I’ve spent the last two weeks completely off of social media and it has been good. Good in a way I didn’t expect. I thought it would be hard. It wasn’t. I thought I’d miss it. I don’t. I thought I’d only stay off of social media for a couple days. It’s been two weeks and I could keep going, but I love y’all and I wanted to say hello.

I am still letting this experience marinate in my heart, but I have one profound truth to share with you today: when you let go of something, you leave room for your heart to be filled with something else.

As I’ve shifted my focus from a frenzy of online influences to the hearts right in front of me, God has been meeting me in the sweet conversations and stillness that I now have time for. We planted a vegetable garden (pics to come!), had lots of dinners with good friends, had a big yard sale for charity (the $516 raised will go to the tornado victims in Oklahoma — all my prayers are with them today), went to visit my parents in Florida and even baked bread this weekend. I learned a blanket stitch (from Ari who is a sewing pro from his surgery training!) and repaired a quilt that has been worked on by four generations — my great grandmother, Grama Bunny, my mama and now me. I hope that Gracie will get a chance to sew love into it someday, too. She has been exploding with words lately and had her first real conversation Sunday morning with Ari before church.

Photo by the amazing Katie Stoops, who came to shoot an editorial for us a couple weeks ago. This is also my iPhone screensaver : )

Ari (walking in to pick her up from her crib when she woke up): Good morning, Gracie. How are you?
Gracie (looks up, pauses): Good! How yooooo Daddy?
Ari (stunned): Good!

It’s not all easy, though. In sitting in stillness more with God, reading His word a lot, reading other books (I’m currently reading Radical) and spending the majority of my work time writing a proposal for a book about how to make what matters happen, my heart has been challenged. Like a lion facing off with a tiger kind of challenge. Raaaarrr. God has been shaking things up in my heart, making me question everything we are doing and asking, “Is this what God really wants me to be doing, buying, thinking, focusing on? Is this what He wants me to fill my heart with?”

You see, Jesus didn’t have Instagram. He changed the world through relationships. One at a time. He didn’t have a megachurch or a megaphone. Just the powerful truth of His existence and the plan that God was going to reveal though Him. The plan of grace. The plan of salvation. The plan of freedom. I want that plan to be mirrored in all I do. So, I’m going to keep listening in the stillness and challenging what the world says is the path to success. I want to make LIFE happen.

Another signature gold foil print up the shop now.

Social media, of course, isn’t the problem. Your work isn’t the problem. Distractions aren’t the real problem. What we need to question is our hearts in using them. I have found great fulfillment in using social media to inspire and cheer others on and try my best, through many failures, to lead by example and share God’s word whenever I can. I am not perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but that is the point, isn’t it? The gospel – the good news – is good news to those of us (all of us) who are imperfect and need it. It’s really good news. I want to continue to use every platform I’m given for good. Risking failure in that is worth it. Sometimes a break is necessary to step back and make sure you’re doing things in the best way possible. It has certainly been necessary for me. I needed a heavy dose of perspective and it’s pouring in like a river. I’m not leaving social media for good, but I am going to use it less and differently from now on. The last two weeks have been so sweet. I don’t have all the answers yet, but stepping back to see the horizon is certainly helping me find some brilliant sun rays of clarity that are illuminating possibilities I never knew existed.

In the spirit of making what matters happen and making memories with those right in front of us, I’m giving away a Fujifilm Instax Mini and one of the new prints from the shop – your choice! We use the Instax Mini every day here in our house and my fridge and kitchen bulliten board are so packed with wonderful photographs of great memories that we started covering the sides of our fridge!

TO WIN: Simply leave a comment here telling me what you want to make happen most in life. I’ll choose a random winner on June 1!

P.S. I sent my book proposal off to the publisher just moments ago! Oh my stars, this has been one of the most challenging and rewarding (46-page) PDF’s I’ve created. Thank you to so many who have encouraged me and prayed for me during this time. I’m so grateful!

My friend Casey Chappell is adopting a baby this week who has downsyndrome and, while God brought them the funds they needed yesterday for the adoption fees (God is good!!), there will be so many needs for this new life ahead. Casey is one of my dearest friends and already has four beautiful adopted children. Her family inspires me to no end. My #SpreadGoodnessToday project is going to their adoption this week. Get your scripture cards and donate here.

My first draft of my book proposal is due to my agent for review on Wednesday. I have a lot of work to do.

I also have to write my engage13! presentation.

We have SOLD OUT of the Making Things Happen PowerSheets four times this year and I am so inspired the incredible progress PowerSheet owners are making, myself included. We’re putting a few fun upgrades on them and will be releasing the next batch soon. PRE-ORDER your set now before we sell out again. We expect these to ship in late May/early June. Follow the #PowerSheets hashtag for updates and to see how others are making things happen with them. Also, the fun notepads in the first image are up in the shop now, too! These are our press samples, so just one available of each for now.

I’m so grateful that we are going to see my family in Pensacola this coming weekend. So grateful. I miss my mama and my sweet daddy and Grandma Bunny and my amazing giving brother… and I can’t wait to get Gracie in the pool : )

Our new nanny, Meredith, starts next week. We are so grateful for Meredith and at the same time I may need to attach the Kleenex to my hip for the rest of this month. Words can’t express my sadness in Susan leaving, but I know she will change the world in her work ahead. God has great plans for her.

He has great plans for you, too.

Why this random short blog post? I’m taking some time off of social media. Maybe a couple days, maybe a week. I don’t know. I do know that God wants me to focus on other things right now. It’s hard to say no to the creator of the universe. : ) I need less “stuff” and more of Him. Less mental clutter, time replying to Instagram comments and posting pictures and more focus on Him (my goal is to get through all of Psalms this week). Yes, I easily take weekends off of social media and have for the last 2 years running, but I need that same focus in my week right now in order to make the things I want to make happen. More time to write my book that I know God wants me to write. More time to pray about the big change in my heart I feel stirring like a tornado after this weekend. More Gracie hugs when I have a break from work instead of looking at other people’s kids on Facebook. More face time and less phone time. If you want to join me, feel free. The world will not end. : ) Less is more. I love you all!

P.S. The randomly chosen winners of the Goal Setting Update giveaway are Lauren (print from the shop!), Mel (print from the shop!) and Monica (TIEKS! YEAH!). Email me your mailing addresses ladies and we’ll get your prizes to you. Everyone who entered, I can’t wait to hear your progress in July. I’ll have an equally fun giveaway then!

All three clients I spoke to this morning are truly brilliant. Yet, in some way, every single one had a different idea of their value than I did. This is the case with all of my clients and I know God has given me the gift of seeing through the trees for people. I see what’s there. I tend to see a LOT of possibility in people. My job is to be a mirror. To reflect back to my clients what is there underneath layers of doubt and uncertainty and insecurity: brilliance, untapped potential and that they are enough. They are capable. They are far more valuable than they see.

So much clouds our vision. Life punches us in the gut sometimes (sometimes lots of times!) and the world says we aren’t enough and somewhere along the line, we start to believe everyone else. Well, friends, everyone else is wrong. You ARE enough. You ARE capable. You ARE filled to the brim with talents and a purpose. God wouldn’t have put you on this earth if you didn’t have a great purpose. Here is one of the many things God says about our purpose and how we are to love others and ourselves:

Of all the commandments, which is the most important?

