Trials are not something any of us would choose. Our first response is often to ask the Lord to remove them, and it is right to bring those requests to Him.

But James 1:2–4 reminds us that God has a good purpose for us even while the trial remains. In this episode, we’re walking through a few simple truths from this passage about how the Lord uses trials to strengthen our faith and make us more like Christ.

Head over to ThankfulHomemaker.com for full show notes on all the links and resources mentioned in today's episode. 

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Homemaking Matters: Living for God's Glory in the Ordinary

RELATED EPISODES:

Encouragement on Difficult Days

Trusting God in Your Trials

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Maybe summer threw your routines off a bit, or life has just been full, and you’ve realized you haven’t been spending as much time in God’s Word as you’d like. I’m raising my hand here with you because it’s where I’ve found myself recently.

Sometimes the Bible reading plan that worked for us in one season just isn’t working in another. Maybe we need to simplify things a bit. Pick a time, pick a place, and pick a plan—and if you’ve gotten behind, you don’t have to catch up on everything you missed.

We don’t need the perfect plan or the perfect morning. We can just open our Bibles and begin again today. ❤️

Head over to ThankfulHomemaker.com for full show notes on all the links and resources mentioned in today's episode. 

Homemaking Matters: Living for God's Glory in the Ordinary

RELATED EPISODES:

EP 95: Developing a Daily Bible Reading Habit

EP 53: Daily Bible Reading (Spiritual Disciplines Series)

RESOURCES:

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Some mornings I sit down to pray and the words come easily. Other mornings, my Bible is open and my prayer list is in front of me, but my mind is already moving into the day ahead.

I’ve learned not to rush on those mornings. Sometimes I just need to pray for a while before I’m truly praying. Today I’m sharing a little encouragement for those times when our hearts are slow to settle before the Lord.

Head over to ThankfulHomemaker.com for full show notes on all the links and resources mentioned in today's episode. 

Homemaking Matters: Living for God's Glory in the Ordinary

The Gospel Primer by Milton Vincent

RELATED EPISODES:

Faithful Labor in Prayer: Learning from Epaphras’s example

10 Great Books on Prayer

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Practical help can make our days run more smoothly, but it cannot do the work that only Christ can do in us.

This episode is a reminder that Jesus is enough—not only for our salvation, but for every part of daily life. His grace is sufficient, and we can depend on Him in whatever He has placed before us today.

Head over to ThankfulHomemaker.com for full show notes on all the links and resources mentioned in today's episode. 

Homemaking Matters: Living for God's Glory in the Ordinary

The Gospel Primer by Milton Vincent

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Look Well to the Ways of Your Household

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In Ephesians 1:3–14, Paul reminds us of all that is already ours when we belong to Christ. We have been chosen by the Father, redeemed by the Son, and sealed by the Holy Spirit—all according to the riches of God’s grace and to the praise of His glory.

In this episode, we’ll consider what it means to be blessed with every spiritual blessing in Christ and how remembering these truths can help us when our circumstances are difficult, our plans don’t go as we hoped, or we’re tempted to focus on what we don’t have. Whatever today holds, if you belong to Christ, you are richly blessed in Him.

Head over to ThankfulHomemaker.com for full show notes on all the links and resources mentioned in today's episode. 

Homemaking Matters: Living for God's Glory in the Ordinary

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Sermon on the Mount Series

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Most of our lives aren’t lived in extraordinary moments. They’re lived in ordinary ones.

We spend our days making meals, caring for our families, opening our homes, answering emails, paying bills, and taking care of all the responsibilities that come with everyday life. Because these are the things we do day after day, it’s easy to overlook their significance.

Yet Scripture reminds us that the Lord isn’t only accomplishing something through the work He’s given us to do. He’s also accomplishing something in us. He’s using the ordinary days He’s given us to make us more like Christ.

Head over to ThankfulHomemaker.com for full show notes on all the links and resources mentioned in today's episode. 

Homemaking Matters: Living for God's Glory in the Ordinary

RELATED EPISODES:

When the Days are Overwhelming

Faithful Labor in Prayer: Learning from Epaphras’s example

RESOURCES:

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Disappointment is something all of us experience. Sometimes it comes because we’ve been genuinely hurt. Sometimes it comes because someone has failed us. And sometimes it comes from expectations we didn’t even realize we were carrying.

How do we respond when someone doesn’t react the way we hoped? What do we do when disappointment begins to take root in our hearts?

One reminder that has helped me over the years is this: We see a moment. God sees the whole picture.

Head over to ThankfulHomemaker.com for full show notes on all the links and resources mentioned in today's episode. 

Homemaking Matters: Living for God's Glory in the Ordinary

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EP 169: Thinking the Best of Others: A Biblical Approach to Love and Grace

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RESOURCES:

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Life feels full for so many of us. There are responsibilities to manage, people to care for, work to do, ministries to serve in, and homes to tend. And while those things are often good gifts from the Lord, busyness and faithfulness are not always the same thing.

Sharing some encouragement from God’s Word for those seasons when life begins to feel hurried and spiritually weary, when our hearts slowly become distracted in the middle of full days. 

My prayer is that this episode encourages you to slow down a bit, rest in Christ, and become more present in the people and moments the Lord has placed right in front of you.

Head over to ThankfulHomemaker.com for full show notes on all the links and resources mentioned in today's episode. 

Homemaking Matters: Living for God's Glory in the Ordinary

RELATED EPISODES:

EP 165: Bringing Order to Your Day: The Benefits of a Brain Dump and a Daily Plan for Homemakers

Keeping a Right Heart in Busy Seasons

Sitting at the Feet of Jesus in a Season of Busyness

RESOURCES:

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I’ve been spending time in 2 Corinthians 2:14–16, where Paul says that as believers we are the aroma of Christ. It’s such a beautiful and sobering picture to think about how our lives, our words, our attitudes, and even the atmosphere of our homes are meant to reflect Him.

In this episode, we talk about what it means to carry the fragrance of Christ in the ordinary moments of everyday life. The hidden faithfulness, the quiet sacrifices, the ways the Lord is shaping us through our daily work, our relationships, and even the moments where we feel our need for His grace most deeply.

This was such a good reminder to my own heart that the gospel is not just for the big moments of life. We need it right in the middle of our ordinary Tuesday afternoons too.

I pray this episode encourages you to keep looking to Christ and to remember that the Lord is faithfully at work in all the everyday moments of life at home.

Homemaking Matters: Living for God's Glory in the Ordinary

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RESOURCES:

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Doug and I are walking through the next season the Lord has for us right now, and it has me reflecting on so much. It’s a season we walked through 14 years ago when Doug’s parents were living in our home and we were caring for his sweet mom in her final days. And now we find ourselves here again, this time with his dad.

As I share a bit of what this season has looked like for us, I want to come back to the truths that have anchored me, and what God’s Word says about honoring our parents and loving well in this stage of life.

My prayer is that it encourages your heart, wherever the Lord has you right now.

Head over to ThankfulHomemaker.com for full show notes on all the links and resources mentioned in today's episode. 

Homemaking Matters: Living for God's Glory in the Ordinary

Biblically Caring for Our Aging Parents (Part One)

Biblically Caring for OUr Aging Parents (Part Two)

Trusting God by Jerry Bridges

Surprised by Suffering: The Role of Pain and Death in the Christian Life by R.C. Sproul

RESOURCES:

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Buy Marci a Cup of Coffee xo