Latest / A Heart That Beats for Home / 77. From Perfection to Peace: A Season Finale for the Mom Who Tries So Hard

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77. From Perfection to Peace: A Season Finale for the Mom Who Tries So Hard · A Heart That Beats for Home

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: Hello, friends.
• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome back to our final episode of season two.
• 0:04
  SPEAKER_00: Hard to believe that we are already closing in on the second season of the podcast.
• 0:09
  SPEAKER_00: Time certainly does fly.
• 0:11
  SPEAKER_00: Excited just to spend a few minutes today just recapping the last year, talking through just some hopes for next season and just sending you all off into these holiday weeks at the end of 2025 with Thanksgiving and Christmas coming.
• 0:28
  SPEAKER_00: Just wishing you and your families such an amazing season as you celebrate through the holidays.
• 0:34
  SPEAKER_00: Wanted to first just say I'm so grateful for the community that has been forming here.
• 0:38
  SPEAKER_00: When I started the podcast, I believe it was January 18th, 24, had no idea what the path would look like.
• 0:46
  SPEAKER_00: Just was following in obedience to something I felt called to do and have been blown away by the community that has grown here, both through the podcast and then through people coming over to Instagram and building relationships there.
• 1:00
  SPEAKER_00: So many unexpected blessings of built relationship with people who have come on the show as guests, some that I did not know and still have not yet met in person, but have been able to do interviews with and continue to build relationships, be encouraged by those friendships.
• 1:18
  SPEAKER_00: Also grateful for the listeners that have found the podcast and then come over to Instagram and been able to have conversations with some of you about different topics, different episodes that resonated with you to talk through questions that you had or just to offer each other encouragement for just the way that you have all continued to show up.
• 1:38
  SPEAKER_00: It means a lot to me.
• 1:39
  SPEAKER_00: I'm so grateful.
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_00: I know that the growth that the podcast has had is only because of God and his goodness.
• 1:46
  SPEAKER_00: And just also so grateful for the way that you have all shared and liked and reviewed the podcast, as that is the main reason that it gets into the algorithms where others who don't have a connection to us otherwise are able to find us.
• 2:00
  SPEAKER_00: Praying that as people continue to find the podcast, we now, I think this is episode, I don't know, seven, seventy-eight, seventy-nine, somewhere in there.
• 2:08
  SPEAKER_00: And just a weird concept that these podcasts sit out in space or in the cloud and that people can go back and find them when they're searching for certain topics.
• 2:17
  SPEAKER_00: And so always just praying over the archive that is being built, the back library, that there would just be episodes that people find at the right time, that they're supposed to find them, that they come over here and are part of the community with us and continue to just be encouraged.
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_00: And then also praying that as we move into season three in 2026, as crazy as that is to even say, cannot believe that it's 2026.
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_00: Just pray that the guests, that the topics, that the conversations that we're supposed to have are the ones that happen.
• 2:50
  SPEAKER_00: And so as I work through planning out the year, have some things that I'm really excited about, have some guests that I'm really excited about, some different series and themes that we're gonna work through in season three.
• 3:03
  SPEAKER_00: And just trusting that God would be in all of the details and that more than just filling airspace and having episodes that I can say check accomplished, that there would be content that goes out that really encourages specifically moms.
• 3:17
  SPEAKER_00: I know that we have those that are not moms that listen as well, but specifically my heart for moms to just be encouraged in this space where you are raising your family, you are trying to build a strong marriage, you're navigating all the different stages and seasons that come with parenting.
• 3:35
  SPEAKER_00: And just my hope that these episodes continue just to bless you and ultimately are playing a role in cultivating strong families.
• 3:43
  SPEAKER_00: That's the real passion here at A Heart That Beats for Home, is that the content and the information would be able not just to be heard, but to be applied.
• 3:51
  SPEAKER_00: And then that that in turn would help strengthen families across the globe, which again is just a crazy concept for me to wrap my head around that we are being listened to in 60 countries now.
• 4:03
  SPEAKER_00: And so just so grateful for that, so grateful for technology and just the space that we can come together.
• 4:09
  SPEAKER_00: A couple of things as we sign off, just wanted to transparently share here just a few things that I have been working through and wrestling with, some conversations that have happened in my house.
• 4:19
  SPEAKER_00: And I want to just leave it as encouragement and a challenge for you as you end up 2025 and head into 2026.
