I Have Discovered the Secret

I have discovered the secret. No, not to contentment like Paul the Apostle (although we’ll talk about that toward the end of the post). I have discovered the secret of why Dolly the goat keeps escaping her pen. All week long, Dolly repeatedly meanders up to the house wanting to party. She taps on the French doors with her dainty hoof, pretending like she didn’t just spray poop pellets all over the patio. It’s been an unsolvable and unfortunately messy mystery.

When I scooped her up to bring her back to the barn, I decided to investigate the situation. I took inventory: Flower the goat, check. Daphne and Jane the donkeys, check. Hmmm… Something’s fishy and I can’t put my finger (which now smells like goats) on it., so I head back in to finish my work. The mystery grows day by day, as some days she stays in with all the “girls” and others she goes out on a solo mission (apparently to soil my patio, since poop flies out of her like BB’s from Ralphie’s Red Ryder).

Until the day I caught her.

Doing yoga.

The donkey, that is. Before my very eyes, Dolly leaps onto Jane’s back (goat yoga at its most feral), goes for a ride while she walks over near the fence, then takes a flying leap to freedom. The audacity! Your secret is out, Dolly, I caught you in the ACT!

So, yes, I have discovered the secret of the animals in jailbreak cahoots. But seriously, I have discovered a little bit of the secret of contentment and it starts with laying down one thing to pick up something better. As you all probably know, I’ve been writing about presence and contentment. I believe one thing leads to the other, and it starts with ditching distraction.

When Daisy was sick, I had the opportunity to go off the grid for 3 months in Israel. No iPhones the entire time. And while I’ve worked to keep distraction in its place ever since we came home all those years ago, it creeps up on me and crowds out peace. I’m finding myself in a place where I need to detox a bit, and I’m hoping you’ll join me this Holy Week. I’ve been working with Faith Gateway to create the Here, Now Digital Detox. Basically, it’s 7 days of putting your digital life into submission—whatever is stealing your joy, whether it’s social media, entertainment, online shopping, games, really anything that might have gotten excessive and is ripping you off from your actual beautiful life.

If you want to take the plunge, click here (it’s totally free) and you’ll get 7 days of prayers, devotions, and journaling prompts (written by me!) to print out and use for the week! You decide what you want to unplug from, turn your focus and attention to Jesus, your people, creation, community, the beauty of Holy Week—pretty much all the lovely things God gives us that we squander when we are overly attached to our tech—and each day will have a specific focus and prayer to make the most of your time.

Listen, I’m not the presence guru, I don’t have all the answers. But I do know a great place to start. I want to do this, and I want us to do it together. You’re my people and I’m grateful to give you something solid to stand on to begin your practice of presence. I’m so excited for you!

Are you in?

Love,

kate

P.s. After Holy Week is over, the detox will be made available all the time, so if you’re seeing this after the fact, it’s still there! Get on it!