I’m home in Pensacola sitting at my parents’ dining room table. The same table we used to eat dinner on as a family – my mom, my dad, my brother, Brett, and I. My parents always encouraged me to pursue anything in the world I wanted. So many options overwhelmed me. I majored in English simply because I liked to write. I had no idea what I was going to do with my life.

I knew two things: I wanted to be creative. I wanted to be a mom and have time for my family.

Its kind of surreal to think about the girl who used to sit at this table. Never in a million years would I have imagined that I could create my own job – one that allows me to work part-time, provide for my family, serve others and be as creative as I’d like. This morning, on my walk with Brady through my parents’ neighborhood, I was talking to McKay Pittman – one of my greatest friends back in Tampa and mama to Brady’s friend Beckett. She started Oatmeal Lace Design with the same dream. Today she reached 500 sales in her Etsy shop! (More like 1,500 sales total but 500 in her shop!) Thinking about her milestone just made me so happy. How awesome is it that we live in a country where we have the freedom to pursue what lights our hearts on fire.

That’s awesome. Thank you to all the people who protect that right for us.

I want to teach Brady that whatever he dreams of… he can do. It takes a lot of work, but its worth it.

Things have been busy around here, but in a wonderful way. The Emily Ley Paper shop is almost complete (sign up for a special launch sale HERE). A ton (literally) of 2012-2013 Simplified Planners are on their way from our manufacturer next week. Business is great.

And life is just plain GOOD right now. The Spring Making Things Happen tour changed me. It allowed me time to focus on what matters and let go of the STUFF that doesn’t. I’ve been simplifying, clearing the clutter and consolidating as much as possible lately. Life’s just easier without all the fluff. That includes the emotional fluff. For those of you who read this post about an enormous realization about my marriage, thank you for your encouragement : ) I have no words for how wonderful things are right now. With renewed focus and commitment, anything is possible.

I take that back.

With GOD anything is possible. My faith has been lit on fire lately. My thirst to know more, study more, question more, talk to God more… has grown in a lot of ways. I’m so grateful for two friends who encouraged me to let God lead me down this path of growth. On the way to Pensacola (eight hours with a 16 mo old thankyouverymuch) I listened to Mere Christianity by CS Lewis. 

FASCINATING.

Lewis was once an atheist turned Christian and he walks through each step of his denial, realization, research and finally – commitment to what he found to be True.

It was so encouraging. I really think my thirst to know more and to be closer to God is because of a funny, sort of basic realization I had on the MTH trip. Throughout life, we go to school to learn about math, English, science, etc. But where do we go to “school” to learn about LIFE. God gave us the Bible for that. That’s pretty awesome. Everything we need to know in one little (big) Book.

Thanks, God.

Writing from a place of stillness, peace and gratitude today. So happy to be home.

Emily