Finding Joy in Your Home

In this episode, Jami shares her own battle with anxiety and her journey through it. Listen in! Listen to the Podcast: Right click here and save-as to download this episode to your computer. I am so thankful to be able to sit here today and share that: anxiety does not dominate my life. I no longer struggle with panic attacks and while I absolutely can become anxious and have to battle against it often, anxiety is no longer the dominating force it once was. Anxiety is something that we need to be talking about today because it's something that so many of us struggle with and we have come to think is normal. I had panic attacks as a teen and struggled greatly with anxiety, even though I didn't know was it was. As a newly married 20-year-old, I ended up at the doctor with shooting pain in my chest, thinking I was having a heart attack. I went through rounds of tests and wearing heart monitors and stress tests, all to find out that I was having anxiety issues. God taught me so much through that season. And I know he was bringing me through those trials at the time he did because he was equipping me for what was right around the corner: Having twins and then losing my mom suddenly when they were 10 months old, only to have a second set of twins 1 year later (so 4 babies, 2 and under), and so much physical stress and strain on my body. Anxiety is a whole-bodied issue that goes far beyond "don't stress as much". Anxiety can be caused by so many issues and made worse by others. And so when we approach this topic of anxiety, we need to approach it from a holistic standpoint, meaning we need to look at our whole bodies and our whole lives. Christians can tend to fall into one of two ditches: Either they ignore anxiety completely and don't give good resources OR they go to the ultra-therapy side and leave God completely out of the discussion of dealing with anxiety. Thankfully, I see that trend changing and there are so many good holistic approaches to anxiety and our health today. We well and truly can trust God This is honestly where so much of my stress came from. I was not trusting the Lord with my life, not really. It wasn't that I didn't trust he was sovereign, I did. But I trusted it so much that I was afraid it meant that Jason would be taken from me tomorrow. I had a warped view of God's sovereignty and I didn't realize it. Until I read Jerry Bridge's book, Trusting God. In it, he so beautifully laid out what it means to trust God and that as our Heavenly Father, God does want our good. He will act according to his will, but he will also do this with our good in mind. We don't need to fear what his sovereign hand will do. He does allow things to happen that are hard and painful, but we can trust Him in the process. "That which should distinguish the suffering of believers from unbelievers is the confidence that our suffering is under the control of an all-powerful and all-loving God. Our suffering has meaning and purpose in God's eternal plan, and He brings or allows to come into our lives only that which is for His glory and our good." "In the arena of adversity, the Scriptures teach us three essential truths about God—truths we must believe if we are to trust Him in adversity. They are: God is completely sovereign. God is infinite in wisdom. God is perfect in love. Someone has expressed these three truths as they relate to us in this way: "God in His love always wills what is best for us. In His wisdom, He always knows what is best, and in His sovereignty, He has the power to bring it about." It's okay to not understand every little thing ""God's plan and His ways of working out His plan are frequently beyond our ability to fathom and understand. We must learn to trust when we don't understand." We need to learn to trust that we don't nor will know everything "God's guidance is almost always step-by-step; He does not show us our life's plan all at once....

