Highlights:

This episode will encourage you to:

Calm the chaos — to slow down and consider what’s making your life feel so overwhelming.
Learn from the women who’ve gone before you — see through the temptations of the culture to be and do everything.
Be ready to do hard work in order to discover the beauty family.
Take a hard look at God’s plan and purpose for giving us life — and measure it against what social media or even your friends say gives life or happiness.
Look at the “Why’s” Before you make decisions. Consider the purpose or the “why” behind what you see others doing. And then the “why” behind what you might choose.

We discuss:

Why life as a mom is so complicated?
Why it seems like marriage and parenting is for those special people who seem to do it so well?
Why does motherhood seem so hard?
How apps, books, and classes cause us to forget how to think for ourselves and trust in our own judgement.
How we get indoctrinated by our culture into thinking that becoming a parent is difficult and painful and we’re simply inadequate for the job. That it’s just too hard — not cool enough — we lack the skills required or we’ll lose our life in the process.
How in todays culture, it’s all too easy to just keep scrolling, checking on what everyone else is doing or saying. That’s noise, my friend.
What do you do with all the information out there when it comes to birth and parenting and managing it all?
How simplicity in child care was a basic necessity generations ago. No one had time to make it complicated! They were too busy growing, harvesting, grinding, and baking just to produce a simple thing like bread.

Now it’s your turn!

Time to Think:

So get ready!
I want to encourage you to ask yourself lots of questions. And if you aren’t one naturally, I want you to become a thinker! Not only a hearer and a follower. But a thinker.

**Take time to think about who you are and what you really believe in.**

What do you picture your day being like? Preferences, dislikes, warm fuzzies?
How do you view parenting? And why? What’s behind those feelings?
What would you like to change over how your were parented?
Do you see parenting as complicated or simple?
Do you like collecting resources and information for jobs you do? Or do you prefer winging it and learning along the way, using your intuition to move you forward?
Do you think of your baby as a job with an outcome? Or a joy to behold?

Take time to consider what might be non-essential in your home and life.

What are truly the basics for you and for your baby? Your children?
What might be getting in the way of enjoying life and family?
What could be adding to your overwhelm?
And even deeper than the questions about “things” consider your perspective on family life and children and keeping a home.
What have you been told about parenting or giving birth or raising a child that could be adding to your feeling of overwhelm?
Could a simpler lifestyle (things – activities – perspective) lead to less overwhelm and more joy?

How Am I Using My Time?

What am I doing with the hours I save?
What are you doing with the hours you save?
How will you choose to use them?
And our culture convinces us these conveniences help us get more work done. But at what cost?

Words to Remember:

Terry Covey @ Living Above the Noise:

“You and I need the wisdom from on high. Or we’ll get sucked into thinking the way everyone else does out there in a very lost world. And confusion will reign – or you might just miss God’s best for you. “
“I believe that the more comfortable you are in our own skin, the more confident you’ll be in your mommying – and the less overwhelmed you’ll feel.“
“Overwhelm isn’t God’s design. We live in a culture that most often forgets the God who created all things – and then feels the need to trust in knowledge and ability. Of course, we all want to understand and do our best in the roles we’ve acquired, but we’re first and foremost to learn to rest in God’s design.”
“We’re still going to have questions and we will wonder and we will have concerns and even fear, but we can use our God-given intuition and abilities more than our culture lets on! “
“The enemy wants nothing more than to keep us from listening to God and acting upon His wisdom and instruction.
He wants to keep us from resting on Him alone as we navigate the complexities of life – and especially home life. Marriage, parenting, and keeping our homes for God’s glory. “
“Adding to the complexity of your life ends up limiting your ability to simply enjoy your kids and your family life! You can listen to episode #14 on The Secret To Enjoying Your Children if you want more to chew on!”
“Momma, those babies are your most important work! They are your legacy — the future generation.
Don’t waste the precious time you could be spending with them — online, on social media, or in your home office.
Don’t be fooled into believing there’s more important work than your children’s lives — their future!
But remember —> You have options. You get to choose. You can discover how vastly important it is for the adult your child will become.”
“With the precious time you spend with your child, you’ll instill a sense of value that will last them a lifetime.“
“Good parenting takes time! Lots of it! Time is your most important commodity when it comes to motherhood.”

Just How Important Is Parenting?

Your smiles will encourage them to walk and run and play with more excitement.
In their first critical years of life, your child measures success in how you respond to them. God created it that way!
They learn confidence from your encouragement — which leads them to try new skills and expand their thinking and problem solving.
When your kids succeed in areas of interest, growth, and achievement — it will lead them to accept new challenges.
They develop a sense of adventure from seeing mom and dad’s smiles of acceptance as they jump through another hoop or splash across the pool or hit the ball higher.

You are their sounding board and gauge for how they’re doing. It’s God’s design!

Bible Verses:

Psalm 139:13-14 “For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.”

John 16:21 “A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world.”

James 1:19 says “You know this, my beloved brothers and sisters. Now everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger;

James 1:22-25 But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was. But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does.

Ecclesaistes 12:12 reminds us “But beyond this, my son, be warned: the writing of many books is endless, and excessive study is wearying to the body.”

Proverbs 31:25-27 “Strength and honor are her clothing; she is confident about the future. Her mouth is full of wisdom; kindly teaching is on her tongue. She is vigilant over the activities of her household; she doesn’t eat the food of laziness.”

Deuteronomy 4:9 “Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them fade from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them.”

Proverbs 1:8-9: “Pay close attention, my child, to your father’s wise words and never forget your mother’s instructions. For their insight will bring you success, adorning you with grace-filled thoughts and giving you reins to guide your decisions.”

Ephesians 6:1-3: “Children, if you want to be wise, listen to your parents and do what they tell you, and the Lord will help you. For the commandment, “Honor your father and your mother,” was the first of the Ten Commandments with a promise attached: “You will prosper and live a long, full life if you honor your parents.”

Isaiah 49:15: “Can a mother forget her nursing child? Can she feel no love for the child she has borne?” (Give ex. Of African women and how it was cultural and born of adversity)

Isaiah 66:13 “As a mother comforts her child, so I will comfort you.”

Resources:

“The University of Cambridge study used data from more than 10,000 people born between 2000 and 2002 to understand the long-term interplay between our early relationships with our parents, prosociality and mental health.

The researchers found that people who experienced warm and loving relationships with their parents at age three not only tended to have fewer mental health problems during early childhood and adolescence, but also displayed heightened ‘prosocial’ tendencies. This refers to socially-desirable behaviours intended to benefit others, such as kindness, empathy, helpfulness, generosity and volunteering.”

Psychologists have found that positive parenting can promote children’s confidence and provide them with the tools needed to make good choices. It also nurtures their self-esteem, creativity, belief in the future and ability to get along with others.

➡️. Download the Think – Pray – Plan – Do pdf here.

Think about all you heard today. The thoughts and questions and dreams and ideals you have.

Pray about those to determine what’s most important and valuable.

Make a Plan to implement those beliefs and values. Write them on a white board or get them printed on a wall hanging. The most important thing is to put them in front of you so you won’t forget them. So you can implement them daily and discuss them over dinner or when you need to discipline a child. Or make decisions with your husband.

Do! Live them out. Make them your reality. And then watch as your family life transforms as you and your family gain the morale and confidence and trust in God’s plan for your family!