From Chaos To Calm: How To Have a Peaceful Home

Creating a Peaceful Home: From Chaos to Calm

In this episode of the Home and Marriage Podcast, Lennon and Christal Noland delve into creating a peaceful home environment. They discuss the importance of rhythm and routines, shared responsibilities, individual peace and joy, and expressing affection. Practical tips such as maintaining organization, having a family prayer life, and setting a spiritual atmosphere in your home. The couple also offers insights from their own experiences, emphasizing the value of family connection and the presence of God in the home. Listeners are encouraged to implement these approaches to foster a calm and harmonious household.

00:00 Welcome to the Home and Marriage Podcast
00:21 Embracing the Fall Season
01:06 Creating a Cozy Atmosphere at Home
05:46 The Craziest Family Moment
08:09 Establishing Rhythms for a Peaceful Home
14:57 Late Night Talks with Teens
15:32 Six Habits of Happy Couples Course
16:51 Sharing Household Responsibilities
17:41 Teaching Kids Responsibility
22:21 Maintaining Personal Peace
26:06 Expressing Affection in the Home
27:44 Setting a Spiritual Atmosphere
29:32 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

Transcript

Lennon: 0:02

This is the Home and Marriage Podcast with Lennon and Christal Noland, where we help couples become better at home and stronger together. We're husband and wife, parents and ministers who want God's best for our home and for yours. Hello friends. Welcome back to the show. So glad that you're here today. It is a good day, Christal. This is our first recording in October.

Christal: 0:25

It is. We are now in the season of real fall. Well, real fall. On the calendar, but not in the weather. The weather does not reflect that yet.

Lennon: 0:34

Not quite.

Christal: 0:34

We're still reaching almost 90 degrees. Mm-hmm. At the beginning of October. But I know that's gonna change, so I'm ready for it.

Lennon: 0:42

Well, with people that love fall We can't go by temperature. Nope. We go by the fact that it's time to start enjoying fall things because of where it is on the calendar. So we've got some fall things going, one of which today we're drinking a little fall blend. From Starbucks. We moved on from Pike right into the fall blend, which we saw in Kroger and we're very excited about.

Christal: 1:03

We're embracing it. We're embracing all fall things right now. Yes. Fall makes me think of creating a cozy atmosphere at home. And so, for instance, one of the things I love to do in fall is to buy fall candles and make sure we have a scent. In the living room, in the kitchen for sure. And we take turns, lighting those candles, enjoying some fall, apple cinnamon scent. Mm-hmm. Pumpkin, vanilla, whatever have you. So what do you enjoy about making a cozy feel for our home during the fall or maybe even winter? What do you like?

Lennon: 1:38

Yeah, I think probably defying my gender a little bit. I'm really into all of those things. I love it whenever you do pull out those candles. I like it a lot. I like it whenever, um, our oldest daughter always asks you to get the scented pine cones.

Christal: 1:52

Oh yes. She loves those cinnamon pine cones.

Lennon: 1:54

Yeah. I, I just love all of it and so we tend to start a fire way earlier than we have to, but it's fun. It sets the right atmosphere. So I'm all in on, on all of your fall decor. I even don't totally resent the absurd amount of pillows you collected over the years for the different seasons

Christal: 2:12

pillows and. Blankets, right?

Lennon: 2:14

Yes.

Christal: 2:15

I I'm a big blanket person too. Probably have too many blankets. And mugs.

Lennon: 2:20

And mugs. Too many mugs and mugs. You got a blanket in your lap right now just to let people know how all in on the fall blankets you are? Yes.

Christal: 2:26

Actually, I was thinking the other day, we don't have any really good fall mugs. I might need to go to Target because I did see some cute pumpkin mugs Lennon that I think we need to add to our collection because we have no fall mugs. Like that's a real problem.

Lennon: 2:43

This is where I draw the line. We don't need fall mugs, just so I don't know if it's like this in any of your houses as you listen, but. We have a whole cabinet that is devoted to mugs and I am always trying to find a reason to throw some of them out. You keep a good home, you're good organizationally and with decor, but like whenever it comes to mugs, you are as much a hoarder as anyone we've ever seen on television.

Christal: 3:07

Well, here, here's my thought. First of all, we don't have a cabinet big enough, so that's a problem. It's not that I have too many mugs, it's that our cabinets are small.

Lennon: 3:15

Yeah.

Christal: 3:15

Second, you have to have your everyday mugs, right. Your your ones that are always in there, but you have your seasonal mugs, you have your Christmas ones, and you, and, and I think we need fall one. So anyways, I'm just saying that. Out loud. I think there's people out there that would agree with me that are listening today

Lennon: 3:35

maybe. So there are some people who would agree with you. But I think that our, that our mug cabinet is absolute chaos. Unlike transition, you like, I'm doing this, our mug cabinet is absolute chaos, but our home is not Now, every home at some point is gonna have chaotic moments. Mm-hmm. Home can be busy and overwhelming, but. Overall, your home can be peaceful and calm. Mm-hmm. And so today that's what we wanna talk about, right? How to go from chaos to calm. How to have a peaceful home.

Christal: 4:09

I love this, quote, Billy Graham says this, he says, those who come in and out of our homes should sense the presence of Christ. And I know I've been to homes before, and you leave that home and you could sense God's presence in that home. And it doesn't mean they didn't have any moments of like their boynatos going crazy in the house or whatever it is, just that there's an overall sense of peace and, and God's presence. And so really that's what we want ultimately in, in our homes. But I think we have some practical ways today that help create that peaceful. Atmosphere in our homes.

Lennon: 4:45

Before we get to the practical things, you just used the term that I invented, and I'm so proud to hear you use it.

Christal: 4:51

boynados. boynados. But I

Lennon: 4:52

don't know if the listeners are gonna know. So define what? Define the term boynado.

Christal: 4:58

I don't know. I think of like you have a boy. Maybe a boy in her house or a couple of boys or more, and just when they're in their boy modes and they're going crazy, making dinosaur noises or running around just chasing each other, We have one boy, and of course he's a teenager now, but when he was younger, I remember the boy NATO feel. I think it's, I, I mean, how would you define it? You came up with the whole. Words. So what would you say?

Lennon: 5:24

Well, it's a, it's a linguistically skillful collaboration of two terms, boy and tornado. Yes. And so you have boynados and boys, boys wreck things and they're a little crazy. And so well done. I didn't know that was coming. Now every home is gonna have their really chaotic moments. There's a difference between a moment though and a mode of being. Yeah. But goodness, I remember maybe the single most crazy chaotic moment we ever experienced as a family. Do you remember this? Um, it's whenever our kids were little. Your back went out.

Christal: 5:58

Yep. Oh, that was such a crazy moment. And you know, when your back goes out, you can't do anything. And I don't know why it happened on this day, but I remember I had to immediately lay down on the couch and it was really painful. And then I remember hearing one kid cry. I don't even know all the reasons why they were crying. Do you remember why?

Lennon: 6:19

Well, I think they were crying because you were crying. So you were in such severe pain that you were laying on the couch. And we all know what it's like to have, you know, it's, we're in such pain that tears are rolling down our face. That is a much lower level of pain than you were actually feeling.

Christal: 6:35

Yeah.

Lennon: 6:36

Like you had some sobbing going on because you were hurting so bad, so embarrassed, which then our kids saw mom crying, so they started crying.

Christal: 6:44

Yeah.

Lennon: 6:45

So Addie and Ethan started crying and then along. That time also, we had just brought our youngest into our home. Yeah. So we, we were adopting, she had just come into our home. She

Christal: 6:57

was like three months old probably.

Lennon: 6:58

Yeah. Something so young. And I just remember her just being beside herself as well. She was so young. She probably wasn't thinking super coherent thoughts of course. But I just imagined that she must be like, what is going on with these people? Yeah. And so I had. All four of you were crying and you were in such pain, you couldn't help with anything. And so I remember getting you up. We got an emergency chiropractor appointment. Yeah. Do you remember that? Oh

Christal: 7:27

yeah.

Lennon: 7:28

Helping you to the car. It was nuts. It was nuts. Just

Christal: 7:32

so four people crying all at once.

Lennon: 7:35

We got you to the chiropractor. And I remember just driving around the surrounding neighborhood, you know, trying to get the kids to fall asleep.

Christal: 7:42

Oh yeah.

Lennon: 7:43

And we, our car was way too little for this many humans in it. And I remember putting our youngest through the back hatch of the car, like what a day.

Christal: 7:53

So we've had chaotic moments for sure. That was just one example, but everyone has them.

Lennon: 7:58

They do.

Christal: 7:58

So we're really talking more about, creating peace in our home. Not having a perfect home, everybody has their moments, right. But just overall a peaceful home.

Lennon: 8:09

So this is how we've laid out this episode today. Christal and I agreed that we wanted to talk about peace in the home, and both of us have created our own list of things that we believe contribute to a peaceful home. Some things on our list we may actually share, but there may be some things on your list that aren't on mine. Yeah. And things on mine that aren't on yours. So we're gonna go back and forth and share the characteristics of a peaceful home. And if we agree on something then we'll high five and we'll just deep dive on that one together

Christal: 8:40

because we don't know what each other wrote, I don't know what you have on your list. You don't know what I have on my list, so I think this will be fun to see which ones that we both,, put on our list.

Lennon: 8:49

Yeah. Okay. Well, why don't you kick us off? What is, what's the first thing on your list, uh, an element of a peaceful home?

Christal: 8:55

Okay, so when I think of a peaceful home, I think of this word rhythm. The rhythms of the home and rhythm really to me speaks of order or organization, and I am not at all saying that our home is a perfectly clean home all the time.

Lennon: 9:14

No.

Christal: 9:14

Or there's never, a chaotic moment That's not what we're talking about. But I think the day to day rhythm of our homes really reflect, Our values and what we want in our home. Okay, So I like a clean home, which is visually pleasing. So I'm not saying you should look at my baseboards. They're not always desk free, right? No, don't look too

Lennon: 9:35

close.

Christal: 9:36

Don't look too close. And I have friends that are way more clean than me and have a rhythm of keeping their home super clean. And that's wonderful. Everybody's kind of different with how intense they get with that. But for me, I don't wanna see all the clutter all the time,. I think that the key to that is deciding what do you want your home to be like? What kind of rhythms do you want in place to create peace?

Lennon: 10:00

Yeah, because through the course of a day, and certainly through the course of a week, The state of our home can be sort of like weeds in the yard. Uh, a pair of shoes dropped over here, a hoodie laying over this chair. Just things can get dirtier and crazier through the course of a week. So you're saying there have to be rhythms of, maintenance that help you maintain that?

Christal: 10:26

Well, I think rhythms that help keep peace for you. And so one of them might have to do with. Organization and cleaning. It's just a simple thing like find what works for you and your family. I know when the kids were little, I'd have a basket in the living room or those big areas that they were always in or bringing their toys in or whatever, and at the end of the day we would have a cleanup time and we would say, let's go put all of our toys up in the basket. It was really easy for them to know what to do and they could be a part of that. So. Rhythms could mean so many things. One is, I think organization and cleaning. Another one too. I think for us that created a lot of peace was a rhythm of, family dynamics let's say we're back in the baby or little kid stage naps were important for us. Yeah. You know? Getting your kid to sleep at a decent time, that, allowed you and your spouse to have time together too. And those are big things and there's a lot of different opinions or different thoughts out there on a sleep schedule or a eating schedule. But I know for us. Creating those rhythms in our home having those schedules for our kids as they were growing up, gave us a lot of peace.

