Managing Momma Mondays: Your Emotions from a Biblical Perspective

     When I decided, a couple of weeks ago, that I was going to start these posts and title them "Managing Momma Mondays" my intentions were this: 1.) It would create some accountability for me to post at least one day a week and therefore 2.) It would allow you to remember, at least one day a week, that I would have a new post, but more importantly than all of that 3.) It would offer me a  platform to speak about what I feel is key to being a successful mom, and that is managing ourselves and our lives emotionally, physically, spiritually and relationally in better and more Godly ways.


    If you are anything like me, there are days, weeks, sometimes months, when you feel like you are simply going through the motions. You are cooking and cleaning, shopping and sorting, washing and folding, tending and managing, but you are not really enjoying any of it...you're just sort of surviving the chaos of life.


    Well, I KNOW that isn't how it is supposed to be, but that doesn't mean that sometimes it doesn't FEEL like that is the only way to get by....survival mode.


    So, these posts are supposed to be a way for me to encourage you, and myself, that there are better ways of thinking, living and being that do not look like the ways we live when we are merely trying to survive.


    While all of that is fine and good, I feel like the LAST person on the face of the planet, well, at least on the face of my little planet, that should be giving anyone advice on how to live better...I haven't been very successful at it myself these days. I have not been "thriving" as a mother, but "surviving" the days. This isn't true ALL of the time, but it, sadly, has been true a lot of the time.


    Motherhood is gosh darned hard. I find it overwhelming, and challenging. I find it hard to not have more time in which I can have uninterrupted thoughts to do even simple things, like write a grocery list, or a "to-do" list for the day. I find it hard to have little uninterrupted time to clean my house, or even take a shower. It really is a selfless job and I've been fighting the very selflessness of it with my own selfishness...Grr.


    I hope my honesty is o.k...it's kind of the way I function...Scott and I joke that I'd be a terrible sales person because I'm so honest, and emotional and sometimes a little sappy. Good thing he's the one with the sales job that supports our family! I'll stick with my passions to write...where emotion and honesty are kind of par for the course!


     So, even though I feel like a terrible example of someone who is actually LIVING out a balanced, peaceful inner life (something God promises to us if we focus on His word and truths)...I am working on it...so I'll tell you what I'm learning and hopefully you'll learn something from it.


    As I mentioned a couple of weeks back, the MAJOR key to being peaceful and managing our emotions is simply "being" happy, in other words, changing our thought patterns. So how do you change your thoughts? Well, one at a time for starters...The more you do it, the easier it will get because the negative patterns will become less and less while the positive and encouraging thoughts will start to come more naturally.


    When we start to think on good things, we start to FEEL good about things. I promised I'd share some biblical perspective on it and am going to give you a couple of my favorite verses.

Philippians 4:6-7

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends ALL understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. 

    Oh my...do you know how many times I've read this verse in my life?!! Like a zillion!


    Do you know how often I actually allow its truth to seep into my heart and brain and actually transform my thought life?


   ugh.


    Maybe 10% of the time...that's a pretty bad average, huh? Especially when God is offering such an incredible promise that TRANSCENDS our worldly perspective.


    So, this week, I'm going type this verse on a piece of paper, and then copy and paste it 10X in the document...I'm going to print it out, cut them out and stick one everywhere I can think to do so! On the fridge, in the car, on my bathroom mirror, on the door of my washing machine! I am going to let it's truth seep in to my mind and heart this week and I'm going to report back to you on its effectiveness...hoping it's better than drugs because some days I think valium may be the only way to calm this mind down...but I'd prefer to not go there!!!


    Alright, one more favorite verse for you to take with you this week...

Philippians 4:8 

Finally [sisters], whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, lovely and admirable-- if anything is excellent and praiseworthy--think about THESE things.

    I don't know about ya'll, but if I were to follow the instructions offered in this verse, I'd need to discount like 75% of my thoughts on some days...they are NOT true, or noble, lovely or praiseworthy...they're just plain crabbiness! So...I'm going to post this one up all around the house too...God says that we are to be TRANSFORMED by the renewing of our minds...so, this will be my little social experiment...I'm going to work on transforming my mind and just see what happens, and will report back to you in my Monday posts.


    Blessings to you all for a good and healthy week. If I can figure out how to post the document with the verses on my blog I'll do so so that you can follow suit!