Latest / The Christian Homemaking Podcast: Simply Convivial with Mystie Winckler / What Happens When You Post Bible Verses All Over Your House? (with Sarah Nelson)

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What Happens When You Post Bible Verses All Over Your House? (with Sarah Nelson) · The Christian Homemaking Podcast: Simply Convivial with Mystie Winckler

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Speaker 3: Which is so much better than the negative thoughts I used to dwell
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on, uh, to repent and to walk away from the, the mud puddle of negative
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thoughts, um, makes a big difference.
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Speaker 2: welcome to the Christian homemaking podcast, Simply Convivial.
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I'm Misty Winkler, homemaker, homeschool mom of five, grandma, and author of
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the book Home is for Hospitality: Why Your Home and Homemaking Matter.
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Convivial means living together with joy, and that's the kind of home atmosphere
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that we want to create in our homes.
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That's why I created Convivial Circle, a community helping women to excel
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at homemaking and do life cheerfully.
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And today I'm joined by one of our longest time members and mentors, Sara Nelson.
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Sara lives in California with her husband of 24 years, and two teen daughters.
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They homeschool with the help of a local classical hybrid homeschool community.
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Throughâ¦
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Whoop.
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Though grateful for the opportunities available in the city, she dreams
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of quiet family life in the country.
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So thank you so much for joining me today, Sara.
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Speaker 3: Yes, happy to be here.
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Speaker 2: Well, as a team behind the scenes, we were talking about
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alignment cards, and Organize October, and who to have on the podcast to
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talk about alignment cards, and everyone instantly said, "Well,
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Sara is the alignment card queen."
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Speaker 3: Well, I love them, and they've helped so much, so that's, uhâ¦
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I'll, I'll tell everybody about them.
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Speaker 2: Yeah.
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So how did you get started with alignment cards, and then
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how did it progress over time?
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Speaker 3: Well, as I was thinking back, I've always collected quotes and
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sayings, and things that just amused me.
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And it kind of started turning into, you know, useful alignment cards as I, um,
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as I started, like, taking the verse of the day and putting it on the wall and
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things, and it started making some sense.
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I would say that my, my head is very busy, and The internal
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voices are not always very kind.
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Um, so itâ¦
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Over the years realizing that I have the job I want, and why is it so
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hard, and maybe I need a better story.
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So the alignment cards help, uh, reframe that story, help reset the voices in
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the head, as opposed to just avoiding them and, uh, seeking distraction
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instead of, uh, faithfulness, I guess.
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Oh.
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So that's-
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Speaker 2: Smart.
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Yeah.
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Yeah.
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When we would normally turn to distraction, it often is
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because we don't want to pay attention to what's in our heads.
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Speaker 3: Yeah.
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That's very true I grew up reading and, you know, just light reading,
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anything that was a distraction.
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So how fast could I read how many books, you know?
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So that was the, the out, and then which turned to TV, and then of
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course, eventually a cellphone.
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Um, none of those were very constructive.
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I mean, the reading was at least useful, but, uh, you know, none
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of those were very constructive.
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So, um, finding a new way to, um, I guess, you know, live with myself
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was, uh, an important step forward.
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And having, having bite-sized bits of truth to turn to, uh,
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makes a big difference in that.
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Speaker 2: So where are some of the places that you've put
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alignment cards over the years?
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Speaker 3: Um, well, I started with, um, some verses on the kitchen cabinets.
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Like, I found out I could take the, you know, the verse of the day from
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the Bible app and, like, print it.
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I had a printer that would do 4x6 photos just really easy, and so I'd,
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you know, put it on a background and print it out, and I stuck those up.
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Oh, goodness, since kindergarten I've had, um, "And let us not grow weary in doing
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good" on my cellphone lock screen, and I don't think I can ever get rid of that.
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So, you know, that's one.
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Um, when I started writing them out for Humble Habits, I put it in the
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bathroom where I brush my teeth.
