I knew I was going to have a crazy busy spring. In fact, a few months ago, I wrote that Spring was going “to send my calm, serene existence sailing.” But I had no idea just how depleted this season would leave me. I could have never have predicted that in the midst of back-to-back trips that I’d be struggling with flood clean-up and finding a new place to live. I didn’t know just how frenzied Spring could be.

Here we are on the cusp of a new season and I am in serious need of a reset. For the first time in my life, I am craving introspection and rest. Two things I typically avoid like a plague.

Here are 5 things I plan to do to rejuvenate.

I am going take a relaxing beach vacation. My last several  vacations have been fun, even rewarding, but not so much relaxing. On Wednesday, I am heading to the beach with a close friend, a ziplock full of sunblock, and a stack of books. I plan on doing some serious unwinding.

I am going to stay put. I have been traveling too much. For a season, I need to be in Nashville so I can recreate some healthy routines like exercising, cooking, serving at Cross Point, and enjoying time with close friends.

I am going to be more intentional about what opportunities I say “yes” to. I am one of those people who says “yes” to almost everything. Honestly, more often than not, saying “no” makes me feel guilty. But I am realizing that saying “no” allows me to say “yes” to something important down the road.

I am going to ask myself some hard questions. Over the last few months, I’ve realized that I don’t know myself as well as I’d like to. It’s time to do a little soul-searching. And hopefully I’ll uncover a handful of things that energize and inspire me.

I am going to blog more consistently. I know this sounds counter-intuitive, committing to post more, but I’ve discovered that blogging is therapeutic. It forces me to find time alone to process and to make sense of the thoughts spinning out-of-control in my brain.

Are you in need of rest? What do you do to rejuvenate yourself?

I don’t know really what it is. But something is definitely going on with me.

Probably the best way to explain it is to say I just don’t feel like myself. I feel like a stranger in my own skin. Or more accurately, I don’t feel like I am the same girl that I was last year, last week, or even last night.

I am smack dab in the middle of a season of change.

I am experiencing the pains that are representative of growth, but I can’t quite see the changes in the mirror. What used to fit now feels strangely uncomfortable like last year’s skinny jeans but I haven’t figured out what alternations need to be made to embrace the transformed me.

So here I sit in limbo land, not comfortable living in the past and not sure what the future holds, yet feeling strangely encouraged. Encouraged because I am confident that my discomfort is a road sign reassuring my path; my trepidation is a herald of the extraordinary adventure that lies ahead; my anxiousness a reminder that I am fully living in the present. (more…)

You know that cheesy song that Garth Brooks sang back in the early-199os, “Unanswered Prayers?” Well all I can say is that, it might be cheesy, but it is also dead on.

Seriously, dead on. Have you ever taken a moment to think about all the heartbreak that you have experienced? Heartbreak that was in fact a huge blessing in disguise? For some reason on my drive back from Birmingham, this is exactly what I was thinking about.

I came up with a long list full of unexpected “blessings.” Here’s a very short sampling -  job promotions deserved but not attained, relationships that ended too abruptly, loyalties betrayed. (more…)

I recently read somewhere that, “you are what you tweet.” Although this may not be exactly true, I do think that Twittering has the power to shape people’s perceptions of you DRAMATICALLY.

For instance, if someone’s tweets are constantly whines and complaints, I start to think they are negative. I start to change the way that I interact with them, in person and online.

And the reverse is true too. I feel myself drawn to friends on Twitter who are constantly encouraging and educating. I enjoy interacting with these tweeps. I am happy to pass along (RT) their tweets.

And I consciously think…I want to be more like those people. (more…)

Luckily, I have always been someone who embraced change. I say luckily because my world has changed a lot. Over the last 32 years, I have changed schools, cities, workplaces, job functions, homes, cell phone numbers, and friends.

My first real experience with change was when I was elementary school. My family moved the summer between 3rd and 4th grade and I had to change schools. It was traumatic. I made the change, but there was plenty of kicking and screaming (Literally kicking and screaming, usually my classmates).  But life went on, I made new friends, and I realized that change wasn’t so bad. More recently, at my last employer, Books-A-Million, in five years I had five different roles (Special Events Manager, Assistant Buyer, Buyer, Director of Special Events and Director of Advertising and Promotions). Man, did we waste some business cards! But I learned a ton, worked for some amazing people, and the depth of experience I accumulated has been wonderful for my career.

Candidly, even though I embrace the process of change, sometimes I do not enjoy the effects of change. And when that happens, I really have to work at staying positive and trying to find the good in the situation. There is always good in the situation, whether it be personal growth or strengthened faith. (more…)