Welcome to The m Challenge!

With a new year upon us, I am finding the need to change directions. I can’t believe that I have had the privilege of blogging for a decade. What a wild, & crazy ride this has been. Many of my fellow bloggers have been making changes or have given the blog scene up  recently.

I feel that pull too.

Instead of feeling sad or wondering why they would do this, I admire their bravery.   It is hard to stay motivated,  to keep pursuing all of this while juggling my family and home life. I have spent a lot of time thinking and praying how to continue this or if I should continue.

What have I said that you haven’t heard already?

How can I continue to create value while honoring my own life?

I don’t feel like I am ready to give up on you, but I have decided to switch the direction of our site this year and see where that takes us. I am so excited about this that I am finding I am already motivated and restored just knowing that I have a direction to take you. Are you ready?

Welcome to the m challenge. This year will be all about challenging you to live a focused life that you can truly be proud of.  One thing I hear a lot of from you is that you struggle with balance and organization. Guess what? I do too.  This will be a year-long exploration brought to you by a panel of experts that can help guide us a on a path toward a better life.  I am calling it “the m challenge,” in honor of our site name and the three areas of focus.

The m challenge will consist of three key ingredients:

MINIMIZE- Each month we will minimize one area in our life or in our home. We will declutter our homes, slim down our closets, slow down on obligations, streamline our menu plans, and minimize technology & social media time.

MAXIMIZE- Each month we will maximize by bringing the good things back in. This can be by maximizing our time, making smart purchases, adding great new dishes to our family table,  making the most of small spaces, making time for creativity, making the most of our money, discovering our passions, and exploring volunteerism opportunities that align with our passions.

MORPHOSIS- Each month we will feature one expert to help us from life coaches, to financial advisors, to fitness gurus, to counselors, to ministers. These people will further the conversation towards a richer life and give us strategies to achieve it. I also would love for you to be a storyteller and share your journey towards minimizing, maximizing, or sharing about someone who has been a muse to you and helped you make positive changes in your life. Under this category, we will explore books that can help you be a better parent, money manager, minimalist, and creative.

I want this experience to be interactive for you. If you have a passion for one of these topics and would like to share with our readers, please let me know!  I will be reviving our MomAdvice Book Club and featuring a nonfiction selection that will help you as you work through your month. At the end of each month, we will provide a syllabus that has all of the features here for our month as well as supplemental reading materials that will help you explore each topic further.

I like to be transparent about money with you. This year-long exploration will be FREE to you.  For me to provide all of this for you, sponsored posts will have to happen. I don’t have another way to do this. If I did TRUST ME, I would.  This is the only way that I can pay everyone for their time to give advice to you.  My commitment to you is that the opportunities I take will also align with these three categories. I won’t waste your time pursuing the things that won’t benefit you. I also am committed to exploring this journey with you. I am doing these things right along with you because my life needs it too.

Here are our chosen topics for the m challenge 2015! 

January- Health & Fitness

I can’t wait to go on this journey with you and am excited to see this year unfold. Check back on Monday for our first post for our brand new year together!