✨ Feeling behind this Christmas? You won’t want to miss the encouragement in this episode.

If you’re feeling the constant tug between slowing down to worship and scrambling to “pull Christmas off,” this episode is for you. In this gentle, honest conversation, we remind weary mamas of this freeing truth: you are not the provider of Christmas—Christ already accomplished it. There is STILL enough time for peace, reverence, and real joy, even if the season hasn’t gone according to plan.

In this episode, McCauley and Shelby discuss…

🎧 Listening Note: This episode was recorded during the annual virtual Christmas Planner Party we hosted within our Evergreen Membership! 🎄

After concluding the live podcast segment, we went on to cozy up with our hot drinks and have a lovely discussion with our Members. We were especially thankful for the wisdom on liturgical rhythms shared by our new partner, Allison Misulia, from Married and a House.

Afterwards, we all walked through a practical planning exercise for tackling any last-minute Christmas overwhelm and enjoyed a Q&A!

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Enroll in Renew January 2026, our live 6-week onboarding into the Evergreen Planning Method. This is the practical path out of endless striving and into a life-giving planning rhythm that keeps Christ at the center of your days. Our course integrates modern research in executive function with timeless Biblical principles to present a system that develops to supports you throughout any season. Our students call it “life-changing!”

Doors close on Renew January on 1/10.

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If you’re finding your spirit groaning “I just want to enjoy Him and my family without feeling behind,” this episode is your cue to lay the pressure down and let Christ carry the weight of Christmas.

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Quiz: evergreenplanner.com/quiz

SEO: Christian time management | planning for homeschool moms | biblical productivity | sustainable daily rhythms | reducing overwhelm | setting ROOTED goals | women’s goal setting | functional planning

Time-management is, in and of itself, a SKILL that takes time to learn.

This is a long episode, but worth it if you want a full overview of our methodology (and a whole lot of practical encouragement along the way).

In the first part, we tell the origin story of Evergreen: how a 9 page to-do list, a breaking point, and Psalm 90:12 led us to ask God for wisdom in our approach to time-management—and how over the next decade He led us to see that His Word was overflowing with answers to the challenges we faced each day.

In the second part, we walk you through a full overview of the Renew course. We recorded this before our recent rebrand so the language in the course will be a little bit different here and there. But the heart and life-changing promise remains the same—there is enough time for everything God is truly calling you to do.

Note: we mentioned a video a few times in this episode but ended up changing the way this episode was released. We eventually may put something together with the photos we mentioned inside our membership!

If your heart keeps whispering, “There has to be a better way…”—this episode is your invitation to stop trying to figure it all out under pressure and on the fly and start making the space you need to take dominion of the way you invest your most precious resource, time.

P.S. In this episode, we mentioned our productivity personality. You can learn yours now, free and in about a minute, at evergreenplanner.com/quiz

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Web: evergreenplanner.com

Instagram: @EvergreenPlanner

YouTube: @EvergreenPlanner

Get started with the Evergreen Planning Method by taking our quiz: https://www.evergreenplanner.com/quiz 

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SEO: Christian time management tips | planning for homeschool moms | planning for family business | self-care | Reducing decision fatigue | Biblical self-care practices | Christian productivity strategies | Building daily routines | How planning reduces stress | Setting priorities with intentionality | Creating margin in your life | Faith-based time management

✨ Overwhelmed? Knowing your productivity personality makes all the difference: https://form.typeform.com/to/X1h33hT5

🗣️ Submit a question for the podcast: https://www.evergreenplanner.com/pages/podcast

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Here's the rest of Shelby and McCauley’s conversation from September about why planning is one of the most powerful, yet underrated, forms of self-care.

In this episode:

Biblical References:

Resources Mentioned in This Episode:

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Web: evergreenplanner.com

Instagram: @EvergreenPlanner

YouTube: @EvergreenPlanner

Learn the Evergreen Planning Method: https://www.evergreenplanner.com/pages/epm-membership-classic-renew 

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SEO: Christian time management tips | planning for homeschool moms | planning for family business | self-care | Reducing decision fatigue | Biblical self-care practices | Christian productivity strategies | Building daily routines | How planning reduces stress | Setting priorities with intentionality | Creating margin in your life | Faith-based time management

✨ Overwhelmed? Knowing your productivity personality makes all the difference: https://form.typeform.com/to/X1h33hT5

🌿 Discover "enough time" with our Free Crash Course for Homeschool Mamas: evergreenplanner.com/homeschool

In this personal update, Shelby and McCauley reflect on walking through a recent “wildfire season”—a time of deep personal trial and pruning. Drawing parallels to redwood forests, they explain how literal wildfires are necessary for redwoods to thrive, clearing out competing growth and enriching the soil. In the same way, God often uses spiritual wildfire seasons to burn away what’s no longer serving His purposes in our lives—making space for something stronger and more enduring to grow.

