One of my favorite ministries for mommies, Hearts at Home, is hosting a Blog Contest Week and I wanted to take part! Hearts at Home is a Christian-based ministry, dedicated to supporting and encouraging mothers through every stage of motherhood - from bringing home their first newborn baby to helping their adult children cope with a newborn of their own! Each day this week I will be sharing a little bit about the ministry of Hearts at Home and what it has meant to me as a wife and mother of 2 preschoolers. Stay tuned for info on how you can win a valuable Hearts at Home resource!
As a college student, I always pictured myself as a career woman who would easily balance the pressures of business and the priorities of being a mother. All that changed drastically the moment I found out I was expecting our first child! Suddenly I wanted nothing more than to be home with my baby all day every day to watch him or her grow.
I began to stay home with my son the day he was born and soon discovered that this mothering thing is not as easy or "natural" as everyone had made me think! I was now the main source of care and and love for this tiny being. How was I to take care of him and still find room for caring for myself? It got even harder as another child joined our family and I began to feel like I no longer existed.
I had heard about Hearts at Home through some friends at church who attended a conference every year, but had been unable to attend. Last year I decided it was time to invest in motherhood they way I invest in any business prospect - I needed to get some training! I convinced a friend to attend, and we headed up to Grand Rapids, MI for the Great Lakes Regional Conference. I'll share more about my experience there in a later post, but for now I will say the conference awakened me to a whole new concept of mothering and really recharged my "mommy batteries"!
And now for the contest!!!
One of the best resources I bought at the conference last year was a devotional book called Ordinary Mom, Extraordinary God, by Mary E. Demuth. Its a wonderful book full of 1-2 page reminders of why it is we do what we do as Christian women, mothers and wives. I found it to be invaluable over the last year as I sometimes read the same devotionals day after day, soaking in God's truth about me time and again! If you leave a comment on this post, or any post this week, your name will be entered into a drawing to win your very own copy of Ordinary Mom, Extraordinary God provided by Hearts at Home. Here's what I want you to answer in your comment: what you do to keep your "mommy batteries" charged?
Check out http://www.hearts-at-home.org for more info on the ministry and conferences available!
11 comments:
what you do to keep your "mommy batteries" charged?
Good question...as mom of three teens and a toddler it sometimes is hard to get my rest. I usually try to do something nice when I am "low in energy", and that could be just as simple as walking through the park, or do some grocery shopping. Sometimes the older children send me to bed, to take a nap... and that is a relief. And that is good... to get some love back from the ones you love...:-)
I do two things to keep my mommy batteries charged:
1) I make a point of taking one Saturday "off work" a month. I'll go to a girlie movie solo or treat myself to lunch at some swanky place. A Date With Self, I guess you could say.
2) I go on retreats once a year, just me and God, off on adventures together. I always have a good time, but I also miss my kids and by the time I get home, I'm happy to be reunited with 'em (and they with me).
what you do to keep your "mommy batteries" charged?
Periodically, I leave the kids in the able care of Daddy and do something by myself - go shopping, wander around the local thrift store, to the library, fondle yarn at the LYS or just go somewhere I can be alone and knit. I also take advantage of fishing rodeos and other Daddy and kids activities in the area to gain a little Mommy time.
I also find that taking a break from Mommy responsibilities for something silly with the kids helps recharge my batteries too. Playing a goofy game, singing along with a favorite CD and just generally goofing off together recharges everyone at once.
Finally, I make sure that we don't neglect Bible study time or prayer.
What a great question!
I try very hard to not get out of bed in the morning until I have read my Bible. If I don't- I'm cranky.
I also have my kids have a "rest time" in the afternoon. They don't necessarily sleep- but they are quiet in their rooms; and I use that time to get in some exercise (we have a treadmill and ex. bike). It helps my stress level and makes our time together more enjoyable. :-)
My husband also trys to get me some "Mama time" where I can get out of the house without the kids once a week, or once every 2 weeks.
I saw your post on Ravelry and thought I would come check out your contest:) What keeps my mommy batteries charged? Well, it's hard! Everyday, I spend a little time in the afternoon making myself a pot of tea, it's become a ritual for me that helps me get through the rest of the day. More than that, I try to get out a little bit every week...hubby takes care of the kids and I go to the bookstore or to a movie, a chance to be alone and recharge. I wish I could do more for me sometimes, I feel so burnt out!
Keeping my mommy batteries charged is a challenge!
To recharge my batteries, I make sure I have some me time during the week. Sometimes I'll watch a silly girl movie or just take an entire Saturday afternoon to read a book while Hubby plays with my DD. I feel refreshed and recharged after just a few hours for me!
I LOVE being a stay at home mom! I never really had career aspirations, but mommying is harder than I ever imagined it to be. Thankfully, I have a wonderful, supportive husband who has no problem stepping in the evenings to give me a break. I'm also a big fan of bubble baths!
thanks for the link to the hearts at home.
so to keep my batteries charged i guess i take time away after the kids are asleep. fix some coffee get online or read or knit. I also try to keep connected with other momma's
We plan to have one weekend a month when my son stays over at my in-laws' or at a friend's house while my husband and I can have some child-free time together.
I keep my batteries recharged by having my daily devotional and quite time. I also set aside time daily to knit as well. DH is good to take our son out so I can have time alone at home.
I agree with hali. I need to have my daily quiet time. After my daughter gets on the school bus, and it's just the little one and me, there's such a temptation to just dive into the to-do list, but I really need to force myself to slow down and take those 5 or 10 minutes to read my Bible and get ready for the day!
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