On a recent date night at home, my husband pulled out the old VHS videos from 1999. Woah. We were mesmerized as we viewed
Our hair styles. Continue reading “Mom, Spread the Love”
Tag: Motherhood
The Roller Coaster of Motherhood
If you’ve been a mom for more than a day you know it’s exhilarating and exhausting, fun and frustrating, joyful and jolting, breathtaking and back breaking – sometimes all in the span of 24 hours!
On my frustrating mommy days, it was helpful for me to get my focus. Why was I doing this? What is my goal? Where am I headed? What am I supposed to do each day? It’s all in God’s Word and I found Proverbs 10:4 convicting and Deuteronomy 6:4-8 especially helpful.
This video will tell you what I gleaned from these passages about how to survive the roller coaster of motherhood!
When are you most likely to want to turn in your “Mommy Badge?”
Refresh your role by reminding yourself of God’s plan for this season,
Six Suggestions for Stressed-Out Moms
Sticky floors, piles of laundry, emotional meltdowns, food battles, dirty diapers, frequent illnesses, limited outside activities, bedtime squabbles and marital strain all point to one thing —-
an overwhelmed mom.
Did I just describe you? How did I do it? I’ve been there. I remember the days of wondering Continue reading “Six Suggestions for Stressed-Out Moms”
A Rope of Encouragement For Young Moms
Each day as a parent can be one of extreme highs and lows, can’t it? Your child finally gets a truth you’re trying to teach him, and he obeys as a result! You are rejoicing! Then an hour later, he has spray painted the cat blue, dumped a liter of red soda on the carpet, and dropped your cell phone in the bath water! Since you really can’t lock yourself in the bathroom for the rest of the day (we’ve all wanted to!), what is a mother to do?
- Gather your children around you, sit down, and pray. Ask God to calm your heart. Ask Him to help the children to obey. Ephesians 6:1 Ask for His help and guidance. James 1:5
- Administer the discipline necessary for the disobedience. Proverbs 19:18 Note, this comes after you’ve calmed down and gotten your focus right. It’s easy to want to dismiss it due to your weariness. (We all know how much time and energy it takes to discipline properly!) However, if you let the disobedience or rebellion pass unnoticed, things will not get getter – they will only get worse.
- Look for an opportunity to have a brief break. If your children are of napping age, you rest while they’re napping. Don’t use this time to attack your list of “to-do’s!” Read a passage of Scripture, listen to some encouraging music. Drink a cup of tea, read a magazine, or do some little something you enjoy (scrapbook one picture even, make a card, work on a puzzle or crossword). You need to refresh yourself in a way that will help you to be ready to face motherhood again.
- Keep things structured for your children. If they have too much free time, trouble will ensue. You don’t have to plan out every minute, but keep a close tab on your children. Don’t allow yourself to be distracted from what’s going on in their world. Stay connected so you can stay on top of any attitudes or problems, and lovingly correct them.
- Plan for something fun to do with your children each day. Make a craft, bake something, take a walk while the children ride bikes, go to the library, take lunch to the park. These activities will give you and the children something to look forward to.
- Once every couple of weeks, get away from the house and the children. If you can’t leave the children with your husband, take turns with another mom so you can both have a morning away from parenting responsibilities. Go do something you love while you’re free!
- Make sure you’re getting up before the children and spending time with the Lord in His Word and prayer each day. Even if it’s 15 minutes, it will prepare your heart better than a three year-old waking you by poking their finger in your eye!
- Keep the children to a regular bedtime schedule. If they’re in bed by 8:30, then you and your husband will have time together, they’ll get adequate rest, and you can prepare some things the night before that will make mornings unfold much easier. Get the coffee ready, start breakfast by making muffins, or setting out the cereals and bowls. Pick up things around the house before heading to bed. Waking up to a clean, orderly home will help jump-start your day!
These things won’t make your days perfect, of course, but they’ll help things to run smoother. Take it from a mom who learned from her mistakes – you have to be a step ahead to win at the motherhood woes. The good news is, with God’s help you will make it – with a few extra wrinkles, maybe, but you will make it!
What are the most difficult times of your day as a mom?