“The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”

- Mark 12:28-31

So, let’s break this down. First, love God. Next, love your neighbor as yourself. We tend to treat others how we treat ourselves, right? How we treat others really mirrors what’s going on in our souls. We project so many of our own feelings and problems and stresses onto others. It’s human. It’s natural. And yet, we have a choice. It all starts with filling your cup with what’s important so you can fill others, too. It starts with believing in yourself and literally stopping when you start thinking, “I’m not good enough.” Replace that thought with the truth. You ARE enough. You ARE capable. I’m going to say it a few more times here in hopes that it will start to sink in.

For me, loving myself means loving God first and filling my heart with what is good, pure, lovely and true so that what pours out of my own heart will come from a river that never runs dry. Oh, y’all. I have been on the opposite end of this for pretty much my whole life up until the last year or so. My river was constantly dry. And I still see the drought coming from time to time, but times have greatly changed. It has taken WORK and hard decisions and facing how I cope with challenges and facing my faults and fears. It’s work I keep doing daily. But, when I love myself in the way God wants me to love myself – as a child of His, as deeply valued and cared for – then, I can love others in that same way. It doesn’t mean being perfect. It means tending to your soul so you can be your best for others. Love God, and in doing so, you will fill your own heart so you can pour that love right back out on others. This all builds a humble confidence that brings lasting joy and PEACE.

And there is a big difference between feeding our egos and true God-filled confidence. This is God-filled confidence:

‘Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.’ – Hebrews 4:16

‘But let us who live in the light be clearheaded, protected by the armor of faith and love, and wearing as our helmet the confidence of our salvation.’ – 1 Thess 5:8

‘So we can say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper, so I will have no fear. What can mere people do to me?”’ – Hebrews 13:6

Good confidence is knowing our value to help others. That gives us energy and wings to soar in all we do.

Dangerous confidence is thinking we are better than others and then feeding our egos to try to fill the void created by accepting the negative things the world tells us about our worth. Sound familiar?

‘Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.’ – Philippians 2:3

I digress. Sort of. This all goes together.

All around me, I see so many not filling their cups with what matters. I’ve been there myself more times than I can count. Facebook, fame, money, popularity, business and bookings vie for our attention. They promise us everlasting happiness, and they give us a great high for a moment… and then it’s back to “real life”. And we keep going through this cycle: boredom, I’m not good enough, so I’m going to get on Facebook to zone out and look at other people’s lives, now I feel worse and I’m distracted and behind and I need a bigger distraction. You know this cycle. I can write about it because I know it, too. And I am on a mission to kick it to the curb and help others do the same!

I don’t know about you, but I got tired of the high highs and low lows. I wanted consistent lasting joy. And I have found it. You can too. Right now. It comes at a price. The price is letting go of control of your life and giving it to the one who created it. The price is humility and owning your imperfection and fighting the belief that the number of followers you have on social media or the number in your bank account or your beauty or your status or your ____(fill in your blank)____ somehow equate to your value in life. They do not.

My dear client and friend, Lori, sent me this video below today and it haunted me. I hope this helps you see where my heart is today. Believe in yourself and squash that mental negative dialogue that keeps you from the greatness you were meant to step into, friends. You ARE enough. More than enough! You are EXTRAORDINARY.

P.S. I have been SO encouraged by your goal progress! The Tieks giveaway ends May 1!

P.P.S. Ari and I told the whole story of our marriage – everything – on camera last week. I hope you will join us to watch the footage this Friday night from 6:40pm EST to 8pm EST. It’s FREE to watch live and we’ll be on live to answer questions. See you Friday!

P.P.P.S. How ARE you? Really. Does anything I wrote here today ring a bell in your heart? I’d love to hear from you….

I wrote a series on Goal Setting & Setting Yourself Up for Success at the start of this year because I got really tired of NOT making progress. Yes, I have made a lot of “things” happen, but deep down in my soul, there were things I have felt God pulling me to do that I just hadn’t done. So, this year, I wanted to be more accountable. I didn’t want to end another year with regret. I wanted to make LIFE happen. Turns out, a lot of you felt the same way.

If you are just stumbling on my blog for the first time, or if you need to start fresh, below are the links to get you moving. It doesn’t matter that it’s April. It’s NEVER to late to do what matters and start LIVING. How many people need to hear that again?? (hand raised!)

GOAL SETTING + MAKING THINGS HAPPEN

GOAL SETTING FOR 2013, Part 1
GOAL SETTING FOR 2013, Part 2
GOAL SETTING FOR 2013, Part 3
GOAL SETTING FOR 2013, Part 4
GOAL SETTING FOR 2013, Part 5
MAKING THINGS HAPPEN IN 2013: CLEAR THE CLUTTER
MAKING THINGS HAPPEN IN 2013: PREPARE FOR GREATNESS
MAKING THINGS HAPPEN IN 2013: TAKE A BREAK!
MAKING THINGS HAPPEN IN 2013: NAME YOUR FEAR
MAKING THINGS HAPPEN IN 2013: CREATE BOUNDARIES
MAKING THINGS HAPPEN IN 2013: ENCOURAGE OTHERS
MAKING THINGS HAPPEN IN 2013: THE BIG LIST

GIVEAWAY: If you started with me on your goal setting in January or even just last week, I’d love to hear about your progress, big or small. The goal here is PROGRESS NOT PERFECTION. Honest updates will help you move forward. So, weigh in below. I hope to encourage you or pray for you. And you just might inspire someone else with your comment! As motivation for you, I’m giving away gold foil prints from my shop and a pair of Tieks (since the first winner never claimed them – YAY!)! So, comment below and fill me in! We’ll check in again on July 10th and October 10th. Mark your calendars!

First, a couple big things I learned overall. As I wrote in January, goals change! I’m listing my progress below on the goals I set in January, but I’ve recently updated my goals using my PowerSheets to mirror the change I’ve felt in my heart the last few months. More on that in a later post. It is so important to evaluate your goals and focus often. The second big thing I’ve learned is that, the more prayerful I am in my decisions, the more radically God changes my path and takes me to places I never thought possible! I’ve seen this play out countless times this year and it’s something I have really had to work hard on. For accountability, I’ve made it widely known in our office that making slower, more prayerful decisions is something I am focusing on. My staff appreciates this too, I think. It makes me a better listener, makes me seek more wise counsel and it means GOD is in control, not me! His plans never fail. I am impulsive by nature, so this has been a huge change and an enormous blessing to practice prayerful decision-making.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways submit to him,
and he will make your paths straight.

- Proverbs 3:5-6

Goal 1: To know God more by learning about Him in the Bible and through prayer because knowing God means I will know what is right and good and He will direct my path. Everything good comes from that. God is my compass. I want to know everything I can possibly know about God so I can align my life with His will. I want to know God so I can change for the better for everyone in my life. I want to study the Bible and pray without ceasing. That means a lot of things, namely less time in my phone and on email and on extraneous projects and more focused time without distractions, reading. My goal in short: read and pray daily. Repeat.

