been so focused on how I can show up and speak life, which is great! But in the process, I’ve been stressed out and have lost my love of these things. I want my podcast and blog to be both life giving for you and for me, so it can keep going.

I thought I’d leave you with this hilarious picture I snapped yesterday right after I took Benji down the slide at the park in my lap! The static was out of control and his hair went straight up. I couldn’t stop laughing!

More of this in 2023, please and thank you!

Praying deep and wide blessings over you this year, friend. ✌🏻 Until next time!

•••

A few links in case you need them:
The Work and Play Podcast
Patreon
I’m hiring a part time position (deadling 1/25 to apply)
The Contentment Challenge

We have had the most delightful weekend celebrating Will’s 37th birthday! Really, all the fun started on Monday, which was Halloween (Sing 2, anyone!?), followed by an evening at the Drive Shack for a double date with Emily and John, then Friday we went for a family hike and ate at Torchy’s Tacos with the whole family, and Saturday included a high ropes ziplining course near us and the NC State game! A lot of fun, and I absolutely sabbathed so hard today and took an almost 3 hour nap (hence the late night blogging!)

October was so good, and so full. It started out with me having Covid, and then getting better just in time for the kids fall break. We stayed home the whole time, I got to photograph a birth (!), and we planned a simple event every day of fall break to enjoy together. I think I’ll share our little staycation fall break soon - it really was sweet! But between Covid, fall break, and then Strep (Milly) and some weird 3 day fever virus for Benji last week, and another cold for me… I just put my head down and kept going.

I texted a friend tonight in response to her question “How are you?” and said (after a week of no sickness), “Thankfully we’ve been healthy and it feels like such a massive gift to be able to just do life. I’ve felt so behind on just normal things - cleaning out the garage, etc - it felt to fun to do that kind of house maintenance bc usually I’m sick or taking care of someone who is sick. We celebrated Will’s bday this weekend and just had a lot of fun and outside time which was so great!”

NOTHING makes me more grateful than being outside with our family, all healthy.

So here we are, November!

NOVEMBER GOALS

• Blog twice ✌🏻 (one down, one to go!)

• Try new budgeting Software with Will

• Record all Podcasts for Nov and Dec of 2022

• Q1 Planning and End of year celebration with Sammy Jo!

• Schedule alllll the holiday things and put them in our calendars. Reservations and all.

• Benji’s Baby book : Months 1-12 pages

• Edit all 2022 photos through October

• Complete Christmas Gameplan and go over it with Will! (Podcast coming soon!)

• Get to the gym / workout outside at least twice every week

Here were my September / October goals. I don’t believe I completed one of them and I was very grateful to have read all of your kind comments from my last goals blogpost before realizing this! It made me smile and want to keep writing, instead of wanting to give up again. So thank you!

• Blog once a week

• Start our Christmas shopping list and budget

• Choose 5 go-to fall outfits

• Implement theme hours for my 1 work day (household, deep work, emails + communication, spiritual growth, etc)

• Edit all 2022 photos through August

• Benji’s baby book

• Podcast content plan for Q4 2022 and Q1 2023

• Write out a music project that’s been on my mind

Here’s to progress, getting outside, staying healthy, and planning all the holiday things!

Photo by Gina Z

I’ve been quite inspired lately by a few friends who are simply showing up. Especially in the online space, which often feels cluttered and noisy and salesy and exhausting, and makes me often want to quit.

They show up simply as themselves, with beauty, with perspective that is unique, sharing a thought or an image or a corner of their simple, beautiful life.

And it makes me want to show up.

Beauty begets beauty.
Courage begets courage.
Showing up begets showing up.

Sam’s music and writing. (You’ll hear more about her music soon, but I’ve just been so inspired by her songs and album she’s working on)
Lindsey’s art, homeschool, and no-filter policy.
Emily’s blog. Always, Emily’s blog.
Ashleigh’s words. We connected years ago, and I’m excited to be part of her substack as she’s moved away from social media.
The Coffee and Crumbs ladies.

But of course, this isn’t just online. And the times that showing up have brought me to tears have been the real life, knock on my door showing up that has happened recently.

Grammy taking care of the kids while we are all sick.
Sam showing up with a crossword puzzle, journal, bone broth, and her “warrior not worrier” shirt.
Heather providing more baked ziti and chicken noodle soup than we could ever eat so I don’t have to cook for days.
Liz tripling her grocery order and dropping off an extra order for me and another for a friend who needed it.

When you’re sick often, when you have small kids, when your to do list seems so very long, when life feels out of control - it’s easy to want to shrink up and disappear for a little bit. And sometimes that’s actually needed and good. But this is just a reminder that showing up blesses other people, and God created us to not shrink away but actually mingle our lives with the lives of others - thoughts, beauty, beliefs and all.

Whether it’s big or small, I hope you keep showing up, too.