If you want a better present, you need a bigger future. This principle from Victor Frankl’s “Man’s Search For Meaning” has been proven in positive psychology - to truly thrive in your present, you need something you’re working toward. I came across this years ago when I had two little kids at home and felt aimless, with days dragging on. That’s when I started developing my yearly vision practice, and it’s become the single most transformative tool in my journey from surviving to thriving.

In this week's episode, I’m walking you through the five steps of creating your vision for 2025 using the CREATE framework:

• Capture what happened (by reviewing the previous year)

• Rewrite your story (shifting from default negative stories to empowering ones)

• Envision the year (exploring possibilities in all areas of life)

• Assess your roles and foundation (who do you want to be in each role?)

• Think long-term and evaluate priorities (where are you heading?)

Whether you’re deep in survival mode and can barely think beyond today, or you’re ready to dream big for your family’s future, this framework will meet you exactly where you are. Your vision might be crystal clear or totally fuzzy right now - but either one is a perfect starting point.

If you’d like to work through this with me, you can find the Create Your Vision Mini Course and workbook at thrivinginmotherhood.com/vision. These principles are also built into the 2025 Thriving in Motherhood Planner, but they work in any planning system you already love.

I truly believe this practice can help you move from just surviving your days to finding more joy and purpose in motherhood. It has for me.

We’ll also be working through this together in the Thriving in Motherhood Collective if you’d like some community support along the way! You can join that HERE.

When I was pregnant with my fourth baby, I learned something fascinating about labor – in between contractions, our bodies release oxytocin, flooding us with feel-good hormones. This completely changed my birth experience because I started focusing on these moments of relief instead of just anticipating the next contraction.

This principle, when we choose to magnify applies to every season of motherhood. Whether you’re navigating toddler tantrums, teenage conversations, pregnancy challenges, or relationship struggles, we can choose what we focus on.

In this episode, I dive into:

• Why our brains naturally focus on the negative

• How magnifying the hard moments can seep into our relationships

• The difference between acknowledging difficult seasons and letting them consume us

• Practical ways to start noticing and appreciating the good moments

• How to train your brain to look for what’s going well
  

Whether you’re in the trenches of morning sickness, managing strong-willed toddlers, or navigating big kid challenges, the conversation will help you find more joy in your days without denying the hard parts.

And, don’t forget to grab the free five-step path from surviving to thriving checklist to help you identify where you are on the path and what you can do 

I’m thrilled to share with you the 12 major updates we’ve made to the 2025 Thriving in Motherhood Planner. These changes are based on the latest productivity research, time management strategies, and systems design. I’ve been diving deep into these topics to bring you a planner that truly supports your journey in motherhood. Let’s explore what’s new!

Getting Started Checklist

Ever felt lost staring at a brand new planner? Not anymore. I’ve created a step-by-step guide that’s like having a friendly expert by your side. Whether you’re a planning pro or a first-timer, you’ll be up and running in no time.

Enhanced Planning Sessions Checklist

The planning sessions guide includes detailed checklists for quarterly, monthly, weekly, and daily planning. Each session has it’s own acronym to help you remember it’s purpose.

Separated Vision Workbook and 2025 Vision Page

I’ve split these sections to give you more flexibility in your planning process. Why? Because sometimes you need to get messy with your dreams and sometimes you need a clean snapshot. The workbook is for brainstorming, while the vision page is for your refined goals.

Leverage Task List

This new two-page spread allows you to note repetitive tasks or pain points that you can improve or automate. It’s like a “to-improve list” that will help you free up mental and physical energy over time. 

Energy Map

A way to plan your tasks with your natural energy levels throughout the day, week, and month, maximizing your productivity and reducing frustration. No more beating yourself up for not being a morning person (or a night owl)!

Personal Life Philosophy Page

A dedicated space for you to collect inspiring quotes, scriptures, or ideas that resonate with who you want to be and how you want to live. This page is your personal collection of guiding lights, helping you stay true to your values and aspirations.

