We are huge book lovers, and today's podcast is our very first book review. Actually, it's more of us sharing a few nuggets from the book for you to apply to your life now.

The book is The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo.

This book will help people decrease their stress in 2 main ways: First, living in a cluttered environment causes stress. Second, not being in touch with what you like and dislike causes stress.

We read this book about 7 years ago. We've actually done the pile up all the clothes to purge step, as well as doing it with our books.  It's very freeing to know you can get rid of things without dishonoring the person they remind you of.

We are planning on doing another round of "Tidying" this spring, involving the whole family. 

If you haven't gotten a copy of it yet, you can pick up a new or used, electronic or even audio version - AND support our podcast without any extra cost to you - by using this link:
https://amzn.to/2Qlj5xs

Today's podcast is being mature enough to admit when you are wrong - especially to your kids. We call it forgiveness or "turning your ship around".

The problem and stress comes when we don't ask for forgiveness because we have to justify ourselves continually. It also causes stress when your children have not learned to ask for forgiveness because they have never seen you demonstrate it. 

The solution is that asking for forgiveness needs to become part of your family and work team culture.Everyone needs to understand that forgiveness means a change of heart and thinking and not just words. 

Today's topic is how to start thinking about the health of your body, mind, spirit. 
Americans seem to separate out too many parts of themselves. 

We become stressed when we compartmentalize success. We do great things in our career, but act terrible at home, etc. 

The solution is to look at the wheel of life and rank yourself from 1 to 10. Don't beat yourself but make a plan to grow yourself. 

"Rising tide raises all ships." = When you improve 1 area of your life, all the areas are likely to improve. 

Today's topic is how to homeschool at night. 
Shawna tells the story about her hashtag mishap.

The problem and stress is that parents might want to homeschool, but they have to work during the day. If you try to work from home and teach homeschool during the day, then you will end up in major stress. 

The solution is to block schedule your teaching time at night after dinner. We review a possible schedule for how it has worked for us. 

We cover some practical examples of group learning and online options. 

**If you are new to homeschool, make sure you check with your state laws about homeschool requirements. **

Jerk Dad is when dad is operating at his low self. 

Justin tells the story about bedtime routines gone wrong.

The problem is that men don't process the whole self very well. We aren't usually very self aware so communication, emotions, feelings, etc. won't be articulated or dealt with properly at times. Thus, dad is super stressed.

The solution is that dad needs to self-care and take account of his mind, body and emotions. 

Today's topic is Momster Mom. When you parent out of your low self. 
Shawna shares the story about how headache + taxes + a broken homeschool system led her to becoming Momster.

The Problem is when mom does not take an adult timeout and then melts down. She is not fun to be with.

The Solution is to know yourself and to self care (mind, body, spirit). Shawna talks about  music, exercise, journals, prayer, worship, sleeping well.

Momster does not mean that you are failure. Instead, it is a time to grow as a person. Sincerely apologize to your family and change your ways. 

Today's story is about when Shawna's mom refused to wake her up in the morning because of the way Shawna acted. Fast forward to today and Shawna is very energized and excited to speak to groups at 7AM. What changed? Shawna realized that she has a high self that she can step and walk into. 

Problem and Stress - People have 2 versions of their true authentic self - a high self and a low self. These are not good/bad types of you. But more like motivated and proactive self vs depressed and reactive self. You have the power to operate in the higher self, but it is your choice. 

Solution and Examples: Focus on what you can control and move towards the things that lead you to "flow" or "put you in the zone". You have to prime the pump to get yourself going. Maybe use pictures, music, walks in nature, cards from loved ones, etc. to get you focused on your purpose in life. 

Only make decisions when you are in your high self. Be aware of when you are in your low self. 

We tell our story about our arranged marriage. We talk about the benefits of allowing people you trust to speak into your life. 

Justin wanted to be single and never dreamed of having kids. 

Shawna was looking for a husband, and figured that emailing a guy on the other side of the world was harmless. 

We also talk about the difficulty of marrying a complete stranger. Our first year of marriage was rough!!