This morning, I was pouring my heart out in my journal about all the things that I was unsatisfied with in my life. There were wounds from the past that just won't seem to heal and new circumstances that bring fear into my life.  I asked God to come through like He has in the past and answer my prayers. I wanted him to bring something new into my life. I felt weary and ashamed about where I was at. 

Then, I cracked open my bible that I haven't been reading for the past few weeks (insert monkey covering eyes emoji here!) and started reading where my ribbon bookmark was in Hebrews Chapter 13. There is some good stuff in that chapter that covers a wide variety of topics but this phrase in verse 5 grabbed my attention:

“…Be content with what you have.” 

Contentment is always something that I have struggled with. I am either gazing longingly into the future for how things will be better OR I am staring into the past at my “glory days” or my regrets. 

To be Content is defined as being “satisfied, adequately happy, willing, [or in a] satisfied state.” (According to my ole American Century Dictionary!)

What enables us to be happy, satisfied, and willing? I immediately thought of that quote that I’ve seen floating around in cute lettering:

“Gratitude turns what we have into enough.”

All day long our focus can be turned towards what we don't have. Social media and iPhones have brought a plethora of information to our fingertips. 

We can see everything we don’t have, we can make wish lists on Amazon, and we can see what everyone is doing without us. When we are constantly gazing at those things we can come away feeling discouraged, resentful, and with a bad case of the “I wants.” 

What if the remedy for the “I wants” and discontentment is gratitude? What if we turn our eyes away from other people and instead turn them towards what is ours RIGHT NOW?  Keeping our eyes on our own marriages, kids, friends, and gifts? Then what if we chose to be thankful for those things?

What if thankfulness paves the way for happiness and contentment?

I want to do a little experiment with this theory for a week and I want YOU to join me! I've created an outline to challenge myself to change my thinking. 

Here's what I want us to do (If you are willing, no pressure, but I have a hunch it'll be great!)...

7 Day Contentment Challenge

1. Right now, wherever you are at, check in with yourself. How are you feeling? Are you satisfied or unsatisfied in your life? What specifically is weighing on your mind?

2. Whatever feelings came up, write them down.

3. Everyday, for the next 7 days write down THREE things you are thankful for. 

4. At the end of the 7 days, check in with yourself again. How are you feeling? Do you feel more satisfied or unsatisfied in your life? Is there anything still weighing you down?

---- That's it! Sounds easy enough, right?! 

I will be sharing my experience on the blog next week and I would love to hear from you about your experience!

If you are interested in sharing your experience in the 7 Day Contentment Challenge, please send me a message or comment!

See you in a week, hopefully feeling more content!

Three Things I Learned in One Year of Blogging

This past April I celebrated one year of blogging. I was pumped! I had plans to create a giveaway, write about what I learned, do a roundup of my favorite posts…etc. I was thinking about it constantly and before I had a chance to implement any of it my computer broke. 

I panicked because I was afraid of losing any followers from not posting regularly. It was silly, but once the panic subsided, I decided to give my brain time off from thinking about anything blogging related.

I didn't write regularly, I was just doing my daily life. After a couple of weeks into my computer being broken, I realized that I had been blogging from a place of desiring affirmation. It felt good to get likes and comments when I published a post.

That motivation is not where I wanted to write from because it left me feeling panicked about how I could get more comments and likes the next time. I was hustling to share my posts on all the social media sites and  trying to network with other bloggers. Basically, spinning my wheels trying to get those shares, likes, and comments. 

In light of this, I have struggled with if I should even blog at all, if there really is a point to it. 

I have been reading in Hebrews lately,  and in Chapter 10, it talks about how we have confidence in Christ because what he has done for us. It also warns us to not throw that confidence away (Hebrews 10:35). I realized that I was throwing away my confidence by putting it in myself and what I could do to get those likes and comments to feed my need for affirmation.

When I write from my confidence in Christ, I write because I want to encourage other believers in their walks with Christ. It’s a joy and my soul is refreshed. 

The balance between writing for Christ and writing for affirmation is one that I am continuing to work out. 

In that vein of wanting to encourage others, here are three things that I have learned this past year of blogging. 

Three Things I have Learned in One Year of Blogging:

1. Challenge yourself with your dreams:

I have wanted to be a writer since I was young and one day I dream of writing a book that gets published. Pushing myself to write regularly on my blog was a step towards making my dreams happen. I can look back over the past year and see how my writing has changed and improved.

2. Perseverance pays off:

Persevering to achieve my goal of blogging one year, built my confidence in my dream to become a serious writer. Some months it was hard to create posts. Others months I wasn't even sure if what I had to say was that good. It was a journey that I stuck out.  I felt proud of myself when I hit that one year mark!

3. Life will pass you by unless you are intentional:

I realized that I wasn't just going to publish a book one day without doing anything to make it happen. My dream was only going to be achieved when I made time to pursue them. I fit it into everyday life, and made it a priority.

What steps do you need to take to follow your dreams?