Today’s motivating post comes from my dear sister-in-law Renee. She is the mommy of three absolutely adorable kiddos, and she also happens to be an inspiration to me in the wife department. I know you will blessed by her words!

Top 10 Ways To Give Life To Our Home

1.) Retrain our tongues to give words that encourage, comfort and edify others.

2) Offer life-giving and grace-filled words to husband and children.

3) Make our homes a place of grace where mistakes and sins are not met with anger but with love and hope.

4) Decorate our homes to make home a place of beauty. Beauty raises life above mere existence.

5) Develop necessary cleaning skills and habits; clutter causes stress.

6) Face our anger, anxiety, fear and depression. Our homes reflect our mental/spiritual/emotional health. Ask the Lord to replace these emotions with faith and hope. (Check out core lies series for more info.)

7) Plan regular times away from home to rejuvenate and gain perspective. (A quiet time at Starbucks or Wegmans for 1 1/2 hours has been my most recent favorite.)

8) Persevere in planning fun activities for family on weekends or ordinary weekdays.

9) Play praise or worship music in home to lift everyone’s spirits. Our new family favorite is Michael W. Smith’s “A New Hallelujah”. (Even King Saul in the Bible, when the Holy Spirit had left him, was refreshed and calmed by David’s worship.)

10) Ask the Lord: What areas of my home are causing stress or bringing spiritual/emotional/mental ‘deadness’? What can I do to bring life to those places instead to make them a place of refuge?

I loved the opportunity to present these ideas to you; however, it was also a difficult assignment. All of these suggestions have risen out of a heart that longs to be this kind of woman, yet has consistently failed in all of these areas. Some suggestions are on my ‘impossible prayer list’ of what I’m asking God to do this year in my life! I have seen the ill effects of doing the opposite of what I’ve written. I know that I don’t want to live that way anymore! Instead, I’m striving to develop diligence in these areas to bring life to my home flowing over from the One Who gives life freely to all who ask. May He encourage us in our life-giving.

Today’s guest post is by Jennifer Tankersley, the creator of ListPlanIt where you can find over 350 printable lists and planning pages to organize your life and put your world in order, including the pages mentioned in this post. She also writes List Mama Blog: Lists for List-Lovin’ Mamas.

I have used lists all of my life, but in the past few years, my passion for lists has become even more pronounced. As a mother of 3 children and a business owner, I have discovered a multitude of ways that lists can make my life easier and more productive. Some lists need to be recreated each and every day, but some can simply be started and added to over a week, a month, a year, or a lifetime. Lists can be hung on the refrigerator, punched and placed into your own home binder, and/or distributed to the members of your family. Here are my favorite lists used for the different aspects of my life.

Mom’s Favorite Lists

1. To Dos – I like a page that shows an entire week that I can write my tasks and goals for each day.
2. Meals – I use a Menu Planner to plan meals for my family for a pay period (2 weeks). From that, I create a shopping list based on those meals that I chose.
3. Blogging – I know not everyone is a blogger, but in my case, I cannot live without my list of Blog Post Ideas.
4. Gifts – I keep a running list of the gifts that I pick up for my children, husband, and others along the way. This prevents me from overspending for birthdays and Christmas and helps me remember what I already have.
5. Saturday Morning Chores – I keep a list of the chores that each member of my family is responsible for on the weekend. Then I just distribute their portion of the list and check in with them to make sure they are getting their tasks done.
6. Clothing Inventories – Every summer and winter, I break out the tubs of clothing that I am using to corral the clothes that I have purchased at the end of the last season. I have found that an inventory helps keep me in check. One year, I pulled out 18 pairs of shorts for my son for that season. They all had tags, and each tag said $2 or less, but it doesn’t really save me money if I go overboard like that. It was a good lesson to me.
7. Travel – I am a careful travel planner, particularly with young children. I like to know how we are getting somewhere, how long it will take, where we are staying, what we may be eating, and anything else that I can plan ahead of time. A Travel Itinerary with Travel
8. Details is a must. Then, of course, there is the Packing List, which is an absolute necessity if you want to remember the formula, video camera, or the blankies.
9. Contacts – I keep a list of banks, teachers, restaurants, and my favorite service providers with a telephone number, address, and website information.
   Birthday/Holidays – There is so much involved with special occasions. I keep track of it all by listing everything I can: cards, guests, food, crafts, etc.
10. Fun – I keep a list of the things there are to do in the area. I note the season for which the activity is most appropriate, hours of operation, and the cost. Then on the weekends when my family wants to do something, we refer to the list