Quarterly Vision Pages

I’ve repositioned these pages to appear before each quarter, making it easier to plan and review your progress throughout the year. No more flipping back and forth!

Updated Project, Goal, and Habit Planning Pages

These pages now offer more white space for brainstorming and customization, allowing you to plan in a way that suits your style. Scribble, doodle, mind-map to your heart’s content.

Monthly Routine Page

Say goodbye to forgotten monthly tasks. This new page is designed to capture all those important monthly to-dos that often slip through the cracks. 

Improved Monthly Planning Pages

I’ve supercharged these monthly planning pages with new sections for habits and weekly routines. Now you can see your big-picture goals, daily habits, and weekly commitments all in one place. It’s like having a birds-eye view of your month.

Weekly Reflection Questions

Two thoughtful questions at the bottom of each weekly page to celebrate wins and tweak what’s not working. Because you’re awesome and you deserve to know it!

Annual Calendars for 2025 and 2026

By popular request, I've included annual calendars for both the current and upcoming year, perfect for long-term planning

Mark your calendars for October 21st (my birthday - what better way to celebrate?) through October 26th. That’s when you can get your very own planner coil-bound by me and my family. After that planners will be perfect bound (which works great as well!).

Remember, this planner is designed to grow with you as you manage your home, pursue your dreams, and thrive in motherhood. Here’s to creating a life we’re excited to wake up to each day!

Typically at the end of the year, when there is so much going on, I start to feel like I’m not seeing a lot of progress on my projects and goals. 

This leads me to feel discouraged and want to give up - which is not an option when managing a household. 

One thing I like to do when I notice this feeling creeping is to create a “Finish List” to create some momentum. 

Dave Ramsey has a principle he calls the “debt snowball.” The idea is that if you have multiple lines of debt, you pay off the smallest amount of debt first to see some quick wins and stay committed to making progress. 

This same principle can work with our projects! 

Sit down and write a list of all the unfinished projects currently taking up brain space. Now evaluate that list and see if there are things you could knock out today or in a few hours. 

Start to build momentum by seeing progress and watch how much you can accomplish in your small pockets of time before the end of the year (or not, if that stresses you out instead of motivating you). 

The key ingredients to a long-term commitment to our goals are: 

• Clarity about what matters
• Consistent action
• Recognizing your progress along the way. 

When you do all three, you build energy and momentum. It becomes exciting as your time and energy are aligned with your heart-decided priorities. 

The Thriving in Motherhood Planner takes these research-based principles and includes all of these elements to keep you moving forward in small pockets of time on the things that matter most to you and celebrates your progress along the way.  

You can get yours today here!

For more tips like this, listen to this week’s episode as I share what I do to turn things around, end the year with a clean slate, and get ready to create in 2023.

I read Tiago Fortne’s, Building Your Second Brain and immediately saw how the time I was wasting online was because it was too hard to do the things I really wanted to do on my phone or computer.

In this episode, I share the behind-the-scenes of how I organize my digital life as a mom so that I am not wasting time on social media and getting way more done by being effective when I’m on my computer. 

I love my physical planner and journals to keep my day-to-day life organized and my brain working and emptied. However, a lot happens digitally that, for me, was a complete mess.

With my second brain system, I now have a place for everything - a place for things I want to read, a place for things I want to reference, a place for things I need to do on the computer, and easy systems to get everything where it needs to go.

I have great systems for knowing what I want to do and getting those things done (hint, hint, The Thriving In Motherhood Planner), but I needed a way to organize knowledge. 

That was one of the huge epiphanies that hit me while reading Building Your Second Brain. A knowledge management system is different than a productivity system! 

Things that I want to think about, read about, learn about, or want to reference in the future now have a place. Since setting up this system, I’ve wasted less time and become more productive when I sit at the computer or get on my phone.

