Ending Your June.

Dear Friends,

Do you realize that after today, there are only 5 more days of June? I hope that this month you have been able to sketch out the beginnings of your story. Have you had the chance to sit down and write your answers to the questions I posted at the beginning of June?

If you have, the next few days will be a perfect time to reflect and refocus on where you are going this summer. If you haven't had a moment to sit down and jot down your summer story in your journal, it's not too late. It's never too late. Right now is the perfect moment to begin whatever your heart is calling you to do.

So in these last few days of June, I want you to carve out a time in your calendar to "escape" and go within. Maybe you'll carve out a slice of time to go somewhere daily - perhaps out in nature or in a quiet place of your home. Or maybe it works better for you to set aside a whole day for stillness and rest. Or maybe you'll be fortunate enough to leave on a 5-day hiatus to really get away from it all. No matter which option you choose, make sure it works best for you and your situation, because all three are perfect for the inner work you will be doing. So, pick up your calendar right now and schedule it in. Your story is too important not to.

Now that you have your time of rejuvenation inscribed in your calendar, all you need is an agenda for what to do while you are in the stillness. So let me give you a framework. 

1.  Don't do anything. Simply be. Take some time to just breathe. Maybe this will be all you do and that's okay. Or maybe, after being still for a time, your heart and mind will clear, and you will be ready for deeper reflection.

2. Reflect on how your summer story is unfolding. (And if you haven't had the chance to write down a synopsis of your summer story, now is the perfect time to do just that.) 

A few questions to guide you:

-Is your story being written in the way you thought it would?

-How do you see the hand of the Lord shaping your story (whether your summer is going according to plan or not)?

-Where can you extend grace to yourself?

-How will you rely on the Lord and trust Him more during the rest of your summer?

-Where will you go from here?

-With just two summer months left, what more do you want to write in your story?

-What will you subtract from your days so you have more time to do the things that really matter?

-What will be your focus for July?

-Where will you place your focus for August?

Will you commit to do this heart-searching with me?

To follow my journey of Stillness over the next 5 days, follow me on Instagram where I will be posting snippets to guide you for these last few days of June. My Instagram handle is @writinginthestillness.

(If you aren't on Instagram, don't worry. I will do a summary of my posts next Saturday for volume 3 of "Snatches for Your Story.")

And sometime this next week I will post here snippets of my answers to the questions above. Because I want to travel this journey together, with you. And I would absolutely love for you to comment or email me your summer story updates. Each of you are so important and if I can be a listening ear or just someone to bounce ideas off of or an encourager of your journey in any way I would be most honored. Let's not journey alone, my friends. 

I have so enjoyed reading the stories of those of you who have reached out to me and I look forward to hearing from more of you. So please reach out - I will respond to each and every comment and email. 

May you have the most restful weekend.

Love,

Jamie

Snatches for Your Story - Vol. 2

It's Sunday, and I may be a day late, but yesterday we had the most wonderful Mission Reunion commemorating 10 years since my parents came home from their mission in Portugal. Such a rekindling of friendships, reminiscing of memories, and feeling of the Spirit.

So today, if I might gift you with inspiration in living out your summer story, here are 7 snatches for your story:

1 - This is how I feel every day. So inexplicably amazed at all the Lord has done and continues to do for me. I want to praise His name all the day long for His goodness and yet, it wouldn't be enough. No matter how hard I try (and fail), I can never repay His kindness.

And this sort of gratitude? It's the secret to living the most satisfying story.

2 - We just can't seem to stay away from our wheat field. Even though we haven't started our farmhouse yet, still it draws me like a magnet. And when we drive back to the Middle House, it feels as if we're going the wrong direction...like we're leaving our home.

Sometimes the beginning of new stories can feel disconcerting like this. But if we keep turning the pages and living out each day in the way the Lord guides, the unsettling feelings will someday be replaced with peace, joy, and a feeling of home. It just takes putting one foot in front of the other - day after day, moment after moment. We take it step by step and are guided by the Lord line upon line. It's not the instant way that we are so used to in this digital age, but it's the way the Lord intended us to live out our lives.

3 - This is such a fine mantra for a Monday, {or any day of the week for that matter.} Sometimes Mondays can hit like a ton of bricks after a restful, soul-satisfying Sabbath.

Last Monday, when I woke up feeling all out of sorts, the Lord led me to Jeffrey R. Holland's last general conference address: "Tomorrow the Lord will do Wonders Among You." It was just the dose of hope I needed to press on through the week. 

So tomorrow, when Monday weighs ever so heavy, let's repeat this mantra to ourselves and dedicate this week to J O Y!!


4 - On those days when you want to give up on your story before it's really even begun, just remember and repeat: "Hope on. Journey on." Hope and perseverance are mighty powerful when combined.

