Elyse is back in the second episode all about the Bible, women, and how we study God's Word more. You can go back and listen to her first episode Finding the Love of Jesus in the Bible.  Links & Resources:  Elyse’s new book Finding the Love of Jesus from Genesis to Revelation Another really helpful book Women of the Word by Jen Wilkin One of my favorite Bible teachers for women and people to learn from: Katie Orr

Welcome back to our first full week of the Titus 2 Minute returning to the air! I am so glad you are back listening in and I know many of you missed this favorite podcast! On Monday, I shared an episode all about what it means to be a Titus 2 Women. And today I've got Nancy Demoss Wolgemuth with me discussing how we can form deeper (in person) relationships in a social media world. Links & Resources:  Adorned by Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth Nancy's teaching series on Adorned My interview with Nancy Biblical Discipleship & Mentoring with Nancy Demoss Wolgemuth

After a few month break, the Titus 2 Minute podcast is BACK and I am so excited! We are shaking up the format in September a little bit but we are back to regularly posting new episodes each week. Check back here or find TTM on iTunes!  Today we are kicking off a new month of episodes by talking about what it means to be a Titus 2 Woman. Links & Resources:  Adorned by Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth Nancy's teaching series on Adorned My interview with Nancy Biblical Discipleship & Mentoring with Nancy Demoss Wolgemuth "But as for you, teach what accords with sounda]">[a] doctrine. 2 Older men are to be sober-minded, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith, in love, and in steadfastness. 3 Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, 4 and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, 5 to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled." - Titus 2:1-5, 10 We are called to adorn the Gospel - to share it visibly within our lives  As a women, that's a lot of what Titus 2 is teaching us to do. How we can adorn ourselves with the Gospel. How we can share God's light and His love with those in our churches, our community, and most importantly, our very own home. Are you shining with the Gospel? Are you radiating and reflecting God's beautiful character and his Gospel?  And are you teaching this, and learning from other women around you?  In the midst of those busy hard days, are you modeling patience and love towards your husband in front of younger gals who are watching you? Are you humbling yourself enough to ask for help with you just don't know how to disciple that kid? Are you putting on the character of Christ to display to all of those watching?

Do you ever struggle getting into God's Word more? It can be a tough habit to cultivate, especially if you've been out of practice for a while!  As a busy woman, it can be so tough to cultivate the habit, or know where to start! In today's episode, MacKenzie shares how to get in God's Word more with some very practical parts!  

Do you ever struggle trying to get your kids to play outside? Do they get bored and want to come back in to soon? Do you want to get them to love learning in nature more?  I've got a very inspiring episode for you today! Amy Roberts from Raising Arrows is joining us to talk about nature bags and how to use them in your homeschooling and/or in getting your kids outside more!  Here's what I asked Amy:  "For the mama who wants to encourage her kids to get outside and play more (regardless of whether they homeschool or not) can you share a little about your idea of a nature bag, what you put inside it, and how it helps your kids discover and play outside more? (I LOVE your blog post and podcast you did on this topic. So just a quick overview would be awesome!)"  Links & Resources:  You can find Amy over at Raising Arrows Check out her very own podcast: The Raising Arrows Podcast (it’s one of my FAVORITES!) Article by Amy: How I occupy my busy toddler Podcast by Amy: Occupying a Busy Toddler

