Finding Joy in Your Home

Last week we talked about getting to the bottom of WORK, leisure, and what's the point? Today we are looking at the next logical topic: building out your schedule and the importance of taking care of yourself. Listen in here: Listen to the Podcast: And don't forget to subscribe to the podcast in iTunes. Right click here and save-as to download this episode to your computer. What does it mean to invest in yourself? This is a hot topic right now in Christian circles. Many people proclaim we need to be doing MORE to invest in ourselves and others say that this is an entirely selfish phrase or idea and we need to throw it out. Where do I stand? Right in the middle of this debate. I think that there is a huge movement in our culture to be selfish. Spend all your time and money on yourself. The good life consists of many shopping days, trips to the spa and making sure YOU are #1 priority in your life...to the exclusion of others. That is a wrong and sinful attitude. So on the flip side, I think Christians often overreact on the other end and we take the idea of denying ourselves so far to the extreme that we no longer have the capacity to serve well because we've neglected ourselves physically, spiritually, and emotionally. Matthew 16:24 - Then Jesus told his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me." We see that we ARE to live a selfless life. We are to want to become more and more like Christ. We are to deny our own selfish wants and desires and follow HIM! So we shouldn't plunge all of our time, money, and energy into ourselves. We shouldn't be selfish to the detriment of those around us especially. Caring for our health But we should also be concerned about caring for this body and mind that God has given us so that we can serve him with joy and vigor. If we run ourselves into the ground trying to be and do everything, we won't have the energy or creativity to joyfully serve our family and do all that God has called us to in this life with joy. God calls us to be wise with our time. To use it well. To serve him. And I think a very wise use of some of our time, is making sure that we are taking care of ourselves. "Some godly people who exercise regularly and eat well drop dead at every age. And some sedentary overeaters live to be ninety. Our days are set by God, not us. You won't live a day longer or shorter than God decides. But keep in mind that some people have survived the plunge over Niagara Falls. That doesn't make it wise." - Physical Exercise by John Piper "Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain." - 1 Corinthians 15:58 John Piper explains why he puts time and energy into jogging: "Underneath most of my besetting sins is despondency. I am less prone to such melancholy when I hammer my body three times a week. The reason could be endorphins. Could be ego. Whichever, it's cheaper than Prozac or psychotherapy. I'm simply happier. And I sleep better. I have more energy. Most of that energy goes into the Bible and preaching and people. And the fruit from that is, I hope, edification. Which means I exercise to be a more loving person and a better pastor." Caring for our bodies and our minds is being a WISE steward of what God has given us: "If you ask how the fruit of exercise relates to the fruit of the Spirit, my answer is this: the Holy Spirit produces his fruit both directly and indirectly. He can zap you in your worst moments and make you kind. But he often does it indirectly. For example, if you are impatient when you get little sleep, and if patience is a fruit of the Spirit (which it is, Galatians 5:22), very likely the Holy Spirit will not only remind you of the sufferings of Christ and the glory of God's promises, but he will also give you the humility to stop being God and go to bed on time.