In this episode, Jami skirts around the controversial topic of parenting, particularly comparing older versus newer ways of doing it. Listen in! Listen to the Podcast: Right click here and save-as to download this episode to your computer. There's a reel going around, the 80's parent versus Millennial parent, and I think we need to address a few things. In the comments, OVER and OVER again it was moms saying "I wish I could be the 80s mom!" And now, this isn't really about being an 80s mom versus being a millennial mom. 80s moms did things wrong too. There's good info we do have access to today, there are times to be aware of what our children are doing. But, I think this viral reel hits at the core of what a lot of us moms struggle with today. Access to too much information is not always a blessing. You google literally anything today and it's going to eventually tell you to head to the ER because you are dying. I am so thankful for the internet today, I am so thankful for access to good and useful information, but without a high level of discernment, the level of information we have access to can turn from being a blessing into a curse. Having SO many opinions and voices all screaming at us can crowd out our God-given discernment. We need to be careful that we are not letting other people's opinions take over and crowd out what God is calling us to. When that anxiety and that overwhelm hits, are we off to see what our favorite IG influencer has to say or what Dr. Google recommends before and above praying and asking God for discernment in the situation? We can come to despise the older generations' advice, and this is a dangerous situation. Older moms, older generations, are where we should be getting our motherhood advice from. And when we end up in an echo chamber of just our own generation, on the internet, in often harmful chat rooms, we are not learning from older and wiser generations. NOW, this can be actually quite tricky right now. I am fully acknowledging that. We are a generation right now that is changing things. In many ways, we are the generation that is turning the tide back to how our great-grandmothers lived and raised their children and we are having to figure out what that looks like in our modern world. This is not easy and there is no clear way to do this. It takes a high degree of discernment which comes through prayer and wisdom. Just because we have access to more answers than our grandmother's day, doesn't actually mean we know more. Our children do not actually belong to us, they belong to the Lord. We need to trust that ultimately HE is the one in control, NOT us Ladies, we have a very false sense of security and control in our modern world. Thank the Lord, we don't see high mortality rates in our babies. We don't have to give birth to 15 children to just have 4 of them survive to adulthood. We have access to clean water, good food, doctors, medicine, and more. A lot of this can lead us to think WE are in control. Yes, God asks us to be wise and to be self-disciplined. We have to work very hard to care for our children and take care of our households. But this all needs to be done with the clear idea in mind that God is sovereign over our every breath. That he is the one that knows the exact minutes we will be on this earth and he cares so deeply for our children, that we can trust Him. Even when we don't understand the big picture, we can trust AND we can recognize that we are not in control anyway. And that having anxiety about every morsel of food our kids eat, is mistrusting the Lord and doesn't lead to a better outcome ANYWAY or more peace in our homes. In the next two episodes, we are going to be dealing with the topic of fear and anxiety. So many of us can struggle, just like we talked about today, with anxiety over our kids and our everyday actions and decisions. But we can also have so much fear over the world and what's happening.

In this episode, Jami chats with the fantastic Alex from Sweet Siestas all about helping to solve children's sleep issues. Listen in! Listen to the Podcast: Right click here and save-as to download this episode to your computer. Links and Resources: Join our private community to chat about this podcast episode: FindingJoyCommunity.com You can find Alex and her excellent sleep training at sweetsiestasllc.com Watch the podcast on YouTube if you want! Finding Joy in Your Home on YouTube Keep an eye out for episode 4 of Baking School with Jami coming this week: Baking School with Jami Our Sponsor: Use our exclusive link to get 20% off - honeylove.com/HOME

In this episode, Jami continues the planning discussion from episode 1 and digs into all the ways she's planning for the upcoming Fall season. Listen in! Listen to the Podcast: Right click here and save-as to download this episode to your computer. In episode one of this season, we discussed 5 ways that we waste time as homemakers, and what we can do about it. Today we are taking this lesson one step further and discussing how we can actively plan for the next busy season. I'm building out new schedules for the fall right now, let's discuss how I'm doing it! Brainstorm and dream On the way home from our recent road trip, Jason and I took some extended time to really talk through our plans and hopes for the fall. We both have some areas we want to work on and incorporate into our schedules. But we are trying to make sure that we are being realistic with these plans and not trying to jam-pack way too much into our schedule! So we started out just really talking about ideas, kind of like a brain dump. We both talked about health goals we both want to work on, things we'd love to add to homeschool, etc. It helped to have a time where we just kind of brain-dumped all the things! Go category by category through our plans After we had that more general brainstorming session, I then took my Kindle Scribe and went category by category into our plans through the rest of the year. Here's what we discussed: 1. Our health goals 2. Homeschool objectives and we developed a schedule 3. Big work projects and WHEN they will happen. 4. We discussed the Christmas budget and what our ideas are for the kids this year. I now have my Christmas list done and I'm on the hunt! 5. Then personally, I have my own goals and plans to work on: my cleaning routine and meal planning around the house, etc. Make sure to look back over the last season to see what worked well and what didn't. It's not just about productivity, it's about designing a schedule that works well for our family Be really clear on what your priorities truly are. Remember, these priorities can change every few months. Links and Resources: Join our private community to chat about this podcast episode: FindingJoyCommunity.com Watch the podcast on YouTube if you want! Finding Joy in Your Home on YouTube Keep an eye out for episode 3 of Baking School with Jami coming this week: Baking School with Jami Our Sponsor: Go to magicmind.co/home and get up to 56% off your subscription for the next 10 days with my code HOME. Our Sponsor: Go to HelloFresh.com/50homemaking and use code 50homemaking for 50% off plus free shipping!

