Contentment Challenge Update

(Source: Lara Casey)

I apologize for being a bit absent this week. I started a new job last Friday and have been training non-stop. So far I am absolutely loving it! I have never been more excited about something like this and I can't wait to share more details! That being said, I'm still planning to devote plenty of time to this little part of the web that I call my own. I have some pretty exciting things (including an awesome guest post on workouts and programming from my hubby) in the works so be sure to stay tuned!!

In the meantime I thought I'd do another weekly update on the Contentment Challenge I began three weeks ago. If you haven't heard about it be sure to check here for the first post and you can read last week's post here.

I was a bit hesitant that this week would be the hardest week of the Contentment Challenge, but I can honestly say it hasn't been too bad. As I mentioned before I started a new job last Friday and have been training all week so I haven't had much time to think about shopping or needing a lot of new things. And I have been surprisingly at peace. I seriously feel at this moment that things couldn't be better and I know it my heart I still have everything I could possibly need and more.

With my new job starting this week, I knew I was going to need to purchase a few pieces of clothing, but struggled a bit since I knew I wanted to continue sticking with the Challenge. My husband was super sweet and gifted me one outfit for my new job. He knew that I not only needed to wear the company's clothing at work but also wanted to give me a little something celebratory for the new position that I've been so excited about it. So we went to the Galleria last weekend and I chose three basic pieces that I can wear together or paired with a number of different outfits. Nothing fancy, just the basics. I am beyond blessed that he continues to support the challenge and my career goals!

While this week hasn't been too difficult. I still feel that I am continuing to learn so much about myself and God and I wanted to share a few things that have really been on my heart. So below I've highlighted just a couple things I've learned so far.

The first thing I've learned is exactly what I've written before, I have more than I need. when I look around at our apartment I'm still trying to sort through all of our stuff and simplify. I don't want to be a person that lives with excess stuff or worse feel the need to hoard. In the end it's not the amount of stuff I have that matters. What matters is that I have God, my family and friends. And even if I didn't have family or friends, friends, God would simply be enough. This is something I constantly have to remind myself. Nothing I have is earned, it's gifted to me from God and it's ultimately all His. At any moment it can be taken away. Would I be sad? Yes, but would I still have life and purpose, through Christ, absolutely!

I've also been focusing on gratitude. Over the last few weeks I've begun writing at least three things I am thankful for every morning. It's become a part of my morning routine. Sometimes it's easy to think of three things and sometimes I have more than three things to write down. But there are days when I feel like I have nothing to write. In those moments, when I dig deep, God reveals so much about who He is and what He has given me. It's a great way to set my heart on track when I'm feeling anything but grateful.

And the final area I've been focusing on is the future. Chris and I follow Dave Ramsey's budgeting methods and one thing we've decided as a couple is that we want to save aggressively for our family's future. Leaving a strong legacy for our family. By doing the Contentment Challenge now I can learn to be grateful for what I have and teach my family to do the same. In doing so we can save for things like family trips or vacations, college, and beyond; leaving a strong legacy for our family for generations to come. To me, that is far more important than needing the little mundane things like a necklace or new color nail polish right now. Thankfully God has blessed us abundantly and we can still afford to buy things for ourselves here and there as long as they are within our allotted budget. But it's incredibly freeing to know now that I can live without them. 

Thanks so much for following along and reading this terrible long post. Next week is the final week of my Contentment Challenge, be sure to check back as I share my final thoughts and how this Challenge has changed my heart moving forward.. I'm excited to see what God continues to reveal to me!