This is the perfect time to start talking about this. The month of February for me is all about my spiritual disciplines, especially Bible reading and prayer. In the last episode of TTM, I talked about how to keep better track of your prayer requests.  And now this topic is coming at the perfect time, since Valentine's Day is right around the corner and marriage is a hot topic.  One of the very best things we can do for our marriages, is to pray. Pray for peace, pray for unity, and pray for our husbands.  All too often, I completely forget to pray for Jason. I'll pray for our family's immediate needs, or I'll pray for Jason if something big or unusual comes up. But far too often, I don't pray on a regular, consistent basis.  I forget to pray for things like: Jason's ability to lead our family, peace for his busy work day, wisdom as he teaches our kids, love and kindness in his interactions, and so on.  One of my favorite books on the subject of marriage, When a Woman Inspires Her Husband she has a chapter called Easing His Burdens. In it, she shares a few quotes from the man's perspective that I wanted to share: Pages 59-60.  As I work on the discipline of praying more throughout my day, one thing I want to be way more intentional about is praying for Jason and praying for my marriage.  So whether you find yourself in a season where your marriage is hurting, or you feel like there are a few things that could be improved, or you have a great marriage but want to make it more Christ-centered...no matter where you are with marriage, we could ALL use more time spent in prayer and remembering to keep Christ center.  If you want to focus more on prayer right now, I have an awesome FREE printable pack for you! It's called 14 Days of Praying for your Marriage and Husband. It includes 14 days worth of scripture and prompts to pray for that day. If you do this for 14 days, you are well on your way to making this a habit!

How many times have you said, "I'll be praying for you"? But then you carry on with your busy day and never think to pray for them again?  I know this happens all too often for me! So I've been trying to make a concerted effort remember these prayer requests more and actually follow up with them! Listen in today as we discuss the topic:  Listen to the Podcast: We also recorded this blog post as an audio podcast. If you want to listen in instead of reading, click play below or do a combination of both  And don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast in iTunes. Right click here and save-as to download this episode to your computer. Write it down right away Keep it with me or near me when I'll hear prayer requests (church, bible study, family gathering, etc.)  Get the prayer list out during your scheduled, daily prayer time. 

Hospitality, inviting others in your home, and serving people with your home and heart is a powerful way we can serve in many different seasons.  But hospitality can also be awkward and nerve-racking if we are not used to it. Today's episode comes from a girl who wants to know how we can go deeper with hospitality. "Questions: How do you go deeper, what questions do you ask? How do conversations differ between believers and non-believers?" Questions for Deeper Hospitality:  I think the biggest thing is just having that intention that you want to go deeper. The thing is, if you leave it at surface level topics the entire time, it will remain at surface level topics the whole time.  It's easy to talk about the weather, or your local sports team, or your kids soccer game. Obviously, it's okay to start with small talk, but the sooner you can get to more personal topics the better.  The way I see it, there are two main purposes of hospitality:  Get to know someone/a family better so you know how to love and serve them Share the Gospel and let Jesus shine through you So when we are extending hospitality, love should be the first thing on our mind. Love for our neighbor, learning their story, finding out how we can love and serve them. And love for God, showing Christ to our neighbor, letting the Gospel reflect in our life.  So when you really think about these goals of hospitality, it gets easier when you think about where to steer the conversation. My favorite thing to do is think about how you can get to more personal topics naturally. So asking things like "So how long have you been going to this Church?" "Oh where did you go before that" "Where did you two meet?" "Where you a Christian in college?" etc can start to open up deeper conversations!  Questions to ask Christians: How did you come to know Christ? What have you been reading in the Bible recently? Has there been a sermon or message that has impacted you recently? What was it and why? Questions to ask Non-Christians:  Do you have any sort of spiritual beliefs? What do you think about Church? Have you ever gone before? Do you believe in a god? If so, which god?

Listening to podcasts has become one of my favorite hobbies and has helped me grow in my home (and my business) in so many untold ways.  Today I'm sharing several of my favorite podcasts and what you should listen to next! I've already listed these all out (with why I love each one). So after you listen to the episode, you can hop over here and view links to all these new podcasts!  Hf #70: My Favorite Podcasts for Christian Women