// YES! This is the goal I am most focused on this year and where I’ve stayed very diligent. I am so grateful for God placing this on my heart. This has changed my heart the most out of anything I’ve ever done in my life. I am, admittedly, a VERY unfocused reader. I don’t read books often. Just the Bible, and before this year, it was just a chapter or a verse randomly without a real plan. In years past, I’d buy all the latest business books and read one chapter and they would collect dust soon after. I’ve always been very hard on myself about this and tried so hard to stay invested in reading. But, now I’m seeing God’s plan in all of this. He wanted my head to be filled with Him first, not someone else’s ideas. Don’t get me wrong, books are great. This is just what I’m seeing God’s specific plan for me has been. I’ve read a book of the Bible each week so far and, using the Goal Plan I mapped out with my PowerSheets, I plan to finish by December 31st. I’ve never been so fulfilled in anything! My marriage to Ari and bringing Grace into the world are close seconds. God’s word is life-giving.

Goal 2: I want Ari and I to have a more thriving joyful marriage because that will help us be our best for each other and Grace and everyone in our lives. Because we are stronger as individuals when we are stronger as a couple. Last year was truly a year of transition and miracles and this year, I want to celebrate life more together. My goal is to plan something epic for our seven year anniversary on March 18th. I also want to plan something really special for Valentine’s Day. I want to plan adventures every week, even if they are really tiny. I want to make Ari feel special and help him be his best. I want to open my heart and let him in more. I know I have a self-protecting wall up most of the time. I want to learn more about what God wants for our marriage and I want to DO those things. I want to help other couples do those things, too. I want to lead by example, in our failures and triumphs.

// OK, this was like 10 goals in one and very ambitious. Phew! Apparently, I’m really excited about our marriage!? This was a lesson that simple is always better and that God truly changes our hearts when we study His word and pray to ask Him for guidance. Ari and I prayed about what to do for our anniversary and Valentine’s Day and… are you ready for this? We went to Whole Foods for both! Once with Grace and once with Susan babysitting. And you know what? It was the best anniversary and Valentine’s Day we’ve ever had together! We focused on praising God for all we’ve been through together and for how he’s changed our marriage, not on a fancy dinner or vow renewal. It was so good. And, as for the rest of our marriage… well, that’s been the best it has ever been these last months. Not without lots of challenge and spats when we are tired from work and weary from parenting, but it has been focused on what matters. God and our family and trying to do God’s will every day. If you want to know more about our story, read here and join us for the Amazing Life Together webinar.

Goal 3: I want to become more physically strong so I can be full of energy to do God’s work every day and give to others. I stopped weight training last year and that is the longest time I’ve been out of the gym. I want to be physically strong so I can live a long healthy active life and be able to teach Grace about God and how to live a good life through my actions. I want to fuel my body to do good things. I want to recognize when I am tempted to use food to control my emotions and choose God instead through prayer, reading, stepping outside to take a deep breath or just by being still and having a good cry if I need to.

// This goal progress makes me laugh. I was on a ROLL in January and February. And then, in March, I found this tiny little black bug on the headboard of our bed and suddenly life got cray-zay. ONE BUG turned into a $1000 bed bug treatment where 5 bug-sniffing dogs came and then they brought 4 commercial heaters in, plugged into literally every outlet in our house and heated our bedroom to 400 degrees for 4 hours to kill said bug/s. We slept in my office for a week. And, even with this heat treatment craziness, I didn’t want to touch the elliptical and weights that live in our bedroom for a couple weeks. So, I veered off my workout plan and ran the stairs in our house for a while. I’m just getting back to business with my fitness this week. But, God works in funny ways sometimes. I had to order a new headboard cover after this fiasco and, for an extra $7, I decided to add our family monogram to it. Why is this so significant? Because, I’ve had it on my heart to finally change my name very soon. I’ve prayed about it for years and God firmly placed it on my heart recently in celebrating our seven year anniversary. It’s time. I’ll keep my name for business, but soon I will be Mrs. Lara Austin Casey Isaacson : ) OK, now that I told you all, I have to follow-through! Keep me accountable!

Goal 4: I want to stop breastfeeding, Lord willing, by Valentines day (I started weaning last week) and stay emotionally fit, despite the hormonal changes. I want to keep my energy up and give thanks, despite my current feelings (imagine if you didn’t have a period for two years and your hormones decided to start creating one… that’s where I am). I want to do whatever I can naturally to regulate my hormones so that I can be my best for my family, my staff and my friends. I also really want those 3+ hours a day back to do more for God every day. And, at the same time, I don’t want to lose the beautiful thing I have learned in all of this – that taking time to be still during the day is a very good thing.

// OK, this one, I am so excited to update you on because it taught me SO much about trusting God. I was so so so afraid to stop breastfeeding. I was afraid of the hormone changes being similar to what I experienced with PPD and I was afraid of Grace not getting the best nutrients. I tried to gradually taper off of the pump and, when I stopped, I was in severe pain for a good 10 days. Severe, I-can’t-sleep, don’t-hug-me, this-is-all-I-can-think-about pain. It was the same week as the Making Things Happen Conference where I really wanted to hug a lot of people, too. No hugs for me. But, despite my physical pain, emotionally I felt… FREE. Suddenly, I had 2-3 hours of time added to every single day and I felt like I was on vacation. I could go wherever I wanted to go without worrying about having to be home every couple hours to pump. I was AMAZING and still is. I felt some anxiety for a few days as my hormones shifted, but nothing near what PPD was like. It was a huge lesson to trust God. He brought me through 15 months of breastfeeding and I am so grateful to have had that time and now be on the other side of it. Just yesterday, I finally got my period back after 2 and a half years (crazy, right?), so that’s the only challenge right now. But, I know my body is doing what it’s supposed to do. We’re considering having another baby sometime this year, but still praying on it.

Goal 5: I want to be humble and learn a lot this year about a lot of things so I can do what I do well. I want to learn skills that will help me be a light for other’s to know God. I want to be a better more skilled designer so I can spend less time creating graphics and so I can create inspiring products that help people focus on what is good in life. I want to learn to be a better leader so I can build my team up and equip them to do the same for others. I want to learn how to cook special dishes that make my family feel special. I want to learn how to keep plants alive more than a few weeks. I want to continue my calligraphy training so that I can write beautiful letters to special friends. I want to learn how to be a better writer so I can communicate my thoughts in a more compelling authentic way. I want to learn how to do my job in a more direct, powerful, efficient way so I can make more of an impact on everyone I meet. I want to learn more about investing and finances so I can be a better steward of our money. I want to learn so I can give more.

// Design – Nicole has been teaching me all sorts of amazing things! We’re working on new shop products together now that I’m really happy with. Leading – I’ve been studying the Old Testament leaders in the Bible and following our new staff meeting agenda. So helpful. Cooking – I haven’t made anything miraculous, but I have made a much better effort to cook for Grace. She loooves “brockie” and turkey. Plants – We just closed on our house, so we’re finally getting our yard landscaped! We’re putting in raised vegetable beds all along one side of the house and I can’t wait to get out and garden with Grace. As for keeping houseplants alive… the clovers I bought in early March haven’t died yet. Progress, my friends. Calligraphy – I decided to focus on my handwriting instead. I’ve been having a lot of fun with my #LaraNotes posts on Instagram. Writing – Yes, and this has been humbling. I’ve started to look up grammar rules that I am constantly confused by and really stop to study. Job efficiency – Yes. How’s that for an efficient update? I’ve been forced to be more efficient as my work time has been more crunched with Grace’s needs (and my love of being with her). Finances – I just hired a book keeper. I have learned I CANNOT manage this not-so-small business by myself as it expands. I hope this bookkeeper will truly help us streamline and continue to grow. I’ll keep you posted.