With love,
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School, Seasons and Sad Momma’s
I want to take just a minute to encourage moms today. From one who has been there, I realize that this time of year can be an emotional roller coaster for women who may feel they aren’t needed in their children’s lives quite like prior years. My only longing is to give a biblical perspective to guide a mom’s heart. So, here we go…
Late August can only mean one thing for children – school is back in session. For some of their momma’s, there is relief of no more slamming screen doors, frantic baseball schedules and camp-bound teens. They greet the fall and its changes with a happy sigh and open arms.
But for some moms, this school session brings sadness because they’re not just staring at lunch boxes and back packs; they’re staring at the changes it has brought. Perhaps…
- One child has left home to head to their first year of college.
- A daughter is in their last year of elementary school.
- A son is in his last year of junior high.
- All children are out of school and out of the home due to graduation and/or marriage.
The type of changes could go on and on, but the truth is, every year we live is going to be full of what we often stiff-arm – a change in the seasons of our life. Here’s a beautiful reminder in God’s Word in Ecclesiastes 3 about the seasons of our lives:
To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
2 A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
3 A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;
4 A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
5 A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
6 A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
7 A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
8 A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.
God has given us a mother’s heart to love our children, to love parenting and nurturing them, so how are we to deal with an end or a change of those seasons? How can we find joy and a reason to move on when our role is different and we don’t feel quite as useful or needed as a mom?
- Think on Truth. We are commanded in Philippians 4:8 to think on things that are true, honest, just, pure, lovely, of good report, virtuous, and praiseworthy. Therefore, if I let myself constantly think about those early days of my child’s life, and how much I miss when my girls were toddlers on teenagers, all I have to do is look into their current photos to realize that that is not the truth for today. Today they are grown, married and moving on in God’s will.Thinking about the truth of today could remind us that our kids are maturing; they’re developing into people that can serve God. Are they doing what we raised them to do, to serve and love God? Wonderful! Praise His name! If they’re away from the Lord, we can remind ourselves of the Truth that the Word we poured into them will not return void. God loves them more than we do and is pursuing them. What comfort Truth gives!
- Enjoy the memories of former days with a proper perspective. Isn’t God gracious to allow us the blessing of being able to remember those past seasons? It’s fun to flip through photos and recall the years now behind us. But while you’re recalling those times, be honest with yourself and remember that those days also brought some hardships.We home-schooled our girls almost completely through, meaning I was a home-schooling mom for twenty years. While I loved it and was thankful for the opportunity to pour into my girls’ lives, I remember days when I just wished I could go to Walmart alone! Some days I tired of dissecting earthworms and reading book reports. It’s easy to focus on the highlights and get discontented with here-and-now. Be real when you’re looking back.
- Honor your children and God when you reflect. If this next description is you, I honestly mean no ill, but I ask you to consider the reality for a minute. What adult wants their mom to post pictures or comments about their child, desiring that they were “a little boy once again?” I’m sure none of us would have wanted our mother-in-law to post toddler pictures of our husband because that’s how she wished she could see him. What girl wants to be remembered today as only what she was many years ago? If we really want to honor our children and be respectful of them (and their spouse, if they’re married) we will remember those former days only in our heart, and not on social media. Being considerate of their maturity is one small way to honor who they are today.How can we honor God in the way we remember our past seasons? Don’t think that your best days of serving Him was when you had children at home, or when they were littler, or more needy of you. Do you have a mate? Are you pouring as much energy and time into him? Each year as your children need you less, transfer that energy to your husband. If you have a ministry at church, give it your all. Find a younger woman to mentor and be a blessing in her life by spending time in God’s Word, working on projects together, praying with/for her and helping her in this busy season of her life!
I’m really not trying to get hate mail, but I only desire to encourage women to live as God would have us. Today is a gift from His hand, meant for serving, enjoying and laying up treasures in heaven. Don’t regret what’s gone – reboot and move on! This is a new season, Mom! Thank the Lord for yesterday and ask Him for a new opportunity to get out of bed, then put a smile on your face and be happy today! That might just mean going grocery shopping…alone! =)
What has been the most difficult time in your role as a mom?
Refresh your “momma” heart,
RefreshHer 