“ By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered him faithful who had promised.   Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born descendants as many as the stars of heaven and as many as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore.” -Hebrews 11:11-12 It’s amazing to me how many stories in the Bible start with infertility as a way to showcase God’s power. Sarah, Hannah, Elizabeth, Samson’s mom; even Mary,

“ Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the people of old received their commendation.” -Hebrews 11:1-2 I’ve been mulling over this first post in a new series for a few days now, and I had every intention of starting off with some wonderful reflections of who I want to be as I get older, of the women of faith I most look up to and what I notice about them; but truthfully, today was one of those days where I feel like any

Time to get practical! Let’s take a small simple step each day for ten days to both simplify and beautify our home. You can do these however you like: spend two weeks, Monday-Friday, doing one a day; start tomorrow and spend the next ten days; or just work on it as you have time, and do as much or little as you can. Most importantly, let’s have fun making our home beautiful! Day 1: Pick one surface in your home that’s bothering you and remove everything from it. Dust/wipe it

What do we do when we feel like our homes don’t measure up to other people’s spaces? I think this is common for most of us in a culture where we are constantly seeing other people’s beautifully curated spaces on social media. Our moms and grandmas didn’t face this in the same way we do; they only saw inside other people’s homes when they physically visited them or when they looked at a magazine. So how do we combat the feelings of frustration and discontent that often crop up

So how do we create beautiful spaces that are also simple, both to set up and to maintain? I don’t know about you, but when I look at home decor books, blogs, and Instagram accounts, more often than not they don’t feel very simple. Making major updates to your home– such as flooring replacement, wall coverings, and kitchen remodels– is great, and there is definitely a time and place for it, but it often feels impractical when we are in the seasons where we most need beauty in

So how do we actually go about simplifying our homes? I can tell you one way that definitely DOESN’T work: come up with a complicated plan that involves a lot of time and energy that you may or may not have (speaking from experience here 😉). It stands to reason that if we want the results to feel simple, then the approach also needs to be simple. Here are the best strategies I have found to simplify my home: Give yourself permission to do a little at a time . There are some

“I am beginning to learn that it is the sweet, simple things of life which are the real ones after all.” -Laura Ingalls Wilder Five or so years ago, I began picking a word of the year. I love having a gentle direction for our year without feeling the pressure of hard and fast goals that may or may not end up being realistic for what God has in store for the coming year. I’ve picked many words ranging from more concrete ones like “healthy” and “family” to more abstract ones l

After raising kids who love Jesus and have a heart for sharing Him with others, my most important goal as a mom is to raise kids who love reading. Why does this matter so much? Because reading helps us grow in empathy, develop Godly character, and learn anything we set our minds to. As a mom and a homeschooler, I know there’s only so much pouring in of Biblical truth and academic knowledge that I can do before my kids leave home someday; but for the kid who reads? They are se

If you’re on a journey of growing as a reader, there is one surefire way to kill the reading spark before it fans into a flame: choose a book that just doesn’t work for you. I wish I could give you a nice, neat list of “ten characteristics for books you’ll love,” but I think reading is much more individualistic than that. So instead I’m going to give you some tips that will hopefully help you get to know yourself better so you can, in turn, make book selections that really wo

Anytime people find out how many books I read in a year, they always want to know how I find the time to do it while raising and homeschooling four children and tending to all of the other, normal parts of life. First off I want to clarify that you don’t have to read lots of books in order to be a reader. Note that the definition of reader is literally just “someone who reads”; if you read one book this year, you are a reader. Also, some of you are in crazy busy seasons and t

I can’t believe we are finished with our FIFTH year of homeschooling. This has been a wild, crazy ride, but I am so thankful that we made...

“It was through the structure of home and family that God first gave men and women a chart for all of life, when it was perfect and...

Years ago when e-readers made their debut, there were endless predictions about how physical books would become obsolete, yet I think we...

“I’ve been told that you value delicacy and yearn for beauty,” the old man went on. “So seek beauty, Miss Prim. Seek it in silence, in...

October officially signals the start of “holiday season” in the Darr household. We love every single part of the last three months of the...

Week 3: Living Room If you have multiple spaces in this category (like a formal living room and a family room), pick the one you spend...

If you would have told me five years ago that I would someday consider myself a minimalist in any form, I would have laughed in your...

Week 2: Bathroom Here’s another room that can make a big impact! I recommend picking whichever bathroom you personally use the most for...

Who’s ready to tackle some clutter together?! Decluttering is one of my favorite things to do for my home; I’m always amazed by how much...

I’ve always been a meal planner. In fact, the thought of not writing down what we are eating this week would send me into absolute panic...