ultimate bundle Archives | Heavenly Homemakers

Homemaking Tips to Make Life Easier

June 24, 2020 by Tasha Hackett 6 Comments

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Need some homemaking tips to make life easier? Yes. Me too…

Funny story (ok, it’s not actually that funny). I had a different post ready for today, then Tasha, who writes for me sometimes, texted me something like, “Hey I have something I really want to write today. Does that work for you?”

She pitched her idea, I quickly rescheduled my original post for a later date, and Tasha kicked out this post for us.

Hmm. So that story really wasn’t funny. It was pretty much just a story, and also, Tasha and I worked out a plan to take our little kids swimming tomorrow. Good talk.

One more thing (another funny story perhaps?) and then I’ll turn it over to Tasha: It is worth noting that I’m an older mom and she’s a younger mom, and now that I’m back to raising littles again, I found it weird at first to be an older mom hanging out with younger moms. Like, hello, I have a 23-year-old and other adulty children. But then God showed me how cool it is to hang out with younger moms like Tasha. We parent together, learn together, and who really cares how old we all are because we all just need each other for lots of different reasons.

God’s awesome, huh?

So hey, Tasha? Thanks for letting God use you to teach me stuff. And thanks for making it not-even-hard to hang out with friends who are different seasons than I am, except that oh yeah, here I am also in this “raising little kids” season again.

Truly, God is amazing.

Ok, now I’ll let Tasha have at it. I loved how she put all of this together. (And yes, I did read it. You’ll know why I said this when you keep reading her post…) :)

Homemaking Tips to Make Life Easier
By Tasha Hackett

I told my family I was working…

Homemaking is hard sometimes, but homemaking doesn’t have to be hard all the time. Just now I shut the bedroom door, settled into the corner of my bed (with no sheets because the 3 year old had an accident on my bed last night. Rude.) and I’m letting everyone else complete the morning chores. “I have to get another article written right away!” I said. Haha, and then I opened my homemaking bundle and went shopping. I’m sneaky like that.

Raise your hand if you would like to buy special and unique gifts but you never get to go anywhere because you have little people who do things like pee on your bed and you are so over it, but you still can’t go out because the baby takes two naps and then there’s this virus going around and who even knows if the stores are open?

So I bought some stuff online

Tasha here! (I’m Laura’s younger mom friend who likes to write stuff about money.) Currently my 8-year-old is walking around the house whistling while Dad is handing out laundry to put away. Can’t complain about the chores being done, trying not to complain about the whistling: “Which is not annoying at all,” said no-one-ever. Because I am good at life and can do hard things, I soldier on and despite the whistling I’m putting sentences together for you AND just bought my sister her Christmas present from Hope Ink and my brother his birthday present from Strawesome.

Here’s my secret to neat gifts: Ultimate Bundle Bonuses

Every year your favorite bloggers bombard you with all the great reasons you should buy the Ultimate Something-Or-Other Bundle. “Your life won’t be complete unless you buy it! Buy stuff! More stuff!” (No, really, if you haven’t bought all the things you can’t possibly be happy or organized or motherly or love homemaking enough, therefore… buy it!!!)

What’s up with that? Are they really trying just to make a buck? How can we even believe these products are worth any of that money? Don’t they know I’m trying to get out of debt and save up all my money to build a house? I’m not a blogger, I’m just a friend of a blogger. Laura lets me write stuff for her, and I don’t even know if she reads it. I could be posting about hippopotamuses and how they like to swim in pink jello in the arctic…

But, I’ll get to the point: Because I’m awesome, I buy other people stuff when I see great sales for great stuff. It’s great to start planning Christmas stuff way before Christmas… And I use the word “stuff” entirely too often because sometimes words are hard because of sleep and not having enough and because of kids and having enough.