Check out this week’s episode for a deep dive into:

• What I use
• When I use it
• How I manage incoming email (I have maintained an inbox-zero email for the first time in my life for the past few months!)
• Take notes on the books I’m reading
• Take action on online courses 
• Keep what I’m learning organized
• Jumpstart my projects and keep all the pieces organized

I hope this will help you organize your digital life to increase your productivity and make your life easier!

I read so many great books this year that I can’t wait to share with you! And since the year isn’t over, I’m not done reading yet and have even more favorites to add  (How Not To Die and The Collapse of Parenting are a couple of recent favorites.)

I love to keep track of the books I read to prove to myself that I’m learning. There are loads of ways to track your books, but I like to keep it low-tech in the Thriving in Motherhood Planner monthly review page.

Keeping track helps me get a better picture of where my time and energy went as a whole, and it is part of my game plan for combatting the lie that “all I do is…”

Plus, what you focus on grows - and I want reading to be a foundational part of who I am because it makes life richer, deeper, and much more interesting.

So, without further ado, here are my 12 favorite books I read this year:

Forty Autumns

Building Your Second Brain

What Would You Do If You Weren’t Afraid

Mothering By The Book

How The Word Is Passed

Think Again

The Self-Driven Child

The Sleep Fix

Hunt, Gather, Parent

Heaven Is For Real

The Battle Plan For Prayer

Awaking Wonder

I hope you find some new favorites from this list! Tune in to hear in this week’s episode.

We all have hard things in our life that we get to keep learning from again and again. Mine is physical pain and health challenges. 

In this week’s episode, I’m sharing some practical tips for parenting while in physical pain (which can be applied to mental and emotional health challenges, too), as well as some principles and lessons I’ve been learning over the last few months.

For me, one of the biggest things this challenge has taught me is to rely more fully on God. I’ve chosen to look at the pain as an opportunity to grow closer to Him. 

Whenever the fear starts to creep in because of pain or the unknown underlying causes, I try to remember who does know. God is all-knowing, and He is the only one with all of the answers. I try to remain focused on the fact that I can trust Him to walk with me through all the ups and downs.

I’ve also discovered some helpful practices that make mothering easier when I have painful days:

• Play music to match the mood you want in your home.
• Instead of focusing on what is not going well, practice gratitude.
• Remember, in this moment, you are okay. Notice what doesn’t hurt right now.
• Instead of worrying about how you will survive this moment, look back and see all that you’ve endured and overcome.
• State your limitations calmly and thank children for their help.
• Ask, “What would I do to take care of myself if I didn’t have kids?” and then do that thing.
• End the day with the Thriving in Motherhood Journal to help keep your brain in helpful thought patterns.

While none of these practices or mindsets eliminate my physical discomfort, they do help me live my life with purpose and joy. They help me create the life I want my family to experience while setting an example for my children about dealing with challenges.

For more real-life examples and discussion about this topic, tune into this week’s podcast episode.

Would you like more support from your husband with your projects and goals? This week on the podcast, I’m sharing the principles and practices that help Andrew and me be effective in communicating and supporting each other in making our priorities happen.

As I’ve looked back over the last few years, I’ve been able to see the simple things that have really made a difference in making life joyful and meaningful in everyday life. 

The great news is that you don’t necessarily have to look outside of your current responsibilities and plans to increase fulfillment. 

Listen to this week’s episode for ideas on how to recognize and create more moments of joy and meaning in your life and ways that you can celebrate your everyday accomplishments more fully. 

Emily is the creator and co-host of the Enlightening Motherhood Podcast and a life coach. As a mom of four, former foster mom of 27, and educator of all ages, she understands what it’s like to feel overwhelmed with your children’s intense behaviors and emotions. 

Her mission is simple yet strong: to empower moms to calmly and confidently handle their children’s big feelings and behaviors, so motherhood won’t seem so hard and so there can be more peace at home.

In this week’s episode, we talk about how to be the parent you want to be and how understanding the reasons behind your child’s behavior can help you handle big emotions more calmly and effectively.

