How I Add Peace + Purpose to Our Days with Daily Rhythms as a Stay-at-Home Mama
The Reality of Farm Life with Toddlers
When I say there are days we don’t leave our little slice of heaven—I mean it. Some weeks, we stay nestled on our rural Kansas farm without stepping foot beyond these gravel roads and those days are always some of my favorites. From farm chores to gardening, sidewalk chalk, swinging, checking cows and endless hours of playing baby dolls, we find so much joy in the simple things around here. Well, now we do.
If you’re a stay-at-home mama or a working mama, I know you’ve experienced that feeling of being completely content, simply because of the company of the wonderful tiny humans you grew. But I’m sure you’ve probably also experienced the feeling of restlessness creeping in, like your soul is craving fresh air and a change of pace. Slower, faster, just something different. I’ve absolutely been there. Probably more so in the colder months here in the midwest, where that fresh air usually consists of freezing temps and no sunshine. I find myself avoiding household chores, dreading routines that we’ve established for our home to run smoothly, and not enjoying play time with my littles throughout the day. Then I suddenly become that mom who loads two toddlers into the car for a Walmart run just to interact with other humans and escape our daily life.
Even though I’ve lived in the country my whole life—and love it—motherhood changed the way I experienced that quiet. I didn’t realize how isolated I’d feel once I was home full-time with tiny humans relying on me for everything.
• No park down the block
• No neighbors waving as they walk by
• Just us… and a lot of laundry, dishes, messes, and unfinished projects
I began craving escape, and our peaceful home started feeling like a pressure cooker.
The Heart Check I Didn’t Know I Needed
One day, as I listened to a podcast by Risen Motherhood, I began to evaluate my motivations. Not just my actions—but why I was doing what I was doing.
That one moment of pause made me realize something:
I wasn’t trying to leave the house every day because I needed milk or to run errands…
I was running away from the hard stuff—
The noise, the clutter, the chaos of raising toddlers.
I was trying to escape the very life I had once prayed for.
A Prayer Answered… Now Lived
Not so long ago (it feels like), I was a young girl praying big prayers.
• That I’d marry the man I loved
• That I’d be a mama, just like mine
• That I’d raise babies on a piece of land, barefoot and free
Now that I’m living those answered prayers—why am I running from them?
This wasn’t about needing more outings. It was about finding peace and purpose right where God planted me.
What Changed? My Rhythms Did.
I didn’t overhaul my life overnight. I simply let the thought infiltrate little decisions throughout my day and began to pray for guidance in this area of my life. I prayed intentionally and had faith that no problem is too small for my God. I started creating daily rhythms that brought calm, intention, and joy to our days.
Here’s what daily rhythms look like for us now:
• Morning anchor: Bible reading, snuggles, and a few quiet moments before breakfast
• Themed play: A short, hands-on activity that matches our weekly theme (and lets mama sit back and soak up the moment!)
• Midday reset: Outdoor time, animal chores, or rest time depending on the day
• Evening wind-down: Memory verse review, books, and early bedtimes (for all our sakes!)
These rhythms aren’t perfect or rigid. Each rhythm lives by the breath of its maker. They’re not a schedule or something we do everyday. They’re simply repeatable, life-giving moments we come back to. They can speed up in seasons of joy and sunshine and slow down in seasons of hard. there’s such beauty in rhythms, like the beat of a heart–steady, anchoring.
And when grace gives us a moment so sweet it makes us skip a beat, we return to the rhythm, singing again.
From Chaos to Purpose: A Resource for You (Coming Soon!)
If you’re feeling the same overwhelm, I’m creating a Toddler Play + Learning Calendar to make building rhythms simple and joyful. It’s a gentle, faith-based guide to help you bring structure and peace to your days—with playful moments and memory-making built in.
My rhythms may look different than your rhythms—in fact, I hope they do. This resource is simply a creative starting point to inspire your own rhythm, and I hope you’ll approach it with the same grace and joy I’ve found.
✨ The resource will be available soon—check back here so you don’t miss it!
Final Thoughts: Your Farm is Your Mission Field
Wherever your little slice of heaven is, motherhood can feel lonely and heavy. But we are never alone.
Our God is using the quiet, the messes, and the moments you think don’t matter to shape your children—and your heart. You don’t need to run from the hard. You just need rhythms that anchor you to what’s true.
You were made for this. Right here, bare feet and all.
God, help my daily rhythms to anchor me to what is true. Through the chaos & the mundane, the sweet moments that seem to make the world stop and time become irrelevant and the noisy, messy house, help me to see your grace and find joy in my purpose as a mama.
