I have always been a perfectionist. I guess it comes with being the oldest child, especially growing up in a family that tried to maintain a wonderful outward appearance while crumbling apart on the inside. I've carried that legacy, or should I say bondage, right into my own family. I have never felt so inadequate as the day a nurse handed me my newborn son, and I looked at him and literally thought "Now what am I supposed to do with this?" You would think that ten years later and with another child under my belt, I'd feel equal to the task of mothering. But I still struggle with my mommy alter-ego. You know, the one who shows up to point out everything you're doing wrong. She keeps me down and focused on how NOTHING I do measures ... Read More...
6 Myths Christian Moms Believe
So often there is a disconnect between the mom I am, and the mom I want to be. Or make that the mom I think I ought to be. A lot of times, I feel like Julia Roberts' character Isabel in the movie Stepmom. In the opening scene, Isabel is frantically trying to get her live-in boyfriend's two children ready for school. She struggles with making them breakfast, getting them dressed, and even finding the youngest child, who has hidden himself in one of the kitchen cabinets. She has a moment of panic when she realizes that she hasn't washed the daughter's shirt for Purple Shirt Day, and as she suggests that the girl just wear orange instead, she's met with eye rolling and obvious disdain. Then in the middle of all this chaos their real mom ... Read More...
3 Ways To Keep Your Joy This Season
It happens every year around this time- the Christmas season burnout. I start off bubbling over with joy and intent on focusing on the Nativity, right after putting up the tree and all the decorations. I'm on top of making each day of Advent meaningful. I execute crafts and lessons that center around Jesus' birth. As it draws closer to Christmas, however, I start fearing I won't get to everything on my checklist. My mind races as I mentally plan out how I can cram all of those special activities and memories with my children in the days left until December 25. Then I get stressed, doing the very things that were supposed to help me focus on the true meaning of this holiday. My natural inclination is to do more, when in fact I ... Read More...
4 Strategies To Combat Feeling Judged
With Memorial Day next week, summer is fast approaching for those of us who live in the Northern Hemisphere. That means kids home from school, backyard barbecues, long days spent relaxing at the pool... and consumer reports about the 10 worst sunscreens on the market. When an article surfaced recently about a toddler who suffered second degree burns from a supposedly safe, kid-friendly product, people were mostly horrified and decried the use of this terrible cream. But then there were those on the opposite end of the spectrum who said something along these lines: "Everything everywhere is trying to kill us so let's just call it good." And who can forget Sarah Kallies' Excuse Me While I Lather My Child In This Toxic Death Cream ... Read More...
4 Ways To Stop Feeling Defeated By A Mom Fail
Have you ever had one of those weeks where you were just rocking motherhood? Where all your responses to your children were tempered with grace and you knew exactly what to say at just the right moment? Maybe you disciplined with wisdom, carefully avoiding that line between punishment and correction. You stayed on top of all the housework and didn't wait until the last minute to decide what to cook for dinner. You executed carefully planned school lessons, complimented by Pinterest worthy crafts. And you were ready to redirect your children with creative, structured activities when they started bouncing off the walls, instead of putting on a movie or letting them play video games. Yeah, this week was not one of those weeks for me. I ... Read More...