by kathilipp | Feb 21, 2017 | Overwhelmed, Patience, Podcast |
Doing Lent Together
You’re invited to join Karen for #DoingLentTogether inspired by Zip It! She will be leading a free challenge on Facebook, March 1 – April 15 and instead of giving up chips or chocolate, we’ll spend our 40 days giving up using our words wrongly! Scroll to the bottom of the page and sign up for details.
We don’t need to say everything we think! Oh but it’s so hard not to sometimes!
Kathi talks with NY Times bestselling author, Karen Ehman, about her latest book, Zip It. They discuss why it is important to use less words and yet still be able to tell the truth. Karen discusses her struggles to “Zip It” and how she has learned to replace words that are negative and tear down with fruitful words to build, bless and encourage others.
You Are Invited
She also invites the audience to her Zip It: 40 Day Challenge starting on March 1 throughout Lent. Kathi will be participating in #doinglenttogether and will be sharing several great ideas on the blog in the coming days so be on the lookout for that or subscribe to the blog.
Win A Book
Two Zip It books will be given away. To win, share your biggest tongue challenge in the comments below. Two winners will be selected from the comments.
Free Download
Doing Lent Together and Zip It Samples
We use our words everywhere: with family members, coworkers, the stranger in the store—even the words we text or post online. Our daily words can impact our relationships for better—or for worse. (Been there. Said that. Wish you could take it back. Can you relate?)
Sign up for FREE samples.
Karen Ehman is a Proverbs 31 Ministries speaker and New York Times bestselling author. Described as profoundly practical, engagingly funny and downright real, her passion is to help women to live their priorities and love their lives as they serve God and others.
Karen writes for Encouragement for Today online devotions that bring God’s peace, perspective, and purpose to over four million women daily. She has authored eleven books including the popular Listen, Love, Repeat: Other-Centered Living in a Self-Centered World and New York Times bestseller Keep It Shut: What to Say, How to Say It and When to Say Nothing at All. Both include a companion DVD Bible study designed for group or individual use.
Two of the books she has written are just for moms and were coauthored with Ruth Schwenk of The Better Mom – Hoodwinked: Ten Myths Moms Believe and Why We All Need to Knock It Off and the newly released ECPA best-seller Pressing Pause: 100 Quiet Moments for Moms to Meet with Jesus. She is also the Speaker Track Director of Proverbs 31 She Speaks Conference and a teaching staff member of their writers’ training site COMPEL.
Karen has been a guest on national television and radio programs including FamilyLife, Engaging Women, The Harvest Show, Moody Midday Connection, The 700 Club, At Home Live, and she has been a popular repeat guest on Focus on the Family. She is a cum laude graduate of Spring Arbor University with a BA in Social Science and has been married for over a quarter-century to her college sweetheart Todd. She and the Mr. make their home out in the boondocks in the middle of the Mitten (Michigan–America’s “High Five”). They are the parents of three sometimes quarrelsome but mostly charming children ranging in age from teen to adult.
She is a lover of coconut and dark chocolate, sharpened Ticonderoga #2 pencils, whimsical notecards, and any kind of Post It note. She is a collector of retro Pyrex ware (especially in aqua or pink!) and is a die-hard fan of the Detroit Tiger baseball team. (Bless you boys!)
But most of all, she considers it an honor to tell others about the gospel–the good news of Jesus Christ–whether from the stage at an event, on the pages of one of her books or Bible studies, or over a cup of French press coffee in her kitchen.
by kathilipp | Feb 17, 2017 | Love Your Husband, Marriage |
Valentine’s Day is great—it nudges us to celebrate romance. But we don’t want to celebrate only on special occasions, not when we can weave romance into the rhythm of our lives.
How do we keep celebrating romance all year long?
Between kids and jobs, home responsibilities and extended family, it is easy to let our marriage relationships go on auto pilot. But if we want to have a good marriage, a romance-filled marriage, we choose to be intentional about it.
We love intentionally
1. Discovering the best in our partner — every day — and celebrating it. Set this standard in your marriage and hold on to even in the most stressful times. Nothing builds romance like knowing your husband well and expressing appreciation for those things that are easily taken for granted.
2. Speaking to each other with respect. It makes me so uncomfortable to overhear couples speaking sarcastically to each other. It is a bad habit we fall into without even being aware of it. It costs nothing to speak well to each other. And when we don’t — it’s a romance-buster.
