Success in any area of life doesn’t usually come without work, sacrifice, effort, disappointment, discouragement, and failure.
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10 Tips to Keep a Zero Waste Kitchen
Guest post from Keelie of Love Hope Adventure
For several years, I’ve worked hard at not throwing out food. The low waste (or zero waste) kitchen approach I’ve taken has mainly been for the sake of finances. Even though our budget has loosened up over the years, I do these same things because of my convictions to be a good steward with everything I have.
My husband is the director of a food pantry and it’s his job to hand out food that grocery stores would otherwise throw away. Also, we recently, watched the documentary called, Just Eat It. It was about a couple who ate only discarded food for 6 months (did you know that we throw out about 40% of the food that is grown in America every year?!)
A lot of that waste goes straight to the dump from our own tables… however, we try to use everything we have.
Here is what I do to keep from throwing food out:
1. Grocery Shop Once a Month
I do the bulk of the grocery shopping once a month. This allows me to stay committed to eating what we have instead of running out to the store for more ingredients.
When I make a small trip to the store about 2 weeks after the large trip, I only purchase a few things to fill in the gaps in the menu. What I purchase depends on how much is left in our grocery budget for the month.
2. Eat Almost Everything Each Month
Yes, I know this is not the couponer way. In couponing culture, we are taught to have a good stockpile going at all times, so that you can always buy at rock bottom prices. I used to have a stockpile, but once I stopped couponing, that quickly diminished.
I no longer have extra food to rely on. For that reason, everything in the fridge, freezer, and pantry must be used wisely. If something goes bad, it will cause a meal to be short. Since the fridge clears out, it is easy to see all leftovers and eat them before the mold takes over.
At the end of every month, there is very little food anywhere in my house. While I know that is a scary prospect to some, we have an emergency fund that we can use if something were to happen unexpectedly.
3. Freeze Everything That is About to Go Bad
If I can’t cook something before it goes bad, I stick in the freezer. All fruits and vegetable that are starting to turn get chopped up and put in bags or containers.
When it comes to leftovers, I put those in the freezer as well. This makes it easy to grab those later on for quick lunches or dinners, depending on how much is left.
4. Use Leftover Ingredients to Make New Recipes
Rarely do we eat leftovers without using the ingredients to make a new meal. I’m the queen of making “Refrigerator Soup”. There isn’t a real recipe — I simply gather up everything in the fridge or freezer that makes sense flavor wise and throw it in a soup.
The Lasagna Soup I created is a perfect example of one of my refrigerator soup recipes. The first time I made it, it was put together from all leftover ingredients.
5. Save Food From Our Plates
It is hard to know how much your kids are going to eat — even I’m guilty of getting too much sometimes. Instead of throwing out uneaten food, we put back what we haven’t touched.
I’m not ok with eating their extras, because I don’t want to overeat. However, I will save their leftovers for them to eat at another meal.
If we have to throw away excess from their plates a few days in a week, we give them less to eat in the future. As kids grow, their appetites change, so we try to stay flexible. We just start them with less and give a little more if they are still hungry.
6. Compost Fruit and Vegetable Waste
In the documentary, Just Eat It, they explained that throwing food away in plastic bags prevents it from breaking down. Instead of helping our earth, it actually creates methane gas.
It is better to throw the fruits and veggie waste in the backyard and let the animals get it or let it turn to compost.
7. Save Water For Plants and Animals
Most of us are not ok with dumping out milk, juice, and other drinks, but how many times do you pour out water? Instead of dumping water in the sink, we pour it in a pitcher for later use.
I use the water for plants and my dogs drinking water. Even if I didn’t have animals or plants, dumping the excess outside would be more beneficial to the earth then letting it go down the drain.
8. Don’t Use Paper Products
I purchase paper towels on a rare occasion for cleaning up things I don’t want to have to wash later on. We use cloth napkins for meals and hand towels to clean up spills.
While this isn’t food waste, we are still saving on the amount of trash in our cans.
9. Recycle Everything You Can
We haul our own trash to the dump. They do have a place for us to recycle some of our items as long as we sort it. Our kids take the time to sort the recycling every week so we can keep from throwing those things out.
10. Donate What You Do Not Use
On occasion, we are given ingredients that I do not care for. Sometimes, we just have extras. Anything we can’t or won’t eat is sent to the food pantry for others to have a chance to eat.
These are just a few of the things we do in our home to keep a zero waste kitchen.
Over the years we have come up with creative ways to reduce our trash and use the things we have been blessed with to God’s glory.
Keelie is married to her high school sweetheart and is the mom of three awesome boys. She is a creator and loves sharing with the world around her. One of her biggest passions is to help married couples fall deeper in love with one another. You can read her marriage tips, date night ideas, and snag some free printables at Love Hope Adventure.
