The Christian Homemaking Podcast: Simply Convivial with Mystie Winckler

Take Sweep & Smile with us now! convivialcircle.comFree 5-Day Daily Card Challenge: https://www.simplyconvivial.info/daily-card/So you've been using the daily card writing down your top three or what you think are your top three, but then other stuff comes up. Was your plan a waste of time? What do you do when your top three is not what you do in the day?So, so often when we get those top three items chosen and we write them down on our daily card, something else comes up and we don't do those things. Not because we were lazy or self-indulgent or apathetic, but just because other stuff came up, other priorities took precedence. That does not mean that the daily card doesn't work. It doesn't mean that it's not the right option for you. It just means that we're learning what life is like. And we are living the life that we are given, not the life that we are making or trying to claim for ourselves. And that's a better option to live within the Providence of God and recognize that he sends his plan, which is often different from ours. And so, even though we are making a plan to attempt to identify our top priorities, sometimes we're wrong. Sometimes we don't have enough information. And so a big way that the daily card can help us is when we use it to, to actually identify and remind ourselves, tell ourselves of where our plans need to be, where our attention needs to be. And that's sometimes the things that we would not normally count, but it really is our primary responsibility for that day. Sometimes it's just errands, just doctor's appointments, just chauffeuring, children around cheerfully, and maybe using that time in the car to have conversations with them. Sometimes it's just feeding and clothing people, and a read aloud or audio book would be a good bonus. We can use our daily card not to create the life that we think we ought to have or write down what we think we ought to get done, but really out of everything, out of all the options, what's the best way we can spend our time today and identify those and write them down. And at the end of the day, if what we wrote down does not get done, we can ask ourselves really truly is it because I picked the wrong things, what were the right things? And maybe write those down instead, like cross out what you wrote and write down the priorities that actually happened that day. And over time, we can learn about ourselves, about our life and about how to make an appropriate plan for the current season in life that we're at in the current responsibilities that we have.  Take Sweep & Smile with us now! convivialcircle.com

Take Sweep & Smile with us now! convivialcircle.comFree 5-Day Daily Card Challenge: https://www.simplyconvivial.info/daily-card/So I have one planner secret that will make all the difference, no matter what planner you use, even if that planner is just a post-it note, there is a secret that applies and makes that planner actually useful in your day-to-day life. You're ready. You've got to look at your list and you've got to do what it says. I know ground breaking, planning secrets here. Stay tuned for more where that came from. A post-it note is great because it's small. And so it reminds you that your day is finite and you have to make some tough choices about how to spend that time. The other benefit of using a post-it note or an index card is that it is portable and portability helps with visibility. We need to be looking at our planner throughout the day. That's not a write it and forget it kind of an activity if we want that plan to actually make a difference in our day. So a great way to keep your post-it note handy is to pop it on the back of your phone or stick an index card in your back pocket. If you have a planner or a calendar that you like, and that you do use a post-it note can be a great addition because you can stick it on the calendar and see your calendar, as well as your top three for the day.  Take Sweep & Smile with us now! convivialcircle.com

Take Sweep & Smile with us now! convivialcircle.comSo often we try buying a new planner, printing a new planner, creating a new planner from scratch in hopes that the planner will keep us on track. But the reality is that it's actually our time and attention to what's written to filling it out and then looking at it that makes a planner work. The format of the planner, the colors, the layout, the options are sometimes more of a distraction and a hindrance than they are a help to us getting more done. Sometimes the amount of space and options in a planner actually makes us too optimistic and over plan. Sometimes, a planner can make us more stressed out rather than less.  I want to show you how to keep a simple plan that will help you be more productive and do the right things without getting overwhelmed. We are going to create a clutter free planner with a post-it note or an index card. That's all, it takes a small little something that will keep you on target with the bare minimum list that stays in front of your face. So let's talk today about clutter free planner.  Take Sweep & Smile with us now! convivialcircle.com

