Finding joy in your home starts with Christ. Discover biblical encouragement, summer homemaking inspiration, and practical ways to love your home.
There have been a lot of moments this summer where I’ve looked around my own home and, instead of feeling thankful, I’ve simply felt…tired. Home, the very place we’re trying to love well, can start to feel like another burden we’re carrying instead of the blessing God intended it to be.
This week, I found myself asking a question that has been lingering in my heart.
How do we find joy in our home when our home feels like a burden?
I don’t think the answer is pretending every chore is exciting. I certainly don’t wake up excited to scrub dishes or preserve veggies on a hot July or August afternoon. But I do think Scripture points us toward something much deeper than enjoying every task. It reminds us that our purpose isn’t simply to have a beautiful home or a productive day. Our purpose is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever, even in the ordinary work He’s placed before us.
Psalm 16:11 reminds us,
“You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” — Psalm 16:11 (ESV)
Did you catch that? Fullness of joy isn’t found in a spotless kitchen. It’s found in His presence. That’s the perspective I’m trying to carry with me this week as I move through the ordinary rhythm of summer homemaking. Today, if you are joining me over on YouTube, we will be doing homemaking tasks like making granola — I have a new recipe for you — doing summer homeschool, caring for the gardens, and sprucing up some Target dollar aisle items.
Welcome to Healing Home. I hope you are encouraged and inspired by your time here.
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Finding Joy in Your Home by Letting Go of Perfection
Summer always seems to revolve around the kitchen. Between fresh produce from the garden, simple breakfasts before heading outside, and trying a few new recipes along the way, there’s always something simmering, baking, or being mixed together. Today, that means finally sharing a recipe I’ve been meaning to publish for years—my simple homemade granola.
If you’ve been around here for a while, you’ve probably heard me say, “Just use my granola bar recipe and don’t press it into bars.” It worked well enough, but I’ve known for a long time that I needed to actually create a proper granola recipe. Somehow, it always got pushed to another day.
Maybe that’s a picture of my summer.
Not because it’s been bad. In fact, we’ve had some wonderful memories. But somewhere along the way, some of the ordinary rhythms that help our home feel peaceful slowly drifted into the background. Not because I didn’t care, but because life was full and, if I’m honest, I was tired.
So how do we find joy in our home when everything feels just a little out of rhythm?
For me, I don’t think the answer is trying to catch up all at once or creating the perfect reset plan. I think it begins by faithfully doing the next thing God has placed in front of us. Sometimes that’s finally writing the recipe you’ve been meaning to publish for years. Sometimes it’s folding the laundry that’s been sitting in a basket for two days. Sometimes it’s simply showing up for another ordinary afternoon at home.
I’ve realized that finding joy in our home isn’t about doing everything perfectly. It’s about letting go of the pressure to have it all together and remembering who we’re serving in the middle of the ordinary. Every meal we make, every room we tidy, every lesson we teach our children becomes an opportunity to glorify God. And when that’s our purpose, even the smallest act of faithfulness carries eternal significance.
The new basic granola recipe is up on the recipe site, and it’s also in the accompanying blog post transcript with all of today’s resources linked in an easy-to-view format.
Finding Joy in Your Home Through Flexible Homeschool Days
We started a brand-new Bible study from Not Consumed called Do Right this week and continued along with our math and language arts lessons.
You can find my full review of the Not Consumed Bible studies here.
If I’m being honest, we’ve been enjoying a very relaxed homeschool rhythm this summer. Since wrapping up our school year back in April, we’ve averaged just two or three consistent days each week. We’ve traded some lessons for afternoons at the beach, packed impromptu picnics, and embraced the slower pace that comes with homeschooling year-round. Looking back, I don’t regret those memories for a second.
I’m also realizing something about myself as a newer year-round homeschool mom. Apparently, July is our unofficial “super soft homeschool season.” My intention this summer was to truly be a year-round homeschool family, and I think we’re meeting that goal, but most of July was one or two days of school instead of my goal of three or more. Flexibility is one of the greatest gifts of homeschooling. It allows us to enjoy the season we’re in without constantly feeling like we’re falling behind. I’m loving the year-round model for our family. My full year-round plans aren’t going perfectly according to plan, but I’m definitely seeing the benefits of this model.