If you want to get more productive in life, then a really important place to start is our view of work (and leisure). How we view the work we do (especially those mundane moments of our day) has a really big impact on how we craft our own habits and routines. In this episode, we are going to dive into what this looks like from a Biblical perspective. Let's jump in! Listen to the Podcast: And don't forget to subscribe to the podcast in iTunes. Right click here and save-as to download this episode to your computer. The goal of this episode is to give you ENCOURAGEMENT. When we have the proper end goal in mind, it can transform our homes and the work we do! God's View of Work How do we spend our time? Where do we turn throughout the day? What does it mean to construct a life and schedule that brings glory to God? I think one important discussion that we must have around this all: Is what is the point of work? It's a question that we must grapple with especially in our modern society. Past cultures didn't really have the luxury of pondering the point of work and leisure. They worked hard for their very survival. And they rested when they needed to to make that happen. They had natural habits built into their day: They went to bed with the sun and rose with the sun. They could do a few tasks well and that was it. In some ways, I envy them: They saw the direct fruit of their labor day in and day out. In our modern society, I think many of us can feel like we are "wasting" our day when we spend more time in the kitchen cooking or picking up around the house. We see it as somehow bad that we are spending more time preparing food. We are constantly looking for ways we can save time and cut down on things around the house because we want to do more "worthwhile" things. We miss the point deeply that God created us for work. Work is good and hard work can produce much fulfillment and fruitfulness in our lives. Instead of constant grumbling and complaining about the tasks that God set before us: What if we embraced them with vigor and joy? What if we took on 2021 and joyfully labored for the Lord in all that he has given us to do? What if we put our heads down and just got to work!? Keeping it all in perspective that we are laboring for the Lord...all for His Glory! How we view work: "Work is a major instrument of God's providence; it is how he sustains the human world."- Every Good Endeavor When it comes to a proper view of our work, I think it's easy to fall into one of two camps: We are lazy and not working unto the Lord OR we create work to be an idol. Making an idol out of our work: "The idols of modern culture have had a profound influence on the shape of our work today. In traditional societies people found their meaning and sense of value by submitting their interests and sacrificing their desires to serve higher causes like God, family, and other people. In modern societies there is often no higher cause than individual interests and desires. This shift powerfully changed the role of work in people's lives—it now became the way we defined ourselves. Traditional cultures tended to see people's place on the social ladder as assigned by nature or convention, each family having its "proper place." That view had put too little stock in the role of individual talent, ambition, and hard work for determining the outcome of one's life. But modern society responded by putting too much stock in the autonomous person." ― Timothy Keller, Every Good Endeavor: Connecting Your Work to God's Work Work Before the Fall I think we often think of work as being a result of the Fall. But in fact, we see work as part of God's perfect plan. "And to Adam he said, "Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, 'You shall not eat of it,' cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistle...

Are you finding yourself needing to fight for JOY this year? In this episode we are going straight to the Bible to see what our source of Joy is and how we can find steadfast joy and peace this year and beyond. Listen in for some deep encouragement today! Listen to the Podcast: And don't forget to subscribe to the podcast in iTunes. Right click here and save-as to download this episode to your computer. What is true JOY according to God's Word? "Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls." - 1 Peter 1:8-9 "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." - Romans 15:13 "Nehemiah said, "Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength." - Nehemiah 8:10 "For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit," - Romans 14:17 And so many others. But when you read through the entirety of scripture with this joy in mind, you will quickly see the Christian life is one of JOY. To set the stage about what we will be talking about, I love this lengthy quote from R.c. Sproul's book Can I have Joy in My Life? (FREE on Kindle right now!) "THE WAY TO RECOVER JOY - Paul's admonition to believers to be joyful presupposes that believers can do something if they find themselves lacking in joy. He is right, of course, and the New Testament is filled with teaching on how to be joyful. The most basic method is to focus our attention on the ground of our joy, the source of our joy. Paul gives one of the most practical of these teachings in Philippians: "Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things" (4:8). This is a call to meditate upon the things of the Lord, to turn our attention to the things of God. When we find ourselves depressed, down, irritated, annoyed, or otherwise unhappy, we need to return to the source of our joy, and then we will see those circumstances that are sapping our joy in perspective. The circumstances of this life will pale into insignificance when compared to that which we have received from God. Sometimes our joy is determined by the intensity of the latest blessing we experienced at the hands of God. We're always looking for the mountaintop experience, for a spiritual high that will excite us and fill us with joy, but these intense feelings wear off. When I have things in perspective, I know that if I never experienced another blessing in my entire life other than the blessings I already have received from the hand of God, I would have no possible reason to be anything but overflowing with joy until the day I die. God has already given me so much to be thankful for, so much to provoke my soul to delight, gladness, and joy, that I should be able to live on the basis of that surplus of blessedness and remain joyful all of my days." How does joy differ from happiness? Happiness is a fleeting emotion. And usually a very unstable one. What makes us happy might differ from moment to moment. And what is true happiness anyway? Happiness is easy to get swept away with the troubles of this world. Joy on the other hand, is a fruit of the Spirit. "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control" - Galatians 5:22-23: Why is this significant? "Paul mentions some of the fruits of the Spirit like "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,