With so much technology and so many media choices at our fingertips today, its harder than ever to know what we should allow in our homes or not. If you have young kids that you want to protect, the challenge gets even harder!  So where do we begin when it comes to determining good media choices for our kids? In today’s episode, we start to dive into that.  This week’s episode comes from Chelsea! She sent in an audio messaged to ask about media choices. Listen into hear her questions and my response! (And find out how to leave a voicemail question below!) Finding the Right Balance I think this is a hard balance to walk. As Christian parents, we want to be and need to be protective over what our kids are watching, reading, and being exposed to. We want to be protective and help mold and form their young imaginations and questions.  But the other side of that is that we don’t want to be so suffocating with our rules and legalistic that they become overly curious, or we make them too naive, or even rebel in the future.  We want to protect and help guide our kids when they are young so that they are not exposed to things of the world too early. At the time same time, we want to help guide them through tricky waters while they are living under our roof and we can have open and honest conversations with them.  It’s definitely a hard balance to walk and the specific guidelines are going to differ from family to family.  Where our family is at right now So for example, we do allow most Disney movies in our home. We watch them as a family and have the chance to talk about what’s real in those movies, what’s not real, and it’s the perfect time to have discussions over character’s sins or moral issues. It becomes a great time to chat about why a certain character acted the way they did and if that is glorifying to God.  It allows us to explain to the kids that there are different religions and belief systems in the world but only one true God! Interaction with these movies and media allows us to start equipping their young minds.  At the same time, there are a lot of things we say no to. We always pre-screen “kids” movies before we let them watch them, they are not alone to choose things on Netflix without showing us first, and they are never ever allowed to surf on YouTube. On the rare occasion they watch something on YouTube, it’s only a tv show or movie we are familiar with and our watchful eye is on them to make sure they don’t click to something else.  With that said, they don’t watch move popular tv shows. They are allowed to watch many PBS shows (often with the opportunity to share why we believe a different way, such as with the show Dinosaur Train on PBS which is very evolutionary). But they are not allowed to watch most Nickelodeon, Disney, or other kid networks. Of course, this is made easy by the fact that we don’t have cable TV. We only stream off Netflix and Amazon Prime. I think the two exclusions to this are 1) Paw Patrol and 2) Little Einsteins which I believe is owned by Dinsey.  These rules will of course change and flow throughout the years as our children age. But as they grow older, our ideas of pre-screening everything will not change. I want to know what my kids are being exposed to. The same goes for reading material. In short, there is no definitive Biblical answer. We can’t point to one portion of Scripture and say, “see this gives us a list of what movies or TV shows are okay!”  But we can take what Scripture teaches, pull the principles from that, and pray that God would give us the wisdom to decide from family to family.  With that said, there are some incredible Christian tv shows that we use most of the time. Our favorites include:  Theo Owlegories What’s in the Bible And actually, I should mention an online service that we use and love. It’s called JellyTelly and it’s a kind of like a Christian Netflix for kids. It contains those three shows I mentioned plus a ton of other incredible ones! There are actually over 100 shows on there. I don’t have to worry about what my kids are clicing on or when they try out a new show.  Find out more at: https://youngwifesguide.com/jellytelly. It’s just $4.99 a month, so even cheaper than Netflix. Or you can get it for $49.99 for a whole year, which breaks down to two months free.  One last Sidenote: We must remember not to judge others and other families when they make media choices that are different than ours. Some things are plain sin that we must shield our children from, but a lot of other things fall into the gray area that we must decide for our family.  Want to leave a voicemail question? I want to cover YOUR questions and topics here on TTM! So if you have a question, please leave a voice mail (under 90 seconds) and I will try my hardest to answer it on the podcast or find someone more qualified to answer it 🙂  Just click the button below to leave a voicemail that we can then play on the air. If you would prefer to write in a question, you may do so here. 

