priorities

Seek joy and you will find it

When Vanessa shared her first look, “sneak peek” images from last week’s girls night out, this one made my heart smile so big. That joyful soul looking up at you is Lauren, the coordinator of all the things. I’m telling you, she keeps HeartStories running smoothly like an Olympic figure skater gliding in for the gold. It’s fast and furious, hard work. Obviously, it’s a lot just working directly with me, but she’s also coordinating all of our staff, sponsors, vendors, members and attendees. She shores up the platform that makes ALL the magic happen for our community, month after month.

And she could do it in her sleep, with one arm tied behind her back.

There’s so much happening behind the scenes to create our monthly GNO and Lauren makes it all seem so effortless. You’d think this is her full time job, plus some. But in reality, it’s her side …

I spent the day yesterday hanging around a hospital, while my beloved Daddy had a (long overdue) knee surgery. It had been a family juggling act for me to be able get down to the hospital before they took Dad back.( Thankfully, I made it and Dad did great!) But while I was trying to focus on my laptop and the final preparations for our “Holiday Ready” GNO tonight, the funeral of President Bush was airing live on all the waiting room TVs. The focus of almost everyone in the room was up on those screens. I wanted to listen to the eulogies of the legacy of such a wonderful man, but I needed to prioritize my work. Then I noticed an elderly man, a couple of chairs down from me, he must have been more than 80, who was waiting for his wife to come out of surgery. He was …

by Crystal Gornto Girl's Night Out Inspiration Inspirational Women Love In Action Love in Family Loving Others Loving Yourself Priorities The Journey Through Life Leave a comment chat

I’m supposed to be going on a field trip with one of my babies today. It’s going to be a fun one too, they’re going to the butterfly gardens! But I just can’t. Thank goodness I’m not an “official chaperone” because then, I wouldn’t have a choice. I was just planning to tag along. Because of course, the chaperone sign-up went out on the day of the last HeartStories GNO, which means it got buried in my inbox so I didn’t see it until it was much too late to sign up. But that’s a whole other story. Today let’s just talk about the fact that momming is hard. (Yes, “momming” is a word now.)

Momming (momm-ing) v.: 1. Tapping into the reserves of strength you never knew you had. 2. Juggling all the things.

I spent the last three days with a house full of handy-people, and all of their mess, working to …

by Crystal Gornto Girl's Night Out Loving Others Loving Yourself Motherhood Priorities Roadblocks in Life The Journey Through Life Leave a comment chat

Houston, we have a problem.

Even just a quick eyeballing of this sheet rock situation would give reason for concern. This was only our second piece of sheet rock, our first day on the job, and we couldn’t get it right to save our lives. The ceiling was bowed and nothing was meeting up evenly. Add to that, we had sheet rock screw guns that were so finicky, we’d either drive the screws straight through the paper or couldn’t get them to sink at all.

It was a comedy of errors at every turn.

But we did eventually get past this sheet. We were eventually able to finish quite a bit of this house, before the “pros” arrived and promptly began to show us how it’s really done. Together with a team of college students from near and far replacing the roof, I’d say we made huge progress toward bringing hope to …

by Crystal Gornto Inspiration Love In Action Love in Family Motherhood Purpose The Journey Through Life Leave a comment chat

If you’ve ever been to my house, more specifically, my office or my closet, you know that organization is not my strong suit. I don’t want to see dust, but a pile of papers? No problem. I simply wasn’t born with the innate desire to organize chaos. So I work hard at keeping all the common areas straightened up because, well, Scott.

But spaces that belong to me are a little more “free-flowing” if you know what I mean.

We’re currently in a season of home transition. Since we’re building a house, we have the privilege of extended packing time. Our new weekend mantra is that everyone must pack a box to keep and pack a box to give. (Quite honestly, that’s not going as smoothly as it sounds, but it’s a start!) Little by little, I’m making my way through the house.

I’m purging all the things like my whole life depends on …

by Crystal Gornto Girl's Night Out Inspirational Words Love In Action Priorities The Journey Through Life 4 comments chat
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Fuel up

Typically, the week after GNO is a slower pace for me. I let off the gas of the mad dash to make it all happen and make coffee appointments instead. But last night, we hosted our first-ever HeartStories Sponsor Love party. So my schedule was filled with coffee appointments, plus all the details of making a beautiful event happen for the sponsors we love. Naturally, at 11 AM on Tuesday, our school decided to shut down completely , due to the 2018 Flu Epidemic, and implement “Cyber School”. (which I’ve learned is another term for “There will be no fun for you, only hours and hours of school work. . . until your eyes go permanently crossed, or you die. . . whichever comes first.”)

Let’s just say, it’s been one of those weeks.

The day after a 10pm Target run, on the one and only night of night of heavy sleet, …

by Crystal Gornto Girl's Night Out Loving Others Loving Yourself Priorities The Journey Through Life Leave a comment chat
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← Older posts

Seek joy and you will find it

“Holiday Ready” is more than meets the eye

When saying “no” isn’t fun

It starts simple

Making space for what matters

Fuel up