Finding Joy in Your Home

The Bible calls us to encourage one another in Christ. We are to be there for those in our lives and we are to encourage them. But what does this look like on a practical level? This episode will explore how we can be encouragers to those in our life and what the Bible calls us to do in this regard. Listen in here: 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. Links & Resources: Article by 9 Marks: Encourage One Another: Giving Grace with Your Words Book recommendation: 100 Ways to Love Your Husband by Lisa Jacobson Book recommendation: 100 Words of Affirmation Your Husband Needs to Hear by Lisa Jacobson Book recommendation: When a Woman Inspires Her Husband by Cindi McMenamin Book recommendation: Loving Well (even if you haven't been) by William P. Smith Book recommendation: The Peacemaker by Ken Sande Jump into the Instagram discussion about this topic here. "WHAT IS ENCOURAGEMENT? Biblical encouragement isn't focused on complementing someone's haircut or telling them how good their homemade salsa tastes. That kind of encouragement is important, but the encouragement the Scriptures refer to is explicitly Christian encouragement. Encouragement is shared with the hopes that it will lift someone's heart toward the Lord (Col. 4:8). It points out evidences of grace in another's life to help them see that God is using them. It points a person to God's promises that assures them that all they face is under his control. The New Testament reveals that encouragement was a regular part of the early church's life together (Acts 13:15, 16:40, 18:27, 20:1-2, 27:36). They shared Scripture-saturated words with each other to spur one another on in faith (Acts 14:22), hope (Rom. 15:4), unity (Rom. 15:5; Col. 2:2), joy (Acts 15:31), strength (Acts 15:32), fruitfulness (Heb. 10:24-25), faithfulness (1 Thess. 2:12), perseverance (Heb. 10:25), and the certainty of Christ's return (1 Thess. 4:18). Encouragement was and is an essential way of extending grace to each other." - 9 Marks article: https://www.9marks.org/article/encourage-one-another-giving-grace-with-your-words/ Scripture used today: We are told to be encouragers: 1 Thess 5:11 "Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing." Being an encourager takes time and investment: Hebrews 10:23- 25 "Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near." Encouragement comes largely from our mouths and how we communicate with those around us: Ephesians 4:29 "Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear." We are to be there in good times and bad: Galatians 6:2 "Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ." Do it all in patience and love: 1 Thess 5:14 "And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all." 1 Peter 4:8-10 "Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace"

It might sound funny to assign goals for my spiritual disciplines this year. But I want to make sure I'm being intentional with my relationship with the Lord in 2020. So here are my 4 spiritual goals that I'll be working on this year. 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. Links & Resources: Want a simple method for Bible study? Listen to this episode: #115 Bible study book recommendations: Jen Wilkin & Katie Orr's Bible studies My spiritual disciplines notebooks I use Follow me on Instagram and join in the discussion for this podcast episode here Get TWO WEEKS of free meal plans from PrepDish! PrepDish.com/Homemaking

One of my big goals this year is to establish a better morning routine. I have 3 areas I want to tackle in my new morning routine and in today's episode, I'm going to share my new 21 minute morning routine that is simple to implement! Want to join me, 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. Links & Resources: Our Sponsor: Get 50% off your first Care Of box by going to TakeCareOf.com and using promo code home50 at checkout! Podcast Episode: Setting up a good evening routine Podcast Episode: Establishing a morning routine with 3 minutes (an interview with Kat Lee) Join me on Instagram where you can share your morning routine and join in on the discussion. See the post here.

This week on Instagram we've been chatting a lot about routines, getting more done, and saving time. So in today's podcast episode, I'm sharing my 5 tips for how to be more productive...when you have no time. 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. Links & Resources: Look through our meal planning archives here Need help investing in yourself? Start here. Join me over on Instagram: Instagram.com/JamiBalmet Our Sponsor: Get 10 free meals plus free shipping with Hellofresh.com/Foundation10 and use coupon code Foundation10

If you are looking for the MEN'S companion reading challenge for 2020, you can find it here! Happy reading!! Welcome to the 2020 reading challenge! It's my favorite time of the year and I am so excited to see how many books we all read this year. This is our 4th year in a row running our reading challenge and it's been a blast. Jason and I have always been big readers, but having 5 kids (and one on the way) and running our own business started to squeeze the love (or the time) out of our reading life. So in 2017 we decided to run a little challenge for ourselves (and invited you to join in) and the result has been three fabulous years of reading! We have both read more in the past 3 years then we could have thought possible with this busy season of life we are in. So we are back in 2020 with our 4th reading challenge...and it's our best one yet! Below you will find out 2020 reading challenge, lots and lots of amazing book recommendations, as well as a podcast episode all about the reading challenge this year that you can listen in to! Listen to the Podcast: Listen in to my podcast episode from this week to find out more about why I developed this reading plan, tips for following along, and the reasoning behind the books and categories I chose. 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. While this is our 4th reading challenge, all of the books in the actual challenge below are all new! That means if you've been following along these past 3 years, you won't have any repeats!! However, we do have categories down below if you want to pick other books to read – or feel free to swap out and put your own books in the categories. I'm ALL for broadening my reading horizon, which is why I was so excited about this new reading challenge. I think we often reach for the same kinds of books over and over again. But I want to stretch you and challenge you to reach out and pick up books you wouldn't normally. Plus, doing a challenge like this will make you read more throughout the year. So wanna join us?!? Grab the Toolkit: The very best and easiest way to follow along is to grab my toolkit right here! The toolkit includes the full reading challenge for 2020 (for both men and women) as well as tips for finding more time to read (even when you are super busy) and how to find more books for free or cheap. Grab the Toolkit! Subscribe to my new reading challenge newsletter to follow along throughout 2020 AND get my 2020 Reading Challenge Toolkit for FREE! Success! Now check your email to confirm your subscription. There was an error submitting your subscription. Please try again. First Name Email Address We use this field to detect spam bots. If you fill this in, you will be marked as a spammer. Subscribe Powered by ConvertKit /* Layout */ .ck_form { /* divider image */ background: #fff url(...