MAKE WHAT MATTERS HAPPEN

I’m in Phoenix writing this from the Making Things Happen tour with Emily and Gina. Two years ago, we were here at this very same hotel for MTH. Y’all, I’m just about in tears. I am so overwhelmed thinking about what God has done with my life since then. I was a different person back then.

These words are constantly coming out of my mouth: GOD IS GOOD! I know that phrase may seem trite to some or “religious” or whatever you want to title it, but it’s 1000% my heart. I thought the same thing when I heard people say it years ago. Now I can’t help but say, write, type, share that truth. Life is challenging daily between motherhood and business and being a wife and so many other things, but I’m trying to keep my head in the Bible instead of Facebook and it’s making me constantly grateful. God is so good for taking me out of a life where I was constantly miserable and seeking approval from others and feeding my ego (oh I still definitely fall victim to all of this daily!) and looking for peace in all the wrong places. God gave me true giving friends and completely changed our marriage and He gave me work that makes me know I have a purpose. God is GOOD. And faithful and will never every fail us. That has been a long hard lesson I’ve had to learn – trust. The best part of my journey is that it has just begun. My scariest prayer every day is for God to keep changing my heart and taking ME – the naturally selfish me – away. God is GOOD. This is Ari and Grace playing on the beach last weekend. My heart!

Life is far from perfect, but I feel such a deep sense of contentment about life now compared to two years ago. It’s night and day. Friends, I feel like I can breathe. I don’t have a perfect plan for this blog post, but I woke up today and just had to say this – anything is possible with God. I can’t give you any other answer to how my life has changed for the better. There’s no formula or trick or extraordinary thing I did except say YES to what matters and NO to what keeps me from real life. It’s a decision I have to make daily. God won’t always give you what you want or expect – in fact, the last two years have been the HARDEST and most tear-filled and at the same time the most truly joyful. That joy is there for the taking. You can have it, too. Just be still and know that He is God. He is in control. No matter what I struggle with, I always come back to this promise:

There’s a lot coming up that is really exciting, but I am most excited about getting to know people at these events I’m about to tell you about. I can’t wait to hug so many people who have encouraged me to take this narrow path and people who have loved me despite my many flaws and new friends that I can’t wait to pass encouragement on to!

I’ll be speaking at Engage!12: The Breakers. I love Rebecca and Kathryn and the relationships I’ve been blessed with since my first trip to Engage! in 2008. I can’t wait to hug y’all in December!

After five years of making a magazine, this next issue that debuts on news stands all over the country, V5 is truly the culmination of all we have worked for. It’s my heart. I am so proud of what this issue will say through every page: love never fails. The SW ladies and I would love to celebrate with you at our Launch Party at the Carolina Inn on November 15th!

If you can’t join us, be sure to pre-order a copy of V5. I can’t wait to hear what inspires you in this issue – our largest ever. Every image and word makes my heart soar!

Emily Ley and I decided to do one more branding webinar before the end of the year since we’re sold out for 2012 launches and we get so many requests from people who may not be financially ready for a full rebrand. Our mission is to help creatives do more of what matters and do work that CHANGES people. We’d love for you to join us as we give you our best branding and client experience insight.

I’m trying to make the very most of my time away on tour. I’ve been reading the Bible a lot and working on my new site that launches in November with Flosites and, inspired by my friend Caroline and this post, I’ve been leaving encouragement in surprise places for unsuspecting strangers. I hope, if you found one of my notes, that you’ll say hi here : )

Lastly in this very random post… I miss my girl. A lot. She’s my heart. We took her to the beach and to the aquarium last weekend before I left for the tour. Thanks for your prayers as I’m away from her, friends. I’m so grateful.

OK, off to do the Making Things Happen workshop here in Phoenix. We’re off to LA tomorrow, then Chicago and Atlanta. Make what MATTERS happen today, friends!