final thoughts

And here we are, the end of October with far fewer than 31 posts about contented living. This topic certainly has more facets to explore, but today I'll leave you with a thought that's been settling in me all month.

One of my friends commented on a post earlier in this series joking about how maybe I could divulge the key to contented living. The thing is that everyone's contented life will look different. What makes me content is different from what makes you content. And that's okay. The key, though, is simple. The secret is one that we all must discover on our own before true contented living is possible.

{If we are to live a contented life, we must listen to God to know when to move and when to rest.}

A contented life is one inextricably tied up with trust in the Savior. A contented life is defined by our relationship with our Heavenly Father, because the more we come to know Him and how He speaks to us, the better we can discern when to move and when to rest.

Contented living is as much about growth and evolution and change as it is about acceptance and peace and stillness. The key is knowing how to balance it, and the key to balance is Jesus Christ. I know that not all my readers believe what I do, and I hope I'm not alienating anyone by being so forthright. The truth is that everything meaningful and good in my life--contented or otherwise--exists because the Savior, and I can't pretend otherwise. The way I live my life is inexorably connected to my relationship with God, and I'm not going to hide that from you. 

I hope that as you go through your days that you can find manifestations of Heavenly Father's love for you, because it is real and unending and powerful (even if you're not sure He exists at all). I hope that you can find contentment within that love, that you can find peace and purpose, direction and motivation. A contented life is one wherein we relinquish control in favor of faith in One who knows us and loves us. Contentment is knowing and embracing that we are small yet important, weak yet bursting with powerful potential.

Thank you for following along this somewhat inconsistent series. I'll be back sometime in November with a good list post for you!

This post is part of a 31-day series on contented living. You can find the other posts here.

a confession

So. Obviously I have not been posting every day this month. Here's the truth: I burned out. And when I burned out I started producing lackluster content. As the host of this whole 31-days thing wrote, "You don't need my obligation."

I have a couple more thoughts I'd like to explore with you this week, so don't fear: I'm not completely giving up. The thing is that contented living means knowing your limits, and my limits this month fell short of the daily posting.

Thanks for understanding, readers. I truly have enjoyed this topic and its exploration, even when my posts haven't met the "official" goal.

This post is part of a 31-day series on contented living. You can find the other posts here.

Austen on contented living

This morning I was reclining on the couch reading a book, while my husband and son played on the floor with the wooden train set. Asher was intent on the train path, and Josh and I laughed at Asher's words and rudimentary sentences. It was all very content.

And then it's easy to wonder why I can have such a peaceful, happy, and fulfilling Saturday morning while another mother around the world can't find food to feed her children. Enter Jane Austen, who gives us one of the keys to contented living.

Photograph by Rick Harrison (Flickr).

True contented living is accompanied by a healthy dose of humility. The moment entitlement enters into your heart is the moment your life becomes smug instead of contented. Contented living is recognizing that peace is not only a gift, but a manifestation of the Divine. And when it comes to heavenly things, we can't help but see ourselves for how both small and grand we are as children of God.

Part of contented living--and also gracious living--is accepting our blessings and allowing ourselves to be happy, even when we don't have the answers to the world's inequity. If the Savior can take care of me and my family, then He can also care for the hungry, poor, and sick. Not to say that I can kick back and not act when I'm needed, but rather, when we find ourselves facing a period of contentment, we should allow ourselves to embrace it rather than feel guilty about it.

The thing is that we don't do anything to "deserve" whatever happiness we have. So what we need to do is live with gratitude and seek for the contentment within our blessings.

One last shout-out needs to go to Holly, who designed all the Saturday printables for this series. She is seriously talented, and it's been so much fun working with her on this!

This post is part of a 31-day series on contented living. You can find the other posts here.

year four

Four years ago Josh and I knelt across from each other at an altar in the Denver Colorado Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  At the ceremony there were no photographers, no string quartet, no printed programs. We were dressed in white and surrounded by most of our dearest family and friends. We sat in the holiest of places, the air charged with the presence of unseen angels. We looked each other in the eyes and made promises to each other and to God. We chose to be sealed as husband and wife forever. That day was beautiful.

The years following that first day of marriage have seen both laughter and tears. Contentment in marriage isn't a constant, unfortunately. It comes in moments of grace from heaven, moments to be imprinted on our souls as a confirmation that yes, you chose this life and it is good. A contented marriage is won from work and love and sacrifice and more love again.

