Are you Making the Most of your Life?

While I love + believe in good hard work, some work can only be done in the heart, + that is more about slowing down than hustling!  Do you ever stop + wonder if all your hard work + hustle is truly paying off? Is it giving you all the soul-filling peace + contentment you are striving for?  I dare you to slow down + find out.

It wasn't all that long ago that I came to a huge realization. I had every earthly comfort you could imagine, I had my health, a home, a family, marriage + friends, but underneath was a profound lack of real + lasting peace. Sure, we had struggles + disappointments + significant losses; it wasn't perfect by any means, but by worldly standards, my life was full + bountiful with seemingly nothing lacking, but there was always a deeper longing within me that could never seem to be fulfilled.

When I think about it, that feeling has been with me for as long as I can remember. I can only describe it as an innate, knowing that my life was meant for something more, that something was coming for me or to me or through me, I just never knew what it was. Over the years, I mistook it for many things: work, marriage, children + while all those things are beautiful blessings, still, that longing remained. Little did I know it was the Lord pressing in on me, never letting me forget that feeling, never letting me be fully satisfied + at peace until I sat with Him face to face + took time to get to know Him. I can tell you, friends, that hollow longing is now gone! In its place is the most profound sense of peace + contentment that I've ever known. I would love nothing more than for you to have that peace too.

Now, I know you're going to think I'm crazy when I tell you this, but I promise it's true. It all started with one simple but clear challenge: Are you making space for what matters most? Because making the most of your life requires knowing + doing the will of God.

A short list of five things followed that statement in a very specific order.

The Five F's of Christian Living:

• Faith

• Family

• Fitness

• Finance

• Friends

I know, I know, I came up with all the "but what about this” + “what about that" too. And while my list had many of these items, it didn't have them all, + I can promise you they were not in this order!! These challenging words represented the door that opened + urged me to step inside putting God first in my life + beginning a deep, personal relationship with Him. Faith before all else. Everything else flows from there.

“For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness, and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord.” Ephesians 5:8-10

In the world we live in today, there are so many things that demand our attention, + we want to live by mantras like "you can have it all" + "there's nothing you cannot do," but in the end, something is always sacrificed for the other. The truth is you can't actually have it all, + there are some things you cannot do. In fact, thinking we can + should "have it all" leads us away from peace + contentment + into disappointment +ungratefulness. Too often, we betray our core values because we are so caught up in what everyone else is doing or what overwhelming desire we have at the moment. That's why it is so crucial for us to frequently slow down + take a hard, honest look at what we are giving our best selves to + do they really matter the most.

When we do that, we can realign our hearts + minds towards doing things that matter instead of doing "all the things." Then peace + contentment can prevail in our lives; we can experience the joy of doing what matters most.

I hope you enjoyed this post + I pray that your longing for peace + contentment is met, like mine, by taking one small step inside that always open door.

If you found this intriguing + want to know more, visit me online weekly or subscribe to my list to be notified when new posts are available. In the coming weeks, I will be taking a deeper dive into The Five F's + why they are so crucial for peaceful living.