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My Word for 2016 is Breakthrough

12.31.2015 by Emelda De Coteau // Leave a Comment

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Emelda De Coteau
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Emelda De Coteau

Mother, wife, sister, friend, writer / blogger / creative organizer, budding photographer... These are just a few of the many hats I juggle each day. I believe creativity is oxygen for the soul. I created Live In Color blog to celebrate the beauty in every moment, from faith to inspiration and motherhood.And it is soon becoming Pray with Our Feet blog which will focus on the intersection of faith and activism. Follow the inspiration on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/praywithourfeetblog/
Emelda De Coteau
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Latest posts by Emelda De Coteau (see all)

  • Inspiration For Your Ears & Soul: From Lauren Daigle’sInspiring Music to Victory Over Struggle - October 20, 2018
  • Blogging Again – Staying Woke & In Faith - October 17, 2018
  • Dear America – Nothing Will Change Until You Face Yourself - June 19, 2018

I grew tremendously in the spirit this year, friends. Bible verses I casually read or heard my parents mention are now daily staples, posted on doors and various rooms around my house. 

Devotional time, once a sporadic practice, is now a lifeline and grounding force. Struggle does this to us. It urges connection with something greater than ourselves. I choose to seek God and faith.

2015 challenged us to expand in novel ways as we sought healing for our family, both spiritual and physical. You see, when you work side by side, with your child, helping them overcome speech delay and sleep issues, God teaches you, within each moment, about unconditional love, patience, and relentless endurance. Suddenly small stuff is inconsequential. Who cares about a traffic jam? 

You begin to live in a state of gratitude for blessings, both grand and small. Words become audible miracles. What others take for granted you celebrate. 

A few months ago we took our daughter to the Healing Room for prayer. Afterwards, we stood outside in the crisp autumn air, as she played. A young woman I never met walked up to me, her coca-brown face filled with joy. And I will never forget what she quickly shared: “I don’t know you. I don’t know your daughter, but I have been praying for you since you all arrived. I heard one word while I was praying: breakthrough. God is going to give your daughter and your entire family a breakthrough!”

Oh how my tears flowed. Wow. Breakthrough. I rolled the word over and over in my mind as I hugged my Mom excitedly. Oh friends, inmoments of doubt and despair I hold on to that word from God, delivered by a young woman I never met. 

Breakthrough. This is my word for 2016. Each year I select one. Well, this year, God reminded me to be guided by the spirit for this word.  My heart is full with gratitude and joy for what is to come. 

Ever chosen a word for the year? Excited about 2016? Tell me why! 

Categories // awakening, awareness, faith, Faith & Social Justice, family, Inspiration, Inspiration & Style, life, live and love in color, love, miracle, Motherhood & Family, reflection Tags // body, faith, healing, Jesus heals children, love, mind, miracle, New Year's Eve, parenting, prayer, soul, spirit, The Healing Room, word for the year

Cultivating Creativity When You’re a Mom

10.31.2015 by Emelda De Coteau // 2 Comments

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Emelda De Coteau
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Emelda De Coteau

Mother, wife, sister, friend, writer / blogger / creative organizer, budding photographer... These are just a few of the many hats I juggle each day. I believe creativity is oxygen for the soul. I created Live In Color blog to celebrate the beauty in every moment, from faith to inspiration and motherhood.And it is soon becoming Pray with Our Feet blog which will focus on the intersection of faith and activism. Follow the inspiration on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/praywithourfeetblog/
Emelda De Coteau
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Latest posts by Emelda De Coteau (see all)

  • Inspiration For Your Ears & Soul: From Lauren Daigle’sInspiring Music to Victory Over Struggle - October 20, 2018
  • Blogging Again – Staying Woke & In Faith - October 17, 2018
  • Dear America – Nothing Will Change Until You Face Yourself - June 19, 2018
Photo Credit: Emelda De Coteau

Anyone with small kiddos knows you can barely pee in peace most days, let alone create! Ha! It’s tough. This business of being someone’s Mom and wanting a piece of freedom for yourself. How dare you?

When I think back to my pre-kid life and time management, I just laugh. Some days moments seemed to slip away.  In actuality, I amassed an abundance of hours and minutes.  The key to unlocking them? Recognizing those windows to create.

Now I am a productivity ninja! Pockets of free time become blog posts or photographs (sandwiched in between chores & homeschooling Nai of course). Last Sunday, I won the Mama lottery –  a few hours to myself.  I pushed beyond a desire to curl up in the bed with Netflix, and instead chose a long nature walk and photography.

Breathing in natural beauty transforms us and it’s absolutely essential to self care. When I produce  something – poetry, photography, an essay, blog post or article – there is an overwhelming sense of liberation afterwards.

It’s so easy to lose our identities as Mamas. But rebelling against convention, and making it a priority to create moves us into a broader purpose – beyond ourselves, our kids, and instead, extends these gifts to the world. As much as I love our daughter, I cannot allow parenting to swallow my identity – and neither can you. Seize those sporadic minutes here and there, and make something lovely.

What do you create? How do you make time in your busy life to keep going?