For more great list ideas, head on over to List Plan It or List Mama Blog!

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Today’s guest post is from Stephanie, the wife of a wonderful husband and mom to her favorite 3 kids in the world! She loves that she has the blessing of staying home to raise and homeschool her children. On the other hand, she loves that she has the opportunity to blog as an “outlet” for herself. She had heard a lot about couponing throughout the years, but always thought it took too much time. Not until this past year did she figure out that it’s not as hard as she had thought! Since a wife and stay-at-home, homeschooling mom of 3 little ones could do it, she knew she had to share it with others! If you visit The Coupon Game, she hopes you find it to be a site that is all about “keepin’ it real!”

4 Simple Strategies to Stress-Free Coupon Shopping!

Every week, I post on my blog my finds for the “Best Of” CVS and Walgreens Deals, so in keeping with the lingo, I would really love to take this guest post opportunity to share my favorite “Best Of” couponing strategies! Whether you’ve never coupon shopped in your life, grab a few before you head out to the store, or are already a full-on coupon gamer, I hope these simple strategies will help you to be more efficient with your time and money.

1. Start clipping coupons. Sounds simple, right?! It is!!! Whether you find them online or in your Sunday’s weekly coupon inserts, this is the place to start. You can always check my blog and the great thing about the coupon blog world is that there are so many resources to finding great coupons. The great part is it’s all free!
2. Get organized. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gotten to the store only to find that I left numerous coupons at home. To keep it simple, grab an envelope and label it with the store’s name. Place the coupons inside that you’ll be using an head off to the store. You’ll save yourself a lot of stress in the end. Of course, don’t forget to grab the envelope!
3. Make a plan. A menu plan is a great place to start. There are numerous sites that can help you find recipes to use for items on sale. Recipezaar.com is one of my favorites! Look for the items that are on sale that week, or maybe you’ve stockpiled items from weeks back that you’re ready to use up, and build your menu plan off of these items.
4. Make a list. Never head out to the store without a list! I can’t stress this enough. I write mine out to the ‘T’ including my coupon match-ups. I know how much I’m going to spend before I even get to the store. That way, I keep in the budget and I know when there’s a little wiggle room for a last-minute splurge. You may not be this organized, but with a list in hand, you are much better prepared to stay in a budget. It gets easier as you learn to make the habit.

Before couponing, our family didn’t technically have a budget when it came to food shopping. If we needed something, we didn’t even look at the price. We just bought it. Looking back, we were spending upwards of $650/month on groceries alone. Now that I coupon shop, we are spending in the range of $350-$400/month and that includes toiletries. That’s a savings of $300/month! Our turning point was when we decided we weren’t being the best stewards of God’s money and so we decided to make some changes. Now, we are living debt-free, and enjoying saving before we purchase. Each week I challenge myself and make a game out of seeing how much I can save. You can find out more about coupon shopping at my blog… The Coupon Game.

Today’s guest post is from Katie, a Christian wife and a stay at home mom to a 4 year old son and a 2 year old daughter. She blogs about managing her family, frugal living, cooking, organizing and all things homemaking at Three Blondes and a Redhead.

