Rachel Anne Ridge
About the Author

Rachel Anne Ridge is an artist and writer in Texas. Together with her husband, she bootstrapped her way through the Great Recession, raised three kids, and rediscovered God in the midst of the everyday juggle of life. Her blog, www.HomeSanctuary.com, helps women around the world find beauty and faith in...

(in)side DaySpring: things we love
& you will too!
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(in)side DaySpring:
things we love
& you will too!
Find more at
DaySpring.com
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  1. Rachel, This is so rich! Thanks for a good reminder to examine underneath the portions of our life that don’t make alot of sense in our current season….. and the seasons are rolling on! 🙂

  2. I LOVED this. We just moved after 20 years in the same house and I am delighting in “starting over”. Just because we had it for 20 years doesn’t mean I have to keep it for the next 20. It has been good for my soul to start new patterns and habits…not just in the house, but in my heart as well!

    • Moving is such a great motivation to clear out the stuff we hang on to. Sometimes I trick myself, when cleaning out closets and drawers, by asking “if I were moving, would I keep it or throw it?” It helps me get rid of stuff I really don’t need, but hold on to “just because.”

  3. “Just because something works for a season, doesn’t mean it will always work . . . for all time.” This is TRUTH. Thank you for challenging me to look hard at what might be “habit,” or something “comfortable…” and consider making a change. 🙂

  4. My husband recently asked me if I am pregnant (I’m 62!) because I’ ve been reorganizing drawers. After years of combining two FT jobs (one in ministry) with grad school, I take such joy in decluttering and seeing home, the center of ministry for us, in a new way. Loved this post Rachel!

    • Haha!! You made me laugh….I love it when the nesting instinct takes over! I’m sure your husband was relieved that you weren’t pregnant….just making changes! Thanks, Maggie!

  5. That is all SO TRUE. Where I catch myself most is with the kids…. they grow so fast that by the time I think “why am I still doing this?”, they are long past whatever developmental stage my strategies were aimed at. Perhaps it’s time to look in my cupboards too…. Thank you for the eye-opener!

  6. I have found this principle to be true in my marriage. Through counseling we learned that old, harmful ways of relating to each other were learned behaviors brought in to our marriage which became our habits. The trouble was they didn’t fit, nor were they comfortable, however we were used to it! But, praise God, with some rearranging and adjusting we’ve been able to form new, healthy habits and enjoy one another like never before. 🙂

    When we start asking ourselves, “Why am I still doing this?” it’s time for a change! Great post! Thanks!

    • So very true, Calista. My husband and I are changing as we enter a new season of life as “empty nesters.” The beauty is that we’ve discovered that change can be fun. Sometimes it just takes asking a few questions and reassessing how we’ve done things in the past. Thanks for bringing in marriage…a perfect application.

  7. These lines, “We don’t stop to consider that we’ve outgrown the thought patterns, routines or actions that have become ingrained in our daily lives. Maybe it’s time to step back and reassess. Adjust our thinking. Do some rearranging. Make room for growth.” are the best!

    If we don’t assess our thoughts once in awhile, we won’t recognize when something needs to go or change in order to allow room for transformation in our life. We are what we think right? So if we don’t check to see how are thoughts are shaping us, we won’t open ourselves up to change.

    Thanks for the great post! I love how you took an ordinary thing in life and helped us see how it can be true in so many other areas.

    • Rachel, just love how you make the most mundane things relevant through insightful analogies. What a blessing you are!

    • Thank you, Judy. Seems like God speaks to me through the dishes and laundry – LOL. But I love that ordinary life is full of lessons when I stop long enough to consider them. I’m making room for growth.

  8. A whole-hearted “amen” from me, Rachel. I feel like I need to revisit most of my plans (and goals) every six months in order to see if they’re still working! (Now, I think I’ll go purge my cabinets of the plastic sippy cups from years gone by…)

    • I had sippy cups for YEARS after they’d been outgrown. I was hanging on to that sweet season, I know, but it did feel good to finally let go. It’s good to make room for growth, right? 🙂

  9. I am always amazed how God speaks to you through things like a crowded kitchen cabinet! I needed to hear this message and it confirmed a decision I am having to make. Thanks for sharing and for hearing God speak through dishes!

    • Lyn, you know how some people get angelic voices from overhead when God is speaking? Yeah, not me. I get dishes. I’m making room for changes….sometimes it’s obvious, and other times I need to take a fresh look at everything first. Blessings, friend!

  10. Rachel,
    Life is filled with many different seasons. I’m in a season of changes–something I don’t like!! I much prefer rut and routine–habit!!! I think God is trying to get me to make room for growth! I believe God does this to get us to declutter our lives mentally, physically and spiritually. We tend to do the same things the same way over and over due to habit! God want us to think and reexamine our lives and our priorities!!

    Blessings 🙂