How we handle the mistakes of others says a lot about our character and personal development. I recently found out some news that someone I love and look up to had made some bad decisions and had a lot of people upset with her. This news was shaking me to my core in the beginning - but it’s turned into a great opportunity of growth and compassion for me.

We can’t control other people. We can only control ourselves.

One thing that I’ve come to realize is that everybody makes mistakes - nobody’s perfect. Pretty sure Hannah Montana taught me that. The best people you know have probably made some incredibly terrible mistakes in their lives. Either you’re not aware of it or you’re blind to it.

What we have to do is get into a healthy mindset about it. We have to stop ignoring it, we have to stop down playing it, and we have to stop blowing it out of proportion. We’ve got to learn to accept what is as what is and release the need to control other people.

We’re all equals here. We’re all capable of the same things. We all make mistakes. We are human. We’ve got to start giving grace to all - not just some. You’re only free when you forgive others and yourself for the past. When you release the anxieties and fears of the future. This moment right now is the only place you will find freedom. You can only be happy right now and you won’t be happy if you’re holding on to other peoples’ mistakes.

Links mentioned in the episode:

Motherhood can be hard enough - when you throw in dealing with depression and a rocky marriage, it can feel near impossible to make the right choices and show up fully for your kids, let alone yourself.

While a healthy marriage is the foundation for a happy family, sometimes we have to reframe what that means. A healthy marriage doesn’t always mean that you’re constantly in love with one another, always going on date nights, or even that you LIKE each other at the moment. A healthy marriage is sometimes simply that you’re unwilling to let it end, that you’ll have disagreements in healthy ways, that you’ll stay committed to the partnership and to parenting together even though you’re struggling to be excited to see your spouse at the end of the day.

Sometimes it’s your husband’s breathing that bothers you, sometimes you feel unsupported, sometimes he’s just not all there for you. But sometimes, even when it feels like it’s HIS problem, the solution, the healing, the growth, it all starts with you. You have to be the bigger person, you have to make changes first, you have to become confident in who you are and content with where you are to find your peace.

Emily Grace Miller is here today to chat with us about her life experiences as a mom struggling to get off the couch and determined to make her marriage work. Emily is a wife to Jesse and mother to 2 gorgeous girls. She’s passionate about living the life God has planned for her and sharing her hard learned lessons with her friends. You can find Emily hosting her podcast It Starts With You on all major platforms and posting snippets of life and reflection to her Facebook Page @EmilyGrace.Miller.

LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

You’re a busy mom just trying to do your best, but every time dinner roles around you can’t help but either feel exhausted from cooking that Pinterest-worthy dinner, or you’re feeling that tinge of guilt that you didn’t try harder to make sure your whole family is getting every nutrient on their plate. 

What is healthy eating anyway? Is it Keto, Paleo, Vegan, Carnivore, Organic, Whole 30, Veggies Most, what is “Clean eating?” What nutritionist Danica Mills is here to share with us today might just ease that meal time stress you’re feeling. You see, “healthy” foods are relative. It’s less about what the world says (that’s always changing!) and more about getting reconnected with your body and asking: what does this food make me feel like? 

Personally, I’ve been on a few diets (for health reasons) and while some things made my body feel better, they also crushed my spirit. It gets easy to jump full speed into these health kicks, end up overwhelmed, with a fridge full of food you’re not excited to eat, then cycle back into the unhealthy eating habits that make your body feel like a trash pit. 

Tune into this episode (or read the transcript linked below) to hear all the expert advice Danica Mills has for us busy moms who are overwhelmed by the idea of healthy eating, yet burdened by the guilt of our current food habits. 

LINKS IN THIS EPISODE

Website: www.danicamills.com 

Danica's Instagram: www.instagram.com/danicamillswellness 

Nourished Podcast: https://www.danicamills.com/podcast

Read the transcript here: https://brittniclarkson.com/2022/07/14/20-simplifying-healthy-eating-for-the-whole-family-with-danica-mills/

FREEBIE Happy Mom Mindset Mini Guide: https://brittniclarkson.ck.page/happymommindset

What’s the marker of a happy, healthy marriage? An active sex life. In the beginning, we didn’t even have to TRY to make time for it, it just happened - all the time. Then work and kids and home care and life all start to happen around us and somehow this once incredible piece of our lives gets shoved in a closet. Sex is the most amazing experience when it’s done right - not just physically, but emotionally and spiritually. To become so vulnerable with your partner and let them exchange energy with you in such an intense way is powerful. But what happens when your mind and body are against you here? What do we do when intimacy becomes a chore or feels like a burden? How do we navigate these waters in our marriage? That’s where Christian Marriage Sex-pert Amanda Ammons comes in and coaches you through your mindset and beliefs around sex, giving you practical tips to make it a priority again. In this episode of I Get To, we’re talking to Amanda about how to make sex happen in your marriage, how to schedule it and make it something to look forward to and how to reconnect when it’s feelings like another source of stress instead of stress-relief. Links mentioned in the podcast: Instagram: www.instagram.com/amandaammons_ Design Your Sex Life Freebie:  https://www.amandaammons.com/email-opt-in-1 Passions Connected: https://open.spotify.com/show/3mJslzIf89jSPF6g4iIhen One-on-one with Amanda: https://www.amandaammons.com/offers/ZVcoKRsJ/checkout Read the full transcription here: https://brittniclarkson.com/2022/07/12/20-making-time-for-intimacy-in-your-marriage-with-amanda-ammons/

I have been asked so many times what my morning routine is - I’m opening up about that here in this episode. I’ve tried all the magical, miracle morning routines for the most successful day possible, and I didn’t like them. I don’t enjoy waking up to a checklist of things someone else says I should do. It’s not fun for me, it’s not authentic to me. In short, I wake up and just do the thing that feels good for me. 

