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WATCH: Sisters Sing Bone-Chilling Easter Rendition of Leonard Cohen’s ‘Hallelujah’

The young sisters from Fort Frances, Ontario sing an Easter rendition of Leonard Cohen's famous "Hallelujah," that is so beautiful, it'll bring tears to your eyes.

What Is Maundy Thursday?—How to Celebrate During Holy Week

As we celebrate Holy Week, the week leading up to Easter, you may start to wonder, what is Maundy Thursday? Three days before Easter, we come to Maundy Thursday. "Maundy" comes from the Latin word "mandatum," meaning command, order, or commission.

Abby & Brittany: Conjoined Twin Abby Hensel is Married!

They’re the most famous conjoined twins in the world, and now Abby Hensel, of the duo Abby and Brittany, is now married! 

How Marie Kondo Inspired Me to Clean the Closet, and Then Work on my Heart

There’s been a ton of buzz the last couple weeks about a new show on Netflix called “Tidying Up with Marie Kondo. When the house felt relatively clean and I had straight vacuum lines in the carpet, I thought it was time to give it a watch and see what all the hype was about.

One episode in and I knew I’d be writing a blog. I mean, I already wrote a semi-blog on Instagram this week about my new roaster pan so moving into the home organization direction wasn’t a huge leap.

First of all, Marie Kondo is an adorable human. I’d like to be her friend, but I’m not sure I’m sweet enough to even be in her presence. I’m fascinated with her home organization methods and I can see how they work. I also am a fan of no clutter and seeing spaces transformed, so I love watching people clean up their homes and it inspires me to keep on top of ours. I can appreciate how a place or space feels and I value atmosphere for many different reasons.

But then.

Marie went all joy on us.

Taking it to a whole other level.

And it struck a deep chord in me.

Because joy. Joy is something we forget that we need in our life, and it’s easy to let it slip away. Sometimes we wonder if we even deserve joy, or if it’s just something that occasionally we get a taste of until the next moment it pops up. We can easily overlook the meaning it brings to deep places, and that it can be a sustainable way of life.

Far beyond our cupboards and drawers.

In Marie terms, you appreciate the things that you have. When you no longer need them, or they no longer spark joy in your life, you thank them and say good-bye. I’ll admit watching people talk to their old t-shirts and say a farewell was a little odd at first. But, I got what she was doing.

We hold onto a lot of things that we don’t need.

Life happens. Circumstances come. If we are not careful, we allow emotions and feelings into our life that smother out our joy. We hoard the hurt and let it pile up inside.

Forgetting that we can let go,

to create space for what is ahead. 

Marie got me thinking beyond shelves and cupboards about what sparks joy in my own life and reflecting on what I need to say good-bye to. We can all be honest and admit that there are things that take up valuable room in our hearts and block anything else from coming in.

We hold on, and unless we release we don’t make new space. 

Space for new seasons.

Space for adventures.

Shelly Calcagno
Shelly Calcagno
Shelly loves to write, speak, blogs regularly and has published a children's book, Tini's Tangles. Shelly has written and produced several animated series for children, as well as family and children’s curriculum. Shelly previously co-hosted on 100 Huntley Street – Canada’s longest running daytime talk show where she produced lifestyle and faith segments.  She currently is a Family Ministry Pastor in the Niagara Region of Canada. Shelly loves being creative and taking on DIY projects, especially if they involve mason jars and chalkboard paint! Shelly is married and has two awesome teenagers. You can find her writing at www.ShellyCalcagno.com.

WATCH: Sisters Sing Bone-Chilling Easter Rendition of Leonard Cohen’s ‘Hallelujah’

The young sisters from Fort Frances, Ontario sing an Easter rendition of Leonard Cohen's famous "Hallelujah," that is so beautiful, it'll bring tears to your eyes.

What Is Maundy Thursday?—How to Celebrate During Holy Week

As we celebrate Holy Week, the week leading up to Easter, you may start to wonder, what is Maundy Thursday? Three days before Easter, we come to Maundy Thursday. "Maundy" comes from the Latin word "mandatum," meaning command, order, or commission.

Abby & Brittany: Conjoined Twin Abby Hensel is Married!

They’re the most famous conjoined twins in the world, and now Abby Hensel, of the duo Abby and Brittany, is now married!