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And then that, little by little, I just kept adding them down the side
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of the cabinet there and the wall.
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So I think I have probably a dozen of them there now.
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I went around and took some pictures 'cause I was like, "I need to remember."
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So, um, I don't like getting rid of them.
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I've had one or two that didn't fit overâ¦
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You know, I covered them over, but I couldn't quite get rid of them.
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So I just keep adding.
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I have them by my bed.
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I have them across the way here in this room where I usually sit.
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Um, so they just kind of multiply.
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Uh, seeing things vertical really helps me keep it in mind as opposed
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to, uh, you know, just out of sight.
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And even, I mean, goodness, how many times have I read the quote
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behind your shoulder there and, uh, used, and repeated that to people?
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So yep.
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Speaker 2: So, how do you then use them?
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Like, I think it's so easy for those alignment cards that we put
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up to just become almost background noise that we don't pay attention
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to or s- even see that it's there.
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Mm-hmm.
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How do you bring your attention to them or kind of overcome that?
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Speaker 3: I don't know if it's just personality or, or what,
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because I find myself reading them.
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They're there.
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I've always been a person who reads whatever's in front of me, which can
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be a real hassle and a distraction.
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Um, as a kid, you're like, "Wait," you can't focus on anything
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because there's words everywhere.
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So having them there really just brings them to mind.
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Um, and you know, I have to like stop and choose one and, and actually, you know,
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read through it, you know, to myself.
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But just that they're there, you know?
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And I don't read them all every time, it just, the one- my eyes land on one
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of them, and it's like, "Oh, that's the one I need to read," and it works.
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Um, and I've read them so much that they now stick in my head.
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And as I was saying, I also use songs and, uh, you know, I'm in the church
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choir, so the songs we sing or the hymns we sing those become their own form
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of alignment because they're there.
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And so when I'm walking around the neighborhood or when I wake
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in the night, um, I just fall back on them and it's easy.
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Um, and it always, it has this way of feeling like, um, the bit that comes to
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mind is the part that I needed to hear.
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Um, which is so reassuring that, you know, when you remember, um, God is my refuge
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and strength, and you go, "And oh, yeah."
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And it just, it suddenly feels like that's what I needed to hear.
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So, um, the more I put it in, the better off it becomes.
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Speaker 2: Yeah.
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Yeah, that's what God uses and brings to mind at the right moments.
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Speaker 3: Mm-hmm.
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Yep.
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Which is so much better than the negative thoughts I used to dwell on,
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um, to, uh, to repent and to walk away from the, the mud puddle of negative
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thoughts, um, makes a big difference.
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Speaker 2: Mm-hmm.
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Speaker 3: Yeah.
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Speaker 2: And having those concrete things that we repeat, I like how
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you have them spread out in multiple places, 'cause sometimes that's helpful.
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Like, no matter where I am, I'm gonna have the opportunity to look and see one.
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And-
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Speaker 3: That was, that was actually an interesting thing about COVID.
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We, we moved, sort of.
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Um, we went and stayed at our cabin because we could, which was wonderful.
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But I felt like I was spinning a bit out of control, and I finally
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looked around and went, "Oh, there's, there's no alignment cards."
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And so I printed one out and stuck it up by the bathroom mirror, and it
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was like, "Oh, that feels better."
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So it's funny, I, I rely on 'em in a way.
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And, you know, in a time when all of my systems, all of my routines, and
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even my environment were uprooted I needed that grounding to go back to.
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And even if, though I just printed out an old one I had made, it was
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enough to, uh, to ground things again.
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And then of course my kids notice it.
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That was about the time they got old enough to start noticing and reading
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things and telling me what they remember.
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So that has been another fruit of this.
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Speaker 2: Yeah.
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Yeah.
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That's always neat.
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Mm-hmm.
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And then they're in multiple places.
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Speaker 3: Right.
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And
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Speaker 2: how often do you, like, add a new one or change
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them up or move them around?
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I
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Speaker 3: don't tend to move them unless they fall down.