My word for this year is Refresh, you can read all about it here. I have 12 goals set under that umbrella of refreshment. They are goals to help me refresh my spiritual life, health, family life, business, and relationships. I am excited to see what this year has in store for us.  But something I didn’t mention throughout that podcast episode, was my hobbies and other forms of refreshment for 2018. In 2017, my word for the year was Create. And a big push for that year was finding things I enjoy and investing in my hobbies along the way.  So since that was my main focus in 2017, I don’t necessarily feel like those need to be part of my refresh goals for 2018. But they are definitely still a part of my year.  Part of finding more refreshment in 2018, is finding more joy in the everyday. Most of my focus on this is investing in my spiritual life with the Lord, but a very real and practical part is investing in myself as well. I am spending more time this year investing in my health, exercising more, and eating right.  An un-talked about portion of that also though is investing in myself in fun things and hobbies! So that won’t be a huge part of what I share this year, mostly because I wrote so much about it shared it in 2017. But it’s a very real part of my life non-the less!  My Hobbies for This Year  So here’s what I’m working on in 2018 for finding more refreshment aside from the goals I already shared:  1) Investing in my hobbies  Still catching up on my scrapbooks. I’ve been using Project Life stuff and it’s been great! I plan to finish Magnolia’s first-year album, start our 2018 album, and then start working on a baby album for Malachi and Micah!  2) Reading More  In order to read more and watch less tv, Jason and I have challenged ourselves in January to watch NO tv at night. We are still doing family movie nights together but once the kids go to bed at 7, no more tv for us! It’s halfway through the month and we are doing perfectly on this challenge.  It has allowed us to actually get ahead of our reading goal this year AND we’ve been playing more board games at night together which has been a lot of fun. You can follow me over on Goodreads to track my reading challenge this year and to see what I’m reading!  3) Carve out more realistic time for both of the above!  Make sure I am actually making the time for my hobbies. I don’t have a newborn anymore, I’m not nursing, and my thyroid issues are getting better.  Get two FREE Audio Books One of the ways that I am planning on reading more this year, is listening to more audiobooks (YES! It counts as reading!!). I’ve already listened to one and a half audiobooks this year out of my 8 done so far.  We’ve been part of Audible for several years now and we are hooked. They offer very affordable audiobooks. And if you sign up through my link, you can get TWO free audiobooks with a 30-day trial. You can cancel after that, but you get to keep the books!  They are owned by Amazon which means they have all the audiobooks! But the two I highly recommend are Refresh by Shonna Murray and Say Goodbye to Survival Mode by Crystal Paine!  Sign up here to get BOTH of these for FREE (or any other books you want)! 

Pregnancy (or illness of any kind) can make it hard to get normal homemaking routines done around the house. It’s often a hard time, especially when you mix in morning sickness!  So today I’ve got a mom of 9 with us who is going to share her secrets for running a household while experiencing morning sickness! She’s got some great tips.  Surviving Pregnancy!  Here’s the question that I asked Amy that she answered in the episode:  “One area that has always been tough for me (and for my listeners) has been keeping up on your home when you are pregnant! It’s so so tough to deal with it all while tired and possibly dealing with morning sickness. Do you have any encouragement for the overwhelmed mama or any advice for things that can help?”  I really love her advice to simplify! In the beginning, she talks about us pregnant mamas who try and run at full speed even though we are pregnant. I think we need to remember to focus on the fact that this isn’t normal life, we need to slow down and give ourselves a lot of grace.  My last pregnancy was a surprise so I didn’t have time to plan. But my plan had been, before getting pregnant or at like the 3-5 week mark before the morning sickness really hits, to make a bunch of freezer meals and snacks to get through that first part.  That’s what I am planning on doing for our next pregnancy! With 5 kids already in the home plus being pregnant, this will help tremendously!!!!  Links & Resources mentioned:  You can find Amy over at Raising Arrows Check out her very own podcast: The Raising Arrows Podcast (it’s one of my FAVORITES!) Article by Amy: Managing Your Home When You Have Morning Sickness Article by Amy: Magnesium and Morning Sickness Podcast by Amy: Morning Sickness & Managing Your Home

Do you ever struggle with paper clutter? Do you find yourself drowning in all.the.paperwork? You are NOT alone!! Join us today as we discuss a 4 part system for dealing with all the paper clutter.  How to process paper clutter:  Here’s what we cover in today’s episode:  Process immediately Make a weekly folder Pick a set time each week to deal with it  Process and throw out the REST!!  Out of sight, out of mind:   If you struggle with trying to find a way to keep up on daily/weekly tasks I have two suggestions: Start using a planner or a daily disciplines sheet to write in those daily/weekly tasks!  I personally use a daily planner to track everything, but I used to use a daily disciplines sheet on my fridge. I actually may try getting that out again. I have a free one you can download to keep track of daily disciplines here.   