Take Sweep & Smile with us now! convivialcircle.comInstead of focusing on the hurting or the tiredness, focus on the growing.It is good to want to grow up, and along the way the growing will cause pains, aches, and tiredness. If we look at the growth, we will be encouraged and be able to bear the aches. If we focus exclusively on how we feel, we will be discouraged, sad, and upset.When your heart and mind fight to be cranky, and you struggle to win the fight and stay cheerful, and you win it, you have a real success to be cheerful about, even if you feel worn out by it. Remember, prayer is the most effective weapon in the fight against a bad attitude. Take Sweep & Smile with us now! convivialcircle.com

Take Sweep & Smile with us now! convivialcircle.comDo you think your story is all about you? That might be your biggest problem in living out a good story. Get hope and help telling a truer, better story: https://www.simplyconvivial.com/story for a free module from my course Organize Your Attitude all about Living in Story. Take Sweep & Smile with us now! convivialcircle.com

Your life is truly a fairy tale.

Take Sweep & Smile with us now! convivialcircle.comWe're all constantly narrating a story about what's going on around us. Inside our head, the ticker tape comments never stop. Is the story you're seeing and telling yourself accurate? Have you ever stopped to think about the perspective your own narrator has? Reality doesn't change based on what you think or say, but what you think or say can give you a skewed vision of reality. We should make sure the interpretations we tell ourself, the stories we spin inside our own head, line up with reality before we believe them or persist in them.Telling yourself a true story is the basic step in organizing your attitude.Need more help with this? You'll find it at www.simplyconvivial.com Take Sweep & Smile with us now! convivialcircle.com

Take Sweep & Smile with us now! convivialcircle.comSo, we know that our home is for hospitality, but it seems so hard – it’s extra, and we have no room for extra. We want to know how to be hospitable, but it doesn’t come naturally.The one thing that makes hospitality so difficult is that we are out of practice.It is easy to slip into selfish patterns: doing what needs to be done on our own agendas, taking a break, keeping to ourselves and our own thoughts. Instead, we need to practice the habit of hospitality.The being hospitable includes but is much broader than having people over for dinner. It means inviting people into our lives – even the people that live in our houses.It is not enough to simply share a roof with people. We need to share a life – a full life, a conversational life – with them.And that sort of life will overflow into the lives of others through invitations and conversations, but mostly through our demeanor. The way we treat people is either selfish or welcoming, inviting, and interested. When we practice that mindset and manner with our family, it will become how we treat others as well. The habit of hospitality will shape all our interactions.The ways we are hospitable to others are the same ways we are hospitable to our family. And if we are not first hospitable to our family, we cannot be truly hospitable to anyone else. Take Sweep & Smile with us now! convivialcircle.com

Take Sweep & Smile with us now! convivialcircle.comBut when we get our picture of what hospitality should look like from the magazine rack or HGTV, we stress out and shut down.The kind of hospitality God wants us to offer, however, is not according to worldly standards. The world’s goal for hospitality is to impress. God’s goal for hospitality is to knit. Through opening our doors and our lives to one another, we grow as a community. When we gather as a church body and share a meal and our lives, our love and fellowship deepens. When we gather in those outside, we show them what it’s like inside – inside the bounds of God’s family, God’s body, God’s community.Hospitality is not about showing off or impressing others. So we do not have to postpone it until the kitchen reno is complete, until the yard is gorgeous, or until we feel ready. We simply invite others into life, as is.That said, there are 3 ways I simplify the process and make it less stressful, less burdensome, to regularly have people over. Take Sweep & Smile with us now! convivialcircle.com

Take Sweep & Smile with us now! convivialcircle.comhttps://www.simplyconvivial.com/Pursue hospitality. It’s a command. It’s a duty. But it doesn’t mean that we all need to be having people over for dinner every week.Well, except for our people – we feed them every day, every week – three times a day, even. That’s hospitality, too.The goal of hospitality means that we see our homes as tools in the formation of people, not as trophies to be kept beautiful.As G.K. Chesterton reminds us: The business done in the home is nothing less than the shaping of the body and soul of humanity.As homemakers, we’re making hospitable homes, homes that shape the bodies and souls of humanity.Those souls’ bodies might have been shaped in our wombs or not. Those bodies might sleep between sheets we wash or not. But our goal is that all the bodies and souls under our roof for years or for hours be shaped for good by the time spent in our homes.That’s our business.Our home is for the service of building up people. Take Sweep & Smile with us now! convivialcircle.com