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Um, but um, I have one that's really faded right now, so I guess
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it's become a memory exercise.
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I have to stare at it and try and remember what it says, um,
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which is its own amusement.
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But generally I add them whenever something strikes me.
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So if I read a verse, you know, if I'm reading a Psalm and it strikes me, I
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write it out, um, you know, part of it.
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It, you know, there are bits from the various lessons that we do in,
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like, in, uh, Convivial Circle.
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Um, sometimes those strike me and I write 'em out.
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I've tried off and on for, to keep, like, a commonplace
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notebook, and it never sticks.
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But if I see something that strikes me and I write it and stick it on the
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wall, then that, uh, that's better.
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So yeah, it's just really whenever something hits me.
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And I have a few that my daughter has made for me.
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You know, I'm like, "Oh, I like that," and she sticks it up somewhere, so.
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Speaker 4: Nice.
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Speaker 3: You know, like Grandma had the coloring book of, uh, Bible verses,
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and so a few of those are on the wall.
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And she made me a "not all who wander are lost," uh, card.
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And
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Speaker 2: yeah,
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Speaker 3: it's, it's fun.
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Speaker 2: Becomes a family culture thing.
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Speaker 3: Yes, very much so.
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Which I guess I like to think that that, uh, redeems a little bit the culture
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that we also have of quoting movies.
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So it's like, okay, we can quote movies, but we can also quote
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book- books and Bible verses, so, you know, it balances out.
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Speaker 2: Do you think you're gonna run out of wall space then if you keep
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adding them, or you have new places?
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I
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Speaker 3: don't know.
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I mean, so far it's worked.
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I'm, again, I'm looking around the room going, "Well, you
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know, there's things there.
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There's thingâ¦"
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Now, at some point I'm guessing that my husband might like a little less
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visual clutter, but, uh, he's a blank wall kind of person, so we'll see.
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I, I may have to adjust my ways, but, uh, so far I've
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been able to keep it reined in.
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They do end up a little bit topical, like the ones that are next to my
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bed are a bit like the lying down in safety or the, uh, you know,
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waking up and, you know, appreciating what a privilege it is to be alive.
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You know, those kinds of, you know, things.
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The, the love and faithfulness.
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And that's also where I've stuck my vocation statements because then when
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I, you know, when I pause there, I'm, like, putting on my shoes, I'm like,
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"Oh, yeah, that's what we're doing."
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So those things help.
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Speaker 2: Yeah.
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Speaker 3: Yep.
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Speaker 2: Yeah.
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Finding those ways just to keep, to look at what we've written
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down and to have those- Mm-hmm
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reminders of all kinds.
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Speaker 3: Mm-hmm.
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Speaker 2: If you were talking to someone who was reluctant to get started,
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what would you encourage them to do?
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Speaker 3: Hmm.
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I don't know.
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I mean, just start is the easiest one.
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But think ofâ¦
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I mean, think of something that's helped you, be it a song lyric or a time that
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someone, um, you know, said something to you or, like, say something you
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read in a book or got from a lesson.
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I've heard people say that they're kind of embarrassed to put it up, and it's like,
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I don't know, putting up a Bible verse.
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I mean, especially if it's somewhere like where you brush your teeth.
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How many people are paying attention to, you know, what's in your bathroom?
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I've had a couple I put inside the cupboard.
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I'm like, "You know, I'm just gonna put this on the inside of the
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cupboard door," and then, no, it's not really always there, but it's there.
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And those help.
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So, you know, find a place that you feel comfortable with it and
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find a place that you see it.
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Maybe it's just on your phone lock screen or something.
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But any, any bit helps.
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Any time we can, I don't know, add a little truth to, to combat
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what's out there, that helps.
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Speaker 2: How long would you say it has taken for, like, p- a particular alignment
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card to, like, pop to mind at other times?
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Like, that kind of review, 'cause it's not instant.
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They can be- No â¦ out for a while.