January is my meal planning month! I’m focusing on getting things in shape within my kitchen and I’ve been loving the routine I’m getting back into for meal planning. So when I got this question from a listener, I knew it was the perfect month to address it (and a great reminder to myself)!  Keeping meal time simple!  Here’s what Rachel said she needs the most help in when it comes to meal planning:  1) Recipes/thinking it has to be fancy. I typically forget there’s nothing wrong with marinating chicken breast and pairing it with a veggie and other side or two.  2) Uninterrupted planning time (I think this just needs to become a nap time routine for me tho) My advice: Keep meals SIMPLE! There’s nothing wrong with variety, but remember to keep it simple. I am all for finding new and tasty recipes for my family and I often like to find new things to cook. But this doesn’t mean the recipes need to be fancy or complicated!  Our meals in this season of lots of little kids need to be 20-30 minutes tops. Most of our meals are one-pot meals with the veggies hidden inside. Or we do frozen peas or broccoli with cheese as a side. I’m going to start sharing our weekly meal plan via my email newsletter in January, so make sure you get signed up. You can follow along here.  Planning time doesn’t have to be hard! I think too often we think that this meal planning time needs to be an hour or two of uninterrupted time. I’ll tend to do it while I’m prepping dinner. In between boiling water, cooking chicken, etc. I’ll pull out a couple cookbooks and have my laptop open and slowly pick one meal at a time. Or I’ll just get my notebook and cookbooks out as a good reminder that I need to get it done. As I pick a meal, I write out the shopping list right then and there and CHECK any items I’m not sure if I have or not. How I do all my meal planning now:  I used to do all my meal planning by hand and still do sometimes when I’m feeling lazy. But now I do almost all of my meal planning with an online system called Build a Menu. In May I will have been using BAM for 4 years! It really has made an incredible impact on my meal planning.  I do almost all of my meal plans in just 5-15 minutes because the system makes it so easy. You can input your own recipes and/or pull from their bank of hundreds of recipes (which get updated weekly)! The other amazing feature is that it tracks the estimated price of each meal so you can build your menu and see the price of your shopping trip in real time. It’s an amazing tool for sticking to a budget!  Coincidentally, Build a Menu is actually on super sale right now! It’s the lowest price I’ve ever seen on it. It’s just $24.99 for a YEAR subscription right now which breaks down to just $2.08 a month. It saves me a lot more than that in time and money each month!  You can sign up for Build a Menu here through my affiliate link for just $24.99 through January 15th (just use coupon code BAM24.99 at check out when you select the premium plan (normally $59!!!)! Or you can come see a video of how I use Build a Menu for all my meal planning here.   

Reading is one of my favorite things to talk about…and I’ve got some great resources for you today!  And make sure to keep an eye out next week for our 2018 Reading Challenges coming your way!!  Making Reading a Prioity  Here’s the question I got that sparked this fun discussion: Lindsey asked, “One of my goals for 2018 is to do more reading. I am having trouble picking books that are christ centered and can keep my interest. I would love if you could do a podcast with a book list and maybe even include podcasts that you love.”  Links & Resources mentioned:  2017 Christian Reading Challenge for Women 2017 Christian Reading Challenge for Men A Simple Bible Study Method for Busy Homemakers Finding Time to Read as a Busy Homemaker Making the Most Out of Your Reading Goals This Year

Hilary is back with us to share all about teaching children to tidy up.  This is such an important thing to take our time on each day…but it’s honestly really challenging sometimes to actually make happen! So listen in and Hilary will give you some encouragement 🙂  Hilary is back with us to share all about teaching children to tidy up.  This is such an important thing to take our time on each day…but it’s honestly really challenging sometimes to actually make happen! So listen in and Hilary will give you some encouragement 🙂 