FREE DOWNLOAD: 60 Meals To Help You Avoid Takeout!
Meal time just got so much easier!
Registration for Make Over Your Year closes tomorrow!
Do you have hopes and dreams for the future but you struggle to figure out how to turn those dreams into realistic goals?
Have you tried to set goals in the past and been frustrated because you just can’t figure out how to follow through with them successfully?
Do you feel like life is overwhelming and exhausting but, as hard as you try, you just can’t ever seem to make much progress in the right direction?
Help Is Here!
If you have experienced any of these frustrations and struggles, be sure to sign up for our brand-new 4-week goal-setting course called Make Over Your Year. Jesse and I poured hours and hours of our time into this course because we want you to experience the same fulfillment we’ve discovered through setting and following through with goals.
Make Over Your Year is a simple, effective 4-week, hands-on course to help you take your big dreams and ideas and turn them into realistic goals and an action plan you’ll actually follow through with.
We want to be your guides and cheerleaders on your goal-setting journey. We want to walk you through a simple 4-week process to decide your priorities, determine your focus areas, define your specific goals, and draw up a doable action plan.
What You’ll Get When You Purchase This Course
When you purchase this course, you’ll get the following:
- Four live group video coaching sessions with Jesse and Crystal. These sessions will include 30 minutes of teaching and 30 minutes of live Q&A. These will be recorded & you will have lifetime access to the replays.
- A 47-page printable PDF workbook with a chapter of encouragement and inspiration for each week.
- Weekly projects to break down the goal-setting process & set yourself up for success.
- Printable worksheets to take you step-by-step through each of the projects in the course.
- An encouraging email each week of the course with additional resources to help you in your goal-setting journey.
After years of practice, many mistakes, and a lot of learning, we’re excited to have the opportunity to get to share the lessons we’ve learned with you all in a live format. In Make Over Your Year, we pull back the curtain and share in detail everything we’ve learned about goal-setting over the past thirteen years of our marriage.
We’ll give you an inside peek into why we set goals, what kinds of goals we set, how we choose our goals for each year, how we break those goals down into bite-sized pieces, and what we do when we encounter setbacks and struggles.
We’re especially excited that so much of the course will be taught in a LIVE, hands-on format. We feel this adds significant value since you’ll be able to interact with us in real-time and get your questions answered!
We believe that this course has the power to complete transform not only your goal-setting success — but your entire life!
Hurry — Registration Closes in 24 Hours!
Because we’ll be teaching the course live, enrollment is only open through tomorrow evening (January 5, 2016). After that, the course will be closed to new sign-ups until later in 2016.
As I’ve talked about before, we are very committed to making all of our products and resources affordable and accessible for every one — not just those who have a lot of wiggle room in their budgets to invest in online courses.
The course — including the 4 LIVE coaching sessions, the workbook, the worksheets, the emails, and the projects — is priced at just $49. The group coaching sessions will be very hands-on and will allow you to get to ask your questions in real-time. It’s like paying for coaches and personal cheerleaders—at a fraction of the cost!
So what are you waiting? Go get in on this great deal while you can!
Click below to purchase –>>>
P.S. We are offering a 15-day money back guarantee. If for any reason the course does not live up to your expectations, we will refund your money — no questions asked!
Any questions about the course? Feel free to ask in the comments or email [email protected] and we will be more than happy to help you!
5 Things I’m Loving This Week
1. Our Bedroom
I took this picture earlier this week after our crazy stuck-in-Dallas-for-forever saga, because I was just so happy to be home for a few days after not having luggage or a way to get home for a few days.
But after I took it, it made me realize how much I just love our bedroom. In the past two years, I’ve really tried to put forth more effort to make our home more inviting and welcoming — even though decorating is not something I’m skilled at. But I always love the final results!
I’m so happy we put forth a little effort to spruce up our room — because it makes me happy every time I walk into it!
2. My Kids (aka Cheerleaders)
My kids are basically my biggest fans and they embarrass me with their excitement over anything related to my books. When we spotted my new book at the Chicago airport, they were all “I can’t believe my mom has a book at the airport!! Let’s tell everyone this is your book!!”
And I was all, “I can’t believe it either (God has truly done exceedingly abundantly above all I could ever dream!) but let’s not tell anyone. Shh! Please don’t embarrass me!” 😉
But I love how they are my cheerleaders and are so excited about things like this!
3. New Year’s Eve With All My Extended Family
My brother got married on Saturday, so my whole entire extended family was in town for New Year’s Eve — which meant we got to have our family’s traditional New Year’s Eve celebration all together — complete with crazy games, Limbo, and snacks.
