Ok, friends. Here’s the deal. We are in a weird season. One filled with a lot of uncertainty, doubt, anxiety, heartbreak… a lot of real, hard stuff.
I had a moment yesterday, well really I had a whole day yesterday, where I let myself wallow in that. It was kinda pitiful, but I just needed to be sad. But like He always does, the Lord met me right where I was, in the midst of that sadness, and laid this well-known verse on my heart:
“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”
Lamentations 3:22-23
In that moment, right the middle of my sadness, I knew a new morning was coming. And I was reminded of something: my sadness, anxiety and funk would come to an end, but the Lord’s faithfulness, mercy, presence and love in my life never will.
Dang. Why do I let myself worry again?
So this morning, I got up and decided to rewire my brain a bit. Instead of letting myself dwell on the anxious thoughts in my head, I decided to create a bucket list in an effort to focus on making the most out of this time! Because when I look back on this season, I don’t want to look back to see that I worried it all away.
What I do want to look back and see? That I was present in both the joys and the hardships, that I looked for (and saw) the ways the Lord showed up, and that I lived each day with a grateful heart. When I look back on this time, I want to be able to count just as many blessings as trials. And a large part of that is up to me!
So today, I want to share a bucket list I’ve created to keep me hunting for joy and living in gratitude. To be honest, it’s a bunch of silly things and many of them I should have already been doing! But I’m excited for a chance to really make them happen now that things have slowed down.
As I knock them off, I’ll keep you updated. And as I add more to my list, I’ll let you know! I hope you’ll do the same, and together all find ways to make the most out of this season.
my social distancing bucket list
Take a long bath with a light candle, a glass of wine, and Enya playing. (Judge all you want.)
Make my mom’s unbelievable homemade apple pie for the first time.
Unpack and organize Andrew’s study.
Complete my first needlepoint project. (I got my canvas in last night and have already started!)
Paint my front door.
Respond to 20 DMs a day.
Finally put some flowers in my pots.
Spring clean our closet and donate/sell unwanted items.
Give Flynn a hair cut.
Memorize one verse a week.
Clean out my car.
Change the lightbulbs in my house.
Research waxing my own eyebrows. (HA! But seriously….)
Get photos off of my phone and into physical photo albums.
Dress up one night a week.
Start and finish a new lighthearted book. (Recommendations welcome!)
Do a facemask with Andrew.
Update the @myfriendflynn Instagram page.
Give myself a hair trim.
Take a yoga class on my back porch.
Create an interior inspiration board for my office.
Clean out and organize the laundry room.
Try one new Peloton instructor a week.
Make a fancy cocktail.
My goal is to document each one on Instagram Stories so you can see me check off the list! Perhaps I’ll even turn some of them (like my mom’s unbelievable apple pie recipe) into full blog posts. I’m getting excited just thinking about it! :)
Now, it’s your turn! Let me know what’s on your list, and let’s keep each other accountable while making the most out of this season! If you’d like, feel free to save this photo to your phone, upload to your IG Stories and fill it in! (Tag me, I’d love to see it!)
Love from the Sunshine State,
Kate
P.S. If you have any ideas for cuter names to call this bucket list (social distancing bucket list doesn’t have the smoothest ring to it) let me know!
Don’t forget to serve. Maybe reach out and connect with your older relatives who may be feeling some anxiety. Don’t text, make the phone call.
Lonestar, yoga violates the First Commandment, the poses are salutations to Hindu gods. You need to keep your gateways closed to those spiritual forces. Yoga opens them up, invites them in and is very detrimental to Christians. Trust me on this one. I used to do Hatha yoga. It’s actually a practice that yokes Hindus with their “gods”. The goal of Hatha yoga is to awaken the “kundalini shatki”, which means the Serpent Power. There is no “safe” yoga, no such thing as “Christian yoga”. You’re welcome to delete my comment but this is something all Christians need to understand. This is a time for all of us to allow Jesus to purify everything in our lives. You could do pilates instead, but not while listening to any kind of New Age music. Do pilates to chanted Psalms.
