Live Intentionally: 65 Challenges for a Healthier, Happier Life

Live Intentionally: A Simple, Joyful Path to a Life Without Excuses

What if you stopped waiting for "someday" and started living the life you actually want-right now?

When Cara Sue Achterberg realized she felt more like a passenger than the driver of her own life-overwhelmed by stress, unhealthy routines, and a home that never quite felt settled-she made a bold decision: no more excuses. What followed was a year of small, courageous changes that transformed her family, her health, and her home.

Live Intentionally is the inspiring, practical, and refreshingly honest guide that grew out of that journey.

Filled with more than 65 approachable, real-life challenges, this book helps you create meaningful change without overhauling your entire world overnight. With warmth, humor, and a voice that feels like a trusted friend across the kitchen table, Achterberg shows you how to:

• Eat intentionally by understanding what's really in your food, where it comes from, and how to make simple, healthier versions of family favorites-from peanut butter and bread to applesauce, chicken nuggets, and even pop-tarts.
• Create an intentional home through decluttering, organizing, and cleaning with easy, nontoxic ingredients that are better for your family-and the planet.
• Parent intentionally with thoughtful approaches to chores, screens, free time, creativity, compassion, and raising capable, confident kids who don't just get by-but thrive.
• Grow intentionally, whether you're tending acres of land or nurturing a single pot on your windowsill.
• Celebrate intentionally with holidays that feel richer in meaning, lighter in stress, and centered on what truly matters.

Drawing on stories from her own "suburban farm," Achterberg offers practical wisdom, relatable missteps, and hundreds of inviting ideas that make intentional living feel possible-not perfect.

This isn't about guilt. It's not about doing everything. And it's definitely not about being flawless.
It's about choosing, day by day, to live on purpose.

Perfect for personal reflection or lively book group discussions, Live Intentionally is your warm invitation to stop drifting-and start shaping a healthier, happier, more purposeful life.