Goal 6: I want to learn how to be more efficient and reach more people with less time away from my family. I want to spend less time on the phone with clients and far less timing emailing. My goal is to find revenue streams this year that are more automated, yet help people in a profound personal way.

// Yes, our shop has done well and I’ve continued to fight for my boundaries to keep my time focused on what matters. Read more about how I set boundaries here. I’ve also discovered ways to be more productive with clients. Phone calls help us have less email together (great for both of us!) and I generally get more accomplished with a client on the phone. There is a far greater personal connection, and that’s the goal. Since I’ve been more prayerful with client work and intentional in how I guide them, I am also loving my work more. I cherish my client calls because, while I might be the one teaching, I end up learning more than I think I teach just in the act of listening. Another rather large development in all of this is that Emily and I decided after the MTH Conference that it is time to take our process to a whole new level. We’ll be taking less full branding clients and making our process more accessible to people who really need it. We’ll be revealing details later this summer. We’re taking big risks for what matters. Also, I had lots of speaking inquiries this year and prayed HARD about which opportunities God wanted me to take. I chose these four and a few other local events that I’m excited about. I fought hard to limit it in order to maximize my time at home.

Goal 7: I want to learn how to be a better mom. I currently don’t read anything on parenting. I fly by the seat of my pants. I want to learn from others who do it well and become a mother full of wisdom so that Grace can be her best under our care. I want to raise her to be giving and pure and to have a heart of grateful JOY. I want to help Grace have more play friends and be a living example of the Bible for her in our actions. I want to be much more patient and less controlling and let go of my life so I can live in hers.

// I love what I’m about to type. I love being Grace’s mom. I didn’t love being a mom for a long while. I still don’t love some of the harder parts like the many sleepless nights, but then I see how God changes Ari and me in those challenging times. I love Grace so much. Her joy for life is contagious and I want to be around her all the time. I started reading more on parenting (even the first two chapters in Raising Godly Tomatoes helped me immensely!) and praying for wisdom. Grace has daily toddler meltdowns, but I feel pretty calm in handling them now. Getting her to sleep on her own is another story…

Photo by my dear friend, Gina.

Goal 8: I want to continue to build a remarkable business that is a catalyst for real LOVE. I want my clients to have better LIVES and I want our brides to have strong MARRIAGES. I want to be a centered sounding board and prayerfully guide my clients this year to their fullest potential. My goal is to always come back to our CORE and to keep refining it.

// YES YES and YES! It becomes clearer and clear to me by the day that, the more we focus on our core and refine it to align with God’s will, the more powerful our work is on all levels. Our core mission is to inspire brides to cultivate a life full of love – celebrating their families, the rich culture of the South and what matters most to them – and then to draw from that rich well to create a meaningful beginning to married life! Through our weekly staff meetings and all of the decisions we make, we come back to this core mission daily and it clarifies everything. Another big core-focused goal for me was to host a powerful Making Things Happen Conference in March, and God made that happen. It was the first time we’ve done a 2-day format with guest speakers and a big group, and we learned so much for next time, but overall it was life-changing. I am so grateful! My update on Goal #6 speaks to leading my clients prayerfully. Lastly, I’ve also been very prayerful about which branding and consulting clients to accept (we’re not accepting any more 2013 clients now in anticipation of our new process launching later this year) and I adore every single one of our current clients. We do our best work when our clients’ vision matches ours and I’m so pleased with God’s matchmaking this year : )

Goal 9: To learn how to take better photographs for myself so that I can remember Grace as she is in these sweet moments. I am not really sure why for this goal. It feels like a very God-centered goal, but it’s something I can’t explain. I have this connection to great photographs… they somehow speak to my soul. They change me. I think a gift God gave me was to be able to see the vision of a photograph to create. I can see moments and the big picture and a vision. I don’t have the technical skills to match that to capture the moments I see, if that makes sense. I even bought a great camera last year. It hasn’t been used yet because I get really frustrated with technology and numbers and learning new skills that I have to read a manual for. I want to learn the technical skills of how to take the photographs that I see in my heart.

// Thanks to Nicole and our intern Jessica giving me some pointers (and adjusting my camera settings!) I feel much more comfortable with my little Canon Rebel. I also bought a few cheap foam core boards to use as light reflectors and have had a lot of fun with even my iPhone photos lately!

Goal 10: I want to live with less, keep a new budget based on the historical data we have from 2012, and be more frugal this year because my money is not mine. It’s God’s and I want to do more with our money for Him. I want to not only give away things I don’t need, but give away things I love. Ari is really good at this. His favorite sweater was in our charity pile this weekend and, when I asked him about it, he said he said that it wasn’t really giving unless you were giving something you didn’t want to give away for the sake of someone else. I love that. I want to be more sacrificial in my giving.

// I did well with giving a lot away early this year. I sold a lot for charity and cleared a ton of clutter. The budget, despite hours and hours of work and prayer and conversation, is still yet to be determined. This is the area I am most frustrated with because I am the kind of person that wants things solidified and running smoothly yesterday. We have been in so much flux with not knowing where we were going to be living earlier this year, what Ari’s job and salary would be, how much our mortgage would be wherever we were living, how my business would shape up with me wanting to work less as Grace grows, etc. So, we made a temporary budget that we’ve loosely stuck to and decided to make a new budget when all of those other factors were solidified. Thankfully, they were all solidified as of last week. But, there’s another factor here that has everything to do with the big “P” word… pride. I don’t know how to blog about this without just laying all the facts out. So, here goes. If you know anything about medical training, you can guess that I’ve been the breadwinner in our house for the last few years. After having my parents and Ari support me for so long, I have been very grateful to have the joy of providing for our family for these last years, doing work that I love. Now that Ari is about to finally finish his medical training after 26 years of school (his fellowship ends in July), I will no longer be the breadwinner. Admittedly, I’ve been feeling a little sad about this. And it has made me see how prideful my heart has been in holding the “breadwinner” title. But, even more than that, this process has shown me God’s heart for our marriage. Can you see a theme here?? I am changing my name soon as a way to be closer to Ari and honor his desire for us to share a family name — and so we don’t keep having awkward moments like at our church conference a couple weeks ago when we had to go to two separate registration tables on opposite ends of the room. Ari has been so patient with me and, after that, he just looked at me and said softly, “are you still thinking of changing your name?” Oh my heart. Yes, my darling wonderful husband… I cannot wait to change it now. And let go of control of our finances so you can finally feel the joy of providing for us that you’ve worked so hard for and so we can do this together. Not one or the other, but “bread-winning” as a TEAM! GO TEAM ISAACSON!!!! (Guys, I just got all teary-eyed with excitement!) And did I mention that Grace said “Isaacson” yesterday? I love this Paloma’s Nest house plaque that Emily got us as an anniversary present.