They share how they had to lay down their business plans, rhythms, and even personal productivity systems during this season and enter into a period of deep surrender and trust in the Master Gardner.

Now, emerging into a season of rebuilding, they are using the Evergreen Planning Method not as a tool for control, but as a way to faithfully redeem the time and flex with God’s Providence. They discuss the reality that planning isn't about preventing hardship—it's about tenaciously following through on personal responsibility while remaining surrendered to the word God is doing.

The Evergreen Planning Method is designed to support women through all seasons of life—including the messy and unpredictable ones. This episode looks at the EPM from the vantage point of grabbing ahold of a Revival Season after the trials of the Wildfire.

Resources Mentioned in This Episode:

📖 Scriptures Referenced: Romans 8:28; James 4:13-15; Psalm 90:12; Genesis 1; 2 Peter 1:3; Matthew 3:12-14; Hebrews 12:29

🤓 Nerd note from Shelby: Since recording this episode, I’ve learned that the National Park Service is now claiming that there are thousands of redwoods between 2,000-3,000 years old and a few possibly as much as 4,000 years old. Using the traditional Biblical chronology, Noah’s flood would have been in 2350 BC—about 4359 years ago. While researching for the kids’ lessons on this topic, I came across an article by the Institute for Creation Resource that connected the planting of the redwood forest to Noah’s flood. We say in this video that the redwood forests are older than all of the wonders of the world, but the National Park Service now says that earlier published ages for the redwoods were exaggerated. Even so, the groves themselves still could technically have been planted before the pyramids were built—even if the oldest original trees do not still remain.

🌿 Related Resources:

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▶️ Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/mpkcLD2Ej6o

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📚 Learn the Method: evergreenplanner.com/renew

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SEO Tags:

Evergreen Planner | wildfire season | Christian time management tips | Biblical time stewardship | Planning with God in mind | Christian productivity for moms | Proverbs 31 | Spiritual growth through hard seasons | Biblical approach to planning | Trusting God with time | Rhythms and routines for Christian women | What to do in seasons of crisis | Planning after burnout | Gospel-centered planning tools | Redeeming the time | Time management for Christian homemakers | leather planner | travelers journal | bullet journaling

✨ Overwhelmed? Knowing your productivity personality makes all the difference: https://form.typeform.com/to/X1h33hT5

🗣️ Submit a question for the podcast: https://www.evergreenplanner.com/pages/podcast

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Spent? In this episode, Shelby and McCauley dive into why planning is one of the most powerful, yet underrated, forms of self-care. They explore how intentional planning not only helps you manage your time but also reduces stress, preserves emotional bandwidth, and supports your goals for your relationships.

Throughout this episode, they explore:

Biblical References:

Resources Mentioned in This Episode:

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Web: evergreenplanner.com

Instagram: @EvergreenPlanner

Learn the Evergreen Planning Method: evergreenplanner.com/renew

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SEO: Christian time management tips | Proactive planning for self-care | Reducing decision fatigue | Biblical self-care practices | Christian productivity strategies | Building daily routines | How planning reduces stress | Setting priorities with intentionality | Creating margin in your life | Faith-based time management

✨ Overwhelmed? Knowing your productivity personality makes all the difference: https://form.typeform.com/to/X1h33hT5

🎙️ Submit a question for the podcast: https://www.evergreenplanner.com/pages/podcast

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Overwhelmed? In this episode, Shelby and McCauley delve into the profound truth that God has given us everything we need for life and godliness—including enough time.

