Grateful Hearts in Business: Laura Duggleby Photography: Northwest Indiana

Revelation for Business:

So, something came to me this morning and it hit so strongly that I felt I had to do something with it, to create something from it and to invite others in.  So, here is a bit of revelation for you.  Do you ever get stuck feeling like you are never where your hopes and dreams are for your business?  Like you are always behind, always failing, never measuring up?  I know I can be super successful with some bits and pieces of my business and yet feel as if I am failing all at the same time, because I always want more for myself.  There is a piece of this driven heart and driven spirit that I believe is good, as it continues to drive me forward in achieving new things, however, it is also incredibly detrimental to my mental health and well-being, never being good enough for myself.  It all came to me this morning as I read through Psalm 78.  

 

Psalm 78: God Never Being Enough for You: 

Vs. 15-16" He split the rocks in the dessert and gave them water as abundant as the seas; he brought streams out of a rocky crag and made water flow down like the rivers" 

vs. 17-18 "But they continued to sin against him, rebelling in the dessert against the Most High.  They willfully put God to the test, by demanding the food they craved". 

vs. 20 "When he struck the rock, water gushed out, and streams flowed abundantly.  But can he also give us food?  Can he supply meat for his people?

This entire chapter really hit home for me today.  How many times has God supplied exactly what I needed for the day, and yet I continue to whine, complain and look down on my circumstances, because I am not getting the food that I am craving, I am not accomplishing the dreams I have for the future right now?  God is good and gracious, and yet how many times do I essentially tell God that He is not good enough for me, that He is not providing me with enough or helping me in the ways I want Him to, like a genie in a bottle?  I am so guilty of this, and as a result, my business suffers because I continually look at the negative aspects or the what-ifs instead of the thank you and have happened for today.  Are you ever with me in this?  Anyone else have water gushing out before them, and yet continually seem to focus on the cravings they are lacking?  What is it with our culture today that we are so caught up in the future and dreams that we forget to be grateful in the here and the now?  Don't get me wrong, dreams are amazing and essential.  They are needed in business and life in general, but they should not suck the joy out of the present and blind us from the incredible moments happening daily.  

From Inadequate to Grateful: 

So, what I have decided, an action step I am going to begin taking is to begin to write down my successes in my business each day.  To praise the little things, to be grateful for each step along the way.  For that is truly important in and of itself, is it not?  Being grateful in the small things allows us to remain humble in the big things.  And as I hope that my dreams are fully accomplished and then some, it would all truly be a failure if I get there and yet have an ungrateful, prideful heart once I am there.  That is not the life I am wishing to live.  I must correct my attitude, my way of thinking now, while I am small in order to have any hope of maintaining joy as I grow.  

#GratefulHeartInBus

So, practically how am I going to accomplish this?  I have decided that I am simply going to start a hashtag #gratefulheartinbus .  This will be a place that I am committing to posting to once a week in order to keep me accountable to remaining grateful in the small things and acknowledging the small accomplishments as well as the large.   I would love for you to take part if you would like as to create a community of fellow business entrepreneurs all rejoicing and remaining grateful in the platforms we have been placed in.  You can be a photographer, a designer, a florist, a massage therapist, a personal trainer.  You name it.  Let's create a space to be encouraged by one another and continually able to see the small gains of each other and rejoice and uplift each other.  

Changed Minds Change Character

I truly believe that as we change our mindsets, our character changes as well.  The outpouring of our hearts change and we can truly be able to live within the hope and freedom we were created for.  I don't want to be stuck in the bondage of failure any longer.  We each have a very specific and unique purpose, and there is enough business in the world for everyone, so let's strive to walk away from comparison and negative self talk about our own businesses and walk in the freedom to hope and dream, being grateful for one small task at a time, one person at a time, one gift at a time.  I truly believe that as we take that next right step, like I talked about in my last post that we will be on our way to greatness.  It may look like a lot of tiny failures even, but I know that as we look back we will see the mountains we have climbed.  Cheering you guys on!! Cannot wait to see your successes tiny and small alike as well! 

To read more about just doing the next best thing, check out my previous post: When you Feel Like you Don't Know the Way

And, don't forget to start tagging some images #GratefulHeartInBus to share some of your successes each week!!  (Or more! ;) Post as often as you would like!) 

~Let's do this together friends, 

     Laura 

When You Feel Like you Don't Know the Way: Family Lifestyle Photographer: Northwest Indiana

When you feel like you don't know the way, 

It will be ok.  

When you feel like you aren't sure what your next turn will be, 

Where the next idea will come from, 

When the next big break will come, 

It will be ok. 