It's here! We are finally diving into our 2021 Christian Reading Challenge! If you've followed along with us, you know this is our 5th year in a row issuing a reading challenge (and taking one on ourselves). This year we've changed it up a little bit to make it easier to use. You can check out our 2020 reading challenge to use as well if you want! One of the major changes you'll notice this year is that we've combined both challenges. In previous years we've issued a men's challenge and a women's challenge. This year, anyone can use the challenge to fit their needs. Listen to the Podcast: Listen in to my podcast episode from this week to find out more about why we developed this reading challenge, tips for following along, and the reasoning behind the books and categories chosen. Or skip the podcast and head down below for all the info ? And don't forget to subscribe to my podcast in iTunes. Right click here and save-as to download this episode to your computer. What's New This Year Change #1: Like I mentioned above, we are combining the men and women's challenge all into one. Choose which books most interest you! Change #2: Instead of choosing actual books to put into the challenge, we are just adding in categories for you that you fill in with your books or find new ones! Change #3: We are adding a bunch of new books to the category lists below but also carrying our book recommendations from previous years. All NEW book suggestions (that haven't been highlighted in past challenges) will be bold. 2021 Christian Reading Challenge Here's how it works: You will find the reading challenge below. You'll see that we've given you two tracks - 13 books or 26! This is either reading one book every four weeks or one book every two weeks. If you want to do 52 books (one a week) you can easily adjust for that as well. A note about fiction: This year we've included fiction categories per your request! I think fiction is hard because all of us are going to have different tastes in what fiction we prefer. You can find some of our favorite Christian Fiction books here. But feel free to substitute any fiction books or series that you enjoy. Pick Your Level: I know each of us has different reading levels and time for reading, so I created two different tracks you can follow. 13 Books a Year – This works out to 1 book every 4 weeks. If you have no habit of reading right now or have no idea you will fit reading time into your busy schedule, then this is a great level to begin with. Pick one book every 4 weeks and commit to getting it down within that time. 26 Books a Year – If you want to tackle a bigger challenge, then this level will get you reading 1 book every two weeks throughout the year. It's still a very doable reading track but will challenge you to stay on track! If you want to follow this plan, read one book from each list every month. So in January, read book #1 and book #14! This way everyone can read through and follow along with books #1-13 together. Here are the categories: Christian Living Marriage Parenting/Family Life Theology Fiction Biography/History Spiritual Disciplines Christian Classics Church History *If you are not a parent or are not married, then scroll down and fill in those spots with other fantastic book suggestions from the other categories. Book Recommendations Per Category: Christian Living: Everyday Faithfulness: The Beauty of Ordinary Perseverance in a Demanding World - Glenna Marshall Growing Together: Taking Mentoring beyond Small Talk and Prayer Requests - Melissa Kruger A Place to Belong: Learning to Love the Local Church - Megan Hill God Does His Best Work with Empty - Nancy Guthrie Piercing Heaven: Prayers of the Puritans - Robert Elmer Gentle and Lowly: The Heart of Christ for Sinners and Sufferers - Dane C. Ortlund

Today I'm sharing my top 10 books that I read this last year. I love reflecting back over the books I've read and I've got some good ones to recommend to you today. Listen in! Listen to the Podcast: And don't forget to subscribe to the podcast in iTunes. Right click here and save-as to download this episode to your computer. I read 78 books in 2020. It was far off from my original goal of 156, but considering what a busy year we had, I'm very happy with it! Of all the books I read this year, here are my top 10 favorites! My Top 10 Books of 2020 Suffering is Never For Nothing - Elizabeth Elliot Love Centered Parenting - Crystal Paine (Releases March 16th!) God's Battleplan for the Mind: A Puritan Practice of Biblical Meditation - David W. Saxton Adventuring Together: How to Create Connections and Make Lasting Memories with Your Kids - Greta Eskridge Loving Well - William P. Smith The Gospel Comes with a Housekey - Rosaria Butterfield The Call of the Wild and the Free: Reclaiming Wonder in Your Child's Education - Ainsley Arment Stop Calling Me Beautiful: Finding Soul-Deep Strength in a Skin-Deep World - Phylicia Masonheimer Start With Your People - Brian Dixon (My interview with Brian here) Grain by Grain: A Quest to Revive Ancient Wheat, Rural Jobs, and Healthy Food - Bob Quinn Links & Resources: Follow me on Goodreads Follow Jason on Goodreads Follow me on Instagram Our Sponsor: Go to GreenChef.com/homemaking10 and use code homemaking10 to get $90 off including free shipping!