Top 10 Tips for Effective Time Management

1. First Things First: Prioritize. What is most important to you? Your friends? Family? Hobbies? As Christians, our priorities should be: God, spouse, kids. In that order. THEN come other people, yourself and your hobbies. It is the way we were designed and, although some may argue that our kids should come before our spouse, keeping your priorities in the order I mentioned will keep all of your relationships healthy. Your marriage will suffer if you put your children before your relationship with your spouse. Your children will suffer if you put outings with your friends above quality time with them. YOU will suffer if you don’t put God above all else and carve out time each day to spend with Him and in the Bible. Once you’ve established your priorities, it’s easy to weed out the to-do items that don’t fit into the bigger picture. Become comfortable saying, “no” to things that take too much time away from your priorities. Someone else will step up to lead the PTA or the church picnic or the soccer team’s community car wash. If you’re passionate about those things, by all means, DO them, but know your limits. Make sure your volunteer efforts for complete strangers don’t interfere with what’s most important in your life.
2. Get enough sleep. Recently, someone asked me, “Do you ever sleep?” I know she was kidding, but I do, actually. I’m a grouch when I’m sleep deprived. I need at least eight hours of sleep each night, preferably nine…it’s kind of a nuisance! I truly believe that I get more done during my day because I’m well-rested. I could possibly do even more if I cut out an hour or two of sleep each night, but I wouldn’t be the gentle, pleasant, calm wife and mom that God calls me to be. (Believe me, even with enough sleep I struggle with that – I need all the help I can get!) I heard once that Martha Stewart sleeps 3-4 hours a night. That explains how SHE gets so much done, but it also gives some insight into the rumors that she’s difficult behind the scenes, don’t you think?
3. Early to bed, early to rise. I’m not naturally a morning person. I am very productive at night, but I’ve recently realized that I’m a happier person if I wake up before my family. I took Sarah Mae’s challenge of waking up at the crack of dawn and joined the 5:16 girls. (I’m actually a 6am girl, but it totally counts because my kids aren’t up until 7:00) If you take that time to prepare yourself, your heart and your home, you will be shocked at how fluid the rest of your day can be. Not every day will be rainbows and puppy dogs, but your attitude will be better as you tackle each situation with love and grace. My new habit is to pray first thing, in the dark, by myself…even before I get out of bed. Sometimes my prayers are 2 minutes, sometimes they’re 10, but giving God the first fruits of my time pleases Him and sets my day up for success. I pray for my husband, for wisdom as I guide my kids throughout the day, for gentleness and for grace, plus whatever or whoever else pops into my head.
4. Develop a routine. Even if you spend most of your time at home, giving your day a routine will give you and your family a predictable rhythm to follow. When we moved into a 2-story house, I found myself (and my son) in our PJs long after the breakfast dishes were done. We just didn’t seem to make it back upstairs! So I determined that we would get dressed, brush our teeth and make our beds all before going downstairs every morning. Once it’s done, it’s out of my mind and I am more motivated to be productive. Developing routines for recurring tasks (laundry, paying bills, making dinner) will shave time off of each job and allow you to spend your time doing other things. Personally, I’ve finally conquered the never-ending pests of dishes and laundry. I live in Phoenix, where we are given “off peak” hours to use our electricity at a discounted rate. Off peak hours begin at 9:00pm and end at 9:00am, so I’ve gotten into the habit of starting my dishwasher and a load of laundry every night at 9:00. While the kids are eating breakfast in the morning, the clothes in the washer go into the dryer and I unload the clean dishwasher. I fold the load of laundry before we leave the house and put the clothes away so that chore is completely done and off my plate. Dishes and laundry no longer pile up in our house because I have a routine.
5. Keep lists. Don’t trust your memory! Let’s face it, people – we’re losing brain cells every minute and as moms, we’re not getting them back. I love lists. The grocery list on my fridge keeps me from running to the store for that ONE last thing. I add to my to-do list as I think of items, then I look at it daily. Be sure to put big and small items on different lists so you can begin feeling a sense of accomplishment. (“buy a gift for Tommy’s birthday party” and “tile the kitchen” should never be on the same list unless they’re getting done on the same weekend) Star the things that need to get done today and don’t feel overwhelmed by the other items on the list. You can work on those tomorrow. For long-term goals, I was recently encouraged by some friends to make a 101 Goals in 1001 Days list. It’s a great way to cross off some of the major items in your head with a more realistic, LONG-term timeframe.
6. Do the worst thing first. In the book, “Secrets to Getting More Done in Less Time” by Donna Otto (a book I HIGHLY recommend) the author makes a profound statement in one of the chapters: It’s not what you DO that wears you down, it’s what you DON’T DO. Think about that for a minute. We tend to get the “easy” tasks done first and put off (or sometimes never even do) the tough stuff. I am a natural procrastinator. I figured out years ago that if I hurry up and cross off the worst stuff on my to-do list first, a weight was lifted

