sneak peek

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Just a few quick note to post today . . .

The past few months I've been working on a few things and I'll be sharing all the details soon!
This is just a little sneak peek though!

STAY TUNED! 

Truth on Unpredictable Days

I’m not what you would describe as a type A person, so control hasn’t been a struggle in my life. 
Or so I thought until recently . .
I’m not a structured person, although I am tempted by pretty planners &
I’m also not spontaneous, though an unplanned getaway sounds dreamy!

I prefer rhythm & predictability or admiringly known as “disguised control” .

Last week this adorable 8month old yanked control out from beneath me & flat out punched predictability in the face!
Harbor’s sleep has been erratic meaning
our rhythm has been non existent!
The days of unpredictability led to unproductive days followed by an avalanche of self centered criticism & condemnation. 

As I begrudgingly sat in stillness, attempting yet again to induce Harbor into a nap, the Father spoke :
“I see you. You’re not alone.”
& the dam broke as the Father flooded my soul with truth;
Truth that noticeably slid out of focus as I fixed my eyes on my circumstances.
➕ Truth that He is faithful. 

➕ Truth that He has carried me through difficulty & uncertainty. 

➕Truth that although I’m sleep deprived,
I’m abundantly thankful our sweet boy is home & not lying in a bed in the NICU. 

➕ Truth that although Harbor seems increasingly needy, my heart explodes with gratitude, recalling that endless week my empty arms ached to hold him!

➕ Truth that although Harbor is struggling with sleep, it’s because he’s growing mentally & physically. 

➕ Truth that I am loved as my husband graciously holds Harbor for hours during the night so that I can sleep. 

➕ Truth that these moments of childhood are more precious than predictability.
Moments which are painfully evident as our oldest talks about life & the future & my heart aches because the bittersweet truth is that these days of childhood are fleeting. 

So as the tears of selfishness flush out of my soul, tears of gratitude began streaming down my face. 
I hold Harbor close & whisper “thank you”.
Thank you for the gift of beauty, grace & Truth especially on unpredictable days. 
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For more grace filled encouragement like this, follow along on my FB page :  

 

self care // exercise

 

Continuing my series on self care, today I want to briefly talk about exercise. 

We all know that exercise is physically beneficial, but studies show that

exercise helps lessen symptoms of depression, proving that exercise benefits 

our soul emotionally and mentally as well. 

Personally, I've never been more keenly aware of this connection than I am 

currently! Following Harbor’s complicated birth, a NICU stay, postpartum 

hormones and sleepless nights, I battled continuous storms of unpredictable 

emotions and self deprecating thoughts. 

It’s taken a multi pronged approach but honestly, one of the greatest 

contributions to balancing my emotions, has been getting back into an 

exercise rhythm. 

My goal is to try to squeeze in some form of movement every day, 

whether that’s walking for a half hour or spending 15 minutes focused on a 

target area; I make sure to prioritize movement into my day. 

The beauty of exercise, is the multitude of options available, and with a bit 

of effort, you can find a specific form that is an enjoyable experience! 

 

Personally I’ve found two : barre workouts (which I’ll post on later) & Pilates. 

I  discovered Pilates soon after the birth of my first son, nearly two decades 

ago, and knew instantly that I found my perfect match!

Pilates focuses on mindful movement while strengthening & toning the body’s 

muscles; if you’ve ever been interested in what Pilates is all about, today I 

have the perfect opportunity to tell you about! 

 

 

Robin over at The Balanced Life is hosting a "Back to the Mat" 7 day challenge

that will introduce you to the Pilates method.

So whether you’ve fallen out of an exercise routine or you just need a bit of 

motivation to begin again, I hope you’ll join me for Back to the Mat. 

Sign up via the link below: https://thebalancedlifeonline.com/backtothemat/ 

 

 

➕ Robin also created {this} daily printable, which I’ve also downloaded on 

my phone; it encourages me to prioritize movement even on the busiest day!

Head here for a full description of each exercise & to get your copy.  

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PS // if you feel like you’re battling depression of any kind, seek help! 

Talk with someone! You DON’T have to stay in the place that you’re in! 

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Motherhood + self care

Lest anyone here think that I’ve got it altogether, here’s a secret that you most likely don’t know about me;

self care isn’t easy for me to prioritize!!

For almost 18 years I’ve bought into this exaggerated belief system
“that our children & our spouse matter more than we do ..
that truly loving them is putting their needs above our own ..”
But mama’s choosing to take care our ourselves is important!!

Over the next week I want to talk about my personal experience with practicing self care but please, I beg you, when you hear me talking about why I believe it’s important to take care of ourselves, remember that I’m currently learning to implement this in my own life! 
 
As a Christian, my faith and relationship with the Father fuel every part of my life,
mentally + emotionally + physically  
I believe that you and I are created to breathe life into the people around us, 
Our kids . Our spouse . Our home . Our co-workers . Our world .
But we can’t do that if we don’t prioritize nourishing our souls. 

Life is constantly full of out of unforeseen, uncontrollable circumstances, like an infant who keeps you up literally almost all.night.long or hormonal, preadolescent kids who literally equate one of their brothers taking their pen as a violation of their human rights; I mean they’re literally throwing punches! And I’m not talking about some engraved expensive pen, I’m talking about  a cheap @** I come in a twelve pack from Dollar Tree pen!!

While these may seem like insignificant examples, when I don’t prioritize nurturing my soul, I find myself reacting, and often overreacting, to circumstances rather than remembering 
// Who’s // already got my circumstances.

I want to share my story not because I have the answers, quite the opposite!  I often get caught up in life’s circumstances. I forget perspective. I need encouragement.
I'm sharing because preaching to my own heart reminds me of the truth.
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Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go apologize to my kids for yelling over how stupid it is to fight over a pen! 
Follow along over at beauty and grace {everyday} on facebook for more posts like this. 

beauty & grace {everyday}

Hey mama’s!
I’m so excited to finally share a bit of my heart behind the change that’s happening in this little online space..
A few years ago I was in the busy season of Barn sales, and although that season of life has ended,
I’m still just as passionate about celebrating the beauty of motherhood!

I personally believe that our homes are the most important place in earth & mama’s,
we greatly influence the atmosphere of our homes by what we believe & what we speak!!
Yet often times, meeting the demands of motherhood finds us empty because we prioritize everything except our own souls. Over time, we can loose sight of the big picture & completely overlook the beauty filled life we’ve each been given!

See I’m that girl who repeatedly stumbles when I try to stand on my own strength &
who often despairs when I forget Faith is choosing to declare all He is rather than all we see.

In this new space you’ll find me
#preachingtomyself & prioritizing a #wholehealthylifestyle
because I believe we can have healthy minds + live whole lives

You’ll find me attempting too find
#purposefulperspective & see the
#extraordinaryinmyordinary

I’ll also post snippets of our family’s personal journey of #homeschoolingwithbeautyandgrace

Hear this!
I am not a perfect mom; I don’t have a perfect home or perfect kids or the perfect curriculum.
I’m daily.walking.proof of the need to
#declaretruthinyourtrial
to choose + purposefully walk in {beauty & grace}everyday

You won’t find formula’s here or a step by step guide to self improvement .. nope!
Just encouragement, hope & truth.
A place where real life & real struggles find real grace.

I hope you'll join me over on Facebook  // Let’s feed our souls mama!!