• 4:27
  SPEAKER_00: A couple of things that have just been real life that's happening for us.
• 4:32
  SPEAKER_00: And I've always said that a struggle kept silent is a struggle wasted.
• 4:37
  SPEAKER_00: I know we've said that on podcasts in the past, but I really do believe that.
• 4:41
  SPEAKER_00: And a lot of times the ugly or not perfectly wrapped up pieces of our life are the pieces that we want to keep close to us.
• 4:48
  SPEAKER_00: We don't want to share them.
• 4:50
  SPEAKER_00: But I really believe that when we can be transparent and speak life into some of the things that we're in the weeds with and we can share that, I think it's so helpful just to others that are a lot of times navigating the exact same.
• 5:02
  SPEAKER_00: I was having a conversation recently with somebody and we were talking about just some struggles.
• 5:07
  SPEAKER_00: And everything was like, oh my gosh, I feel the exact same way.
• 5:10
  SPEAKER_00: I feel the exact same way.
• 5:11
  SPEAKER_00: You're basically describing how I've been feeling.
• 5:13
  SPEAKER_00: And it, it, I don't want to say it normalizes, but it makes you realize that a lot of the struggles that we so often hold tight and we don't talk about, when we bring those into the light, we realize this is a very common struggle, or this is something that a lot of families are navigating.
• 5:32
  SPEAKER_00: And when we can be honest and transparent about it with those that we can trust and that we're walking closely in life with, it so often can be such an encouragement.
• 5:41
  SPEAKER_00: And so, first of all, I just, you know, going back on last week's podcast where we talked about looking back at the year with growth, gratitude, and grace.
• 5:50
  SPEAKER_00: So much of that is what I am trying to focus on because it's very easy to get negative, to get stuck.
• 5:56
  SPEAKER_00: And two different times this week, I have had to go to family members and to apologize.
• 6:02
  SPEAKER_00: One to my husband when I said something that I just should not have said.
• 6:06
  SPEAKER_00: I just shouldn't have said it.
• 6:07
  SPEAKER_00: It didn't add any value.
• 6:08
  SPEAKER_00: It wasn't even constructive criticism.
• 6:11
  SPEAKER_00: It was just pretty much criticism that I tried to position in a way of helping.
• 6:16
  SPEAKER_00: And as I stood back and I realized, nope, that was just mean and unnecessary.
• 6:19
  SPEAKER_00: And I should have absolutely kept my mouth shut, having to go and apologize for that and acknowledging that I need to do a better job at just being slower to speak, just slower to speak.
• 6:30
  SPEAKER_00: And we always tell our kids, is it kind, is it necessary, and is it true?
• 6:34
  SPEAKER_00: And if it's not all of those three things, if it's not kind, necessary, and true, then we shouldn't be saying that.
• 6:40
  SPEAKER_00: And I often don't run my own language and words through that same filter and need to just do better at that.
• 6:48
  SPEAKER_00: And then another with my son, I am learning again.
• 6:52
  SPEAKER_00: This is my first time parenting a high school boy.
• 6:55
  SPEAKER_00: And so in any season of life that we're in, a lot of times for a lot of us, it's the first time we've done that.
• 7:01
  SPEAKER_00: The first time we've parented young adults, the first time we've had a middle schooler, the first time we've had a 13-year-old hormonal daughter.
• 7:09
  SPEAKER_00: For me, it's the first time that I've walked a son through high school.
• 7:12
  SPEAKER_00: I've parented two daughters through high school and now college, but it looks very different to do that with a boy.
• 7:19
  SPEAKER_00: And what I'm quickly learning with boys is that they need a lot less words than girls do.
• 7:24
  SPEAKER_00: Girls can handle a lot of conversation around something.
• 7:28
  SPEAKER_00: And boys do not need a ton of words.
• 7:30
  SPEAKER_00: They need direct, this is what the expectation is.
• 7:33
  SPEAKER_00: This is where the expectation was it met, this is what I expect, moving on.
• 7:37
  SPEAKER_00: They don't need the drawn-out conversations.
• 7:40
  SPEAKER_00: And in having a conversation that was way too drawn out with my son, I realized later that had I been more concise in my language and the things that I was trying to communicate to him, it would have gone a lot better.
• 7:54
  SPEAKER_00: But I exhausted him with my words and my analogies and my wisdom that I thought I was pouring out on him.
• 8:01
  SPEAKER_00: And having to go back later and say, hey, I know that this probably made you feel this way.
