Spiritual Sundays: It's 5pm. Do You Know Where Your Purpose Is?

I was recently watching the sad ending of the Oprah Winfrey Show (oh, how I love her!) and on her final episode she shared many of the things she's learned on her journey so far. I'd heard most of it already from her "Master Class" show on OWN, but it was good to hear it again.

One of the things that she seemed to keep going back to is how important it is to listen to your inner voice and use that as your guide to your true purpose in life. For me, I call that voice the Holy Ghost, or the Spirit. He's my connection to my Heavenly Father, and he's my little inner thermometer that tells me if I'm getting warmer (closer to God) or colder (farther away). The more I listen and act on my impressions, the closer I get to God and His true purpose for me in my life.

I'm not sure if Oprah mentioned this or if it's just something that came to me as she was talking, but I realized that at every moment of every day I am either doing something that gets me closer to a better me or farther away. Like most people (I think!) I often find myself spending time doing things and then asking myself, "What am I doing? Why am I doing this? Should I be doing this? Should I be doing something else?" The constant struggle can be overwhelming and confusing.

However, I've found that if I just pause in whatever I'm doing and ask, "Is this where I'm supposed to be? Is this what I'm supposed to be doing? Is this bringing me closer to my purpose in life?" I begin to feel those subtle promptings from the Holy Spirit. Sometimes, like if I'm lounging in front of the tv or surfing random websites on the net, the answer is, "This isn't helping anyone and it's not making you a better person. Time to refocus." Sometimes it's, "You can do this for a moment just to take a little break, but you know what you should really be doing." And the best feeling is when it's, "You're doing just fine. Right on track. Keep it up!"

Right now as I'm writing this I'm getting a combination of the second two. I know that sharing these thoughts and feelings through my writing is a big part of my life's purpose right now, but at the same time I know that my children are at a special time in their lives and any time I'm at the computer is time away from them. I know how much they cherish and enjoy my presence in their lives so I know I need to put them first.

The beauty of asking that simple question is that when you're not on track you can get back on track, and you don't feel like you're confused about the decision. And what I really love is that it's helped me to focus and be more present when I know I'm doing what I'm supposed to be doing. When I'm thumbing through a magazine and my kids are in the other room watching a movie, I can ask myself, "Is this bringing me closer to my purpose in life?" and it's pretty obvious that I need to put the magazine down and call my kids in to read stories with me on the couch. As I snuggle up to them and we read books, I will have complete peace and satisfaction in my heart that I am exactly where I'm supposed to be and doing exactly what I'm supposed to be doing at that time.

Really, that's where the true joy in life lies. It's when you know for sure that you are exactly where you're supposed to be and doing exactly what you are supposed to be doing.

So I'll leave you with this simple challenge: this week, as you go about your daily life-cleaning, emptying the dishwasher, helping kids with homework, running errands- ask yourself, "Is this where I'm supposed to be? Is this what I'm supposed to be doing?" You'll know the answer. Trust me. You'll know.

To find out more about what I believe as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, please visit www.mormon.org. :-)

My Dream House (no, seriously!)

Most people imagine their dream house to be a mansion- huge foyer, sparkling chef's kitchen, jacuzzi tub in the spacious master bathroom, and so on. I, however, came across this video about a family that lives in this 320-square-foot home and I fell in love with the idea!

Here is why I loved it:

- You can cut the square footage and use the money you saved to get an awesome piece of property- think waterfront, trees, grass, etc.

- Spend your budget on outdoor space- big deck for entertaining, gazebo or pavilion even, zip line, playground, etc.
- Make the interior gorgeous and feel spacious with high ceilings and skylights
- Put in the best finishes and appliances (little ones, of course)
- Eat on fine china every day (no dishwasher anyway, might as well!)
- Have super high quality linens

- The house would stay clean because it would only take maybe an hour to clean it from top to bottom (and let's face it, it would be virtually unlivable if it wasn't clean!)

- Save money on energy bills

- With no mortgage, super-low energy bills, and tons of extra time you can quit your boring job and start your own business doing what you really love (I do like the idea of a great little crafting studio next door!!)

- Family togetherness would be automatic (ha ha!)

The only snafu would be food storage- but maybe you could just give the house a
decently-sized basement for storage? Hmm...

This is reeeeallly starting to look attractive to me. Probably not 320-square-feet attractive (after all, I do have 3 children), but maybe 750-1000? I'm already drawing up the plans...

In the meantime, my goal this summer is to pretend that I'm moving into my very own tiny dream house and do some serious de-junking around this joint. That way I'll be ready. Ha.

A Twilight Twist on the Magazine Paper Bracelet

Okay, all you Twi-hards out there. This one's for you (us)! I decided it might be fun to take a little twist on my magazine paper bracelet and use pages from a cheap-o paperback copy of Twilight ($0.25 at the Goodwill Outlet) to make this cool cuff bracelet:

I thought it needed a little something, so I added the flower on there also. I sprayed all the "beads" with a clear coating to harden them and make them more durable and water-resistant. Then I strung the whole thing together using some clear jewelry thread.

Excuse the photo quality- I had to take these using my husband's iPad b/c my camera batteries died.

Anyway, I'm considering making and selling these in my Etsy shop. They're pretty time-consuming, so I'd need to charge enough to make them worth it...So, if you're a Twilight fan, tell me: If you saw something like this on Etsy would you be interested? If so, how much might you want to spend? Leave a comment and let me know!!