3. Dating each other. Dating is what helps us fall in love in the first place. It is the thing that most married couples give up first after saying “I do.” But dating is a great way to take a little retreat from those things that can pull us away from each other. At first you may have to look at dating as a project – setting aside time, money and energy for something (or someone) that is important.
I know that it can be expensive to date, but if you are creative, you can have a great date without breaking the bank. You can find inexpensive date ideas here. The point is, to go out and have some fun, to recapture a little of that romance you had early on and saying, you know what? We enjoy being together. We like each other.
4. Doing thoughtful little things. Little things add up to ongoing romance. Write a love note, buy him his favorite sweet treat, send a flirty text – have fun with it! Just let your man know you think about him when you’re apart. Do some of the little things you did when you were falling in love. There is real impact in doing these simple things, they say to your husband, “You matter so much to me.”
They sparked romance before, and they can ignite it again.
In our marriage, we learned that more effort had to be put in after the vows than before them. Today, I see my husband die to self every day to make sure that I know I am loved and that I’m happy. And I try to do the same for him. I can’t think of a better way to be married than how we are right now. It took us a long time to get there – we had to get past some things – but I can’t imagine anything better.
When we choose to love intentionally – by design and not by default – our wedding day becomes the beginning of a great romance story, not the end of it.
by kathilipp | Feb 16, 2017 | Love Your Husband, Marriage |
We’re talking about Loving Intentionally this week, and I want to share one of my tools for guarding my heart and tongue against the bend in our culture (and often our friendships) to demean, belittle, and yes, bash our husbands. We can be intentional about setting boundaries around what we let into our hearts or out of our mouths. Here’s one way I do both.
An Open Letter to my Friends who Talk Bad About Their Husbands: Why I Love You, But Can’t Hang Out with You Anymore
Dear Friend,
This is really, really hard for me to do, but I have to tell you why I can’t hang out with you anymore.
I get that marriage is hard. I do. I’ve fought with my husband (remember, when we got married, we had four teenagers, so we had plenty to “discuss” those first years of marriage,) disagreed with him, and sometimes (OK, many times) not been the wife I needed to be.
But here’s the thing: I want to do better. I want to be the wife my husband needs. I want to speak well of him and to him. I want to improve, a little bit, every day.
And when I’m around you, it’s hard. I feel like, because you throw your husband under the bus, you want me to throw my husband right under there as well.
I will not have the kinds of conversations that make men the butt of the joke, because not only am I married to a man, but I have two boys I want to respect as men as well.
I will not agree with how awful your husband is because I don’t know his side of the story.
I will not laugh at TV or movies that feature the guys as “Doofus Dads.”
I will not let you bait me into bashing husbands, yours or mine.
I’m sorry if this seems like an unexpected change-up – like I’m changing the rules of our relationship. But that uncomfortable laugh I make when you put down your husband?
Gone.
From now on, I’m speaking up. It’s not OK to talk about any man like that in my presence. Ever.
Now don’t get me wrong. If you want me to pray for the tough time you’re going through, if you want to cry on my shoulder and have me recommend books on how you can improve your relationship, I will bring the coffee, milk chocolate and password to my Amazon account. I am there for you friend.
But if you only want to complain, and not let God make a miracle out of your marriage, I need to step away. Because I need to be with women who support the men in their life. I want to surround myself with women who are not perfect wives, but will inspire me to be a wife who follows God and blesses her husband out of the overflow of that relationship with God.
So if you want to be that kind of girl – come on over to my house.
But if not, I’m going to need to bow out. I know God wants more for you than what you have now. I’ll be here when you want that cup of coffee.
by kathilipp | Feb 15, 2017 | Love Your Husband, Marriage, The Husband Project |
This question comes up a lot when I’m speaking: What should I do when my husband is overwhelmed?
And I get it – we are all looking for ways to connect during the hardest times.
His struggle could be because of work – or finances. Or there’s stuff going on with his parents, or in your family. Whatever the reason, we all know when it’s happening.
Maybe he gets really quiet and withdrawn. He may be in a place where talking about it (or about anything,) is overwhelming. He’s exhausted, so either he sleeps all the time or he doesn’t sleep at all.
You know what it looks like for your man. But when you see it happening, don’t just wait for the wave to pass. There are things you can do to actively help your man during this difficult time.