Goal 11: I want to build other’s up in faith and give lots of tools this year for people to make that happen. I want to study the Bible with others in my home and online. Going back to goal 1, I want to know the Bible so I can share it with others. Showing people the new life that I have been given and the indescribable JOY and freedom and love and genuine purpose I have found in this new life… well, that is something I want to share. Big time. If you were to find the most beautiful island in the world, you would want to invite all your friends. That’s how I feel about being in a relationship with God. I want everyone to be able to feel this goodness. I want to equip people with basic tools to know God more.

// God has allowed me to share my testimony a LOT lately. And I see the fruit of how He is using my journey to bring others to Him. It’s AWESOME to watch God work and the greatest joy of my life to be His. I am fiercely committed to sharing what God has done in my life and continues to do. I have yet to study the Bible with anyone in my house, one-on-one (if anyone wants to do this, let me know!), but I have been praying a lot lately about starting a women’s Bible study group here. If anyone would be interested, let me know in the comments. And I still don’t have clarity on how to do a Bible study here on the blog. I will continue to pray about that. If anyone has ideas on what they’d love to learn or be encouraged about, let me know that, too.

Goal 12: I want to finally WRITE MY BOOK. I already have most of the content written and just need to put it together. Nicole and I started talking about the printing and technical aspects of this before the end of the year, so it’s in the works. My goal is to release it before the end of 2013, if not sooner. I want it to be timeless and done well so it will help creatives make things happen year after year. I want it to be a legacy for Grace to learn from as well.

// So, I have a rather miraculous update here. Emily and I were in my living room before the Making Things Happen Conference, writing an outline for the book we’ve been dreaming about, and I stopped to check my email for a moment… and promptly leapt up from my chair, started crying and praising God at the top of my lungs! All I could do was turn the computer around for Emily to read the email because I couldn’t stop saying, “WHAT!? WHAAAAAT!?!? GOD IS AWESOME!!!” I got an email from one of my dream publishing houses, asking me to develop a book with them. How crazy is that timing!?? Fast forward to today. I now have a wonderful literary agent and am working on the book proposal this month. This process honestly terrifies me and fills my heart with joy and peace at the same time. It’s a new world for me and a long process ahead, but I am ready. I repeat: God is AWESOME.

Goal 13: I want to continue to paint and create products for small creative spaces that inspire people to live better lives. God is the ultimate creator and I believe He gave all of us creative talents that are meant to be USED. I want to use my creative gifts much more this year: design, painting and singing.

// We successfully launched the LC Shop and sales have been very consistent with little to no marketing. I post about products I’m using every now and then on Instagram, but that’s it. The hardest part has been the back-end. Shop management is brand new for all of us, so there have been a lot of growing pains. Read more about our good growing pains here. The PowerSheets have been our most popular product besides the AMEN print (my favorite), and have sold out now THREE TIMES! These first-run PowerSheets have been our beta sets to see how they help people over the next months. We’re planning to expand on them in the fall from what we learn in using them ourselves, too! Many more new products coming soon. I’ve also spent a lot of time painting and creating new pieces. I paint for my dad. He always wanted me to be an artist. My parents encouraged me to use my creative gifts often and never told me I had to get a “real job”. For that I am EXTREMELY grateful. So I work hard every day to instill the same belief in others and give them tools to make their creative dreams happen. I think of my dad every time I paint. I can’t tell you what a joy it is to call him when someone purchases one of my paintings or a copy of Southern Weddings or a product from the LC Shop. He beams with joy. Thank you, friends. I’m so grateful.

Goal 14: An immediate goal I have is to finish my website. It’s been over a year in the making and it’s a monster. The coding is almost done, my shop is populated and I just have a lot of site content to populate now. I’m hoping we can launch it late this month!

// DONE! We launched and I still love this site more than all the Luna Bars and chickens in the world!

Goal 15: I want to foster my friendships is a purposeful, focused way because then I will build a stronger bond with my friends and we can do more good things for others together. I want to be more prayerful for my friends, even when they don’t know it. I want to do surprise things for them to make them feel special and build their faith and capacity to love.

// I will let them speak to this, but I have made a much stronger effort to be a better friend and to pray for my friends often. I’m definitely not perfect and there are a couple friendships I’d love to have more time to grow, but my recent motto between work and being a mom and a wife is, “do what you can with what you have.” I’m no good for anyone if I am carrying guilt around about not being enough.

Goals 16: I want to support new moms more. I had a really hard time after Grace was born and several friends sent me care packages that really made a difference. I started a new moms group and my goal is to have several care packages and cards ready to go for new mamas and expecting mama friends that I can send out right away. I want to support new moms locally, too.

// Yes, I have loved working on this goal. I stocked up on Preggie Pops and little baby gifts and have sent lots of fun goodies out.

Goal 17: I want to send more real mail to build stronger connections with others, because hopefully it will help people feel God’s love.

// I sent out about 50 letters this week to thank so many people for donating to Susan’s mission fund and launched my #SpreadGoodnessToday project in the process. It was also a huge blessing that Nicole helped me create new stationery that I LOVE. I’ll post some fun pics soon. Great progress here!

Goal 18: I want to do more random acts of kindness. As often as possible because these things can help people feel hope and know that God is good. A little kindness can change someone’s life for the better.

// See above. I hope you’ll join me on Instagram and share your #SpreadGoodnessToday story. Post either something kind someone has done for you or something you are doing for someone else. Spread some love around and share! You never know who you might inspire!

Goal 19: I want to show my family God’s love through my actions so that they will know Him more and trust in Him. My family is going through a lot right now. They need a lot of love. My goal is to be sacrificial with my time and resources so I can support them and take care of them in their distress.

// Yes, God is good. I was able to visit my parents (and surprise them by bringing Grace with me!) in February. It was a really good visit. We are making plans to go again soon all together. But, there is still a big longing I have here. Without going into too many details, my dad needs lots of encouragement. He calls me every day to tell me he loves me because he thinks he won’t be around for much longer. He is struggling a lot and asks us to come visit him constantly. It’s so hard for me not being a quick drive away from them. My crazy prayer is still that God somehow moves them here to North Carolina so we can all be together. Till then, I hope we can go visit really soon and I pray for my dad daily, that he would feel God’s peace. I trust that God has a really beautiful plan here because He started it already. The one year anniversary of my dad’s baptism is on Monday. Can we just talk about how amazing that is!? At 77 years old, a year ago, my dad was baptized by my husband. Blows my mind just typing it. THAT is why I believe in the impossible, my friends. I have proof of God in every facet of my life.

Goal 20: I want to be like Moses this year in the way he trusted and just DID what God said to do. He let God use him. I want to be open to change and trust that God always has the perfect plan. No matter what.

// As with all of these goals, ALL the glory to God! He has put a great peace in my heart this year, knowing that NO MATTER WHAT comes my way, He is in control. That is a scary thing to say and trust in at times, but the fruit of what God has already done in our lives is too sweet to mistake as anything but God’s goodness. It’s there for everyone. For you. Right now. No matter what you’ve done in the past or how lost you feel… God is here. He will make everything in your life change for the better even with faith as tiny as a mustardseed. That’s all it takes for God to make a giant tree of life grow in your heart.