The morning is when you set the tone for the day. The tone I want to set is that I’m making the choices that feel good for me - that I’m not living someone else’s life or following the blueprint for the life they have. I want to have the life I’m meant to have. I enjoy taking time to get quiet and do what feels like it’s meant for me.

Often I’ll get a burst of creativity in the morning. If I’m journaling it’s usually about business or future plans. If I’m reading the bible I’m probably finding things to share here.

Don’t go blindly copying someone else’s blueprint for a perfect morning/life. Don’t force something that doesn’t work for you. You gotta do you. If it feels good and excites you to wake up, do that!

If you’ve been failing at following a morning routine, give yourself so much grace here. Don’t beat yourself up for not fitting into a glass slipper that’s not part of your story. Live your life, not someone else’s. Seriously, if you need one thing to do in the morning, sit in the quiet, be alone in the quiet. Breathe. Don’t think too hard. Let yourself be at peace and ease. Keep a notebook and pen nearby so when things start to flow you can write them down. What you’re meant to do will come to you - it’s probably already come to you, you just haven’t been quiet enough to hear it. Stop looking all around you for what to do, look inside, let Spirit, Wisdom, God guide you. The answers are already there.

Links for this episode: 

Read the show notes: https://brittniclarkson.com/2022/07/13/19-the-only-morning-routine-you-need-to-have-a-really-really-ridiculously-good-day/

Everyday Joy Planner: brittniclarkson.com/planner 

Instagram: www.instagram.com/britclarkson

Facebook: www.facebook.com/brittniclarksonblog

Happy Mom-Brain Workbook: http://brittniclarkson.com/happymom/

FREEBIE Happy Mom Mindset Mini Guide: https://brittniclarkson.ck.page/happymommindset

Are you trying to figure out how to start living a healthy lifestyle without getting overwhelmed and losing motivation, again? Kelsey Bryant is here with us today to give us her wealth of wisdom in making fitness and a healthy lifestyle easy and doable for the busy mama.

If you're a busy mama like me who's desperate to slow down her life - your physical health and fitness can often fall through the cracks. Whether it's because the whole thing seems to get complicated real quick, or that simply beginning feels like a new stress being added to your already heavy plate, Kelsey is here with us today to help overcome the hurdles of simply starting.

Kelsey has a master's degree in health and fitness, on top of being a pilates instructor for years - she really does know her stuff! She's also a mom who knows that working fitness into your life is a priority, not building your life around a fitness routine.

I'll be honest, I've been out of practice in this area. While, in a past life, I was a dance instructor who ate a strict paleo diet at one time - recently I have struggled with a dislike of fitness, I've hated my body and intentionally caused harm by making bad food choices and neglecting the cries for help for a while. I'm right here back at the beginning of this health journey with you, my friend.

Tune into this amazing episode of I Get To with guest, Kelsey Bryant, to learn her expert tips for incorporating fitness and health into your (sometimes already overwhelming) days.

Full transcript and show notes available here: https://brittniclarkson.com/2022/07/07/17-expert-advice-on-getting-healthy-when-youre-already-overwhelmed-with-kelsey-bryant/ 

Find Kelsey here:

website: http://www.kelsey-bryant.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kelseyb.bryant/

email: [email protected]

Podcast: https://link.chtbl.com/FITChristianWoman

Here’s what happens when you give up something that’s not for you anymore - you create space for growth. When I quit teaching the mini dance team, it allowed another mom at the studio to step up and take over. I’ve loved watching her blossom and bloom into the instructor she’s become - and today, she owns her own dance studio! All because I stepped out of the way, handed over the baton, and created space for her to grow in my place.

When you feel pulled to leave, when it’s not aligned anymore, it’s a sign from the Spirit that it’s time to move on; there’s something better waiting for you.

Quitting dance freed up my schedule, it freed me mentally, it created alignment, I fixed my sleep schedule, I figured out how to not hate cooking, I was freed up to start this business. If I was still giving my time to dance, I wouldn’t have this podcast, I wouldn’t have written The Happy Mom-Brain, or created The Everyday Joy Planner. I wouldn’t be doing anything I’m doing now.

Having the courage and bravery to walk away from something I loved, has allowed other women to bloom, it’s allowed me freedom to heal. Quitting has allowed me to begin this whole business to help other women heal and keep moving forward.

If it’s where you truly belong, you will find your way back. After two and a half years away from teaching and coaching dance, I’m feeling a pull to return to that space in creating something new and beautiful.

Read the full show notes here: https://brittniclarkson.com/2022/07/06/16-letting-go-of-whats-not-for-you-to-find-the-joy-and-peace-that-comes-from-quitting/ 

Get the Everyday Joy Planner: http://brittniclarkson.com/planner/