Isn’t this sky just gorgeous?! I snapped this quick iPhone shot last night at sunset here in Jacksonville, FL while we were out running a few errands. It’s amazing to see God’s work in ways like this.

I posted it on Instagram so a lot of you may have already seen this, but I did it just because I wanted to share the beauty with everyone else and for no other reason. Not to promote a new product of mine or gain new followers or try to show you all some side of me that may benefit my business in the future. And do you know what? It got more likes than any other photo I have ever posted. By far. It’s funny what God can show us in the simplistic yet amazing things of our daily lives. And what’s scary about this to me? I miss these things. SO OFTEN. And recently I finally figured out why. I am trying to do EVERYTHING. ALL THE TIME. And it’s just not healthy or possible for me to do so many things, and do them well. And it’s especially not leaving me any time to enjoy things like this sky, or other gifts that God is giving me in my life through moments or people.

So, it was more than time for me to write out a list of everything I have on my plate, large and small, and start deleting things from that list until I was down to the most important things. The things that got crossed off are things that were even GOOD things, but they weren’t the BEST things for me. Making those decisions was really tough and scary. Letting go of things that we do already is hard. But it was so worth it for me to do this.

One of the biggest things (and not a bad thing either!) I chose to remove from my life was designing invitations. I opened my Etsy shop in October of 2012 and it was originally invitations only. It gave me my start as a small business owner, which made it so scary to let go of. The money it brought in will be gone and people may be upset that they can’t order…but I feel so much less stress now! It’s amazing how taking even one thing off the list can do that, but I didn’t stop there! haha. So, officially, Ashley Shelly is no longer designing custom invitations!!! WOO!

I want to focus my energy on my products that I have been creating because those things are helping so many of you in ways I never imagined I could be a part of. Knowing that hundreds of you out there are using the Budget Notebook just blows my mind! I use mine every single day and I love it, but to have others doing the same is the best compliment I could ever receive. And now as some of you may have seen via Instagram, I have a brand new product coming out in a few weeks called the Daily Peace Journal. I designed this product for myself, as I would want a journal to clear my mind every day and create focus in my life. So I hope everyone loves this journal as much as I can’t wait to use it! So excited!

The products I am making these days mean so much to me, and I want to give them 100% of my best, instead of a portion of me. I want you guys to be given the chance to use products that are thought about in detail and not just sold to make a profit. Yes, I need to make a profit to be a successful business woman and pay my bills (being an adult stinks sometimes!), but the heart behind my products is to make life more peaceful, for me and for you all. I really hope they do! And I hope if you are in a place in your life where you feel overwhelmed right now, that you give yourself the freedom to write everything out, and cross off the things that don’t serve you any more. It is one of the best feelings ever. Complete freedom and deep, clear breaths type of feeling. I am purposely choosing to focus in on the best things for me now, some of which are time with the ones I love, creating meaningful products for the Ashley Shelly brand, really getting to know my customers on a personal level, actually taking the time to read books, sleeping enough for my body to re-energize, and not living in the future so much (which for me = anxiety). So that’s where I am. And it’s a much better place than I was just a week ago. 🙂