I know the lies anxiety tells you. That you’re a failure because you didn’t finish everything you should have today. That your kids deserve a better mother, a mother who is able to do it all. Worry about everything and nothing simultaneously gnaws at you. There are even times when you worry that you aren’t worried enough! The simplest of tasks become nearly impossible since it feels like you are doing them while walking through thick mud, in heavy fog. The prospect of any seemingly insignificant change to your carefully crafted schedule is completely overwhelming and sends you into a panic. Papers cluttered on top of the counter and toys on the floor, along with the spills, make you cranky. You hold your kids back from a lot of ... Read More...
Why It’s Okay That You’re Not Enough For Your Kids
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...