In this episode, Jami chats with the wonderful Melissa K. Norris all about food preservation. Listen in! Listen to the Podcast: Right click here and save-as to download this episode to your computer. Links and Resources: Join our private community to chat about this podcast episode: FindingJoyCommunity.com Melissa's excellent book on food preservation: Everything Worth Preserving: The Complete Guide for Food Preservation at Home Watch the podcast on YouTube if you want! Finding Joy in Your Home on YouTube Keep an eye out for Baking School with Jami coming this week: Baking School with Jami Our Sponsor: For 50% off your first Care/of order, go to TakeCareOf.com and enter code home50! Our Sponsor: Go to GreenChef.com/homemaking50 and use code homemaking50 to get 50% off plus free shipping!

In this first episode of Season 3, we're chatting about time wasters, and how to stop it. Listen in! Listen to the Podcast: Right click here and save-as to download this episode to your computer. Hello friends! Welcome back to my podcast, Finding Joy in Your Home. We are here for season 3 with some fun new changes. I'm going to give you a few announcements and then we will jump into today's topic of wasting time as a homemaker, and what we can do about it. Some of you right now are watching me over on YouTube as you listen to this podcast! As of this episode, my podcast is now also a video podcast over on YT. If you listen to the audio and you just want it to stay that way, that's totally fine! But as of this week, we are officially relaunching my YT channel in a big way! Each week we will be publishing my video podcast (if you want to watch on video or keep listening to audio). AND I have a brand new weekly show starting on YouTube called Baking School with Jami! Each week we will learn something new about baking and then make a new recipe together! I'm convinced that the best way to learn to bake is by trying out just one new recipe a week and learning it as you go! And we are going to do this together during Baking School with Jami. For this show, you will need to hop over to YouTube to watch. Just go to BakingSchoolwithJami.com to find the link and to sign up to get the printables and recipes each week! Now let's get to today's episode: It can so often feel like we are just spinning our wheels when it comes to getting things done. I have felt many times in my motherhood journey that I have been busy, busy, busy without actually getting much done. How is it that we can feel pulled in so many directions but not actually making traction in the few areas that actually matter? As we kick off season 3, I think this is an important place to start. I don't know about you, but Fall always feels like such a busy time. School is kicking off again and with that comes new co-op opportunities, sports and activities, Bible studies, and the looming holidays. I know that I'm going to blink and it will be January and we will be kicking off a New Year. So as I stare fall in the face and try to get my new schedules and routines together, I think this is a really important topic: How can we stop wasting time? I think it's so important, every new season, to reevaluate what's working well and what isn't. And a big thing for me, with so many modern distractions, is making sure I'm using my time well and not wasting my days away, which unfortunately is all too easy to do. Do you need to be getting up earlier? And/or using your evenings better? This is one I struggle with. I am GOOD at getting work done at night, but I struggle in establishing better morning routines. Some of you definitely don't struggle with this and that's awesome! I've found the opposite to be true though too: If you are excellent at getting up early, then often that same person really struggles as they head into dinner time and the evening. So maybe you need to focus on ways to be more intentional with your time as the evening hits. Take a really honest assessment of your day, what is it that you need to focus on when it comes to wasting time? We thrive so much better when I'm up before the kids, have done my devotional, had my coffee, and can really hit the ground running with our full homeschool day kicking into action at 8 am. It's better for all of us, I just have to really work at this sometimes! Get dressed for the day. This is huge for those of us who are home all day. As a younger stay-at-home mom, I was in my PJs most of the day. It was more comfortable to just stay comfy. But I've realized over the years, this greatly hampers my productivity. When I get up and am dressed by 8am, our day just starts. It's like this terrific signal that it's time to get busy and be productive.