So how do we find joy in our home when our plans don’t go exactly the way we imagined?
Maybe the answer is remembering that every season has its own gifts. There will come a day when our afternoons aren’t spent collecting rocks or watching little boys splash in the lake. Math lessons can always be finished tomorrow, but childhood has a way of quietly slipping by. I’m thankful homeschooling gives us the freedom to embrace both—the lessons around the kitchen table and the ones God teaches us outside in His creation.
Finding Joy in Your Home Through Faithful Stewardship
One of the realities of living on land that we’re trying to make more sustainable is that there is always another job waiting. Today I’ll be harvesting cucumbers, gathering a few vegetables, pulling weeds, and checking on the gardens. It’s quiet work, but it’s also the kind of work that never really feels finished.
This spring—and honestly, most of June and July—I cared for all forty acres by myself. I truly enjoyed the challenge, but now that we’re in the heart of the growing season, I can also see all the places where I simply couldn’t keep up. The weeds have gotten ahead of me in a few beds, some projects are still waiting for “someday,” and I’m already dreaming about ideas I’d love to tackle in the future. Maybe next year they’ll happen. Maybe they won’t.
If I’m honest, that’s frustrating for me. I like checking things off my list. I like making progress. But the Lord has been gently reminding me that faithfulness and finished are not the same thing.
So once again I find myself returning to the same question.
How do we find joy in our home when it feels like there’s always more to do?
I think part of the answer is learning to love the season God has given us instead of constantly longing for the next one. There will always be another project I’d like to start, another flower I’d like to plant, another corner of the homestead I’d love to improve. Those dreams aren’t wrong, but I don’t want them to steal my contentment with what God has already entrusted to me today.
The gardens may never feel “finished,” and maybe that’s okay. My joy can’t be rooted in having the perfect homestead or the most productive growing season. It has to be rooted in the Giver rather than the gifts. When I remember that, I’m free to enjoy the cucumbers that did grow, the eggs waiting in the nesting boxes, and the simple privilege of caring for this little piece of creation He’s entrusted to our family.
Finding Joy in Your Home by Celebrating the Little Things
I found these adorable little picture frames in the Target dollar section. They were supposed to be magnets for the refrigerator, except they didn’t actually stick to the refrigerator when I got them home.
Instead of returning them, I decided to repaint them so they better match our kitchen and fill them with tiny watercolor prints of places and memories our family loves. I then also added some stronger magnets so they can actually attach to the fridge.
It’s such a small project. Most people probably wouldn’t even notice them.
But isn’t that often where much joy is actually found?
The little things have a way of changing the atmosphere of a home. A favorite family photo. Fresh flowers from the garden. A candle burning while dinner cooks. A freshly cleaned counter. None of those things are necessary, but each one quietly reminds us that home is worth caring for.
Those small touches don’t earn God’s favor. They simply reflect our gratitude for what He’s already given us.
Finding Joy in Your Home Begins with Christ
As I look back over some of the week’s homemaking tasks, I’m realizing none of them are particularly extraordinary.
Making granola.
Being consistent with homeschool.
Gathering eggs and managing the gardens
Painting tiny picture frames.
They’re ordinary moments that could easily feel repetitive or even burdensome. But maybe that’s exactly where the Lord meets us.
The answer to our question was never that we needed an easier home, a cleaner house, or even more motivation. The answer has always been remembering who we’re serving. Every meal, every lesson, every load of laundry, every garden weed, and every quiet act of love becomes an offering when it’s done for Christ.
Colossians 3:23 says,
“Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men.” — Colossians 3:23 (ESV)
Friend, if your home has felt heavy lately, I hope you’ll remember this alongside me. We don’t have to love every task to find joy in our homes. We simply have to remember the One we’re serving while we do them.
And somehow, when our eyes are fixed on Him, even the ordinary begins to feel sacred.
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