All Things Bright & Beautiful

– Timothy Keller

His name is MALIK COSEY. 

1. Set yourself some daily goals. Keep them realistic and achievable. That will give direction – so you don’t fritter your time.

2. Read inspirational books and blogs; hang around people who are positive.

3. Stay in touch with what’s happening in the world. We’re not just islands – we are part of one another.

4. Make the effort to stay in touch. Just a “like” on facebook, or a brief text message, conveys to that person that they matter to you.

5. Invest some time in your appearance and health. We’re more confident when we look and feel our best.

6. Pay attention to your priorities. Do what’s most important, and not most urgent, first. (Note: If you never learn to prioritise then everything seems urgent – and that’s what runs your life!)

7. Smile. It makes people feel more positive towards you – and it tends to lift our mood, and enhance our feelings, too.

8. Tidy as you go. It’s easier to work, and you’ll feel a lot less stressed, if you’re working somewhere that’s devoid of clutter. Also, if you tidy as you go then it feels less overwhelming.

9. Include some margin in your life so you don’t feel so stressed, as unexpected things always eat away our time. Expect that to happen – and leave some extra time.

slow and steady.

we’ve been together for seven years, married for two and a half. we’ve had ups and downs, we’ve had times where we feel super close and in love and so on our marriage game, and we’ve had times where we feel distant and so tired of fighting.

we’ve learned that we need to make space for each other to thrive. we need to continue making goals, personally and in our marriage. we’ve got to make our own sacrifices, to help each other with those goals. always working towards something, always moving forward.

we’ve learned that it’s ok to have bad days, it’s ok if every day isn’t a fairy tale, it’s ok to be boring married people. it’s ok to stay home and eat pizza and drink beer and do laundry together and watch Friends on Netflix for two hours before falling asleep. it’s ok to skip the party and use the kid as an excuse. it’s ok if everyday isn’t exciting, because life is hard work and marriage is hard work and parenting is hard work. real life can be mundane and boring and super lame sometimes.

but our love is never mundane, it moves slow and steady and strong. I choose him everyday, and he chooses me. there is always a basic understanding that, no matter how hard it gets, no matter how big the fight, no matter how helpless the situation, we are on the same team and we will work everything out, together, eventually.