November 23, 2024 • 24 mins
Feeling overwhelmed by holiday stress, especially as a mother, is a struggle many of us face. Join us as we unravel ways to realign priorities by discerning truth from lies, and asking God for guidance in our day-to-day duties.
This episode is not just about surviving the holiday hustle but thriving amidst it by shifting our focus from the material to the meaningful. Our conversation encourages saying no to the unnecessary, fostering spiritual and emotional renewal as we head into the new year. By prioritizing what truly matters, we are reminded of God's goodness towards us and we can then walk in peace and love through stressful times.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hello and welcome to Simply Edifies podcast.
Our goal is to encourage womenas we navigate the messiness of
life through biblical studies,personal stories and practical
tips that bolster our walk withJesus daily.
Thank you for joining us in ourepisode today.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
Hello, we are talking today about an overwhelmed
heart and I feel like it'sperfect timing because obviously
we're headed right in for theholidays of Thanksgiving and
Christmas and all the things,and it's a time where stress and
overwhelm is high and I thinkthat, especially as moms, a lot
(00:44):
of the extracurricular thingsthat happen around this time of
year are on us and we want to doall of the things, but in
reality we know that we can't doall of the things, so we become
stressed and overwhelmed andangry and anxious and all of the
(01:04):
things.
So let's just take a minutebefore the crazy hits to
actually evaluate what isimportant and what isn't and
what can we do with the feelingof being overwhelmed.
Speaker 3 (01:19):
One of the first things that we can just stop and
evaluate how much of this is alie that I'm believing Right,
because often we entertain theselies that were no good.
We should quit trying.
These are coming from thedevotional book.
I'm not making this is actuallyApril's thoughts, but we have
(01:41):
to remember that those are lies,lives, and god sees our
struggles.
I love this hero.
God sees our struggles and hedoes not hold our failures over
us.
We do that.
We do that to ourselves.
Speaker 2 (02:10):
We do that to other people, and so we should act
based on you know, people aroundus and who we see and culture
and all of these expectationsright, and we never really go to
our creator, the one who gaveus our abilities, the one who
gave us our children, the onewho gave us our families, the
(02:33):
one we don't go to God and saywhat do you expect of me in this
day and in this time?
What do you have planned for me?
So I think if we were to take alittle bit of a step back,
before the stress and overwhelmeven hits us, and just say God,
(02:58):
what do you want me to do today?
Like?
I have this idea.
Like.
My kids need to be fed, theyneed to be taught, you need to
be dropped off here, they needto be done.
Like, but lead me, guide me.
If I need to say no tosomething, help me to say no
Like, let your spirit guide mein my day, and I think if we
(03:19):
were to do that, we'd findourselves in a better place for
sure.
Speaker 3 (03:24):
Yeah, because God can redirect our priorities, and I
think that's kind of the key.
When we're lined up with whathe wants, the important things
become important and the thingsthat aren't as important kind of
fall to the wayside.
And there are things that wejust have to do every day, like
we do have to, you know, feedour families for example, which
(03:49):
can be very tedious if that'snot your thing.
Even if it is, it can just betedious to like have to come up
with dinner every single nightfor the rest of your life.
That's an overwhelming thought,at least it is for me sometimes
.
Right, I like to cook, butstill just like the creative
part of it of trying to come upwith food that everyone likes,
(04:10):
everyone can eat, everyone willeat.
But you know, sometimes I puttoo much pressure on myself of
it has to be a certain type ofmeal, when sometimes it's okay
to serve sandwiches for dinner,you know, and God's not looking
down at me going oh you servesandwiches for dinner.
(04:31):
Now, if I'm just being lazy andI'm doing that because I mean
there's days where it's easierbut maybe it's so I can have
time to do something a littlebit more important with my kids
or to actually spend time withthem or be able to clean up the
kitchen quicker so that we cando something as a family.
So that's kind of a very likenitty gritty, practical right
(04:51):
Sample.
But oftentimes when we pray,like you said, and ask God to
just set our priorities straight, I think sometimes the answer
is in those little nitty-grittyways yeah, james, 4, 13 through
15.
Speaker 2 (05:07):
It says go to now.
You that say, today or tomorrowwe will go into such a city and
continue their year and byhimself and get gain, whereas
you know not what shall be onthe morrow.
For what is your life?
It is even a vapor that appearsfor a little time and then
vanisheth away.
For that you ought to say ifthe lord will will, we shall
live and do this or that.
And that verse is such a goodreminder because we can have all
(05:32):
the plans and we can, you know,try to basically foretell what
our future would be, but withoutGod's leading in it.
We ought to say if the Lordwill, if God allows, we will do
this.
Speaker 3 (05:49):
Yeah, we stress out over things.
One an old phrase that my momused to use is, she would say,
don't borrow trouble.
