Cultivating the Lovely in the Everyday with MacKenzie Monroe – Hf #93
I have got a really special podcast episode for you today. I’ve got MacKenzie Monroe from Bold Turquoise and one of my favorite podcasts, Cultivating the Lovely sharing a very inspiring talk.
One thing, among many others, that I really appreciate about MacKenzie is her commitment family life and creating homes that inspire, excite, and delight all within its four walls. And today she is going to be talking all about cultivating loveliness in every area of life.
Listen to the Podcast:
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And don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast in iTunes.
Right click here and save-as to download this episode to your computer.
This is a special episode of the podcast. Instead of bringing MacKenzie onto the show to do an interview, I decided to give you guys her ENTIRE session from last year’s (2016) Homemaking Ministries Online Conference!!
Her session was hands down one of the attendee’s favorites from last year. So if you attended the conference, I encourage you to re-listen to it now a year later. And if you’ve never heard it, you are in for a real treat!
So instead of my usual blog post to go along with each episode, I am simply going to share her notes from her session so you can better follow along. See her notes down below.
Register for the 2017 conference
And as you listen through this…it might very well convince you to sign up for this year’s conference! Because let’s face it: It’s gonna ROCK! You can register for your ticket here.
And guess what? MacKenzie is coming back this year with a brand new session. You will hear at the end of this episode, MacKenzie starts to talk about preserving family memories. Well, the conference FB group exploded last year with a TON of amazing ideas about that.
So I asked MacKenzie back this year to do an ENTIRE session on creating family memories. Here’s a quick sneak peek video of what’s inside her 2017 session talk:
Register for the conference here
But hurry, there’s not much time left. The conference kicks off in…
Are you busy next week and can’t attend live? OR you are watching this weeks or months later? No problem! All of our sessions are recorded. So if you miss any sessions next week (or missed them all), you can still register and get immediate access to all sessions to watch whenever YOU have the time.
As a busy homemaker myself, I totally understand how hard it can be to tune in and watch. That’s why we give you as much flexibility as you need – including the ability to download the sessions to watch offline, stream or download the much smaller audio files, and watch on any device! Grab your ticket here. P.s. Did you see the amazing speaker lineup for this year!?
Okay on to the show notes:
WHAT IS CULTIVATING THE LOVELY?
Cultivation – Labor, Care and Study- A work, a mindset and a pursuit
Lovely – Exquisitely beautiful, pretty, attractive, appealing, adorable, sweet, enchanting, stunning, picturesque, pleasing, magnificent, splendid
So, Cultivating the Lovely is a work, mindset and pursuit to create a beautiful, splendid atmosphere- within ourselves as well as the places that surround us. It is a way of interacting with others and creating a life that draws us closer to God along with our families, friends and others we encounter.
WHAT ARE WE CALLED TO AS CHRISTIANS?
“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. 9 What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.” – Philippians 4:8-9
WHAT ARE WE CALLED TO AS WOMEN?
“She is not afraid of snow for her household, for all her household are clothed in scarlet. She makes bed coverings for herself; her clothing is fine linen and purple.” – Proverbs 31:21-22
There is value in beauty!
SO, HOW DO WE DO IT? WHERE DO WE BEGIN TO CULTIVATE THE LOVELINESS?
What does lovely look like for you? What brings you and your family joy? What turns a dull task into a fun one for you? Take on this project of defining “lovely” for your family so that you know what you are pursuing. This is part of the “Study.”
MAKE A PLAN!
Write a lovely mission statement- sum up into a small paragraph everything that you have just detailed out above.
BUT, BUT, BUT…
If it feels too big just start, and do the planning along the way. Start renewing your mind, being aware of those small moments that you can begin to change. Even those small ways will help you become inspired to find even more ways to live a lovelier life.
And hey, don’t forget that it is a process, a never-ending journey, and like anything in life, things often have to get a whole lot messier before they get more lovely! Just keep your eyes on the lovely prize!
Links & Resources:
- Encouragement for the Homeschool Mom Online Conference
- Join MacKenzie on Periscope
- Cultivating the Lovely Podcast Show
- Happy Planner
- Color Crush Traveler’s Notebooks & Accessories
Meal Planning Help:
I am really excited to share with you the sponsor of today’s podcast episode: PrepDish! If you ever feel like you wish you had a little help in your meal planning, then I highly encourage you to check out PrepDish. They offer gluten free meal plans and paleo meal plans.
But you don’t have to eat a gluten-free or paleo diet in order to take advantage of all that PrepDish has to offer! In fact, almost half of their customers don’t eat those diets. The meals are healthy and non-processed and work well for anyone who is trying to eat a healthy diet. And PrepDish is offering a super special TWO week free trail when you sign up through this link (how awesome!!)
When you sign up, you’ll receive an email every week with a grocery list and instructions for prepping your meals ahead of time. After only 1-3 hours of prepping on the weekend, you’ll have all of your meals ready for the entire week. I absolutely love how easy they make it.