Here are ten things you the right away when you realize your husband is overwhelmed:
1. Feed Him Food. It makes him feel like everything might be okay for just this one hour. I don’t want it to seem like I’m making our guys into cavemen, but there is something about knowing where his next meal is coming from that can really make a man feel more secure. Cook him one of his favorites.
2. Brag on Him. Let him hear you bragging on him – to your friend, to your kids, to his mom. Pick one thing he did this week (went to work on a hard day, played tickle monster with the kids,) and make sure he knows how much it meant to you.
3. Unburden Him. Are there things around the house your husband normally does, that you, (or an older child) can do for him right now? Even hiring a teenager to mow the lawn could be just what your husband needs to know that you’ve got his back.
4. Seduce Him Again. Not trying to go caveman here, but sex is — for most men — the best tension reliever. Setting aside some time will do more for your husband than just about anything else. However, if sex is an area of discouragement, offer a no-strings-attached massage, or head, hand or foot rub.
5. Date Him. Plan a date geared for him. Take him to his favorite dinner spot and to a movie that involves a ball, something blowing up, or robots.
6. Treat Him. A Jamba Juice can improve my husband’s outlook on the world. Surprise him with a little something to let him know that you were thinking of him.
7. Encourage Him. One of the reasons your husband may feel overwhelmed is that he is feeling undervalued. What can you say to make him know that he is valued and respected? Tell him. Need some ideas to get your encouraging words flowing? Download my 21 Post-it-Note Encouragements.
8. Tag Him. Give your man a Facebook or Instagram shout-out and let the world know why he is just that awesome.
9. Pray for Him. Set an alarm on your phone and stop and pray for your husband every single day. Need some inspiration? It’s important to let your husband know you’re praying for him. Roger walks with new confidence when he knows I’ve got his back, prayer-wise.
10. Surprise Him. I have an alert on Amazon any time my man’s favorite author releases a new book. Surprise him with something he loves.
by kathilipp | Feb 14, 2017 | Identity, Podcast |
Live Full, Walk Free: Set Apart in a Sin-Soaked World
What if Paul’s extraordinary letter to the church in Corinth was written to believers living in modern day Las Vegas—or the ‘Sin City’ in our hearts?
Author, Bible teacher and speaker Cindy Bultema, whose own life has been touched by drugs, promiscuity and addiction, pulls back the curtain of time to unearth the riches of 1st Corinthians for us today, living in a shockingly similar culture of immorality, idolatry, and indulgence. With warmth, vibrancy, and lively insights into the ancient world, Bultema walks with us through scripture touching on themes of identity, unity, purpose, and purity. This study will equip you to live for God in a sin-soaked world and handle each situation with grace.
This Bible study book may be completed individually or with a small group, as well as alone or with the Live Full Walk Free DVD series.
Kathi and Guest, Cindy Bultema discuss Cindy’s book, Live Full, Walk Free: Set Apart in a Sin-Soaked World.
Cindy discusses how she hit rock bottom and almost lost her life. All her life she just wanted to fit in and be special to someone. She just wanted someone to “pick me!” She was told by friends that a snort of cocaine would help her drop the pregnancy weight and she ended up almost dying.
Listen in as Cindy talks about living happily and successfully in a world that screams “You are not enough.”
WIN!
Cindy has provided 3 copies of her book, Live Full, Walk Free: Set Apart in a Sin-Soaked World for our listeners. In the comments below please share a lie you believed and a scripture that tells you the truth about the lie. Three winners will be selected.
With over 15 years of ministry experience, Cindy is a popular women’s speaker, author, and Bible teacher. But don’t let her cheerful smile fool you—Cindy has endured single parenting, overcome bondage to addiction, and survived tragic loss. She is now a married mother of 4 and this summer marked her 20th anniversary of being cocaine-free.
Cindy is the author of two Bible studies, Live Full Walk Free: Set Apart in a SinSoaked World and Red Hot Faith: Lessons from a lukewarm church.
Live Full Walk Free is a journey through 1 Corinthians, equipping women to live a set-apart life for Christ in our sin-soaked world.
Red Hot Faith explores the early church of Laodicea (Revelation 3:14-22) and equips women with easy strategies and tips to fuel the fire of their faith.
Cindy lives in Michigan with her husband and their four kids. Most days you can find Cindy walking her beagle Rocky, attending one of her boys’ hockey games, or serving hot lunch at her kids’ school. Visit Cindy at www.cindybultema.com.
by kathilipp | Feb 7, 2017 | Clutter Free, Podcast, Restore |
Clear out. Simplify. Take back your life.
