It’s early morning and I’m in my kitchen, trudging from the coffee pot (where I pour a fresh cup of life)
to the pantry to get out breakfast (cereal & fruit today, because homemade pancakes are reserved for slow Saturday mornings).

After the kids eat and they’re washed up and playing, I’ll dust the living room and then answer some emails in between wiping bottoms, filling sippy cups, and getting down on the floor to read a board book (for the thousandth time) to my fair-faced baby-girl or join the land of make believe pushing cars and tractors around with my creative little guy.

Sometimes there’s a break for mindless social scrolling... and on occassion, there’s the need to put out a fire (figuratively speaking of course, well there was that one time - but that’s a story for another day).  Checking my watch I see it’s almost lunch time, so there I head, back to the kitchen to prepare another meal.

Pulling out leftovers I notice the feeling of emptiness, and my mind wanders... there has to be something else to focus on, something more than just going through these motions, just making it through the day.  Eww, mom’s aren’t supposed to think like that, are they?  My mom-guilt kicks in shaming me, can’t you just be grateful you have these precious little people to take care of.  Yes mom-guilt... of course I am grateful, 1,000% I am.  After giving myself a talking to I try to ignore the pull that won’t leave.  Now so strong it’s echoing in my mind, that maybe there is something more.  Could I be made for something more than this?

I know there are some of you reading this saying YES, yes, I know those feelings!  I have been torn like this before.   Maybe, you’re torn right now.  Maybe you’ve been there and shoved it back down, buried under the discomfort of said mom-guilt.  Or perhaps, you went with it; saw it as a sign, that yes, your purpose was even bigger than this.  Yet, you find yourself still struggling with that heavy motherly burden, that has been instilled in us (not even subconsciously, but often times like a bat to the face - that this isn’t what a “good mom” does).

Still with me?  It's about to get really GOOD!​

WOW... The past few months have been intense...
Not just the all around chaos of the world {I'm not sure intense is even a big enough word for that}... I'm talking specifically the things happening in my home (because I know you have so much going on in yours regardless of what's happening outside). And it's ok to acknowledge that!

For me keeping up with my home, 3 kids (the youngest who's begun climbing on everything all the time - #24/7attention), and the added business project of creating new content and services to turn The Simplifying Specialist into something bigger... has all been, ummm, exceptional.

And you know what friend, I’m tired.  Yet, it’s a good tired.  It’s a fulfilled and joyous exhaustion.  (Is that a thing?!)  I hope you can relate in some way.  Maybe it’s not creating a business, but I’m sure there’s something you’ve done that has left you feeling this happy fatigue.

In this season, I’ve been toying with the idea of capacity and stretch, as it kept coming back to me when I thought I had nothing left in me to give.  Sometimes I acknowledged it was time to throw in the towel (for the day) and other times I knew I needed to push and stretch (for an hour or afternoon or whole evening more).

But here’s what I’ve ultimately decided on and what I’d like to share with you today... your capacity has a fine line, but one that moves with the day.  It’s only when you push outside your comfort zone to stretch yourself that you learn what that true capacity is.  But it’s in this too that you learn more deeply about yourself, about what you need in any given moment, and how to give yourself the grace to acknowledge when your limit has been met. {oh, that's good stuff - read that part again!}

An island of calm... ohhhh... how lovely does that sound? Do you instantly create a vision of what that looks like? I do. I imagine bright blue skies over an expanse of powdery sand that meets warm turquoise water... there’s a salty breeze that carries the distinct smell of the ocean, and a rhythmic sound of waves softly lapping on the shore. {Sit with that a moment}​

Then boom! Flashback to reality, let me share with you the chaos I’m *actually* sitting in: outside it’s dark, dreary, and the threat of rain has forced us inside, the living room floor is littered with an overabundance of brightly colored toys making sounds and music atop my kids’ giggles and tromping noises (with an occasional fuss and argument thrown in for good measure), and the scent... well, that’s still distinct, but not quite like the ocean... it’s the scent of my oil diffuser being overtaken by a new dirty diaper. #MomLife Where’s that island again?

Curious yet, why I’m having you swoon over an island dream when I know that’s clearly not most of our realities? {It’s definitely not mine}

Because I want you to feel that relaxed calm feeling at some point in your day. I don’t want it to be all noise and dirty diapers (or whatever your chaos is), and I know you don’t either. You deserve to relax. {Say that with me and breathe it in “I deserve to relax”}

That leads us to the question, how can we get more of those good feels in the middle of our real life moments? How do we create our own version of an island of calm amidst the chaos?

What happens when you’re out of alignment in life and how in the world do you fix it?” Great question! I’m going to shed light on that today! This concept can certainly apply to both your body and your life. Today I’m feeling it in my body, do you know the feeling? When you’re just knocked a bit out of sorts. I may have played too hard trying to keep up with the kiddos, and I’m paying for it now! {Hello 40}​

But, the kink in my neck and ache in my back led me to the idea of how alignment also applies to my life. When your thoughts, beliefs, and actions all line up with your purpose it is an amazing feeling (like when your body is in perfect working order, and you don’t even really think about the wonder of it all). You go about your day in a flow and feeling unstoppable. {Man, I love those days!}

But what happens when the opposite is true - when there’s a disconnect in what you believe, what you want, and what you do? The day doesn’t go as smooth, your vibe is off, and your emotions are more negative than positive. {Bleh}

So what’s a gal to do?

As I mentioned way back in the Intentional Living Series intro, one of the ways I live my life with intention is starting each morning with prayer and devotions.  It’s such a powerful way to set the tone of your day!​

First, know that there are many ways to connect to God, and they are unique to you.  Think of the things that bring you contentment, joy, appreciation, awe, gratitude, fulfillment, delight, connection, belonging, or love.  In those moments you are connecting to God.

Are you a goal getter?  I too have some lofty goals, and hope that you’ll be able to watch them unfold as I continue this journey.  I imagine that if you are trying to live into your purpose you are a fellow goal-getter! Because how else could you work toward something great if you didn’t have some goals to get you there?  But it is important to know that to achieve lofty goals, often times it’s the *small* changes that make BIG progress.​

This may go against what seems rational… however, can you think of a time when you’ve been so gung-ho to work towards something, that you tried to go as fast and as far as you could at once?  Then the inevitable happened… burn out, frustration and an unaccomplished goal.