The Tiny Ritual That Transformed How I Find Joy in Motherhood

There’s a tiny ritual that completely transformed how I find joy in the chaos of motherhood and the ordinary moments of life.

Joy isn’t a passive emotion that comes and goes—it is cultivated. Joy is a discipline, something we actively practice by noticing and celebrating God’s goodness in the life we already have.

This isn’t about being cheerful just for the sake of it; it’s about training the heart to dwell in gratitude and wonder, turning ordinary moments into sacred ones.

The Ritual of Intentional Celebration

The tiny ritual that helped me to find joy in the life God already gave me is the ritual of intentional celebration.

Most of us are waiting for life to feel special—when your husband comes home with flowers and sweeps you off your feet, or when you can afford to go on the Pinterest-perfect family vacation, or when you’re able to move to that property you’ve been dreaming about.

But the truth is, ordinary life is the only life we get—and that’s a gift because God has you right here for a reason. This is where the blessing is—right here—don’t miss it.

I used to treat joy like weather—sometimes it showed up and it was great, and sometimes it didn’t and I’d grumble. And then I started treating joy like the thermostat—something within my control—a discipline. A practice. Something we can actually cultivate.

And this is where my tiny ritual comes in. Each day, carve out a moment to celebrate something small yet meaningful.

Celebrating God’s goodness in the ordinary moments of life—joy grows when we dwell in God’s presence, and gratitude transforms how we see the world.

How to Practice the Ritual

The ritual is simple: every day, carve out a moment to celebrate something small yet meaningful.

It could be your child’s laughter while they play, the smell of a meal you prepared, a quiet moment after a chaotic day, or even the beauty of sunlight streaming through your window.

Here’s How to Do It:

1. Notice the moment.
2. Announce it and gush over it.
3. Take a deep breath, linger in gratitude, and let that feeling anchor you in joy.

This practice retrains your brain and heart to see the sacred in the ordinary. Over time, you’ll naturally start noticing blessings instead of chasing them.

Here’s why it’s so profound: joy becomes a way of life—a habit of the heart, not a mood. The ordinary becomes sacred. And once you’ve trained your heart to notice blessings—you can’t go back to living blind to them.

When the Ordinary Feels Like Chaos

But what about when the ordinary doesn’t feel sacred at all—when it feels like absolute chaos?

The enemy of joy isn’t chaos—it’s our obsession with control.

When I had my third child, my cousin gave me a coffee mug that says “embrace the mess.” She knew this type-A momma would really struggle in the season of three under four. And as silly as it sounds, that mug truly helped me remember to embrace the chaos.

So how do you embrace the chaos? Do you just decide one day that you will? Well, sort of. But it’s more than that. You need to intentionally delight in it.

It’s a matter of going from thinking that children pulling at your legs and a baby on your hip while cooking dinner is a burden, to being genuinely, fully convinced there’s nothing better than that—knowing in your heart that this is truly a gift.

Sometimes, the most profound joy comes when we let go of control—when we release the expectation that we should be able to make a meal in peace without holding a squirmy baby or listening to a screeching toddler—and instead embrace and delight in the noise, the mess, the imperfection of life with little ones.

This season—hectic, a little messy, a little unpredictable—is short. We are parenting little blessings, not raising perfectly obedient robots. Trying to force perfection only steals your joy, leaves you exhausted, and makes even the sweetest moments feel like a burden.

Practical Ways to Embrace the Ritual of Celebration

1. Be Spontaneous and Inconvenience Yourself

Start a dance party in the kitchen while you’re cooking dinner, setting dinner back 15 minutes.

The other day I had to make dinner and there were about 50 flies in my house. They were all swarming around and I made a joke to my husband that we are “one with the flies.” So instead of complaining and letting the flies add to the chaos, I did something about it.

I put a pin in the dinner-making task, and with a baby on my hip I grabbed a wet rag and dramatically started swatting at the flies, making a “hiya!” noise every time the rag hit the counter.

I made it a dramatic display of fly annihilation and I’ve never heard my baby giggle so hard. He literally couldn’t catch his breath, and my toddlers were running around the house laughing and saying, “Here’s another one, mama!”

Dinner was late—but I regret it not a single second. The flies, on the other hand, will never recover.

