Freshen Up...Your Living List

What is a living list, you may be asking? Well, it's kind of like a bucket list, but I just like the term better. When I think of a bucket list, I think of things people are trying to accomplish before they die. And while a living list is essentially the same thing, it just feels better to me to think about setting these goals for fuller living, not for checking things off before I die. (Semantics. I know.)

When Ryan and I started dating, we made a living list of our own. We sat down with a little wire basket I'd purchased at the dollar store and wrote dreams in Sharpie on clothespins and clipped them to the basket. As we fulfilled our dreams, we moved the clothespins to the inside of the basket and kept going.

But the sad truth is that our living lists lives in a closet. A back closet. On a top shelf. We don't look at it all that often. We don't remind ourselves of the specific dreams we hope to realize. We don't add to it regularly like we should.

Oh yes, it's time to freshen up the living list. It's time to create some new ideas, commit them to...clothespin?...and see them come true.

1. Dream big.

Photo by Randy Tarampi on Unsplash

Here's an important thing to remember. What's big to you is BIG. Don't compare your big dream to someone else's big dream and end up feeling like yours doesn't matter.

I love following Lisa Harper on Instagram, and not long ago, she took a trip to the Holy Land (to help teach for a tour group) and her daughter, Missy, went along with her. If you don't know who Lisa is or you haven't followed her story, Lisa is in her 50s and has never been married. Four years ago (almost exactly) she adopted a Hatian orphan. The whole story is far too much for this post, but it's amazing. One of Lisa's Instagram posts from her Holy Land trip said this, "19 years ago I wrote a simple prayer on a slip of paper asking God to allow me to be a mother and I placed it in a crack in the Western Wall in Jerusalem. Today Missy was with me when I placed another slip of paper in the wall that said, 'Thank you, Father.'" (The accompanying photo was of Lisa's hand on the wall with Missy's little hand covering it.)

Maybe becoming a mom isn't a lavish dream for you, because you easily had many children. But for Lisa, approaching middle age and being single, becoming a mom was a BIG dream.

Maybe your dream is to travel someplace that (financially speaking) seems impossible. Maybe you want to own your own business. Maybe you want a little cottage on the lake that belongs just to you.

Dare to write it down. Dare to add to dreams you've already written down. Pray about it. See what God does!

2. Dream small.

Photo by Sharon McCutcheon on Unsplash

Have you heard the Josh Wilson song, Dream Small? I love it.

Sometimes I like to step away from this world's push to be big and significant. For your dreams to have to be massive to matter. None of it is true.

When Ryan and I were first dating, one of our living list items was to go stargazing together.

I still remember when we did it. I'd been out of town for a couple of days, and when I came home, we had dinner together at his house and when it got dark, we drove to the edge of the athletic fields in town, spread a blanket on the grass, and just looked at the stars for the longest time. I loved that date.

Maybe your small dreams goal could be a simple makeover to part of your house, a day off when you do absolutely nothing but rest, or learning to make a dish you've always wanted to know how to make.

Dreams don't have to require unending resources. They just have to matter to you.

3. Dream scary.

Yeah I don't really like to do that. But if you're a play-it-safe person like I am, sometimes it's good to put something on the list that takes you outside your comfort zone.

You remember the ziplining. That was a fun living list item for Ryan and a terrifying item for me. But we did it and it's one of my favorite memories (and photos) of our entire marriage.

Maybe that "scary" item involves taking a leap of faith that isn't an actual physical leap (like skydiving). Maybe you dream of moving to a whole new place and starting completely over with every part of your life. Maybe you dream of conquering a fear that has plagued you for your lifetime. Maybe you go back to school and learn a whole new life skill.

Just because it's scary doesn't mean it isn't attainable.

4. Dream outward.

Photo by Corey Motta on Unsplash

Sometimes it's easy to keep those living list items focused on yourself or your immediate family. What if you dreamed outward a bit? What if you pointed your living list in such a direction that it would help others' dreams come true?

Maybe you help build or renovate a home for someone who doesn't have the skills or financial resources to do it for themselves?

Maybe you become a foster parent or adopt so kids in need can know what it's like to live in a stable home?

Maybe you open your home on holidays to people who don't have a home or family to fill the day? (Once, when I was single, a couple in our church made a fancy Valentine's Day meal for all the single ladies in the church. We were all invited to dress up and come over to their house on Valentine's night, and they served us a delicious meal and loved on us. It was such a blessing on a hard day!)

Maybe you rescue a pet instead of buying a purebred, brand new puppy?

5. Dream unusual.

Photo by ian dooley on Unsplash

You might need to consult the internet for this one. Sometimes I have a hard time coming up with ideas that are really out of the box. I'm way too predictable for my own good sometimes.

But how about some of these ideas? (Thanks, Pintereset!)

* Spend a night in a tree house. (Not like the one in your backyard that belongs to your kids. There are actual HOUSES in trees that you can rent - like a hotel room. We have friends who love to stay in treehouse rentals. Their pictures are SO FUN!!!)

* Ride in a hot air balloon. (I've actually done this - the tethered and untethered versions.)

* Swim with dolphins. (Most zoos with an aquarium have some sort of dolphin/whale program that allows you to get up close and personal. Not cheap, but a fun idea!)

* Visit as many famous landmarks as you can. (You can pick...in your state? The country? The world?)

That's just a start, but maybe it will give you an idea.

I saw a quote on Pinterest that said something to the effect of having a goal to make an impression on the world, not on your couch. Yes. Spruce up that living list, and live to the fullest!