And a lot of times when we'restressing about the future, we
are borrowing trouble Likethere's enough trouble.
What's that verse that says,like you know, there's enough
evil in one day.
I can't remember the verse offthe top of my head, but
(06:13):
sometimes we just have to focuson today and trust God with the
future?
Speaker 2 (06:18):
Yeah, to a level of just faith, obviously.
Faith in surrender of themoment, of the day, of the plan.
Right Plans don't go our way.
We get mad, we get stressed, weget overwhelmed.
Surrender, god, this happened.
(06:45):
You knew it was going to happen.
Help me to get over it.
Help me to walk on and go anddo what you'd have me to in the
rest of this day, and I know itsounds super easy, but when
you're in that moment, that'snot the first thing that comes
to your mind, that is not yourinitial knee jerk reaction.
To be like God, you've got aplan, you've got this, I'm just
going to go where you want me to.
(07:06):
That's not our natural tendency, and so it takes practice.
That takes concentrated effortand again, it's one of those.
What is your intentions?
Begin in the morning with theintention to allow God to use
your day, instead of waitinguntil something bad happens and
(07:29):
being like okay, god, I give itback to you now.
Speaker 3 (07:33):
Or God, why did you let it?
Why did you let everything?
Speaker 2 (07:36):
spiral out of control ?
Speaker 3 (07:38):
Yeah, Maybe no one else does that, but sometimes
I'm like, okay, God, where, what, what's happening and what's
happening is is me, I'm what'shappening, Right?
Speaker 2 (07:49):
I was like hey, you didn't ask.
You didn't ask for my help, soI didn't give it.
This is, this is on you.
Speaker 3 (07:55):
Honestly, I think there's so many times where we
just God just says okay you know, do it your way, just like we
do with our kids sometimes.
Okay, try it your way, just likewe do with our kids sometimes.
Okay, try it your way.
I'm just gonna stand back andlet you learn right.
Right, and sometimes it doesn'talways very well, but I love.
I love one of the verses thatyou added, um in the devotional.
(08:17):
It says um Psalms 143, 10,teach me to do thy will, for For
thou art, my God, thy spirit isgood, lead me in the land of
uprightness.
First of all, teach me.
I think that some of us who arekind of perfectionist or used to
getting things right the firsttime, and we can't handle it
when we don't get things rightthe first time, right Like it's
(08:40):
hard to accept the fact that weare learning and God is teaching
us and it's not an instantgratification of, well, I'm
saved now and I'm going to doeverything perfectly and, you
know, have this all together.
So that aspect of just you know,telling, asking God to teach
you, and realizing that you'reprobably not going to get it all
(09:02):
right the first day.
But it says for thou art, myGod, thy spirit is good, lead me
in the land of uprightness.
Again, he's leading us into theland of uprightness.
It's a walk, and I hate to useI hate using this word, but I'm
going to use this word it's ajourney.
It's a journey, it really is,and and it's less about it's.
(09:32):
Oh, I'm going to say somethingelse that's cringy.
Um, it really is less about thedestination, but it is like,
honestly, he's leading us intothe land of a brightness.
It's not like leading you intoperfect brightness, it's into
we're just walking into thisplace where we're closer to god.
Speaker 2 (09:58):
That's the ultimate goal is to to have a closer
relationship with god andpretend I didn't say any.
Speaker 3 (10:04):
Of all that weird stuff.
Speaker 2 (10:06):
No, it's just, it is funny because it's just like you
know all about the words.
Yes, Forgive me, but.
Speaker 3 (10:14):
I just so many times, when there's these verses about
, like what do I do, whateverI'm overwhelmed or I need peace.
It says thy spirit is good,thou art um.
It says thy spirit is good,thou art my god.
Thy spirit is good.
Knowing god and who he ischanges everything, and being in
god's word so that you can knowwhat his spirit is like, so
(10:35):
that you can see with confidenceyou are my god, is very
important as you were saying,with the, the very used sayings
of journey and destination.
Speaker 2 (10:49):
You know, it's step-by-step, it's consistency,
and consistency is hard andthat's, I think, where we really
struggle.
That's I mean, at least I do.
I struggle with thatconsistency of every day.
I am going to, you know, prayand ask God to lead me and
(11:09):
direct me.
And not that, not that I don'tpray every day, it's just that
mindfulness of surrenderingevery day to what God has for us
, you know, and to take thestress and to take the worry and
to take the burden that we feelput upon us, whatever that be,
(11:29):
to give that to God so that way,when you know our day comes
upon us, we can already be in aplace of surrender to his will.
So, yeah, it's just thehardness of being consistent and
like, if you're not going totalk to your husband every day,
you're not going to have thatgreat of a relationship.
(11:51):
If you're not going to talk toyour kids every day, you're not
going to have that great of arelationship and there's going
to be a major breakdown in trust.
