We all carry one. That 3 foot, 36 inch measuring stick. It’s a crutch for some. A weapon for others. And then for for others it’s a scepter by which they rule others by. It’s the most unbecoming accessory. With it come chains that hold us back, tie us down and leave us wounded and unusable for the Kingdom of God. We feel as if we will never measure up to others by it, and we feel as if we are above others because of it. This stick is a lie. It’s a stumbling block designed to trip us up. And the maker of this stick is comparison.

This post was written last January and this morning the Lord reminded me once more of the words He spoke to me when I wrote this. Your mission is now, friends. Not tomorrow. He calls us to be faithful in this day. May we grab hold of the mission to know Christ and make Him known as we go throughout our days. 

Yesterday I sat down with my Bible, planner, Powersheets and deleted social media from my phone. For too long, I have allowed Sunday rest to become a side note. Instead of resting and enjoying the gift of soul renewal on Sundays, I have used the afternoon to get ahead for the next week. Instead of planning my days and asking what God wanted me to do, I went forward without a good plan and simply was overwhelmed.

Most days we live are pretty ordinary. Wake up, drink coffee, read your Bible, get ready for work, work, eat, exercise, eat, visit friends, read, sleep. This would look extremely different if you have children, but you get the picture. The mountaintop experiences aren’t the norm, the valleys are. The valleys are the places in life where we just walk. We walk and walk and walk without seeing a new sight or getting to a new path. Everything around us seems strangely familiar and we keep looking out for the next turn towards a big adventure.

I dreamed up the name Life Lived Beautifully during my quiet time with the Lord last spring. Since then, the Lord has continually re-defined what that actually means. At first glance your thoughts might be: success, fame, influence, outer appearance, things, etc. Honestly, I might’ve had those thoughts too when I came up with the […]

“ And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” Luke 9:23 (emphasis mine) “Whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may […]

Change is the theme for 2015. My husband and I will welcome our first little one into this world in May and will be moving to a new place very soon to accommodate our growing family and a growing business. Walking into 2015 with little to no plan put my stomach all in knots. Being […]

Last March I had no idea where Life Lived Beautifully was going. To be honest, I was at my wits end with trying to make a small business work. I was trying and trying and trying and getting no where. My heart was so weary and my spirit was defeated. I was on the brink of giving up and throwing in the towel. At the time, I had been making necklaces, stationery, and art prints. Though I loved creating these things, they weren’t bringing my heart life and I knew there was something more. I longed to share Jesus and His truth, but I didn’t know how I was to do it! I read through the journal I was using in this season and found these honest words of desperation:

“For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. For as in one body we have many members, and the members do […]

For months now I have been praying through the ultimate vision of Life Lived Beautifully. Over the past year of adventuring with the Lord in owning a small business, I have learned time and time again that this business is not about me. The shop, the blog, the Instagram, the journal, the art prints, the […]