I was recently asked what our family scripture study looks like, and I realized that it has evolved a lot over the years. In this week's episode, I outline what our family does for scripture study as an example of how I’ve pulled from many different sources to create a vision for my family and how we slowly grow into that vision in time.

It’s the process I’ve built into the Thriving in Motherhood Planner, and it was good to reflect on how much growth we’ve had in this area of our lives using the planner as a tool to guide me.

A few years ago, I saw this idea of a Big 5 from @farmhouseschoolhouse, and we adopted it immediately into our home with tiny children. I’ve mentioned it on the podcast before, but a friend reached out with some excellent questions about what the kids and I do for our Big 5, when we have to finish them by, and what we do if someone doesn’t complete their Big 5.

This week’s episode of the podcast answers all of these and more!

There is a lot of focus on time management and being productive. As a mom, I find that managing time can be inconsistent, which for me, is incredibly demotivating. The great news is that there are other things we can focus on to accomplish what matters to us. 

For me, that is homeschooling, my kids, working on projects together around the house, having time each day to study scriptures, journal, and pray, adventuring as a family, and running Thriving in Motherhood.

In this episode, learn the secret to making space for what matters to you!

We have had a wonderful summer and a lot going on as we get back into life at home, gardening, homeschooling, and friendships. There has also been a lot going on behind the scenes with the podcast, which is what I want to share with you in this week’s Thriving Thursday email so you can know what to expect.

Usually by now I've gotten the next year's planner edited, ordered, shipped to my home, and I've taken photos and gotten ready to share it with all of you. This year I have the draft of the 2025 planner written, but it still needs to be created.

What I've been focusing on the last few months is reading the productivity books that have come out in the last few years, taking a few productivity courses, and translating the principles that apply to us as moms into the planner and courses that go along with the planner. I am excited to share these little but effective tweaks with you soon!

I also sent an email out earlier this year to everyone who has purchased the Made to Soar: Next 90 Days program looking for feedback about what was working and what wasn't working. Two really important points emerged from that feedback.

First, 90 days is a really long time to focus on something and it led to feelings of discouragement when interruptions happened or it took longer to get through the course material. At the same time I've seen so much progress in the lives of the moms I've been working with for nearly 4 years in Soaring Mothers Society (which is the group coaching program that goes along with the Made to Soar DIY course). And the reality is that the baby steps add up to incredible change. 

So the first big change I'm announcing in this email is that the Made to Soar: Next 90 Days program name is changing to Win Your Week Academy. With this focus on creating a winning week you will also experience winning months, quarters, and years. Everyone who has already purchased the Next 90 Days program will get access to this update.

Second, many moms struggled with working on the program because they were in survival mode, re-entry, or buried in the work of normalizing. Which is absolutely right because that content is really focused on the later stages of normalizing, exploring, and thriving. And this is where I realized that I had a major gap I needed to fill and where the idea of the Surviving to Thriving Toolkit came about. This is something I've been making baby steps of progress on for months and I'm looking forward to announcing the beta launch of this program soon.

The women in Mom Matters Too have also been so patient this year as we started that new program and moved around to 3 different tech platforms until we found our home. This was a huge undertaking but I am really thrilled with the results. So much so that I am going to be switching all of the products and courses over to this platform so everything will be in one place. This is a huge project but will smooth things out for everyone moving forward.

With all of these large projects on the horizon, I have made the decision to take my first break ever since starting the podcast nearly seven years ago. This way my team and I can divert all of our energy and attention to getting the 2025 planner ready to go, creating the new Win Your Week Academy program, creating the Soaring Mothers Toolkit, and switching all other digital products to the new platform.

I already have many more episode ideas and raw footage recorded for the podcast, so there is part of me that thinks I can just keep going with both. But honestly, it is a relief to decide to go all in on one thing and create a really strong foundation with things that will truly serve you and help you in ways that I can't do through the podcast. And once we have solid footing, it will be wonderful to put energy and attention back towards bringing you great conversations and insights on the Thriving in Motherhood Podcast again.

