This post is the first of a new series: Life Savers. It is based on the the Barbara Brown Taylor quote that Jen Hatmaker paraphrases on her podcast. The question is this:

What is saving your life right now?

Barbara Brown Taylor

Yep, such a big, meaty question and the answer is a lantern. But not just ANY lantern, Bob! This lantern gives me HOURS of time in my favorite space with one of my favorite people during my favorite time of the year. Let me explain…

Warm weather is my favorite season. I know that is not a traditional season, but in the South, seasons are untraditional. From April to October in North Carolina I would love to eat all meals outside (even lunch in August when our porch feels like the surface of the sun). I want to read out there. I want to write out there. I want to nap out there. I want to grow my plants and flowers out there. I want to throw the ball for Lucille out there.

… and Lucille wants me to throw the ball for her out there!

But I also love my husband and want to spend a couple minutes of each day with him. But alas, bugs also love him and want to spend *all* the minutes with him. And devour him. So each evening we would shovel our dinner quickly, then he would run inside to avoid bugs. But with this lantern, we can stay out for HOURS. Seriously. I was skeptical and insisted we borrow a friend’s Thermacell first to try it out because it sounded too good to be true. One night we hung out after work on the porch, ate dinner on the porch, forced The Boy to do his homework on the porch, then worked on our individual projects on our laptops on the porch. HOURS of joy!

I don’t really understand how it works, but it really does – even my husband the mosquito magnet agrees. Another bonus is that there is no open flame, no smoky candles. This is important to me because I am clumsy (open flame – yikes) and have asthma (candles and incense – wheeze). We bought refill cartridges when we bought it and replace them every 15-20 hours. And its $30 bucks. It is saving my life right now, making life sustainable.

What barriers are keeping you from doing what you love? Let’s talk about solutions to get you heading towards making life sustainable!