In an email I sent out earlier this week I shared that we had a tough Sunday morning with our 4 boys. Well I think I struck a cord with many of you because my inbox was then flooded with responses.  So today we are going to do a little chatting on Church and little kids and how its often not very easy.  Advice for Little Kids in Church Advice from a fellow mama: Abra says, “Try to make time (in the car on the way to church or just before the service they will be in) to remind them of a few of the expectations. Talking through it seems to have helped the time go better.”  What we are trying to work on: Sitting in Church is not play time. So we expect them to sit in the chair – not lay, not sit on the ground, etc.  One way to work on this is to work on quiet time at home, at the library, etc.  They are allowed to color on a piece of paper as this will eventually lead into taking notes during the sermon  And if you are struggling to get up and going on Sunday morning or struggle getting there on time, then head over and listen to this episode on my other podcast: Hf #48: Preparing for Sunday Morning – Getting to Church Consistently

It’s December and that means all things Christmas! The warmth, the hot chocolates, and all the Christmas lights.  Christmas is my very favorite time of year. But you know what’s my very favorite part about it? The ability to focus on Christ and teach my kids the true meaning of what we celebrate on December 25th.  In today’s episode, we are going to briefly discuss a few fun traditions and ways we can focus on Christ more this year. Christ-Centered Christmas Kit!  The audio clip you just listened to was pulled from lesson #6 of the audio series in my Christ-Centered Christmas Kit!  If you want to listen to all 6 audio lessons, get the eBook, and ALL the printables to help you this Christmas season, then nows the time to snag the Christmas kit. Through Monday, December 11th, the Christmas kit is 25% OFF making it just $14.95 (it’s normally $19.95).    Just use coupon code: CHRISTMAS17 at checkout for 25% off!  Purchase the Christmas Kit Here In fact, you can get 25% off EVERYTHING in our online store!! We’ve got a home management binder, all our past conferences, and more. See our entire store here. 

I’ve got a special guest back with me on the podcast today! Amy Roberts joined us back in episode #2with some great laundry tips from a mom of 9! And today she is with us to give some encouragement on busy toddlers…you know the ones! 😉  Here’s the question we asked Amy:  “On your podcast I’ve heard you talk about your little guy Creed who is four years old and extremely busy! I can so identify with this. My four year old twins AND my two year old twins (all boys!) fit that description perfectly. Do you have any advice for me (and other mamas listening) on how to keep them busy throughout the day while cooking, cleaning, and possibly doing school work with older kids. How do you keep him from destroying the house while also training his heart and mind?” Links & Resources mentioned:  You can find Amy over at Raising Arrows Check out her very own podcast: The Raising Arrows Podcast (it’s one of my FAVORITES!) Article by Amy: How I occupy my busy toddler Podcast by Amy: Occupying a Busy Toddler

Now that Thanksgiving is over, are we still intentionally focusing on thankfulness? I love this time of year because it drives us back to giving thanks in all things – but what about when Thanksgiving is over? Are we carrying that emphasis on thanksgiving into the rest of the year? Links & Resources: Hf #50: Choosing to be Thankful in Troubled Times Book recommendation: Choosing Gratitude by Nancy Leigh Demoss  

Today I am going to introduce you to someone you will LOVE! My friend Stacy is a HOOT and she’s going to bring some fabulous advice about meal planning.  Meal planning is one of those things that we all know we should work on more…but the actual details of doing it is another matter altogether. Today, Stacy is going to share some great encouragement on the subject.  Links & Resources mentioned:  You can find Stacy over at Humorous Homemaking You will WANT to follow her on Instagram for meal planning and homemaking advice Purchase the 2016 Conference!  If you enjoyed this clip, it’s just one small clip Stacy’s session during the 2016 Homemaking Ministries Online Conference. It’s super practical, encouraging, and of course, so so funny!   

