Intentional.Me

I've moved!

Come visit me at the new url: Intentional.Me   (http://intentional.me)

A special Thanksgiving post should be up right now.

Have a wonderful, blessed Thanksgiving!

Shell

Only One More Week....

The new blog site is coming soon!  ONLY one more week.  

The blog will be officially up at the new site on THANKSGIVING DAY.  

Check back here for the new address... Just a few more kinks to workout first. :)

Have a blessed weekend!

~Shell

And the Announcement Is......

I told you the other day that I had a big announcement in store, so here it is:

On Thanksgiving Day,  Percolating Practice will be getting a makeover!  New address, new name, a more focused purpose....the works!  The Goodbye Junk challenge will also be moving to the new site and continuing there as well.  However, the new site isn't quite ready to launch, so hang in there and be patient while the finishing touches are put in place.  Check back here for more details, and of course, THE NEW ADDRESS!

Thanks for being patient while everything is in transition.  I promise it will be done soon, and worth the wait!
~Shell

How #Relevant10 Met #GoodbyeJunk & #HelloMornings Today...

So, I FINALLY got to talk to my sweet friend about her experiences at the Relevant Conference this morning.  We met for coffee and talked for hours, it was so wonderful.  She knew that I had wanted to attend with her, and was sweet enough to bring back her goodies and share them with me!  Isn't she the sweetest friend? 

Look at all the cute, fabulous stuff I got from Relevant, through her:

I promise, I left some for her too! :)

I am so glad that she is NOT a  reader.  A blogger who hates to read.  Funny, huh?  But, lucky for me!  I got some really cool books that are going to be perfect for HelloMornings.  Just a short, easy to read page a day.  I can't wait to start tomorrow.  AND, a version I can share with the boys....Even better!  I've been wanting to find something like that, but haven't gone looking, and here it just 'falls' in my lap.  I love how that works!  Plus, an e-book copy of Ann Voskamp's 1000 Gifts, which I've also been dying to read, and a cute little journal to write...something tiny in!

Plus, a super cute paperweight for my office (maybe it will encourage me to keep my desk neater).  That little cute 'PEACE' necklace has something on the back..... "BE STILL".  Now, tell me that wasn't meant for me?

So, I've mentioned how this all connects with the #HelloMornings group that I love, but how does bringing all this STUFF into my house fit with #GoodbyeJunk?  Well, for the first time, probably ever, I was INTENTIONAL about what I was choosing to bring into my home.  There were some other really cute things to choose from.  Things that I wanted, but I put them back, because I knew deep down that they were just future GoodbyeJunk.   I only chose things that I knew I had a purpose for, and would really, truly use.  Progress!

Oh, and FYI, more GoodbyeJunk stuff coming soon, so bear with me!  I'm working on a big, new announcement.... More good stuff to come!  Look for details closer to Thanksgiving. 

In the meantime, 

may you be blessed with friends as wonderful as mine, 

and may you remember that as fun as it is to receive, 

it is even better to GIVE.

What I learned from #Relevant10

I've made Family my priority lately (over online stuff...)

So, I didn't even get to attend the Relevant Conference last weekend, but that didn't stop me from learning from it!  There were so many great people there, all tweeting little pearls of wisdom.  It totally rocked my weekend.  It was such a wonderful, powerful, positive thing to keep reading their tweets all weekend.

So, what did I learn?  I learned that I'm doing alright.  Not that I can't improve, I'm still far from perfect (and I'm not seeking perfection anyway), but I'm on the right path.  There has been a twinge of guilt that I've not blogged once this month...For a long list of reasons, all of which lead back to the fact that I set FAMILY as a higher priority, and just had to let go of online stuff until things are less overwhelming again.  So, what did I read coming out of Relevant tweets this weekend?  Tweet after tweet after tweet reinforcing that my priorities were on the right track, for once.   I love it when God sends you those overwhelming messages sometimes!

