A wrong decision, a hard parenting moment, and how much I need Jesus and more...

Here's What's New A wrong decision, a hard parenting moment, and how much I need Jesus Quick Whole 30 Dinner Ideas 5 Healthy Freezer Meals Made With Ground Turkey Free 12-Week Organization Challenge What are some little things that make you happy (Go to Bed Challenge: Day 11) Real life, asthma, and why there are some things I don't really talk about online My #1 Social Media Tip (it might surprise you!) :: A wrong decision, a hard parenting moment, and how much I need Jesus Yesterday, a friend came to me and shared with me that one of my kids had done something really wrong. What's more, it was something I was sure they knew was very wrong. I felt sick and upset that they would do it anyway. They they didn't have self-control. That I couldn't trust them when I wasn't with them. Jesse and I had an opportunity in that moment: to be frustrated and lash out at this child. Or to love them through this, listen to their heart, and gently talk about the consequences to their actions. With Jesse's encouragement, we chose the latter… And ended up having a really beautiful and honest conversation that knit our hearts closer together. Parenting is hard, hard work. There are many discouraging moments and days. There are many times when I feel so ill-equipped, when I wonder if my kids are going to have to go through years of counseling to undo the mistakes I've made (because, trust me, there are plenty of times when a situation like the above hasn't ended with gentle words.) But then I look into their eyes and I'm reminded that God has uniquely gifted and equipped us to parent these children. He's given us these children. And even though we love them more than anyone else in the world, He loves them even more. He wants me to look to Him in those overwhelming parenting moments. I don't always have what it takes, but He is enough. He is Wisdom. He is Truth. He is Love. And He will supply everything I need to be the mom He has called me to be. Today, I'm going to rest in that and cling to that. :: Quick Whole 30 Dinner Ideas Jessica from Good Cheap Eats put together a great list of Quick Whole 30 Dinner Ideas. :: 5 Healthy Freezer Meals Made With Ground Turkey Kelly from New Leaf Wellness has a great list of 5 Healthy Freezer Meals Made With Ground Turkey. Her free download includes grocery lists and recipes for all of the meals. :: Free 12-Week Organization Challenge Need motivation and accountability for getting your home more organized? Sign up for a free 12-week organization challenge! :: What are some little things that make you happy (Go to Bed Challenge: Day 11) Good morning! What are some little things that you just love and that make you happy? For me, among other things, it's coffee mugs, nail polish, and socks: -I've found that drinking coffee from a mug I love makes coffee even *that much better*. -I've found when I have my nails painted, it makes me smile and feel more put together (plus, I don't bite them! Yes, I'm a nail biter!) -I've found that comfy, fun socks just make me happy - even if I'm the only one one who knows that I'm sporting them under my riding boots. What about YOU? In what little ways do you surround yourself with little doses of happiness? (It's Day 11 of the Go to Bed Early Challenge and I was in bed by 10:10 pm last night but didn't end up completely winding down and falling for another 30 minutes. But that's still big progress for me over a few months ago!!) Are you joining me for the Go to Bed Early Challenge? If so, leave a comment on this post to let me know how you did with your go-to-bed goal last night. We're in this together… And if you didn't hit your goal, that's okay! Give yourself grace, don't beat yourself up, and know that you can try again tomorrow! P.S. Read more about the Go to Bed Early Challenge here. Need some help and inspiration to go to bed early so you can get up and use your mornings well? Download Day 1 of Make Over Your Mornings for free (scroll to the bottom of this page to sign up for it!) :: Real life, asthma, and why there are some things I don't really talk about online Not 15 minutes after I posted a very peaceful and serene-looking photo this morning, this picture is what my morning looked like. Sometimes, I think it's easy to look at someone's photos online and concoct a completely false view of what their reality is. That they never have struggles, that life is all roses and rainbows for them, and that their house magically cleans itself. This is a big part of what our family's reality has been for the last 5 years - working hard to keep this little boy's asthma at bay. I don't talk about it much online because I tire quickly of the well-meaning suggestions for how we should treat or cure or what we need to change or do or not do… We've tried the diets and oils and natural remedies - all to no avail. And I already struggle with enough guilt that they haven't worked. So, much as it's hard for my mama heart, we are grateful for modern medicine that keeps this boy able to live an active life, gain weight, and to mostly sleep at night. I know many parents are dealing with much, much more difficult illnesses and diseases with their children. But it still hurts my mama heart to see this little boy often struggling for breath, waking up with coughing fits, and regularly needing medication and breathing treatments. I share this little peek into real-life here as a reminder that what you see on social media or a blog is usually just a tiny glimpse into the window of someone's reality. Don't compare yourself to little snippets you see online. Don't feel frustrated by it. And don't wish for it. Everyone has heavy burdens and hard struggles. No one is immune. Cultivate the ground you are standing on instead of wishing you had someone else "greener pastures". :: My #1 Social Media Tip (it might surprise you!) My #1 social media tip might surprise you, but it's made SUCH an impact on my life: Other than Instagram and Periscope, I choose not to use or have any other social media apps on my phone. Instagram is my real-life, behind the scenes fun social media platform that I use for personal use. I don't see it as business, thought occasionally I do use it for business. Periscope is also something that I love - and that can only be run through my phone (or through an iPad, though I rarely ever use an iPad for anything but speaking notes!). With both platforms, I've chosen to only follow a handful of people so that I can engage at a deep level with those people and not get overloaded with too much information, posts, and online clutter. I don't have Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, my blog, or e-mail on my phone. I only update those platforms from my computer, because I want to be able to designate work versus non-work time. This keeps me from being tempted to check-in, update, and engage in comments on my phone. I don't want to have this distraction when I'm doing real life. This decision helps me compartmentalize my life so well. When my computer is open, it's work time. When my computer is shut, it's personal and family time. It helps me not feel like a slave to social media or like it's controlling my life and it takes away that sense of urgency from all of the notifications. 4 Ways to Quiet the Social Media Noise If you're overwhelmed with social media, try setting some boundaries. Here are some suggestions for ways to quiet the social media noise: Have regular times where you unplug. Schedule times to be completely offline every week. Turn off your phone. Turn off electronics and just soak in the quiet. Take a walk. Bake. Talk to a friend. Read to a child. (I don't blog on Sundays and I try to be mostly offline after dinner every night and until after I've read my Bible and journaled in the morning.) Unsubscribe from everything that you don't need or love. If it's just cluttering up your inbox, click the unsubscribe button and free yourself from the extra email clutter! (Read more how I keep my inbox uncluttered here.) Turn off notifications on your phone. You don't need to know when someone likes your Facebook post or comments on your Instagram post or follows you on Twitter. The world will not end if you turn these notifications off. Try it and see! (The only notifications I have on my phone are for when someone texts me or calls me. That's it!) Turn off all notifications via email. The same goes for email. Stop getting notifications when someone interacts with you on social media. Have designated times to check in on social media every day and catch up on the new comments and posts and engagement and then untether yourself from it for the rest of the time. How do YOU keep social media in check and not let it take over your life? I'd love to hear! P.S. Watch this very short scope here on Why You Should Consider Quitting (or Cutting Back On) Facebook. photo credit; You received this email because you are registered on www.moneysavingmom.com with the email address panatllc1.kate@blogger.com. If you believe this has been sent to you in error, you can easily unsubscribe here. Money Saving Mom 2020 Fieldstone Parkway, Suite 900 #313 Franklin, TN 37069 © 2008-2015 Money Saving Mom, LLC. All rights reserved.