Contentment in marriage is a divine blessing, a rest for the soul and an anchor for the heart. This life of mine with Mr. Wilson is far from perfect, but I love it and I love him.

This post is part of a 31-day series on contented living. You can find the other posts here.

spooky reading update

I'd like to interrupt the regularly scheduled 31-days series for a quick update on my spooky reading.

I had slated Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice for this month, and last night I decided to quit reading it. I don't quit books often, but this one is not only slow going as far as narration style goes, but the brand of creepy didn't jive well with me. I like a good creepy book: Dracula and Something Wicked This Way Comes are both excellent reads with a significant creepy factor. But the creepiness in the Rice novel made me feel icky more than intrigued. So I quit.

We don't have much time left in the month--if you can believe that!--but I decided to dive into The Haunted Bookshop by Christopher Morley, a lovely little novella that I'm hoping will make me laugh and smile. And I think I'll try and get through a Wilkie Collins novel by the end of the month. Wilkie Collins is a mystery writer from the 19th century, and I've really enjoyed what I've read of him. His books are actually free in the Kindle store, so I just downloaded The Haunted Hotel on to my iPad.

If you decide to forge ahead and continue reading Interview with the Vampire I'd love to know what you think about it. And if you want to switch gears with me and try out some Wilkie Collins, let me know what you pick!

Happy reading!

what productive discontent looks like

{simplyfreshdesigns.com--this may have been in their now-on-hiatus Etsy shop, so I'm using this image purely for graphics, not as a printable. Thanks for respecting others' property.}

We need discontent. And yes, we've talked about this. Yes, we all have seasons of discontent throughout our lives. So what do we do with them? 

We get to work.

Unhappy at your job? Either make your job work, or find a new one. Discontent in your home? Identify the source and find a solution. Stuck in a toxic relationship, romantic or otherwise? Change it. The thing about discontent is that it can suck us in and keep us there if we let it. Yes, discontent has a time and place, but sometimes it will want more than it deserves. And we need to fight it. Work your brain, your body, your spirit. 

Discontent can be a trigger to let you know when something in your life is off-kilter. Last spring, I had a weird month, a really weird month. I felt completely unlike myself, and I eventually hit the point where I told my husband, "I'm not happy, and I don't know why." That was my trigger that said, Something isn't right. So I researched and searched every cranny of my brain to figure out why I felt the way I did, and soon enough I found the problem: hormones. My pharmacy had switched my generic brand of birth control because of an availability issue, and while I was informed of it, I hadn't made much note of it. I felt every light go on in my mind when I discovered the root of my discontent: pesky hormones. I promptly called my doctor and found a pharmacy that could get the brand I was used to. Discontent: taken care of.

Now, not every period of discontent in our lives will be as straightforward as my birth control example. My point, however, is clear: use discontent as the impetus for change. Use it productively, and don't succumb to the doldrums. Get to work. 

***I should note here that mental illness is exempt from this work-solves-all-your-problems mentality. Some brands of discontent are rooted in brain chemistry and should be treated appropriately. Obtaining appropriate treatment from health care professionals is certainly a part of contented living.

This post is part of a 31-day series on contented living. You can find the other posts here.

a heart like the Savior's

The more I study contented living, the more I realize that learning to be content--and discontent--is all part of a grander endeavor to become like Jesus Christ. Much of what a contented heart comes down to is trust in God's plan for our lives.

Living contentedly means knowing that God will guide us and direct us, that even amid the storms in our lives, peace is there if we but seek it. We may not have control over what happens in our lives, but we can control our hearts. We can choose who we become and we can act accordingly. 

Contented living is about choosing and trusting and seeking, moving forward and letting go all at once. And while I can't seem to articulate precisely how that makes our hearts like our Redeemer's, I know that it does. Contented living is in so many ways Christlike living.

This post is part of a 31-day series on contented living. You can find the other posts here.

Helen Keller on contented living

{This image designed by Holly, exclusively for this blog. It's optimized to print as a 4x6}

Perhaps contented living has as much to do with hope as it does about peace. Thoughts?

This post is part of a 31-day series on contented living. You can find the other posts here.

FMF: long

During this series, I'll be participating in Kate Motaung's Five-Minute Fridays. She issues a one-word prompt to inspire five minutes of writing. These short posts may not be anything spectacular, because the purpose is to write and post, without over thinking (or even that much editing). So we'll let this be what it is, and I'll see what I can do about tying in each prompt into my theme of living contentedly.

START.