Photo Credit: Emelda De Coteau

 

Photo Credit: Emelda De Coteau
Photo Credit: Emelda De Coteau
Photo Credit: Emelda De Coteau

 

Photo Credit: Emelda De Coteau
Photo Credit: Emelda De Coteau

 

Categories // beauty, children, community, creative, empowement, Inspiration, Inspiration & Style, Motherhood & Family, parenting, photography, reflection, self love, women, writing Tags // community, Creative Moms, creativity, cultivate creativity, fall photography, gifts, green spaces, make time for you, mindfulness, mom time, mommy blogger, motherhood, nature, parenting, photography, productivity, radical moms, self care, self identity, soul, spirit, time management, unconvnetional

Making Time For You, Inspired Reading: The Fringe Hours

10.19.2015 by Emelda De Coteau // 2 Comments

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Emelda De Coteau
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Emelda De Coteau

Mother, wife, sister, friend, writer / blogger / creative organizer, budding photographer... These are just a few of the many hats I juggle each day. I believe creativity is oxygen for the soul. I created Live In Color blog to celebrate the beauty in every moment, from faith to inspiration and motherhood.And it is soon becoming Pray with Our Feet blog which will focus on the intersection of faith and activism. Follow the inspiration on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/praywithourfeetblog/
Emelda De Coteau
Follow Me:

Latest posts by Emelda De Coteau (see all)

  • Inspiration For Your Ears & Soul: From Lauren Daigle’sInspiring Music to Victory Over Struggle - October 20, 2018
  • Blogging Again – Staying Woke & In Faith - October 17, 2018
  • Dear America – Nothing Will Change Until You Face Yourself - June 19, 2018
Photo Credit: The Mom Creative Blog

 

“One always has time enough, if one  will apply it well.”

– Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Are you like me? Do your days move at warp speed, and by the time you catch your breath it’s midnight? Adulthood can feel like one long string of obligations, especially for women.Beginning in childhood, society says put yourself last. As kids, how many of us played with dolls that cried or needed their diapers changed? Before we knew ourselves, we learned to care for others – starting with the toys.

Even in the 21st century, with more women in leadership roles, our culture continues to revere a kind of femininity rooted in service and selflessness. Yet moments spent alone pursuing those passions that nourish our souls rejuvenates us. We become better mothers, wives, friends, siblings and professionals. Why? Because there is time to see us fully – not only the roles we fill. I know, you’re thinking, who has time to write poetry, paint, or hit the gym for yoga class? I’m running a household and managing business obligations.

Well, the truth is you and I have more time than we realize. While reading one of my favorite blogs, (in) courage me, I discovered a new book, The Fringe Hours by Jessica N. Turner, mom, blogger, crafter and marketing professional. I wanted to know more. Where are these hours? How can I discover and maximize them?

Fringe hours are small pockets in our days – early mornings before the house is chaotic, lunch breaks, nap times (for stay-at-home / work-from-home Moms), or evenings after the kids fall asleep. These are opportunities to transform mundane moments into periods of creation and growth.

How do we get there though? Well unlike other books tackling time management, Turner doesn’t start out by giving us a system to implement. She urges digging deeper with some critical questions: What stops us from putting personal time at the top of our lists? Do obligations to everyone else feel more important? It is vital to examine these self-imposed blocks.

The late writer James Baldwin wisely said, “Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.” Balance, then, is at the core of fostering time for ourselves. I hear you mumbling. Who ever achieves this? Well, one of the lessons I am beginning to learn is balance changes all the time, its constant shifting and negotiating, but without it, life swallows us. Here balance is defined in a way rarely heard: “emotional stability (how does what we are doing make us feel) + a satisfying arrangement of elements.”

Essentially, is the calendar full of draining responsibilities, or have you found a way to make self care a priority in the midst of it all?  Oh, yes. Its one area of constant push and pull for me (and I am sure lots of you, too); giving ourselves permission to enjoy me time minus the guilt.

There are clear areas of focus on the road to a more fulfilling life, Turner insists: “Understanding self-care habits and identifying your passions and available time are just the first steps to living a life that prioritizes you and your needs. Once you commit to this lifestyle, embracing additional practices such as prioritization and accepting help can make a huge difference in your well being.”

“Busy people get things done.”
Trudy Leocadio (my very wise Mom)

This is a book full of actions, daily steps we can begin taking to discover fringe hours (track your days for one week) and maximize them (learning to say no, and being prepared to use unexpected time, i.e. long waits at the doctor’s office by keeping your journal, iPad, etc. on hand). Each chapter concludes with a few sentences of motivation to elevate our spirits and assure us others join us in the journey. There are gems of wisdom like this:

“You can organize your time in such a way that prioritizes yourself. Sometimes this means saying no or skipping dishes. Creating boundaries with our time and in our relationships is an important and healthy way to live a life that models self-care.”

I urge you not to stifle your gifts because you wear so many hats. We all deserve a full life, one where creativity, joy and freedom flourish. Getting to this place takes some work, and once we are there, it’s about maintaining boundaries, and consistently reminding ourselves that we matter immensely. But it’s worth all the struggle and organization. God did not create us to blend in to the world, but rather to ignite it with our light and purpose. Your legacy matters. Start building it, minute by minute, today.

Connect with the video series of The Fringe Hours on YouTube.

Originally published in Beautifully Said Magazine, the September issue.

Categories // awareness, books, creative, empowement, good reads, Inspiration, Inspiration & Style, Motherhood & Family, self love, women Tags // (in) courage me blog, creating, creativity, daily actions, good books, James Baldwin, Jessica N. Turner, mindfulness, Mom Life, moms, motherhood, reading, reflection, relationships, self care, self love, The Fringe Hours, time management, track your time, work life balance, writers life

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