I prayed a lot about my new venture. In case you missed it, I rolled it out yesterday. It’s called Lavender Lane Creative, and I am anxious and excited.

I have been home, officially, for a few days shy of 2 months, and here I am starting up another thing. I’m sure some folks are shaking their heads. That’s fine.

After 12 years of constant hustle, I needed to slow down for sure. The head shakers who think I should still be sitting a spell, reading my book, and avoiding stress probably muttered an “Oh, good Lord, Woman.” when they saw my post. That’s also fine.

I decided when I retired from dance studio ownership that I would indeed move slower. After all, it was time I wanted back – time with my kids, time with my husband, time to travel, time to just be. That has not changed. I also wanted to do all that amidst creating a life I truly loved and doing whatever The Universe had in store for me.

The praying, right…

I did NOT pray for a business venture. I did NOT pray for money. I did NOT pray for another hustle. I prayed that God would keep my heart and mind open and my mouth closed. I prayed that my skills, talents, experiences, and wisdom be used some how and some way when the time was right. I prayed for keen ears, watchful eyes, and discernment. I prayed with gratitude, tremendous gratitude.

The concept for Lavender Lane Creative came up one day out of the blue. I was thinking about joy. Joy is my favorite. Wouldn’t it be cool to continue creating joy? How can I solve people’s problems with joy somehow in the mix? My teaching style, my classroom activities, my studio’s culture, my shows, they all delighted people. How can I continue to delight people?

Lavender Lane Creative.

So then I freaked out and got nervous. The bratty, naysayer voice in my brain started questioning whether or not it would work, how it might tank real fast, who would laugh at me and think the whole thing was stupid. I prayed.

Here’s what I want you to take away from reading this: PRAY.

If you doubt something, pray. If you want something, pray. If you need a vision or perhaps clarity for a vision, pray.

When you don’t have the words or really don’t even know what you want, just tell God you don’t have them or you don’t know. He knows.

Not much of a praying person? Do the same. Address God kindly and tell him you need help.

Don’t believe in any of that praying to God business at all? Ok. Take a risk, and talk to The Universe (I talk about The Universe a lot, and we can get into that later.). Tell the sky, the stars, the trees, the air what you most desire, sincerely and humbly. Then keep your eyes and ears open.

Most of all, though, open your heart and mind. I will bet your heart and mind stay cluttered and confused by a bunch of self-deprecating, insecure, worrisome nonsense, and work stuff. (I swear, either we are often in hypercritical, petulant mode, or we are over-focused on what all we have to do. The struggle is real.)

Open up to possibilities. Be willing to consider any and all options. Look for new approaches and outside-the-box ideas. Nobody has to stay stuck or in a state of doubt.

Will this Lavender Lane Creative gain any traction? I don’t know. However, I know that God has never failed me. Even when life absolutely sucked, He was there. He will be there again. What do I have to fear? I think that’s really cool.

Y’all, have a good day. Go make something happen. You are never stuck. You always have a choice. You are capable. You are stronger than you think. Pray about it, watch, and listen. You will see what your eyes are open to see. You will hear what your ears are open to hear. I promise.

(Hey, Martha Stewart didn’t start “Martha Stewart Living” magazine until she was 49, and she posed for Sports Illustrated this year at that age of 81, so there’s hope for all of us.)

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