As shown in the photo above, I almost royally hurt myself attempting to win the game of Limbo. Spoiler alert: I didn’t win. Also, I may be getting a little old to be fiercely competitive at this game!! 🙂
4. My Kids All Dressed Up for My Brother’s Wedding
My brother and his new wife graciously asked all of their nieces and nephews to be in their wedding — which my kids thought was pretty much the best. thing. ever.
The girls were Mini Maids and Silas was one of the “Ring Barriers”, as he called himself. 😉
The girls got to choose their dresses. Kathrynne chose a simple navy dress with leggings and cowboy boots. Kaitlynn chose a poofy, shimmery dress and wedges. I love how different these kids all are from each other. Seeing their personalities bloom and blossom makes me love them even more — if that is possible!!
5. Running the Coffee Bar With My Sisters
It was SO fun to run the Coffee Bar with two of my sisters at the wedding reception. We made Breves, Lattes, and Mochas and we had a line of people waiting the entire reception!! My sister-in-law, Ellen, also helped out, but we couldn’t find her when we finally remembered to take a picture at the very end of the day!
{And yes, I am short. But this picture is a little deceiving because both of my sisters had on high heels — and I had taken my shoes off at this point because my feel were so tired from tons of walking and standing all day long!}
What are YOU loving this week? Tell us in the comments!
LIVE today… it’s all you’ve been guaranteed.
A few days ago, as we were walking across a crosswalk as a family, a distracted driver came barreling toward us.
When I saw the car, the driver was just a few seconds away from plowing into Silas. I was right behind Silas, and with little time to spare, I screamed at the driver and jumped in front of his car waving my arms at him frantically.
He screeched to a stop just a foot away from hitting 6-year-old Silas. It was one of the scariest moments I’ve ever experienced as a parent.
In that split second, our lives could have forever been changed.
I’ve struggled to get the scene out of my head since then… thinking of all the different scenarios of how it could have ended and how it could have turned our lives upside down.
It’s made me hug my babies tighter, say “I love you” more, and appreciate the little moments.
As we go into 2016, I want to LIVE fully, embracing each moment, savoring each day… Because we never know how many more we’ll have.
5 Ways To Supplement Your Income
Guest post from Lashay Dream Home Based Work:
Are you strapped for cash and looking for ways to earn some extra money on the side? Did you know that there are lots of legitimate ways to make money on the side… especially when you are short on money?
Here are 5 great ideas for earning money quickly online:
1. Write
If you enjoy writing and have good grammar and research skills, then you can write articles on a variety of topics and earn money immediately.
Sites like Textbroker, iWriter, HireWriters.com, etc. list plenty of article writing jobs daily. You can pick up writing jobs from these sites’ dashboards and submit them to your clients for approval. If the clients approve your articles, you will get paid instantly.
Some of these sites will let you cash out your income weekly, providing you accumulate a certain amount in your account which can vary depending on the site. Having knowledge about SEO will be a plus since many clients post SEO article writing jobs.
Another place to find writing jobs is freelance bidding sites such as Upwork, Guru and Freelancer, where clients post writing jobs and freelancers bid on them along with a proposal, price, and estimated delivery time. If you are awarded a job, you will complete it to get paid.
2. Virtual Assistant Tasks
If you have a professional background in administration or customer service, you can work as a virtual assistant for some work-at-home-companies such as Boldy, or work as an independent contractor.
Typically, a virtual assistant is hired to do tasks such as scheduling appointments, emailing, typing, promoting, posting on social media sites, etc. However, many virtual assistants are hired to write blog posts, maintain the company’s blog or website, engage social media following, design and develop blogs or websites, and much more — depending on skillsets and experience.
3. Blog for Others
Many busy bloggers are seeking creative and professional freelance bloggers to write for their blogs. If you have good knowledge about a particular niche, you can write blog posts on various topics within the main niche.
You can earn anywhere between $10 and $50 for writing a 500-800 word blog post, depending on the topic and the blog site. You might even get hired as a regular blogger if you are a good writer.
If you establish yourself as an expert in your niche over time, you can command much higher rate per article. You can also find blogging jobs on online job boards such as The ProBlogger Job Board and Bloggingpro.
4. Sell Your Services on Fiverr
Fiverr is a micro freelance marketplace where you can post your creative and professional services by setting up relevant gigs. A gig is a small task or job that you want to do for $5, hence the site is called Fiverr.
When someone buys a gig, i.e. places an order, you will complete the task to get paid.
You can get started in minutes! Whether it is writing, blogging, editing, web design, web development, logo design, programming or any other skill you may have, you can advertise them on Fiverr and make money when someone places an order to use your services for their needs.
5. Take Surveys Online
If you have some spare time and enjoy giving your opinions, then you might be interested in taking paid surveys online to earn a bit of easy cash every month.
Join as many legitimate high-paying survey companies or sites as possible to do their online surveys. You can earn anywhere from a few cents to a few dollars for each survey you complete, depending on the type, length and complexity of the survey.
