Fall was rich and full, sunny and bright. We spent time teaching and learning, experimenting and creating, dreaming and planning. We read new books, shared deep conversations, and found new inspiration in ordinary places.

This is life lately:

Summer has been sweet and full. We’ve traveled to new and familiar places, stretched our creative muscles in new ways, and reaped the rewards of gardening and old house projects. We’ve tried new recipes, read new books, and took time to rest and unwind.

This is life lately:

I’ve been thinking a lot about seasons lately - how they shift and change, pulling us into something new, yet familiar, inviting us to change right along with it.

There’s something so reassuring about picturing your life this way: “To everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven” (Ecclesiastes 3:1).

This past season (since my Winter update) has been full of new things: new places, new friends, new challenges, new house projects, new habits.

This is life lately:

This year, like many of you, I set out to create a few new habits in my life. You know what it's like: those things we do, the routines and structures that shape our days—our habits are patterns of learned behavior that are so second nature to us, we don’t even think about them.

“Out with the old and in with the new!” we say, as if it were that easy. But what does it really take to form a new habit?

According to Charles Duhigg, former New York Times reporter and author of the book, The Power of Habit, every habit has a cycle or loop:

• The routine (the thing we find ourselves doing automatically)

• The reward we get from that activity

• The cue or trigger that starts the cycle

There’s something about winter that causes us to slow down, to reflect. I suppose you could say the same thing about any season: it’s really a matter of being intentional with your time and attention and being present.

I’m making it a practice to sit and write out some of my thoughts during each season this year - a practice I hope will help me cultivate a sense of peace and gratitude, recognize and acknowledge things I’m learning, and be more present.

We’re all works in progress, right? This is me, sharing where I am and what I’m learning along the way.

So, let’s pretend it’s the weather and say this reflection was inspired by quiet snow days and clean, winter-white landscapes, okay? This is life lately: