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joy in motherhood, homemaking, faith & simple living

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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 northern Michigan. She has been writing online since 2008.
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maggiewhitley

🌿🌼🍂🍁Summer has given in to the new sea

🌿🌼🍂🍁Summer has given in to the new season with crispy florals and bright crimsons. The mornings are damp and cold, laden with dew and dropped leaves. My morning time includes a thick robe and the hottest coffee. When our morning basket begins, everyone picks a blanket. Not a protest is to be heard when I ask them to stay & snuggle while I read, before moving on to copywork. My toes are often cold. My jeans feel like comfort. My front door slams shut as children run eagerly to catch the last of this beloved weather. Soon the heavy jackets will appear, but for now we are all happy with the crispy florals and bright crimsons.

Last year 👉🏻this year. Twelve months and ood

Last year 👉🏻this year. Twelve months and oodles of memories and growth. Not just for my four children, but for me and my husband, too. // a peek in the past: https://www.maggiewhitley.com/2021/08/life-around-here-20/

Sunday sabbath. Reading and leaves rustling and sh

Sunday sabbath. Reading and leaves rustling and shade and sunshine. Nail polish and hammock sitting and Rubik’s cube solving. 🌳💜📖🧩☀️🍃

August 2022. We’ve had most of the month with Za

August 2022. We’ve had most of the month with Zack away producing two commercials, but who’s keeping track? 😅 we are enjoying these summer days with harmonica playing, baby caring, making bed forts, and wearing pretty dresses sewn by great grandma. Bauer was skunk’d (😱😤) but we survived. That’s slightly sarcastic. I’m drinking my coffee slowly as I study and listen to the birds 📖☕️🕊🐣🐤🪶🌳… glorious, beautiful, gentle August

My children have set up a fort in the kitchen & su

My children have set up a fort in the kitchen & sunroom and included are two of my plants, a toy basket converted to a playpen, and a “big sister” leading the pack. This is so precious to me. I love finding their candid photos on my phone. Their childhood is enriched when they engage in creative play and conversation, and I’m here as a witness to share that LESS TOYS is always better. I worked a major toy reduction yesterday and we’re all benefitting from this. ✨✨

Friends, do not underestimate the beautiful, trans

Friends, do not underestimate the beautiful, transforming power of friendship during challenging seasons. I met Joanna almost TEN years ago, shortly after we moved to Los Angeles. She is also a Midwest girl, so we had that in common (snort). I have so many transformative stories of how this woman influenced me with her love for Jesus. I was quite a mess emotionally when I met Joanna. But she held on to me. She pulled me in and we laughed and brought our babies to the beach and we made meals and cried and of course laughed some more. I started the outline for a memoir in early 2020 and many of my stories point back to Joanna’s friendship. My family drove to see her family for a long weekend together. I always cherish our time together. So friends, do not underestimate the beautiful, transforming power of friendship during challenging seasons. Maybe you’re the one in need, maybe you’re the transformer. But either way, you need each other. 💓🫶🏻👩🏼‍🤝‍👩🏻🌤

July 5, 2022 👏🏻🎈🧁🥳💓

July 5, 2022 👏🏻🎈🧁🥳💓

H A P P Y 37th B I R T H D A Y to myself (yester

H A P P Y 37th B I R T H D A Y to myself (yesterday)! Here’s a fun progression of personality as I show Zack some of the art and bday cards received in the mail 😅 gosh I just love when he doesn’t quit on the photographs 😉 tbh I’m used to it

Another night of studying. Plant lady fuel, or gra

Another night of studying. Plant lady fuel, or grad school fuel 😏🌿☕️—you decide!
• • •
says Spurgeon, “The man who never reads will never be read; he who never quotes will never be quoted. He who will not use the thoughts of other men’s brains, proves that he has no brains of his own. Brethren, what is true of ministers is true of all our people. *You* need to read. . . .”
• • •
So, sisters: what are you reading tonight? 📖🤍🕯

Be present with those you actually live with and l

Be present with those you actually live with and live near, those you share a table with. Be present and stay busy (in a healthy way) that makes you unable to pick fussy fights with other people. Be unavailable to the nonsense; be fully available to things that make sense. — @jenwilkin (paraphrased) via @thegospelcoalition women’s conference

I’m thinking of all the things I enjoy about Zac

I’m thinking of all the things I enjoy about Zack, and how much fun we had on our anniversary trip earlier this week. I’m thinking about how much I miss him as he’s on the other side of the country right now. Though I’m also thinking about the statistic I heard today, that only 5% of marriages survive to celebrate 50+ years. That is so sad. Marriage is an earthy treasure. Marriage strengthens, teaches, grows us—and it certainly brings joy—if we’ll let it. I don’t want you to roll your eyes at me and say “yeah well, you don’t know my story…” What I do want is for you to know the joy set before you as you commit to endure the race. ✨Marriage is an earthly treasure.✨ Does that ignite anything inside of you?

We had a FANTASTIC trip away celebrating our weddi

We had a FANTASTIC trip away celebrating our wedding anniversary — # 1️⃣4️⃣! So much good food, laughing, movies, walking around Traverse City, sleeping, reading (and studying 👩🏼‍🎓). We had a little competition who could sleep in the latest one morning… and I won 😅🥳. But for real, we can’t wait to get home to our babies. They are an important part of our story.

Whew. We’ve made it through four months of Zack

Whew. We’ve made it through four months of Zack working on a totally different time zone, with Zack working long hours, and often late into the night. We made it though lonely seasons and loud seasons and physically tiring seasons and communicating via text seasons. But, we made it. There will be more hard seasons for us, I know there will be. Today I’m really enjoying the relief brought on through a change in his work schedule. Living in the northern lower peninsula (PETOSKEY) has felt like a real-time vacation, with all the trees and fields and cool mornings and unexpected snowfalls and rainfalls and helicopter falls as the seasons change from winter to spring to summer. Today we climbed a sand dune as a family. As I reached the top my heart galloped in my chest and my legs felt like fire, and it felt wonderful. It felt like living. I’m enjoying my life. We’ve had many roller coasters in our marriage, which makes the coasting even more beautiful. ☀️🌼💛🌟🍋🌕🍯

I like to read. It’s a good thing I like to read

I like to read. It’s a good thing I like to read, because there’s a lot of reading on the syllabus. I also like coffee, 3/4 sleeve sweatshirts, slippers, birds, roaring with laughter, and spying on my children playing together. And winking at my husband. And reading. 😉

“I began to realize God has not given me more th

“I began to realize God has not given me more than I could do, so I need to rest within the limitations of my season of life at that time. I began to say no to the expectations of other people that stole my energy and attention but did not build my core priorities. I had to ignore the false expectations and voices in my head that were telling me what I should do, and focus on my true desire to pursue what was best for me and my children,” Sally Clarkson /// one of my favorite spiritual mentors.

@sally.clarkson

Crazy to think last week we were at the beach 3️

Crazy to think last week we were at the beach 3️⃣ times! This week has been much cooler, though just as lovely. Gardening, studying outside, and early bedtimes grace the day. 🪴🌷🌼📖📓🛏🍃

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