So..we’re back. Back from the Bahamas training Camp. Back to everyday work. Back to rollin’ balls (aka Healthy bites), back to teaching classes, back to regular blogging (maybe), maybe to training sessions, back to Austin, back to LOADS AND LOADS of Laundry.
Feels good but feels sad to leave such a simple place.
You see, we’re simple folk. Don’t have a ton of money, don’t need much either.
Living without a real kitchen, internet, and even sometimes power while on the island made us appreciate the little blessings even more. The ocean, the time alone without phones, computers, etc.
I think that’s where God wants. I think that’s why HE has us coming and going in life so much.
To remember to simplify and appreciate.
To remember to follow God’s footsteps.
To remember to be transparent with each other and maybe even let others see our transparency. For encouragement, for support, for strength.
To remember that un-routine can feel so right.
To remember that we work together towards one goal in life. We’re a team.
To remember that fear can drive us, but it can’t own us. Let GO and Let GOD.
To remember that now is the time. Now is the time to seize each and every opportunity that God hands our way.
To remember to pray every day, every free moment.
To trust.
Our life together, it’s sporadic. We’re working towards several goals, several passions. But the one thing that keeps us grounded is God.
SO here’s to a Faithful Friday! Faith that can move mountains… or in our case, islands. 
What are you “faithing” in this Friday?
Cheers,
LC
Do you know how beautiful your words are? Seriously, do you?
I love coming here and reading such a clear, level, faithful perspective. Makes me happy. <3 Makes me love having you as someone in my life. <3
oh that’s how i feel about you friend. such a blessing!!!
I love this!! Thank you for letting me be transparent with you! You and James are such great examples of allowing God to lead your lives! I’m so thankful for you! xoxo
Aw, I’m glad you’re back home now!! God is good at shaking our lives up and has such a special way of making up appreciate the little things 🙂
yes yes yes, and we need to just let HIM do HIS thang!
Life is worth being simple when you’ve got views of clear water and bright blue skies! And you get to go back in a month? Lucky you! Anyway… I think getaways like that are really important to sort of bring us back down, you know? Get away from the everyday ‘stresses’ and realize that we’re so lucky for what we do have.
I so agree!!! Do you escape life and to the beach in FL? Hope so.
you guys are SO adorable in that picture together at the end 🙂 i’ve never been to a tropical island – like ever – haha but i can’t WAIT to go there someday and just take a break from it all! xoxo
Oh Juls! You need to come with us. Want to meet some island men?
Fabulous post! Whenever we get back from holidays we miss the simplicity, especially when it’s an island holiday.
Hope you managed to find some relaxation time this weekend!
Maybe we need a a once a month week long holiday to remedy this. Lol
Beautiful!! I’ve been stressing about the most stupid things lately – I needed to read this post today. You are right. It’s about the simple things – there are so many superficial things that I tend to let worry me. I need to let go and be thankful for what I do have =)
Welcome home…Hope you guys were able to slowly fall back into the routine of things here =)
And you and hubs are absolutely stunning.
I know. It’s so easy to sweat the small stuff. And that’s all it is. Small stuff. Hugs!!
Love that phrase and it’s the truth! Beautiful pictures and beautiful picture of you two!!! Welcome back, not so welcome laundry piles [aka the worst part of traveling] 😛
Well laundry is still waiting to be done. Lol. Oh well
Love it! Un routine is awesome! Hope you settle back in again easily! 🙂
its true, right? unroutine is sometimes the best connection for our souls.
AHHHH I LOVE YOU SO MUCH LINDSAY COTTER!!!!!!!!!!!! LOVE LOVE LOVE UUUUU! Can I please meet you some day? please please please
I have seriously read NO blogs this week and I feel GOOD reading yours. I have eliminated the ones that make me feel not-so-good, but I NEED YOURS.
Thank you for being YOU
did you know i love you so much?! yep, i do!! And yes, lets meet!