What is tea, and the difference between types of tea? What are the nutritional values of tea and how are the nutrients found in true tea good for you? Jami interviews tea expert Marla in today's episode to answer all those questions and more. Listen in! Listen to the Podcast: Right click here and save-as to download this episode to your computer. Let's take a look at herbal teas (tisanes) and how you can create your own types of herbal teas. What are some simple tips/tricks to look for when deciding what herbs to use to create your teas? A couple of easy herbal tea blends you can make, using herbs you may have in your own herb garden. Marla is the woman behind the MaraBette & Co, Tea and Hospitality, LLC, a wife, daughter, friend. She is an unconventional, God- loving tea & hospitality enthusiast with a no-nonsense approach to helping people discover the joy of hospitality and serving, through the time-honored art of taking tea and having afternoon tea. Through her company, MaraBette & Co, Marla has established a unique line of artisan teas reflecting the love of family, home, friendship, & hospitality, bringing to many a new sense of wonder through her many tea blends. Links and Resources: Join our private community to chat about this podcast episode: FindingJoyCommunity.com Book Recommendation: Growing Your Own Tea Garden; The Guide To Growing & Harvesting FlavorfulTeas In Your Backyard-By Jodi Helmer Book Recommendation: Homegrown Tea; An Illustrated Guide To Planting, harvesting, & blending teas & tisanes-By Cassie Liversidge Our Sponsor: Treat yourself to the best shapewear on the market and save 20% Off at honeylove.com/home. Our Sponsor: Go to AquaTru.com and enter code "HOME" at checkout for 20% OFF any AquaTru water purifier.

For many years, I've functioned well with a loose meal planning system. I needed my days to be extremely flexible and it's worked well for the most part. This past year or so I've felt the need to take my meal planning to a new level but getting things more planned out and a bit more rigid, but still with the flexibility I need. Today I'm discussing the new rotating seasonal meal plan I've been talking about. Listen in! Listen to the Podcast: Right click here and save-as to download this episode to your computer. I am excited to say that my first of 4 meal plans, my summer plan is almost done. Today I'm going to give you a run down of how this is working and what I've been learning about meal planning along the way. As the manager of my home, the kitchen is such a large area of responsibility that can either run like a well oiled machine or feel like complete and utter chaos. The past 6 months has seen more chaos than I'd like. So I'm going back to the drawing board and asking "What does my meal planning need in this new busy season?" I've come up with my plan: Rotating seasonal meal plans. My goals are a few: 1) To make more food from scratch in order to save money 2) Increase the health of my families food so that we all have vitality and energy to tackle the things that God has called us to and 3) Free up brain space and put more of my meal planning on autopilot for smoother routines. The most important thing to me for finally getting to this more advanced level of meal planning, is having family favorite recipes down. If you are in a stage of need to meal plan for the first time, I suggest you come up with a loose plan that allows you to try out new recipes and hone those recipes that your family loves. Don't just drift through life and meal planning, come up with a plan to figure out those recipes and save them. Decide on a meal plan and then stick to it. Honestly a huge part of meal planning is literally just having the discipline to stick to it. With that said, start with the simplest version of meal planning that you can and build from there (the MVP idea). Stick with it and develop it as you go so that it makes sense for your family! Links and Resources: Our Sponsor:Go to HelloFresh.com/homemaking16 and use code homemaking16 for 16 free meals plus free shipping! Our Sponsor: For 50% off your first Care/of order, go to TakeCareOf.com and enter code home50. Check out our bookstore opening through 7/21 at FindingJoyBookstore.com And join our meal planning bootcamp at FindingJoyShop.com

In today's episode, Jami chats with Jason all about their mid year reading goal statuses. They also discuss their plans to read more classics, as well as introduce them to their kids, as well as how they are raising their kids to love reading as much as they do. Listen in! Listen to the Podcast: You can find all the links and notes for this episode below! Right click here and save-as to download this episode to your computer. Links & Resources: Join our private community to chat about this podcast episode: FindingJoyCommunity.com Our Sponsor:Go to GreenChef.com/homemaking50 and use code homemaking50 to get 50% off plus free shipping. Our Sponsor: Go to magicmind.co/home and get up to 56% off your subscription for the next 10 days with my code HOME. Books mentioned: The creedal imperative The case for the christian family Family driven faith Jason's reading a lot of Steinbeck this year The Convivial Homeschool Modern Miss Mason A Cover for Glory Durable Trades Becoming Free Indeed The Little Women book Series Louisa May Alcott: The Woman Behind Little Women