There's going to be a breakdownin just general overall
well-being and that's how it is.
As a believer, you don't haveregular communication with Jesus
.
Your overall spiritual healthis going to suffer and, by
(12:17):
default, you will be overwhelmedand you will be stressed and
you will.
The cares of this world willbecome too much because you're
taking back your burden.
God says come unto me all youthat labor and heavy laden.
I will give you rest.
Right, we're taking it back.
We're saying I got this all onmy own.
So therefore we're overwhelmed,overburdened and we find
(12:45):
ourselves in a bad place.
But the remedy is easy.
The remedy is not hard.
It's just a matter ofconsistency and surrender.
So that's good news, right?
Speaker 3 (12:59):
It is, and I think, on a practical level, going into
, like you said, the holidayseason, which really started
like memorial day, I think yeahit's just one thing after
another.
It really is um, but seriously,like you know, these next
couple months it just feels likeyou're going non-stop and
(13:21):
there's a lot of pressure.
And I'm a weirdo who doesn'tlove Christmas the way a lot of
people do, because it just thepressure of it is just too much
for me.
Um, and I do like Christmas,it's just I like Thanksgiving
better, where you show up andyou eat and that's yeah the food
is better, it's just show up,you eat, you talk about being
(13:42):
grateful, like I mean, it's aperfect holiday yeah but,
practically speaking, somethingthat has been really helpful to
me is, just like you said at thevery beginning, saying no, like
you don't have to do all thethings your kids especially for
(14:03):
moms, I feel like there's likethis massive pressure to keep up
with all the stuff you see onInstagram, pinterest and
people's Facebook posts of justeverybody in their matching
pajamas and going to all thethings and doing all the things,
and some people just thrive onthat.
I know that me and even mychildren do not.
They end up burnout I meanagain, practically just like
(14:25):
food allergies and stuff.
When you go out to all thatstuff.
It's hard to avoid and it justcauses like trauma and if they
do get something, it makes themsick and it's just.
It's just a lot.
And so the last couple of yearsI've really been working on
saying no so that I can say yesto the things that are important
, and so deciding, deciding inadvance what is the most
(14:48):
important stuff and then kind ofworking backwards from that,
honestly, like as a family, wejust enjoy, you know, watching
Christmas movies in our pajamasand eating cookies, and that's
just as memorable and good asgoing out and spending a lot of
money to do an elaborate thingthat's going to exhaust you and
(15:09):
drain you.
Sometimes there's a balance.
I'm just saying that to kind offree up your mind a little bit.
Take a chance at just saying noso that you can say yes, and I
said it.
I said it's practical and it is.
But also it can be veryspiritually defeating when you
run yourself into the ground inthe name of something good or
(15:33):
wholesome, um, then you kind ofwalk into the new year with this
just physical and emotional andeven spiritual exhaustion,
right, and it can be such aletdown.
And then you go into those hardwinter months where it's cold
and it's, you know, everyone'sgetting sick and all the things,
um, and you have to bounce backphysically, emotionally,
(15:55):
spiritually, and so it's notjust practical advice like give
yourself some breathing roomright, yeah, and you know I love
to do all the Christmas things.
Speaker 2 (16:06):
I'm kind of the opposite of you, but I love it
to a degree.
Like there's definitely a pointwhere I'm like I'm done and
we're done and no, for myself isjust like I already told the
(16:27):
kids.
It's like look, this is ourspending limit this year.
We're not going over this andthis has helped us in a lot of
ways.
It's helped them with theirexpectation of hey, they're old
enough now, like they can, theyknow the prices of things.
And I can be like, well, that'snot in our budget and so that
cuts out on the well, but Ireally wanted to do this, or I
really wanted to do that, or Iwanted you know, and it's like
(16:49):
well, we have to choose.
And this is your Christmas,this is the Christmas budget,
this is what we have, and that'svery practical, it's very wise.
There's nothing wrong with thatat all.
In fact, I feel that it teaches.
It will teach them to do thesame to say, no, we have to have
a budget and, yes, we can haveChristmas and it can still be
(17:11):
fun, and we can get presents anddo all the fun things.
But we have to pick and choose.
We can't say yes to everything,because everything costs money
and we need to be wide stewardsof our finances.
So, just from that, we need tobe wide stewards of our finances
.
So, just from that practicalaspect of it is letting your
family know upfront.
Obviously, as in military, wedon't have extended family here,
(17:33):
so I don't have to do that partof it, but even if I did, we've
done in the past been like.
Well, this is our spendinglimit.
We're not going to get all ofthe cousins something.
Speaker 3 (17:51):
We're not going to get all of the aunts, and you
know what I mean.
Like to be fair when you sayall the cousins you're talking
about like 5 000 people, sothere are a lot of cousins I
don't think you'd have to havequite the job to get something
for everyone.