A few reputable survey sites are Opinion Outpost, MySurvey, Pinecone Research, and Cash Crate.
If you have a marketable skill, some experience, a hobby, or just some spare time, you can find some ways to earn money online from home quickly.
Lashay is the loving wife of her high school sweetheart and a stay at home mom of two beautiful children. Her passion is to help individuals build a successful work at home career through her blog, Dream Home Based Work.
My Top 10 Reads From 2015
I read 74 books in 2015. And two weeks ago, I went through the list of books I had read and chose my Top 10 Reads from that list.
Each of these books that made the top 10 list was either a book that deeply impacted me in some profound way, a book that I just fell in love with the storyline, or a book that taught me something that will probably stick with me the rest of my life.
In no particular order, here are my Top 10 Reads from 2015:
Rising Strong
It’s too hard to sum up how this book impacted me in just a paragraph. But let’s just say the impact was deep, wide, and profound. You can read my posts on Stop Feeling Guilty About Asking for Help and Failure is Hard. The End. for a small taste of how this book messed with me.
The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up
I thought I was a minimalist. Then I read this book. Although some of the parts were weird and repetitive, the question, “Does it spark joy?” has changed how I approach so much of life — from things I own to personal commitments and calendar clutter. Read more of my thoughts on this book here.
Parenting the Wholehearted Child
I typically steer clear of parenting books because I just don’t feel like there’s a method or 1-2-3 plan for raising kids. Every child and every family is different and there are no one-size-fits-all plans. So I almost didn’t read this book, but I’m so glad that I because it really challenged my heart and approach in loving and nurturing relationships with my kids.
Anchored
This book is the story of Kayla Aimee’s daughter being born as a micro-preemie and the pain and heartache and struggle that she walked through while fighting for her daughter’s life. It’s funny AND heart-wrenching at the same time — which is a mark of a talented author, in my opinion. (I always say that I consider a highly talented author to be someone whose writing makes me laugh and tear up in the same page.)
This book resonated with me at a very personal level because my husband was born at 27 weeks. His mom died when he was young and I never got the chance to meet her — which has always been hard for me because I wish so much that I could ask her all about what Jesse’s birth and long hospital stay was like for her. Kayla’s book is giving me a glimpse into some of the emotions and heartache and fears Jesse’s mom must have experienced and it feels like such a gift to understand more of what that was like from her perspective. 
Dear Mr. Knightley
The book starts out slowly, but once I got to about page 40, I couldn’t put it down. It delves into some deeper issues of how past hurts and rejection can wound people so deeply that they hide their real self for fear of further pain and rejection. It’s a beautiful story of healing and redemption and of how to love and reach out to hurting people.
Ever read a book that you just don’t want to end and when you finish it, you want to meet the characters in real-life? That was this book for me.
Hands Free Life
This book spoke to me at a deep, heart level. It challenged me to stop hurrying through life, quit worrying about what other people think, and start savoring the ordinary, everyday moments. I smiled through parts, cried through other sections, and came away from the book with fresh resolve to make each day count — not in more efficient productivity but in more meaningful relationships with others. Highly, highly recommended!
What Alice Forgot
I really enjoyed this book and it has stayed with me for months after reading it. While it wasn’t written from a Christian perspective and had some swear words in it, the book was well-written and really caused me to step back and examine my own marriage and relationships to see if I’m making small choices that would, over time, have devastating consequences.
For the Love
This book is laugh-out-loud funny, but packed with many, many thought-provoking nuggets. You probably won’t agree with everything in it (I didn’t either!), but I think it will really make you think and re-examine relationships. And I’m almost positive it will make you laugh!
Note: I enjoyed the first half of the book better than the second half. I’m not exactly sure that I can pin-point why, but just thought I should put it out there. Also, the book is a little all over the place and the chapters feel more like essays or blog posts on different topics, not a cohesive compilation that builds upon itself and needs each chapter to make the whole book what it is.
Breaking Busy
I loved this book! It’s chock-full of all kinds of helpful advice, tips, and inspiration on living life more slowly with purpose.
One of the quotes that especially jumped out at me was this:
“Our lives have gotten so cluttered with things we think we should do, that we can’t figure out what we were meant to do. Let your life be about what you were meant to do, not full of what you think you should do. This starts with your daily decisions about how you spend your time.”
The Art of Losing Yourself
If you like Christian fiction that tackles real-life brokenness and doesn’t have Hallmark endings, I’d highly recommend this book. I loved the character development and it reminded me that everyone has hard burdens they are carrying, and that hurting people need our love not our judgment, ostracizing, or criticism. Thanks to Lisa-Jo Baker for the recommendation!