Tasha, the budget girl, bought the Homemaking Bundle

I wasn’t going to. Money is weird like that; not having much money for too many years created a habit of feeling bad anytime I do spend it. When I make a poor purchase, an impulse buy, an overpriced something-or-other that I end up not using, I do not allow myself to feel guilty anymore. Marie Kondo helped me over that hump–instead I accept it, and move forward. I say to that item, “Thank you for teaching me a lesson.”

So when the Ultimate Homemaking Bundle became available again, I said, “Nope! You’re not fooling me. I didn’t even use you last year!” But then Laura’s promotions won me over and here’s why I bought it: Neat gifts available through the bonus coupons, Motivated Moms Planner, and Green Means Go. I looked through and found a couple things that I was absolutely going to use, so I know for sure that I’ll get my money’s worth.

Bonuses!

I spent $30 on the bundle and then I immediately went to my Hope Ink Bonus and got my freebies. This “freebie” cost me another $20. But without the discount, my total would have been well over $100. The artwork is beautiful, creative, and inspiring and who doesn’t enjoy supporting another woman’s creative business? I’m keeping two prints, gifting two and I’ve received a free file to print my own cards.

Then I went to my Strawesome Bonus and bought three discounted re-usable glass straws and the straw cleaner. My total was $6.38 (Don’t tell my brother what he’s getting for his birthday. Happy 24th!) I’m saving the world, one plastic straw at a time. I will be a repeat customer with Strawesome, even without my bonus coupon, their prices are immensely affordable.

I’ve registered for my Free Around the World Stories, a completely free resource worth $38. It includes 10 different 3o minute audio stories from 10 different countries. Each story includes bonus material for added learning: Recipes, activities, some language and facts about the country. This will be great to use for our homeschool next year, and just for listening to a good story when I need the kids to go away and be quiet for half an hour if you know what I mean and I think you do.

Feeling motivated yet?

Next, I printed out two pages from my Motivated Moms Planner. MY FAVORITE! I’ve used many different house cleaning checklists in the past, so far, this is my favorite (And I’ve used it before and know that I will use it). She has every chore I could ever need spread out over the year. If I am able to complete just a few a day, it keeps my house company-ready without the mad dash, if you know what I mean and I think you do.

For example, today I need to wipe down the deep freeze among other things. I am assigning that job to the whistling 8 year old. Otherwise I will wipe down the deep freeze NEVER and years from now it will be absolutely disgusting and I’ll wonder how I became such a slob. Homemaking doesn’t have to be as hard when we let someone else do the planning.

The Green Means Go ebook is a lovely activity I am going to “play” with my 3 and 5 year old this week. This helps young people to deal with big emotions. First we identify “How Do I Feel?” and an exhaustive list of emotions are provided with pictures. Then we assess, “What Can I Do?” and there is another list of positive responses to those emotions and then we talk about “My Calm Self.” For example: When I feel embarrassed, I can hug my teddy bear, and then I reassess and I feel peaceful. My plan is to go through the cards and options with my little guys when they are in a good mood, so that we have strategies to handle life when we’re not in a good mood.

So there you have it

I found a few things that I absolutely know I’m going to use and love. And if I happen to not open anything else, but I’m sure I will, it is a worthwhile purchase. I’m interested in reading: Celebrate Nature: Memory and Copywork (poetry copywork for my homeschool), Cleaning with Essential Oils and How to Design a Room from Start to Finish, (because I am not naturally good at interior design stuff).

Lastly, I’m going to email Laura a screenshot of my receipt ([email protected]) because she promised to give everyone who purchased the bundle through her link a prayer journal and a handwritten note. Now excuse me while I go ask my whistler to please take his whistling self outside.

Get your bundle here! And be sure to let me know what item makes your homemaking life easier.

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Note from Laura: I have loved receiving your emails telling me which of these Prayer Journals you want me to send you and why. While freebies are nice, you guys aren’t in this for the freebie. You’re in it so that your relationship with God to grow while you work hard for your home and family. I praise God for this!!!

Then send me your receipt and tell me which of these journals you want!

Heavenly Homemaker's Club Members: Access your homepage and all your fantastic resources here! Not a member yet? Please join us!