Once again, so inspiring! So many people focus so much on what they want that they forget to be thankful for what they have. I’m glad you have your head on straight. 🙂
amen, we all are over blessed, we just need to stop and look around, yes?
I want to ‘pin’ this ENTIRE post. Every last word of it. I LOVE the concept of letting go and letting God take the wheel – remembering to not allow fear to drive us but to live a fearless yet faithful life, always. Simplicity is SO good for the soul my friend, THANK you for this message, thank you thank you thank you. xo!
yes!! i think thats why you and scott have grown closer in this marathon. Its one task, one effort, and it’s faith in each other! i love you two!
Just have to say that I love this post. I didn’t know that “do not be afraid” is in the Bible 365 times. Very cool.
i know, that was amazing to see! such freedom!
Fantastic post. I love this so much.
I notice now at family events everyone has their cell phone in their hands or pockets…even at the dinner table! It’s bananas if you ask me. And then when you travel to these amazing countries no one gives a hoot if they miss a phone call or forget to “like” an Instagram picture. What. the. heck. is all I have to say. Things need to change!
So happy you two had an amazing time. Have a great weekend! xx
oh my gosh yes! that’s why i loved living in new zealand. NO phones, everyone walked or road a bike, and no one was on their phone. they were talking to people IRL> ahh i miss it.
Simplicity is definitely a theme for me right now… Of course, I some “things” to figure out, like how I’m getting my “stuff” across the country, but I desire to keep things super simple and not acquire stuff or more things/habits that cost money. It’s easier in Cali (btw, training camp in Santa Monica sounds like it should be your next trip!)… clothes are simple, food is simple (by choice…it certainly can be complicated and expensive here too!), the beach is simple…
I’m not putting a lot of pressure on myself, and just enjoying the simplicity—how refreshing!
i think the beach makes everything more simple. just being there relaxes me. Enjoy your transition friend, simplicty!
Wonderful words my friend : )
I’m glad you were able to have a little escape from the demands of our 100 mile an hour society. We had access to technology when we went camping this year and last year we didn’t. I would have to say it was far more relaxing when we didn’t have any distractions. Life can be very overwhelming sometimes but thankfully God is our calm in this storm called life.
Thanks for sharing!
Nicole
i agree. no technology allowed so be a rule of thumb on trips. We need to focus on the connections around us!
p.s.
Yes, God calms every storm. Such a rock!
Simple is often best. It’s so hard to unplug but I’m always happy when I do!
i often think about how i got so plugged in in the first place, ya know?
Aaahh, the happy times just go over too fast! But I’m happy you take so much from the island back into your regular life! Do you have plans to return to the Bahamas?
i hope we get to go back for more work. it would be wonderful. I could live there. hehe
Love this. I’m faithing in the belief that someone else knows what’s “going on” better than I do… And working on being okay with that!
yes, more than okay!
Such wise and sweet words. You are so blessed to share this journey with your husband and he with you. I just love your love for each other and for Him. Beautiful!
well that means a lot. Because I adore you, and your love for your husband and family. It’s a blessing to get to witness. <3
What a great reminder after a long day. Just looking at those pictures alone…the beauty of God’s artistry gets me EVERY time! Good to see you again and happy Friday and weekend. 😉
oh good to see you too friend. Sending you lots of love this weekend! happy unpacking!
Your posts always put my into deeper thoughts about things, and I love it!
This was a great post, I enjoy reading all of yours. I love how you talk about your simple life, it makes me appreciate the fact that life is beautiful when its simple. We don’t need extravagant things to make us happy. That is a false state of “happiness” and isn’t real.
And I love the last picture of the two of you:)
yes, it isn’t real. we seem to put happiness on a pedestal. It’s not, its what’s around us. Simple, right?! hugs.
As a reader who has yet to comment on the blog, may I just say THANK YOU! This post in particular was food for the soul…and a graceful reminder that faith is so often a matter of putting your best foot forward…be it in a skip, sprint, or what feels like a death march…faith CAN move mountains…and islands; thank you for being a face of a grace and faithfulness!
