Home | Charis Buckland

Happy Mardi Gras! Yes, we live in Tenn. now, but when we lived in south Miss., we had so much fun learning the culture there and Mardi Gras is a big part! We were able to do outreach to the community with our student ministry during all the parades and experienced wonderful food. This place will always have a piece of my heart, so every year, we will celebrate with purple, green, and gold, a king cake, and red beans and rice. 

I repaired our headbands this year and re-glued the feathers back on so they would be fresh this year! 

In life, there may be celebrations or events or maybe just normal life that tends toward feeling chaotic at times. It can feel really overwhelming. I have found some ways to sit back, chill out, and avoid getting worked up when life gets a little crazy. Let me share a quick list of some ideas.

1. Please God only. By this, I mean, a person cannot and will never please everyone. It is not possible under any circumstances. When someone only seeks to please God, she can rest knowing that she is pleasing the only One Who matters anyway. Everybody has thoughts, everybody has comments, but God is the only One capable of leading perfectly every time. Ask  God what to do, how to handle, and follow Him only. Rest is much easier to find this way. Micah 6:8 reminds us that God desires that we act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with Him. 

2. Know it’s okay to say no sometimes. I know it’s hard when we don’t want to disappoint a friend or even when we truly want to do something, but just can’t find the time to do it, so “no” is necessary sometimes. I believe the special part about it is truly communicating with the “no.” If someone extends an invitation and there is just no way to make it happen within reason, communicate that the invitation is valuable. Let the person know the gratitude, but simply explain it is not possible, but would be a great option in the future. Let the person know they are appreciated and maybe another time. Trying to make people happy all the time is really not sustainable and everyone can stand to slow down sometimes. God’s Word reminds us that He sets boundaries for us, in the way we live too. He even reminds us how to live among neighbors in a healthy way (Proverbs 25:17) with healthy boundaries. Setting boundaries is totally okay and actually necessary!

3. Lower the standards of expectations from others. Ephesians 4:32 reminds us to be kind and compassionate to one another.I love photography and photo editing software. For me, to capture beautiful photos of people, especially my family, means a lot to me. I was excited to have kids because I had built-in models for creative, meaningful photos and I could capture their sweet life moments. My standards have been lowered dramatically. I no longer am bothered if someone does not smile, as long as everyone is looking in the general direction of the camera and looks somewhat pleasant, the picture will work. Christmas card photo shoots are much shorter these days, so everyone in my house is happy with that! This idea extends beyond photography, though, and people are just people. We can demonstrate grace for others, especially since we would like to have grace given to us as well. Not everything has to be addressed and not everything has to be a problem. Decided what is worth letting go and do just that. 

4. Lower the perfectionistic standards for yourself. Aim for great, but when life happens and does not go as planned, let it go. Your cat might puke on the couch on Christmas Day, the kid might dig in the flower bed in the middle of a party, and you might wake up sick on an important day. This is life and be encouraged – it happens to all of us! These are opportunities to feel God’s grace and see the beauty in the imperfections in this life. We may not always feel the beauty in the moment, but we can feel God sustaining us through it all and that is a comfort. Isaiah 46:4 reminds us that even into our old age, it is God Who sustains us and will carry us through. 

5. Let other people do your praising for you. Proverbs 27:2 reminds us to let others give the praise, and not to brag about ourselves. Sometimes people may never know what great contribution was made, and that might just need to be alright. Smile to yourself and know that you know and God knows together. It can be a special moment. 

6. Keep some stuff personal and share with God, close family, and maybe close friends. 1 Chronicles 16:11 reminds us to go to God first. Avoid feeling the need to overshare. Let God work in your life how He wants, and let the outcome show naturally. There is no need to prove anything to anyone. Praying about a life change can be personal, seek wisdom from wise people, then when something happens for sure, it will be a smooth transition. 

I laughed with my friend today, who has been cutting my hair for several years about how her daughter gets to use a lot of quality hair products because her mom is in the industry. I pointed out my kids get free counseling everyday because of my industry. Yay for them, right?! I hope these are helpful to keep you chill when life feels overwhelming and chaotic. Take a breath and talk with God. He will sustain you! Talk soon!

Love,
Charis

Pic(k) of the week:

Everybody likes a good cat selfie, so here is our kitty, Bumble, in for the night, to join us for tv time.