Bonus: Just Show Up
I just had to include this one! While I think this book could have used stronger writing and better editing, I gleaned so much from it. If you have a friend who is going through trauma or heartbreak, this book gives very practical and wise advice on how to walk through suffering and hard times while being a blessing, not an annoyance or causing more hurt.
What were your favorite reads from 2015? Tell us in the comments!
The choice is yours
You may not get to decide where you live, who your co-workers are, what family you were born into, what medical issues you’ll face, what struggles are awaiting you today, or what difficulties are just around the corner… But every day, you get to wake up and decide your attitude.
Viktor Frankl who was a Nazi concentration camp survivor and experienced what it was like to be stripped of every earthly comfort and possession. In spite of this, he says,
“Everything can be taken away from a man but one thing: the last of human freedoms–to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances.”
Today, the choice is yours, too.
Chasing after people-pleasing is a pointless pursuit
In the last few months, my husband and I made some big decisions which involved stepping away from some responsibilities and commitments that I’d held for a few years.
These decisions were made with much thought, prayer, and outside counsel and we both know wholeheartedly that they were the right decisions. However, there has been some loud pushback from a few individuals and, as a result, earlier this week, I was feeling angst over it.
When I went to Jesse to talk about it, he asked me a really wise question: “Why do these comments bother you? Is it because you think we made wrong decisions or because you don’t want people to be disappointed in you?”
I knew the answer immediately. I am, at my core, a people pleaser and it stressed me out to hear people vocalize how they didn’t like the decisions we’ve made and wished we hadn’t made them.
He encouraged me to not let the seemingly loud voices of disapproval drown out the still, small voices of truth. Because chasing after pleasing people is always a pointless pursuit.
This year, one of my personal commitments is to spend more time listening to the still, small voices of truth and less time worrying what the masses think.
My 4 Goals For 2016 (the year of rest!)
I debated a lot about goals for 2016. Not because I didn’t want to set them, but because I have such a driving personality that I knew that I could easily set goals that would throw me off from my plan to make 2016 a year of rest.
I had to ask myself and my husband, “How do I pair having a year of rest with goal-setting?” And then I had to really let myself mull over the answer for a few weeks. I finally decided that I would pick only a few goals, and I would only pick goals that would inspire me and refresh me.
I’m the master at picking goals that will challenge me. In fact, I usually love nothing more than a great big challenge to tackle. But this year, I’m just tired. And any goal that is great big and involves a challenge will overwhelm and exhaust me.
So I chose goals that sounded inspiring and motivating to me — while at the same time being ones that would encourage me to be intentional in my priorities.
Now, let me be clear: I think at sometimes it’s really good to choose goals that will challenge us to work really, really, really hard. Some of you need to set those kinds of goals this year. You need the goal that is going be the swift kick on the backside to get out of debt, or to start that business, or to tackle that HUGE project.
But there are also some of us who need to choose much simpler and much smaller goals. Goals that aren’t going to make us feel like we need to work, work, work, work, work… when we’re already tired and worn out as it is.
If you’re in one of those seasons of exhaustion, I challenge you to choose goals that will inspire and refresh you. That’s what I really kept in mind when I chose these 4 goals.
My Goals for 2016
Here are the 4 goals I chose for 2016:
- Motherhood — Go through a creative writing course with the kids.
- Marriage — Go on two overnighters with Jesse.
- Myself — Practice handlettering for 5 minutes every day.
- MoneySavingMom.com — Produce & launch a Make Over Your Evenings course.
And that’s it! I carefully chose each of these goals considering what would be best for our family, for this season of life, and that would encourage me to keep my commitment to make this a year of rest.
How & Why I Chose These Goals
People often ask me how to figure out what goals to set. One of the things we’re going to cover in-depth in our goal-setting course is exactly how to decide your priorities and then how to determine your goals based upon those priorities.
My current priorities are mothering, my marriage, myself, and the business. With these priorities in mind, I chose an area in each of those categories that I really want to work on/develop or improve in. Then, I refined that focus area by turning it into a very specific and measurable goal. Something that I could clearly define and know when and if I had completed it.
1. Motherhood Goal: Go Through a Creative Writing Course With the Kids
Creative writing is an area where all three of our kids need to spend some extra time and effort. They love most academics, but they all struggle in different areas with writing.
I want to equip them with the skills and knowledge to write well, to be able to clearly express their thoughts and ideas on paper, to have neat hand writing, and to be able to craft compelling and engaging paragraphs, essays, and more.
This goal encourages me to spend quality time with my kids sharing something that I love to do, while at the same time, giving them a skill that will benefit them for the rest of their lives.
2. Marriage Goal: 2 Overnighters This Year with Jesse
My husband and I talked about this and asked each other, “What would be goal that would inspire us? What would be a goal that would be good for us that would really impact our marriage?”