During the break you can listen to any of the 330 previous episodes here: https://thrivinginmotherhoodpodcast.com/podcast/

I will continue sending emails on Thursday to give you behind the scenes progress updates and let you know when episodes will be released again as the time gets closer. I look forward to working with some of you in the Surviving to Thriving Toolkit beta program! You can get on the waitlist here to be the first to know when the doors are opening. 

Today I'm taking you behind the scenes of the Soaring Mothers Summit and sharing some of the miracles and the lessons I learned. This was an opportunity to strengthen my faith and trust in God in very real ways.

This episode is a little about homeschooling but more about how God wants to be involved, not just in giving us things to do but actually doing them with us. This principle is part of the Soul Pillar in my Made To Soar: Next 90 Days course (opening again in January), but I wanted to share it with you now because it is life-changing. And I don’t say that lightly.

I’ve tried muscling through and solving problems on my own, but I fall into the “Exhausted Supermom Trap” and end up burned out. Listen to this week’s episode to find out what inviting God into your life, and problem-solving actually looks like in the life of a rather busy mom.

Today’s episode is an inspiring conversation with Arielle, a mom of four children ages 2 to 9. Arielle discovered the Soaring Mothers Summit last year during a period of transition. The idea of creating a vision for her life took hold of her, and she decided to make a change. Instead of staying in place thinking, “All I do is clean, cook, and keep kids alive,” she would create a life she was excited to wake up to each day.

Her journey and lessons learned during the last few years of motherhood are sure to uplift and inspire you in your own motherhood journey.

Life can be hard sometimes, and when it is, it can feel easier to throw in the towel and give up than to keep pressing forward. But, when you have a clear vision of what you want your life to be like (or even a hazy idea), you’ll be able to spend your time and energy focused on making things happen instead of scrolling on social media, even if it is all you feel like doing. 

For examples of what this looks like in my life, check out this week’s episode of the podcast.

My quest for the first few years of motherhood was just trying to figure out why I felt like I was surviving all the time when I wanted to love being a mom so badly. As life marched on and I slowly gained more experience, I discovered there are four main reasons moms end up feeling like they are surviving. 

In this episode, I break down the four reasons for feeling like you’re in survival mode as a mom. Knowing what the problem was brought me so much peace and focus, especially since it meant nothing was wrong with me - I just had skills I needed to learn. I hope it will help you too!

Summer is coming to a close, and I’ve taken some time to reflect. We had ups and downs, focused on building family relationships, and experienced the normal stressors that come with family life. Looking back, I learned a lot - and I'm betting you did too! In this week's episode, I'm sharing my lessons learned, and I would love to hear yours too. What’s a lesson you learned this summer?

This week, I’m talking with Unymie Ogutuga @oliveandblisswellness about the three phases of rethinking motherhood. If you relate to feeling pressure to do and be more, this episode will give you a lot to think about.

We just got back a few weeks ago from our cross-country road trip, spending 60 hours in the car. Roadtripping for 3-5 days is a huge undertaking! In this episode, I share my best tips and systems for going on long road trips with children. This is our second time making the drive, and we solved many pain points for a much smoother experience.

Knowing everything won’t go perfectly, and everything will still be okay takes the pressure off. A problem-solving mindset keeps hope alive and allows you to live in your circle of influence. I hope these tips help make your next road trip smoother!

Today's conversation is with Kaeli Wood introduced me to many new ideas when it comes to ways to contribute financially as a stay at home mom. Kaeli and her husband have done two live in flips of their homes and have been an air bnb host for 5 years. She is also a mom of three young kids who is really committed to raising her kids and also very passionate about finances. She gives a real behind scenes look about what this lifestyle looks like - both the financial side and the day to day living impact.