2. Do Something Totally Out of the Ordinary

For example, if you usually read stories in bed with your children, instead build a blanket fort for bedtime stories in the living room.

Have a spontaneous backyard picnic—even if it’s just PB&J and chips. Again, this will be inconvenient, but it’s in the inconvenience that memories are made and joy is cultivated.

3. The Chaotic Joy Ritual

This one is about getting ahead of the chaos by being the creator of it.

Let your children help cook dinner, even if it means flour on the counters, spills on the floor, and a sink full of dishes afterward. Or take a walk and let them splash in every puddle they find.

These experiences are messy, unpredictable, and inconvenient—but these moments build laughter, connection, and joy in the ordinary.

This is how joy is trained: by seeing the chaos not as something to fix—but as something to celebrate.

Cultivating Joy in Everyday Life

If you want a simple, practical way to make this a habit in your home, I want to invite you to join the THS Challenge Club.

Each month there is a new theme and each day, you’ll receive a small, intentional challenge designed to cultivate joy, connection, and peace in your home.

These challenges walk you step-by-step through creating playful, messy, and meaningful moments and build rhythms that transform your home from chaos to calm.

Over time, you’ll notice a change in yourself, your children, and the atmosphere in your home—more laughter, more presence, more delight in the ordinary moments of life.

If you’ve been longing for a way to bring joy and intentionality into everyday life, the Challenge Club is such a sweet way to do that.

And if you’re thinking, “Okay, this sounds so sweet, but I’m literally drowning every day and I don’t even know where to start…” I want you to know—you can find calm, peace, and even joy in the chaos you’re living in right now..

Make Every Day Special

Motherhood doesn’t become heavy because we’re doing too much—it becomes heavy when the ordinary stops feeling meaningful.

One of the most transformative rituals I’ve found is to intentionally make each day feel special by creating excuses to celebrate daily life.

Ideas for Little Celebrations:

• Start daily traditions like Milkshake Mondays, Taco Tuesdays, or Movie Night Saturdays.
• Celebrate Sabbath rest by making one special day of the week set apart for rest and family connection.
• Create themed meal days like Pizza Friday or Soupy Sunday.
• Celebrate tiny milestones like half-birthdays, first days of school, or your husband’s accomplishment at work.
• Celebrate with a special activity, hike, adventure, new recipe, or dance party.

Ecclesiastes 3:13 says:

“Everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil—this is God’s gift to man.”

Joy isn’t waiting for you in another season of life, or after a particular milestone is reached. It’s here, in today’s work that the Lord has set before you.

From Survival to Celebration

And that’s when homemaking stops being survival—and becomes celebration.

Start Today:

• Pick one moment today to spontaneously celebrate and make a little different from the ordinary, like your kids’ bedtime routine.
• Try one chaotic joy ritual this week, like letting your children splash in every mud puddle they find.
• Create a weekly tradition, like Taco Tuesdays, a Sunday evening walk, or Sabbath rest on Saturday.
• Find one excuse to celebrate this week—like your baby learning to crawl, your toddler writing their name, or your child hitting a home run. Just make an excuse and then do something to celebrate as a family.
• Reflect at the end of the day—write down one thing you celebrated and how it made you feel.

Pay attention to how your heart shifts. You might be surprised at how much joy is already waiting for you in the life God’s given you.

Finding Beauty in the Ordinary

This tiny ritual of joyful celebration has helped me see the beauty in the ordinary, the chaos, and the life God’s already given me.

It’s about noticing the gifts all around you. Try it, and see how it changes your perspective.

When you make this little ritual a habit, your home transforms. Those small, intentional celebrations shift how you interact with your kids, your spouse, and even yourself.

Your kids feel the warmth of a mom who delights in them. Your spouse notices a home filled with gratitude and connection. And your own heart finds peace, resting in the truth that God’s gifts are all around you.

If you’re ready to take this heart posture of joy even further, I’d love to invite you to my free workshop, From Survival Mode to Peace-Filled Homemaking in 7 Days.

In it, I’ll walk you through simple, biblical, and practical steps that help you move from exhaustion to peace—no fancy tools or drastic lifestyle changes required. You’ll discover how to cultivate calm, create meaningful rhythms, and build a home where joy and gratitude flourish every single day.

You can start today—it’s completely free, and it’s the perfect next step toward finding peace and purpose in the life God has already given you.