Lennon: 11:37

Yeah, I think I'll reveal, reveal here. My version of rhythm on my list was routine, which is Oh yeah. Getting at the same thing. Yeah. But especially with young kids, what you're talking about right there, those nightly routines or rhythms of how do we begin to wind down, that is one way that we train our children to kind of cooperate in such a way that, helps us get a peaceful home. And part of having a peaceful home is having any sort of predictability, especially with kids later in the evening. Do you remember some of the things that you did or we did specifically when the kids were smaller so that our evenings could be peaceful?

Christal: 12:17

Oh yeah, I remember those years. We have three kids that are very different too. Our first one, she was not too hard to sleep train. She, she kind of took to that more naturally. Our second one, he was born with his days and nights completely mixed up. Yeah. So he would be up all night long as a little baby and then sleep all day. And so we had to work on him staying awake during the day. I would always use the rhythm of eat, play and sleep, eat, play and sleep. And so little ones really do get used to that routine and that rhythm. They really thrive in that too. So once they were doing that really well, they also, their nighttimes got better and their bedtime routine got better. So with our one that was really switched with his days and nights, I would do a, a routine at night with him and I would give him a bath. Then I would read him a story in his little rocking chair and then lay him down. And he started to get used to that rhythm of this is what happens every night. Having three little ones and like we talked about this before, three under three at one time when they were young. Learning the routines of there's nap times and then there's bedtime, and they knew what to expect. And I think consistency was really the key to that.

Lennon: 13:34

It is because whenever you have a consistent approach there, I don't know, I almost feel like their biology and their personality begins to cooperate a little bit more. Mm-hmm. Not perfectly, but. More so, and then the older they get too, whenever you're dealing with a five or 6-year-old, those kind of routines or rhythms concerning sleep? Hey, story time, we turn off the light. We sing a song. We're not really telling everybody what they have to do.

Christal: 14:01

Yeah,

Lennon: 14:01

just that whatever routine looks like for you will feed into peace. And it can look different in every stage. You know, as your kids are getting 11 and 12, we don't have to be involved with their bedtime. But hey, at this time of night, we are in our room and we're quiet. You can, you can read or whatever, but we're gonna be done in here. Television's gonna be off. And what this keeps us from is just those electronic battles. Hey, put up the iPad or turn off the tv. Things that just make evenings a constant battle.

Christal: 14:37

Yeah. And I will say for teenagers, man, that's a different stage in what we've experienced. Like we have expectations. We've set, hey, the TV needs to be off at this time, all that stuff. But also we have some of our best conversations with them that, of course they wanna ask all the questions and have all the deep thoughts at night. Right? Yeah and I, I really, appreciate advice I got before about this. Someone told me when they are ready to talk like that. It's okay to stay up a little later with him and talk. I mean, you don't want this to be an every night thing. I think that would throw off everybody's sleep and, and peace. But there are moments that they're gonna have these questions at night and take advantage of that time to talk to your teen and connect with them, because it's funny how they wanna connect at night. Of course. Yeah.

Lennon: 15:24

You know? Well, part of a, A peaceful home is a connected home. Yeah. You're relationally connected. Mm-hmm. And so those kind of things really feed into that. Did you know at homeandmarriage.com you can get our six Habits of Happy Couples Course. A lot of couples think that what makes for a better marriage is grand gestures, especially if you're in a time where you're a little disconnected or things are a little tense. We can feel like we need to do something huge and big to get things back on track. That's actually not the case. A happy marriage comes down to the little things, the everyday things. It comes down to habits. And so that's what's behind our six Habits of Happy Couples course. You've got six distinct habits that I teach on, and then Christal and I unpack those together. Each section has a PDF that is meant for you and your spouse to be able to talk through, some of the material and come up with your own ideas about how to improve your connection and improve your marriage. This course is $70, but for you as a listener of the podcast, if you use. Coupon code Podcast 20, you'll get $20 off of that. And so that is a better marriage for less than the price of a date night. So again, for podcast listeners, coupon code podcast twenty@homeandmarriage.com. Get your course today.

