10 Ways to Live an Extraordinary Life.

I was reading 10 Ways to Live an Extraordinary Life on RELEVANT Magazine's website, and I wanted to share a couple of my favorite ones.  You can read the full list here.

#1 Don't Let Anyone Go to Voicemail

“We get really busy,” Goff says. “But the less time Jesus had on earth, the more available He became to people.”

So when Goff put his phone number in the back of Love Does, he made the promise to himself to answer every call—regardless of whether or not he knew who it was. There are practical limits to this, of course. “I don’t feel guilty if I’m on the other line, or on a plane,” he says. But from where Goff sits, Jesus wouldn’t have ignored many phone calls. So neither does he. “If I get a call, I answer it,” he says. “And it’s been terrific!

“There’s a God we can talk to anytime, anywhere, about anything, and I’m so glad He doesn’t screen my calls—because I don’t have anything that’s particularly interesting to say.”

#6. Do What You're Made to Do

In today’s functional culture, the common question is, “What am I able to do?” People take tests to determine skill sets and aptitude and then march off to pursue a career based on the results.

But Goff says the better question is, “What am I made to do?” He goes on to say, “It’s as simple as asking, ‘What are the things you think are beautiful? And you want in your life?’ ... And then there’s other stuff you stink at, and they cause you a bunch of stress. I just try and do more of the first and less of the second.”

#10 Take the Next Step

Many people are passionate but often have no idea how to get where they want to end up. Goff says you don’t really have to. You just have to start.

“If I could do this Jedi move over a lot of people, I’d just tell them to take the next step,” he says. “And then the next step. You don’t know all the steps, but most people know the next step.”

Many people are passionate but often have no idea how to get where they want to end up. Goff says you don’t really have to. You just have to start.

“If I could do this Jedi move over a lot of people, I’d just tell them to take the next step,” he says. “And then the next step. You don’t know all the steps, but most people know the next step.”

The Koala Costume.

These are top favorite costume ideas for Halloween this year. 

(Starwars & Mummy Black Milk Clothing, Koala Kigurumi, Mermaid & Indian pinterest)

What are you dressing up as?

It's Raining Pumpkins.

Don't you love it when it rains while you are sad?  Even though I'm sad, I do sort of get some joy out of being sad while it is raining.  I might even just stay sad, just because it is raining and I want to feel nostalgic.  So, I'm just going to sit here and eat a Hershey's Sundae Pie (secret gold from BK) and pretend to have a reason to be sad while I watch a sappy Rom-Com.  Perfect Sunday night, I think yes.

We went pumpkin picking yesterday at Bates Nut Farm (about an hour North of San Diego) and then we carved them to make the beautiful creations above. 10 bucks if you guess which one was mine. 

Mura Boutique.

I came across this lovely Australian label called Mura Boutique.  I was looking at their dresses and thinking "these look so Australian" before I even knew it was.  It's been "fall" weather here in San Diego for a week, and I am already ready for Summer weather.  Time to move back to OZ?

  

Founded by Asako Nakamura, at the age of 22, Mura epitomizes all things that girls love. Beautiful and trendy clothing, but at an affordable price! So make your fairytale come true and discover all the things you love and more at Mura Boutique. 

Now Is The Start.

 

As American as Apple Pie.

Some of my friends and I took a day trip up to the little town of Julian, best known for their apple orchards and apple pie.  It is about an hour North East of San Diego.  What a perfect way to spend the first weekend in October!  We did a hike around the lake and discovered some wild turkeys.  Then, we went into town to get some lunch at Julian Cafe and had a homemade fresh apple pie from Mom's Bakery.  After that, we went apple picking in the orchards. It was nice to get away from the rush of the city for a bit, but I am happy to be back by the ocean.  It's finally starting to feel a bit like fall, now.  I think I will be making my special Autumn Spice Cider soon. 

Oh my stars.

Passports and Prada started as attempt for peace in the stress and anxiety of life in an act of desperation.  Through writing daily, invisible steps came from finding anything good in life- reasons to live- reasons to smile.  It was simple and exactly what I needed at the time.  It progressed into my first marketing campaign, which went surprisingly well, but what I wrote was surface level with an occasional peephole into my hidden life.  During that time, my emotions were guarded and of course, I didn't want to reveal anything to anyone.  Then, it turned into a countdown to the most random, life-changing thing I would do.  I was going to move to Australia and then around the world, never to come back again, seeking this purpose for life- the joy that I knew was out there but I had yet to attain.  Literally, in my mind, my life ended after that year.  What I felt Australia to be was an escape and, in a way, a numbing drug.  It turned out to be so much more.  I found everything and more- I found peace, happiness, joy, passion, inspiration, and complete escape, and when it ended, complete entrapment and darkness.  In another attempt of escape, I came to California to re-launch my journey into the world. Feeling as if I had nothing but memories of "the good life" and all that I had found to be "good" was now, yet again, taken away from me and impossible for me to relive.  It was here, through non stop and determined seeking, that I finally found the joy, peace, and love that I had been searching for my whole journey.  My weak and pathetic attempts for the duration of my entire life at finding little bits of happiness suddenly made sense to me.  I was missing a huge piece the whole time- that piece that I knew was missing; otherwise I would've given up a long time ago.  I am in no way saying that I am happy every day, but that hole in my heart has been filled.  When bad things happen or I am going through something hard, I still feel the same way, but that hopelessness or feeling of nothing mattering is no longer there.  I still seek happiness everyday in the little things and through my passion, and I still believe that positive thoughts determine your happiness. 

Theories such as Ghandi's are still accurate to me,  

“Your beliefs become your thoughts, 

Your thoughts become your words, 

Your words become your actions, 

Your actions become your habits, 

Your habits become your values, 

Your values become your destiny.” 

"The Secret" still has powerful insights, "Life isn't happening to you; life is responding to you."

Gabby (New Oprah)'s book Spirit Junkie had a few good thoughts in it about happiness: "True happiness comes when we can surrender and let go of the past.  Recognize who you've been holding resentment towards and let that go.  Accept others and yourself." 

It is all relevant, but these are all missing a common ingredient.  I tried these. I practiced these. I lived these. They work, but they don't last.  There is no glue.  Everything that I learned is still important, but now they are just magnified and sustained by my new love in God.  When I left Australia, I felt that nothing would ever compare and that nothing could ever be that good again.  I am excited though because with my new realizations, I know that wherever I go will be that much better.  With that said, I really want to go to Malaysia and Borneo.  This time, not to escape, but to share my joy with the world.  Next destination, who knows?   I'm on a ride here.

Oh my mind, Oh my stars.

Enlightened.

{via}

If I speak with human eloquence and angelic ecstasy but don't love, I'm nothing but the creaking of a rusty gate. If I speak God's Word with power, revealing all his mysteries and making everything plain as day, and if I have faith that says to a mountain, "Jump," and it jumps, but I don't love, I'm nothing. If I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but I don't love, I've gotten nowhere. So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I'm bankrupt without love.

~For King & Country "The Proof of Your Love"~