Hilary is joining us today to talk about the struggle of keeping on top of the house with kids. Because the struggle IS REAL!!! I love this advice from Hilary today.  Here’s the question we asked Hilary:  “It’s such a struggle sometimes to just try and keep on top of the house…but then my kids come tearing through and wrecking all that hard work. It’s discouraging sometimes! Do you have any advice for that mama who is dealing with this??” Links & Resources mentioned:  You can find Hilary over at No Place Like Home

Something big that God has been teaching me the last several years is the importance of focusing on the Gospel more and more within my home. Links & Resources mentioned:  My other, longer podcast: Homemaking Foundations  Browse through my “Gospel” articles here Creating a Gospel-Centered Atmoshpere on a Zero Budget Book recommendation: What is the Gospel? by Greg Gilbert

Today I’ve got someone very special to introduce you to. She has been a mentor in my life and today’s topic is one that I have personally wrestled with….listen to the end to hear my thoughts!  Links & Resources mentioned:  You can find Marci over at Thankful Homemaker Check out her very own podcast: Thankful Homemaker Podcast Purchase the 2015 Conference!  If you enjoyed this clip, it’s just one small clip from one of Marci’s sessions during the 2015 Homemaking Ministries Online Conference. In fact, she had TWO sessions that year which were both very good!! 

Today’s question is one that I need to hear the advice on. In our fast-paced, busy culture, how do we make our kids a priority by actually spending quality time with them? I’m with my kids all day long, but that doesn’t necessarily mean I’m spending quality time with them.  Quality Time With Your Kids Here’s the question I had for Jennifer:  “With five kids, I can sometimes feel the strain of spending time with each one and making sure they each get some ‘mommy time’. With 11 kids, I’m sure you are familiar with this struggle! Do you have any advice as a mama of many, how to make your kids feel special and feel heard even with so much going on?” Links & Resources mentioned:  You can find Jennifer over at Confidently Called Check out her very own podcast: Confident Conversations with Homemakers

I read a book this weekend that has really got me thinking about making the time for God’s priorities…not my own! So today’s episode is revolving around that theme.  Re-prioritizing our priorities Here’s the quote that was so impactful for me this weekend:  “We can accomplish everything God has ordained for us to do in this life. Hint: It’s probably not half of what’s on your to-do list.)” – Shopping for Time This is very convicting to me to be thinking about God’s plan and timing, not MY OWN! If I really believe God is in control, which I do, then I also know he has put me in these circumstances right here today for a purpose.  He is the one who gave me five kids in four years. And while I am so thankful for my family, there are still days that are tough and chaotic. And if I’m honest, I too often push my own to-do list instead of stopping to remember HIS to-do list. Do you ever do this? God is going to give me the exact right amount of minutes I need in my life to accomplish HIS will for me.  This is especially helpful for me to remember in this season of life that I am in. I think that God has given me some big dreams and it can feel frustrating to not start on them.  But I need to trust that if God is really calling me to this, then he will provide the time if I am seeking his priorities. 

Today I’ve got a special guest for you! Lisa is here to share some wisdom in creating routines for yourself. The secret? Don’t give yourself too many options! Links & Resources mentioned:  You can find Lisa over at Organize 365 Check out her very own podcast: Organize 365 Podcast Purchase the 2014 Conference:  Lisa’s clip from today is from the 2014 Homemaking From Scratch Online Conference. If you want to hear her entire video session as well as 12 other fantastic sessions, you can find out more and purchase the videos here. 

Welcome back to episode #2 of my brand new podcast – The Titus 2 Minute! We will be back here with you THREE times a week sharing bite-size encouragement and practical application for your day.  Today’s episode is a great one! Do you ever get overwhelmed with your laundry routine? Or just need a few new ideas. We’ve got a mama of 9 kids with us today sharing how she manages laundry! Here’s the question we asked Amy:  “Laundry with 5 kids is hard enough to stay on top of! As a homeschooling, busy mom of 9 kids, can you share a few quick tips for keeping up on laundry and what your typical laundry routine looks like?” Links & Resources mentioned:  You can find Amy over at Raising Arrows Check out her very own podcast: The Raising Arrows Podcast (it’s one of my FAVORITES!)  Podcast: Amy’s Laundry Method Article: Large Family Laundry Days by Amy Roberts Article: Large Family Laundry Solutions by Amy Roberts Article: Teaching Your Kids to Do Their Own Laundry by Amy Roberts    My Laundry Tip:  Find something you enjoy doing while folding laundry. I always listen to podcasts when I fold and put away laundry, and I honestly don’t mind it at all now!! Here’s a list of my favorite podcasts.

