Gardner Lane

Staying on Track

Life is a crazy thing.

I don’t share a lot of it, frankly because I’m just so busy trying to make it all work!

But I felt like I needed to share a little bit of what goes in my life that effects Gardner Lane.

I’ve gone a little off track.

Finding the track in the first place was a process! It took several months of mental and spiritual preparation I didn’t know was happening. And then when I was in the right place, the Lord told me what I needed to do.

Focus on temple art and family history.

It wasn’t how I started Gardner Lane, but I’ve been doing my best to shift that direction.

But lately, I’ve been taking up other jobs too, helping other entrepreneurs with their branding. Even though I love doing it, it takes a lot of time and has been pulling me away from the path that was laid out in front of me.

This morning, I went for a walk before my little people woke up. I like to listen to conference when I walk in the morning, and today I listened to Elder Eyring’s conference talk, “I love to See the Temple.”

It was just next up in my list of conference talks, but it was timely. As always, the Lord knew what I needed to hear.

[More back story, we found a branch in our family tree that has opened up so many doors. I’ve seen miracle upon miracle unfold through this new part of my family.]

But again, I’ve been distracted.

Back to this morning.

Listening to the talk, I was reminded that I’m spending my time on the wrong things. I need to get back to focusing on temple art and family history.

I had this overwhelming feeling that my mom and I are the only hope our new branch has of receiving their temple ordinances.

I know that those angels, our family, connected us to this branch and I know that they are waiting for us to do the work. They’ve been waiting for this moment. This phase in my life. And they are ready.

But am I?

I’m trying to be!

As Elder Eyring read the words to the sweet primary song, these ones hit me like a rock:

This is my sacred duty.

And it is. Doing this work for my family is my sacred duty. I have been lead to this part of my life for this purpose. To bring my family into the fold of God.

It feels overwhelming, but again, He knows what I need to hear.

After I finished listening to the talk, I switched over to the youth music and the song “small things” came on.

By doing small things, like writing a letter to my new found grandmother, or emailing a cousin who knows about our family’s history, will bring to pass great things, even miracles.

I’m still sorting out what this looks like for me, but since this little revelation hit me, I have been uber productive. you won’t believe how much I accomplished the last two days, know that I need to finish these projects so I can focus on temples and family history.

AND, I finally figured out some technical difficulties I was having with my emails. Seriously, things unfold just when you open your eyes to what God has planned for you.

That being said, the thing I finished??

10 Ways to Attend the Temple at Home! You can sign up here, and get the 10 day email course starting today!

How to Write the Best Bucket List and then Knock it Out

Writing a bucket list can seem overwhelming. Writing the perfect bucket list is even harder!

I know, my sister made me do it not too long ago. Let me also mention, she had already made the rest of my siblings do it and I was the last one… no pressure.

But I did it, and I’ve already checked a couple items off of my bucket list because, guess what?! I wrote them down, looked at them several times over a span of a couple weeks, and then did it.

So here are a few tips to get you writing your own bucket list:

1. Bucket list items can be big or small!

Sometimes, I think we think of a bucket list as these ginormous things we want to accomplish; sky diving, for example. But your bucket list can include small things, too, like spend an afternoon outside in silence.

Be sure to include some crazy ideas. Big outlandish things you want to do. But also remember to list some simple things, too. Things that don’t take a lot of prep work, money, or time.

You’ll definitely enjoy being able to accomplish some things right off the bat!

2. Think of people you want to share moments with.

A bucket list is much more fun with accomplices, amiright? So include things that you want to do with your family, significant other (oh man, that could be a list all on it’s own), or close friends.

Me and my BFF want to write a children’s book together. That’s on both our lists.

I want to see where my husband served a mission for our church before we were married (Leeds, England) and I want him to show it to me.

I want to take my children to Harry Potter world after we’ve read the books together.

You get the idea.

3. Don’t just think of places to visit.

We all have that travel list, right? All the places you want to see. That could turn into a long bucket list.

But why do you want to see those places? What do you want to do there? Where do you want to stay? What do you want to see? Get more specific. Here’s a couple examples of what I mean from my bucket list:

  • Eat pineapple in Hawaii
  • Climb the stairs to the top of the Eiffel Tower
  • Eat street food in singapore
  • Stay at Claridge’s in London

4. Think of things you’ve been dying to learn, or new things you want to try.

A bucket list is great place to store all those ideas of the things you want to learn. I want to make authentic dumplings (super obsessed, they are so delicious), and for a crafty person, I’m pretty ashamed that I haven’t learned how to punch needle yet.

Get adventurous. Learning new things are great bucket list items!

5. Be realistic about what you want to do.

That sounds like a party pooper tip. But seriously. Write down things you actually, really, truly want to do.

I’m not saying don’t write down the crazy stuff. I’m saying don’t write down sky diving just because everyone writes down sky diving if you don’t actually want to sky dive!

It’s your list. Make it yours. Be honest with what you want to do.

When I was writing my list, I got stuck at #13. So my siblings shared some of the things on their lists to get my juices flowing. There were several that I thought, oh that sounds cool. And I wrote it down. But then I went back later and took it off my list, because it wasn’t something I actually wanted.

Now take a look at your bucket list!

Now that you’ve got a decent list on your hands, put it somewhere you’re going to look at it regularly.

It doesn’t have to be every day, but at least once a week.

Keep it on your mind so you don’t forget. Because if you do, a year or two or five will slip away and you’ll find your list one day and realize you’ve done nothing but let it be that oh, so ominous bucket list.

What good is a bucket list if you aren’t going to actually do the things on it?

If you want a beautiful way to showcase your bucket list, you can have it illustrated by yours truly! Check it out in my shop!

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