So I have been in a season of trying a no buy for a bit now. This is to help our family financially. But I really want these season of serious restrictioin to help my heart. I want to live from a place of gratitude and not a place of longing. I don’t want to “put up” with my current stuff/situation until I have more money to change it. I don’t want to look at my counter tops and long for them to be different. I want to be grateful now. It is ok to dream and plan for the future. But I do not want to live in the future. One day when….. Then I will be happy and satisfied. There is no satisfaction finish line. Trends come and go. Must have styles fade by the next season. The only healthy option is gratitude now. I want to see my scuffed up/paint peeling counters with gratitude. Thank you God that I have a kitchen of my very own to make food for family. Thank you that I have a space to use to bake my family’s favorite muffins. I want when the future desires come creeping that I meet them with gratitude. Both feelings can exist in the same space, gratitude and excitement of a new thing. The trouble comes with the future desire pushes out gratitude and replaces it with grumbling. It helps to remember my original excitement our our home. I saw the island and was elated to have so much counter space to make food and host events. I loved our giant windows that expand the whole kitchen wall. I loved the white cupboards. I want to walk into this space and others and focus on what I treasure and not what I wish I could change. A Maya Angelou quote has been helping me a ton lately. “If you don’t like something, change it. If you cannot change it, change the way you think about it. Don’t complain.” This sums up what my heart is growing in right now.