Welcome to my BRAND NEW PODCAST: The Titus 2 Minute Podcast! This has been a work in progress for the last 6 months or so…and it’s finally here!  My goal with this new podcast: is to give you bite-sized episodes from all different kinds of women in Biblical womanhood and homemaking. My aim is to give you the encouragement and hands-on tools you need! And all the while hopefully pointing you back to the importance of real-life relationships with other women!  I am so thankful for resources we have available today.  I know I have been so mentored in my life through books, articles, and podcasts. So while I love and am so thankful for online resources, those real life relationships are even more important!  The format of my new podcast The fun thing about this podcast is that it’s going to be a three day a week podcast! And each episode is only going to be 5-15 minutes! its short, sweet, and to the point. If you are looking for some longer form teaching, then come on over to my other podcast, the Homemaking Foundations Podcast.  The typical format for the shows will be that I’m teaching or answering a reader’s question on one episode per week and then the other two will typically be another woman answering a question or doing an interview. So you are going to get to hear from a ton of people throughout this podcast!  And I want to hear from YOU! Do you have questions that we could answer here on the podcast, whether by me or someone else? Hop on over to Titus2Minute.com and you can leave an audio message with your question or fill out the contact form and ask your question there.  Like I said, throughout this new podcast I want to point you to something again and again: That while online resources like this are amazing, there is still a very big need for forming in-person relationships with other women.  This is the true heart behind the passage in Titus 2 3:-5″ “Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled.” As we form relationships with others, God is calling us to mentor other women and be mentored by other women.  I love how Donna Otto explains this in her book Finding a Mentor, Being a Mentor:  “You may be 80 and have much to offer a 40-year-old. Or you may be 20 and find a 15-year-old looking up to you. In either situation, Titus 2:3-5 is a clarion call to women today – to older women to model; to younger women to learn. Your Creator Lord, your Almighty God, your heavenly Father, calls you in no uncertain terms to pass on to younger women your passion for Him and your commitment to His ways.”  So all of us listening can be that younger woman, learning from someone older. And usually, I think most of us think of ourselves in that capacity. that we are the younger ones, we are the ones waiting for that mentorship. And that humility and that desire is good!  But there’s always someone younger in age, or younger in their faith than ourselves that we can be a mentor too. Does that sound daunting? I love how Donna Otto says it:  “What younger women need is not someone with an impressive resume but a true, vibrant, contagious spirituality. And this kind of spirituality is best communicated not through a sermon or a book, or even through many sermons or an entire library. Instead, this kind of spirituality is best learned when younger women see it lived out right in front of them by an older woman. It must be “caught,” not taught, and that means a one-on-one, personal relationship over time.”  So what does this mean? It encourages me to talk about the Lord, to rejoice and praise in what he has done for me, and to put that on display for those around me to see. Whether that’s the very real influence I have as my kids watch me through the years, or the younger women I meet at Church, or anyone else I come into contact with. I want others to see Christ when they look at me. And that’s a worthy lifelong pursuit!  I am really excited for this podcast as it unfolds and I can’t wait to be with you three days a week! So make sure you are subscribed to this new podcast in iTunes and if you are enjoying it, please take 5 minutes and leave a rating and review, it really helps us! And then make sure to come back to Titus2Minute.com for all the shownotes, links, and resources mentioned!  And we will see you back here on Wednesday and then Friday for the rest of the episodes this week. We will be joined on those episodes by two other lovely ladies. So thanks again for tuning in, I have a feeling that this new podcast is the start of a very beautiful relationship. I’ll see you guys back here on Wednesday for the next episode, and remember to focus on Christ today in everything you do!