mug-o-pie and a giveaway and thoughts on abundance

I am so excited to see A Homemade Year and my mug-o-pie being shared over at Heather Hamilton's Life Made Lovely blog ! Heather REALLY knows how to make my Wednesday as happy as a bunch of daisies.Hop on over to Life Made Lovely to see what Heather liked best about AHY and to enter to win a copy for yourself (or to give away as gift!) 

I took most of the summer off from book promotions and speaking, but this fall things will rev back up it. You can check out my events page to see if I will be visiting/speaking near you. Also, there is info there on how to contact me if you are interested in having me come speak or lead a workshop at your church or group.
I feel like I learned so much back in the Spring about what works best for our family and where my strengths lie in regards to speaking/sharing/appearances etc. In the beginning I said yes to everything no matter what it was because that's what you do when you have a new book right?  But as it turns out, not every idea is a good one. Or at least not a good fit for me and for us.
I have learned that what works best is when I get to speak about A Homemade Year and topics I am passionate about. Doing craft and cooking demo's or book signings without getting to share about my faith, my heart, and the questions I live in, just feels time-consuming and instead of life-giving.
Also, I have had to put a price tag on leaving my house and my family. I have had to really evaluate the trade-offs. Family comes first. Sanity and health come first. If I am going to tax those gifts and resources then there has to be a return, somewhere in the mix, to help balance out the weight of carrying an extra load of work and time away.
I am learning (again and again) that I am a finite being and that I cannot run myself into the ground, no matter how tempting the opportunities look.
I am learning the spiritual practice of living from a place of abundance (that I am enough, that what I have is enough, that what I have is worth caring for) instead of a place of scarcity (I need MORE MORE MORE of whatever-fill in the blank- to be whole.) Practicing this way of life means I can say "no" without fear. Fear that I am not enough unless I prove it. The fear that if I am not as busy or as popular or as successful as _______  then I must be failing. The fear that somehow I am missing "it" by not doing more, being more, chasing more.
Instead I am choosing to plant my feet and heart deep where I am at. To stop chasing so much and to start noticing what is in front of me instead.

cheers and blessings friends!
J