Highlights:

In this episode you’ll:

Hear about the events (New Zealand and a wedding) and the trials (tornados) in my life that kept me from posting for two months.
Consider what it looks like to be emotionally invested in your family.
Take a look at what it takes to make and stick to the choices you believe matter most to your family.

The focus of this episode came from a reader’s question after I posted this quote from The Minimalist Home by: Joshua Becker –

“Ask yourself what’s really important and then have the courage to build your home and life around the answer.”

She asked, “This quote is fantastic!! Could you share more about how you answered the question of what was most important and discarded the rest (distractions) over the years?”

➡️ Listen in as I share a few of the choices we made while raising our kids ⤵️

➡️ Along with the reasons we made them — including the ups, the downs, and the retrospect of them all!

My hope is that it will encourage you – that during your transitions and trials of life, to:

take the time to choose what you believe in
to choose how you want to structure your family life
choose what you believe is best to help you through those transitions.

Becoming aware of what and why we believe what we believe — and do what we do is paramount.

We’re always growing, so understandably, we’ll never get the right answer for every season. But the foundation is super important. At least as a starting point for pretty much everything we decide.

⬇ Click on the image to download your parenting worksheets.

Caveat: This episode answers a question about our family and the choices we made to raise our kids and live the life we did.

➡️ In no way is it meant to change what you do (unless of course you’re feeling an itch to switch some things up) nor to make you feel bad that you don’t do all the things we do. Whether you didn’t choose them or can’t choose them is a personal life matter.

But you do get the benefit of my retrospect as we look at a few of the choices we made and why! And how those choices turned out — for the most part.

Some of the Choices We Made:

I’ll share the why’s and what’s of each choice — along with my thoughts after raising my kids.

We chose to home educate.
We chose to stop playing video games.
We chose to not watch regular television shows.
We chose to make Family Time precious to us. (We cooked and ate meals together — We took lots of walks — We traveled — Our family loved the work projects — We also raised animals
We chose to have a lot of kids
We didn’t feel college was the best way to get an education.
We dressed in mostly skirts/dresses.

Time to Think:

Most importantly, give yourself freedom to choose and bend and flex — and allow your future self to flinch a bit!

Use your inklings to ask questions of yourself — see if your perspective might need an adjustment — but if you honestly believe in what you’re doing, hang in there, stick with it and let God determine the outcome.

Just like us, our kids need to become aware of what they believe about the world around them — and what they’re willing to try that’s new or bold or might look conservative or a bit worldly.

And that’s why God gave them parents. To help them, like fledgling birds learning to fly.

Some questions to help:

“When are they ready to figure things out on their own?”
“What are those things and how do we know if they’re ready?”
“What’s age appropriate for the decisions they should make on their own?”
“How will they learn to deal with peer pressure?”

You enter parenting with questions, and you exit it with questions.

Some of the questions that come after the kids are raised look like this:

Why did I choose all the things we did?
What would I do different?
What effects did those choices make in the here and now?

My “Think – Pray – Plan – Do Planner” (T.P.P.D) is now Available on Amazon!

Words to Remember:

“When people are financially invested, they want a return. When people are emotionally invested, they want to contribute.” Simon Sinek

Terry Covey @ Living Above the Noise:

“So the big question for you today is this — Are you emotionally invested in your marriage, your parenting, and your home?”
A good way to look at it is this — you’re not doing it out of rote habit or expectations. You’re not acting out of obligation. You’re not being forced into it.
Rather — you are wholeheartedly connected to the cause. You are invested in the process, your responsibility in that process. and in particular in the outcome of the process.

“Ask yourself what’s really important and then have the courage to build your home and life around the answer.” Joshua Becker – The Minimalist Home / Lee Jampolsky, author of Smile for No Good Reason)

Bible Verses:

“I will bless the Lord, who councils me even at night when my thoughts trouble me. I always let the Lord guide me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.” Psalms16:7-8

David said to Solomon his son, “Be strong and courageous and do it. Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed, for the LORD God, even my God, is with you. 1 Chronicles 28:20

My dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. 1 Corinthians 15:58

For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love, and self-discipline. 2 Timothy 1:7

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5-6

Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the LORD. Psalm 31:24