After some discussion, we came up with the goal of having 2 overnight trips this next year. This could be for a weekend and could be at a local hotel or bed and breakfast. Or it could be a bigger to do. It doesn’t matter where it is, what matters is that it’s at least 24 hours and it’s just the two of us.
After three years of not having a just-the-two-of-us trip, we recently went to New York City together for a very short getaway. On this quick trip, we remembered how important time away without the kids is for the health of our marriage. Yes, it required effort to make it happen, but it was so worth the effort.
We got to get away from all of the usual responsibilities of life and just have fun together, hang out together, experience new things together, and just talk. It was so good.
3. Goal for Myself: 5 Minutes of Handlettering Each Day
I know this is sort of an interesting goal and you may be wondering why I would choose it. Some of you might even be thinking, “Why on earth would she pick such a weird goal??”
Truth be told, at first I felt almost a little bit embarrassed to put it out there that I had set a personal goal to do 5 minutes of handlettering every day. But when I was thinking about goals, I realized this was something that would not only be fun and really inspire me, but it would be something I could use in many different ways.
I can use lettering to write cards to people. I can use it to make signs to put around our house. I can use it to make graphics for social media. I can even use it to just write pretty to-do lists every day!
Most importantly, it’s a gift I can give myself: to be intentional about taking time to sit down and quietly focus on creating something beautiful. I also love that it encourages me to exercise a different kind of creativity than I usually am exercising — which I think is a very good and healthy thing to prioritize.
{I’m going to be posting on my Instagram account sharing some of the lettering and practicing I do each week to keep myself accountable and hopefully to inspire someone else, as well. By the way, here’s the book I’m currently getting inspiration from.}
4. Business Goal: Produce and Launch a Make Over Your Evenings Course
Ever since we launched Make Over Your Mornings, people have been begging for me to release a Make Over Your Evenings Course.
Since I’ve cleared my schedule of a lot of clutter, I’ll have the time to devote to creating, filming, and launching this course. I’m not going to push myself to have to get it out at a certain time but I’m going to aim to finish and launch it the first half of the year. We’ll see how things pan out!
What are YOUR goals for 2016? I’d love to hear! Leave a comment and tell us!
Need help with goal-setting? Be sure to check out our brand-new Make Over Your Year Course — a 4-week online course to goal-setting success. It’s taught by my husband and me and will be very step-by-step and hands-on.
Enrollment is only open through January 5, 2016. Read more and sign up here.
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Shared Dec 29, 2015
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My One Word for 2016 (+ some heartfelt thoughts I’ve been wanting to share)
My One Word for 2016 (+ some heartfelt thoughts I’ve been wanting to share)
As I’ve alluded to the past few weeks, I’ve been doing a lot of reflection over the last two months on where we’re at and where our business was headed. In all honesty, I didn’t like the trajectory.
I don’t regret the last three years. They have stretched me far beyond what I believed I was capable of. I’ve grown up as a businesswoman. I’ve had to make hard calls. I’ve had to carry heavy loads. And I’ve had to rely upon the Lord like never before.
Right before we left for South Africa — when I had just made it through surgery recovery and was gearing up for my big book launch — I got an email. It was a short and simple email but it rocked my world in profound ways.
For privacy purposes, I can’t tell you the nature of the email or who it was from, but I can tell you that the whole trip, it consumed every conscious thought. It forced me to step back and really ask, “Why?”
“Why am I doing what I’m doing?”
“Why do I feel like I need to build things bigger and better?”
As I asked myself hard questions, I realized that, unknowingly, I had bought into the lie that says that more is what really matters.
All around me, I saw the signs that I had believed this and let this belief guide my actions and strategies. I was chasing after MORE.
More speaking opportunities, more book sales, more influence, more customers, more social media followers, more traffic, more impact…
More. More. More.
Our culture has convinced us that more is always better. More success equals more fulfillment. More traffic numbers means more influence.
But in all the MORE-chasing, I was losing something of greater value: my joy.
I was tired. My heart was heavy. And I felt a little like I was suffocating.
The responsibilities, the emails, the people needing me, the business demands, the projects, the meetings… they were sucking the life and joy right out of my lungs.
My heart was craving rest, not rushing. Peace, not platform-building. And solitude, not success.
I was tired of the chasing and the racing and the out-of-breath sort of living.
So I came home from South Africa settled in my spirit: I was done with MORE.
Instead, I am pursuing a life of less. Fewer responsibilities. Fewer commitments. Fewer meetings. Fewer to-do’s. Fewer must-do’s.
Which is why I chose REST as my word for 2016. It’s time to slow down. It’s time to savor. It’s time to say “no”. It’s time to stop, to pay attention, to really listen, to breathe.