Linking to...

I'm Crafty Party! @ So You Think You're Crafty

New Arrivals!

Okay guys, promise not every post will be about the new etsy shop, but I'm just so darn excited. Here's a peek at what I worked on today. All- except one- are available in my shop!

Me modeling one of my favorites from today!

Getting moody and romantic with a dark plum and rhinestone combo...

Sweet lavender daisy!

And...(drumroll please)...my first sale! This lovely chocolate brown fleur will be shipped off to its new home tomorrow! :-)

I realized today that I can really get creative with these flowers. At first I assumed I'd just pop the flower off the stem and stick it to a hair clip, but the flowers are actually made with multiple layers of petals, and if you mix and match different petals you can create some pretty cool new flowers! Check out my shop for some examples.

I have another exciting project that I'm working on for the shop and I'll give you a hint: it's not a flower hair clip! It is special and unique and time-consuming, though, so I'll post about it later this week.

Have a beautiful and creative week, everyone!

Linking up to...

BIG ANNOUNCEMENT!!! Grand Opening of Kasey's Beautiful Life ETSY SHOP!!!!

It's been a dream for awhile, but this weekend it's becoming a REALITY!! I am announcing the grand opening of my etsy shop, "Kasey's Beautiful Life"! I decided that the desire to create was giving me something of a surplus and hey, why not make my crafting addiction pay off and spread a little beauty around the world while I'm at it?

Here are a few of the items you'll see appearing in my shop over the next few days...

White Lotus Flower Hair Clip

Dusty Rose Flower Hair Clip

Chocolate Brown Flower Hair Clip

Pink/White Wildflower Flower Hair Clip

Sorry, this one's not for sale. But the flower on top of her head is. I did say I was trying to spread some beauty around the world, didn't I? ;-)

So if you have a chance this weekend, please stop by and look around! I'm super excited!!! (in case you couldn't tell!!)

Linking up to...

Celebrating Our Freedom

Last week I had the opportunity to attend a "Patriotic Program" put on by my son and the rest of the first graders in his school. Listening to those sweet voices sing about the blessings of living in a free country just really touched my heart and I wanted to share it with you on this Memorial Day.

I hope you have a blessed and safe Memorial Day!

Spiritual Sundays: Staying with the Light

I had the fun opportunity on Friday night to go camping with my family and members of our church. We enjoyed a nice potluck dinner and we built a campfire and socialized into the night. As the night went on I realized something- I needed to use the bathroom! There was a port-a-potty nearby, and I knew of its general location, but it was so dark out that I couldn't tell exactly where it was located. I took my lantern and headed off through the woods into the night.

It was very difficult to tell, with the short beam of light provided by my lantern, exactly which way to go. After walking in the right general direction, eventually my lantern caught the blue plastic exterior of the outhouse in its glow, and I could then correct my course to the way I needed to go. Those first few moments, however, were very disconcerting as I made my way into the darkness without really knowing where I was going.

When I was finished, I came out and I could see the campfire in the distance and the many lanterns of my friends gathered around it. I used my lantern to light the path of my feet, but I knew exactly where I was headed, and the light of the campfire illuminated any large obstacles, such as trees, that blocked my path. After my trip out to the restroom, it was such a difference walking toward something I could clearly see, and to know that there was safety there in the gathering of lights. I didn't feel anxious or lost- I knew exactly where I was going and even though my path wasn't entirely illuminated, it was still clear.

I couldn't help but compare this to our spiritual selves. In the book of John, the Savior invoked this beautiful prayer upon his apostles:

“And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are.

“I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.

“I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.” (John 17:11, 14–15.)

Christ prayed that His believers "may be one" and that the Lord "shouldest keep [us] from the evil." I believe that the Lord is asking us to, quite simply, stick together. There is darkness all around us, and if we venture off on our own, like I did, and leave the light of the other followers of Christ, we put ourselves in a place of anxiety, confusion, and possibly danger.

This is not to say that we shouldn't associate with those of different faiths, or that we should avoid missionary opportunities. I think we should reach out as much as possible, but we should always be sure to keep the light of others close by us.

D&C 87:8 reads, "Stand ye in holy places, and be not moved, until the day of the Lord come." Sharon G. Larsen said of this scripture,

"Standing in holy places is all about being in good company, whether you are alone or with others. It’s being where the Holy Ghost is our companion—alone or in a crowd. When we determine within ourselves that we will control our thoughts and our actions and be the best we can possibly be, the best of life will come to us."

The key to "staying with the light", as I titled this post, is to always keep the Holy Ghost as our companion, and to be with others who will do the same. As soon as you find yourself in a certain place or with certain people that are making it difficult to keep the good feelings of the Holy Spirit, you have strayed from the warmth and safety of the light, and it's time to turn around and look for the campfire again.

For me, my campfire is my home, my family, my church congregation, and my friends in the gospel who are wonderful examples to me. I know that when I nurture these relationships that I am building up my campfire to be a beacon to me and to others who might be wandering in the dark.

I encourage you to not rely solely on the light of your own lantern, but to find others and build up your own campfire of safety. There is strength and safety in numbers, along with the peace and joy of having a home in the gospel. Come out of the dark and into the light!

To find out more about what I believe as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, please visit www.mormon.org.