On today’s episode of the podcast, Kathi is joined by Anne-Renee Gumley and Amanda Bacon, authors of the new book Shiny Things: Mothering on Purpose in a World of Distraction. Kathi, Anne-Renee and Amanda discuss the challenges of living and parenting with purpose in a time when we are inundated by distractions as well as offer some help for how to stay focused on your most important priorities.
On today’s show you’ll learn: • Why distraction and clutter are “kissing-cousins” • The biggest distractions for women • When distractions are harmless and when they are hurtful
Enter to win!
Giveaway! The generous people over at Harvest House want to give our readers Amanda Bacon and Anne-Renee Gumley’s book, Shiny Things. 5 people will win a copy and 1 grand prize winner will receive:
• A copy of Shiny Things • Rustic Felt Letter Board 10×10 • A Notebook Journal • 18 Colored Felt Pens
Leave an honest review on iTunes. Your ratings and reviews really help and I read each one. Subscribe on iTunes or subscribe now.
Meet Our Guest
Anne-Renee Gumley and Amanda Bacon
Anne-Renee Gumley and her husband, Andrew, live in Alaska, with their two children and a bunny. Her days are a messy mix of work, motherhood, and ministry, with time reserved for bike rides, breakfast foods, and bonfires. She loves words—especially the mom related ones.
Amanda Bacon lives in North Carolina with her husband, Jeremy, and their eight children. She works for Proverbs 31 Ministries and loves encouraging women with biblical truth and authenticity. When she isn’t driving carpool or feeding people, you can find her writing, reading, or wandering outdoors. Learn more.
How to Avoid Distractions and Live Out Your God-Given Purpose
When it comes down to it, clutter is a distraction.
As I walk around my house, trying to get ready to host a group of five of my favorite women for three days, I can feel annoyance with myself starting to rise.
Here are some thoughts that come to mind:
“Why do I have all these half-done projects lying around?”
“Why didn’t I finish unloading the dishwasher? Now I have to unload it before I load it.” (Because the dryer buzzer had gone off.)
“Why did I leave the pile of bills on the table instead of paying them?” (I wasn’t sure where the money was going to come from for an unexpected auto repair.)
“I wish I could finish half of what I start. Why is my normally mostly-put-together home suddenly way more out of control than normal?”
And then I think about my past week:
One of our grown children is in a career crisis.
Our contractor is two months behind on completing our renovation.
I’m stuck on a part of the book I’m writing and can’t seem to focus.
My husband is going through some significant health issues.
Clutter was only a symptom of a distracted mind.
When my heart is heavy, sad, or frustrated, my go-to move is to either let distractions take over my life, or to create distraction so I don’t have to pay attention to painful things.
In their new book, Shiny Things, Amanda Bacon and Anne-Renee Gumley talk about the areas of distraction—not when it comes to our homes, but to our families.
Moms have particular challenges regarding distractions when raising their children. When my kids were small, I remember being pulled in so many different directions. I didn’t always know what my priorities should be.
So as a mom, how do you focus on the important things?
Stop being a slave to your schedule.
Just because someone asks you do to something, doesn’t mean it has earned the right to be on your calendar. Learn to value your time like never before. When I was single, my only obligation was to myself. But when I became a mom, for some reason, I thought I should be able to do everything I had done before and still be able to raise tiny humans.
Understand your limitations.
I know when I’m over-tired, I self-distract with food and stupid TV. There is nothing wrong with watching the “Holiday Armadillo” episode of Friends (again), but when I know I’m using it as distraction because I’ve stayed up too late (again), it’s time to realize I can’t run with the same energy that I could if I didn’t have kids.
Find meaning in what matters.
When I’m neck deep in distraction, oftentimes it’s because I’m looking for “hits”—something that gets me approval from outside sources. When that happens, I realize I’m at a stage in marriage or parenting that’s hard, where the rewards are few. I feel not only unappreciated, but downright unlovable.
In those situations, it’s important to remind myself:
This is a season.
I’m doing hard work that does not have immediate rewards.
God sees my efforts, even when no one else does.
We’re all prone to chase shiny things, whatever that looks like in each stage of life.
Recognizing the reasons we are drawn to distractions helps us to focus on the purpose God created us for, especially as parents. Then we can give the best of ourselves to what matters most — loving God and our families.
Giveaway!
The generous people over at Harvest House want to give our readers Amanda Bacon and Anne-Renee Gumley’s book, Shiny Things. Five people will win a copy and 1 grand prize winner will receive:
A copy ofShiny Things
Rustic Felt Letter Board 10×10
A Notebook Journal
18 Colored Felt Pens
Enter to win by commenting below. Are distractions keeping you from your highest priority? What shiny things are distracting you right now?
On today’s episode of the podcast, Kathi is joined by Joshua Becker, author of The More of Less: Finding the Life You Want Under Everything You Own. Kathi and Joshua talk about his journey into a minimalist lifestyle and discuss his new book The Minimalist Home: A Room-by-Room Guide to a Decluttered, Refocused Life.
On today’s show you’ll learn: • Why our belongings can keep us from living the life we wish we were living • How clutter-free living and minimalism are similar and where they differ • How minimalism is about intentionally promoting our values by removing anything that distracts us from them
Enter to win!
Enter to win a copy of The Minimalist Home: A Room-by-Room Guide to a Decluttered, Refocused Life.
In the comments below share “what has kept you from pursuing a minimalist life?”