   off my shoulders for the rest of the day. Start slow – pick out the top 2-3 most important tasks that you need to do today and do one of them before anything else. What are you dreading? Giving the dog a bath? Labeling items for your garage sale? Calling your sister to apologize for snapping at her last night? Try doing it first thing in the morning. I think you’ll be surprised how nice your day is when those things are done at the beginning of the day. It’s quite freeing!

7. Guard your child-free time and use it effectively. For those of you with kids, especially young ones still at home, are you conscious of what you can accomplish with the kids around versus your time alone? I have a mental list of things that I do during naptime: check emails, blog, scrapbook, catch up on recorded episodes of American Idol or Jon & Kate Plus 8. (This is a great show to recharge your mommy battery!) I don’t do those things during my kids’ waking hours. But there are a ton of things that I CAN do while they’re awake, things that I’ve resolved to avoid during naptime: dishes, laundry, dust, pick up toys, make meals…not only can I do these chores with the kids in tow, they can benefit from watching me do them and have eventually learned to help. My nearest grocery store has a Kids Club, so I don’t mind taking the kids shopping with me and they LOVE going to Costco to sample all of the snacks, yet taking them to the post office or to the dentist is a nightmare…so I save those things for days that I have childcare help.
8. Consolidate errands. I try to go to the gym every morning. (Side note: Daily workouts guarantee me an hour of time all to myself while the kids run wild in someone else’s care – I highly recommend joining a gym! SO worth the investment…) Our gym is near a major shopping area in my town, so I always try to run an errand or two on the way home. I’ll get gas at Costco and run to Trader Joe’s or return something at Target and run into Joann’s for some scrapbooking supplies. For the kids’ sake, I usually do one short errand and one that might be a little longer. By doing 1-2 errands a day, I rarely feel overwhelmed. Plus it gives our day variety and gets the kids out of the house.
9. Plan interruptions into your day. Are you usually late? Racing to get from place to place, hoping to avoid a speeding ticket? Yeah, I was like that too. Then in college, someone gave me an amazing timeliness tip: However long you think it will take you to get somewhere, add 10 minutes. If you think it will take you less than 20 minutes to get somewhere, double the time. (for example: if you assume it will take you 15 minute, leave 30 minutes beforehand and when you think it will take 30 minutes, allow 40 minutes travel time) Suddenly, I was on time everywhere I went. Or *gasp!* – 5 minutes early. It was an amazing paradigm shift. The extra time allows for the unexpected: getting caught at every red light, needing to stop for gas, forgetting the diaper bag and needing to turn around to get it…the list goes on and on. By trying to do that one more thing before you leave the house, you are beginning a domino affect of inconvenience to others. I felt so selfish when I realized that when I run late for the doctor, they run behind all day long. Yet now, I get to sit in the waiting room for an hour because someone else ran late at an earlier appointment. Break the cycle and resolve to leave 10 minutes earlier everywhere you go.
10. Discover and utilize useful resources. I’ve mentioned that I let my kids play at the Kids Club at the gym and at the grocery store while I workout and shop. What kinds of resources do YOU have that you may not have discovered yet? Last year, I met a neighbor with kids near my children’s ages and we utilize each other every week. On Monday mornings, we trade babysitting. One week she has my kids and I get things done around the house or around town, the next week I take her kids while she has free time. Then on Thursdays, we meal-swap. One week I double my dinner recipe and bring her family a hot, fresh meal at 5:30pm, the next week I don’t cook and she brings our family dinner at 5:30. It’s a great trading system. And there’s an added bonus: I’ve found that my kids disappear when her kids come over every other Monday. I actually slate that time to deep-clean my kitchen while the kids play in the backyard and I peek at them out the window.

