You can do it! Believe in your self! You've got the power! Trust yourself! Follow your heart!
These are all powerful statements that get us pumped and going. At times these encouraging words can pull us out of the pits and give us the grit to carry on. But...
Is it all up to me? Do I have to do this all on my own strength? What if I am really too weak and broken to carry on? What if I am too weary?
The good news is that we don't have to do this alone. In fact we aren't mean to strive on our own. Over an over again the bible reminds us that God is right there with us wanting to help. To me this is a huge relief. So often I feel like a failure, or guilty because I am not good enough. But we aren't. And that is great to hear. We aren't perfect and we aren't expected to be perfect! Thank goodness!
I have read my fair share of parenting books. I have taken several courses and paid a lot of money to improve our home life. I have been truly blessed by the amazing resources that are available, some Christian, others were secular. What struck me most while working through the non-Christian courses and books was how much they leaned on your own inner strength and self to get you through. It sounds exhausting and it is. I can't possibly imagine doing all the growth and hard work of changing how things were going in our home without God's guidance and loving presence.
You know the fire safety time we learned way back STOP, DROP and ROLL? In the gentle parenting realm it is STOP, DROP and BREATH (I credit Dr. Laura Markham for teaching me that). In my life I have discovered that STOP, DROP and PRAY was far more effective. When you are overwhelmed, frustrated or angry this is the perfect time to take a breath and pause.
STOP what you are doing and mentally hit the pause button.
DROP what you are doing. Whatever is going on isn't an emergency hopefully. You could come back to it later or drop it completely.
PRAY and take a deep breath of course to clear your head. Bring your problems to God. Even a quick cry out for help can shift our brain out of emergency flight, fright or freeze mode.
What also helps me immensely is to have some verses hidden in my heart, ready for when I need some reassurance and peace. I have created the beautiful handy printout for you to hang as a reminder. Just sign up for my newsletter below and you'll gain access to ALL my freebies.
What are your favourite verses? I'd love to know
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