Your Weekly Reset | Vol. 5
Hey friends!
A while ago, I was listening to a podcast and a piece of the conversation really stuck with me. The interviewer asked her guest something along the lines of “How do you decide what to say yes to, and what to say no to, when it comes to activities and curriculum and all the opportunities out there?”
The guest replied that actually, she just pared everything back until she found peace.
Peace in her home, peace for her kids, and peace in her heart.
It stuck with me because that’s exactly what I recognized our own family desperately needed: peace.
If you know me, you know I value slow and simple – I really believe in my heart of hearts that the Lord did not create us to hurry through life, rushing ourselves and our people from one activity to the next.
But here’s my honest confession: In these last few months, I have felt deeply like “slow and simple” was just plain impossible.
And it wore on me very, very heavily.
So I decided to do the same thing that the podcast guest did – I began paring back until I could find that peace I knew we needed. Peace in our home, peace in my children’s lives, and peace in my own heart.
Today, I want to share with you just 3 ways I’ve been chasing peace in our home ever since – and what a difference each of these things have made!
#1 – I named what mattered.
Honestly, sometimes life just gets so busy that you forget what’s important. And all it takes to get back to “normal” is stopping to name what matters. We did exactly that over Christmas break.
I returned to prioritizing what we truly value as a family – dinner time around the table each night, card games together, and movies on the couch. My kids are happier, more rested, and more confident in their connections with us and each other. And honestly, Jon and I feel the same.
#2 – I refreshed my routines.
For both work and home life, I wrote out ev.er.y.thing. that I was doing, and reworked it into a plan that fit this season.
I made checklists, wrote tasks and time blocks into a shared calendar, and took some things off the list for good. I simplified my workout and meal plans, and prepped my book and podcast list for the next few months.
In short – I took a few days to do a bunch of planning that Future Me will be very grateful for! And it was worth it.
#3 – I focused on praying before talking.
My own busyness created a bitter and resentful attitude that I’d been carrying around for months on end. I realized that I’d stopped praying and started simply reacting to everything that came my way – and I knew that needed to change.
So, I’ve been intentionally seeking the Lord in prayer before I open my big mouth – especially where my family is concerned. And this one thing is helping my relationships AND my own attitude, in big, peaceful ways.
Scripture for your week:
Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain.
– Psalm 127:1
I think that so often, my lack of peace comes from my quest to control everything – to “build the house” myself. I’m meditating on this verse this week, remembering that the Lord is the one who does the building – forcing it myself is simply laboring in vain. And honestly, I’m not interested in that! 😅
When my home starts to feel heavy or chaotic, the very first thing I do is use our Clear The Decks Guide. It helps me quickly clear the spaces in my home so that I can regain some visual peace – which always translates to mental peace, too!
Here’s how I’m using it:
- Using this proven step-by-step process to actually take back control of your space.
- Printing detailed, daily checklists to break each step down keep moving forward as I declutter + clean (I love a good checklist, don’t you?)
- Changing things up + conquering the problem areas in my home – I’m looking at YOU, overfilled office!
If your home needs a reset too, you’ll love this free guide! ⬇️ I honest-to-goodness still use it all the time in my own home.
✍🏼 Tools Helping Me Plan → This Gorgeous Washi Tape Set I got these for Emily (who is SUPER into all things Bible Journaling right now!) and promptly ordered a second set for myself. These are so pretty – some even have gold foil on them! – and I’m loving using them in my planner, journal, and even on my desk instead of sticky notes!
🛁 One Thing Helping Me Stay Sane Right Now → This Bible I’m really loving this Bible right now, especially to use alongside our ALC Bible Study through the New Testament. The study notes are incredible, and I love all the space to write in the margins!
🍽️ What I’m Using in the Kitchen → These Silicone Pot Holders I got these for Christmas to replace the fabric pot holders I had on my cast iron (I may or may not have burned them up a little bit), and I’m LOVING these! They fit multiple pans in my kitchen, and are really sturdy.
Hope your week is full of what matters most! 💛
Kayse Pratt serves Christian women as a writer + designer, creating home + life management resources that help those women plan their days around what matters most. She’s created the most unique planner on the market, helped over 400 women create custom home management plans, and works with hundreds of women each month inside her membership, teaching them how to plan their days around what matters most. When she’s not designing printables or writing essays, you’ll find Kayse homeschooling her kids, reading a cheesy novel with a giant cup of tea in hand, or watching an old show from the 90’s with her husband, who is her very best friend.