Kimberly Amici wanted her family to live by a set of values and a mission. So, she sat down with her husband and wrote out her ideas and expectations. But, in the midst of their busy life raising three kids and “going with the flow,” the Amici family didn’t have a set purpose or culture and it showed.

However, through a series of ongoing conversations as a family, Kimberly has been able to identify a few areas of purpose that are now a part of her family’s culture. It took having more in-depth conversations to get buy-in from kids to really identify and own their unique family culture.

Now, Kimberly provides coaching and resources that help others build their best families by having these conversations, choosing a few values to focus on and making small steps towards those values each day.  

“The routines that we've put in place, these small steps that we take every day is what builds culture. It's not some big campaign saying we're going to transform our lives and become this other family. It's these teeny, tiny steps along the way.”

Connect with Kimberly Amici: 

• Website: kimberlyamici.com and buildyourbestfamily.com 
• Facebook: facebook.com/KimberlyAmiciBuildYourBestFamily
• Instagram:  @kimberlyamici

Links Mentioned:  

• Family Retreat Packet
• Build Your Best Family Podcast

Featured Sponsors:

Sunbasket -- get $35 off your order at sunbasket.com/dma use promo code "dma"

AncestryHealth -- get your genetic health kit over at Ancestry.com/DMA

(If you struggle with how to manage distance learning and working from home...listen to Kendra "lazy genius" that situation for me)

Kendra Adachi also known as the Lazy Genius calls herself a professional permission giver. And she’s here to give us permission to be a genius about the things that matter and lazy about the things that don’t.

“I've come to this place of realizing we do not need another life hack. MacGyvering together a list of hacks and inspirational quotes isn’t going to get you a life that is wholehearted and anchored in what matters to you. That's why you're tired because that doesn't work.”

That sounds great, but the hard part is choosing what matters to YOU. We talk about how Kendra learned to let go of the expectations of doing everything well as a mom and how her Lazy Genius principles can help others get the same freedom.

She helps me “lazy genius” my life when it comes to the constant interruptions of parenting and virtual schooling as a work-at-home mom with some solutions that are both practical and soulful. I hope this conversation is helpful to many of you as we head into a fall season full of unknowns. 

My key takeaways:

• Make house rules that serve you and your sanity
• Breath prayer when you feel scattered or like everything needs your attention: Lord, open my eyes to what matters right now. 

Connect with Kendra: 

• Website:  thelazygeniuscollective.com
• Facebook: facebook.com/thelazygeniuscollective
• Instagram: @thelazygenius

Links Mentioned:  

• Kendra’s book The Lazy Genius Way
• Change Your Life Chicken
• The Magic of Motherhood by Ashlee Gadd

Featured Sponsors: 

1. Thrive Market -- go to thrivemarket.com/DMA start a risk-free membership and a get a FREE $22 gift of your choosing. 

2. BetterHelp -- sign up with a licensed professional counselor online. 10% off your first month. betterhelp.com/DMA

3. Ancestry Health -- discover if you have genetic health risks by checking out ancestry.com/DMA

When I recorded this interview in 2015 I had no idea just two years later my father would pass away. Stacey's wisdom on grief became my lifeline.

This year with so many losses our hearts have experienced constant, low-level grief. On top of being quarantined, some of you may have lost loved ones. As moms, you've been unable to have time/space to grieve (or have a formal memorial service).

Today’s podcast guest is my soul sister friend, Stacey Thacker. She and I have been chatting about life, Jesus and family for the many years. Stacey writes online and has authored several books (a new one releasing in just a few months--Threadbare Prayer). When we conducting this interview Stacey shared so much of what she had learned from the loss of her father.

Since the interview she's experienced additional trauma and grief. Through it all she remains tethered to her faithful God. She is wise and can be trusted.  

My hope is whether you are the one who has experienced loss or not, you will be encouraged that even when our worst fears are realized, God’s grace is ever present. And as Stacey points out:

“He holds all things together. And all things means all things.”

What we chat about:

• How the message of Stacey’s book, “Hope for the Weary Mom” became real
• How do moms grieve while handling the dailiness of motherhood
• What actions and words of friends comforted her the most
• How children grieve differently
• How to be available and present with a grieving friend
• What moments over the course of the year bring back grief
• How do you manage your home when one child has to be hospitalized
• How God holds all things together

Connect with Stacey:

Site :: Facebook :: Twitter :: Pinterest

Links Mentioned:

• Releasing Oct 2020: Threadbare Prayer
• Hope for the Weary Mom
• Stacey’s posts on grief: My Journey Through Grief and Loss
• Nobody’s Cuter than You: A Memoir about the Beauty of Friendship**by Melanie Shankle
• Holding On to Hope: A Pathway through Suffering to the Heart of God**by Nancy Guthrie
• I Wasn’t Ready to Say Goodbye: Surviving, Coping and Healing After the Sudden Death of a Loved One
   
  ** by Pamela Blair & Brook Noel
• Psalms 23 & Hosea 2
• “He holds all things together.” Colossians 1:17

**Amazon affiliate links

Featured Sponsor: PrepDish get two weeks of FREE meal plans if you go to http://prepdish.com/dma 

As moms, we know we need rest. We usually equate rest with sleep or rest with a vacation, but this week’s guest shares a much bigger picture of our need for rest in multiple areas of our lives. 

Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith is a medical doctor, wife and mother to two boys. She had everything she’d dreamed of and worked hard to achieve, but wasn’t enjoying it. 

“So I kept pushing and pushing myself till I got to the point where I literally just burned out. I wasn't happy with my job. I couldn't see how my marriage would survive. I didn't want my kids anymore. I was just at the end of myself. I didn't want the life I created.”

After reaching this breaking point, she went on a journey of restoration and healing where she learned to connect with God and with his plan for rest. Now she shares her research and methods with her patients and with all of us. If you’ve ever felt tired and at the end of yourself, this episode is for you. 

“We already have permission to rest, but the mommy guilt that sometimes comes tells us we don’t. That is really a lie. I look at it as the John 10:10. The thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy. And he's doing it to a lot of us through our inability to rest, our inability to trust God that when we lay things down that he is able to uphold them.”

What we chat about:

• When Saundra reached her breaking point from stress and lack of true rest
• We have physical limits to what we can do as moms 
• How Saundra researched rest and looked at scripture for clarity on how God rested
• The seven types of rest are physical, to mental, spiritual, emotional, social, sensory and creative.
• The difference between a vacation and resting
• Paying attention to a place that feels painful in your body in the moment vs ignoring it
• Finding emotional rest through connection with friends, even through video chat if getting together is impossible
• The importance of authentic, open friendships with women who can relate to your life situation
• Ideas on how to stay engaged with your husband and reignite your marriage
• Putting limits on social media time so that your mind has down time
• Tips for getting mental rest and release ideas that make your mind race
• Sensory rest-- what it is and ways to get it
• It is not selfish to prioritize resting. It keeps you from having a toxic reaction to those around you.

Links Mentioned: 

Website: http://ichoosemybestlife.com/

Book: http://ichoosemybestlife.com/sacred-rest/ 

Quiz: http://restquiz.com/ 

Featured Sponsor: BetterHelp

Visit betterhelp.com/DMA and join the over 1,000,000 people taking charge of their mental health with the help of an experienced professional. DMA listeners get 10% off your first month at betterhelp.com/DMA.