For 2016, I’ve committed to only focus on three things when it comes to the business: writing, scoping, and producing products. Those are the three things that really refresh and energize me and allow me the space to breathe and to pour into my family and my community. And even with those things, I’m really pacing myself so that doing these things is a blessing not a burden.
{It’s possible I may do a few other things here and there, but each “yes” is going to be carefully and prayerfully considered — and my accountability partners have to agree that it is a wise “yes” for me.}
I’m so happy. So calm. So at peace. I’m ready for #TheYearofRest!
P.S. Just for fun, I’ll be documenting #TheYearofRest on Instagram if you want to follow along and be inspired! And come back tomorrow when I’ll be sharing my 4 goals for 2016 and how they coincide with my Year of Rest.
5 Things I’m Loving This Week + how we kept Christmas simple
#1. A Relaxed Christmas
Like last year, we kept Christmas really simple this year. We focused on the few things that we decided as a family were priorities: we all wanted to go to Kansas to celebrate Christmas, the kids wanted to put up the tree and decorate the house all by themselves (they were so, so excited to do it themselves and ended up doing a great job!), Jesse and I wanted to go to New York City for a special trip just the two of us, the kids wanted to decorate Gingerbread Houses and drink hot cocoa, the kids wanted to decorate Christmas cookies, and Kaitlynn wanted to be in the Christmas ice-skating show.
We only did a few gifts for extended family members and a few other people in our lives, Jesse and I gifted each other the She Reads Truth/He Reads Truth Auto Ship Program for the year, and we gave the kids each one expensive Experience Gift. We’d never done just Experience Gifts before, so we weren’t sure how that would go over… but it ended up being a HUGE hit!
{In case you’re curious, we gifted Kathrynne a special one-day training class on swimming strokes with two olympians (she was over-the-moon excited about this!), we gifted Kaitlynn new ice skates (we’ve been renting her skates ever since she grew out of her last pair — this isn’t exactly an Experience Gift, but it’s something that will contribute to many Experiences and something she could really use and would be excited about, so we decided it counted!), and we gifted Silas Swimming Lessons — something he’s been begging for!}
Keeping Christmas simple this year allowed us to really get to enjoy a lot of relaxed time hanging out as a family and with our extended family. It ended up being one of the least stressful and most enjoyable Christmases in a long time.
We feel like clearing some of the commitments and schedule clutter gave our souls space to breathe — and it was such a good thing!
#2. Milano Cookies
What a fun surprise!! These Milano cookies randomly showed up in our mailbox this past week from Paige Yelle! She’s a reader and the designer of these adorable Gratitude Journals.
Milano cookies are pretty much hands down my favorite store bought cookie — and my kids agree, too!
#3. Quotes That Made Me Laugh
I love looking for quotes and cartoons online that make me smile, laugh, and nod my head. And then I love nothing more than to share these quotes with others so that they can relate or smile and laugh with me.
This one on introverts and this one on motherhood were two of my favorites this week.
#4. Phase 10
Have you played this game before? It’s a very simple card game and it’s something that almost all ages can play, but it’s one we’re loving as a family right now. We played multiple games of it while traveling this week and it was a great way to pass the time!
#5. Handlettering
I am setting very few goals in 2016, but one of them is that I will spend 5 minutes every day practicing handlettering. I have discovered that I not only love this art, but it’s a fun way to challenge myself to learn and grow. Plus, if I improve at it, it’s a skill that I can use to create quote graphics to share on social media and my blog.
I plan to stay accountable by sharing some of the fruits from my practice on my Instagram feed and Facebook Page. You can see a few of my first attempts here. I have so much to learn, a few more supplies to get, and a LOT more practice to put in, but I’m excited to see what a year of practice brings!
If you follow along, I hope you’ll be inspired as you watch me exercise a new area of creativity, challenge myself to develop a new skill, and have a whole lot of imperfect along the way.
What are you loving this week? Let us know in the comments.
Shared Dec 26, 2015
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What’s coming up next week + something to help you get organized in 2016!
What’s coming up next week + something to help you get organized in 2016!
I hope you had a wonderful Christmas! We did! In fact, it was our most stress-free and relaxed Christmas in a long time! I’ll be sharing more about how we did Christmas this year and what helped to make it such an enjoyable Christmas later on today.
For those of you who have asked, I also have some fun posts planned on my goals for 2016, my One Word for 2016, my favorite books from 2015, plans for 2016, and more. Those will all be coming up next week.
And tonight, I’ll be posting more details on our brand-new goal-setting course that is launching on Monday (I can’t WAIT to tell you more about it! We’re SO excited about how it turned out!!) Stay tuned for that because we have a special one-day-only sale on Monday and part of the proceeds will be going to a very special project in South Africa!