I love setting goals for the new year! For 2021, my goals are based off of my word for this year and the focus I want to have. Listen in to my 12 goals I'll be working on this year! Listen to the Podcast: And don't forget to subscribe to the podcast in iTunes. Right click here and save-as to download this episode to your computer. My word for 2021 took a little while to settle on. But in praying about it and really thinking through what Jason and I both want our household to capture this next year, I landed on: Kingdom. It's shaping a lot about how I approach this next year in my thought process and practically through my goals. As I dig into what we will be working towards in 2021, I've broken my goals down into 3 categories: The Kingdom and my personal goals The Kingdom and my family The Kingdom and my business/ministry The Kingdom and My Personal Goals: I'm a big planner and goal setter. It helps to motivate me and I know that by setting personal goals for myself, I accomplish far more than if I didn't set any goals at all. I've got 4 goals for this category: Read 130 books in 2021 Read the entire Bible cover to cover Keep a gratitude journal for 365 days Do 6 craft projects in the year The Kingdom and My Family Goals: Jason and I have developed these goals together. Memorize 40 Bible verses this year (I would like to shoot for 52, one a week, but I know 40 is more realistic). Play more board games (as a family and Jason and I) Invest in solidifying our homeschooling routines. We started a new curriculum 6 months ago that's working so well for us. The next step is really solidifying those routines and habits. Better family worship routine (5 times a week) The Kingdom and My Business/Ministry Goals Write a book Launch rebrand of Finding Joy in Your Home (from Young Wife's Guide) Hire 3-4 people over the course of the year Launch 4 new big products and 4 small products Secret goal: Work on a huge secret project we have set to launch quarter one 2022. We need to be working on this project each week but it's hard to stay on track with a project that huge when it's so far away!

This is my 7th year picking a word for my year. Last year I expressed that I always love picking my word for the year but I had difficulty in picking one for 2020. Well that's true again this year. I thought and prayed about it a lot but I think I landed on the perfect word for my year. So today I'm sharing my new word for the year as well as some tips for picking your own word for this year. Here are my past words: 2012: Intentional 2016: Joy 2017: Create 2018: Refresh 2019: Faithfulness 2020: Cultivate Listen to the Podcast: We also recorded this blog post as an audio podcast. If you want to listen in instead of reading, click play below or do a combination of both And don't forget to subscribe to the podcast in iTunes. Right click here and save-as to download this episode to your computer. What has gone into choosing this word: When picking my word for 2020, I was looking ahead to what looked like an extremely full and weird year. We were looking ahead to selling our house, having baby #6, and buying an RV and starting to travel around the U.S. full time. And now we are almost 7 months into that travel journey. But of course, we had no idea what else 2020 would have in store. So I've been praying a lot these past months on what 2021 will have in store for us. I know now more than ever that I can't control what the future holds. But I can hold fiercely to joy and peace this year for my own life and family. More than ever, I need to make sure that MY priorities are crystal clear. I need to make sure that when things in the world get crazy and the days might be hard, that I am standing fiercely in the hope of God's Kingdom. I need to make sure that God's priorities are my true priorities. For my own personal goals, for my family, and for our business. It's something that Jason and I have been discussing a LOT and praying about a LOT. And so all of this has led me to my word for 2021... Kingdom. I want more than anything for 2021 to be Kingdom focused. I want Kingdom focus in my personal goals, my parenting, my marriage, and my business. I want to make choices, pray about decisions, and walk boldly into 2021 with this Kingdom focus. So what does this mean? Got Questions explains that God's Kingdom is: "Broadly speaking, the kingdom of God is the rule of an eternal, sovereign God over all the