Joshua Becker is the founder and editor of Becoming Minimalist, a website dedicated to inspiring others to find more life by owning less. The website welcomes over one million readers each month and has inspired millions around the world to consider the practical benefits of owning fewer possessions and given them the practical help to get started. He is the bestselling author of THE MORE OF LESS: FINDING THE LIFE YOU WANT UNDER EVERYTHING YOU OWN. His latest bestseller is THE MINIMALIST HOME: A ROOM-BY-ROOM GUIDE TO A DECLUTTERED, REFOCUSED LIFE. Joshua is also the Founder of two family-focused magazines: Simplify Magazine and Simple Money Magazine and the nonprofit organization The Hope Effect, which is changing how the world cares for orphans by focusing on family-based solutions.
Joshua is a contributing writer for FORBES and has made appearances in the Wall Street Journal, Huffington Post Live, and CBS Evening News. Joshua and his family live in Peoria, AZ. Learn more.
On today’s episode of the podcast, Kathi is joined by Melissa Maimone, author of The Radiant Midnight: Depression, Grace, and the Gifts of a Dark Place. Kathi and Melissa have an open and honest discussion around a topic that is more common to clutter than we’d like to talk about- depression.
On today’s show you’ll learn:
Why clutter is more of a symptom than the problem
How there are deep gifts to be found in the hard places
Why we don’t need fixing but we need His presence
Free Download from Melissa
Thank you to Melissa for offering a free download for our listeners. Download Ten Things to Remember When You’re Feeling Overwhelmed by clicking here.
Enter to win!
Enter to win a copy of The Radiant Midnight: Depression, Grace, and the Gifts of a Dark Place. Visit the blog post from yesterday to enter to win. We’re giving 5 people a copy of the book and a grand prize winner will get:
A copy of the book, The Radiant Midnight
A Wood Grain Folding Book Lamp, Night Light
Weighted Silk Sleep Mask Eye Pillow Filled with Organic Lavender and Flax Seeds
Special thanks for Harvest House for sponsoring today’s episode!
Meet Our Guest
Melissa Maimone
Melissa Maimone is a speaker and writer who communicates with transparency, humor, and grace about the magnificence and mess of an authentic faith in Jesus Christ. She lives in Southern California with her husband and two children. Learn more.
One of the most common comments I get about my life with clutter is, “Oh, you wrote a book about clutter? Is your house perfect now?”
Or people will say, “I could never have you over to my house. You’re the clutter free person. I’d be too embarrassed!”
These two statements highlight two different misconceptions:
1. Because I’ve found something that works for me, I will never struggle again.
2. I can’t remember what it’s like to be in the hardest part of the struggle.
So let me share the reality of my clutter free life:
I still struggle.
My natural tendency is towards clutter. To put things down, leave them for later.
My garage can still be an embarrassment.
My relationship with stuff has changed dramatically. I still keep stuff I shouldn’t, but it’s not households of stuff. I still have too many clothes, but it’s not closets full of them. I’m so much better, because I’ve learned some of the reasons for my struggle along the way, and I realize that even when I’m at the hardest part of my struggle, God is not a disappointed and disapproving relative waiting to love me when I (literally) clean up my act. In my struggle, God pulls me tighter, loves me hard, and doesn’t let me go.
So much of this paradigm reminds me of my struggle with depression about a dozen years ago. I felt that if I just tried harder, worked more, and wasn’t so lazy, God would be pleased with me and would make my depression go away.
I know. I know.
What crazy, faulty, thinking.
But that’s the kind of thinking that so many of us do when we are dealing with a struggle.
If only I tried harder…
I should be able to get myself out of this mess.
If God was pleased with me, He would get me out of this mess.
Recently, I had a conversation with Melissa Maimone author of The Radiant Midnight: Depression, Grace, and the Gifts of a Dark Place. (Holy cow, what a title!) What I love most about this book is that Melissa believes not only will God lead you out of darkness, He will be fully and beautifully present within it. Instead of trying to give anyone three simple steps to deal with a hard situation, she takes the radical notion that God sits with us in our pain and suffering. Instead of always looking to get out of the circumstance, she urges us to recognize that God is guiding us on a journey of surrender, suffering, rest, and restoration in the midst of what we are going through.
There is value in knowing that we don’t just have to try harder to get out of the circumstances we are in. There is value in recognizing that there is good in the hard places, whether it’s outside of ourselves (clutter) or inside ourselves. God is there, and He is good, even when our challenges are hard.
Weighted Silk Sleep Mask Eye Pillow Filled with Organic Lavender and Flax Seeds
Enter to win by commenting below- have you ever had a situation where you believed you had to just try harder to get out of the hard place and then you would find God rather than knowing He was right there in it with you?
On today’s episode of the podcast, Kathi is joined by Tonya Kubo, the illustrious leader of the Clutter-Free Academy Facebook group. Kathi and Tonya share four tips for staying motivated when you feel like it’s all too much.
On today’s show you’ll learn:
Why living clutter-free is not “one and done”
Where to start when you’re feeling overwhelmed
How de-cluttering, cleaning and organizing are all different things
Leave an honest review on iTunes. Your ratings and reviews really help and I read each one. Subscribe on iTunes or subscribe now.
Meet Our Guest
Tonya Kubo
Tonya Kubo is the illustrious, fearless leader of Kathi Lipp’s Clutter-Free Academy Facebook group. A speaker and writer, Tonya makes her home in the heart of California with her husband, Brian, their two spirited daughters and one very tolerant cat. Visit her at www.GreatMoms.org.
