Welcome to the Beautiful Life Blog series. I’m a firm believer in the truth that a beautiful life isn’t one just made for a picture. It is not an unrealistic aesthetic that seems contrived if we peek behind the curtain. Rather, a beautiful life is one that we are building wherever we are. In the midst of dishes and dirty laundry, in the midst of fledgling businesses, in the midst of diapers and naptimes, we can choose to create beauty right now.
This series will focus on how I’m building beautiful from here. I’m writing this for accountability as well as to document what building beautiful looks like when our hands are very full. Every Monday, I’ll post my weekly recap plus some goals for the upcoming week. Thanks for going on this journey with me.
6 Priorities for A Beautiful Life
This is Week 1 of building a beautiful life! I’ve been on this journey for a while now – and after three years of researching what a more beautiful life means, I am so ready to get out of my head and start walking towards that beautiful ideal.
The priorities I chose are:
#1: Discipleship – This includes discipling my children through homeschool and family devotions, as well as my online ministry and other ministry roles.
#2: Fit for Life – After having three babies in 4 years, I need to focus on my health. I want to be fit for all the things that God has called me to in this life.
#3: Home & Household – I want my home to be a place of peace. This means that homemaking and all that it entails have to be a priority. This also includes building family culture.
#4: Fellowship of Believers – Being in the thick of the little years, I can feel my friendships starting to slip. I know that I need to be intentional about cultivating friendships with like-minded individuals.
#5: Financial Stability – We are in the midst of building businesses and growing our family, which means that money is in very short supply around here. We are being intentional about pursuing financial stability as we get a more consistent income.
#6: The Good Life – A more beautiful life is also a life that cultivates the lovely and chooses joy. This priority includes date nights, family adventures, and chasing the good, true, and beautiful every day.
Last Week Honestly:
The past couple of weeks have been a ‘Week 0’ for building a beautiful life. I worked on fleshing out my priorities and taming the house. This past weekend, we had a birthday bash for my little one, Jonah. He is all into Minecraft, and with some help from Pinterest, we had a Minecraft birthday. He had a blast.
My Minecraft Party Supply List
- Decorations, Plates, and Tablecloth – Comes with a banner and supplies for 26 people
- Minecraft Inflatable Swords – Set of 16 swords. These were a hit!
- Minecraft Fruit Snacks – The kids loved the different shapes.
- Minecraft Party Favors – Comes with Tattoos and Cute little bags perfect for Pinata Candy
- Magnetic Minecraft Blocks – This gift was a hit! Perfect for quiet play time.
I’ve been working on being more consistent with all the aspects of A More Beautiful Life Collective, from blog posts to podcasts to email newsletters. My weekly emails are the best way to keep in touch with what’s happening.
We’ve been getting over sickness this week, and so several projects went on the back burner, but because of the party, I was able to get the house whipped into shape.
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Choose Joy
I’ve really been feeling the weight of the heaviness of lots of different areas of my life. From fractured relationships to children’s behavior issues to financial difficulties, life is never simple. And the complexities always tend to suck the joy out of life.
One day this week, my son’s karate class was pushed back. We got the chance (were forced to) hang out in town until class time, which seemed like the perfect excuse to head to the park.
Little moments in the sun with nothing to do make you realize the importance of breaking out of your routine. Breaking out of the weariness of life. Joy is right around the corner. It is a choice to stay stuck in the patterns that keep you confined or to choose the path of freedom – whatever that looks like.
Those little adventures remind you of the beauty of life.
Related: A More Beautiful Life 365 Challenge
Word of the Week: Consistency
This week, I’m going to focus on consistency. I’m not trying to force my life into a made-up routine that I’m going to give up a couple of weeks later. But I am trying to develop rhythms that help me to live out my priorities.
The three major areas I want to look at this week are:
- Fitness – I want to introduce a fitness routine to my schedule.
- Home & Household – I want to do an evening close each night.
- Discipleship – I have some projects that I need to complete this week for my online ministry.
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This Week, I’m Building Towards:
Each week, I’ll share my goals, to-dos, and projects for the upcoming week. Here are some of my ‘to-dos:
- Celebrate J’s Birthday. My little guy is already 6 years old! We’re planning on going out to eat for dinner after he gets done at Cottage School
- Get caught up with school after a week of sickness
- Finish Say Goodbye to Survival Mode by Crystal Paine
- Plan out a workshop for Christian Workers’ Seminar, a weeklong event that is next week (!) It’s the first live workshop that I’m hosting, and it’ll be about digital ministry.
- Batch record next 3 podcasts & Write 2 Blog Posts – Watch the Latest Video on Youtube.
- Plan Spine of Summer Issue of A More Beautiful Life Journal
Some fitness goals I have for this week:
- Get my workout area set up at home. I was thinking about joining the gym, but I think now I’m planning on trying to work out at home. I’m planning on incorporating walking into my morning power hour. (I’d love to hear your tips for working out with little kids at home.)
- Get 10,000 steps every day
One routine that I really want to lock in is a solid evening routine. Each night, I’ve been going to bed without ‘closing down’ the kitchen, and I feel like I’m starting every day behind. So I want to end each day by closing my kitchen:
- Loading the dishwasher
- Washing the dishes
- Clearing the Counters
- Wiping down the counters and table
- Then, I want to plan my day the next day
Laura Vanderkam says that 3x a week is a habit, so my goal is to do each of these ‘every day’ tasks at least three times this week.
What are you working towards? I’d love to hear in a comment below!
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