Thank you to Chesapeake Bay Candle for sponsoring today’s post. All thoughts and opinions are 100% my own!

Life with little ones is full of snuggles and giggles and fun. But it is also loud and messy and busy!

And when it gets loud, messy, and busy, it can be challenging for me to feel peace or respond graciously in the middle of the chaos.

Like when I have stepped on a LEGO, or spent 45 minutes searching for someone’s lost toy before bed and they won’t stop crying or ever fall asleep until it’s found, or I have forgotten the laundry in the washing machine for the third day in a row. That’s usually when I say something along the lines of, “MOMMY IS DONE! NO ONE SPEAK ANOTHER WORD OR HAVE ANOTHER NEED! I WILL NOW GO DROWN MYSELF IN A CARTON OF ICE CREAM!”

I love the way the Living Bible translates 1 Peter 3:11, “Try to live in peace even if you must run after it to catch and hold it!”

Because of Jesus, we have the opportunity to be peacemakers in our homes. We can, by God’s grace, show our families what it looks like to run after the peace He gives and extend the peace He gives – even when someone is having a meltdown and I don’t know what to make for dinner. Again.

So today I am offering a few nuggets of encouragement (as well as a super fun giveaway) to help your home have peace.

Love God

Every day, every hour, every minute, invite Him into the crazy. Pray while doing dishes and folding clothes. Say Psalm 28:7 out loud when you feel frazzled. Hang Bible verses in the bathroom when you’re hiding in there for a few minutes of alone time. Just keep ending up at His feet. He will be your strength every time and the peace He faithfully delivers when you turn to Him in need is amazing. It’s the kind of peace that’s so good you can laugh at a diaper blow out instead of weep.

Love Your Hubby

The peace in our home vanishes if Mr. B. and I are at odds about something. So I try to make daily effort to unite myself to my husband – whether that be through loving communication, quality time, physical affection, an act of kindness, or prayer. I like to remember what the pastor said at our wedding from Mark 10:9, “Let no one (or thing, season, habit, financial struggle, etc.) split apart what God has joined together.”

Love Your Kids

I can get so laser-focused on the end result (getting to school or church, potty training, eating their vegetables, etc.) that I forget to love my kids well on the journey. This can make my daily interactions with my boys impatient and hurried. Stop, breathe, hug them, and kiss them. Start a tickle fight. Speak life into their precious hearts. Apologize if you barked at them. Be mindful of opportunities to connect.

Watch for Distractions

I have caught myself completely, “Mmm-hmmm”-ing my way through a conversation with one of my kids while scrolling social media. This only makes them frustrated because they know I am not listening. Or it will be time for bed and I will decide it’s a good time to hop on my email ‘real quick’. Before we know it the kids have destroyed the house and it’s 9:30 pm. Making the choice to put it down and invest in what’s happening right in front of me helps keep the peace.

Play Worship Music

I want His praise to ever be on my lips (and I want that for my kids, too!), so filling our home with musical truths is a sweet way to invite His peace and presence into the home. My favorite albums right now are Kari Jobe, Bethany Barnard, and Ellie Holcomb (affiliate links).

Light a Candle

There’s something about lighting a candle that is so peaceful. I love the calming effect a little flickering flame and yummy scent has on our home! Did you know that the brain’s olfactory centers are intimately linked to the limbic system — which is responsible for our emotions, fears, and memory? This means there is a big connection between smell and the way we think. So you can imagine how excited I was to try Chesapeake Bay Candle’s line of candles from their Heritage Collection featuring soothing, energizing, and refreshing scents to help bring peace to our home!

Here are the 4 candles I tried and what I loved about them…

Bay Cottage Coffee Table Jar Candle

This candle was so comforting and smelled like cotton and fresh air. My laundry might not be done, but my house smelled like it was!

Milk and Honey Large Jar Candle

This candle was my favorite! It has a little bit of an almondy/vanilla scent that made the house smell like I had spent the afternoon baking.

Wild Lemongrass Small Jar Candle

I like this candle for that pocket of the day where everyone is beat from school, but we need a little pick-me-up to get homework done. The lavender and mint touches are so uplifting!

Blood Orange Double Wick Tin Candle

This candle is a good one for the kitchen table in the morning when everyone’s waking up and it’s so tempting to run around freaking out about packing lunches and blow drying my hair and making sure everyone is dressed. Passion flower, melon, and mango scents combine forces to start the day off strong (and not in the fetal position). 🙂

Aside from the yummy fragrances, I also love how each candle in the Heritage Collection is poured into gorgeous frosted glass jars with wooden lids and twine embellishments as well as cute galvanized tins that all look so lovely in our home – or make for beautiful gifts!