The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!” He replied, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.” – Luke 17:5-6

So, what is it that you want to make happen? Comment below to tell me about your progress this year, what’s been a challenge for you, and what you look forward to ahead. We’ll check in again on July 10th. I want to hear from you this week so I can hopefully encourage you and so you can also encourage each other. Make it happen, friends. No more lurking. Making things happen means taking action. So, fill me in! Remember, this is about PROGRESS, not perfection : ) It’s never too late to make life happen. It’s never too late to start. Start today.

GIVEAWAY ENDS MAY 1, so there’s plenty of time to check in!

Photo by Caitlin Sullivan. Oh, what a life-changing two days this was! I love you all so much!

I told the entire story of our marriage at the Making Things Happen Conference a couple weeks ago, and it was one of the most passionate moments of my life. It’s hard to explain the feeling of telling people your true heart – the good, bad and really ugly parts, too. It made me feel, in a word, WHOLE. OK, I have more than one word… it made me feel GRATEFUL. The kind of grateful that wants to do a jig, hug the mailman and sing at the top of my lungs to the birds outside. Yes, I did all three. God is good. Real good.

Recounting all that we have been through (our marriage almost ended at least a dozen times several years ago – we were two ships passing in the night) and seeing where God has brought us is… truly miraculous. We both spent our days searching for fulfillment in all the wrong places early in our marriage. I escaped to my work and to getting “bigger” and to making money and to relationships that distracted me from what mattered. He did the same. Soon, we found ourselves constantly fighting, sleeping in different beds and feeling totally hopeless. We were miserable. We felt like it was impossible for anything to change. But, God…

“But, God…”

But, God didn’t want us to fail.
But, God can make the “impossible” possible.
But, God can bring the dead to life.
But, God isn’t a God of “logic,” He is GOD.
But, God didn’t care about our past. He wanted our hearts.

I told Ari this weekend that I felt like we were best friends again. And we talked at length about how this happened and how we still have arguments and we get weary from work and parenting… but lately these things have made us stronger and they’ve made us see that God is with us. Our key to a strong marriage from what we’ve learned in our experience (from Ari): “The secret to success is the same as it is with God: give up your selfish desires. Live for another. You cannot be passive. You have do to the hard work. Jesus demonstrated this best. If he was married, he would have been an awesome husband!”

Marriage is hard and at the same time, the joy on the other side is indescribable. And I know it seems impossible when one person in the marriage is or appears to be more invested than the other. Been there countless times, too. I don’t have all the answers, but I know what worked for us and continues to make us grow closer – keep choosing God and keep choosing love. Love never fails. God heals all things. Too much to say for a little post. You can read the whole story of our marriage here.

Making Things Happen was about much more than relationships, but for me, it was telling the whole story of my marriage and how God completely changed everything that lit a spark I didn’t expect. It gave me a clear example of how ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE.

When you find clarity about your core, you have no choice but to act on that clarity. And, let me just say that the time between clarity and action can be downright frustrating. I know this first-hand! Taking action on what matters can be scary, but INDECISION is like jail to me. So, I choose action. I’ve learned that on the other side of “change is scary” is POSSIBILITY. DONE is better than perfect. And a leap of faith doesn’t mean you haphazardly go after something; it means you can envision a possible positive outcome and you believe in it so much that you have no choice but to ACT on it with intention… even though you don’t know how it will happen. You know that risking for what matters is worth it. The alternative is staying stuck and that gets you… in the same place you started.

And so… back to Ari and social media. You see, he used to spend his time playing video games while I worked till 3am. And now, having faced the brink of what felt like death to us at the time – the death of being totally chained by our sin – we are PASSIONATE about fixing our hearts on what matters. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is–his good, pleasing and perfect will. – Romans 12:2 Those words say it all. It’s not social media or video games that are the problem. It’s where your heart is.

Making things happen is about focusing on what MATTERS and physically doing something about it.
Making things happen means making tough decisions.
Making things happen is about grace, not perfection.
Making things happen means saying NO to what is holding you back and YES to what fires your heart up.
Making things happen requires guts. And fierce passion. And forgiving yourself and everyone around you.
Making things happen – the right things – will set you free.

I would love to hear from you in the comments here. Tell me where your heart is. What’s on your mind? I’d love to pray for you or give you some encouragement, if I can!

P.S. I also hope to get to know you in person this year! I am so grateful to have the opportunity to share and teach at these events soon. I had a rather crazy February with 12 speaking requests in one week after the launch of my new website. So, I spent a considerable amount of time praying on each opportunity. I learned at MTH that I need even more time here at home with Grace, so I narrowed it down to just four. I hope to see many of you at engage!13, Americasmart, Pursuit 31 and the Influence Network Conference.

Seeing people flooding to Vegas for WPPI brings back crystal clear memories of where I was five years ago. When I first went to WPPI in 2009, I was lost. I remember doing whatever I could just to ‘fit in’. I bought new clothes, I stayed up till 4am, I wore my heart into the ground chasing what didn’t matter. Don’t get me wrong, WPPI is a great thing. It’s not WPPI’s fault that I felt lost. It’s not ANYONE or ANYTHING else’s responsibility but YOURS to follow that narrow path. The path that not a whole lot of people follow. The path that leads to lasting JOY. Open the ears of your heart to what matters. Just because everyone is going in one direction, doesn’t mean you should, too. Everyone could be wrong. Follow the narrow path and do YOU.

“Doing YOU” means owning your core, your art, your flaws and your greatness. Just thinking about “owning your greatness” feels a little weird, right? More people are truly afraid of success than they are of failure. Why? Because success means you will be called to step out from the masses and be a leader. It means you will be authentically YOU. It means saying YES to what matters and NO to what’s holding you back. It means stepping outside of your safe comfort zone and stepping into the potential that you know you have. For me, taking that risk every single day is worth it a billion times over. I am a different person than I was back in 2009 at WPPI with a different life and a clearer heart. I say that with conviction because just about everything in my life has changed except my email address. God is good.

This week, I’ll be joining some of my dearest friends in leading the Making Things Happen Conference for 100 people from all over the world. I couldn’t be more grateful for an opportunity to hopefully instill in each attendee this simple truth: make what matters happen. Forget the rest.

I could go on, but Jesus says it way better than me… Matthew 7:13-27, NIV84

The Narrow and Wide Gates

“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

A Tree and Its Fruit

“Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them. Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’

The Wise and Foolish Builders

“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”

Friends, build your house on a firm foundation. Stop comparing and start leading. Do YOU.

Friends, change is awesome but it’s also scary, isn’t it? Since our company’s growth (like kudzu) doesn’t seem to be slowing down, I’ve been thinking about how much change I’ve endured in my business over the last decade. From it, here are 5 Things I’ve Learned About Business Growth. I hope these little nuggets help you, too.

1. I tell this to all of my clients, too. Be prepared for sudden growth. Streamline, simplify, automate, pre-stamp envelopes, take out the trash, clear the clutter and give yourself no excuse not to succeed when “Oprah calls”. In general, it is wiser to use your time to get your back-end organized and streamlined internally than to market yourself externally. Do one in preparation for the other. I learned this the hard way when we first launched Southern Weddings in 2008. Our brand exploded onto the market and I wasn’t prepared, so I ended up working 24/7 and my life suffered. My work suffered. I bit off more than I could chew. I kept thinking that “getting bigger” was the goal. If that is your goal, ask yourself WHY. Now I make decisions from my core – a core that is grounded in what matters most to me – and it never fails. Sudden growth still catches me off guard at times, but I’m much better at navigating those waters now with full sails!

