Do you ever have days when everything goes perfectly? The kids are getting along, the house is clean, meals are prepared, and everyone is calm.
Yeah, me neither.
Caring for four children, ages 6 and under means arguing, disobedience, and screaming are all daily occurrences in our home. I crave peace as a mother and homemaker. I’ve come to appreciate little things that I never even considered helpful before.
I want to share with you what I do each day to help bring peace and order to our home is the midst of chaos.
When my third child was born, I suddenly realized that I needed to have some quiet time before my girls woke up, so that I could drink my coffee in peace. I would put the baby in the swing and then I’d read my Bible, light a candle, drink my coffee, and make a plan for my day.
I began to look forward to getting up early and drinking my whole cup of coffee in one sitting, instead of constantly having to reheat it over and over again. I could savor that fresh cup of coffee and the quiet for just a few moments.
Now that my little ones are starting to sleep later I can enjoy this time completely alone.
1. Spend time with Jesus
Like I said before, getting out of bed and mediating on God’s Word before my day begins helps me focus on what’s important before I let the little trials in life stress me out. Even if it’s just 10 minutes, starting the day off with seeking the Lord seemed to change how I handled the stress of early morning drama.
We need God’s Word to remind us of our purpose and to motivate us to be more like Christ.
While is great to feel good and encouraged by reading the Bible, that’s not always going to happen. When we start to think of the Bible as a manual to life and raising our children, then we start to take it more seriously.
Get into the Word and find what God is trying to teach you that day. We must train ourselves to seek Him even when life is crazy. No excuse we come up with can ever outweigh the need we have for our Savior.
2. Make a plan
Not having a plan makes me a little anxious and I feel like kids can be the same way.
My kids wake up wanting to know what’s for breakfast and where we are going that day. We have a dry erase-board on our fridge where I usually write out our ideal plan for the day. This simple tool keeps me productive and motivated throughout my day.
I try not to be too strict about the schedule because with multiple little ones, sometimes plans change and that’s okay. But having a plan laid out and setting goals for that day has become life-changing as a homemaker. When I finish the day and I’ve completed everything, I feel motivated to get up and do it again the next day.
It brings satisfaction to achieve your goals even if they are small things like doing a craft with the kids or making homemade bread. I always try to set a time before dinner to catch up on the tasks that I wasn’t able to complete earlier.
3. Clean one room/declutter
Having a clean home brings me joy. But I know that my life is busy and most of the time my whole house isn’t going to be clean at the same time.
But I’ve learned that in this season of life, it’s okay and I would rather give my children the attention they need then making sure that my home is spotless.
I try to clean one room or area a day, which usually means the whole house is somewhat picked up by Saturday but if your Sunday mornings are anything like my own, then you are ready to start all over by Monday. Find what works for you!
4. Teach My Children Peace Virtues
As young as my children may be I try to bring up peace talk among them and teach them virtues as it should be. This resource gives tips on peacemaking in early childhood life.
It is never too early neither is there an ideal age to do it.
I make sure to start encouraging positive relationships among them.
Such methods I use include making them eat together, share the same toys and hold hands and play safely together.
All these fosters peace and they learn pretty early that way.
5. Rest
I use to feel extremely guilty about laying down while my kids were napping because I would see other moms being so productive during their kids nap time. They would clean the whole house or organize a closet or knit a blanket.
I felt lazy and ashamed that I spent nap time laying in bed catching up on my favorite shows, but now I realize that I need that time to recharge. My kids are young and it’s exhausting, especially having multiple small children.
Dear mamas, please give yourself grace and don’t feel guilty about laying down and getting some well deserved rest. As mothers we shouldn’t get caught up in trying to do everything, we aren’t called to be able to do it all! We aren’t honoring God when our focus is on being like someone else. Every mom deserves rest!
By pursuing to make each day purposeful, it encourages me to focus on ways to make being at home more enjoyable.
