Finding Joy in Your Home

I had the privilege of interviewing Sally Clarkson this week for my podcast. Sally joined me to chat about how we can cultivate a life-giving family revolving around meal times and making special memories!

I was so glad to get to sit down with Sally, chat about these topics, and ask her my own questions about overwhelm and implementing all these new ideas.

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.

Sally just came out with her latest book, The LifeGiving Table. I read it in just a few days, I loved it, and I walked away with a few questions about how to best implement the ideas for someone like me who is utterly overwhelmed with young kids in the house.

So if you have some questions about how these concepts apply to seasons of life that are crazy, no worries, we are going to cover that! So listen to the podcast episode above.

Want to read her newest book?

You can find her book on Amazon

You can find her book on Christian Book

OR get it for FREE with a trial membership on Audible (see below)

I love listening to her books as audiobooks because so much of what she shares is story based. So they are great books to listen to out loud. If you've been wanting to get her new book, then I highly recommend you sign up for a FREE 30 day trial of Audible and you will get TWO FREE audiobooks of your choice.

My two favorite Sally Clarkson books so far are The Lifegiving Table and Own Your Life, both of which you can use your two free credits on. Then just make sure to cancel in those first 30 days if you don't want to continue your membership (although Jason and I have had an audible membership for years and LOVE IT)! Even if you cancel your membership, you will get to keep those two free books...you own them!

You can sign up for your FREE trial here! 

2018 Devotional Planner

I am so excited to share a brand new sponsor to the podcast, Anchored Press!! They sell devotional planners and a quiet time journal. I've been chatting with the owner, Deana and I love that we both have the same heart for encouraging women to dig into God's Word!

Deana sent me two of her devotional planners - a weekly layout and a daily layout and I am in LOVE!! The pink one in this picture is the daily format and it just so happens to match my blog colors which makes me love it even more!

One of the really special things about the planners is that there are devotionals sprinkled throughout. So not only are you doing your weekly planning - but you are also focusing on Christ along the way! (My sister loved these ones so much that she is using the daily one for 2018! She's very excited!!)

Deana is offering you guys a super special offer (you will WANT to take advantage of this)! When you purchase a 2018 devotional planner from Anchored Press, you will her Quiet Time Journal for FREE!!

All you have to do is add both items to your cart and then use coupon code: YOUNGWIFESGUIDE at checkout and you will get the $19 quiet time journal for FREE. (and you guys - this isn't a digital item, this is the physical printed quiet time journal!)

Find out more about their devotional planners here!

I did an episode back in the beginning of Summer on fun summer hospitality ideas. And I realized that other than that, I haven't covered hospitality here on my podcast since episode #5! So it's time to do a mini-series on hospitality. 

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.

Hospitality is a topic that is very near and dear to my heart. I am very passionate about it and have honestly fallen in love with it over the last several years. 

But since starting to practice hospitality I've also had 5 babies, lost my mother, moved five times, etc. Life gets busy and overwhelming and the thought of starting or adding back in hospitality can be daunting! 

But hospitality can also be an amazing way to serve throughout the busy seasons! Especially for me in this season of little kids, hospitality becomes the #1 way in which I can realistically serve. 

It’s really easy in the busy seasons of our lives to feel like there’s not a lot of time to serve. We want to serve our neighbors, be good influences for extended family, and reach out and serve within our local churches.

 But it can be tough when you are working full time, or you are homeschooling, or you have a house full of littles. It can be tough to find areas to serve. 

The importance of serving in every season

 As Christians, our lives are one big call to serve. We are to actively seek to die to ourselves and live for Christ. As we will discuss, what this looks like changes from season to season and family to family. But the Bible is clear: Our live purpose is most fulfilled when we seek to serve.

“If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.” -  John 12:26 

“Only be very careful to observe the commandment and the law that Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, to love the Lord your God, and to walk in all his ways and to keep his commandments and to cling to him and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul.” - Joshua 22:5

“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” - Galatians 2:20

“And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” - Luke 9:23

 It’s not an easy task, but God has called us to a life of serving. He has called us to deny ourselves and think of Christ. Of course, we will never be perfect in this, but it is what we are to strive for. Serving others and laying aside self. 

So regardless of the season, we are called to serve with our lives. We are to serve God and serve others.

Our service goes far beyond simple good acts

“We’ll talk about this much more in due time, but for now, fellow nurturers, know this: When we serve others – discipling, changing diapers, saving lives at a pregnancy resource center, stacking chairs after Sunday School – it is more than human do-goodery. It is holy and acceptable worship done unto the Lord. All of it is possible because our High Priest, Jesus, went before us. His blood speakers for us in our atonement and in our priestly work done here in the outer court of the world. Your service unto God is holy.” Missional Motherhood by Gloria Furman

But different seasons come with different responsibilities. As a believer, I am called to use my life to serve. But in this current season,

We are back in this week's episode with something special again. Earlier this week I shared a podcast episode from last year's homemaking conference. 

MacKenzie was with us, sharing her session from the 2016 conference and if you haven't listened to the episode yet, you will want to! 

Today, I'm here to share something SUPER special. My podcast episode today is a recording of the first session of this year's 2017 Homemaking Ministries Online Conference! 