2. Done is better than perfect. And another phrase I say to myself often: One thing at a time.

3. In times of busy business, stick to your CORE. It will guide you and help you make efficient decisions quickly. The goal in growth is not to get “bigger,” it’s to get better. You cannot please everyone. And, if you are doing things right and being very specific to your core, you won’t please everyone. That’s a very good thing. Your goal should be to capture a specific loyal audience, not the masses. We’ve had exponential success by following this model in business. When things get crazy around a launch or magazine release, we are all on the same page because we know exactly what our mission is. These are the little desk cards Nicole made for each of us as a reminder of our core and to be sure everything we do aligns with it. How cute is Henrietta? She is our office chicken mascot. Oh yes.

I don’t have to micromanage anyone in this office ever. They know what our heart is and they are as passionate as I am about making that heart happen. Specific and small are the new big. Follow your core. Say NO to what doesn’t fit your core, and take big risks in saying YES to what does.

4. Growth is exciting, but be sure to prioritize. And “prioritizing” doesn’t mean letting things slide. It means being more efficient. When you add to your company, don’t forget the rest of your business that still has to run and run well. If your core services fall through the cracks and you spread yourself thin, your growth is pointless. So, be prepared, be efficient, get more help if you can’t do it all and grow wisely. Use your time wisely. Get off Facebook. Make things happen.

5. Don’t wait to start your big idea. Growth is scary because it can mean big life change, but isn’t that risk worth it for what you really want?? The timing will never be “perfect.” As my friend Ritchie says in his new book, The Power of Starting Something Stupid, “Don’t wait. Start stuff!” Stuff meaning the things that MATTER. Take risks. Take risks. Take risks! In the midst of huge transition and growing pains and any time you are overwhelmed, just keep choosing what’s right. One. Step. At. A. Time. But, the point is to CHOOSE. Again: Take risks. Take risks. Take risks. Don’t let fear or a state of “overwhelmed” keep you from moving forward. Don’t wait. Start good stuff!

I love this excerpt from Richie’s book: “I refuse to achieve success at the expense of my life. The two – life success and genuine fulfillment – will have to go hand in hand, because I will not keep my head down for the next forty years only to look up at the end and say, “Now I can finally start living!… Don’t wait. Start stuff.”

I use this quote a lot because it’s true: A year from now, you will wish you had started today. What do you need to start? What is your “stupid” idea that you want to make happen? Leave a comment on this post and I’m going to give away another copy of Richie’s book to a random commenter. Even if you entered on Instagram already, enter again if you didn’t win! I’m so blessed to know Natalie and Richie and to have the opportunity to share my story in this book. I hope you grab your copy before it sells out! I just bought 12 for friends, and one for the winner here : ) Can you tell Gracie loves this book, too?

OK! Speaking of winners, there are LOTS of winners to announce! All randomly chosen. Congrats to Laura Frances, the winner of my Instagram/Facebook giveaway of Richie’s book. You will LOVE it! And congrats to the three random winners chosen to receive prints from my new shop: Annie {little&ever}, Vanessa from V3 Events and Fiona Cheng! Winners, email me and I’ll get your prizes to you!

SINCERE THANKS to everyone who commented about my launch. Your comments made my heart so full! After working so hard on this new site for a year and a half, it is so wonderful to know that you have been inspired. I hope y’all will come back often : )

This free download and more can be found here.

And really, I want to hear from you so I can hopefully encourage you or pray for you. Don’t wait. Start stuff. Comment below and tell me what you want to start. And don’t be afraid to comment. I know some of you feel that way and you are not alone. Lurk no more and talk to me : )

This site would never have happened without the ladies I have the joy of working with daily. They have worked so hard to help me get the finishing touches together. I have the BEST team! Sincere gratitude to Emily, Nicole, Marissa, Kristin and Emily Ley. You are gooder than grits.

My NEW SHOP is filled with products that were created to inspire small creative spaces. We have so many more products yet to be listed – some are being listed as I type this! We are already almost sold out of some items even before hitting publish on this post. My dad always encouraged me to paint when I was young, so this shop is for you dad. I love you. You don’t know it yet, but I’m coming to visit you next week as a surprise : )

And, friends, I love surprises. So, there are truckloads of fun surprises in this site! Oh, they make me so happy! Rather than tell you all about them, I invite you to experience them for yourself. Pour a tall glass of sweet tea and enjoy! I look forward to sharing this new internet home with you daily and pray that you are inspired to make things happen. Huge thanks to the Blueberry Fusion gents for creating this video that makes my heart burst with joy! A peek into my world…

To celebrate the new launch, I am giving away 3 gold foil prints from my shop and a pair of my favorite shoes. When I became a mama, I decided it was time to give away all of my uncomfortable heels in favor of something better. Tieks to the rescue!

Win a pair of Tieks in any color you like (I want to win my own giveaway!) and gold foil prints by doing one of the following:

- spread the word about the #lclaunch on social media and link back to my site or this post
- like my new Facebook page
- blog about the new site/shop
- Pin this post or anything on this site! There’s a ton to pin : )
- leaving a comment here with your favorite part (there’s a lot to have fun with here!) of my new brand/shop and let me know about any other links or entries you made

Winners will be chosen at random on February 28th and you can enter as many times as you like. Just be sure to leave comments here with your entries!

Friends, God is GOOD. I am so grateful for this journey and for so many who have encouraged and supported me! Thank you thank you! AHHHH!!!! We LAUNCHED!!!!!!!!

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!

Over 700 people have gone through the Making Things Happen intensive since then and have changed their lives for the better. But, it’s not because of MTH that they changed. It’s because they are people just like me who wanted to live a better life. People who know they were meant for more. People who want to inspire and give and make a life that means something. These are people who have a deep burning passion to make what matters happen. Together, we have taken bold steps over these five years. My life has completely changed from the inside out and I am so so so grateful for all of that change. I wake up every day to do a job that I love that keeps growing and let’s me use all of my gifts. I didn’t go to school for publishing or journalism or business. I had a giant dream and I worked really hard to make it happen.

Our goal with the Making Things Happen 2013 Conference is to continue to give creative entrepreneurs the tools they need to take big leaps in life and business… and in a new profound way with this two day format. The 2013 Making Things Happen Conference is the first of it’s kind – combining the Making Things Happen workshop on Day 1 with business and branding essentials from Making Brands Happen on Day 2. Seats are very limited. This two-day conference is designed to fire you up and get you on a powerful path to making big things happen in life and in business. This is the fourth year of this nationally-acclaimed SOLD OUT workshop and we are so thrilled to combine it with powerful knowledge from Making Brands Happen! Together, we’ll dig deep, establish priorities, set goals and discover how to make what matters happen. After uncovering a decisive and clear vision for what you want to make happen on Day 1, we’ll dive into the core principles of powerful personal branding on Day 2 to really help you make what matters MOST happen. Oh, but there’s more…

One of the biggest factors for success in Making Things Happen is community. It’s being surrounded by like-minded people who push you higher, not just during a workshop, but for life. I cannot even begin to tell you how the MTH community has helped me focus on what matters and take big leaps. I truly believe these words: ‘You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.’ – Jim Rohn. In the spirit of those words, I’m thrilled to introduce a very exciting component of the MTH2013 Conference. This is something God put on our hearts this year and totally wowed us with!

