How Intentional Living Can Bring More Peace to Your Day as a Busy Christian Mom

When the baby is crying, the bigger kids are squabbling, you’re still figuring out what to make for dinner, AND you realized that you never started the load of laundry that contains all of your husband’s work clothes, intentional living can feel so out of reach!

It feels like it’s just one more thing to do that may not even work for you.

Yet, I’m here to tell you that daily life actually starts to feel easier and less overwhelming when you live intentionally.

Here’s why:

christian mom's hands folded around coffee mug as she contemplates intentional living

Intentional living acts as a map so you don’t get lost.

Just like a map, it acts as a guide so that you stay on the correct roads and don’t have to take any unintentional detours.

As a kid my mom got me the 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens by Sean Covey. This is where I first heard the term, “Begin with the End in Mind.” Basically, beginning with the end in mind empowers us to take control of our own day instead of letting other people or circumstances dictate how it goes.

The same goes for intentional living. You start with the end in mind so that your brain has something to hold on to. It gives your brain direction.

When your brain understands the direction you want to go, you will more easily be able to make decisions with less effort because your brain will already understand the end goal.

This then frees up your mental space so that you can focus more on your kids and their needs, or whatever else you have going on, without feeling quite as overwhelmed by it all.

It provides anchors throughout your day that you can hold onto for support.

Let’s go back to the map analogy. When you are on a trip – especially if it’s a trip you go on relatively often – there are typical places or times of day that you stop along the way.

On a trip these stops would include things like meals and bathroom breaks. They may even include naps or nights at a hotel depending on how long the trip lasts.

In a similar way, we have typical “stops” throughout our day to day lives, but we don’t call them stops. They are the meal times, snack times, rest times, nap times, etc. that are sprinkled throughout our day but that aren’t given much thought other than they need to happen.

Without intentional living these stops may happen randomly from day to day. However, when we are focused on intentional living, we can call out these stops and identify them as anchors. Instead of random necessities that drain us, they come to have their own place and time in our day and have the opportunity to actually fill our cups.

If your kids are anything like mine, then they are ALWAYS hungry. Yet, my kids also know that there are certain times of the day for meals and other times of the day that they can choose from select snacks. Do I still get some of the littles ones begging for a snack outside of snack time. Yes, it happens. But I can also answer that query with the time that they can have their snack, and that usually appeases them.

The only one who is allowed to eat at random is the 1 year old because she is not developmentally at the point to fully comprehend what it means to wait. But I digress….

One of my favorite things about identifying anchors with intentional living is that it often allows you to see hidden anchors that were always there, but you just didn’t recognize.

As I started paying more attention to my natural rhythm throughout the day, I realized that I have this roller coaster rhythm. I like to start the morning off slow, then it’s move, move, move all morning long. After lunch I slow down again before it’s up to moving at a faster pace again. This allowed me to foster two anchors that I partially recognized, but then was able to embrace more fully with intentional living.

The first was my morning prayer time, anchored in the slow of the morning wake up time. The second was the afternoon coffee break/mental work time, anchored in the slow of the after lunch/nap time/quiet time.

Instead of rushing through these moments, I recognize these times as anchors that bring peace and calm to my day.

You can read more about some of these anchors in these blog posts:

For more in depth guidance, I recommend The Intentional Day Blueprint. In it you will find everything you need to assess where you currently are, prioritize your day well, and implement a daily rhythm that actually works for you and your family – daily anchors and all!

Pin Now, Read Later

Intentional living also reduces your anxiety in the day to day busyness of life because you know you’re focusing on what is most important.

So often I hear the phrase, “how do you do it all?” The answer is, “I don’t.”

Doing it all is impossible and will quickly turn to burn out, especially for the already busy mom.

With intentional living, instead of trying to do all the things, the focus is on doing the most important things. And this can shift and change depending on your season in life. Intentional living is not a one and done thing. It’s ongoing and evolving because your family is growing and evolving.

However, that doesn’t mean that you’re always starting from scratch. Knowing what the most important things are, stems from how strong you are in your 5 foundational priorities: God, Self-Stewardship, Spouse, Children, Responsibilities. These priorities inform the values you are holding onto in the different seasons of your family life. And those priorities and values inform what you say yes or no to, which leads to less anxiety and decision fatigue.

See what this could look like with the Daily Schedule for Stay at Home Moms. While this isn’t quite customized to your unique rhythms, you will start to get a feel for what yours COULD look like as well as get a better understanding of the 5 foundational priorities.

Do you see how intentional living actually helps bring you the peace you’ve been searching for?

It creates a roadmap for your brain to follow that is strewn with anchors that you can hold on to even amidst the chaos of life. And it helps that sweet mama heart of yours not worry as much if you’re doing enough, because you know that what you are choosing to do is the important stuff.

If you’re still unsure about what this could even look like for you, it’s time to download The Intentional Day Blueprint for $47.

If you’re not quite sure if you’re ready for the blueprint yet (and it’s okay if you’re not!), grab the free daily schedule for stay at home moms. In it you’ll find a breakdown of the 5 foundational priorities, a sample schedule, and a blank template to make it your own!