And if we look for the rays of summer sunshine each and every day, the Lord will bless us with eyes to see His miracles all around. Who and what brings summer sunshine to your story? The more you notice, the sunnier your days become.

{This photo is a close-up of the two prize prints from the giveaway I hosted last week on Instagram. I've had such a lovely time adding splashes of watercolor to my new products!! (P.S. These two prints will be available in my new summer collections that will soon be launching!!)🎈Stay tuned.}

5 - Whatever your story is, know this: it is significant. With such a royal heritage, how could you be anything but extraordinary?

Consider that your gifts, your nudges, your callings, your longings, your very life originate from your Heavenly Father. He is light - and all the good we do, and all the good we are - are reflections of His light.

View your life story in this light, and it changes everything. You start to feel as if you, yes you, are a glory-bearer for your God.


6 - As I mentioned above, gratitude changes everything. So let's take it one step further and choose someone to thank. There are so many people surrounding us with love each day and offering bits of heaven to our ordinary lives. It wouldn't take but a minute to express our appreciation for them.

And today, I must THANK YOU X 1000!!! I am truly humbled at the growth in this little community & shop - we've reached over 1000 followers on Instagram. To celebrate I've added to the shop something I've been hoping to for a long time -- ✨THANK YOU CARDS!!✨

{You can purchase these cards in a bundles of 10. They are the newest listing in my shop and you can find them by clicking on the etsy link in my sidebar. Thank you again my sweet friends. You are truly amazing! Thank you for your support, love, and encouragement. I can't tell you what it means to me. ❌❤️❌❤️X1000‼️}


7 - The last snatch is rightfully directed towards fathers, for today is Father's Day. But maybe we can try to make it always Father's Day in our hearts by the way we treat and love our fathers, our husbands, our brothers, our sons, and most importantly, our Heavenly Father. Elder Robert L. Backman has said:

"Father is the noblest title a man can be given."

I believe this to be true. Isn't it miraculous to think that of all the titles our great and marvelous God could be called, He has asked us to call him Father? It is such an endearing, humbling thought. And even more, He has gifted men the sacred privilege to have the very same role here in mortality. How grateful I am to my own father who exemplifies my Heavenly Father so well. It's so easy for me to imagine the love of my Heavenly Father because I have felt and feel every day, the love of my own earthly father.

And my husband continues the legacy of righteous fatherhood. Loyal. Trustworthy. Honest. Faithful. Diligent. Dedicated. Steadfast. Obedient. These are just a few of the words that describe my sweetheart husband, the father of my children. Forever will just not be long enough...

May we reach out to the fathers in our lives and express to them the poignant feelings of our hearts.

Snatches for your Story - Vol. 1

It's Saturday, a perfect day to try something new. I'd love to create a weekly compilation of little bits of wisdom to encourage you in the living out of your story. So, without further ado, enjoy these 8 little snatches...

1 - If you are worried to step into the story of your summer because of those imperfect details in your near or faraway past, don't linger there. 

Say yes to "now" and this summer and all that awaits you. Trust that because of the Savior's grace, you are creating a beautiful whole.


2 - This view. I can't even believe it.

We mapped out where to place our house in this waist-high wheat field this past week. This will be our view out back and the front view is equally breathtaking.

The little ones just played and played and played. I can't believe I am finally witnessing what I have envisioned for so long playing out before my very eyes. For three years I've had these visions of my children running through wheat fields and me following close behind with a camera.

The best part? The story's just beginning...
What story will you be starting this summer?

3 - Quiet confidence and the Spirit of Christ.  It's just what we all need for our summer story to run smoothly.

Let us make this our intention every day of this lovely summer. To pray for, breathe in, and live out this quiet confidence for the future that the Lord has prepared for us. Because it will be glorious. And even when the days are dark and stormy, we can still exude the quiet confidence that we trust that everything will always and forever work out for our eternal good.


4 - And sometimes you just need a couple of delicious playdoh cupcakes affectionately made by your best friend.

There are little gifts all around us each and every single day. They come in the form of sunsets and shapes in the clouds and blooming roses, and pictures from children and smiles of passing strangers. They come in the form of your favorite lilac scent hovering in the air when you walk to your car or the lyrics you needed in a church hymn. And sometimes they even come as playdoh cupcakes. However they come and whatever form they take, it's Heavenly Father who sends them. And when we recognize these little things as heavenly gifts, our life stories flourish with gratitude and happiness.

5 - One key to creating a successful summer story is to have a special place where you can go to rejuvenate and refresh. I like to have several such spots in the summertime -- the gray velvet chair in my bedroom, a shady spot in the backyard, the picturesque temple grounds.

Remember too that you can escape to anywhere in the world within the corridors of your mind. I make it a habit to set aside just a few minutes a day where I can practice deep breathing and creative visualization. It works wonders.

