Discover what it means to embrace a Slow Life as a busy mom, no matter what our life circumstances look like. Learn to breathe deeply, live intentionally, and savor the small things this summer.
The baby is asleep on my chest. His breath—soft, feather-light—rises and falls like wind through wheat fields. The house, for a rare moment, is hushed. Outside, the sun paints gold onto the garden beds, and the bean vines stretch slow, lazy fingers toward the sky. This is the stillness I crave, a slice of peace in a fast-paced world where so much begs for my attention.
I’ve tried for many years to outrun the rat race of this world, but it’s impossible to outrun this world. Instead, I’m gently realizing that you can’t run your way to peace. You must slow your way there.
So, this summer, four weeks postpartum with my fifth baby boy and the world spinning madly on, I’m choosing a Slow Life. Or at least, I’m learning to. I’ve said it so many times on this blog and our YouTube channel that I speak out of my weaknesses, not my strengths, and this one might be one of the largest weaknesses that I’ve ever spoken about. I am not a slow life person. In fact, I’m the very opposite. When I see an intentional lack of tasks being accomplished, my brain crashes like the waves of a tsunami. It’s quite unpleasant to witness, and it actually reminds me of the verse from Proverbs 27:15
A quarrelsome wife is like the dripping
of a leaky roof in a rainstorm;
restraining her is like restraining the wind
or grasping oil with the hand.
Proverbs 27:15 ESV
Now, I’m not speaking about being quarrelsome or, as some translations put it, “nagging”. Instead, I’m speaking about the spirit of the verse. Although I’m not attempting to change scripture, the word that has popped into my head when reading this verse is ‘pushing wife’ and ‘pushing mother’. I like to see my family ‘doing’ and ‘accomplishing’. I’m the wife and mother who, without the restraint of the Holy Spirit in my life, is constantly ‘pushing’ for more. More tasks are being done. More evidence of a productive life. More ‘going’ instead of ‘slowing’.
But the Bible is filled with verses and reminders that a restful pace in life is to be followed. A recent episode of Homeschool Conversations with Amy Sloan and Eryn Lynum reminded me just how woven into the scriptures rest is. Rest is not about doing less, but more about being rooted in God’s presence and design.
This is my personal journey—a whisper against the roar. A quiet rebellion against hustle culture. A love song to the little things. A deep breath amid the chaos. And another reminder to myself, and maybe you as well, that the slow life is not the absence of completion, but a journey of restful pursuit and intentional presence.
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What is a Slow Life
The Slow Life is not about doing nothing. It’s about doing things at the right speed—at the speed of grace, at the pace of presence. The slow living movement, which gained popularity in recent years, encourages a lifestyle choice rooted in deliberate choices, intentional approaches, and a sustainable lifestyle.
It’s not the easiest way, and certainly not the most common, especially for mothers. But it may be the best way to recover our joy and our sense of peace.
Slow living isn’t about eliminating your to-do list, but about reimagining it. It’s not about abandoning your ambitions, but about questioning what true happiness actually looks like. I don’t know about you, but when my weeks are packed with personal goals plus outside appointments and engagements, I’ve never felt at peace and most of the time never felt happy. Maybe that’s my introverted side coming out in full force, but I don’t think I’m totally alone in those feelings.
Obedience to our heavenly father has a lot to do with happiness and contentment. When we rest in his plan for our life and we submit our hearts, we will find contentment. It reminds me of the verse in 1 Timothy 6:
But godliness with contentment is great gain, for we brought nothing into the world, and[c] we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.
It’s in the small and peaceful rhythms of life that we often find contentment. The process of cooking dinner from scratch, the dirt under your fingernails after time in the garden, the flavours of your food when you’ve grown it yourself. It’s in the still moments—where digital devices are off and you can hear the creak of the rocking chair, the giggle of a child, the heartbeat of your own life.
What Does the Bible Say About Slow Living
God is not in a rush. From Genesis to Revelation, we see a Creator who works in seasons, who allows time (even though he is outside of time) to bring about harvests, healing, and hope.
Ecclesiastes 3:1 reminds us:
“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven.”
Psalm 46:10 whispers to our weary souls:
“Be still, and know that I am God.”
Jesus Himself often withdrew to quiet places to pray (Luke 5:16), proving that even in the most urgent mission in history, rest was necessary. Slowness is not a waste of time—it is a holy rhythm.
God’s intentional approach to creation is echoed in how He calls us to live—not frantically, but faithfully.