Christal: 16:51

One more last thing I just wanna mention about the rhythm and routines is everybody can be a part. Of helping around the house, no matter the age or stage.

Lennon: 17:01

Can I jump in right there? Yeah. Because you, you fed into what was gonna be my next point. The thing that contributes to peace in a home is everybody having responsibility.

Christal: 17:11

Oh, I love that. Yes. So go ahead

Lennon: 17:12

and follow through with what you were gonna talk about.

Christal: 17:14

Yeah. So even when they were small, I would get them to put their toys up in the basket. I mean, a 2-year-old can do that, so little ones can help. And of course we always sing the cleanup song. Uh, that just made it more fun. Go

Lennon: 17:28

ahead and sing it.

Christal: 17:30

Clean up. Clean up. Everybody clean. I know I have my version. There's probably some different versions. I don't know if you want me to sing that.

Lennon: 17:37

It's probably a rite of passage as a parent. Yeah. And invent your own cleanup song.

Christal: 17:41

So talk about more,, responsibilities that you remember or that we are doing that have really helped our home be more peaceful?

Lennon: 17:48

Yeah. I think that one of the least peaceful modes of living there is, is having one parent that's trying to maintain the functionality of the home. Just kinda white knuckling everything Will somebody please take these clothes upstairs? You know, we've, we've never had to hear that in our house, right? Oh, no.

Christal: 18:07

Right. Not,

Lennon: 18:08

not in our house, not in our peaceful home. Yeah, but it really is, it's too much to expect one parent, or even both parents if, if you're a family with kids. I guess what we're getting at is make these kids do age appropriate things. They are not cute little ornaments whose lives should be YouTube. Snacks and bedtime. Mm-hmm. Like especially the older they get, the more they contribute. And that's gonna be easier to do if you find age appropriate ways, like putting your toys in the basket or whatever. But really with res I feel like I'm, I'm really escalating here, aren't I? You're kinda shaking your head, but talking in responsibility. I'm not even just saying what the kids do. Even with us. Having some sort of semi or specifically agreed upon division of labor. Yeah. So that we can count on one another to get certain things done.

Christal: 19:03

Yeah. For instance, in our house, I hate the dishes. I hate it With a passion. Yeah. I do them sometimes. It doesn't mean I never do them. That's one thing. Even at the very beginning of our marriage, you're like, I don't mind it so much. I'll do that part and I don't mind. Well, let's just say I don't love laundry, but the laundry part is something for me. And you Now the kids do their own laundry.

Lennon: 19:23

They do. We can say that I hate laundry and you do hate it. And so in our agreed division of labor, you do most of the laundry. But actually as our kids have gotten older, we have them doing more and more of those things as well. Yeah. So our kids are doing some dishes and our kids are doing all of their laundry, which is something you kind of transition them to at a surprisingly early age for me.

Christal: 19:44

Yeah. You accomplished

Lennon: 19:45

something that I had never seen pulled off.

Christal: 19:47

I had a mom friend that her kids were all doing their own laundry and goodness. They were probably in like. Third grade, maybe younger, and she was like, oh yeah, they all do their laundry. They know how to operate the machine. I mean, it took a few tries and it took some times for her to be there watching her kids. Same for me. I had to train them. Third grade

Lennon: 20:06

is eight years old. Is it really? They were rocking their laundry at eight,

Christal: 20:09

But yeah, maybe even younger. Like I just remember being like, if they could do that,, we could do that. Because I don't wanna put a, like you have to do this at this certain age, but they can do a lot more than you think they can sometimes. They throw their laundry in, they put one of those pods in, they push the button, and they had. Their laundry started and it didn't look pretty like even now, I don't think they all fold pretty, but they do their laundry. And I thank the Lord for that because they're gonna go to college and they're gonna know how to operate the laundry machine at the dorms. Remember your kids. They can do more than you think they can, but you are there to guide them and show them. So it will take some time on your part to train them, but there will come up a day that you're like, oh, thank the Lord. I don't have to do their laundry anymore. They're a part of this household and they're helping us not. Take on the whole burden of the home, but they're sharing in it. And I think that really helps teach them and show them like we're all a part of this home. We all contribute and it really can create a much more peaceful atmosphere.

