Today I feel like I'm going through a blast to the past because I'm talking about a season of our lives that has been over for a while. One that was super hard and that I don't love talking about. I am talking about when Brian worked crazy long hours and I was barely surviving as a wife and mom through it. It was one of those really big chunks of my life that I look back on and just feel super grateful that I'm not there anymore. And for those of you who are there right now, I don't mean that to sound annoying. I hope this episode gives you a lot of hope that things can change for you!

I just want to say that if you're the wife of a long-hour husband, I totally understand. I know some of you have husbands who work even longer hours than mine did and they go to school or you're a military family and they're gone for long periods of time. I've heard from you guys before and I'm just so floored by your dedication to your families and I just want to encourage you that things can get better. Things can change if you want them to and if you're open to it. And if you're not and you know that you're right where you need to be and you're probably going to stay there, there's a lot of ways to create joy and abundance right where you are. I just want you to be encouraged by that.

Everything I talk about in this episode can be found here: http://alliecasazza.com/shownotes/074

We live in a world of right now, hurry up, and instant gratification. A world that tells us to stay busy and fill our calendars, to set meet our goals instantly, and rush the seasons. But we don’t have to! We can go against the grain and slow down. We don’t have to set goals that need to be met in an unrealistic time frame. Instead, we can grow slow, be intentional with our time, and just breathe. As Lara Casey says, “it is always worth it to take the five minutes. Yes, it will add up over time. No, you will not see the fruit as fast but the fruit will be sweeter in the end.”

Lara Casey is the founder of Cultivate What Matters as well as Laracasey.com. She's such a light and is so good at challenging others to redirect their focus and minds to right where they need to be for the day.

Everything I talk about in this episode can be found here: http://alliecasazza.com/shownotes/073

With the growth of my podcast and my business, I have come to this point where I really want to make sure I can be myself. I want to let that guard down and be who I am without fear of what people will think or say about me! It's easy to accidentally misunderstand somebody and think of them as a perfect being with all these beautiful photos on Instagram. And recently, I've been feeling a lot more comfortable with being vulnerable and it's making me more authentic, which I hope is making you guys feel more connected to me.

I hope this episode just breaks it down and makes me real. I'm here with you. My kids are young. I'm still figuring this out. I'm just always reworking things and trying to be the best version of myself so that I can help you guys and connect with you. I don't want to just teach you things and make you think I'm perfect, my family has it all together, and I have it all figured it. Because that is not true! And so, cheers to a lot more connectivity, a lot more honesty, a lot more fun social media posts, fun podcast episodes that are still super helpful, but help you see me as human.

Everything I talk about in this episode can be found here: http://alliecasazza.com/shownotes/072

Budgeting, debt, and all the other financial-terms can make you shrink back and bring up a swell of negative, overwhelming emotions. Let me encourage you, it doesn’t have to be that way! We have the power to take control of our finances and our mindset towards it. Sami Womack is really great at taking the concept of living really well, living fully, and living abundantly and applying that to finances. She has this very realistic approach to budgeting, being a good steward of your money, and getting out of debt. Her family has an amazing story that I am really excited for you to hear!

Everything I talk about in this episode can be found here: http://alliecasazza.com/shownotes/071

As you know, I am all about simplifying things and making things better and lighter, making things work better for me and the season that I'm in right now. And through that, I have been getting really intentional with the things that I'm buying. Really questioning what's coming into my home and (like Nate Berkus says) “becoming a ruthless editor” of what I allow to take up space in the space that I live in. That matters and that's something to guard!

My goal is just to encourage you and show you that there's so much out there we don't really need to be buying. To encourage you to question why am I getting this or why am I buying anything not just things on this list. I really hope this episode will inspire you and make you think a little bit!

Everything I talk about in this episode can be found here: http://alliecasazza.com/shownotes/070

I wasn’t always a morning person. In fact, it wasn’t until I discovered The Miracle Morning that I decided to ditch my night owl tendencies and start to wake up earlier. Morning routines really just set the tone for the rest of the day. If you wake up and you're already feeling hurried, that energy takes you throughout the whole day and you never really feel like you catch up. But if you start the day intentionally and say, “these are the six things that I'm going to do to start my day” and get those done, you already feel so accomplished. You feel like you can take on anything for the whole rest of the day.

Lindsay McCarthy wrote her book, Miracle Morning For Parents and Families because once she really started implementing a morning routine, she saw how much it worked and all the benefits that came from it. And she has just really taken charge of her mornings for her family, not just for herself. After speaking with her, I think I'm going to start some “miracle morning” stuff with my kids as well and not keep it just for myself. I hope you take action to do the same for your family too!

Everything I talk about in this episode can be found here: http://alliecasazza.com/shownotes/069

Our homeschool year has officially started! Since it is the beginning of the school year, I wanted to share this bonus episode to help any of your homeschoolers who are trying to figure it out. Maybe this is your first year; maybe it's not, and this will still help you. But I have been really wanting to share a couple of things about how I'm organizing our homeschool year this year because a couple of the things are new and they seem to be really helping me so far.  

Over the last few months, I have been figuring out how to make my homeschool work better and more streamlined, more fun, and more enjoyable. I am excited to share all kinds of things with you in this episode! From the homeschool schedule we built to the curriculum we are using, and tips on how to make your homeschool schedule feel lighter so you and your kids can breathe a bit. I'm really excited about what our homeschool year looks like this year and really hope this helps you get excited about yours too!

Everything I talk about in this episode can be found here: http://alliecasazza.com/shownotes/bonus4

Welcome to this month’s Coffee & Questions segment here on The Purpose Show! In this version, I have Brian with me because we are celebrating 11 years of marriage this month! We get asked a lot of questions about our relationship and we thought this was a fun way to answer some of them. From how Brian proposed to what we are looking forward to in the next 11 years of our marriage, if you asked a question, we may answer it in this episode! So, sit down, cozy up, get a cup of coffee, and let’s chat!

Everything I talk about in this episode can be found here: http://alliecasazza.com/shownotes/068