Finding My Voice

Hello again dear blog friends of mine... Happy Sunday! 

"I will give thanks to the Lord because of his righteousness; I will sing the praises of the name of the Lord Most High." Psalm 7:17

I have missed you.  My mind has so often "blogged" events of our summer, in phrases and thoughts and photos...while never actually typing a word here.  It's been such a different summer, a different year actually, and for so many reasons my blog has reflected the state of my mind.  Overwhelmed, sporadic, disjointed and often, quiet...

The fact that summer is coming to a close and labor day is here, is a welcome change for me.  I have been over summer for about a month now!  After a very draining year, followed by a crazy summer, I am intentionally standing on the brink of a very quiet Fall.  I sensed the Lord telling me back in April to fulfill my commitments through the summer and then to just be still.  It's such a weird thing to not be signed up for Bible study or any other ministry stuff, but it's also incredibly freeing to just have my little family to focus on.  You know, my little family that you've seen virtually no pictures of this summer?  

Although I am sad that I don't have a chronicle of our summer to look back on, creatively I've been incredibly tapped out.  Six weddings this summer took so much out of me, I am still unwinding from the grind of it all.  To be essentially a one-woman operation means that every detail and all of the pressure rests squarely on my shoulders.  I do hire some help out for large weddings and I could not do any of it without my extremely supportive and flexible husband, but I still carry the burden of each bride's and the details of her "dream come true day."  My computer has become my enemy this summer, the sight of it often makes me cringe!  In order to keep up with each wedding and each bride I had to force myself to pull it out and type proposals, write estimates, update notes and send a million emails all while I wanted nothing more than to play with my kids and hang out at the pool.  Any downtime I may have had this summer never felt like it was actually mine to spend...that part was hard!   

However, despite my exhaustion and the constant pace, these weddings were manna to us.  God gave me so much work this summer and each time Travis and I decided to say "yes" to another event, He gave us the blessing of extra income that we have been able to use in our condo saga (more on that in another post).  So even though it's felt so busy and so draining, God has provided for us over and over again, one wedding at a time this summer, and for that we are grateful! 

Last week was one of the first weeks I've had since Spring that was relaxing and simple.  I enjoyed time at the pool with the kids, we went to a local beach and splash pad as a family, we had a sweet play date one morning and we went to a couple of Trav's soccer games.  It was great, just what this Mama needed.  As life has begun to slow down, I feel like I'm finding my voice again.  My heart feels lighter than it has for months and my mind is not so cluttered.  God has been faithful to show me what needs to go, to gently restore me in areas that I've been lacking in or have needed correction and recently He's just been showing me that the choices I'm making are exactly what He's calling me to for this season.  THAT is great feeling...

I'm looking forward to sharing some pictures and thoughts on this blog again, I really have missed it!  I hope your summer has been a sweet one and full of memories and rest.  I would be lying if I said I wasn't ready for summer to end...I'm totally ready!  

I hope you have a blessed Labor Day tomorrow and a great start to your Fall!  I'll leave you with a picture I took of my kids last Sunday, it is definitely my favorite one from this summer!  Aren't they the sweetest??

Happy Sunday friends!!