Lennon: 21:13

Yeah. And so one of the peaceful things is a husband that I can do to contribute to our home is whenever you ask me to do something, not require that you ask me a billion times before I do it because that is also something that. Chips away at peace, for instance. This has never happened before, but if you needed me to change the air filters and the air conditioners because you felt like, uh, people were, I don't know, sneezing or maybe allergies were actually,

Christal: 21:39

I was just wondering about the air filters the other day. Were

Lennon: 21:42

you really, I

Christal: 21:42

don't know if it's time, but I kind of have a feeling. Yeah.

Lennon: 21:45

Yeah. And you know what? Podcast listeners, I'm gonna get right on that. She will not have to remind me. Truthfully, though, one of the things that contributes to peace is just being able to count on each other to do, yeah. Things. Whether that is budgeting, mowing the yard, whatever. Yes. So, okay. Responsibilities contribute to a peaceful home. Yes. What else? Brings a little peace to chaotic homes,

Christal: 22:11

never having to deal with PMS symptoms or perimenopause. That was on your list. I'm just kidding. I'm just kidding. But in all seriousness, I really think having peace within yourself, your own peace individually, how do we have peace in ourselves? Like for me, I will say what makes me feel peaceful, first of all is my time with Jesus. When I have time with Jesus, I'm a much, much better wife and mom. I think better. I just have a, a peace about me you know that saying when mama ain't happy, nobody's happy. Mm-hmm. Right. Well, I just, I think the truth in that phrase is when you have peace and joy, no matter what's happening in your home, your kids and your spouse is gonna pick up on that too. And this isn't just for mom. This can be for dad. Dads can set the atmosphere of the home like that, but to have that. We need a way to have, peaceful hearts and minds. And I really know for me it is time with Jesus. Practically speaking, it's me getting to go out on walks. Just like this morning I went on a walk outside. I prayed over our, our home, our family. Coming back in, it's like a weight off my shoulders. I have a much better perspective on my day. And so what about for you? Maybe it's a routine, maybe it's something you do, but what do you have?

Lennon: 23:36

Well, what was on my list That is tracking right with what you're talking about. I put a, I put a prayer life.

Christal: 23:42

Yeah.

Lennon: 23:42

And it, it made me think of a, a mentor of mine he said. Some people have prayer times, but you want to be someone who develops a prayer life.

Christal: 23:51

Mm-hmm.

Lennon: 23:51

And it's, it's just a way of, basically he was pointing us to Paul's encouragement to pray without ceasing, to always remember that your connection with God is as close as a breath. Like you said, coming back in from your walk, which is also your prayer time in a more peaceful way. If God's peace is growing in us, then we can always bring our peace to our relationship with our kids. Or we bring our peace to our home that may feel a little crazy instead of looking for peace when our kids finally act, right?

Christal: 24:25

Yeah. Or

Lennon: 24:25

looking for peace. Saturday afternoon after everyone does the chores and we can finally chill a little bit because everything's perfect. Which will not last for more than the next 30 minutes.

Christal: 24:36

Yeah.

Lennon: 24:37

Peace of fruit of the spirit. And so God growing his peacefulness in us is one big contributor to a peaceful home because you said it, and it's true for dads too. If we're chaotic inside or we're bringing our stress to dinner, everybody feels that you're gonna feel it from me. Mm-hmm. The kids are gonna feel it from me. And it doesn't matter how clean things are, how much money's in the bank account.

Christal: 25:03

Yeah. What

Lennon: 25:03

size house we live in. There is no peace to be had if we're not peaceful inside.