Speaker 2 (18:04):
But I know what you're saying, can't just have
that conversation of you know,yes, we are going to come, we're
going to participate in the funthings, but our budget does not
allow for this and you know,yeah, it's, it's okay and people
can be okay with that.
And if they're not okay withthat, then maybe they can find
(18:24):
another, another place to go forChristmas.
Oh my goodness.
Speaker 3 (18:32):
There's so much drama .
There's so much drama in thistoo.
I mean, thankfully my familydoesn't get too crazy, but I've
seen it, yeah, and sometimesit's just not worth it.
My sister does something for,like her nieces and nephews,
that is has been nice.
In the last few years she'sbeen doing more like experience
gifts.
Speaker 2 (18:52):
Those, I would take those over gifts, like wrapped
in a box.
Speaker 3 (18:56):
any day I was like where were these when they got a
thousand stuffed animals everyChristmas and, oh my goodness,
also just full of toys, um, butit is nice.
Like you know she'll have,she'll plan a day with them and
and do something with the kidsand it's that's been really nice
and practical.
And then it's less to unwrap onChristmas because man
(19:20):
unwrapping presents atgrandparents houses, we all get
together and um oh my goodness.
And wrapping paper, just peopleand wrapping paper and things,
and it's so much.
I mean it's it's super fun, butalso just a lot and yeah, but I
, I know that, taking a littlebit of a step back, like, we
(19:41):
still do things.
We absolutely do things.
Another, another this issomething we discussed in sunday
school this morning.
Um, we were talking about howgod's grace is sufficient and,
um, when he is enough, we don'thave to be enough, and um, it's
because sometimes that's wherewe kind of start spiraling as
well, like, right, I'm not goodenough, I'm not doing enough,
(20:01):
I'm not this, I'm not that.
Right, when god's in his properplace, everything else falls
into its proper place.
The question that got raised inour conversation was what if
there was no social media andyou weren't going to have that
picture, perfect picture to post?
Would you still go and do thething?
(20:23):
Would you still do thatactivity the way you did it?
Or is it a photo op for rightfacebook?
Now, don't get me wrong, I loveto have cute pictures of my
kids, like I've, definitely.
I was saying this morning thatyou know there's been many times
I've been like okay everybodysmile, smile, look like you're
having fun so I can get thatpicture.
(20:45):
So I'm I'm preaching to myselfhere.
But you know, if you took thatequation away like that wasn't
part of the equation and it wasjust simply for your own, you
and your children, or you andyour families, or you and
whoever, your own enjoymentwould you still put in the
effort and the time and thestress, even right?
And if you wouldn't, then maybedon't do it right for sure.
Speaker 2 (21:10):
And when we are in thanksgiving and christmas,
remember that thanksgiving youare to be giving thanks to god
because he is the giver of allthings good.
And this past month it's beenactually kind of nice.
We've been just me and the kidsat breakfast time.
In the morning I've beenlooking at passages on thanks
(21:33):
and thanksgiving and then justwriting one thing that we've
been thankful for, and I'venoticed a big difference in the
kids attitude, like especiallymy son.
He struggles with whining aboutthings, complaining, you know,
and I've definitely noticed adifference in him since the
beginning of the month and he,if I've forgotten a day, he's
(21:55):
reminded me.
You know, oh, mom, we need todo our Thanksgiving verses and
yeah, and so obviously it'scloser to the end of the month,
but that doesn't mean that youcan't still do it.
Um, and then, as it gets tochristmas in december, remember
(22:17):
that it's about the jesus birth,it is about celebrating the
gift that god gave to us in hisson, and all of that means.
So take time to look up theverses of the prophecy of Christ
.
Take time to look at not justthe passage that talks about
(22:40):
when he came, but also readabout his death.
That's why he came Read abouthis death, that's why he came
read about his resurrection.
Without that, we are, of most,all men, most miserable.
It it's a good reminder.
Like you were saying, we gointo the new year and when we
let all of these materialisticthings get us down, we're we're,
(23:01):
you know, depressed in the newyear.
But what if we took the monthof December and remembered what
we're supposed to remember, whyJesus came, who he is.
And we did it as a family, wedo it with our kids, and we
really made that the focus.
I think we'd find ourselves ina much better place.
(23:22):
And that, honestly, that's oneof the reasons why I love
Christmas is just this.
Christmas songs, the Christmashymns are just so rich with
prophecy, and not prophecy ofjust Jesus coming, but also the
end time, and it gives you hope,and it gives you joy, and it
gives you peace and it gives youall of these things when you
(23:44):
let it, you know, when you allowthe truth of God's word to
really sink in and not becomedrugged down with all of the
extra things.
So that is our encouragementfor you season.