I went out to harvest cucumbers and green beans with my kids early one morning. The plants looked amazing, with vines reaching everywhere. At first glance, it looked like we would come out with nothing to show for our months of effort water, picking off bugs, and weeding. But after we slowed down and searched for a while, we began to see lots of vegetables (we found 17 cucumbers and an entire colander of green beans!).

Just like the vegetables hidden in the garden, sometimes we get so caught up in the daily grind that we miss all the amazing things we're accomplishing as moms. That's why a monthly review is SO important! It is when we slow down and look for all of the fruit that we get to celebrate and enjoy our daily efforts.

You can do a monthly review on a piece of paper or journal, or use the Thriving in Motherhood Planner.

There's a page each month for doing this monthly review so you never have to remember that it's time to sit down and reflect again.

If you want a little more accountability and motherhood camaraderie we'd love to have you join us in our monthly Soaring Mothers Society Calls. These monthly calls are a fantastic way to connect with other moms, share your review progress, and get inspired.

And here's my favorite part of the whole process (and a way to battle the mom guilt that so easily creeps in): After your monthly review, share it with your kids and husband at the dinner table! Share the things you are learning and discovering. Share your accomplishments. Reflect and remember the things you've done as a family and the places you've gone. Share what you've been reading. And then ask them about their progress too! Your kids want to celebrate with you, be proud of you, and enjoy seeing your success and growth as much as you enjoy seeing theirs.

This is a powerful way to create a strong family culture of motivated, growing individuals who cheer each other on.

Grab a piece of paper, join our Soaring Mother Society Calls, or use your planner – whatever works for you. Just take that time to reflect, celebrate, and share your joy with your family.

I can't wait to hear about all the amazing things YOU'RE accomplishing!

I'm cheering you on!

Jessica

This weeks chat with Greta Eskridge of @maandpamodern is one that will inspire you to return to the basics - things like reading aloud and going on adventures outside. I've loved both of Greta's book so this was also a chance to ask questions ranging from what has made the biggest impact in her family's homeschooling journey to how to discuss pornography with our kids. What is your biggest take-away from the episode?

Recently I was interviewed by the Minimalist Moms Meetup group about the story behind Thriving in Motherhood as well as the principles that carry us from surviving in motherhood to thriving.

Does anyone else struggle with being good about exercising 1 or 2 days a week but then it's hard to get back to? In this weeks episode we are going to look at why this might be and what to do about it - or any other habit that you are having a hard time being consistent with!

Summer is here or just around the corner and it's time to think about ways to cultivate family relationships. This year we are having a family summer camp that puts what the kids already love, their family responsibilities, their goals, learning options, and family adventures into a little structure. Check out this weeks episode for some inspiration to bring some fun into your summer season!

When I'm in a hard season, it's hard to imagine ever getting out of it. And more importantly is the wondering and hoping and wishing to feel like me again - and I've talked with so many of you that can relate! This weeks episode is a very detailed look into how to get out of a hard season, what it's looked like for me and my family this time around, and practical tips you can start applying today!

As mothers, we often find ourselves navigating the challenging journey from merely surviving our days to truly thriving. Over the years, I've had the privilege of working with many amazing moms, and I've noticed some common pitfalls that can make this journey feel even more daunting. 

Today, I'd like to share some insights to help smooth your path. In our latest podcast episode, we dive into the five biggest mistakes moms make as they transition from survival mode to thriving. 

Here are the five key mistakes to consider:

1. Focusing on Circle of Concern vs. Circle of Influence: It’s crucial to distinguish between what you can control and what you can’t. By redirecting your focus to your circle of influence, you empower yourself to make meaningful changes. When I was pregnant with my third baby, I found myself overwhelmed by everything outside my control. A wise friend encouraged me to focus on my circle of influence rather than my circle of concern. It was a life-changing moment that taught me to concentrate on what I could truly impact. This shift in perspective enabled me to put my energy into actions that mattered, rather than getting bogged down by things I couldn't change.

2. Phone Scrolling: While it's a common escape, it can hinder your ability to think clearly, connect meaningfully with your family, and solve your problems with God. Reducing phone time can significantly improve your ability to cope and connect.

