My recent post about my house contentment hack seemed to resonate with y’all, and I’m not surprised. A lot of us seem to struggle with feeling like our houses are less-than, instead of loving them for what they are: safe, warm, dry, comfy places to shelter our families. There’s a lot of wisdom in the comments of that post so I’d encourage you to go back and take a peek, but as a follow-up I wanted to share a story…

Anagram Photo

Earlier this week, a friend called me up after reading my post. She and her husband stayed overnight with us for the first time this spring, and truthfully, I was a little nervous before their visit (and spent more time preparing and cleaning than usual!). She’s an impeccably thoughtful hostess and has a BEAUTIFUL home by any standard, and I wanted to make her feel welcome! (And, okay, look good while doing it…)

To my surprise, on the call she shared that their stay had come with an epiphany, that she left saying to her husband, that’s how I want our home to feel. The reason? Precisely because it WASN’T perfect. She specifically mentioned noticing pet fur on furniture, crumbs on the high chair, toys out on the rug. Not exactly what most of us want our homes to be known for (ha!), but there you have it. Instead of being embarrassed, I’m choosing to be honored that my thoroughly imperfect home gave her permission to loosen up a bit in hers.

The lessons here, as I see them:

1. Say the encouraging thing. Don’t just think they already know it. Everyone needs to be encouraged, and you’ll never regret saying something kind.
2. Your home, as crumb-filled or outdated or lacking as it may seem to you, could be exactly the soft landing — the permission-giving space — someone else needs. Never be afraid to invite someone in.

If you think about the homes you love the most, I would venture to guess you don’t love them because of their looks — you love them for the way you feel when you’re in them, the people inside them, and the memories you’ve made between their walls. I’m working to shift how I think about my own home, to value it for these things, and I thought it might be helpful for a few of you, too! xo

My wish for August on the first day of the month was that it would be peaceful, unhurried, and with no surprise expenses (ha!). It wasn’t perfect, but compared to the rest of our summer, it was a breath of fresh air! (And the photo from our trip to Maine below is reminding me just how peaceful parts of it were!) We have a lot to look forward to in September, and I’m embracing the change in seasons with open arms.

What I read in July:
— Lincoln in the Bardo (NOT my favorite read. I almost stopped midway through, but ended up persevering. Though critically acclaimed, it was a little too high-brow for me, plus the fact that it centered around a child dying hit too close to home for this mama.)
— The Language of Flowers (A beautiful novel recommended by my friend Jess! Loved it!)
— To Kill a Mockingbird (My favorite book of all time! It never gets old :))
— Books I’m reading throughout the year: The Power of a Praying Wife and The Lifegiving Home

Revisiting my goals for August:
Edit June in June (YES! See it here! So happy with how this turned out.)
Enjoy our Maine vacation with family (Yes! So grateful we were all together!)
Go on a date night sans June (We tried! We weren’t able to get a babysitter, so we had an official “at-home date night” instead, something we very rarely do. It was fun and felt special!)
Read To Kill a Mockingbird
Make an itinerary and reservations for our family weekend in Asheville, coming up in September (Done! I am so excited!)
Hold our grocery budget to $100 per week (This gets a half check. We actually did spend less than $100/week three out of four weeks, but with travel and trying a free box of HelloFresh and a few other things, we weren’t buying our normal slate of groceries on most trips. But, we did try a few new strategies, so I’m considering it a win!

September goals:
— Write the Word every day (I’ve started Cultivate Gratitude now that they’re back in stock!)
— Eat a fruit or veggie at every meal (Yikes, is this an embarrassing goal?! Unfortunately, it is also necessary, as way too many breakfasts and lunches go by without either one. It’s inspired by my friend Callie, so at least I know I’m not alone!)
— Make a donation to Harvey relief through our charitable giving account. We never made our 2016 matching gift donation, and both felt moved this week to send that earmarked money to Texas.
— Bake apple cider scones for all of June’s teachers, past and present, on the first day of fall (a fun tradition we started last year!)
— Put Financial Peace University plans into motion at our church (we’re not teaching it, but spearheading it, in January!)
— Celebrate my parents well on our Asheville trip, as it’s sandwiched in between their 60th birthdays!
— Celebrate our fifth wedding anniversary!!!

If you have a favorite way to incorporate more fruits and veggies in your diet, please let me know in the comments!! And if you’ve posted your goals somewhere, I’d love to see a link for those, too :)

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