How I prep for travel without getting stressed

A little planning ahead can make it so much easier. 

I have traveled more in the past few years than I ever have, and I’ve gotten a bit better at preparing for it overall. 

I’m getting ready for an amazing trip to Jekyll Island and St. Simons Island, Georgia!  I’m going for a 2-day conference, but extending it into a week-long anniversary celebration with my husband.  And I am totally looking forward to it! 

But … there’s the getting ready for it part. I know I have some friends who start packing weeks before trips.  Me? Not so much. 

On the rare occasions when I’ve done that, it’s like when I start shopping too early for Christmas - I forget where I put things, and I end up buying way too much.  Combine that with everyday busyness, and I usually start packing a day or so before (or the day of, but that’s rare). 

I’m leaving my almost...

I wish I could, but I don’t have time.

What do you want and need to be focused on?

It can be hard to recognize our own needs. Sometimes we can be so in the habit of just going through the motions and doing all of the things that we need to do on a day-to-day basis that we don't have the time or energy to think about what it is that we really want or need. 

And that can end up leading to a vague feeling of boredom, or “is this all there is”? And, oftentimes, we rationalize that by thinking, 

“Well, I'm just so busy right now. And as soon as (fill in the blank) is over, then things will settle down.” 

But here's the thing. Things don't really “just settle down” without intentionality.

Life is busy and isn't going to get less busy on its own. In fact, the opposite is likely to happen.

So if we're not very, very careful, it sneaks up on us even when we have started making progress. There's always something else to watch,...

This week we were going to go deeper into self-care and how to build that rhythm into our days and weeks, but it’s taking a bit of a different turn.  I’m going to focus on grief and loss and hope and the importance of knowing what matters most to you - and living it out.

I often hear grief described as a roller coaster.

And while that makes sense to me (the ups and downs, the “hold on tight” and all), from my first deep grieving experience when I lost my mom in 2018,

I see grief more as riding the waves.  

I had been fortunate enough that at 42 I hadn’t lost anyone super close to me before.  Mom’s death was sudden and unexpected. Despite working up close with death as a hospice nurse for 12 years at the time, I hadn’t been on the other side of death and grieving.

One of the things that stood out to me the most were the waves of grief that would come out of nowhere.

I could be driving down the road or doing something...

What makes you feel alive and excited? What sucks the life out of you?

The BECOMING Method series, post 2 of 8.

By this time, you:

- know where you’re starting from

- have determined your areas of improvement/opportunity

If you are just tuning in and didn’t join us last week, please go back and do so, or just grab the Life Balance Tool at www.jennylytle.com/balance. This will give you a way to take a look at your life in each of the major areas and determine where you’d like to make some positive changes.

This week we’re going to move on to the E in the BECOMING Method - Excitement!

What lights you up? Gives you energy?

What do you enjoy doing so much that you lose track of time? Take a few minutes to start coming up with some ideas. 

The thing is, as adults we often get so busy taking care of responsibilities that we can forget to do those things that recharge us.  And then we wonder why we feel so tired and stressed...

Last week I flew to New Jersey to serve with City Relief, a homeless outreach organization serving many in NJ and NYC.  It’s one of the highlights of my year, and I’m so thankful to be serving with a team this year, small as it was.  

Those of us that have served before feel a sense of awe and wonder and privilege when we go.  Last year due to quarantine rules I went by myself.  I quarantined in a VRBO in NJ for two weeks, then was able to serve on the streets with City Relief. I was still recovering from rotator cuff surgery, so I was off work and able to take the time to go.  And it was a huge blessing like always, but it was very different than previous years.

Covid made the whole process of serving our friends in the streets look and feel less personal. I truly felt the distance part of social distancing.  We typically prayed for people one-on-one and had sometimes lengthy conversations with them, but in 2020 it was...

Risks and choices keep life exciting!

Today I am six months postop from my shoulder surgery. I have been cleared by my surgeon.  I am free!

But this is about so much more than my arm.

A lot has changed in the past six months.

I went from going to therapy for almost a year prior to surgery to deciding to have surgery during a pandemic for a variety of reasons.

First of all, we were not sure what would happen to my husband‘s job, and our insurance is through him.

Secondly, we were spending money on therapy to maintain my range of motion and function, so our deductible was met or close to met already. Due to the long-term therapy, my pain was well managed, and really so was my use of my arm, which happened to be my dominant arm.

But the bottom line was, It was not going to get any better without surgical intervention. As a matter of fact, it would continue to get worse, and could potentially have become suddenly much worse, leaving me in pain all the time.

Last but...

Lack of connection, insecurity, loneliness .... it's real. Women need women, but sometimes we're not nice. But it can get better. 

I recently had an opportunity to spend time with some incredible women.  Our lives and experiences are not identical, but they do share common threads.  We have:

• made mistakes
• loved big
• been hurt
• lost important people
• been lonely
• felt insecure
• had great achievements
• struggled with weight issues
• battled mental and physical illnesses
• been vulnerable
• loved God and (most of the time now) let ourselves be loved by Him

Those last two? I believe they are the big ones.  The ones that really matter, now and for eternity. 

Because here’s the thing.  Life is tough. We screw up. There are always people better than us at certain things, and there will always be people that want to make us feel “less than”.  Don’t let yourself be one of those people. 

And if the people you are around most often make...

What sparks joy for you or makes you feel loved?

Self-care isn't selfish. 

Now before you start thinking that you don’t have the time or the money for this, hear me out.  It does not have to be something big and elaborate. Chances are, you have a lot of the tools you need right there at home. And what if you want to kick it up a notch and buy something new for yourself? Great!

1. Are there certain:
• colors
• scents
• sounds that either make you feel relaxed or make you happy?
2. What about certain fabrics? Is it the cool feel of silk? Or something more warm and cozy?
3. Fuzzy socks
4. Candlelight
5. A good book
6. A favorite movie
7. Yoga or some leisurely stretching
8. Fresh flowers 
9. Rich...

04.03.17 Beauty in imperfection

Beauty in imperfection

I just got back from a quick beach vacation that was filled with a lot of thinking and just being. 

I went with my best friend and her son and my boys, and even though we were in the car together for a LONG TIME (we are not the quickest travelers), the boys spent a lot of time doing their own thing while we talked and listened to different personal development books along the way. 

Both of us are kind of at a crossroads in our lives professionally speaking and the time to just get away and reflect was good for both of us. 

Although I don’t consider myself to be a big fan of water (I don’t like to get my face wet and I don’t swim well because of that), I love seeing and hearing the ocean. Really it doesn’t have to be the ocean, although there is something special about saltwater. 

As long as there are waves and that roaring crash and a...