Being Appreciated For All You Do
Being appreciated as a mom feels like a far-fetched idea until we put it in perspective. No one organizes a parade when you are done washing dishes, cleaning the house, paying the bills, and bathing all the kids. Those tasks are just expected of you because you are the matriarch of the household. Then you get to wake up the next morning and do it all over again. Maybe with even more cleaning because the kids made a mess…again. Mindset Shifting our mindset to a more graceful and grateful attitude can help with our feelings of unappreciation. Your family loves you, but it is hard for them to always show their gratitude because like all of us…they live in their own little world. You may be asking yourself… “easier said than done, how do I even begin to shift my mindset?” Steps to Shifting Perspective “No one does as much as I do,” “No one helps around the house” – It sounded like “Eeyore” had moved into our house. This does not change behavior, it helps alienate your family members from you. They tend to avoid angry moms, and the behaviors you want to change never get better at all. Breathe and watch your words. You do not have to believe every thought in your head. You also do not have to verbalize every thought…it only perpetuates negative thinking. Communication and setting an accepting tone for your family is key to creating a peaceful, healthy environment. Will it be perfect every day. Of course not. You cannot control everyone’s bad moods; you can only control how you react to them. Much love to you and many blessings. From one woman to another, I thank you for all you do to raise young future leaders, and move a family, no matter what size it may be, closer to God, kindness, and love.
Overwhelming self doubt can be paralyzing to the mind and to our relationships. To me it feels like suffocating in my own thoughts of unworthiness, paranoia and self doubt.
The Lies We Tell Ourselves All of us have a God-given purpose. We must muddle through all the lies, stories, and BS in our heads to truly understand, conclude, and implement our purpose in this world as our best selves. What makes the process so difficult is that we must sit quietly and wholeheartedly with our struggles, weaknesses, and habits and work through them… not cover them up, avoid them, or drown them out with the world’s noise. Today is particularly tough, and I want to run from my thoughts and push them aside instead of asking where these weak thoughts are coming from. Overcoming Doubts We all have vulnerabilities, doubts, and worries that we need to talk to, process, and then give up to God. We are worth so much more than what the anxiety says in our heads. Everyone, but especially moms, deal with a lot of self-doubt around parenting, working, and our relationships with our spouse, co-workers, and friends. There are so many stories out there in social media and heck, even at the PTA meeting that we are not enough, and we can do more and be richer, smarter, craftier, prettier, and just not ourselves..because that is just not good enough. We have to remind ourselves.. We got this! Through the Lord’s Grace, we can do hard things. It’s ok to not be perfect, it’s ok to doubt ourselves, just don’t let it prevent you from taking action on your goals. It’s ok to have a day where you rest and not do anything remotely productive by society’s standards. I’m here reminding myself that it is ok to not have a perfect job, perfect body, and perfect family who does exactly what I say (my family is full of opinionated, smart, witty, beautiful people). It’s ok to sit with my sadness for a day, work through it (ask for help when I need it -Betterhelp is a great tool I have used while dealing with grief), and learn how to be strong in who I am and my purpose. We can, as a society, rise above self-doubt and lift each other up in strength and love. Much love to all of you living, loving, and learning. God bless you.
Overcoming Temptations Through The Grace of God
We all have some vice or temptation that we struggle with daily. Some of our vices are more detrimental to our health than others. I advise anyone needing counseling or addiction recovery to seek the proper help. I am not a licensed therapist or certified addiction counselor. I’m simply here to share my experiences with my struggles. I am a sugaraholic! I crave sweets, and sugary things that I shouldn’t. My habit, over the years, has been to reach for sweets when I feel stressed. Mindless Eating Mindless eating habits do not serve us well. Yet I think “What does it hurt to eat a cookie here and there or a “fun-size” candy bar…it’s fun-sized for a reason, right?” If I were able to stop and think for even a second to break the cycle. I would realize I am thirsty, not hungry. I also just want to eat sugar to avoid the stress of whatever is bothering me at the time. So many times we mistake thirst for hunger, and just eat something just because we are thirsty. The hypothalamus controls both hunger and thirst. It is easy to confuse the two. Water is Life Have you ever had a day where you think back and realize you may have had one glass of water all day? Maybe you had some sodas, teas, or other sugary drinks, but no water without any type of sugar in it. Then at night I am super thirsty for water.. Dehydration cycle continues. The odd thing is I like water, and I like fruit and vegetables even more than the junk I choose to eat instead when I’m stressed out. Sugar and chemicals in snack foods are very addictive, and create this cycle of crashes, dehydration, and a slew of other health concerns if not controlled. I was talking to my son about healthy eating the other day because he struggles a bit with snacks and junk food as well. He responded to my concerns with the truth and a simple answer. “Then don’t bring the junk food into the house.” That’s when I realized I played a huge part in creating temptation in my household because I was bringing unhealthy options into our home, and simultaneously saying we need to eat better. Remove the Temptation I wouldn’t want a recovering alcoholic to bring alcohol into their house just in case someone may want alcohol at a party or an event, but I would expect them not to touch it themselves. Why am I bringing junk food into my house and expecting myself and my family members to limit it to one portion-controlled snack? It’s a recipe for disaster. We need to eliminate all temptations related to that vice from our homes. Numerous temptations cause distress to our souls and can lead to health issues. Each of us must consciously decide to remove access to our vices from our living spaces. I pray that God gives us the strength to fight our temptations with common sense, the grace of God, and a sense of worthiness so strong that we can avoid and ultimately overcome temptations. “God is faithful and will not let you be tried beyond your strength; but with the trial he will also provide a way out, so that you may be able to bear it..” Corinthians 10:13