Here we go.

Let’s be real. My meetings are going to go late tonight, and there is a mysterious line of purple marker on my kitchen table. My SUV probably needs an oil change and I don’t exercise as much as I’d like.

The yard work, groceries, laundry, and millions of regular things that happen in the margins that make life real matter, but aren’t what count.

It’s easy to feel like my list is long and getting longer, and instead of getting traction, it feels like I’m pushing peanut butter through a sieve.

But when I lay down at night and the house is quiet except for the hum of the dishwasher what I really know is this:

Life is full of mundane everyday moments that create the buzz of daily life. But, those moments are really secret code for the greatest, most magical, and most meaningful moments ever. Life happens in the fringes, not in the perfection. 

So I say my prayers and drift asleep usually minutes after my husband who somehow shuts his eyes and is transported to zen-like sleep in less than the time it takes me to finish saying “Our Father, Who Art in Heaven.”

It’s easy to wake up and live the same day again. But as Robin Sharma says, “Don’t live the same year 75 times and call it a life.”

The only way I’ve found to break the cycle is to just be still for a few minutes. And this is my place to do just that. To focus on some good intake before I go through the day “outputting” a whole bunch for myself, my kids, my husband, my team, my church, and my community. 

For some it’s meditating in the morning, scripture study with a hot cup of coffee, writing in a gratitude journal before bed, or reading from a devotional in the car line at school. Whatever it is, it’s an everyday practice or ritual or habit or routine… just something simple that reprograms your mind to be more grateful, more kind, and more focused on the good. 

So here we go. Take a deep breath and be still. Inhale gratitude. Exhale peace.