I know for me I have been looking at making intentional choices with my faith, food, family, and finances. A lot of these changes are super simple but for a while have been a challenge to me. I hope you find encouragement while reading this to keep growing by making simple intentional changes in your life as well. Ready? Reset- GO!

Faith

My sister in law invited myself, my mother and my other sister in law to read through the New Testament together. I have been using an app to help read through to keep track of what to read next and bonus, it correlates with their podcast that gives background insight to what you’re reading. What I love about it, is it also has the ability to be audio so you can listen to it all if need be. I love listening to it while in the kitchen washing dishes or cooking dinner.

Thus far, I believe this addition has added to my ability to be productive and has shifted my mindset from being overwhelmed and anxious- to clear and calm. I would see messes all over the house and it would make me anxious thinking of all the things I need to clean up. Or hearing my children argue sometimes would make me overwhelmed and struggle to help them solve in a calm way.

Since making this mind shift, I can now clean and pick items off the floor easily and when hearing my children argue I am able to help them process their emotions in a calm and present way.

Food

My first simple goal for the past few months has been to try and drink water first thing. I know, that sounds so silly like it’d be the easiest thing. But for me, it has been a challenge. We had a pretty exhausting life when my second child was born and I’ve struggled to come out of the habits I created to survive. They definitely served me in the moment, but are not beneficial to me in the long run.

I have finally made that a habit and I can definitely feel the difference. I sometimes don’t even feel the need to drink my coffee, which is a major plus for me. I also try and keep my water bottle with me throughout the day to stay hydrated.

Another goal we are trying to hit is to cook at home all month, eat healthier and save money. Think ahead, pack snacks, bring water or pack a lunch when out.

Finances

Budget life. Oof. We have done the Dave Ramsey program and loved it but we have slacked lately. With inflation and all of the other unexpected expenses coming up we wanted to get better at our spending habits.

I have been trying to find all the extra ways to save money, like using the FETCH and IBOTTA app that turns receipts into gift cards. This month, I really wanted to get a certain gift for my nephew on amazon but it was more than we allotted for so I used $10 from my FETCH app to use toward the amazon purchase. It took the gift amount down to what we could afford this month.

Some great budget people I follow are:

The Budget Mom

Dave Ramsey

https://funcheaporfree.com/

Family

I want easy living. I don’t want to NOT play with my children because I feel like I have to clean. I want quick clean ups, quick meals, one on one time with my children, intentional conversations and quality time. In this area of growth I am still working on finding out what systems work for our family.

Toys- Some systems that have worked thus far are going through toys. Taking out toys they don’t play with, organizing by genre, then rotating toys and only putting out as much as I want to pick up.

Clean- Just do it right then. I am queen of letting things sit because “I’ll do it later”. Yet, have you also heard the saying, “stuff attracts stuff”. So things just start accumulating and growing, becoming more and more overwhelming.

When I’m giving my girls a bath I start cleaning the toilet, sink and floor. If I have to be stuck in there I might as well clean it.

Rest- Allowing myself to rest. Actually lay down in my bed, not on the couch watching TV or surfing my phone but quiet rest.

Help me out, I want to hear about the systems you have in place to keep things running at your house. Please share in the comments below!

Don’t forget to check out the freebie! This has helped me create a visual for budgeting the whole year out of all the unexpected expenses that pop up! Hope they help you too!