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Maggie Whitley

joy in motherhood, homemaking, faith & simple living

You are here: Home / lifestyle / mamahood / On seeing the small details…

On seeing the small details…

May 2, 2019 · 2 Comments
Filed Under: books, mamahood

Last week I sat outside with my older two children and read a book, which was very much not the plan I had envisioned for quiet time. Moments before I had been reading inside on the couch but soon I was invited outside to see their newly built fort.

They had the beach umbrella set up, the patio chairs arranged in a special shape, and the chair cushions were everywhere. When I neared their fort there was a gentle nudge from my oldest inviting me to take off my shoes before stepping foot inside. (Of course this happened!)

They were inviting me to read my book inside their fort; it was hard to disagree with them.

Above us, the sun was playing tag with the clouds and the sun was winning. After a long winter of gloom and gray, I was definitely rooting for the winning team.

Sunshine, you’re playing the game well.

(Good for you, my mom voice cheers!)

I peeked to my right and saw the beautiful blooms of our neighbors magnolia tree.

Just the night before I had listened to one of my favorite podcasts, At Home With Sally. As usual, Sally was sharing encouraging words, and as usual, this was my new favorite episode. This particular episode resonated with me because Sally was sharing about meal times and creating memorable environments with your children. As I sat outside with my two older children bits of this episode were replaying in my mind.

I felt the weight lessen of needing to create frequent teachable moments. (They will happen naturally, just be patient.)

I began to daydream about memorable environments. What do those really look like?

Grace.

Gentleness.

Beauty.

Slow-to-bloom smiles.

Tenderness.

Noticing the small details: a worm inching forward, the clouds changing shape, a marshmallow snack.

A meal shared together.

And then I began to think about wanting to notice more small details in our lives. I want to get lost in my beautiful life. (Do you want that, too?) I am praying the Lord helps me with this shift, with stopping what doesn’t make sense to finish, with the importance of community and being with others, with more time spent in prayer and thanksgiving.

I am so close to finishing the book, The Next Right Thing. Friends! This book has caused me to totally pivot with my thinking habits. I can’t wait to share more. Have you read it? Maybe you already know that I prefer paper copies of books, however if you prefer listen to audiobooks you should get The Next Right Thing as audiobook as Emily, the author, recorded it herself. And she’s got a wonderful voice. I’m so glad Emily has not only taken the time to notice the small details, but that she writes about them. Her words are an encouraging balm.

My thoughts are bouncing back and forth between what Sally recently shared in her podcast episode and what I’m ferociously underlining in Emily’s book. Almost every page has something underlined, and that is not an exaggeration.

The tide is changing for me. I’m seeing the small details. I’m finding myself in memorable environments. As Ann Voskamp once shared, and I’m paraphrasing here ~ consider reading through multiple works at a time. Let the authors speak to you, let the stories you read mix together inside your mind to create a new storyline. What are you hearing being said?

This is something I’ve done for most of my life. In fact, I can remember back to when I was hardly a teenager and my dad asked why I was reading three new books at once. My response was more of a facial expression that said: why wouldn’t I do this?!

It’s good for the storylines to talk to each other.

Memorable environments.

Healthy thinking habits.

Feeling warmth rise.

Sunshine, you’re playing the game well.

PS. I’m so glad my plan for quiet time didn’t last long… their plan was 200x better.

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2 Comments
Filed Under: books, mamahood

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Comments

  1. Cindy says

    May 2, 2019 at 7:36 am

    Dear Maggie, I woke up this morning to the ding of this email. What a wonderful way to start my day!! The only book I am reading this particular moment is this, and you surely warmed my heart ALLLL the way from your home to mine. If I were a cartoon character, there would surely be hearts pouring out of my eyes right now!! I am blessed and thankful that you are mine, thank you thank you for all that you do, and for how you love them so well. Love you all so! Mom aka Gramma Tractor

    Reply
    • Maggie Whitley says

      May 4, 2019 at 12:25 pm

      Your comment is so special to me mom, thank you so much for taking the time to share. I am really so amazed at how God is working through me and in me, what an encouraging thought ~ one I cling to often as I journey through life. Love you much!

      Reply

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ABOUT MAGGIE WHITLEY DESIGNS:
Maggie Whitley weaves her writings around joy in motherhood, homemaking, faith, and simple living. She homeschools her children, enjoys a quiet room while reading, and roars with laughter over the challenges & delights of motherhood. Maggie and her husband, along with their four young children, live in metro-Detroit. She has been writing online since 2008.
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I fought every internal comment I could think of a I fought every internal comment I could think of and took my kiddos for a looooong walk today before dinner. ❄️✨ There’s just so much work required to raise children! I’m feeling like a tired lady. But sunshine & fresh air are good companions to keep around. 

We came home and I made “the best dinner ever”. Max specifically announced, “it’s so great you’re launching new meals to the world”. LOL— kids! 🤣👏🏻💓
How about a little Wednesday night introduction? 😘Social media sure has changed over the years and we don’t always SEE who we’re following or remember WHY we’re following certain accounts. 

So, hello! As you can gather, my name is Maggie ;) 

I started writing online (almost 13 years ago) to share the handmade products I was sewing. My shop was called Gussy Sews. ✂️👛I love the community that has grown from sewing & sharing online.

Let’s FFW to today: Zack and I live in Michigan and have four young children (2 boys & 2 girls). I slowly left the handmade industry and walked right into homemaking, homeschooling, and encouraging women through writing. 💕📝

Motherhood has been very hard on me. (And not just because of how close in age our four children are.) It’s been hard for me because I fought for years to accept that *it’s supposed to be hard*. 

I mean, how do you effectively teach another person to know and love the Lord? Bc that’s how I think of motherhood: a calling to nurture others by studying the One who nurtures me. So I gotta make the first move: study the Bible and seek Him first. As my friend Autumn reminded me, vulnerability births transformation. 

(I’ve had to be really vulnerable!)

So, yes motherhood has fully transformed me. But even more so, Christ has fully transformed me. My list of “all that He’s done for me” is off to a beautifully long start.

Something else I want you to know about me: I stalled for years before acknowledging I have anxiety and depression. It’s hard to talk about this because of course this isn’t forever “my hardship”, but rather because acknowledging this means to heal I have to work through some really difficult things. ✨

But my friend Jesus walks alongside me. He’s already done a mighty work in my heart, including helping me process my anger in healthier ways. I’ve also adopted a heart for sisterhood, mothering, and Titus 2 mentorship.

Sometimes our greatest losses are our greatest gains? That’s what I’m clinging to!

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We had gotten a bit lazy with our rhythms: screens We had gotten a bit lazy with our rhythms: screens in the morning (HGTV), playtime before lessons, and not enough quiet time after lunch. This made for a really, ummm, unenjoyable learning experience. 

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Just a few cheery memories from my week! How about you?
Book reading! One of my best “Maggie” activiti Book reading! One of my best “Maggie” activities. I finished my last book moments before 2020 ended, which brought my started list to a close. Small joys add up to big joys ;)

What are you reading this year? Currently?

How many books are you planning to read? What’s your goal?

I’ll share what’s on my list for 2021 soon as I received some nice titles at Christmas. 📖✨🤍
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