A Season of Change and Newness

There’s a whole lot of newness in the Isaacson house these days. We welcomed Sarah Celeste on February 26th (full post coming soon!), Joshua turned seven months, and, while we aren’t sleeping much, our hearts are full!

Photo by Robyn Van Dyke

With Sarah’s arrival came a whole new “normal,” which means that this laptop hasn’t been opened in an entire month until now. I’m no super mom. There are two wonderful friends here watching the Isaacson littles. And let it be known that writing a book with two babies is not exactly easy. My editor graciously gave me another book deadline extension. I have till this Friday to finish (pray for me!). I am excited to get these words completed and in your hands next January when the book comes out.

The ladies in my office have been working from home most days since Sarah arrived. Even scattered to their respective dwellings, they’ve created some remarkable things for our readers in the last couple weeks! I am in awe. It’s been a long while since I gave you an update on all the things that happen under this roof (besides babies) so here it is!

We just launched the PowerSheets Community Site. I dreamed of this site for four years — ever since we started testing our first PowerSheets design. Community is the secret sauce to making what matters happen. Hard work is key, but friends to walk the journey with you will keep you doing the hard work—all the way to the finish line. Community means people who understand you. People who understand where you heart lies and what your purpose is. People who cheer you on when you’re feeling low, offer a sounding board for your big ideas, and who arrange playdates for your kids when you just need to take a shower. (Thank you to many of you who have done that for me in the last couple weeks!)

The PowerSheets community site is a place to cultivate meaningful relationships that help you make what matters happen. You can create a profile, share your goals with the community, encourage others in their goals, get in large online groups or small local teams, and create meet-ups to bring those relationships offline and in person.

Our Community Manager, Laura, is also on the site daily creating free downloads, helping you find community in your groups, and putting together PowerSheets tips and tricks for the blog. Oh my stars, I cannot wait for you to be a part of this with us!

How do you get access to the site? It’s free for PowerSheets users! All 2016 PowerSheets users are emailed an access code to the new community site. If you purchased PowerSheets and didn’t receive yours, email jess@laracaseyshop.com.

If you haven’t gotten your PowerSheets yet, or received yours in January but haven’t taken them out of the wrapper yet, know this: there is nothing magical about January 1. Remember, progress comes little by little. Intentional, meaningful goal setting can happen at any time, no matter how far “behind” you feel. The truth: you are not behind. You are exactly where you are supposed to be to take a leap forward!

Now through May, Nicole, Amber, Jess, and Laura are walking you through #FreshStartSpring. Many of you spent March working through the Clear the Clutter E-book to help you rid yourself of distractions so you can focus on what matters most to you — the important things you want to make happen. Just like we clear out our gardens in preparation for new seedlings and growth, take a moment to clear out the overgrown or lifeless things in the garden of your life. Friends, if there is something that is holding you back from living on purpose, download the Clear the Clutter E-book.

Photo by Robyn Van Dyke

Gracie and I just started planning our garden. More to come on this, but we hope to grow lots of herbs, flowers, veggies, and strawberry popcorn (this corn variety grows tiny, berry-colored ears!). We spent last week mapping out our garden beds and where everything would grow. Learning from past mistakes, we made sure to leave enough room for these tiny plants to grow into strong, tasty fruits and vegetables. The same is true of our goals. We must plan our goals based on how much room we have in our lives to grow them, and how much time we have to tend to them. In April, I’m excited that our team is walking you through goal planning and setting yourself up for success with the Starting the Seeds E-book. Just like garden planning, you’ll get the chance to map out your goals and how they’ll grow. Goals can flourish when you give them room to — I can’t wait to see what you cultivate!

To get the Starting the Seeds E-book directly in your inbox in April, sign up for my newsletter here.

We just wrapped up our most recent Making Things Happen conference, and it was such a life-giving time with old and new friends. So much about this conference has changed since it started eight years ago when I decided to hit “publish” on a blog post about how I made things happen. It’s been on our hearts to give the old Making Things Happen site a redesign so we can better share with all of our future attendees what MTH is really like — community-driven, full of honest work, joyful, peaceful, awe-inspiring. Next week, we are releasing our fall tickets for October 17-18 in Chapel Hill! Be the first to know when registration is open by signing up for the MTH Newsletter.

This season of change has been good for our hearts. Going from two kids to three has been hard, but refining. When we go through a refining change, our hearts get refocused and strengthened. I have so much more to say about life with these littles, but my time is limited and that shower I mentioned earlier? I would like to take one of those today. : )

There has been lots of change in our office this year too. We’ve introduced two new team members, two new babies (June and Sarah), and we are seeing the fruit of having done our PowerSheets together in December. So much newness. Old prints, desk cards, and tees are coming out of our shops so that we can focus on the products that impact lives, like our Write the Word Journals, Life Handbooks, and Wedding Day Journals.

Photos by Anna Routh

The ladies have also been working hard on launching the Southern Weddings for High Cotton bow tie line! These bow ties look and feel like old Southern traditions — Easter Sunday, the Kentucky Derby, and spring weddings. I can’t wait to see some of our own gents wearing these to future Southern Weddings events. If you see Ari in one, give him extra encouragement as he’s not partial to bowties… yet ; )

Thanks again for all your prayers and encouragement in this new season. I’m still off social media, and working hard to get my book done in the next few days, but I hope to update you again soon. Happy spring, friends!