universe. Several passages of Scripture show that God is the undeniable Monarch of all creation: "The LORD has established his throne in heaven, and his kingdom rules over all" (Psalm 103:19). And, as King Nebuchadnezzar declared, "His kingdom is an eternal kingdom" (Daniel 4:3). Every authority that exists has been established by God (Romans 13:1). So, in one sense, the kingdom of God incorporates everything that is. More narrowly, the kingdom of God is a spiritual rule over the hearts and lives of those who willingly submit to God's authority. Those who defy God's authority and refuse to submit to Him are not part of the kingdom of God; in contrast, those who acknowledge the lordship of Christ and gladly surrender to God's rule in their hearts are part of the kingdom of God. In this sense, the kingdom of God is spiritual—Jesus said His kingdom was not of this world (John 18:36), and He preached that repentance is necessary to be a part of the kingdom of God (Matthew 4:17). That the kingdom of God can be equated with the sphere of salvation is evident in John 3:5–7, where Jesus says the kingdom of God must be entered into by being born again. See also 1 Corinthians 6:9." So to me, what this brings to mind is twofold: Christ is reigning over the cosmos. He is in control of all things. He is not afraid for what tomorrow will bring. He knows and he sees it. His Kingdom reigns over everything. From the small everyday concerns we deal with to the overarching global pandemic that seems to make the world crazy. Because Christ is reigning over the cosmos,

Church with littles in tow can be tough. Worth it, but tough. In this episode we are going to chat about the importance of being in Church as a family and some tips for making it easier. Listen to the Podcast: You can find important links & info below. And don't forget to subscribe to the podcast in iTunes. Right click here and save-as to download this episode to your computer. Ever since our first set of twins started making all those loud noises that babies do when they "talk", it's been hard. I remember one Sunday, pulling into Church, already exhausted from the Sunday morning scramble. We had hurried around getting 3 year old twins dressed and fed, wrangled 14 month old twins into their outfits, and got my pregnant self semi-put together...and I glimpsed a mom of 6 with older kids...just walking into church. She was holding her coffee and her Bible. And each kid was walking across the parking lot by themselves (NOT in constant danger of being run over). And I know she had her own struggles that day... But man I was so overwhelmed at the moment that I couldn't imagine a day like that coming. I had spent SO many Sunday's feeling so defeated and wondering what the point was anyway. I'm still in the tenches with 6 kids 7 and under, but not nearly as deep as a when we had 5 kids 4 and under ? But I've started seeing the pay off (STARTING to see ?). Moms (and dads), it's worth it. Show up. Model the discipline it takes to get there. Lay out clothes the night before, put oatmeal on the crockpot to be ready, have a snack ready for in between services...make it easier! But.show.up. Bring them to Church so they hear God's Word preached. Let them see believers of all ages worshipping together. And don't sweat the small stuff (preaching to myself here). It'll get easier. It'll get sweeter. But show up. God will take care of the rest ? Training littles: Some days are awful. They just are. Some days are good. Don't let this discourage you. Make sure no one goes hungry. Start off with a calm morning (and make sure they got enough sleep) If you go to tow services, bring a snack in between! Set the expectation: Make it so they are not happy if they have to be taken out of service. (chocolate chips example) Bring things to occupy little hands. We have special coloring bags, they can draw, take notes, ect. Don't sweat the noise: You are training them. It's good work. Don't give up, even if it feels awkward and hard. And it's probably much louder to you than it is to others. Watch other moms: Many of them are awesome and know what they are doing!! Train outside of church: Go out to eat and talk about expectations. Do quiet reading time at home, ect. And don't give up. It gets easier. I think sometimes we get this idea that if we don't perfectly train them at 2, then they will be hopeless cases by the time they are 8. It's not true. Keep training them. All kids are different and will respond differently. Now that the oldest are 8 and 5, it's so much easier to train them then when we had 4 and 2 year olds. Links: Follow me over on Instagram Our Sponsor: Get 2 weeks of FREE meal planning from PrepDish.com/Homemaking

