Summer Challenges

Summer 2016 delivered a new adventure in the form of the Blog Your Brand 30-Day Summer Challenge. There's something powerful behind the word "challenge" that penetrates into the depths of my core and I can't ignore it. When I hear that word, I feel that somebody is insinuating that I can't do something and I don't like to be told what I can or cannot do.

Today is the first day of this challenge, and I hope you will spend the next 30 days looking forward to a new post and also cheering me on to complete the challenge. I do not know these folks personally, but there is a common thread running through the internet community that brought us together and I am grateful for this journey.

2015 was the first year I realized summer challenges were a thing. I participated in two and found I completed the one I expected to drop within a week and dropped the one I fully expected to finish. However, they were both successes.

Index Card A Day (ICAD) was the one I was excited to join. The concept is simple - be creative once a day for 60 days. The format was also simple - an index card. It's a fantastic challenge.

I consider myself a creative gal but I don't often take the time I should to reward myself with times of creative expression. I knew this was for me. Then I complicated things by having to do it all perfectly and technically instead of following the simple heart behind this; do something creative today. I completed 7 cards.

Failure? No. Success. You might be asking how I could possibly consider this a success story. I call it a success because two friends joined me in this who don't consider themselves creative, and enjoyed themselves! Furthermore, one of them wanted to do it again this year and so did I.

The second summer challenge was one I believed I should do but didn't think I would. It was a read through the Bible 90-day challenge. I have never read through the entire Bible, much less at a 90-day pace. I gave myself permission to quit within the first week and hoped it would simply plant a seed to want to read at my leisure. I am happy to report that I finished in 89 days and would gladly do this challenge again.

Summer brings with it many challenges including heightened yard care requirements, scheduling more outdoor activities during our few months of summer weather, bug infestations, house painting projects, and more. I would invite you to find a way to challenge yourself to do something that is important for you, for who you are, and that will make you feel better about how you spent at least part of your summer.