How easy it is to wish for something different, to yearn for better days. I'll look back on certain periods in my life and marvel at how beautifully simple they were, and sometimes I wish to go back to those days even if just for a little bit. 

Some days I long to be taken care of by someone else, to yield up my boss-of-the-house role for a time. Yesterday was an especially trying day as far as motherhood goes, and I ended up collapsing on the couch feeling both mentally and emotionally battered. It was just so hard. I wanted out.

Yes, I know those moments of wanting out do pass, that ultimately I wouldn't really want to be anywhere else. But sometimes you do. And maybe we would do well to let those moments of discontent ride their course as well as we allow the whole seasons of discontent. I went to sleep last night already feeling exhausted by tomorrow's demands of toddlerhood. But I woke up today, perhaps not feeling as content as I prefer, but feeling better, better enough to face another day. 

Sometimes we long for easier times, for happier and simpler moments. And that's okay, as long as we eventually buckle up and face what's given us.

END.

This post is part of a 31-day series on contented living. You can find the other posts here.

gratitude list 02

:: dark chocolate
:: Diet Dr. Pepper
:: children's Tylenol
:: sunny fall days
:: new jeans
:: a new dessert cookbook
:: phone calls with my Number One (that's my sister Emily, in case you didn't know)
:: my sewing blog

I don't even have the energy to go searching for images for this post, because as the first three items on my gratitude may indicate, it's been a long couple of days over here. You know when you can't make your toddler happy no matter what you try? That's when you really need a gratitude list. And dark chocolate. Obviously.

This post is part of a 31-day series on contented living. You can find the other posts here.

seasons of discontent

Last year when I was talking about gracious living, it seemed like an absolute mentality. Either you were gracious, or you weren't. And even when your life hits a rough patch, you can still always choose to be gracious. Contented living is different. It's foolish to say that we all need to be content all the time. That's not how we're made. Living contentedly is a fluctuating endeavor, one that ebbs and flows just as surely as we breathe in and out.

We will all experience seasons of discontent in our lives, and that's okay. When they happen, we needn't feel the urge to rush through them. The six months leading up to my move to Oregon were intense: my grandmother had died, I'd graduated college, I'd worked a challenging internship, I moved states, I got married, and I had started a new job. Most of these things were actually good things, but all compounded together, they made for a monumental adjustment. Discontent was a natural part of my transition. I see now that I needed it, because if I thought I had to be happy all the time, then I could have seriously hindered my progression.

What are the seasons of discontent in your life? Maybe it was a new job, or leaving an old one. Perhaps you weathered discontent when you had a baby, or maybe when you lost one. You could have moved homes, or maybe you were stuck in a home you'd rather leave. Maybe your marriage went going through a rough patch, or you could have been yearning for companionship that you have yet to find. 

We can't hurry through discontented seasons, because in reality we need them. And sometimes periods in our lives can't be rushed, however much we'd like them to be. Take grieving, for example. When you've lost one you love--a brother, a son, a wife, a mother--the pain is all-consuming. To say that grief is discontented is to put it lightly. But you can't rush it. And just because you're discontent and grieving doesn't mean that something is wrong with you. It means you're human. You're beautifully human, and you live a beautiful life full of things both glorious and heartbreaking. None of us could ever be content if we didn't know how to work through the discontent.

Discontent can change us, and it can change us in good ways. When we find ourselves face to face with a discontented season, don't automatically reject it. Work with it, figure it out, and allow your heart and soul to grow. 

This post is part of a 31-day series on contented living. You can find the other posts here.

barriers to a contented life

What can stop us from living contentedly? Well . . . many things. Maybe most things. Things like

:: marriage
:: singlehood
:: divorce
:: widowhood
:: being a stay-at-home mom
:: being a working mom
:: being an empty nester
:: being a parent, period
:: being unable to have children
:: not having enough money
:: relying on your money for happiness
:: unemployment
:: working a job that drains you, and not in a good way
:: living an unhealthy lifestyle
:: becoming obsessed with a healthy lifestyle
:: not having enough time
:: having too much time

And the list can go on and on and on and on. I've said it before: discontent is easy to find. And conversely, contenting living is simple in theory, but highly disciplined in practice.

So where does this leave us? In the throes of discontent? Maybe. But this awakening also leaves us a reminder of our own power as people who can choose and change. If you want to lead a contented life, start now. Because you can.