This week we are chatting about DATING your husband. Having more fun together as a couple and how to bring the laughter (and the fun!) back into your marriage. Listen in! Listen to the Podcast: You can find important links & info below. And don't forget to subscribe to the podcast in iTunes. Right click here and save-as to download this episode to your computer. I love this advice from my friend Lisa over at Club 31 Women (you can listen to her full episode) How to be best friends: By spending time together By being nice to him By being interested in his stuff By having fun together By praying for him What Jason and I love doing together: READING Board games Video games Watching movies/tv shows OUR BUSINESS Date nights out: Coffee and reading date ? Bowling - our fav fun activity! Going to movies Dinner and shopping What do you and your hubby do together for fun? (responses from Instagram!) Beekeeping Going for drives looking for things to photograph Bike riding "I have an eBay store so we love driving around to thrift stores looking for things to resell." Air hockey Kettlebell workouts Going to antique stores "We plan and cook meals based on different world cuisines" 3D archery He is the soccer coach and me a soccer mom! Many outdoor things: hiking, kayaking, camping, and day trips to things like state park Dog training Watching funny and goofey youtube videos together "We enjoy a nightly routine of good conversations over coffee. When his schedule allows we enjoy sitting in our living room and just being with each other. It's one of my favorite times!" "You can find us on our back deck almost year round...heater for the cold nights! We love listening to a plethora of music genres while playing games or each doing our own activities...together! We cherish OUR TIME!' Links & Resources: 100 Ways to Love Your Husband - Lisa Jacobson 100 Ways to Love Your Wife - Matt Jacobson Sweethearts for a Lifetime by Wayne Mack Phylicia Masonheimer also has a lot of stuff on marriage Our sponsor: Get $80 off plus free shipping at HelloFresh.com/Homemaking80 Our sponsor: Get 50% off your first month go to TakeCareOf.com/home50 and code Home50 at checkout

This month we are going to be chatting a lot about reading, how to read more, and WHY we would want to read more. Today I'm giving some reasons for investing in reading and some tips for reading more...no matter what that means for YOU! Listen in! Listen to the Podcast: You can find the notes for this episode down below. And don't forget to subscribe to the podcast in iTunes. Right click here and save-as to download this episode to your computer. Why I read and invest in reading: As a Christian, I think it's important to be learning and growing. As a mother, I want to model to my kids what it means to be a life long learner. And reading is very relaxing to me. It fills up my cup so that I can in turn fill up the cups around me. So when considering reading more, keep those in mind! But also keep in mind that we all derive different levels of enjoyment out of reading. For me, it's ALSO my entertainment and what Jason and I choose for leisure. You might not enjoy it that much, and that's okay! Reading will mean different things to each of us. If you don't think you enjoy reading that much, I do encourage you to try some new types of books and see if you don't fall in love. Try new genres, try audiobooks, or different times of day for reading. When setting a goal can help: It can help incentivize you to pick up books. It helps develop a routine. When we do 2 books a week, it naturally helps us pace those. It can help you choose things OVER television or social media. Which is almost always the right thing ;) It helps me FINISH books. Which has greatly paid off because some of my most impactful reading moments have been in the last chapter or so. Links & Resources: Follow me over on Instagram to follow along with everything in real time Follow me on Goodreads to see all my latest reads and challenge Our Sponsor: Visit HomeschookMagnet.com to find some better homeschooling support! Our Sponsor: Get the best custom Christmas gifts and cards at Vistaprint.com/HF