Old Laura. New Laura. And the One thing that’s made the biggest difference.

June 22, 2020 by Laura 16 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

Have a seat with me for a few minutes. It’s time for me to really share what has made the biggest difference in my life to help me learn how to let go of stress, anxiety, depression, and fear.

There’s Old Laura and there’s New Laura and I’m quite certain that there’s sure to be a Newer Laura every day in the future because God continues to teach me and refine me. Growth and healing never stop as long as we’re seeking Him.

Old Laura

First I’ll talk about Old Laura (in third person, apparently). She sure was a go-getter. She’d start tackling her to-do list as soon as her feet hit the floor and wow could she get a lot done each day! Between homeschooling four sons and writing a blog and making all of her food from scratch and keeping up with marriage, housework, and the ministries she was involved in, she could tackle a huge to-do list every day. Boom. Way to go, Old Laura.

Except for, yikes. Old Laura was nervous all the time. Anxious. Worried. Fearful. Tense. What if she wasn’t doing enough? What if all she was doing wasn’t being done well enough? What if she let someone down? What if her children didn’t turn out perfectly? What if all of her efforts didn’t turn out perfectly?

So she worked even harder. Year after year, she tried and she strove and she dug in her heels with determination. Through all of her many tasks she would pray! “God, help me to do all of this. I need your help!”

God was listening.

He listened with love and He knew what she needed. So He began to lead her down a new path; one that required deep inner healing and cleansing to show her that her life wasn’t about getting it all done. No. It was about surrendering to the One who had already done what was most important.

What Made the Biggest Difference

Old Laura slowly started to learn a new way. She still had four boys to homeschool. She still had food to cook. She still had a blog and a husband and ministries and laundry and housework. But she learned a new way to do it, and the Truth was surprising.

Old Laura started to recognize in a brand new way how much she needed her Savior. She learned that tackling her long to-do list successfully wasn’t really what made her successful. That at the end of the day, nothing really mattered except for love. And that love conquers all – even the laundry piles.

As God helped Old Laura heal from her chronic sin of people-pleasing and hurtful tendencies to worry and over-think, He helped her learn that the only way to truly get through a day successfully was to begin with prayer and time in the Word. Not the “Good morning God, help me get through this day!” kind of desperate prayer spoken on the fly while heading into the kitchen to make a perfectly nourishing breakfast. But the calm and peaceful prayer breathed in and out while sitting humbly in the quiet.

New Laura

Old Laura died and she started to become New Laura because God completely changed her focus. God taught her that true peace, true calm, and true love only come from surrendering self and seeking Truth. And His Truth could only fill her mind and heart when she spent real time with her Savior – daily.

Time with God could happen while washing dishes and folding clothes and scrubbing toilets. It did happen while in the car on the way to soccer practice with the boys and while reading novels out loud during school time.

But true calm and peace weren’t achieved without first spending as much quiet, alone time as possible each day talking to God and listening for his voice of direction and Truth.

Laura learned that nothing on the to-do list was as important as spending time with God – in His Word and in prayer. Without it, Laura learned that she was not okay.

But the to-do list!

The to-do list remained long, and in fact, it became longer!

God added foster children and adopted children to the family, and with them came caseworker visits, extra phone calls, court dates, appointments, the extra needs of traumatized children, and ultimately, the necessity to learn to juggle all of life while caring for kids from baby to elementary to high school to adult.

More to do = More time with Jesus

As the needs around her grew bigger, and as the to-do list became longer, she discovered that she needed even more time in the Word. Life’s needs were too intense and challenging to even attempt to tackle on her own. Nothing on the to-do list was as important as hearing from God – His voice of Truth in the middle of many storms and trials.

But how is this even possible?

Doesn’t more on the to-do list take even more time than before? Yes, one would think. But New Laura continued to learn about dying to self, seeking His Truth instead of worldly wisdom, and listening for the Spirit’s direction.