(24:08):
We hope that you do not have anoverwhelmed heart, but that you
truly can enjoy the season bybeing intentional and by taking
your day to the Lord and askinghim what he wants you to do with
it, and then taking yourholidays to the Lord and asking
him what he would have you dowith those.
Thanks for listening.
Bye.
Hello and welcome to Simply Edifies podcast.
Our goal is to encourage womenas we navigate the messiness of
life through biblical studies,personal stories and practical
tips that bolster our walk withJesus daily.
Thank you for joining us in ourepisode today.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
Hello, we are talking today about an overwhelmed
heart and I feel like it'sperfect timing because obviously
we're headed right in for theholidays of Thanksgiving and
Christmas and all the things,and it's a time where stress and
overwhelm is high and I thinkthat, especially as moms, a lot
(00:44):
of the extracurricular thingsthat happen around this time of
year are on us and we want to doall of the things, but in
reality we know that we can't doall of the things, so we become
stressed and overwhelmed andangry and anxious and all of the
(01:04):
things.
So let's just take a minutebefore the crazy hits to
actually evaluate what isimportant and what isn't and
what can we do with the feelingof being overwhelmed.
Speaker 3 (01:19):
One of the first things that we can just stop and
evaluate how much of this is alie that I'm believing Right,
because often we entertain theselies that were no good.
We should quit trying.
These are coming from thedevotional book.
I'm not making this is actuallyApril's thoughts, but we have
(01:41):
to remember that those are lies,lives, and god sees our
struggles.
I love this hero.
God sees our struggles and hedoes not hold our failures over
us.
We do that.
We do that to ourselves.
Speaker 2 (02:10):
We do that to other people, and so we should act
based on you know, people aroundus and who we see and culture
and all of these expectationsright, and we never really go to
our creator, the one who gaveus our abilities, the one who
gave us our children, the onewho gave us our families, the
(02:33):
one we don't go to God and saywhat do you expect of me in this
day and in this time?
What do you have planned for me?
So I think if we were to take alittle bit of a step back,
before the stress and overwhelmeven hits us, and just say God,
(02:58):
what do you want me to do today?
Like?
I have this idea.
Like.
My kids need to be fed, theyneed to be taught, you need to
be dropped off here, they needto be done.
Like, but lead me, guide me.
If I need to say no tosomething, help me to say no
Like, let your spirit guide mein my day, and I think if we
(03:19):
were to do that, we'd findourselves in a better place for
sure.
Speaker 3 (03:24):
Yeah, because God can redirect our priorities, and I
think that's kind of the key.
When we're lined up with whathe wants, the important things
become important and the thingsthat aren't as important kind of
fall to the wayside.
And there are things that wejust have to do every day, like
we do have to, you know, feedour families for example, which
(03:49):
can be very tedious if that'snot your thing.
Even if it is, it can just betedious to like have to come up
with dinner every single nightfor the rest of your life.
That's an overwhelming thought,at least it is for me sometimes
.
Right, I like to cook, butstill just like the creative
part of it of trying to come upwith food that everyone likes,
(04:10):
everyone can eat, everyone willeat.
But you know, sometimes I puttoo much pressure on myself of
it has to be a certain type ofmeal, when sometimes it's okay
to serve sandwiches for dinner,you know, and God's not looking
down at me going oh you servesandwiches for dinner.
(04:31):
Now, if I'm just being lazy andI'm doing that because I mean
there's days where it's easierbut maybe it's so I can have
time to do something a littlebit more important with my kids
or to actually spend time withthem or be able to clean up the
kitchen quicker so that we cando something as a family.
So that's kind of a very likenitty gritty, practical right
(04:51):
Sample.
But oftentimes when we pray,like you said, and ask God to
just set our priorities straight, I think sometimes the answer
is in those little nitty-grittyways yeah, james, 4, 13 through
15.
Speaker 2 (05:07):
It says go to now.
You that say, today or tomorrowwe will go into such a city and
continue their year and byhimself and get gain, whereas
you know not what shall be onthe morrow.
For what is your life?
It is even a vapor that appearsfor a little time and then
vanisheth away.
For that you ought to say ifthe lord will will, we shall
live and do this or that.
And that verse is such a goodreminder because we can have all
(05:32):
the plans and we can, you know,try to basically foretell what
our future would be, but withoutGod's leading in it.
We ought to say if the Lordwill, if God allows, we will do
this.
Speaker 3 (05:49):
Yeah, we stress out over things.
One an old phrase that my momused to use is, she would say,
don't borrow trouble.
And a lot of times when we'restressing about the future, we
are borrowing trouble Likethere's enough trouble.
What's that verse that says,like you know, there's enough
evil in one day.
I can't remember the verse offthe top of my head, but
(06:13):
sometimes we just have to focuson today and trust God with the
future?