Throughout the conference this year (that starts next week!!), I will be teaching through a 5 part series on Finding Purpose in Your Home. And this is the first part of that series on Hope for the Weary Home. 

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.

I am so excited to give you a sneak peek into the conference this year. If you are attending, then feel free to wait until Monday to go through this live with us - or listen in here! 

And if you haven't purchased a ticket to this year's conference yet, I encourage you to hop over and sign up! 

Finding Purpose in Your Home 

The theme for the conference this year is Finding Purpose in Your Home and all the sessions revolve (at least loosely) around this concept of finding that larger picture - and larger purpose - behind why we do what we do every single day within our homes. 

This is our largest conference ever with 27 sessions and 23 amazing speakers! You can find out more about all the sessions and speakers here. 

While we have 5 full days of amazingness, check out this line up just from the first day!! 

Day #1 (Monday September 25th) Session Line Up

Check out this line up! I'll be kicking off this incredible conference, then Crystal Paine, followed up Amy Roberts, then MacKenzie Monroe, then Katie Orr, and finally Kayse Pratt! <---- How incredibly exciting!! 

Can't watch any of the sessions live? No problem - all of the sessions are recorded. So even if you miss 1 (or all) of the sessions, you can log in and watch them later, whenever you have the time! 

Because guess what? You get lifetime access to the conference sessions! So you can watch them (or re-watch them) anytime you want! 

Want a little sneak peek into the conference beyond my session? Mandy's session is one I am really looking forward to! She is speaking on prayer and how to do deeper in your prayer life! 

So, if you are excited and interested in the conference I encourage you to hop over and grab your ticket today!! The conference kicks off in just a couple of days on Monday, September 22nd. 

Register for the conference here

But hurry, there’s not much time left. The conference kicks off in…

Hope for the Weary Home

Instead of the normal blog post I do with podcast episodes, I am going to share my session notes here so you can better follow along. 

No matter the season or stage of like you are currently in, some days can be really really tough. It's easy to lose hope within our everyday life. So how do we regain that joy in our life? And the purpose behind our day? 

The Bible speaks of this joy, this joy that goes beyond worldly happiness. We know that: 

"Do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength." - Nehemiah 8:10

When you are feeling burnt-out, overwhelmed, and lacking joy, just remember one thing...

There is Hope.

We have hope because of what Jesus Christ did for us on the cross.

I have got a really special podcast episode for you today. I've got MacKenzie Monroe from Bold Turquoise and one of my favorite podcasts, Cultivating the Lovely sharing a very inspiring talk. 

One thing, among many others, that I really appreciate about MacKenzie is her commitment family life and creating homes that inspire, excite, and delight all within its four walls. And today she is going to be talking all about cultivating loveliness in every area of life. 

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.

This is a special episode of the podcast. Instead of bringing MacKenzie onto the show to do an interview, I decided to give you guys her ENTIRE session from last year's (2016) Homemaking Ministries Online Conference!! 

Her session was hands down one of the attendee's favorites from last year. So if you attended the conference, I encourage you to re-listen to it now a year later. And if you've never heard it, you are in for a real treat! 

So instead of my usual blog post to go along with each episode, I am simply going to share her notes from her session so you can better follow along. See her notes down below. 

Register for the 2017 conference 

And as you listen through this...it might very well convince you to sign up for this year's conference! Because let's face it: It's gonna ROCK! You can register for your ticket here. 

And guess what? MacKenzie is coming back this year with a brand new session. You will hear at the end of this episode, MacKenzie starts to talk about preserving family memories. Well, the conference FB group exploded last year with a TON of amazing ideas about that. 

So I asked MacKenzie back this year to do an ENTIRE session on creating family memories. Here's a quick sneak peek video of what's inside her 2017 session talk: 

So, if you are excited and interested in the conference I encourage you to hop over and grab your ticket today!! The conference kicks off in just a couple of days on Monday, September 22nd. 

Register for the conference here

But hurry, there's not much time left. The conference kicks off in...

Are you busy next week and can't attend live? OR you are watching this weeks or months later? No problem! All of our sessions are recorded. So if you miss any sessions next week (or missed them all), you can still register and get immediate access to all sessions to watch whenever YOU have the time. 

As a busy homemaker myself, I totally understand how hard it can be to tune in and watch. That's why we give you as much flexibility as you need - including the ability to download the sessions to watch offline, stream or download the much smaller audio files, and watch on any device! Grab your ticket here. P.s. Did you see the amazing speaker lineup for this year!?

Okay on to the show notes:

WHAT IS CULTIVATING THE LOVELY?

Cultivation - Labor, Care and Study- A work, a mindset and a pursuit

Lovely - Exquisitely beautiful, pretty, attractive, appealing, adorable, sweet, enchanting, stunning, picturesque, pleasing, magnificent, splendid

So, Cultivating the Lovely is a work, mindset and pursuit to create a beautiful, splendid atmosphere- within ourselves as well as the places that surround us. It is a way of interacting with others and creating a life that draws us closer to God along with our families, friends and others we encounter.

WHAT ARE WE CALLED TO AS CHRISTIANS?

“Finally, brothers, whatever is true,