As my fingers hit the keys tonight my mind is flooded with so many
thoughts. I have so much to share and I hardly know where to start. In a
previous blog I shared about moving to Lubbock and a little about how that
choice came about. Here is the link to the blog that prefaces this one. http://heatherearljoyinthejourney.blogspot.com/2016/05/so-longfarewell.html?m=1
I decided to share
a little more in depth about our journey. Let's see... So just to touch on a
few rumors that I have heard...No, Shay and I are not separated... (hahaha) No,
we didn't move because business was bad. No, I didn't move because I can't live
without Hayley. No, I am not putting my kids before my husband. We
moved because God spoke and we listened.
This life is for
growth and learning to become the best that we were created to be. I have
learned that, this kind of growth requires change. In several seasons of my
life I have heard the spirit whisper to me what the focus of my life should be
at any given time. Almost 7 years ago, he placed it in my heart to really
focus on overcoming a weakness of mine. I purchased the book titled,
"Organizing for Dummies." I was not blessed with the natural
ability to organize or complete any big projects in an orderly manner. After reading that book, I learned that I would be a much better me if I could aquire this set of skills.
So I began my
journey of increasing these skills to grow in this area. I was slowly improving. I
remember how excited I was to get 3 boxes and label them "Keep, throw
away, and donate" It was the first time that I had ever adopted that
concept and I can still remember how liberating it felt. Since I had
experienced a lot of loss in my past, I tend to hold onto more things than I really needed.
So, I didn't quite
get the hang of all I needed to know before we decided it was time to sell our
home of 16 years in Garland and move to Forney to build our dream home. As some
of you remember... right after we moved to Forney, we were hit by the F-3
tornado and had to live in a hotel for many months. Now in hindsight, that was
my first experience of learning to live small. We were a family of 4 and a dog
inside 4 walls for many months. I put some of my skills to the test and we not
only survived, but we learned and grew.
When our home
build was completed and we moved in....I was determined to have an organized
home. The space was endless. The cabinets went on for days. The pantry and the
master closet could be a small bedroom. With 5 bedrooms and storage areas
everywhere, I thought that organizing would be easy with so much space. I was so very
wrong. It
didn't take long to realize that I couldn't handle that much space. Of course, every
other aspect of living in our community was amazing. We truly cherished living
in our home in the Devonshire community. It will always be a highlight. We are thankful for that chapter. However, i realized that I was going to need help to keep up with the demands of a home that large. I hired help to clean weekly, keep the
yard, clean the windows and even pick up the dog poop. Sounds wonderful right? It actually was for
a while. Although, all of the hired help allowed me to spend more time serving
others and more time with my kids and more time having lunch and dinner
dates with my friends regularly...I was not feeling like I was following through
on my duties of growing personally in certain areas. I was actually
becoming lazy and I remember one day in particular that I had the thought that I would just leave the
dishes for the cleaning ladies since they were coming the next morning. It hit
me that I had become so accustomed to someone doing all of these things for
me.
I asked myself,
"What am I teaching my kids?" This is not me. But, it became so easy. I quickly decided that I don't want to be that kind of person. Life isn't meant to be easy! You are meant to dig deep and get messy. Then God placed this scripture in my
heart and mind.
Organize
yourselves; prepare every needful thing, establish a house, even a house of
prayer, a house of fasting, a house of faith, a house of learning, a house of
glory, a house of order, a house of God. D&C 109:8
It was time to step up my game and do all I could to make this match my home in the area of "preparing every needful thing" and "a house of order."
So the journey
continued. Two years ago the word that I selected to be my focus was SIMPLIFY.
Which went hand in hand with my Scentsy business as one of our core values is SIMPLICITY. I dove in head
first and hired a dear friend to come and organize my home and help me eliminate the unnecessary. This changed my life. It
wasn't without struggle but Heavenly Father was gentle with me and allowed me 1 year to figure it out and get the hang of it before calling us to
Lubbock.