This post is part of a 31-day series on contented living. You can find the other posts here.

why "fixing" discontent is actually treating only the symptom

Several years ago I heard anger described as a "secondary emotion." When you're angry, you're actually feeling a primary emotion that's causing your ill temper. That's really stuck with me. Now when I feel angry I try to identify what it is I'm actually upset about: am I disappointed? frustrated? anxious? uncertain? tired? Only once you nail down the real problem can you make any progress in finding resolution.

Discontent is no different. If you're feeling unsettled and unhappy, there's a reason for it. Maybe it's something big like the job you have or discord in a key relationship; or maybe it's something as simple as disappointment at a canceled trip or even out-of-whack hormones. 

The key to understanding discontent is to realize that you actually are in control of how you feel and how you live. Don't drown in discontentment! Find the problem, and fix it! And if you can't fix it, find a way to work with it. The glorious thing about contented living is that it doesn't discriminate--you really can be content in any circumstance. And as I type those words I realize how easy it is to say something like that, and how difficult it is to make that happen.

Yes, sometimes we find ourselves in situations and periods that we can't see a way out of. Sometimes, for a period, discontent is inevitable. Yet, discontent need never defeat us. And that's a topic for a whole different post. So.

In those moments when you're swept over with waves of discontent, stop and listen and seek. Just as your doctor examines your symptoms to find a diagnosis, take stock of your life and find those areas that need fixing, or even removal. Let that discontent alert you to the real issues, because when you can fix the actual problems, contented living is not far behind.

This post is part of a 31-day series on contented living. You can find the other posts here.

"participative assent"

{We can and "ought to be content with the things allotted to us," being circumstantially content but without being self-satisfied and behaviorally content with ourselves. Such contentment is more than shoulder-shrugging passivity. It reflects our participative assent rather than uncaring resignation.}

--Neal A. Maxwell

This is but a small portion of a wonderful talk on contentment. (You can read the full text here. And you should.) Contented living is largely a spiritual endeavor, one that is active and humble and ongoing. When I remember that, my own efforts at cultivating a contented heart are centered and focused, because without the Savior to guide our growth, we can never find the true and ultimate peace that contented living promises.

This post is part of a 31-day series on contented living. You can find the other posts here.

Longfellow on contented living

Sometimes contented living means accepting what you're given, accepting that you can't change all the things. Cultivating a contented heart perhaps means that trusting is the best, surest course.

(And for me, letting it literally rain is the best of all the weather.)

This printable was designed by the lovely Holly and is optimized as a 4x6 print.

This post is part of a 31-day series on contented living. You can find the other posts here.

FMF: care

During this series, I'll be participating in Kate Motaung's Five-Minute Fridays. She issues a one-word prompt to inspire five minutes of writing. These short posts may not be anything spectacular, because the purpose is to write and post, without over thinking (or even that much editing). So we'll let this be what it is, and I'll see what I can do about tying in each prompt into my theme of living contentedly.

START.

When you settle for something, essentially you're choosing apathy. And as we've discussed earlier this week, contented living is not settling. Contented living is not apathetic. In fact, living contentedly requires you to care immensely about your life, your choices, and your mentality. 

Contented living requires us to care so much that sometimes it could seem overwhelming. We have to care enough to choose different thoughts and different actions. We have to care enough to approach our entire lives differently. We have to care enough to find that balance of acceptance and action.

Today I care about how my emotions affect my family, about how my contentedness impacts those around me. I care about emotional accountability, and I care about my attitude. I care about my blessings and my trials. Every moment of contented living is a moment of caring.

END.

This post is part of a 31-day series on contented living. You can find the other posts here.

when you wreck the car

First off, I had a car post in last year's 31-day series, so if car problems are going to be a thing for me with this challenge, then I will never write for 31-days ever again in my life. You understand.

So, I wrecked the car--six weeks ago. We just barely picked it up from the auto body shop last night. It was a nasty wreck involving my car, a big truck, a blind curve, a city fence, and an RV parked in the backyard behind said fence. Miraculously, no one was hurt. (I am still thanking God for that.)

But these past six weeks managing the fallout have been difficult for all the inconveniences. We moved our damn car seat no fewer than five times into as many vehicles; drove an insurance-paid rental car for 30 days; borrowed another car at the grace of friends; talked on the phone countless times with Vicki the insurance case worker and Mike the auto body technician; waited for a cumulative three weeks for insurance approval; and paid a pesky traffic ticket. Good hell.

