What’s on My Nightstand…The Best Yes

Do you guys ever have those random moments where things just hit you right in the gut? You know what I’m saying… like you’re minding your own merry business and something totally random stops you in your tracks. That’s what happened to me this past weekend. We were in a morning meeting with a client when she said, “I don’t know how you guys have enough time to do all this.” We had literally just shown her this website and instagram page. For about 10 long and awkward seconds, total silence fell over the meeting.

What I wanted to say was, “Lady, you have no idea the kind of week I’ve had. I’m behind in every area of my to-do list. There’s a pile of linens on one end of the kitchen table and a stack of cleaning supplies and laundry powders on the other. My laundry room is in total disarray. I currently have a piece of furniture for a client in the middle of my entry that is totally falling apart and a set of upholstery tacks on the dining room table. I haven’t been on the treadmill in months and I’m pretty sure I’ve eaten something sweet every day this week. We’re barely hanging on over here!”

But instead I started laughing uncontrollably. Like the kind of laughing you get when you’re so tired you get punch drunk tickled and have those deep belly laughs that cause tears to start falling from the corners of your eyes. After I composed myself, I said, “We’re like everybody else, we do a good job of keeping the lid on our crazy.”

All I can say is what a week, you guys, what a week!

For the past month I’ve been reading the faith based book, “The Best Yes” by Lysa Terkeurst. If The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up kept me up at night wondering about the amount of clutter that was slowly creeping into my home and The Year of Cozy caused me to realize that I need to slow down, The Best Yes has forced me be intentional about the people and projects I say yes to.

I guess it’s sort of ironic that I found this book while we were in the mountains over Christmas break. Just reading the cover made me realize I needed to buy it immediately… making wise decisions in the midst of endless demands…that was totally me and so many of my friends and family members too.

The entire book was so good and at the same time so convicting. It deals with expectations, truth, decision making, hope, the power of no, being present, pushback, failure, fixed mind-sets and growth mind-sets.

Here are three of my favorite quotes from the book:

Never despise the mundane. Embrace it. Unwrap it like a gift. And be one of the rare few who looks deeper than just the surface. See something more in the everyday. It’s there. – Lysa Terkeurst

It’s not the activities or the accomplishments we string together that make lives well lived as much as it is the hearts of wisdom we gain and use along the way.
– Lysa Terkeurst

I know, right? So good! This next one is my favorite takeaway from the entire book…

We will have a very hard time paying attention to those Best Yes answers if we live lives that are completely spent. Instead, why not completely spend yourself on the assignments that are yours, those moments you shouldn’t dare miss, the calling that pulses in your soul, the love you and only you can offer?
– Lysa Terkeurst

This past weekend, my Best Yes was put into practice as we took time to celebrate one of the littles. I still can’t believe it’s been a year already. My sister’s pregnancy and birth were not easy but she never lost faith that everything would work out ok.

As we gathered around the table under a canopy of trees and a cloudless sky, I forgot all about my to-do list and the fact that I was running behind.

I laughed with my sisters, aunts and cousins, felt sugary kisses on my cheeks and hit up the trail mix bar.

As we head into the weekend and next week, I definitely want to remember that taking the time to enjoy what truly matters to each of us will always be time well spent. I’m realizing more and more each day, that’s where the sweetest memories are made.

We have such a fun week coming up next week all centered around the laundry room makeover. On Tuesday, I’ll share the new folding station we created from a piece of furniture I had at The Pickers Market. I’ve finished the laundry inspired artwork thanks to some frames my dad built me out of tobacco sticks that I’ll share on Wednesday. I’m putting the last coat of paint on the laundry room floor this morning! yeah! I’m hoping to have it ready to share on Thursday. Finally, by Friday, I’m hoping we’ll have the chandelier hung and all of the other pieces in place for a full laundry room makeover reveal.

I hope you guys all have a rest filled and relaxing weekend. See you on Facebook, on Instagram on Pinterest and back here on Monday for the Something to Talk About Link Party!

Many blessings,

CoCo