The Better Part - Intentional Living for Christian Moms with a Bible-Loving Catholic Mama

We make decisions CONSTANTLY as moms. From big ones like "Should we move?" or "Should we have another baby?" to very small ones like "Should spend time cleaning up before I work on the bills?" Not every decision weighs heavily, but the sheer number of decisions does weigh us down, especially when we don't have confidence on what we should do!

In this episode, we remember that the only true question we need to ask ourselves is "What does God want?" and that is often an easier question to answer. Here are five ways we can do that:

For discerning big decisions, I highly recommend the book What Does God Want by Fr. Michael Scanlan! It is practical, short, and great for evaluating opportunities and choices. I love it so much that I did a series over it on this podcast back when it was called 500 Seconds to Joy!

Check it out here:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-better-part-intentional-living-for-christian-moms/id1481909779?i=1000584622291

Everything we do is affected by our relationships, whether in our families, extended families, friendships, or working relationships. So if there is a relationship where we are having a tough time, it can color how we feel, act, and make decisions.

In this episode, Jenna discusses how unmet expectations affect our relationships and how to deal with that conflict as it comes. She goes over the difference between drawing boundaries and building walls and highlights how God’s plan for us is always for our growth in holiness, even if that means working with someone who is difficult.

However, even with the best communication skills and well-thought-out boundaries, relationships can always turn toward selfishness and friction without Jesus. If we turn first toward Jesus for our fulfillment and work on our relationship with Him first, difficulties with people do not hold so much weight and can be dealt with much easier. Pray for those who are difficult to love and ask Jesus to draw you and them closer to Heaven in His perfect way.

As always, pray the Surrender Novena with me:

“Oh Jesus, I surrender myself to you. Take care of everything.”

I couldn’t let this Election Day pass without at least MENTIONING it as we talk about peace. Know that I am praying for your peace as you deal with the chaos that is the news, politics, and this election. Draw near to God through it all and He will surely draw near to you! (James 4:8)

Finances are the #1 stress in a stressed out America right now. With inflation, job changes, and uncertainty in the economy, it’s not a surprise! But God has seen it all before, and He gives us so much guidance in the Bible.

This episode does not focus on any specific budgeting philosophy, but instead focuses on three Biblical principles:

In general, the best thing we can always do is to recognize and remember that God loves us and will always take care of us. We say the prayer with the Surrender Novena:

“Oh Jesus, I surrender myself to you. Take care of everything.”

The home can be the most peace-filled place, or it can be a major stress in our lives! Where do you find yourself?

Three things that cause stress in our homes are:

In this episode, we break down tips to help loosen the grip of each of those stresses. By creating routines of tidying and cleaning among kids, keeping up with house fixes as they come (rather than pushing them to some later date where you need to work on EVERYTHING), and practicing gratitudes for individual parts of our houses, we can claim the peace God wants to bring us in our homes. He will increase as we create a peaceful space for our families, and what more could we want in the places we spend the most amounts of our time together as a family?

"Oh Jesus, I surrender myself to you. Take care of everything!"

It is well known that those the number of decisions someone makes in the day is directly related to the amount of stress the undergo... How many decisions do you think you have to make as a mother? Probably more than the average Joe, I'd venture to guess! And a lot of those decisions you have to think out have to do with scheduling!

In this episode we break down three major things that bring us stress in our scheduling:

And talk about tips to help out for each of these including:

I never want these tips to overwhelm, but to give ideas to you! Take what works and forget about the rest! If you need it later, trust that the Holy Spirit will bring it back to mind for you!

"Oh Jesus, I surrender myself to you. Take care of everything!"

Parenting is a lifelong job that is the most difficult job you will take on, and once you have it, you have it for life! No one can prepare you for the utter highs and devastating lows every parent experiences. Maybe this is why it can be so stressful and anxiety-driving!

There are so many reasons parents struggle with peace, but in this episode we focus on three main points:

We remind ourselves that our children are separate people from us that are given free will by God to make their own choices. Although they will certainly encounter suffering in life, we will keep our eyes on the prize: Heaven. And we will remember that every mess, no matter how big can be cleaned and redeemed by Jesus! We offer our children and our parenting to Him!

If you are dealing with a constant level of stress day to day in parenting, consider whether you are taking on too much. it could be helpful to write out everything that is currently occupying your mind and then dividing them into four quadrants: important AND pressing, important NOT pressing, NOT important but pressing, NOT important and NOT pressing. This helps me think out what I need to focus on and what I just need to cross off my list. The Holy Spirit is more than capable of reminding you of something later if you just have to say "no" to something good right now.

Lastly, as moms, we are so good at predicting the way things are going to turn out and that helps us as we prepare and teach our kids. But it can also lead to a lot of stress if we are constantly forecasting the way things will eventually affect our kids and how our kids will turn out. Remember that God will continue to be with your children long after they leave your house and that every mess they run into can be cleaned!

Where are you in your personal peace? Do you find yourself as a peaceful person? Or do you feel like you're constantly plagued by worries and stress? Or are you somewhere in between?

As said in the last episode, God is the source of all peace, but we can sometimes place barriers that keep us from receiving His peace. In this episode we discuss common barries ones of:

Practical ideas for your life that are shared are:

Resources mentioned in this episode:

To yourself after this episode, pray this nine more times:

"Oh Jesus, I surrender myself to you. Take care of everything."

What does peace mean to you? To me, it is contentment, fulfillment, and being seen, known, and loved by my Father in Heaven. When I am close to Jesus, I am filled with these feelings and all of life gets easier. There is less pressure on anything to work out the way I want or expect, because I am already filled and fulfilled by Jesus.

The Bible talks ALL about peace because people of all ages have dealt with fear and anxiety. But God tells us through John that "There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear" 1 John 4:18a. God wants to take our anxieties and replace them with His love!

But if all that is true, how can it be that even when I am praying regularly and trying to stay in communion with God, I can still sometimes be filled with stress and anxiety? God always wants to give us the fruits of the Holy Spirit (including peace!), but sometimes we are:

In this series we will go through many aspects of motherhood and see how we can make ourselves more open to the peace God wants to bring us.

We are starting a brand new series based on PEACE! Could you use more peace in your life? I think we all could! God wants to grant us this fruit of the Holy Spirit, but sometimes we have trouble receiving it. Why? In this series, we will dive into the answer to this question concerning all sorts of topics like: motherhood, marriage, finances, making decisions, and MORE!

Join me for the next 9 weeks as we explore peace and learn how to receive it more from God who wants to give us every good and perfect gift.