From my IRL favorite blogger  SomeGirlsTweets:
~Make your home a place of peace. My life isn't about what people think I am, or what they think about me. #Relevant10

  

~We don't want to harm our real life relationships with our blogs. 

  

~Rest in the gift God has given you. #Relevant10 - Angie Smith 

  

~We are held accountable to God for how we treat our family. #Relevant10 (@WeareTHATfamily)  

  

~What times are special for your family? Make that time sacred and be offline. Your family is of high importance. #Relevant10

  

~"It's the living of life, not the writing of life that is going to change the world!" #Relevant10 - Sally Clarkson 

  

~Take a computer sabbatical regularly! #mediafreeSundays #Relevant10 

  

~"I'd much rather neglect my [online life] than neglect my husband and children." #Relevant10 

  

~"Blogging can be a powerful tool... But if blogging is taking you away from being a wife and a mother it's not worth it." #Relevant10 

And a favorite, that fits my life perfectly right now, by michellebygrace:

   

~If your blog conflicts with real life, choose real life. -Kimba (@KimbaASPTL) Relevant10       

 I can't wait until I DO have a little more time and can go in and read all the great posts coming from the lucky ladies who did get to attend Relevant.   I'm going to have great stuff to read for months to come!  What a blessing.  

There is a linkup on the official Relevant Conference site:  http://therelevantconference.com/ or Click here for one of the other linkups, or search the hashtag #Relevant10 on twitter for more.  

Truly Amazed

I'm sure you've heard, because it's all I'm talking about lately, that I'm leading a team for my local Relay for Life.  You can read more about it here, where I guest posted about it over at SomeGirl's place.  I felt very called to do this.  My heart was leading me to it.  But I never imagined that we could have possibly been so successful.  I know it's not me, it's that I listened to the whispers of God telling me I coud do this.  Really.  Because my introverted self wouldn't have/ couldn't have ever done this without that push.

Now, tonight, my team is ranked number 4 on the top teams list.  And I'm not telling you this to brag, because it's not something that I did.  It's something amazing happening.  It's a miracle, in my book, that it's all coming together in such happy way.  That I could recruit enough friends to fill out our team.  That together we could fundraise over $1,100, before the event has even begun!  That is a pure and wonderful miracle. 

What's that verse about God having a bigger plan for me than I had for myself?  Is it even a verse?  I googled it and came up with a movie quote, but whatever it may be, that's definitely what it feels like to me.  I had hoped to struggle along and maybe raise $500.  I wasn't sure if there would even be more than 3 of us on the team.  But is' all working out bigger and so much better than I ever dreamed.  The verses below were the best I could come up with.  If you know one that fits better, I'd love for you to share it.

If you have joined my team, and are helping to make this happen, or if you have donated to our Relay for Life team, THANK YOU.  From the bottom of my heart, thank you for helping our team to help others.  I am so truly blessed.

Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and your plans will succeed.  

Proverbs 16:3

A person may plan his own journey,
   but the Lord directs his steps. 

Proverbs 16:9

If You Could Do Anything...

It's Friday.  I thought a little fun might be in order, so I'm asking this quick question.  I hope you'll leave an answer in the comments and let me know what your answer would be!  I can't wait to hear from you.

If you could do anything.... What would it be?  No strings attached, no cost limitations, no 'oh-but-who-would-watch-my-kids', no restrictions.  Something that would make you just full of joy and happy inside.  Something just for you.  If you could do anything, for yourself, what would you do?

For me?  I'd wander around and take pictures.  I truly love photography.  Someday I plan to go take a few classes, but in the meantime, I'm happy anytime I can pull out my pocket camera and take some fun, interesting photos.  It makes me happy, deep down inside.  I'm especially happy taking pics out in nature.  Puts a smile in my heart that looks kind of like this ---->

So, If you could do anything, for yourself, what would you do?

What's stopping you?