• 8:05
  SPEAKER_00: Cause again, how men receive information and how women receive information is very different, just like it is in marriage.
• 8:12
  SPEAKER_00: I'm learning that in my parenting as well.
• 8:14
  SPEAKER_00: And having to go back and just say, hey, I know last night when we went on this whole rabbit trail that this was hurtful.
• 8:21
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm sorry about that.
• 8:22
  SPEAKER_00: This is what I should have said.
• 8:24
  SPEAKER_00: This is where the conversation shouldn't have been over.
• 8:26
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm sorry that we drug that into such a long, drawn-out ordeal when it could have been so much simpler.
• 8:32
  SPEAKER_00: And just recognizing that there are so many times where I need to just go back and apologize.
• 8:40
  SPEAKER_00: And I think sometimes our natural tendency is to dig our heels in, whether that be in our marriage, in our parenting, when we know that maybe we were out of line or we were unkind or we said something that wasn't true or necessary.
• 8:53
  SPEAKER_00: And instead of just hoping that it passes by and it's that was yesterday, it's not a big deal, really learning that it is so important for me to go back and just revisit that and say, hey, here's how I should have done that differently.
• 9:07
  SPEAKER_00: I'm sorry it made you feel this way, or I'm sorry it was hurtful.
• 9:10
  SPEAKER_00: It was out of line.
• 9:11
  SPEAKER_00: I should have done better.
• 9:12
  SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna work on that.
• 9:14
  SPEAKER_00: Just how much that builds relationship.
• 9:17
  SPEAKER_00: And I think sometimes we look at those things and we think, oh, that's weakness.
• 9:21
  SPEAKER_00: And it's not, it's not weakness.
• 9:23
  SPEAKER_00: It's admitting that all of us are trying to figure it out, all of us are falling short.
• 9:27
  SPEAKER_00: It builds a community where we can extend grace to one another, where we're not butting heads and trying to have an ego war of I'm always right or they're gonna be the one to come to me and apologize.
• 9:40
  SPEAKER_00: Just building relationships that feel safe when we can authentically say, I was wrong, I messed up, I need to do that better.
• 9:47
  SPEAKER_00: And something that I heard years ago, I think it was in a Bible study I was doing, and I have it written in the margin in my Bible, and I couldn't even tell you what Bible story it was in reference to, but I it always comes back to me.
• 10:00
  SPEAKER_00: I think it was a Priscilla Schreier study, and it said, I know I'm having growth in my life, in any area of my life, when I am quicker to repent and slower to repeat.
• 10:12
  SPEAKER_00: And that has just been my prayer as a parent, as a wife, as a friend, as a follower of Jesus, that my measure of growth isn't have I figured it out.
• 10:24
  SPEAKER_00: It's am I quicker to repent when I mess up?
• 10:27
  SPEAKER_00: And am I slower to repeat?
• 10:29
  SPEAKER_00: Is there a bigger gap in between offenses?
• 10:32
  SPEAKER_00: If I have an issue with raising my voice or yelling, and I can go, oh wow, that used to be a daily thing for me.
• 10:40
  SPEAKER_00: And now, oh gosh, maybe I'm only having that happen once a week, or maybe I'm only having that happen once a month, or whatever, fill in the blank for yourself.
• 10:48
  SPEAKER_00: If it's maybe it's a struggle with an addiction of some sort or lack of control with food or with alcohol, it could be anything.
• 10:57
  SPEAKER_00: Is it the way I communicate with my spouse?
• 10:59
  SPEAKER_00: Is it the way that I put other things above the priorities that I should have?
• 11:04
  SPEAKER_00: And when we can look at that and we can go, I'm recognizing that this is an area in my life that needs growth.
• 11:09
  SPEAKER_00: And growth, again, doesn't mean it's fixed.
• 11:11
  SPEAKER_00: It doesn't mean I've managed it.
• 11:13
  SPEAKER_00: It doesn't mean that it's totally under control, but it means when I mess up, I quickly recognize, like for me, in some of this stuff, I'm working so hard on it that literally I can turn to walk away from a conversation.
• 11:26
  SPEAKER_00: And before I've even left the room, the Holy Spirit says, that was the exact thing you're trying to work on.
• 11:32
  SPEAKER_00: And you have to spin around and come back and say, hold up, I'm so sorry.
• 11:37
  SPEAKER_00: I shouldn't have said it that way.