When you feel like the roads ahead are filled with traffic jams and detours, 

Roadblocks and red lights, 

It will be ok. 

What I have learned in my journey is to just do the next best thing, 

Trust your gut, 

Trust curiosity, it can be your friend. 

Don't be afraid of failure in the worlds eyes, for failure is never as it seems, 

A lesson is always learned throughout and insight gained. 

Failure grants wisdom, and as we continue to do the next best thing, 

Eventually we will look back and realize greatness has ensued.  

We are living the good life. 

Still with the valleys of course, but many more hills than valleys. 

So, do the next best thing my friends. 

Trust your gut, forget what the world it telling you, 

You do not have to have your life planned out, 

In fact, I think its better that you don't. 

Oh how many wild and crazy adventures you may miss out on because of a plan. 

Be daring, be humble.  

Do the next best thing.  

Warmly, 

Laura 

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Shiloh Hope Turns 3

Psalm 62: 1 

"My soul finds rest in God alone, my salvation comes from Him.  He alone is my rock and my salvation;  He is my fortress, I will not be shaken." 

I remember quoting this verse many times to myself throughout my pregnancy with Shiloh.  For you see, she was our rainbow baby, our child following our miscarriage, and I was constantly overwhelmed with fear.  Then, the Lord blessed us with her.  She came with extreme collic, jaundice, and eczema, but she also has provided a joy and love I did not know I could ever posses.  Something far greater than myself, for the gift of childbirth and parenting is a miracle that some days I cannot believe I am still living.  

Now here we are, 3 years later, I cannot believe how quickly the time has passed.  Many days, most days, have felt slow, inching by minute by minute through the screams, tantrums, fighting, surgeries, strong willed defiant toddler meltdowns.  And lately I have felt my heart racing, anxiety inching forwards, and my need to run to this verse once again. 

"My soul finds rest in God alone, my salvation comes from Him.  He alone is my rock and my salvation;  He is my fortress, I will not be shaken."  

But this time, it is out of a different fear.  This time I find myself fearful of the transition of my baby girl into now a full fledged toddler, becoming more and more independent by the minute.  I feel my anxiety rise that I am not doing it right as a parent, that her baby days are over and she is paying more attention to me and my actions now than ever before.  Am I modeling well for her?  Am I being the parent she needs to be?  It all feels heavy, the mourning of her awakening into a little independent human, mixed with my fear of not being the perfect parent.  I don't want to let her go, yet I do all in one.  So I repeat it to myself again.  

"My soul finds rest in God alone, my salvation comes from Him.  He alone is my rock and my salvation;  He is my fortress, I will not be shaken." 

The truth starts to sink in, the same truth I was reminded of before Shiloh was born.  Although she is an amazing blessing placed into my hands, she is not mine.  Let me repeat that, she is not mine.  She is the Lord's.  I have the time I have with her now, and for as long as I am gifted with that time.  I am to love, affirm, guide, teach, discipline, correct, give grace, show sacrifice and servanthood.  However, she is not mine to keep.  She is the Lord's.  Ultimately, I cannot control her or many things that will happen to her.  I can do my best to guide her well and protect her where I can, to keep her from as much harm as possible and to keep her in the best health as I can surrounded by as much love as I have to give.  However, the rest is in the Lord's hands.  The rest is in her hands.  She is not mine.  And that brings freedom for me.  I am so tempted to try and control the future, to place my pieces where I feel they should lie and then make them come true. But life is life.  I am not in control.  

"My soul finds rest in God alone, my salvation comes from Him.  He alone is my rock and my salvation;  He is my fortress, I will not be shaken."

And when I can take this verse to heart and rest within the Lord, when I can find my salvation in Him and stop seeking approval from other moms or from my daughter, or from my photography, then I can truly rest content and I am able to better serve the other moms around me, I am able to be a better mom to my children without the constant need for striving, I can be a better photographer without the constant need for comparison and seeing if I measure up.  I am simply resting in the Lord, allowing Him to be my strength, my rock on my weak days, my fortress where I too can be protected, have shelter and protection.  For where we feel safe, we are secure to be our true and most genuine selves.  And that is what I wish most for Shiloh.  That she might rest secure in who she is and the amazing, amazing talents she is gifted with so that she might use them to shine light to this world.  May we all remember these beautiful gifts we each have, rest in them, and use them!  

My 365 Project for Shiloh. ;) 

If you made it through these, you are amazing. :)  Embrace all the moments you have with your own little ones!!  It truly is a gift. 

~Laura

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