I'm learning a lot about priorities right now. Whether we realize it or not, we weigh out priorities all the time, often subconsciously. I'm realizing how much my decisions and my actions demonstrate what my priorities are. It's sort of like our speech...

For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. Matthew 12:34b

Just like "voting with my dollars" tells the market what I value (whole, natural foods for example), the things I choose to spend my time doing, show my priorities. When I choose to waste time doing something that really isn't that important versus finishing a big project or a chore, I'm voicing the fact that the project or chore really isn't a priority for me at the time. Most of the time, the project (or the chore or the time with God) is more important to me, ideally. I'm just not practically attesting to that.

Conscious prioritizing was one of the reasons I took a little break from blogging. And it was a driving force behind our home search. Friends and family have wondered why we chose to downsize to a smaller place in the area where we are now, rather than finding a bigger a place elsewhere, or why we are renting here instead of struggling to buy a place elsewhere.

The place we chose (and are loving) shows a few of our priorities... living a simpler life, living as close as possible to Moondoggie's job, living in a neighborhood where we can walk (ideally to a store, pool, etc), and living in community (i.e. a 5 minute walk from good friends).

It's been cool to see how God has blessed us as we followed priorities that we felt like He put on our hearts. Something I was hoping and praying for was a community we could be involved in. In addition to the amazing family we already knew was close by, we have another couple nearby that I know a little bit and look forward to getting to know better, and some new friends now, right next door.

We knew it would be hard for Chiquita to leave her adopted pets (aka my parents' 2 dogs) and move into a place where we aren't allowed a pet. God blessed us with neighbors that not only have a super-friendly dog that wanders over regularly, but also a daughter only 5 months younger than Chiquita! They have become fast friends and I'm so stoked to get to know their family as we live next door to each other.

These days I'm really trying to prioritize the Lord, my time with Him, and the things I feel He's telling me are important in my life right now, one thing in particular that I'll be sharing about real soon. Everything else, while it creeps in and vies for my attention, has to be pushed to the peripheral if I'm truly going to live out my priorities.

But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Matthew 6:33

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