When it comes to dealing with your “stuff”, peace is possible.
Kathi Lipp is back with a comprehensive, yet simple guide that will solve the constant issue of clutter. Free yourself once and for all!
- Do any of these describe you?
- You bought a box of cereal at the store, and then discovered you have several boxes at home that are already past the “best by” date.
- You bought a book and put it on your nightstand (right on top of ten others you’ve bought recently), but you have yet to open it.
- You spend valuable time moving your piles around the house, but you can never find that piece of paper when you need it.
- Your house makes you depressed the moment you step into it.
If you said yes, Clutter Free is for you!
Kathi is joined by friend of the program, Erin MacPherson. They discuss their plans for 2017 and how they are focused on the ideas of restoration, simplicity, and joy. Kathi is on a journey of restoration this year and part of that is focusing on a different spiritual discipline each month. She discusses her decision for the year and explains how she is hoping these changes add more joy to her life and restoration to her home and soul.
Erin’s pups!
Erin MacPherson lives in Austin, Texas with her husband Cameron, her sons Joey and Will and her daughter Kate. She is the author of “The Christian Mama’s Guide Series“, a staff writer for Dun & Bradstreet and a freelancer for publications like Thriving Family Magazine, MOPS MomSense, FamilyLife Magazine, Daily Guideposts and BEMag. She blogs about her life, her kids and her faith at ChristianMamasGuide.com.
by kathilipp | Jan 31, 2017 | Hard Stuff, Identity, Podcast, The Me Project |
I Am: A 60-Day Journey to Knowing Who You Are Because of Who He Is
From the moment a woman wakes until she falls, exhausted, on her pillow, one question plagues her at every turn:
Am I enough?
After all, the pressure to do more, be more has never been more intense. Online marketing. Self-help books. Movies, magazines and gym memberships. Even church attendance and social media streams have become a means of comparing ourselves to impossible standards. Am I pretty enough? Hip enough? Spiritual enough?
We fear the answer is “No.”
Who are you? Do you know what makes up your identity?
Kathi is joined by her friend, author and speaker Michele Cushatt, author of the new book I Am: A 60-Day Journey to Knowing Who You Are Because of Who He Is to discuss the idea of identity.
How do we decide who we are? What is at the core of who we are? Why is having a secure identity so difficult? Michele and Kathi discuss ways to build our self-value based on truths rather than the constant assaults on our identity through media, marketing, advertising and comparison to others.
It’s a big topic and it can change the way we live our daily life, our relationships, and our worldview.
FREE DOWNLOAD
Download the 60 days of I Am verse cards or purchase the set at the links below.
Verse cards with easel
I Am Book + verse cards with easel
I Am Verse Downloads
A storyteller at heart, Michele Cushatt inspires audiences with the warmth of her transparency and presence. Her unique style makes you feel like you just spent an afternoon with a good friend, sparking tears one moment and laughter the next. Having experienced both the best and worst of life, she’s unafraid to disclose her imperfect spaces, so that you know you’re not alone in yours.
Michele released her second book
I Am: A 60-Day Journey to Knowing Who You Are Because of Who He Is, on January 24, 2017. She also authored
Undone: A Story of Making Peace with an Unexpected Life with Zondervan Publishers two years ago. Learn more about her book I Am at
www.iambook.net and Michele at
www.michelecushatt.com.
by kathilipp | Jan 24, 2017 | Clutter Free Podcast, Podcast, Relationships |
Strengthfinders 2.0
Are you doing what you do best every day?
All too often, our natural talents go untapped. From the cradle to the cubicle, we devote more time to fixing our shortcomings than to developing our strengths.
Learn what your strengths are and how to work with them.
Have you ever felt overwhelmed by relationships? We have lots of friends and acquaintances and all require some of our time. Some feel they should get a bigger chunk of time than you have to give. Those friendships can become overwhelming. There are safe and unsafe relationships and we can’t have everyone as our close friend, We can’t manage all those relationships.
How do we manage our expectations in relationships in a healthy way?
Kathi and Overwhelmed co-author, Cheri Gregory discuss times in their lives when they had to set boundaries or when they had unrealistic expectations of relationships. Kathi talks about a time when “I couldn’t be a good friend, but I needed a good friend.”
Listen in as they discuss how decluttering relationships is hard but it’s necessary to make room for the ones God has called you to.