And that is how New Laura gets everything completed on her to-do list each day. You see, the to-do list is no longer penned by a person. The to-do list is detailed and directed by the Holy Spirit.

If He doesn’t need it to be done, it doesn’t make the list. And if it’s not on the list, it doesn’t cause anxiety, because well, it didn’t make the list.

The family still eats three times a day. The necessary chores still get done. The dishes get washed. The laundry gets folded. The needs get met.

But New Laura is learning that she is not the one who meets the needs. God meets the needs. And now, in place of fear and worry, there is peace – the kind that can only come from the Spirit who fills a heart and overflows into the home.

New Laura continues to be Renewed Laura. There is no “arriving” on this earth as there is always a need to surrender self and let God refine and heal and stretch and grow.

Oh hi. (New) Laura here.

Thanks for listening. This is getting pretty long, and shucks, I’m not even done yet. :)

I’m sharing all of this because I think it’s important for you to hear that I’ve realized that I am an absolute mess when I don’t spend focused time with God every day. I used to live life doing good and being good and it all seemed good – except for the fact that my heart and mind were always in turmoil as I was striving to BE ALL THE THINGS and DO ALL THE THINGS and HOPE EVERYONE WAS PLEASED WITH IT ALL.

This was not okay. I was not okay.

I realized that I actually need Jesus.

I knew this, but I didn’t really know it, you know?

I never used to really crave time in the Word. I’m not sure why. Because I was too busy?? (Shake my head.) Because I already knew a lot about the Bible? (Yeah, right.) Because I was intimidated by all I didn’t know or understand about the Bible? (Well, there’s that.) The reasons I didn’t make time for it are many.

God changed all of that a few years ago when I found myself in a deep, dark pit. I found that I had to go all-in with Him if I wanted to find healing and Truth to live by. Through that, I discovered that time in the Word, time in surrendered prayer, and time listening to Him are life-changing and life-giving.

So now, because I’ve learned now that I must, and because now I actually crave it, I spend as much time as possible in the quiet, before the family wakes up each morning, drinking coffee, and talking and listening to God. I soak in the Word as nourishment because I’ve found that I truly am not okay otherwise. Without it, my flesh easily takes over and I slip back into worried-mom mode. Shoot, even with it I struggle if I don’t use scripture Truth I’ve learned to fight the lies that the enemy wants me to believe. He’s crafty and he knows my weak places. I must spend time in the Word and in prayer each morning or I truly struggle emotionally and spiritually.

And after I read and talk to God for as long as He allows each morning, I journal. Sometimes just a few words, or sometimes several pages. I do this because I want to write down what He is teaching me and the scriptures He’s bringing to life. Writing it solidifies it, and for me, this brings healing.

So what about you?

One of the biggest reasons I’m sharing all of this with you because I kind of want to beg you to do this. Maybe you already are. If so, I’m so glad. It is life-giving.

If spending time in the Word each day and in prayer is a struggle for you, I understand too well. Old Laura didn’t even really want this because well, she was too busy and focused on doing good things for her family, you know? But I was missing the peace and joy that came from loving my family God’s way.

No matter where you and I are on our journey with Jesus, we can all continue to learn more about listening and walking with Him in humility and fullness of His freedom! So do this. Make yourself do it at first if that’s what it takes. Eventually, you will crave it and find that you can’t live your days without it. :)

If you have babies or crazy work schedules and the logistics don’t allow for quiet time in the morning or ANY time – I want you to know that I understand that too.

But I also want you to know that God wants heart-to-heart time with you. Therefore He will provide it in some way! I know this from experience. :)

Daily time in the Word truly has made the biggest difference.

Dig into the Word and learn more about who He is and what He has to offer!

When we surrender ourselves and let God truly be Lord of our lives, we become incredibly fruitful. That’s why it’s called the “fruit of the Spirit.” His work in us overflows, and it is powerful!!!

So let’s dive in deep together! His work and his ways will astound us all!

P.S. Want a prayer journal to help you along on this journey? I love these! Click on any of the images to find them on Amazon: