Hi there.
Welcome to the Rhythms + Grace Blog!
I’m Renee, the author behind the blog. I love Jesus, my family, other people, and coffee. We had 4 kids in 5 years and I became a stay-at-home (& now homeschooling) mom.
Transitioning to being a stay at home mom was hard… I missed co-workers. I missed people saying, “You’re doing a great job!” On the other hand, something deep inside me knew this mothering business was important. That these children had been given to us to raise, and that I was being called to spend these early years with them.
So I started writing about it here. Mainly, about the path of both enjoying & thriving in the day to day life of motherhood.
This site exists to encourage moms (that’s you!!) to create rhythms + find grace in their every day mom life. Because, let’s be honest. Real mom life is straight up CRAZY sometimes.
WHY RHYTHMS + GRACE?
By “rhythms” of everyday mom life, I mean the stuff that has to get done.
- Laundry
- Naptime
- Cleaning
- Feeding
- Potty training
- Diaper changing
- Meal Planning
- Grocery Shopping
- Feeding more
- Bedtime
- Cleaning up from feeding
- Feeding more
…and on and on. It’s amazing how all the mundane things can feel overwhelming at times. (Did I mention feeding?)
One of my goals on this site is to help you find rhythms that work for you to make those tasks more manageable.
GRACE
If you are a Christian, you likely embrace the grace God gives you in order to be in a relationship with him. Grace for salvation. But the Bible teaches that grace – God’s unmerited favor and blessing – is for our everyday lives.
When Paul asked God to takeaway the “thorn in his side,” the Lord responded, “My grace is sufficient for you for my power is made perfect in your weakness.” For all our imperfect mothering, there is sufficient grace.
Hebrews 4:16 says we can approach the throne of grace with confidence, and receive mercy and grace to help us in our time of need. In the midst of our greatest moments of need, there is sufficient grace.
The ultimate goal of this blog is that you would be encouraged to receive grace in your time of need.
Maybe your time of need is that 30 minutes before dinner when everyone’s going crazy and you lose it more than you care to admit.
Or maybe, it’s the middle-of-the-night feedings that are going on longer than you’d hoped. (In that case, my sleep training guide will help!)
Maybe you or your child got an unexpected diagnosis or you’re desperate to rekindle the flames with your spouse.
Whatever your time of need, there is grace for you.
SOME POSTS TO START WITH
When You Don’t Get Any Me Time
3 Parenting Lessons I Learned From Losing My Temper
How Much Does it Cost to Have a Baby?
A System that Works for Organizing Your Photos, Even if You’re Really Far Behind!
YNAB: our favorite online budgeting tool
5 Practical Tips for Dealing with the Terrific Twos
FUN FACTS ABOUT OUR FAMILY
- In January of 2015, we started paying off gobs of student loan debt with gazelle intensity.
- We had 4 kiddos in 5 years. I stay home with them, which I view as a humongous privilege, even though at times, I’m certain I’m losing brain cells with each passing day.
- We homeschool. This is my homeschooling curriculum & site. (But we’re not that weird… just a little.)
- My husband is a genius tech nerd. He’ll be embarrassed if he finds out I said that on here.
- Our parenting philosophy can be summed up in: “Train up a child in the way s/he should go… pray continually… for everything there is a season… this too shall pass.”
- I taught high school choir for one year.
- I taught elementary school music for one year.
- I love budgeting. (Sort of. What I really love the freedom that comes from budgeting and I love helping other people start budgeting.)
- We lived in Boston for 10 months. I was pregnant with our second almost the entire time. It snowed a lot.
- A bunch of old ladies taught me to quilt and though I don’t make much time for it these days, I really enjoyed it. Back when I had hobbies.
- I mostly hate social media.
- I wrote an ebook about sleep training your baby. All our kids slept through the night 8-12 hours by 3-4 months old. Sleep is possible!!!
MY PEOPLE
I’m used to be on Instagram @mrsreneecook, but I’m not there much anymore.
I’m glad you’re here. I hope you find encouragement, maybe a laugh or two, and grace upon grace.
Love,
Renee