a little southern grace : What would you do if nothing were stopping you?

It's no secret that I loveee Lululemon & recently they've launched a campaign to reach out to all their followers on Instagram challenging them to think, "If nothing was stopping me, I would..." #ifnothing

This is a question everyone faces at sometime or another in their life and I'm here to tell you I'm smack in the middle of it. Everyday I wake up and think of the endless possibilities that life has if only I was willing to walk away from the familiar and take some risks.

I read an article that sweet, beautiful Katie at Hope Engaged wrote about her reflections on turning 30 and talked specifically about our generations glamorization of "taking risks" and goodness gracious did it hit home for me. I have a wonderful husband, job, friends, roof over my head, food on the table...not one thing to complain about. Yet I still crave adventure and am constantly tempted to throw away the security of this job for the excitement of the unknown. Whyyy? Because I've bombarded myself with faraway, exotic IG accounts that show people traveling, following their dreams & exploring the unknown through a special lens that creates insane feelings of envy and jealousy in all those who look. But stumbling upon Katie's article was the perfect reminder I needed. Taking risks are messy, painful, and hard...worth it, but don't paint this beautiful picture of you sailing into the sunset to change the world. Most importantly, not a decision to jump into lightly. Pray with an open and honest heart.

Sometimes when I'm offshore & it seems like everything is going wrong, I find myself day-dreaming thinking; what would I do if I left this cozy, comfy job? Where would I go? Where would I start? How much money would I need? What kind of bridges would I burn if I did?

So when I start to think - if nothing was stopping me - what would I do? I would live a life of abandon. I would be okay with backpacking & having only the essentials as long as Jacob was by my side. We would seize every opportunity to share Jesus' love with others. We would be excited for crappy hotels, crazy food & red eye flights. We would find joy in the oridinary. We would be heartbroken by the unknown evils of this world. Get mad about it. Try to change it. We would discover that minimalism is a heck of a lot easier than 4 check bags & 2 carry ons. We'd acquire memories & experiences not stuff. We'd fall in love with each other all over again because it's just me & him out there against the world. We would watch countless breathtaking sunrises & sunsets. We would live focused on bettering the lives of those around us instead of ourselves. This would transform us from the inside out.

So this has me thinking...why can't I live this life now? Minus the backpacking part of course. I can still live a life focused on others, share the love of Jesus, fall in love every morning, find joy in the oridinary, fix the evil, adopt minimalism, all of it! It's all possible here in Covington, Louisiana.