Episode 84: PJ Jonas

PJ Jonas joins me for Episode 84. She is an entrepreneur, wife and mother to 8 kids. She runs a business centered around creating goat milk products and has been featured on the Today Show, The Doctors and in Oprah’s magazine. With over nineteen years of homeschooling children under her belt, as well as eight years of running a business, she joins me to talk about the benefits of teaching kids to work, how to differentiate between what’s good and best, and some practical tips for managing a household or business. 

Links:

Survival Kit:

  • Writing Desk - spending 20 minutes every week writing letters to people

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Connect with PJ:  Instagram // Website  //  Facebook // twitter

Takeaways From Our Conversation:

  • I took so many notes during this conversation. I found her to be inspiring—bringing up things that I had never thought about. To be honest, most days I am just surviving until bedtime. So I was inspired to spend some time to think about intentionality.

  • I was also convicted of my own pride. My pride is truly what keeps me from letting go of control and allowing my kids to try and help. This past weekend, the house desperately needed to be cleaned. I am the queen of making things appear to be clean, however, it was time to actually get things for real clean. So, I surrendered my pride and told the girls that they were to help me clean. And of course, they jumped at the opportunity. Sinclair dusted and mopped the floors. Rory cleaned the bathrooms. And you know what, it wasn’t perfect, but it was just right. I can easily forget that I am raising girls to be adults one day—adults who know the fundamentals of cleaning, cooking and taking care of themselves. PJ inspired me to think about who I want me girls to become and then to begin take steps to help them become just that.

  • If your kids are going to fail, let them fail while in your home so that you can coach them through it. They can fail forward.

  • You don’t have to do every good opportunity or do every good thing that comes your way. By saying no to the good thing you can say yes to the best things. Its okay to just “be” with your kids without having things to do. Free time is frowned upon now days. She works hard to say no to things.

  • How many of you were impressed with her grocery shopping list????

  • Put yourself 10 years from now and say “does this matter?” Looking back, is this something that matters? Give yourself permission to not do that.

  • Teach your kids how to work. Invest the effort in teaching your kids how to do the work. Teach them to do the chores that they are capable of. It takes more time on the front end. But it will benefit everyone in the end. Teaching them to work builds identity and self worth. They know how capable and important they are--how needed and valued they are in the family.

If you are local to the Atlanta area, join me at Buckhead Church for MomLife on July 27th at 7:00pm as we encourage & equip you with the answer to several questions including “Are my kids on track?” in the areas of emotional, social, and spiritual development? That topic may sound familiar because its the latest book from David Thomas and Sissy Goff both guests on the podcast. It's only $10 per ticket! Visit buckheadchurch.org/momlife for all the details. 

What did you enjoy about this episode? What was your takeaway. Let's continue the conversation  on Instagram or Twitter or you can send me an email here

Thank you for following along life with me. I love being apart of your day. And as always, I hope this show helps you survive a little easier.

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