The Daily Fab Four

 One of my friends challenged me to try something new to see how it helped my state of mind. 

Our world is hard right now. That's a straight-up fact no matter who you are, what you do for a living, or who lives (or does not live) in your home. This is a hard, hard season of history.

Add to that the personal stresses that all of us have (in differing details) every single day, and it can be hard to keep encouraging thoughts running through our heads.

You've probably heard it said that we are what we think, and it's true. Scripture encourages to set our minds on things above this world and to think on things that are true, noble, excellent, praiseworthy, etc. 

But do you do that?

I don't. Not usually. I get far too easily consumed by the discouragement that swirls around me.

So my friend challenged me to try focusing on the daily fab four, and you know what? It's actually helping! 

Every single day, I pause to make room for these four things.

1. Random act of kindness.

It doesn't have to cost a lot of money. In fact, it doesn't have to cost any money. It could be a texted or handwritten word of encouragement to someone. It could be a latte delivered to a friend. It could be giving someone your spot in line at the store. 

Whatever pushes you to stop rushing through your day and helps you see the people rushing through their own days all around you...do that!

(One day I was even kind to myself by choosing NOT to say something mean about myself to something else. It counts!)

Fun fact: One of our tenants left us an encouragement note in our mailbox, and it completely made my day. I kind of wanted to frame the thing and hang it up in our living room. It helped me have a fresh appreciation for how much these little random acts of kindness matter! I know how good I felt...so I want to make others feel that same way!

2. Something creative.

I realize creativity doesn't zing everyone the way it zings me, but there's something to this one! I promise!

Pausing to stir the creative juices really does help foster encouragement. And it doesn't have to be scrapbooking or painting - though it could be! I've done everything from baking to playing on Pinterest to editing pictures to dreaming about living by the lake someday.

When the stresses of the day press in, purposing to take time to be creative is helpful in ways I never knew. I tend to save creative time as a reward for a LOT of work. Giving myself permission to take little bits of time to be creative each day has helped so much!

3. Prayer and Pondering.

My friend called it meditating, but that word can be a source of contention depending on how it's used, so I just switched it up to prayer and pondering.

Taking time each day to SIT QUIETLY before the Lord to pray and ponder His goodness is such a good use of time. (Sometimes I have to retreat in the shower for this to get away from all the noise and bustle of our job, but I make a point to do it!)

This may be the best one of the four, honestly!

4. Do some form of self-care. 

Self-care is another phrase that can sort of ruffle some, but it's an important thing. It's actually a direct assignment Ryan and I have for our job right now. We so rarely have time to pull away from our busy days, and if we don't learn to do it, we are absolutely going to burn out.

Manicures. Sunset walks. Reading. Taking a nap. Listening to music. Talking to friends. It could be anything! Anything that gets you to stop focusing on work (or stress) every minute of every day.

***

I have to say that being mindful to do each of these things each day has been so encouraging for me. It has pushed me to focus on calm things, good things, Godly things, encouraging things. 

We can't (and shouldn't!) ignore the difficult around us. It matters and needs tending. But we can tend so much better if we have some reserve to draw from. When we've paused to recharge and encourage our hearts in the Lord. 

I'm not sure if anything like this would be helpful to you, but just in case, I thought I'd share! Happy Friday, my friends!