Val’s NEW Monthly Peptalk

The content below is normally exclusive to our monthly peptalk subscribers, but we wanted you to get a real taste so you could decide if you’d be excited to see it pop up in your inbox each month!

Our monthly peptalk is getting a refresh! I’ll share a series of random but hopefully really helpful tips, tools and resources for your month. As I was writing these, I was excited to share so many things I always want to share but honestly, don’t want to hop on Insta-stories every 5 minutes to share. I’d love to do this type of format every month but want to make sure it serves you. Reply back letting us know what you think!!

1. I learned this month that Instagram has a way to see how much time you spend on it each day. Click on your profile and swipe to the right. Click “Your Activity” to see your average and how much time you’ve spent on Instagram for the last week. You can even set a daily reminder to tell you when you’ve reached your limit. Instagram is soooo fun and great but only up till a point. I love being able to set a real limit so that it serves me well but doesn’t take over my life!

2. Always tell yourself this is the year you slow down and enjoy Christmas? I honestly think it’s become so common we say it effortlessly like “It sure is hot out!”, “Where did the month go?” and “The traffic is terrible!” But can I help make this year different? I wrote 12 days of prayers that are heading to email inboxes December 13-December 24. The hope? To help you reorient your mind, right where you need reorienting. Redeeming a potentially hurried email check and ending with a breath of prayer. You in? Sign up here.

3. Trying to create new habits for the new year? Check out James Clear’s book Atomic Habits.

4. I am determined to get better at taking photos of our family. Why? So we can capture the memories but also so I spend LESS time trying to get a great shot AND less time tending to thousands of mediocre photos. I watched a webinar with Kyle Schultz about taking good Christmas photos that was so helpful I signed up for his course The Photo Fix. It’s no longer available but he’s got some other great resources, some free and some paid!

5. Feeling distant from the Lord? I shared 6 reasons and action steps for each that will hopefully help close the gap and help you experience the peace and joy found in the presence of the Lord. So many of you have said how the action steps were most helpful to actually move forward.

6. A reminder that you can’t do it all. We decided not to restock our Kid’s Legacy Journal when it sells out, at least for the next year, but possibly permanently. 2019 will be the year of the Prayer Course and Grumpy Mom Takes a Holiday and all the resources (AKA cash) that goes with that. I struggled with this decision because I love the Kid’s Legacy Journal but found so much peace when I acknowledge what this “no” meant we are able to say yes to. If you are struggling letting go of something, write out what it’s allowing you to say yes to and CELEBRATE it!

7. Netflix holiday movies! I feel like I need to add a “watch responsibly” to this because I know it can be vortex of cheesy goodness (I mean, these socks are thing for a reason) but here’s what our Insta followers shared as their favorite Christmas movies to watch on Netflix.

• The Holiday Calendar
• Switched for Christmas
• A Christmas Prince
• A Holiday Engagement
• Spirit of Christmas
• The Princess Switch
• Christmas Crush
• Christmas Wedding Planner (my gateway into cheesy Christmas movies and so far, my favorite)
• Coffee Shop
• Have Lifetime? If you check out The Christmas Contract, it was filmed in my town. My parents got married at the chapel in it (and I did several weddings there) and my brother was an extra!

8. Y’all know Tyler is the true chef in our family but I LOVE cooking these short ribs with rice (or spaghetti squash if I’m feeling healthy). They are delicious! I prep them and put in the oven soon after we get home from school and get the rice cooker set up and have time to chill out and enjoy the girls until Papa comes home!

9. The prayer course is coming!! It launches early January and for the first week it will be 40% off!! Want to make sure you know it’s live? Sign up here.

10. I shared a quote by Jamie Ivey recently and so many of you resonated with it. “We cannot teach our kids to give their lives away for the gospel when all they see is us giving away our lives for them.” Mic drop! She just shared the full talk (16 minutes!!). You can listen here!

SHOP NEWS

Even though the format has changed, you can always count on these emails for first-to-know info and deals reserved just for our peptalk subscribers!

• Our limited edition Compose Journal for December, Winterberry, is in the shop! (Note: These are now sold out. One of the privileges of our peptalk subscribers is knowing as soon as these are released!)

• Start prepping for 2019 with The Finishing School by your side! Get $5 off every single copy you purchase for the month of December with the code BESTYEAREVER. Explore topics like minimalism, health, prayer and hospitality as you count down to the new year!

• The last day to order from our shop with guaranteed shipping in time for Christmas is Dec 13!

SHOP

Val

P.S. Let us know if you like this format! What was your favorite tip? Should it be shorter or is it just the right amount of info?

Hope you enjoyed this preview of our monthly peptalk! If you liked this content, sign up below to get it in email format each month. We occasionally send out other emails, but for the most part, we really try to protect that once-a-month standard!