3. Getting Stuck in Phases: Whether it's survival mode, normalizing routines, or exploring new interests, it's important to recognize when it's time to move on and adapt to new phases in your motherhood journey. I go into great detail about what it looks like to get stuck in each phase.

4. Focusing on Suffering: It's easy to dwell on the hardships of motherhood, but shifting your mindset to focus on what you’re learning and how you’re growing can make a significant difference. Seeing challenges as opportunities for growth fosters resilience. This can't be rushed - it takes time to grieve or work through the emotions and realities of things being hard or different than you anticipated. But I have also learned that it is a skill set and a habit of thinking that can grow stronger with practice.

5. Limiting Strategies to Simplify Life: I spent years thinking there are only a couple of ways to make life easier, like sending kids to Grandma's or eating out. However, there are countless strategies to improve your day-to-day, even without these conveniences.

This is why I'm creating a brand new program, The Surviving to Thriving Toolkit! If you want to be the first to know any details and get on the waitlist, you can head over to https://thrivinginmotherhoodpodcast.com/toolkit.

Additionally, if you're seeking more support and community, consider joining Mom Matters Too {https://thrivinginmotherhoodpodcast.com/mom-matters-too} where we work on micro habits together. These calls are a fantastic opportunity to connect with other moms, share your progress, and gain inspiration. The price is going up at the end of July so now is the perfect time to join!

Remember, every step forward, no matter how small, is a victory. Let's celebrate these wins together. I can't wait to hear about all the amazing things you are accomplishing!

Have you struggled with dieting or an extreme focus on healthy eating? In this weeks episode with Victoria Yates, she shares practical ways you can start to build trust and develop a healthy relationship with food again for you and your family.

We often hear that motherhood is a thankless job and it takes years to see if what you are doing bears any fruit. Not my favorite description of being a mom. In this weeks chat with Kimberly Amici @buildyourbestfamily we learn that it is also completely false. Kimberly will share a few practices you can start as family to get feedback from your kids right now in ways that will bring you closer together and create a beautiful family culture you can all enjoy while they are young.

Do you dread your husband traveling? I know for me the full days and nights with four kids requires a bit of effort to make it a successful experience for everyone. In this weeks episode I'm sharing my tips from our recent weeks of just the kids and mom as well as ideas from the women in Soaring Mothers Society. I'd love to hear your biggest take away or own suggestions below!

This week I'm chatting with Joslyn Hillam about how to create deeper connection in our marriages. Marriage is foundational to motherhood, and yet with the full schedules, exhaustion, and care-taking it can be easy to let our most important relationship take a back seat. This episode shares some practical, simple things you can do to remember your best friend.

I was feeling a bit discouraged with how disconnected I was with my kids. Honestly, that probably isn't true (I am with them all day, every day...) but I needed a way to create a new story for myself. Then one Sunday night on a zoom call with my family, we started sharing stories about my dad's mom. He ended our remembering with, "She really knew how to make you feel loved."

And that is what I realized I was seeking - not so much connect, but that atmosphere of love in our home that starts with me.

This weeks episode is all about two simple ways to create an atmosphere of love in the home.

During a hard season I felt like God suggested that I bring hymns more into my everyday life. I started small, propping up a hymn book where I did the dishes and learning the words while I washed. The impact of this small routine has helped not only me, but family too, and spread in other ways. The Soul Pillar (one of the three pillars of thriving) is absolutely strengthened by this practice. For more ideas of how to bring the power of hymns into your home in simple ways, check out this week's episode.

As a homeschooling mom with four kids, there is a lot of activity and chatting during the day. I love using my spare moments working on online courses, listening to audiobooks and podcasts, and chatting with friends on the phone. At the end of the day when I'm exhausted, it's easy to "rest" with a screen. I fill my social media page with uplifting and inspiring sources and love the intellectual learning that comes from podcasts, audiobooks and YouTube. But after hearing about Phoebe's experience doing a 30 day optional technology fast I knew I needed to give it a try. I had completely different results, but they were equally life changing. My favorite change? Being able to think again!