That is one of the most absurd statements I’ve ever seen.
Yep I’m with you. There’s specifically branded Holy Yoga but uhhh yeah this person can keep their “unique” thoughts to themselves.
Liz is right. A Christian missionary in Thailand saw it being done in Hindu temples and told our group about it. I took note for sure
Love love love this post. I’ve been working on postponing my wedding and have been guilty of throwing the world’s biggest pity party this past week, but I love your thoughts on making the most of this unusual time. Even if has to be something a little bigger than reading a new book or cleaning a closet to make up for the setback, this made me realize that I don’t want to look back on this as a time I wasted worrying and feeling sorry for myself, but as a time I took advantage of in any way I could, so thank you for that!!
Love this! I absolutely love cooking and baking and I cook dinner almost every night (we ate out once a week, before the coronavirus). I want to experiment with more recipes, I’d love to try and make homemade bread and pasta! Thanks for sharing 😊
I love, love, LOVE this! And it’s so timely! I started thinking about this today, too. I’m a teacher and our schools were shut down on March 13, almost without any warning. And now we don’t go back until April 13 – if at all! So even though I’m teaching my sweet fourth graders virtually, it just isn’t the same and I find myself in despair multiple times a day. I’m not sure what I’m going to put on my “social distancing bucket list” but this has given me the inspiration to journal about it before I go to bed! Thanks for making content that is relevant but uplifting. I think it’s EXACTLY what we need right now.
I just unsubscribed to this website due to your remarks against me. Whether you realize it or not, all yoga is Hindu spiritual practice. If a Christian does yoga they violate the First Commandment. It’s grave sin. Peace.
Hi Liza,
Just so you know, those remarks were not posted by me (Kate, the author of LonestarSouthern.com). I respect all opinions conveyed kindly and respectfully, including ones I don’t necessarily agree with, and apologize that your comment received negative backlash. Thank you for sharing your perspective with me.
These items all sound so fun and satisfying, but please reflect on how you can think about others beyond yourself on this bucket list—maybe you can add giving blood, taking some pantry staples to your local food bank, donating to a local fund providing relief to service workers, sending thank you notes to ICU nurses, amplifying and supporting some of your favorite small businesses, and giving your delivery food driver a 100% tip. This is the time to embrace our communities even as we distance ourselves from them!
Hi Kate,
I love these ideas! You’re so right. Thank you for sharing them with us!
Kate,
Thank you for being honest on your site. Thank you also being a light of Christ. I know you are influencing many women and I am so thankful that you are not ashamed of the gospel, but speak of it with gracious boldness.
Thanks for that, Kate. I understand. Perhaps I’m a little too direct sometimes, but I just thought it was important to share that information. Keep the Faith during these trying times. Peace in Christ Jesus.
I have been loving the Libby app! Checkout audiobooks through your local library! It has definitely helped to keep my mind off the negative/scary/unpleasant things surrounding us these days! Just finished listening to “The Proposal” by Jasmine Guillory. SUCH a fun read/listen!
Love your idea & writing- great way to phrase it 💕 and yes- I had some ideas but now I’ll write them down 😂 thank you!
This is great & such a nice way to see the positive in the situation!
Hi Kate!
Would you mind posting where you got your needlepoint canvas from? I opened it last night, but forgot to fully open the link in Safari.
Thank you so much!
Lauren
I’ve been on a serious reading kick lately, some of my favorite recent reads are Playing with Matches and Love at First Like by Hannah Orenstein. Both fun and easy reads!
This is great, Kate! Thank you for being authentically you! I love reading your posts, and I feel super inspired by them. Gonna enjoy making my own bucket list today. I think I’ll add to mine writing postcards to friends and loved ones who I can’t see during this time of isolation!
I just finished As Old As Time by Liz Braswell. If you like Disney and mysteries it’s a good read! (I actually listened on Audible!)
Who are your fav peloton instructors? I just down loaded the app!