6 - P.S. It's always a good idea to have a little satchel for your happy place filled with all the things you love. All those books you've been meaning to read if you ever could find a sliver of peace. All those little creative projects or thank you cards or journaling you've been hoping to carve out time for.

Once it's packed, it will always be ready at a moment's notice for the planned happy place times as well as the unexpected pockets of time when you're at the park or watching the kids play outside.

{And in case you were wondering, the contents of my bag change quite frequently, but right now my little denim bag is filled with my journal, Simple Abundance by Sarah ban Breathnach, The Child Whisperer by Carol Tuttle, and a guided journal by @charissasteyn}



7 - What thought will you snatch and hold onto today? It could be a wondrous day in this summer story of yours...

8 - This little boy came into my story nearly 7 1/2 years ago but I'm not sure where the time has gone. This was the last picture I snapped right before my husband pulled out his two front teeth.

I smile to think of all that I have become because of my sweet 2nd son. He graced my life with peace and stillness from the second he was born. He is my little ocean of calm, and yet he has an ever-present playful side that shines all the time. He's taught me patience and enabled my unconditional love to grow to higher heights. 

One thing I know: I couldn't live without him. 

Pause for a moment today and think of at least one special person in your life. What have they taught you? Who have you become because of their presence in your life story? Take a moment and tell them just how much they mean to you.

The Best Way to Start your June...

Summer is here - are you ready for what's coming?

Can you hear it? The birds crescendoing their melodious chorus every morning.

Can you smell it? The tangibly sweet yellow sunshine dancing in the air.

Can you feel it? The warmth cascading from the top of your head down to your pretty painted toenails.

Can you taste it? The sugary tang lingering all around.

I know you can see it - the pastel colors of the fading spring exploding into vibrantly rich rainbow hues.

Summer is bursting with possibility and it's all yours for the taking. The question is, will you snatch this summer with both hands and savor the story you will create?

Do you feel like this summer is calling you to step into a new story - one of change and growth? I sure do, and I'm sure you do too. Our stories may look different, but the principles are the same. If you're ready to embrace this summer with open arms and delve into the transformation that can be yours, please come along.

Lysa TerKeurst said, "Real freedom won't occur with just an external relocation. It requires a complete internal renovation."

This summer we will be building our Farmhouse and externally relocating sometime this Autumn. But I know without a doubt that even with a change of location, the real renovation will take place in the depths of my heart. There are places I need to travel inwardly - there is shaping that must happen. I don't know where the journey will take me, but I know where to start. It's right here. Right now. 

This journey requires wholehearted acceptance of my story just the way it is. This little, old rental house; the mess all around me; the imperfect, unfinished projects pleading for my attention; the waiting. Yes, I need to embrace the awkward living of this middle place. Because here I will experience such wondrous adventures: the growing and birth of my little baby boy; the expansion of my little shop to include two brand-new summer collections; the simple, summer magic of restful family vacations and peaceful memories; the quieting of my to-do list to explore my heart through guided journaling; the intentional pauses of peace to soak in words of cherished scripture and fresh books.

The hours may not be long enough to complete the hundreds of tasks I have. My eyes may be bleary with insufficient sleep. My body may be slow in this last trimester of pregnancy. But I will keep walking this journey. And when I come to the other side of the summer, perhaps it will all be clear. Maybe this fuzzy little caterpillar will have changed into a beautiful butterfly.

So, now it's your turn. 

• Where will your summer story take you? 
• What do you need to accept to begin your journey?
• List out exactly where you are right now and all the good and the bad and the terrifying that you will have to embrace in order to flourish.
• And lastly, what wondrous adventures lie within the pages of your very own summer story?

Whatever lies in store for us this summer, one thing is for sure. Our stories will sing of heart changes and transformation. All we need to do is take the first step and say "yes."

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{And now for a just a bit of housekeeping:}

1. My blog is going to be completely transformed in the next few weeks and all of you dear subscribers will be offered a free gift for being my loyal readers.
2. My writing focus is being streamlined to better inspire and encourage you to discover your unique story and live it to the fullest.
3. My etsy shop will soon have a page here where you can see all my available products.
4. I will be launching my new Summer Line of products into my shop within the next few weeks. There will be two fabulous collections that will include watercolor, summer greeting cards, 8x10 prints, journals, and a few little embellishments. I am almost finished curating these collections and I just can't wait to show them to you!
5. If you haven't already, please subscribe here so you don't miss out on any of the new changes and exciting surprises.
6. If you haven't already, please follow me on Instagram or Facebook where I will be hosting several summer giveaways featuring my products along with darling creations from some of my favorite handmade makers.
7. If you would ever like to reach out to me, please feel free to leave me a comment below or email me directly (writinginthestillness@gmail.com) and I will write you back. If you need a friend or an encourager for this summer story you are living, I'm here for you!! So please don't hesitate to reach out. I'd love to connect with you!!!