This 14-day course is designed to help you revolutionize your productivity, streamline your routines, invest your time in things that truly matter, and find more joy and peace in the process. It’s a GREAT course to help you get more organized and start 2016 off well!
If you’ve ever wished that you could figure out how to get more done, have more organization in your life, and find time to spend on things you love, the Make Over Your Mornings Course
It’s not about following a one-size-fits-all system (because every woman and family is different!), but about creating a morning that is in line with your life, your strengths, your family’s needs, and your unique situation.
What You Get When You Purchase This Course
When you purchase this course, you’ll get immediate access to all of the following:
- 14 high-quality videos with motivational encouragement from me — one for each day of the course.
- A behind-the-scenes peek into our everyday home and lives via short video clips throughout the course.
- A comprehensive workbook with 14 chapters filled with practical ideas and inspirational encouragement.
- Daily projects to guide you on your 14-day journey and help you implement and apply what you learned from the daily video and chapter.
- Printable worksheets to walk you step-by-step through some of the projects and motivate you to follow through.
- Additional links and resources for each day, if you’d like to dig deeper on a subject.
The course videos and materials can be accessed via any desktop computer, laptop computer, smartphone, or mobile device. You can choose to print the workbook or download it to your computer or phone.
This course is self-paced and you have lifetime access to all course downloads. You can begin it at any time and you can go at your own pace!
Go over to MakeOverYourMorning
P.S. Not sure if this course is for you? We designed this course with every woman in mind — whether you work, stay at home, are married or single, or have kids or not. If you purchase it and find it’s not what you expected or doesn’t live up to your expectations in any way, we are offering a 30-day money-back guarantee, no questions asked! So, there’s literally zero risk in purchasing this! Go pick up your copy here.
When It Doesn’t Feel Like the Most Wonderful Time of Year
Can I be really honest with you? My heart’s been heavy this December.
I usually love the Christmas season. I love the smells, the music, the food, the time with family and friends, the special moments and memories.
But this year? My heart feels burdened.
There are so many people around me who are going through hard things… friends who are grieving the loss of a child, friends who have experienced deep physical and emotional pain this past year, friends who are struggling in their marriage, friends who are struggling financially, friends who are grieving big losses… and on and on the list goes.
I just want to fix it all and take it all away so that Christmas can be joyful and cheerful and wonderful — instead of painful and hurtful.
But I can’t take away the pain. I can’t replace what was lost. I can’t fix someone else’s marriage. I can’t heal someone else’s wounded relationship. I can’t wave a magic wand and solve someone’s unemployment struggles.
So what can I do? I can pray. I can listen. I can encourage. I can go out of my way to show that I care.
I can give the gift of myself.
And that’s the gift that most are longing for this Christmas — to know that they aren’t alone. That they are loved. That they are seen. That they are cared about. That, in the midst of all of the festivities and celebrations, their pain and hurt and heartache is not forgotten.
So my Christmas challenge for all of you today is this: In the middle of the merry-making, the carol-singing, the cookie-decorating, the present-giving, and the gift-unwrapping, look around and notice that person who is hurting and grieving.
The widow across the street. The woman holding the tattered sign on the side of the road. Your aunt sitting across the table from you at Christmas dinner.
Look into her eyes. Ask her how she’s doing. Let her know — by your words and actions — that she isn’t forgotten. That she is seen. And most importantly, that she is loved.
Give the gift of yourself this Christmas. It’s the greatest gift you have to offer.
P.S. If you are struggling and hurting and discouraged this Christmas, I’d love to pray for you. Can you leave a comment on this post or send me an email (crystal @ moneysavingmom.com) so I can pray for you? I would be honored to have the opportunity to do so.
Shared Dec 21, 2015
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Let there be peace on earth… and let it begin with our house! :)
Let there be peace on earth… and let it begin with our house! :)
“I want to do the icing!!”
“NO! Mom said I could do the icing!”
“You’re not giving me any candy so I can decorate!”
“You’re hogging all the candy!”
“Mom! I saw her eat a piece of candy!”
I was finally feeling a little better and had promised the kids we’d turn on Christmas music, make hot cocoa, and decorate a Gingerbread House. I had visions of how fun and memorable it was going to be.
Instead, one child ended up in their room for half of the decorating, another child was almost in tears, and I wanted to chuck the whole thing and send everyone to bed.
Sigh. Such is life some days.
To all the tired mamas out there, I just want you to know that you are not alone.
There are days when it’s not pretty, it’s not quiet, and it’s certainly not all picture perfect.
But this is the stuff that life is made up of. The good, the bad, the cranky, and the messy.
And in those difficult moments when the kids are acting up, I have a choice. I can choose to be overwhelmed and frustrated (and some days, sadly, that’s my first response!). Or, I can choose love, stay calm, and, yes, sometimes declare an early bedtime. 😉