Cheri Gregory is a teacher, speaker, author, and Certified Personality Trainer. Her passion is helping women break free from destructive expectations. She writes and speaks from the conviction that “how to” works best in partnership with “heart, too.”
Cheri is the co-author, with Kathi Lipp, of The Cure for the “Perfect” Life and the upcoming Overwhelmed.
Cheri has been “wife of my youth” to Daniel, her opposite personality, for twenty-eight years and is “Mom” to Annemarie (25) and Jonathon (23), also opposite personalities.
Cheri blogs about perfectionism, people-pleasing, highly sensitive people, and hope at www.cherigregory.com.
by kathilipp | Jan 17, 2017 | Clutter Free, Overwhelmed, Podcast |
Overwhelmed: How to Quiet the Chaos and Restore Your Sanity
Use the feedback filter to determine whether the feedback is earned or unearned feedback and whether it is exploration or evaluation.
“Not everyone’s feedback is equal.”
We all need feedback to progress in many areas of our lives. But some types of feedback are better than others. Knowing what feedback to use and which to let go will save you from being overwhelmed by feedback. You may have desired reassurance about something and ended up with a complete critique of your work. The truth is, many people have no business speaking into our lives. They haven’t earned the right to give feedback. Kathi and Overwhelmed co-author, Cheri Gregory discuss the various types of feedback and how to deal with each. They also provide a graphic feedback filter to help you determine what kind of feedback you desire and/or receive.
FREE DOWNLOAD
Our new book is NOW AVAILABLE! Get your book and then get your free downloadable planner with proof of purchase. Click on the image for all of the details.
Feedback Filter
Cheri Gregory is a teacher, speaker, author, and Certified Personality Trainer. Her passion is helping women break free from destructive expectations. She writes and speaks from the conviction that “how to” works best in partnership with “heart, too.”
Cheri is the co-author, with Kathi Lipp, of The Cure for the “Perfect” Life and the upcoming Overwhelmed.
Cheri has been “wife of my youth” to Daniel, her opposite personality, for twenty-eight years and is “Mom” to Annemarie (25) and Jonathon (23), also opposite personalities.
Cheri blogs about perfectionism, people-pleasing, highly sensitive people, and hope at www.cherigregory.com.
by kathilipp | Jan 11, 2017 | Blog, Clutter Free, Overwhelmed |
It’s a new day, ripe with promise and potential … until I walk into the kitchen. Dishes in the sink, counters dotted with dirty dishes and crumbs, and a cluttered table converge to sing a taunting chorus, “You can’t even keep the kitchen clean, how can you accomplish anything today!”
The strains of their tune causes my motivation to plunge to the depths where my only response is to use the messy kitchen as my excuse for another unproductive day.
Organizing the kitchen without being overwhelmed
The overwhelm knocks me off of my game and renders my to-do list unattainable.
I can’t prep dinner until I unload and load the dishwasher, wipe the counters, and find the recipe. Do I even have thyme in the spice cupboard for the soup? I go to the narrow pull-out cupboard of spices and decide then and there that it is time to win a battle.
I remove unalphabetized spices from the cupboard, meanwhile telling the voices in my head to be quiet; I know I don’t have time for this! But I need a win! The thought strikes me that squelching the noisy refrain from the clutter does not require a weekend of organizing and cleaning. I can win this battle one decision at a time, in just 15 minute increments at a time.
And so I record a victory over the spice cupboard! Now I open the spice drawer and I smile. I smile that I can find what I want. I smile at the homemade spice labels that I commissioned my daughter to make. Such a simple accomplishment but it’s huge for my mindset!
I just needed a win. The next day I silence the noise in the cupboard that houses the varying bottles of olive oil. Another win. I will continue to build on this and soon the kitchen will motivate me instead of overwhelm me.
As I bask in my two wins I realize that once the kitchen is a motivator instead of a killjoy I can apply this to other areas of my home and life. Some momentum in the kitchen will spill over to the rest of my responsibilities and perhaps soon I will feel able to tackle the things that I want to do instead of being overwhelmed by all the things I need to do.
One Small Win: For me, the way out from under overwhelmed is to claim one win and allow that to carry me forward. Who knew that one of the kindest things I’ve ever done for myself was to clean out the spice cupboard?
You can read more from Bethany Howard at bethanyhoward.com. She writes about finding fuel for joy and growth in the details of the daily. Her greatest leadership exercise has been her roles as wife and mom to three. She is a graduate of Leverage: The Speaker Conference.