Speaker 2 (06:18):
Yeah, to a level of just faith, obviously.
Faith in surrender of themoment, of the day, of the plan.
Right Plans don't go our way.
We get mad, we get stressed, weget overwhelmed.
Surrender, god, this happened.
(06:45):
You knew it was going to happen.
Help me to get over it.
Help me to walk on and go anddo what you'd have me to in the
rest of this day, and I know itsounds super easy, but when
you're in that moment, that'snot the first thing that comes
to your mind, that is not yourinitial knee jerk reaction.
To be like God, you've got aplan, you've got this, I'm just
going to go where you want me to.
(07:06):
That's not our natural tendency, and so it takes practice.
That takes concentrated effortand again, it's one of those.
What is your intentions?
Begin in the morning with theintention to allow God to use
your day, instead of waitinguntil something bad happens and
(07:29):
being like okay, god, I give itback to you now.
Speaker 3 (07:33):
Or God, why did you let it?
Why did you let everything?
Speaker 2 (07:36):
spiral out of control ?
Speaker 3 (07:38):
Yeah, Maybe no one else does that, but sometimes
I'm like, okay, God, where, what, what's happening and what's
happening is is me, I'm what'shappening, Right?
Speaker 2 (07:49):
I was like hey, you didn't ask.
You didn't ask for my help, soI didn't give it.
This is, this is on you.
Speaker 3 (07:55):
Honestly, I think there's so many times where we
just God just says okay you know, do it your way, just like we
do with our kids sometimes.
Okay, try it your way, just likewe do with our kids sometimes.
Okay, try it your way.
I'm just gonna stand back andlet you learn right.
Right, and sometimes it doesn'talways very well, but I love.
I love one of the verses thatyou added, um in the devotional.
(08:17):
It says um Psalms 143, 10,teach me to do thy will, for For
thou art, my God, thy spirit isgood, lead me in the land of
uprightness.
First of all, teach me.
I think that some of us who arekind of perfectionist or used to
getting things right the firsttime, and we can't handle it
when we don't get things rightthe first time, right Like it's
(08:40):
hard to accept the fact that weare learning and God is teaching
us and it's not an instantgratification of, well, I'm
saved now and I'm going to doeverything perfectly and, you
know, have this all together.
So that aspect of just you know,telling, asking God to teach
you, and realizing that you'reprobably not going to get it all
(09:02):
right the first day.
But it says for thou art, myGod, thy spirit is good, lead me
in the land of uprightness.
Again, he's leading us into theland of uprightness.
It's a walk, and I hate to useI hate using this word, but I'm
going to use this word it's ajourney.
It's a journey, it really is,and and it's less about it's.
(09:32):
Oh, I'm going to say somethingelse that's cringy.
Um, it really is less about thedestination, but it is like,
honestly, he's leading us intothe land of a brightness.
It's not like leading you intoperfect brightness, it's into
we're just walking into thisplace where we're closer to god.
Speaker 2 (09:58):
That's the ultimate goal is to to have a closer
relationship with god andpretend I didn't say any.
Speaker 3 (10:04):
Of all that weird stuff.
Speaker 2 (10:06):
No, it's just, it is funny because it's just like you
know all about the words.
Yes, Forgive me, but.
Speaker 3 (10:14):
I just so many times, when there's these verses about
, like what do I do, whateverI'm overwhelmed or I need peace.
It says thy spirit is good,thou art um.
It says thy spirit is good,thou art my god.
Thy spirit is good.
Knowing god and who he ischanges everything, and being in
god's word so that you can knowwhat his spirit is like, so
(10:35):
that you can see with confidenceyou are my god, is very
important as you were saying,with the, the very used sayings
of journey and destination.
Speaker 2 (10:49):
You know, it's step-by-step, it's consistency,
and consistency is hard andthat's, I think, where we really
struggle.
That's I mean, at least I do.
I struggle with thatconsistency of every day.
I am going to, you know, prayand ask God to lead me and
(11:09):
direct me.
And not that, not that I don'tpray every day, it's just that
mindfulness of surrenderingevery day to what God has for us
, you know, and to take thestress and to take the worry and
to take the burden that we feelput upon us, whatever that be,
(11:29):
to give that to God so that way,when you know our day comes
upon us, we can already be in aplace of surrender to his will.
So, yeah, it's just thehardness of being consistent and
like, if you're not going totalk to your husband every day,
you're not going to have thatgreat of a relationship.
(11:51):
If you're not going to talk toyour kids every day, you're not
going to have that great of arelationship and there's going
to be a major breakdown in trust.
There's going to be a breakdownin just general overall
well-being and that's how it is.
As a believer, you don't haveregular communication with Jesus
.
Your overall spiritual healthis going to suffer and, by
(12:17):
default, you will be overwhelmedand you will be stressed and
you will.