Drumroll…

In addition to spending the two days with Emily Ley, Gina Zeidler and me…

We’re honored to have these five women joining us to share their stories and help you make big things happen on March 13th and 14th. Each of these women has remarkable gifts and is in a very unique place in their career and life path. And these are just a small few of the Making Things Happen alum who are doing big things in life! SO many of the MTH alum are inspiring leaders and doing things that light our hearts on fire. We have some big plans ahead to involve many more people in inspiring creative entreprenuers to make big things happen. More to come. But, for now… for our first power-packed conference… we are ELATED that these women are joining us for this experience and can’t wait for you to learn from them, too!

There are only a few days left to register at the early-bird rate (save $1000!) and you only have till Monday at midnight to apply for the scholarship. So, get on it! Seats are flying like hotcakes (and I’m sure will fly faster with this announcement) and we have a limited capacity for this to keep it really focused for each attendee.

Most attendees are flying in from out of town (airport code is RDU and Southwest flies here!) and staying at the Carolina Inn or a hotel close by. One you register, we have a private Facebook group set up where you can arrange to share a room with someone. If you have questions about travel arrangements or payment plans, Marissa will get you all set up.

WE CANNOT WAIT to see everyone very soon! Join us!

When I first started putting together the first issue of Southern Weddings, I had one rule: it never hurts to ASK. So, I did. Preston Bailey, you don’t know me from Adam, but can I interview you? Mindy Weiss, Jung Lee, Gary Chapman, I just started a small magazine out of my apartment… can I interview you? And have copies of your books – signed – to give away to my 100 readers? Well, that’s not exactly how the conversations went, but pretty close. Mark’s Garden, Corridan and Company, Colin Cowie, etc., here’s the value I can add to your companies. Can I work for you? Again, it wasn’t that easy. But, ultimately what it took was that passion burning inside of me to surface, harnessing it and Making. It. Happen. Have you asked for what you want most in life?

I mentored a UNC junior who wanted to write for National Geographic. He taught me a huge lesson. When interviewing for summer internships, he really wanted to write for a company in Singapore. There are only two student spots every summer and they usually go to seniors. They told him no. Well, he didn’t stop at “no”. He wrote them a strong case as to why he would be a powerful asset to them – able to spread the word to current students upon returning about the program – and that they should consider taking a third student. They said YES. While these are not hard and fast rules for life and business (use good judgement), if you want something, ask for it. You never know what doors will open! Be prepared for anything, but do not always stop at “no”.

The ladies I work with wouldn’t have jobs that they loved if they hadn’t gone after what they wanted most. (Every single one of them ASKED for their job rather than waiting for one to open!) Emily wouldn’t have a thriving shop. I wouldn’t have a national magazine if I had believed the odds that, as a new title in a bad economy with zero experience in publishing, I wouldn’t get a great circulation deal. I got it. My mom wouldn’t be writing the food column she’s always dreamed of writing if she hadn’t gone out on a limb (at age 60!) and written the paper to make her case as to why she would be invaluable to them. I love this quote: Your dream job does not exist. You must create it.

A word of caution: use good judgment. Asking for something you believe you deserve doesn’t always mean you’ll get it. But, going after it with your whole heart will lead you down the path to get there eventually. It just may not be the path you thought it would be. Mine certainly hasn’t been. At all. I believe that to get what we want, we have to ask for the right thing aligned with God’s will and ultimately He says yes or no, but He wants us to take that leap of faith to make it happen. He gave you the power to choose and to act. Asking for our dreams – realizing our full potential – takes guts. It takes clarity. It takes accepting the fact that you are not in control… but that does not give you license to rest on your laurels and wait for things to happen to you. It takes a leap of faith.

So, I’m going to take a leap of faith and tell you about some things I want that I have asked for this month (and some I haven’t yet). You know my goals for the year. I’ve been working through them using this tending list I created below. (These will be available in my new shop soon!)

I challenged our webinar attendees (there are less than 24 hours left to register and get the recordings for the last two webinars by tomorrow!) a couple weeks ago to DO something that they have been putting off and my list was big. First, I finally wrote to the owner of southernweddings.com (I have already been rejected for my request once before) to ask to purchase the domain again. No reply yet, but I was glad to get that done and step into my fear. I also submitted an application to use Bible verses in some commercial products. (Yes, it’s not legal to use Bible verses in products you sell without permission. I see a LOT of people selling things without a license. Read more here.) And there were a lot of other things I’ve been afraid of asking for, but I just bit the bullet and started asking! I’ve sent a dozen scary emails since and so many of them have already resulted in monumental changes for our company and for my life. Ask. Seek. Knock. Put your dreams out there. No one is going to osmose what you want. Ask for it and make it happen!

One last thing I haven’t acted on yet that I have been praying a LOT about it starting an online Bible study right here on my blog. So…. I’m going to ask YOU. Would you be interested in this? If so, let me know in the comments : ) I have been praying about starting a Bible Basics study for creative entrepreneurs (and anyone who wants to join!). I’ve never lead a study before, but this idea won’t leave my heart. I really want to do it.

The last week has been such a testament to this for me. Things I asked God for long ago, happened. It struck me that, in some things in my life, I have stopped asking. Instead, I’ve been assuming. Don’t assume. Ask. Do. Send it. Say it. Give it all. And do not accept anything less than the love, greatness and joy that you deserve. I’m not. Life is too short. IT is yours for the asking. Remember though – no matter what happens – a yes or a no – YOU are the only person who can give yourself permission to realize your full potential. Go get it!

I’ll be giving away prints from my shop when it opens and a one-on-one session with me to a commenter on this series to one lucky commenter, so tell me what are YOU going to ASK for? I can’t wait to hear from you. I’ll be choosing a random winner on Valentine’s Day, so get on it!

PREVIOUSLY: And, friends, it’s never too late to start this process. There is NOTHING MAGICAL ABOUT JANUARY 1ST!

GOAL SETTING FOR 2013, Part 1
GOAL SETTING FOR 2013, Part 2
GOAL SETTING FOR 2013, Part 3
GOAL SETTING FOR 2013, Part 4
GOAL SETTING FOR 2013, Part 5
MAKING THINGS HAPPEN IN 2013: CLEAR THE CLUTTER
MAKING THINGS HAPPEN IN 2013: PREPARE FOR GREATNESS
MAKING THINGS HAPPEN IN 2013: TAKE A BREAK!
MAKING THINGS HAPPEN IN 2013: NAME YOUR FEAR
MAKING THINGS HAPPEN IN 2013: CREATE BOUNDARIES

MAKING THINGS HAPPEN IN 2013: ENCOURAGE OTHERS

MAKING THINGS HAPPEN IN 2013: THE BIG LIST

P.S. Join Emily Ley and me for the Making Brands Happen 2013 Webinar Series. It has been SO much fun the last couple weeks and Part 3 is TOMORROW! If you missed the last two live webinars, you can still register for the series and get the video replay so you can get caught up for Part 3 next week! Video recordings and homework will be sent out to all registered attendees so you won’t miss a thing. See y’all tomorrow!