Throughout this episode, they explore:

Biblical References: Genesis 1:2-3; Genesis 1:14-19; 2 Peter 1:3

Resources Mentioned in This Episode:

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Web: evergreenplanner.com

Instagram: @EvergreenPlanner

Learn the Evergreen Planning Method: evergreenplanner.com/renew

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SEO: Christian time management tips | How to manage time biblically | Overcoming overwhelm as a Christian | Biblical approach to time management | Christian productivity strategies | Faith-based time management | Managing stress as a Christian | daily routines for Christians | Setting priorities as a Christian mom | Combatting decision fatigue | Reducing overwhelm in Christian life | Christian goal-setting strategies | Intentional living for Christian women | Time stewardship for believers | redeeming the time

✨ Overwhelmed? Knowing your productivity personality makes all the difference: https://form.typeform.com/to/X1h33hT5

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This podcast is a replay of a live masterclass I (Clari) taught for the Evergreen Collective in November.

Advent and Christmas are my favorite times of the year, but it also happens to be the one of the busiest times for the business, which means I need planning strategies that are easy to implement and help me do what I most want: to celebrate the birth of Christ in very meaningful ways with my family and to be a person who exudes peace while doing it.

You can access the video replay of the masterclass & the free workbook here: https://www.evergreenplanner.com/pages/how-to-cultivate-peace-avoid-seasonal-overwhelm-masterclass

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May this Christmas be your most peaceful yet!

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Web: evergreenplanner.com

Instagram: @EvergreenPlanner

Learn the Evergreen Planning Method: evergreenplanner.com/renew

✨ Overwhelmed? Knowing your productivity personality makes all the difference: https://form.typeform.com/to/X1h33hT5

📖 Get the ROOTED Goals Workbook: evergreenplanner.com/rooted

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In this episode, we talk about the sixth and final letter in the ROOTED acronym: Developed by Providence. The ROOTED Goal-Setting System reminds you that the Kingdom of God does not rise and fall by your efforts—but that you do have the responsibility to do your part, exercise your influence, and steward your resources.

Having a Christian growth-mindset allows you to set goals with an "amen" posture towards God's unknown plans for the future, knowing that when you give your goals back to God, you can trust Him to develop them in the best of ways.

Join us as we talk about how this Christian growth-mindset has played out in our real lives and goals over the last quarter (including our goal of recording this podcast)! We chat about goals that have had to change, how we stay motivated in the messy middle of goal development, and how our planner enables us to pivot effectively into new or changing goals as we follow the Lord’s leading.

Links we talk about in the show:

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Web: evergreenplanner.com

Instagram: @EvergreenPlanner

Learn the Evergreen Planning Method: evergreenplanner.com/renew

✨ Overwhelmed? Knowing your productivity personality makes all the difference: https://form.typeform.com/to/X1h33hT5

📖 Get the ROOTED Goals Workbook: evergreenplanner.com/rooted

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In this episode, we talk about the fifth letter in the ROOTED acronym: Etched Into Your Memory. For a goal to be sustained in the long-run, it has to stay top of mind. Enabling your brain to think about your goal often and easily will ensure you can make progress on your goal even in the most chaotic of seasons.

Join us as we talk about the exact process we take to make sure our goals aren’t forgotten in the busyness of everyday life and responsibilities! We talk about how we use our planners to support our goals and to train our working memories to take action whenever possible, enabling us to make steady progress until a goal is accomplished.

Links we talk about in the show:

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Web: evergreenplanner.com

Instagram: @EvergreenPlanner

Learn the Evergreen Planning Method: evergreenplanner.com/renew

✨ Overwhelmed? Knowing your productivity personality makes all the difference: https://form.typeform.com/to/X1h33hT5

📖 Get the ROOTED Goals Workbook: evergreenplanner.com/rooted

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In this episode, we talk about the fourth letter in the ROOTED acronym: Tailored to Your Lifestyle. If you want to craft compelling goals that are grounded in your unique calling, then you’ll have to give yourself permission to develop creative solutions that make sense for your particular circumstances. Sometimes this means tailoring your goal to match your lifestyle, and other times this means tailoring your lifestyle to match your goal.

Join us as we chat about how taking time to tailor your goal and your lifestyle will prevent unnecessary tension between the two, and enable you to actually follow through even on the most challenging goals you set!

Links we talk about in the show:

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Web: evergreenplanner.com

Instagram: @EvergreenPlanner

Learn the Evergreen Planning Method: evergreenplanner.com/renew