In moments when the weight of life pressed down, my frustration with this situation easily gave way to discontent. I'd cry, "I just want my car back!" I'd think, "If only I'd come to a full stop." I'd find more things in my life to be unhappy about: a headache, the laundry, a meeting, another insurance call, the weather. Because the thing about discontent is that it replicates quickly. Dealing with the aftermath of our car accident made discontent easy and even desirable. Because if I give up my emotional accountability then I can make myself a victim instead of one who acts.

I'll be honest: discontent is easiest. It's easy to find the bad and amplify it. Seeking good and striving for that balance of contented living takes mental and emotional work. It takes slogging through car repairs and phone calls and switching out that car seat one more time and still choosing to say, I'm glad it's not worse. Thank you, Heavenly Father, for protecting our family. This trial will end.

Things will settle down a bit, now that this car thing is behind us. Pretty soon I'm sure I'll hardly think about these six weeks when I didn't have my car and had to rely on the graciousness and mercy of others. My mentality, though, I hope will stick with me. Contented living takes practice, and if we can seek contentedness in those moments when discontent is calling us, we will come out stronger and more peaceful.

I hope you don't think I succeeded in living contentedly that whole time, because I didn't. I had to emotionally reset more times than I can count, and I had to battle guilt and shock and frustration almost daily. But I didn't give in to discontent. I fought it, even when it threatened to consume me. And while I may not have been completely content during this trial of mine, I tried not to forget that God always promises eventual peace and wholeness.

This post is part of a 31-day series on contented living. You can find the other posts here.

gratitude list 01

{this t-shirt choice was entirely incidental, I swear}

:: my new(ish) glasses that make me not hate wearing glasses
:: Asher's Brio train set
:: streaming television

:: new sewing patterns
:: my crew of Oregon friends
:: chocolate chip cookies
:: FaceTime with my parents and siblings

{via}

:: library books
:: Asher running down the hall stark naked pretending to be an airplane
:: that cool breeze coming in through the window

What are you thankful for today?

This post is part of a 31-day series on contented living. You can find the other posts here.

"the beginning of greatness"

Sure, talking about contented living is easy enough. How hard is it to discuss the ideal of living a full and satisfied life? It's what we all want, at some level. We were divinely designed to seek peace, seek contentment. 

Where do we start, though? My grandma had many aphorisms by the end of her life. She was not hesitant to share her life's wisdom, and I was eager to listen. One of my favorites is this: "It is impossible to be grateful and unhappy at the same time." Don't believe her? Just try it. Spend five minutes making a gratitude list and tell me how you feel afterward. 

Gratitude is the root of so much goodness, including contentment. Gratitude is powerful, much more so than we realize. Several years ago, one of my church leaders (now passed) said the following regarding gratitude and its potential:

A grateful heart is a beginning of greatness. It is an expression of humility. It is a foundation for the development of such virtues as prayer, faith, courage, contentment, happiness, love, and well-being.--James E. Faust, "Gratitude as a Saving Principle"

 If you're floundering and wondering where to begin finding your balance within contented living, start with cultivating gratitude. When your soul is grateful, your life is primed for contentment.

This post is part of a 31-day series on contented living. You can find the other posts here.

balancing contented living

Somewhere along the line I heard someone talk about content just being a nicer way to say settle. I disagree with that.

A line exists between contented living and settling, albeit a fine one. Yes, those who are content are happy with their current lot. But contented people also aren't doormats. They are ambitious, yet accepting. They're easily pleased, yet not gullible. 

Contented living isn't about denying yourself the best of what your life can offer; rather, living a contented life means that you know when to move and when to be still. Contented living asks you to know what you're choosing and also what you're not choosing. It's knowing what you can change, and coming to terms with what is beyond your control. 

Living the content life is a balancing act of the mind, one that you consistently need to be working on; otherwise, you'll lose your way.

So, no. Contented living is not just another way to say that you settled. Settling is perhaps even a cause for discontent. The line is fine enough for me to have a difficult time finding the right words to describe it. If you live a content life, then you have decided to take control of your mind and your choices. Far more than what your exterior may indicate, contented living starts with your thoughts and then projects outward. So let's start there, in your mind. Let's start now. 

This post is part of a 31-day series on contented living. You can find the other posts here.

fallen men {and women}

{Adam fell that men might be, and men are that they might have joy}

2 Nephi 2:25

Yes, this world in an imperfect one filled to the brim with imperfect people. And yet God still designed us to seek and occasionally find contentment.

This post is part of a 31-day series on contented living. You can find the other posts here.