Okay, so what do you do with all of this overwhelming information? Start small. Just like I recommended when tackling the to-do list, pick a few of the items I’ve listed and try incorporating them into your life. You have the ability to be productive and efficient with your time – you just need to grow and develop the skills to incorporate more into your day. So…which items are you going to try?

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It’s time to simplify (or perhaps, let go) in order to create the space you really want.

I am beginning to have craft supplies and homeschooling “stuff” everywhere – it’s eating up my home. I keep dreaming that I will have a play/homeschool room, so I continue to not have permanent, easy access storage for my supplies. It’s time for this mama to live in reality!

Do you have “things” that need a home, but you are reluctant to let go of other “things” or space to create something more realistic?

Example: I have a bookshelf in my dining room filled with, you guessed it, books! However, the space would be better used at this point if I gave up two shelves of my beloved books to keep play/craft/homeschool supplies. I don’t want to move my books – there like my trophies, my babies, my…heck, I don’t know, I just really don’t want to move them to the basement (or part with some)! I have come to realize that in order to simplify my and my family’s life, I must make the necessary changes in order to accommodate our current lives. Alas, the books shall go (sniff sniff).

Today, think about a space that could be better utilized or simplified to fit your family’s needs for this season of your lives. Give in, let go, and enjoy the peace that comes from simplicity.

It has been quite awhile since I have really cleaned! I am finally coming out of the icky prego phase and I’m ready to start getting back to normal. First things first – I need some life in my cave of a home! It has not been a place of refuge for awhile, but today, that will change.

Today, we give life!

All women have the capacity to be lifegivers if they accept this beautiful calling. Lifegiving, in its most basic sense, is raising life above the level of mere existence. We give life physically and spiritually, in many forms. We also give life intellectually, socially, and artistically. We as women have been blessed with the very nature of lifegiving! At its core, lifegiving is all about love.
What are some specific ways we give life?

• Our Words
• Our Home – Decorating, preparing meals, creating an atmosphere of peace, hospitality
• Education – To yourself, your children, or others
• Church – Using your gifts
• Socially
• Culture and the Arts
• Heritage and Traditions – Enriching the lives around you

How can you give life to your home today? Perhaps it’s finally ironing all those clothes that have piled up in the ironing basket. Maybe it’s getting some fresh flowers to brighten your home and enlighten your senses. You could clean out your night stand, scrub under the fridge, organize your closet, etc.

I would love to hear what lifegiving ideas you have for the home and what you will be doing/have done to bring life to your home today!

Have fun making your home a refuge!

Day 29 tomorrow – stay tuned!

31 Days to Clean

My dear, sweet blogging friend Lisa from Stop and Smell the Chocolates wrote this for me and sent it in an e-mail for me to use on my blog. She is so great! Here is her “guest” post:

Please keep praying for Sarah Mae to feel better soon! I know we all can’t wait for her to come back and share some wisdom, but we understand just how hard it can be to grow a baby!

I just wanted to remind you about Sarah Mae’s 31 Days To Clean. It’s such a helpful series. It was really helping me although I was running behind on it. But still, I was accomplishing much more than I had in quite some time. Unfortunately, I ended being away from home quite a bit this summer. This turned into 31 days to messy again.

So now I will begin the cleaning series all over again. Because I can! Because Sarah Mae has a link to the whole thing and I can redo it and go at my own pace! Who’s going to say anything if I actually take 62 days to finish instead of 31? The point is to follow along. There are so many good ideas that I know I will pick up something new this time.

Did you follow the 31 Days To Clean? Were you successful? If not, start it again, like me! Or start where you left off. Or just read through it for some great ideas.

Thanks, Sarah Mae, for the much-needed cleaning series! We can’t wait to “see” you here again! :)