Christal: 25:09

Yes, very true. I'll say another thing that really brings me a lot of peace is the ability to get out and be alone or be with a friend and. There's been moments where maybe I've felt the stress and I've come to you and said, Hey honey, I really need a break. We talk about this with friendships, right? And with our six habits course we talk about, give each other a break. But in this sense, I mean Honey, I need a break. I need to, I need to go somewhere and just have some time alone. Or could you take the kids out and go do something? And same for you. I think that sometimes we just need our own little time to refocus, whether that is getting out of the house or being with friends. So that's another way that I feel more peaceful inside too.

Lennon: 25:54

Yeah, that's great.

Christal: 25:55

So we both have a few things left on our list. Let's do a little rapid fire, go back and forth and talk about a few things that helps our homes be a peaceful home.

Lennon: 26:04

Okay. here's one of mine. One of mine is affection. For a peaceful home, love needs to be expressed in our homes. Mm-hmm. Verbally, like out loud with words. And physically, I remember leading a Bible study of men once and we were all like young, capable men in our mid twenties. And somehow we got onto the subject of whether or not our fathers had been men that expressed affection. It was really interesting in that room full of guys, hearing guys say things like this. Well, he, he said he loved me sometimes, but he never said it first. Always had to say it. And I guess what I'm getting at there is whenever our spouses or our children, or ourselves, when we are not sure we are. Loved. And when we're not sure that we are delighted in, um, peace is gonna be lacking in the home. There's no one more insecure and no one acts out more than somebody who's not sure if they're really loved. Mm. And so one of the things that can make a home be much more peaceful is it being a place where affection is expressed. So grab your kids. Give them a hug. Don't stop hugging them just because they're 14 and they smell, or you know, because they're 17 and they say, dad, please, keep loving your kids. Keep being affectionate. It makes for a peaceful home.

Christal: 27:31

I really love that. I, I do think growing up in a home where you feel loved and secure is really key to a peaceful, happy home. Okay, so one of mine is, it's kind of similar. It's setting this. Spiritual atmosphere of the home. And so sometimes that can look practically like playing some worship music in your home or, I know for us, we've prayed at times when the kids are at school or away, we've prayed over their rooms, we've prayed over the home and inviting the Lord into our home, dedicating our house to God, really wanting the Holy Spirit to be present here in our home. What's, what's some other thoughts you have about setting that spiritual atmosphere in your home?

Lennon: 28:10

Well, I think that if the only time our children here, God talked about is from a youth pastor or from the pastor at church, we're missing out on God's best for our home. And so we know, I believe it's in Deuteronomy where God exhorted people, Hey, talk about. These words, Moses wrote it down, talk about these words as you walk along. As you lay down, as you get up. And the thing is, we want it to be the most normal thing in the world to talk about God, his love for us, what his words says in our home. That also contributes to that spiritual thermostat.

Christal: 28:45

I know there's been times in our family where we've had stressful situations we're going through whether it's financial or, an illness thing. Really through prayer, we've seen God move in ways that we couldn't just make happen even practically, right? There's things that God has done in our home that's only been by his hand and by the Holy Spirit ministering to our children in ways that we didn't know how or, speaking to their hearts or speaking to our hearts

Lennon: 29:15

What you're saying is great. It makes me think of Jesus speaking to a storm. Peace be still and sometimes only he can do that whenever our family is going through those inevitable times of chaos. Mm-hmm. We need God to speak into the situation.

Christal: 29:31

Yeah, that's really good. So guys, we've shared a few ways to have a peaceful home. I'm sure you could even think of other ones that we didn't say today, but having the Lord's presence in your home is the most important thing.. We believe that you can have that in your home. And if your home feels a little chaotic right now, maybe it's a season that you're going through, maybe there's some practical things you can just implement into your routines or rhythms. The Lord is with us as parents and as spouses to help us have a peaceful home.

Lennon: 30:07

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Christal: 30:33

Friends, thank you for joining us on the Home and Marriage Podcast. We really do believe that home can be your favorite place. We'll be back again next week with more encouragement and wisdom to help you become better at home and stronger together.