Tolstoy on contented living

Before we talk about anything today, I need to tell you about this image. I collaborated with my friend Holly on this, and she's agreed to design a set of printables for this series. She's blogging her own 31-day series on girl power, and she's really just wonderful. Do yourself a favor, and follow her series. And then come back here and download this lovely number. It's optimized to print at 4x6.

Do you agree with my pal Tolstoy? In my faith culture, perfection is something spoken of frequently, and it can be easy to fall prey to discouragement. But if we gave up striving to be better, where would we be? Once again we come back to the depths of the word content. Perhaps we need to be happy with what God gives us, and still keep a mind and heart open to progression. Perhaps contented living is grace for the imperfect, reassurance that yes, an imperfect life can be a lovely one--and I have a feeling that God always intended for us to find peace and yes, contentment, within our imperfections.

This post is part of a 31-day series on contented living. You can find the other posts here.

FMF: new

During this series, I'll be participating in Kate Motaung's Five-Minute Fridays. She issues a one-word prompt to inspire five minutes of writing. These short posts may not be anything spectacular, because the purpose is to write and post, without overthinking (or even that much editing). So we'll let this be what it is, and I'll see what I can do about tying in each prompt into my theme of living contentedly.

START. 

Contented living is in some ways the opposite of new. Temporally, perhaps contented living is enjoying what you have, without seeking more or bigger or better or, well, new.

But then again--and I'll stress this repeatedly throughout this month--choosing to be content is not settling. It is not passive acceptance of the status quo. And that, dear friends, may be very new to you. Contented living may be a new way to think about our minutes, hours, and days. It may be a new way to slow down and think and savor and live.

Just as the world glorifies being busy, maybe it also praises certain forms of discontent. (And later on this month I do plan on examining what productive discontent looks like, because discontent itself isn't inherently bad.) How many acquaintances and friends do we talk to who say outright, "Yes, I'm happy with where I am right here and right now. Right now things are good." Not too many. We say things like, "It's good, but."

That mentality is not new--it's everywhere. So today, in the spirit of contented living, let's revolutionize our spheres of influence and give ourselves--and those around us--the permission to simply be content, if only a little while.

END.

This post is part of a 31-day series on contented living. You can find the other posts here.

the flip side

Before we move any further in this series, we need to define what contentedness isn't: discontent. And I have a feeling that discontent will play a large role in our exploration of contented living. If we are ever to live a contented life, we must understand the alternative. The more I try to define content the more I find myself trying to nail down discontent; one is essential to the other.

So if contented means happy and satisfied, discontent must mean unhappy and dissatisfied. When I think about what it feels like to be discontent, I feel unsettled and out of place.

All of us have had periods of discontent in our lives. Perhaps some of those stints are unavoidable (an idea I plan to examine later in the month), and likely some of that discontent is ultimately needless. Discussing discontent in the wake of content may make us feel uncomfortable sometimes, because really what we're doing is inspecting our own souls for vulnerability. And that's never easy.

I'm sure if given a few moments, every one of us can identify at least one person we know who is discontent. So what characterizes discontent, anyway? The discontented people I know feel powerless to some extent, resentful to another. They think that one-upping those around them will compensate for their self-perceived shortcomings, and they fall victim to comparison.

So what does this mean about the one who lives a contented life?

This post is part of a 31-day series on contented living. You can find the other posts here.

contentment, a definition

So, you convinced me. I'm going to write for 31 days straight--again. For those of you not here last year, 31-days is a challenge started by Myquillyn Smith (aka The Nester) to write on one topic for 31 consecutive days. (You can find more on the challenge, as well as hundreds of other participating bloggers here.) Last year I wrote about gracious living, and you can find the index to those posts here. A few weeks ago I opened up my thoughts to this space, asking if I should write at all and what I could possibly write about. I thought I'd be mulling on potential topic ideas for several more days, but later that night it hit me just as clearly as gracious living did a year ago.

{contentment}

It's such a lovely word, isn't it? Contentment. It's a word that makes you feel what it means. But what does it mean, exactly? Naturally I turn to my trusty pal, the MW: "pleased and satisfied, not needing more." Isn't that wonderful? I want to live a contented life, and so that's what we're going to explore every single day this month. 

I feel so right about this topic and am so eager to dig into the meat of contented living with you. I have a couple of new ideas for this series, one of which involves a collaboration with my friend and blogger Holly, who is also writing her own 31-day series. I hope you enjoy the month on this space as much as I plan to!

This post is part of a 31-day series on contented living. You can find the other posts here.