I am a big believer in the magic of invitation.
Even if I don’t actually want to do the thing, receiving a sincere invitation means so much.
We all know what it’s like to not be included, even when we know people have good intentions.
Two stories from my past stand out clearly:
Nearly twenty years ago my former stepmother-in-law planned a family girls’ trip.
She invited her sisters, her mother, her sons’ girlfriends away for the weekend to shop and visit the casino.
I learned about it after the fact when I overheard them talking about it.
“I knew you wouldn’t want to go,” she told me later. “You’d have told me that you didn’t want to leave your new baby at home.”
And while that is 100% true, it still stung to not be invited.
A few years later, my family moved. I made friends at a local playgroup where most of the moms lived in the neighboring town.
It didn’t take me long to learn that I was often excluded from playdates:
“You live so far away!” I was told.
It took me 15 minutes to get to any of their houses, and I was the one doing the driving! Why not let me decide if I wanted to go instead of deciding for me?
These two experiences changed the way I look at invitations:
It is always better to extend the invite.
You’re not sure if someone will want to come over for dinner?
Invite them anyway.
You’re not sure if a someone will want to come to your party?
Invite them anyway.
You’re not sure someone wants to participate in the neighborhood service project or block party or Secret Santa?
Invite them anyway.
It costs us nothing to extend an invitation -
except a little time and effort.
It’s not our job to decide to whether or not they’ll come.
It’s our job to invite.
Maybe they won’t come.
But maybe this is the time they will.
And we’ll be glad we kept inviting.
An invitation says,
I see you.
You matter.
You belong here.
I want you here.
If you are reading these words, I have an invitation for you:
I invite you to start - or grow - your journaling practice.
Maybe it’s been on your mind for a while that you need to give journaling a try.
Or get back into it.
Maybe you’ve been on the hunt to find the perfect notebook, convinced that when you find it, you’ll be ready to start journaling.
Maybe you’ve been waiting for the stars to align, your kids to get a little older and less needy, things to ease up at work.
I invite you to start today.
Exactly where you are.
With whatever you have.
Give yourself this gift.
Need a little help getting started?
I’m holding a free interactive training on Tuesday, October 18 at 7pm Eastern, and I’d love to see you there!
We’ll talk about three simple ways to jumpstart your journaling, get some hands-on practice, and I’ll answer all of your journaling questions.
Bring an open mind and something write on and with.
(Both physical and digital journals count!)
Register HERE.
Weekly Journal Prompts:
Use these prompts as written or as inspiration to uncover what you need in your life this week.
How do I feel about invitations?
Do I extend them? And freely?
Which ones are easy to extend?
Which ones are harder?
How does I feel when I invite?
How do I feel when I am invited?
What invitations have I been waiting for?
How can I give these to myself?
One Journaling Idea I Love:
Family Journal
Journaling doesn’t have to be a solitary activity! Get the whole family involved!
Carve out regular time and invite others to journal with you.
Give each member a prompt -
What is your favorite way to spend time with your family?
Write about your favorite fall memory.
What do you appreciate most about your family?
And see how everyone puts their own spin on the question.
Working together, you can create a record of what family life is really like.
What a treasured gift to have to look back on!
Better Me in 2023
I invite you to consider joining me for Better Me in 2023, my new journaling program.
We’ll dive into journaling to look at different areas of our lives and how we want to improve throughout 2023.
We’ll learn and grow.
Ease our anxiety.
Be more organized and productive.
Take better care of ourselves.
Improve our relationships.
And so much more!
We’ll journal separately and together, and hold space for each other as we explore.
And I’m so excited to get this party started that we’re not waiting for 2023 to get here!
We start in November with a deep dive into gratitude.
And use December to reflect on where we’ve been and to launch ourselves into the new year.
New themes every month!
Pick the months you want to join us,
Or you can sign on for 6 months or the whole 12 month journey!
Download a copy of this PDF.
Register for the adventure. (Registration links are at the bottom of the PDF and also underneath the flyer image below.)
Share the information with a friend!
I can’t wait to journal with you! 💛
Register for 1 month, 6 months, or 12 months!
For Your Listening Pleasure
Did you check out this conversation I had about journaling with Susan M. Barber on The Visibility Factor Podcast? We had a fun time recording this session and Susan is a great conversationalist. I hope you enjoy it!
Happy Journaling!