The cares of this world willbecome too much because you're
taking back your burden.
God says come unto me all youthat labor and heavy laden.
I will give you rest.
Right, we're taking it back.
We're saying I got this all onmy own.
So therefore we're overwhelmed,overburdened and we find
(12:45):
ourselves in a bad place.
But the remedy is easy.
The remedy is not hard.
It's just a matter ofconsistency and surrender.
So that's good news, right?
Speaker 3 (12:59):
It is, and I think, on a practical level, going into
, like you said, the holidayseason, which really started
like memorial day, I think yeahit's just one thing after
another.
It really is um, but seriously,like you know, these next
couple months it just feels likeyou're going non-stop and
(13:21):
there's a lot of pressure.
And I'm a weirdo who doesn'tlove Christmas the way a lot of
people do, because it just thepressure of it is just too much
for me.
Um, and I do like Christmas,it's just I like Thanksgiving
better, where you show up andyou eat and that's yeah the food
is better, it's just show up,you eat, you talk about being
(13:42):
grateful, like I mean, it's aperfect holiday yeah but,
practically speaking, somethingthat has been really helpful to
me is, just like you said at thevery beginning, saying no, like
you don't have to do all thethings your kids especially for
(14:03):
moms, I feel like there's likethis massive pressure to keep up
with all the stuff you see onInstagram, pinterest and
people's Facebook posts of justeverybody in their matching
pajamas and going to all thethings and doing all the things,
and some people just thrive onthat.
I know that me and even mychildren do not.
They end up burnout I meanagain, practically just like
(14:25):
food allergies and stuff.
When you go out to all thatstuff.
It's hard to avoid and it justcauses like trauma and if they
do get something, it makes themsick and it's just.
It's just a lot.
And so the last couple of yearsI've really been working on
saying no so that I can say yesto the things that are important
, and so deciding, deciding inadvance what is the most
(14:48):
important stuff and then kind ofworking backwards from that,
honestly, like as a family, wejust enjoy, you know, watching
Christmas movies in our pajamasand eating cookies, and that's
just as memorable and good asgoing out and spending a lot of
money to do an elaborate thingthat's going to exhaust you and
(15:09):
drain you.
Sometimes there's a balance.
I'm just saying that to kind offree up your mind a little bit.
Take a chance at just saying noso that you can say yes, and I
said it.
I said it's practical and it is.
But also it can be veryspiritually defeating when you
run yourself into the ground inthe name of something good or
(15:33):
wholesome, um, then you kind ofwalk into the new year with this
just physical and emotional andeven spiritual exhaustion,
right, and it can be such aletdown.
And then you go into those hardwinter months where it's cold
and it's, you know, everyone'sgetting sick and all the things,
um, and you have to bounce backphysically, emotionally,
(15:55):
spiritually, and so it's notjust practical advice like give
yourself some breathing roomright, yeah, and you know I love
to do all the Christmas things.
Speaker 2 (16:06):
I'm kind of the opposite of you, but I love it
to a degree.
Like there's definitely a pointwhere I'm like I'm done and
we're done and no, for myself isjust like I already told the
(16:27):
kids.
It's like look, this is ourspending limit this year.
We're not going over this andthis has helped us in a lot of
ways.
It's helped them with theirexpectation of hey, they're old
enough now, like they can, theyknow the prices of things.
And I can be like, well, that'snot in our budget and so that
cuts out on the well, but Ireally wanted to do this, or I
really wanted to do that, or Iwanted you know, and it's like
(16:49):
well, we have to choose.
And this is your Christmas,this is the Christmas budget,
this is what we have, and that'svery practical, it's very wise.
There's nothing wrong with thatat all.
In fact, I feel that it teaches.
It will teach them to do thesame to say, no, we have to have
a budget and, yes, we can haveChristmas and it can still be
(17:11):
fun, and we can get presents anddo all the fun things.
But we have to pick and choose.
We can't say yes to everything,because everything costs money
and we need to be wide stewardsof our finances.
So, just from that, we need tobe wide stewards of our finances
.
So, just from that practicalaspect of it is letting your
family know upfront.
Obviously, as in military, wedon't have extended family here,
(17:33):
so I don't have to do that partof it, but even if I did, we've
done in the past been like.
Well, this is our spendinglimit.
We're not going to get all ofthe cousins something.
Speaker 3 (17:51):
We're not going to get all of the aunts, and you
know what I mean.
Like to be fair when you sayall the cousins you're talking
about like 5 000 people, sothere are a lot of cousins I
don't think you'd have to havequite the job to get something
for everyone.
Speaker 2 (18:04):
But I know what you're saying, can't just have
that conversation of you know,yes, we are going to come, we're
going to participate in the funthings, but our budget does not
allow for this and you know,yeah, it's, it's okay and people
can be okay with that.
