Preparing for Sabbath

I think a lot of people believe that rest is something you will have or do when your life slows down.

But here’s the truth: that’s probably never going to happen. If we wait for life to slow down, we will never rest. The time when we need rest the most is in the middle of the hustle of our everyday lives – ballgames, church, community events, etc.

I used to believe: I’ll sleep when I’m dead. This led me to serious burnout and anxiety. That’s actually NOT how we’re supposed to live. We’re supposed to get a clue from the Lord who actually commanded us to rest. (Exodus 20:8)

so that it’s not taking up space in your brain

I used to keep a paper list of all the books I wanted to read but when you want to read MOST BOOKS, that sort of thing can get a little overwhelming – and man, the mountain of paper! 😉

I had heard about Goodreads but it seemed just like another app to complicate my life – I held off for a long time, but finally decided to jump in when I realized I wanted to see what my friend Crystal was reading. HA!

Pray for Penny

On December 7, 2023, my best friend Penny lost her husband Kelly. I was in Walmart shopping when I got the message and I’m pretty sure the moment will be imprinted on me forever. Pearl Harbor Day – the day Kelly left.

Nothing in life will prepare you for something like that – no books are written to give you the exact steps because to be honest, there aren’t any.

Each person who grieves, does so differently. There is no cookie cutter way to get all your sorrow out.

Books that made the most impact

I use the Goodreads app to track all my books – because heaven knows my brain is full and doesn’t need a book list taking up more space. I can dump by book list on that app and free up some space for thinking about important things to research on WebMD. If you know, you know.

I almost always aim for 4 books per month, 48 books per year. I’m able to get that in pretty easily between Bible study books, books for homeschool, and books I read for fun. In 2023 I finished 53 books, but I still have the goal of 48 for 2024.

Here are my top 3 favorites from 2023.

If you are a new follower of the blog, you might be wondering…what is KonMari? KonMari is another name for decluttering and it is actually not really a new thing. It originally became a trend when Marie Kondo published her book The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up in 2014. The idea of the KonMari style of decluttering has just resurfaced lately thanks mostly to the TV show on Netflix. But Barry and I started our journey with KonMari over 4 years ago and we owe a lot of thanks to Marie Kondo and her book. We really did experience some great lessons learned from decluttering.

Have you ever had a case of “the blahs”? You know – that sinking, sad, yucky feeling that just drags you down? Worse yet – do you have the blahs now? What in the world can you do about that feeling when you don’t have a say in the weather forecast and Spring is still several weeks away?

I’ve been a work-at-home mom for the past ten years. I remember this because one of my very first posts on the blog was about throwing a bubble-themed birthday party for my oldest daughter. It has been a big learning experience, but I have found working at home suits me (and our family) really well. With the right attitude, the right office setup, and the right resources, working at home is something that may just work for you as well. I’ll share toward the end of this post about my actual workspace, and tell you about the desk and chair I recently received from Autonomous, the sponsor of today’s post. If you prefer to watch a video about this, jump over to my YouTube channel where I just posted a video about it.

With kids, what does working at home look like?