Hi friend,

I’m starting something new this month — and I wanted to tell you about it.

Because my word for the year is intentional, I’m going to send one monthly note that helps us multiply intentionality in five very important areas of life: spirituality, marriage, family, work, and self improvement.

Think of it as an inspirational note. Just one simple email each month with a real story, practical takeaways, and a few tools that have been helpful to me that will hopefully be a blessing to you.

So we started January off strong with 19 hours of outside time before January 17th of our 1,000 hours outside goal.

And I honestly felt proud of us.

As someone who is allergic to cold, the idea of outdoor time in January is not really my idea of fun. Then the big snowstorm hit and suddenly the whole country felt like it had been turned into Antarctica.

And it’s still cold.

So yes — we’ll probably need to double or triple our hours this spring and summer to catch up, but I'll take the heat over frostbite anyday.

But the point isn’t the number. It's the intentionality behind our goal.

We put our tracker on the fridge because we want this to be a real priority. Getting outside more. Not necessarily being outside for 1000 hours, although that would be awesome! Just something we’re choosing to be more intentional about.

This little goal reminded me of something important:

Intentionality isn’t a personality trait — it’s a discipline.

You don’t become “the kind of person who’s intentional.”
You become the person who keeps choosing the same small thing again and again.

Stewardship. Faithfulness. Small disciplines are still possible even when life is loud and messy and full of littles.

Here’s what it looked like to Multiply the Five this past month.

Spiritual

I’ve been trying to be more present during sermons — not just listening, but actually retaining and applying what I hear. I started using the CleverFox Bible Study Planner and taking it to church with me each week. It gives me space for sermon notes, personal study, and even a tracker for what I’ve read across the Old and New Testaments. It’s kept me focused and excited through my studies.

Marriage

We’ve been trying to get better about date nights — especially at-home ones. We played a game where we watched a movie we’d never seen before, paused after the first 20 minutes, wrote down everything we thought was going to happen, then awarded points for each thing that happened. I won (🥳), but the best part: it kept me awake and engaged instead of falling asleep like I usually do... Do you fall asleep during movies, too?

Family

We try to limit screen time in our home, but when we do watch, I want it to be intentional. One of our go-to channels right now is Little Lights on YouTube. She teaches small kids about Jesus in a simple, genuine way — kind of like Ms. Rachel, but Christian. My kids imitate her and it’s been a sweet, peaceful addition to our mornings while I’m cleaning up the kitchen from breakfast and getting a couple quick chores done before we start school.

Work

If you’re running a small business or side hustle and don’t have accountability, get yourself some accountability buddies. As a solo entrepreneur, it’s been critical for me. If you can, find someone who truly gets your mission — another blogger if you’re a blogger, another micro-baker if you’re a micro-baker. I’ve had the same small accountability group going for the last 6+ months and I’m so grateful to have those women in my corner.

And just know, you don't need a large group. A small group of 3-6 other women is plenty!

Self

I’ve been trying to limit spending and buy second-hand whenever possible. I’ve found amazing deals at my local thrift store, and I’ve also been using Mercari for used homeschool curriculum. I bought the next level of All About Reading for next year for only $41 (normally $160!!). If you don’t already use Mercari, I highly recommend it — it’s been a great tool for saving money without sacrificing quality. You can sell there too!

If you want to try it, you can get up to $20 when you sign up using my link and code: AAQVNX.

If any of these areas feel heavy for you right now, I pray this note encourages you.

And if you want to learn more about intentional planning and practical systems for moms, make sure you’re following the podcast. It will provide you weekly reminders that systems don’t need to be complicated to work.

You don’t have to be “perfectly intentional” to be faithful. You just have to keep showing up.

Small disciplines over time is what multiplies.
​

Cheering you on,

P.S. If you have a mom friend who would find this email helpful, forward it to her 💌

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