Here’s where the tension knots. I know it well. Because I live it.
I answer emails with one hand while nursing a baby with the other. I make work calls with a toddler at my feet and dinner on the stove. I homeschool, homestead, run a business, work an out-of-the-home job, and try to spend time with five boys who need their mama in five different ways. Not to mention a husband who needs me as well.
But here’s the miracle: Yes, I can live a slower life, even here.
Because slow is not about time—it’s about attention. It’s not about quitting your job or abandoning your dreams. It’s about anchoring your everyday life in what matters most. It’s about putting the phone down during dinner. Saying no to social media when your child is telling you a story. It’s about choosing regular breaks, even if they’re short.
A slow lifestyle isn’t a luxury reserved for the wealthy or childless. It’s a countercultural discipline for anyone seeking stronger relationships, mental health, and meaning in a busy day. At the end of the day, I often find that my slowest days are the days I feel I have glorified my creator the most.
Three Tips for a Summer Slow Life
These aren’t rules. They aren’t formulas. They are, honestly, the things I tell myself in the quiet moments before the baby wakes, or after the last dish is put away. If they help you too, I’ll be grateful.
Be Present with Your Children
Not perfectly. Just present.
When I catch myself checking screen time stats and realize I’ve lost hours to digital devices, I remind myself: my children are not waiting for the perfect version of me. They just want me—the me who watches the butterfly land on the cucumber leaf, who laughs at their LEGO jokes that make no sense, who lets them crack eggs even though it’s messy.
Motherhood invites us into the present moment. And when we live there, we begin to taste the flavours of our food, the joy in their eyes, the quiet holiness of spending time.
If you are interested in seeing more of the summer morning menu that is pictured above, click here!
Focus on One Day at a Time
I don’t have enough time for everything. But I have this day.
Matthew 6:34 says:
Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
Matthew 6:34 ESV
One of the common misconceptions about slow living is that it means “doing less.” But I still have animals to feed, math lessons to teach, and laundry to hang. The difference is in how I carry it. I’m learning not to carry tomorrow while I’m still living today.
This has been a big part of this postpartum time. We’ve never had so much time off, and for that I’m grateful because after a rather traumatic birth with a large hemorrhage at the end, I’ve needed Danny home. We’ve talked extensively about taking one day at a time. William was born on the Wednesday before Easter, and of course, everyone wanted to know our plans for Easter celebrations. Meanwhile, we were only taking it one day at a time. So on that Saturday, when we were asked about our plans again, I said, “Tomorrow hasn’t come, I won’t know until tomorrow.”
I’ve found such freedom in that philosophy during this postpartum period, and I honestly think it has led to deeper healing. There were some days when all William and I could do was rest at home, and others where I had deeper mental capacity and could handle more of life. However, I didn’t know where those days would be until that day.
The slow movement is a battle against anxiety and the endless drumbeat of busy schedules. One of the easiest ways to quiet the noise is to fix your eyes on just today.
Plan Big, Expect Small
This one has been a balm to my postpartum heart.
In the long run, I have big dreams: to grow more food, write more words, raise godly boys, homeschool more, read more books to the boys, nurture healthy habits, get more farm arnimals, build more fences, build a bigger buisness, and I could keep going, but you get the idea.
But in the short term? Today, maybe I’ll change into clean clothes. Maybe I’ll weed one bed. Maybe I’ll read one Bible story aloud. And that will be enough.
Big plans are beautiful. But they don’t happen all at once. They happen in small things, in creative projects made in nap-length snippets.
This is where simple living becomes profound. Where the slow living mindset says: “Do the small thing well. The big thing will come.”
Summer Slow Living Conclusion
So here I am—baby nestled against me, four boys playing barefoot outside, weeds growing faster than the carrots, emails waiting, and my heart, tender, tired, and strangely full. It’s in my weakness that I grow closer to Christ, and isn’t that the goal?
This summer, slow life isn’t neat. It’s a little wild, like the mint in the garden I forgot to prune. But it’s real. It’s mine. And it’s full of grace.
If you’re feeling overwhelmed, friend, I see you. This is not a prescription. This is just a quiet song to remind us: there is a right balance, even in the chaos. There is a sense of purpose in choosing slowness, even for a long-time dreamer living in a fast life.
This summer, I’m learning to live at the right speed. The speed of love. The speed of joy. The speed of God’s tender patience.
And that, I believe, is the best way to live.
What are your best tips for slow living this summer? Drop a comment to add to our idea bucket! I’d love to hear them!
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