Some days just don’t go as planned.
You wake up still feeling exhausted, the house is louder than your thoughts, and before you know it — you’re frustrated, behind, and wondering how the day went off track so quickly.
I’ve had those mornings, too. The ones where I snap at the people I love most and feel like giving up before breakfast.
But here’s the good news — with God, you can always begin again. I’d like to share the simple method I use called the “Reset Button” for those days that I just need a do over.
When the day falls apart…
When a day starts to fall apart, I’ve learned to pause and hit what I like to call the reset button.
Do you ever have days when you feel especially unmotivated?
Maybe you are spending more time scrolling on your phone or watching TV when you have other responsibilities, like laundry, dishes, or caring for your children.
But instead, you find it really hard to get off the couch.
Or maybe you are trying to do the dishes and laundry, but you have a rotten attitude and everyone seems to need you and nothing is going right.
It is in these moments, you need to stop the downward spiral by pausing what you’re doing.
Turn to the only one who knows exactly what you’re going through and can give you the strength that you need for the minutes, hours, and day ahead. Your Heavenly Father.
Stop the spiral.
Take a deep breath, whisper a prayer, and ask, “Lord, help me start fresh.”
There’s a book I read several years ago by Annie Chapman called Putting Anger in Its Place.
One of the tips she gave was to simply pause, keep control of your emotions and get through the next 20 seconds.
Because chances are if you can control yourself for those 20 seconds, you can control the next 20 and so forth.
I’ve used this practice many times over the years. It causes me to think and respond to the situation instead of reacting in a sinful way.
So the first step is to simply stop, take a deep breath, say a prayer and acknowledge the bad day.
I love spending time in prayer and reading my Bible every morning. This helps me focus my heart and mind on serving the Lord and my family from a place of peace.
I have this quiet time here on my couch, the Artisan Leather Corner Sectional Sofa by Valencia. (my affiliate link)
This couch is both beautiful and functional. It gets a lot of use from our family. I love that we can all sit on it together.
If you’re looking for comfortable, quality furniture, check out Valencia’s leather furniture collection.
Identify the problem.
Once you’ve paused, the next step is to identify the real problem.
Sometimes it’s exhaustion. Maybe you didn’t get enough sleep the night before, maybe you haven’t had a moment of quiet and there is just too much stimulation.
Sometimes it’s a state of mess or clutter in your home. Are there toys everywhere? Or a kitchen full of dirty dishes?
Maybe it’s unrest in your soul due to comparison or an argument you had with your spouse.
Once you see what’s stealing your peace, joy, and motivation, you can take action.
Take a small step.
Determine one small step you can take to turn things around. Just one small step.
Do you need to put your phone down and start a load of laundry?
Maybe you need to put on praise music while you wash the dishes.
Or set the timer and tell the kids that everyone is going to pick up the toys together and then go to the park or play a game.
The key is to move in the direction you want to go by hitting an imaginary reset button.
No matter the time of day. Even if the whole morning was a bust, that doesn’t mean the entire day is wasted. You can reset any time.
New mercies every morning.
Lamentations 3:22-23 reminds us, “Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.”
Even when the day feels lost, God’s mercies make room for a fresh start.
A “do-over day” isn’t about pretending the hard moments didn’t happen.
It’s about choosing hope right in the middle of them.
The moment we invite God back into our attitude, our actions, and our thoughts as Christian homemakers — peace begins to return.
If you need help finding that peace in your everyday homemaking, I created a free digital download called Keeper at Home: Biblical Wisdom for Homemaking.
It’s filled with scripture and encouragement to help you reset your heart and rediscover joy in serving your family.
Romans 15:13 says, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
As you go through your day, remember that our hope is not in our circumstances. It is in our faith in Christ. And that should overflow in the way we live.
As we interact with those around us and go about caring for our homes and families.
No day is too far gone for God to redeem. Take a deep breath, whisper a prayer, and begin again.