I’m so glad you commented. I am so glad that this was food for your soul. I spoke my heart and i know we are all hear to share in FAITH! Thank you for doing just that ingrid.
xxoo
I always feel so close to Him out in nature so I can only imagine how you are feeling now having been surrounded by His lovely artwork. 🙂
So glad you are able to live like this and feel good about it! We really don’t need a lot, but sometimes our perspectives get skewed when we look at what others have.
<3 <3
i agree. i think we all need that escape to appreciate HIS artwork. His purpose. His blessings. yes?!
seriously you have the best posts! always saying what we need to hear when we need to hear it!! so true about feat not owning us, that is something we need to remember daily as sometimes we let our fears take over! have to put our trust back in God that it will all be ok! hugs
xoxo
fear has led me to held back before, no more! lets be real and live! xxoo
oh wow, I love this. so so much. I am on the same simplicity wavelength, my friend. What I love most about these posts from you is your ability to say just the right thing, in the right way, that sheds a little light into your life, what drives you and what keeps you humble yet gracious at the very same time. Love you! XOXO!
And for me, faith in life is always ever present…especially now, leading such a happy life, with the man I Was meant to meet? faith got me there. XO!
i know! i feel like we are living parallel lives here. ahh, i miss you.
p.s. i love where your faith has gotten you. <3
I always love it when you talk about a more simple life. It’s how I would like to be as well and it’s just so hard in the society we live in. We go go go and never stop to actually enjoy it.
i agree. our society is unreal! no where else does this! so why do we? crazy.
Some days I really wish I could just “go bush” and live in a forrest somewhere – no phones/computers/TVs…. just nature. Really makes you appreciate the simple things are best, right?
me too! let;s escape to NZ and go bush, yes?
My Lord this post speaks to my heart so much! I am having faith today that God knows what’s best for me. I have a hard time w/ that one b/c I want control but I already know God is in control of everything and sometimes when I have my hardest times(which recently they have been coming unfortunately :-)) that’s when I need to remember I need Him most and have FAITH & TRUST in Him most. Thank you for this… welcome back friend! <3 this!! Have a great weekend! 😀 <3
oh yes, me too! i want control too. but that’s not what god wants. He wants us to let go of that and trust. Easier said than done though. yes?
Definitely friend! But I’m working on it and in turn HE’s still working on me HAHA! Work in progress and all, yes??!! 😀
You make me smile 🙂
you make me smile more. or FU face!
Love this post! It’s way too easy to get caught up in the craziness of this life with all of the gizmos and gadgets out there that are supposed to make our lives easier, when in reality they just stress us out more. Simple is always best.
yes! i want to go back to the days where we picked up the phone to chat, no email or text.
Love it! Sometimes it’s so necessary to just get away!!! Such a refreshing post!
yes, more so than often too.
Well said! Living in the moment, letting Him guide our lives. Love!
Beautiful pics!
And I live by: whatever is, is right. 🙂
yes, amen!! Whatever is right and HIS will. Let’s listen to that.
beautifully said sweetheart – the simplicity is what really makes a difference for me in the things i appreciate!
What a beautifully written post and I love simplifying. Sometimes we make life much harder than it really needs to be, sometimes we think too hard, and just need to take a step back and appreciate the simplicity around us.
I absolutely love that last picture of you and James! Lindsay you are gorgeous. 🙂
you are so kind rachelle. I wish we lived close. I’d come simplify life with you! <3
Beautiful post. I completely agree that simplifying our lives is so powerful- helps us better connect to God, and allows us to find more contentment than if we have (or feel the need for) endless stuff. You’re a wise woman, my friend! Have a great weekend!
thats so right, the endless stuff is usually unecessary stuff too!
Great post! Hope yall had a good time. Sometimes it’s so great to just unplug and be still and “simple”, great reminder!
yes indeed. The older i get, the more i realize this too.
i agree. i think once a month is necessary!
I couldn’t agree with this more. Love this post! Happy Friday 🙂
happy friday friend.