And if they're not okay withthat, then maybe they can find
(18:24):
another, another place to go forChristmas.
Oh my goodness.
Speaker 3 (18:32):
There's so much drama .
There's so much drama in thistoo.
I mean, thankfully my familydoesn't get too crazy, but I've
seen it, yeah, and sometimesit's just not worth it.
My sister does something for,like her nieces and nephews,
that is has been nice.
In the last few years she'sbeen doing more like experience
gifts.
Speaker 2 (18:52):
Those, I would take those over gifts, like wrapped
in a box.
Speaker 3 (18:56):
any day I was like where were these when they got a
thousand stuffed animals everyChristmas and, oh my goodness,
also just full of toys, um, butit is nice.
Like you know she'll have,she'll plan a day with them and
and do something with the kidsand it's that's been really nice
and practical.
And then it's less to unwrap onChristmas because man
(19:20):
unwrapping presents atgrandparents houses, we all get
together and um oh my goodness.
And wrapping paper, just peopleand wrapping paper and things,
and it's so much.
I mean it's it's super fun, butalso just a lot and yeah, but I
, I know that, taking a littlebit of a step back, like, we
(19:41):
still do things.
We absolutely do things.
Another, another this issomething we discussed in sunday
school this morning.
Um, we were talking about howgod's grace is sufficient and,
um, when he is enough, we don'thave to be enough, and um, it's
because sometimes that's wherewe kind of start spiraling as
well, like, right, I'm not goodenough, I'm not doing enough,
(20:01):
I'm not this, I'm not that.
Right, when god's in his properplace, everything else falls
into its proper place.
The question that got raised inour conversation was what if
there was no social media andyou weren't going to have that
picture, perfect picture to post?
Would you still go and do thething?
(20:23):
Would you still do thatactivity the way you did it?
Or is it a photo op for rightfacebook?
Now, don't get me wrong, I loveto have cute pictures of my
kids, like I've, definitely.
I was saying this morning thatyou know there's been many times
I've been like okay everybodysmile, smile, look like you're
having fun so I can get thatpicture.
(20:45):
So I'm I'm preaching to myselfhere.
But you know, if you took thatequation away like that wasn't
part of the equation and it wasjust simply for your own, you
and your children, or you andyour families, or you and
whoever, your own enjoymentwould you still put in the
effort and the time and thestress, even right?
And if you wouldn't, then maybedon't do it right for sure.
Speaker 2 (21:10):
And when we are in thanksgiving and christmas,
remember that thanksgiving youare to be giving thanks to god
because he is the giver of allthings good.
And this past month it's beenactually kind of nice.
We've been just me and the kidsat breakfast time.
In the morning I've beenlooking at passages on thanks
(21:33):
and thanksgiving and then justwriting one thing that we've
been thankful for, and I'venoticed a big difference in the
kids attitude, like especiallymy son.
He struggles with whining aboutthings, complaining, you know,
and I've definitely noticed adifference in him since the
beginning of the month and he,if I've forgotten a day, he's
(21:55):
reminded me.
You know, oh, mom, we need todo our Thanksgiving verses and
yeah, and so obviously it'scloser to the end of the month,
but that doesn't mean that youcan't still do it.
Um, and then, as it gets tochristmas in december, remember
(22:17):
that it's about the jesus birth,it is about celebrating the
gift that god gave to us in hisson, and all of that means.
So take time to look up theverses of the prophecy of Christ
.
Take time to look at not justthe passage that talks about
(22:40):
when he came, but also readabout his death.
That's why he came Read abouthis death, that's why he came
read about his resurrection.
Without that, we are, of most,all men, most miserable.
It it's a good reminder.
Like you were saying, we gointo the new year and when we
let all of these materialisticthings get us down, we're we're,
(23:01):
you know, depressed in the newyear.
But what if we took the monthof December and remembered what
we're supposed to remember, whyJesus came, who he is.
And we did it as a family, wedo it with our kids, and we
really made that the focus.
I think we'd find ourselves ina much better place.
(23:22):
And that, honestly, that's oneof the reasons why I love
Christmas is just this.
Christmas songs, the Christmashymns are just so rich with
prophecy, and not prophecy ofjust Jesus coming, but also the
end time, and it gives you hope,and it gives you joy, and it
gives you peace and it gives youall of these things when you
(23:44):
let it, you know, when you allowthe truth of God's word to
really sink in and not becomedrugged down with all of the
extra things.
So that is our encouragementfor you season.
(24:08):
We hope that you do not have anoverwhelmed heart, but that you
truly can enjoy the season bybeing intentional and by taking
your day to the Lord and askinghim what he wants you to do with
it, and then taking yourholidays to the Lord and asking
him what he would have you dowith those.
Thanks for listening.
Bye.
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