After my house was
all organized, I peeled another layer of the onion per say. I realized that I
still owned too much. So, I began praying that I could understand more fully
the principles of simplifying my life. The answer came to begin getting rid of
much of what I owned. I purged and purged and purged some more. Then I purged
again. Every purge, I was feeling lighter and lighter. With that bigger house
came more stuff and with more stuff became more to care for and organize.
Then back in
March, Hayley and Jose moved to Lubbock. Despite what people said, I truly
never thought that I would move to Lubbock also. Even with how close Hayley and
I are... I really didn't think that would ever be a part of our plan. When all of a
sudden about a month after they moved. I had a dream that we sold the house,
sold 80% of what we owned and moved to an apartment. WHAT THE HECK????
SERIOUSLY???? NO WAY???? I even started looking at the only complex of
apartments that had recently been built in Forney, still not knowing that Lubbock was in our future.
After much prayer
and contemplation... I was slowly shown that I had been being led up to this
move to Lubbock for a while. I was being prepared in so many different ways. I
quickly realized that we had been praying for a new school for Kolby and had
even considered using my husband’s parent’s address and sending him back to
Garland schools. We quickly realized that that wasn't the answer. We also,
realized that Hayley and Jose were going to be having their first child and our
first grandchild and with Jose in pre-med and Hayley having many dreams of her
own to pursue. My being there would allow for her to pursue them. I had been praying and
decided to finish my degree as well. And well Shay has been saying for 25 years
that he always wanted to live in Lubbock and that we would someday. I always told
him never. (Never say never)
The simplifying
journey continued along with the intersection of everyone else in my
family.... LUBBOCK WAS THE ANSWER. I purged some more and packed and
prepared. Even as I loaded the truck...I got rid of even more. Every day I was
shedding more and more. I only moved with what would fit in a two bedroom
apartment. As I unpacked in my new place. Going from my 4000 square ft. home to
an 1100 sq. ft. tiny apartment.... I wept! 
These were tears
of JOY and freedom and a little from the drastic changes. After a fun bet with
my husband... I had this place set up in 2 days. Organized completely and
cleaned by me!!!!!!!!! Everything I
brought fit, (with the exception of Christmas stuff that went to a small
storage) clutter free and beautifully organized in my new space. Finally freed
from the bondage of a large home, the upkeep and everything else that goes
along with that. Even though our home hasn't sold yet, I have now learned that I never needed
that much space. I am happier with less! Less is more!
Kolby couldn't be
happier! He loves it here! He will start his new school tomorrow and will be
successful with a block schedule and a 7 am seminary start time. He is
absolutely loving his coaches and new teammates that he has met. He loves his
new YM leaders and has already made some friends. We are so happy for
him!
Hayley and I
picked right up where we left off and are enjoying picking colors, and
furniture to set up little Skyler's room. And of course, a tiny bit of clothes
shopping. Ok maybe a little more than a tiny bit! hahaha
I wouldn't change
my simplified life for anything. I am happier! I am actually organized! I have
WAY MORE TIME! My mind is simplified! I am not overwhelmed with tasks to do! I
don't have the guilt hanging over my head that I am paying someone to do
everything anymore! I have gained back my self worth of handling my own stuff and self reliance! I am cooking almost every day! I am reading again! I
am listening to relaxing music! I have more time to focus on my business! I
have more time to think and feel and write! I have more time for what matters most!
The Lord led me
and my family to ABUNDANCE! We sacrificed our home and gave up so much and in return gained so much more! I feel so blessed to be here and feel the warmth and kindness of
this city. I already love my new church family. I have found the homeless here
in Lubbock and can't wait to start serving however we can. I also found a new place
to serve with the Special Olympics, and I can't wait! With all the money I will be saving from not paying someone to clean, I can do more random acts of kindness! Which is one of my most favorite past times!
We thought we were
moving here for a few reasons and were quickly shown that this was an all-encompassing
journey for us all! I can't wait to see what shall come from this
chapter!
I have definitely learned that simplfying means to eliminate the unecessary so that the necessary can speak.
More blogs to come
on the downsizing and living small... I've learned so much and can't wait to
share!
Find Joy in the
Journey of simplifying your life. I did it!
Until I blog again,