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Speaker 3: There are a few that I seem to have, you know, memorized quickly.
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I mean, And there are a few that I don't really come to mind, but when I
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read them, they're, you know, they fit.
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So I don't know.
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It's hard to say.
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And sometimes I just remember a bit of it.
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I'm like, "Oh yeah, that poem," you know?
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And you remember a- enough to go remind you, yes, do it immediately.
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Okay, got it.
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Or rejoice always.
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You don't always have to recite the whole thing to, like, hang
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up on it and, uh, remember.
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Speaker 2: That's true.
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Yeah.
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Even just a fragment
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Speaker 3: Mm-hmm.
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Yeah.
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Just a little bit will help.
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Yeah.
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Speaker 2: Do you have, what, do you have a, a single favorite alignment card?
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Speaker 3: Well, the one I use the most is the Elizabeth Elliot, "The
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secret is Christ in me, not me in a different set of circumstances."
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Which is funny because I copied it out and I stuck it in the book I was reading, and
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I found â¦ I didn't find it for a while.
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And and then I found it and hung it up.
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But it was, it was always came to the top of mind.
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Yeah.
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And as I mentioned earlier, like currently the thing that comes to
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mind is the song we sang about, uh, the Lord is my refuge and strength,
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um, an ever present help and trouble.
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And it's, you know, it's probably been a year or so since we sang
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that song, but it, it, you know, it just has been coming to mind, so.
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Speaker 2: Mm-hmm.
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Speaker 3: I just always take it as that's what I needed.
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Speaker 2: Having the external cards is helpful to give us
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something to latch onto visually.
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Yeah.
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And rethink those thoughts.
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But really anything like that that can direct our thinking so that we
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think good things and can direct our thoughts and change what we're thinking.
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Mm-hmm.
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So that, you know, sometimes our thoughts start wandering
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off into places they shouldn't.
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It's like anything, a song, something you've memorized.
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Right.
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Looking and reading words to get the good thoughts in your head.
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These are all things that we can do.
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Speaker 3: Mm-hmm.
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Yeah.
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The daily quotes help, too.
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Um, those are fun, the text messages.
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When you used to do the, like, short workshops and you'd send out quotes for,
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like, a month, I was like, "You know, I just subscribe to those forever."
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' Cause I like quotes.
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And then you had membership and it was like, oh, I can
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get quotes and conversation.
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So yes, I think I signed up the day I opened that email.
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Speaker 2: It was the quotes.
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Speaker 3: Well, 'cause you had both options.
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I was like, "Well, do I sign up for quotes or do I join a membership?"
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That's an unusual thing.
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Yeah.
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Speaker 2: Forgot about that.
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Speaker 3: Yeah.
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So back at the beginning.
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And I was like, "Huh, well maybe I'll try it," and- â¦ obviously
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have never left, so.
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Yep.
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Speaker 2: Well, we appreciate having you in.
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Thank you so much for sharing.
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Speaker 3: Thank you.
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Speaker: Like Sarah mentioned, inside Convivial Circle, you can sign up to
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get daily quotes texted right to you every morning, and that might be the
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best way to start an alignment card.
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If you haven't tried it yet this month and you just can't figure out where
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to get started, I will interrupt you every morning with a texted quote or
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Bible verse that will help you get your head in the right place and focused
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on good and true things every weekday.
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That's just one of the perks inside Convivial Circle, where we also have
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community support, courses, and so much more that will help you become a
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more capable, competent, and cheerful homemaker We do it every day by repenting
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You can join us by going to convivialcircle.com.
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In November, we're going to be planning the holidays
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And then in December, we'll be doing our annual Ready Five review
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our take on annual planning
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that focuses more on big picture and perspective shifts and
16:30
word of the year Focus options
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rather than achievement goals or complicated habit plans
16:38
Convivial Circle is the place for Christian moms who want to grow and
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become better life and home managers.
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Join us at convivialcircle.com,
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and we will continue to repent, rejoice, repeat