This week on Cultivating the Lovely, host MacKenzie Koppa chats with Rebecca Smith, founder of Better Life Bags and the author of the brand new book A Better Life: Slowing Down to Get Ahead. Rebecca and her husband live in Michigan with their four children and their dog Mojo. Together MacKenzie and Rebecca talk about building a business, podcasting and writing a book, plus so much more. (Affiliate links are used in this content.) Rebecca shares a little bit about her “Problem Solved” podcast episodes with Emily Thomas Rebecca talks about how she came to write this book, from starting a blog in her college days to getting asked by Zondervan to publish the story of her business What Rebecca hopes readers will glean from A Better Life How Rebecca and her husband met and had to let God lead their relationship Learning the cherish the life you are living right now, instead of always looking ahead to the next thing I think I have an idea of where my life is going, but God is the One who is making the decisions, and it’s kind of an adventure for us. Rebecca Smith How Rebecca’s vision and mission for Better Life Bags grew out of a desire to have certain boundaries in place Recognizing our limitations and bringing other people on board to balance out our weaknesses with their strengths Giving our children more responsibility for things around the house Being willing to turn around and get back on track when we have stepped out of God’s plan How Rebecca’s business has been affected by the pandemic A typical day in Rebecca’s life now in contrast to before the pandemic Current Lovelies- Rebecca: relaxing in a hammock in the backyard MacKenzie: dressing up for her birthday at home Resources Mentioned- Podcasts: Mom Struggling Well – Problem Solved That Sounds Fun 10 Things to Tell You Young House Love Crime Junkie Find Rebecca- You can find Rebecca on her website Better Life Bags. You can also follow her on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest. Find MacKenzie- You can find MacKenzie Koppa on Instagram, Facebook, and the CTL Facebook Group, of course! Join us on Patreon at Patreon.com/CultivatingtheLovely. Thanks to Our Sponsors- Today’s episode of Cultivating the Lovely is sponsored by True Botanicals. CTL Listeners can get 15% OFF their first order from true botanicals.com/lovely and use code LOVELY at checkout. Want a little extra loveliness in your life? Join our Patreon community this month and enjoy the camaraderie with other ladies who are trying to do more than just survive in these crazy days. We can’t wait to see you there!