(non) labor day?

I have enjoyed a long holiday weekend that has kicked off a week’s vacation from work. While I would love to take a week’s vacation and visit some place fantastic like San Francisco, Hawaii, or London I am just grateful to have accrued several weeks worth of vacation over twelve years of working at the same organization. I’m thankful that this affords me the opportunity to finally make my bedroom my own. I moved home to be with my family, for a variety of reasons, two summers ago. While I’ve put some personal touches on my bedroom it has come time to make it feel more my little haven - to streamline things and simplify. To make it a place where I can create, be inspired, and just take it easy.

This week I plan to remove just about everything and start all over - focusing on the specifics and the essential. I’m going to add some new shelving and change out some furniture. And I’m going to paint the walls. My own little HGTV/DIY week! If only Carter Oosterhouse would show up and take care of all of the details for me…and take me to dinner.

It seems fitting that my church is in the midst of our Soul Life series while I aim to de-clutter and reorganize this area of my life. But, already I don’t feel like I am off to the best of starts. I had a goal for today that included pulling everything (EVERYthing) out of my closet, starting to move things out of my room in order to get ready for painting, and really take a look at the space I have so that I can be sure the plans in my head are doable. But I woke-up with a headache and could never really get going. I finally had to take the pressure off myself to get anything done. Once I did that I was able to get some rest. It turned out that I did get few things accomplished. Sometimes practicing the discipline of simplicity merely means remebering that it’s okay to go slow.