Article by Make The Days Count Contributor Marie Monroe

The holiday season is a season of expectation.  We expect to celebrate, enjoy friends and family, give and receive the perfect gifts. We want the house manicured and the decorations displayed. We expect to be happy and to make others happy as well.   We want perfectionism … just like a Norman Rockwell painting.

Holiday Deadlines & Expectation

Anticipation builds as we look forward to specific events.  Most of us will plan multiple events that are scheduled with exact dates and times … the school play, the Christmas concert, dinner at Aunt Susan’s, shopping for presents, the holiday office party … the list usually fills up very quickly.  We will watch our calendars inflate with “happy deadlines” as we work in everyone and everything we want to include. Read More »

Article by Make The Days Count Contributor Ann Wilkinson 

How much time do you spend thinking about the ways your job annoys you?  How much time do you spend listening to friends and family as they grouse in great detail about how much they dislike their work?  We complain and then we envy others who seemingly do “what they love” for their livelihood and wish we could be more like them.

What would it be like to design the kind of job we truly want?  We don’t always have that luxury.  So, it’s up to us to take the framework we have and make it work for us to love what we do on a day-to-day basis. Read More »

Part 3 of a 3 Part Series

Article by Make the Days Count Contributor Judy Mosley

“If everything is sacred, then nothing is sacred.”

-Peter Walsh

What’s sacred in your life?  What are the material possessions that hold real value for your family?  Is it a family heirloom, an important award, or old love letters from your spouse?  Could you find them immediately, if someone asked to see them?  Do they have a place of honor in your home?  Or are they buried beneath everything else that you can’t get rid of?

My husband and I found ourselves in this situation at the beginning of our marriage.  We spent the first two years of our marriage shopping instead of connecting with each other and material things took the place of passion.  We lived paycheck to paycheck and couldn’t understand why.  This left us feeling frustrated, broke, and surrounded by things that we didn’t even like.  We came to the conclusion that we couldn’t live this way any longer. Read More »

Part 1 of a 3 Part Series

Article by Make The Days Count Contributor Judy Mosley

Home.  It’s a place of refuge, strength, and peace.  It’s where you come to recharge, make sense out of life, and find ways to express your creativity.

At least . . . it should be.

How has the state of your home been, lately?  Has it become harder to find things that you need?  Are the dishes sitting in the sink longer than normal?  Are you having to step over things on the floor than usual?  Or, have you lived in disarray for so long that you’re not sure anything else is possible?

If this is you, welcome to my life!  I am a native messy.  I grew up avoiding order and not thinking twice about it.  Even in young adulthood, learning how to stay organized was extremely difficult.  It’s only been within the past few years I have been able to make clearer steps toward a cleaner, more organized home. Read More »

Article by Christian Nanz and Make The Days Count Contributor Judy Mosley

One of the things I am still learning is how to make my days better by allowing myself to do things that bring pleasure to others and to me.  I am also learning how simple little things like making my bed can help me feel productive all day long!  They don’t need to be major undertakings.  It’s interesting that small things bring large doses of happiness or satisfaction.

For example, when I get up on the morning, I like to take my dog for a walk around the neighborhood. He loves going for a walk (and he expects it!), and yet I believe I appreciate the walk a much as he does!  It is my time to relax, be thankful for another day and enjoy.

Of course this is not an exhaustive list.  There are many things that are simple, inexpensive, and easy to do that can add to your day in an incredibly satisfying way.  Perhaps this will spark you to try some of the things on our list or to add to it with ideas of your own. Read More »