This morning I woke up so cluttered. Frazzled. We are in our first week post one-month-trip and the desire to do nothing but relax has worn off. My desk is cluttered, our suitcases are spilling out at the foot of the bed, waiting to be unpacked, our pantry that was my pride and joy upon embarking on this vacation is now a mess, and when I woke up I decided that all of these things had to be addressed. Immediately. And preferably all at the exact same time. Needless to say, I lost all inner peace, and it must have shows on my face because as I stared into the pantry (saying evil things about it in my mind including it’s poor ability to stay organized) my husband said, “don’t lose your peace, love.” He’s a mind reader, that one.

In my quiet time I realized that I become so stressed and anxious when I look at my to-do list, but the solution is to look at the Lord’s to-do list and not my own. In Philippians 4:6 He says “Do not be anxious for anything, but in every situation, through prayer and petition, present your requests to God. (Insert request.) Then the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” There! I feel lighter already! (That is my go-to verse in life, by the way. I suggest memorizing it as soon as possible and carry it around on a neon post-it until you do. For real. ) So yes, I have clients waiting on their artwork, I have sisters waiting on their things that somehow made their way into my suitcase to be sent back to them, I have thousands of photographs begging to be edited…but this is still the day that the Lord has made. I will still rejoice and be glad in it. My husband reminded me this morning that we can be in peace even though we’re not at peace. Everything can be in shambles and we can be smack dab in the middle of disaster, yet still be in peace. He’s a peace snob. He doesn’t really let anything steal his peace, which of course makes me furious sometimes, but it is so admirable. I truly want to be there.

So from my cluttered desk and my cluttered mind, I urge you to take a minute with me to stop thinking about what has to be done and list off a few things that have already been done. “Lord, I thank you that I woke up healthy. I thank you that we went to the Container Store so we can organize our bathroom today. I thank You for this beautiful home and the urge and ability to take care of it, and I pray that I would not be overwhelmed, because You have given me everything I need to accomplish all that You want me to accomplish today. You’re my favorite. I love you.”

I’ll leave you with a random collection of photos from August because, well, who would I be if I didn’t?