Phoebe Cook did a 30 day optional technology fast with her husband during the month of January and it was life changing. In today's episode we talk about their why, what they said no to for 30 days, what they did instead, and the surprising and life-changing results for them and their family.

Currently, we are in a season in our lives that could be temporary - or we could be here to stay for a long, long time. I'm very good at temporary. Moving has been my lot in life, growing up with my parents (I went to 10 schools by the time I graduated high school) and since getting married (we've lived in 6 homes). But living somewhere where staying is a possibility? Now that has been a hard thing for my mind to grasp. 

In this week's episode, I'm sharing a thriving thought that has come out of this struggle for me and also how it applies to motherhood.

We love where we live. We love the smaller home that is easy to clean, the updates and DIY projects we've done to customize the space, the huge garden we've put in the backyard, the rock climbing wall we just built, and the space our kids have to roam and play outside. But as we've made each of these changes and have more ideas for the future (front yard orchard and herb garden), I've often wondered if it is even a good idea to put our time, energy, and finances into something if we aren't staying here. 

After much prayer and discussion with God for years I got the new understanding that I was seeking:

Yes, embrace the current resources you have now to the fullest while you have them. Enjoy the spaces, the yard, the garden, the place to develop skills and do projects. Embrace the hours the children get to roam and create and build and picnic and imagine. Embrace all of it while you have it. And when things change, you don't need to replicate what you had here. You can embrace the new circumstances to the fullest and enjoy the differences.

Then I realized that we weren't just talking about houses.

We were also talking about my children and the seasons of motherhood. It is going so fast. My oldest is turning 11 and what felt like forever in those early years with 3 kids four and under is now moving at lightning speed.

But I don't need to focus on the inevitable changes coming. Instead, embrace the season we are in now. Invest in it fully with my time, focus, and energy. And when this season changes with the children continuing to get older, embrace that one too.

And this isn't meant to get us caught up in mom guilt and focus on the limitations we have or the things we can't do that would count as "embracing things to the fullest".

If you are in a hard season right now, it can look like just being present and sitting down and watching the same movie with your kids instead of scrolling or consuming your own content. Just BEING together counts.

In fact, each step along the five-step path from surviving to thriving will look different. This is why I'm creating the Surviving to Thriving Toolkit - to empower you to embrace where you are to the fullest with all the realities of motherhood and life coming at you. You can learn more at thrivinginmotherhoodpodcast.com/toolkit

This week on the podcast I'm answering this fabulous question I got from Carrie: "What if I can't think of a big 3 for the day or week? I'm not really a dreamer, so I have trouble coming up with goals to hit and end up still reacting to things around me. Some days, my one goal is to just get through our homeschool slog in one piece. Or I come up with goals for the week and end up transferring them to the next week… and again… so apparently I don't know how to follow through, either! Any guidance there?" What's your biggest take-away from the episode?

To celebrate the 200th episode of the Thriving in Motherhood Podcast, I created a brand new free QUIZ to help mothers figure out their next step out of survival mode.  We each have unique challenges and life situations, which is why we need customized solutions to thrive.  I've spent the last five weeks creating this to be the most helpful tool for you to use again and again as seasons change in your life. PLUS you get a customized podcast playlist sent to you to encourage along your motherhood journey.  Please share it with your mom friends who are as determined as you to thrive in your everyday life!

Do you ever feel overwhelmed by trying to make sure every child in your home has adequate one on one time with you? You are not alone!

This week I am chatting with Mindy @toptwotips about how to create meaningful connection and relationships with your kids. This isn't about scheduling 10 minutes of one-on-one time with each child - Mindy has 7 children and needed a more realistic and doable way to approach all of the important relationships with her family. I'd love to hear your biggest take-away in the comments!