• 11:38
  SPEAKER_00: I shouldn't have said it with that tone.
• 11:40
  SPEAKER_00: I shouldn't have used the extra emotion that was wrong.
• 11:44
  SPEAKER_00: I was not being kind.
• 11:45
  SPEAKER_00: And the quicker that we're recognizing that pattern and we're able to repent to both the people that we've offended and to God.
• 11:54
  SPEAKER_00: And then am I seeing growth in the distance between when that's happening?
• 11:59
  SPEAKER_00: So again, just such a great measure of quicker to repent and slower to repeat.
• 12:04
  SPEAKER_00: I was having a conversation with another family member who made the comment and has made the comment a handful of times throughout the last year that I've picked up on I just feel like I'm failing in so many areas, just like this defeat of I just feel like I'm dropping balls and all these different circumstances that are making me feel like in a lot of different areas, I feel like I'm just failing.
• 12:25
  SPEAKER_00: And they brought that up again recently.
• 12:28
  SPEAKER_00: And I just said, it really bothers me when you say that because I see something so different evidenced in your life.
• 12:35
  SPEAKER_00: That is not what I see at all.
• 12:37
  SPEAKER_00: I don't see somebody who is failing.
• 12:39
  SPEAKER_00: And I said, I want you to be careful with the language that you're using with yourself because what you say starts to become your reality.
• 12:49
  SPEAKER_00: The power of words is crazy.
• 12:51
  SPEAKER_00: The Bible talks about the power of words are life and death.
• 12:55
  SPEAKER_00: How you use your words that come out of your mouth, the same mouth that can speak life, breathing words, is the same mouth and the same tongue that can have words come out that are literal death.
• 13:07
  SPEAKER_00: And I think we can be more cautious of how we talk to other people, but we are very unaware or we don't take good care of the words that we say to ourselves.
• 13:21
  SPEAKER_00: And the things that we say, we start to believe is truth.
• 13:25
  SPEAKER_00: And so I said to this individual, I really don't like what I've been hearing recently of I feel like a failure, I'm dropping so many balls.
• 13:33
  SPEAKER_00: And I said it reminds me, they came back with, I just feel like there's room for growth in every area of my life.
• 13:39
  SPEAKER_00: And I go, amen.
• 13:40
  SPEAKER_00: I feel the same way.
• 13:41
  SPEAKER_00: I when I look at my life and I think about my my role as a wife and a mom and a business owner and a friend and someone who's working on health and wellness.
• 13:51
  SPEAKER_00: I don't feel like there's a single area where I say there is not one thing that I need to change.
• 13:55
  SPEAKER_00: Like I have just got that so nailed in.
• 13:58
  SPEAKER_00: It's so perfect.
• 13:59
  SPEAKER_00: There's not one.
• 14:00
  SPEAKER_00: Every single area of my life, there is constantly proof that there is room for improvement.
• 14:06
  SPEAKER_00: And I just said, and this would just be my encouragement to you as listeners, because I think sometimes we can get in this mindset of I'm failing at everything, nothing is working.
• 14:16
  SPEAKER_00: And a lot of times when one area specifically is really hard.
• 14:19
  SPEAKER_00: I was talking to a friend a couple of weeks ago on the phone, and just through tears, they were talking through some struggles that they were going through with one of their children.
• 14:28
  SPEAKER_00: And they have several other children, and they just, it was just so evident the pain, the tears, having a hard time even getting the story out to tell me like just such a heaviness over the state of one of their children and feeling bad about it because it was impacting the other kids.
• 14:45
  SPEAKER_00: It was impacting every part of their life.
• 14:47
  SPEAKER_00: And I just said, I remember somebody telling me once that typically a parent can only be as happy as their least happy child.
• 14:56
  SPEAKER_00: And I do agree with that.
• 14:58
  SPEAKER_00: I think that we do have to work really hard at finding our source of joy from things that are not movable, that are not our children's attitudes or circumstances, like the joy of the Lord is my strength.
• 15:12
  SPEAKER_00: And yes, that's the goal, but also practical everyday emotions.
• 15:17
  SPEAKER_00: I do agree with a lot of that statement that a parent can only be as happy as their least happy child.
• 15:24
  SPEAKER_00: And we tend to just have a heaviness when a child is struggling.
• 15:30
  SPEAKER_00: And so there's a lot of areas where we're working through stuff and when it's not going well, it can just feel like, gosh, I can't get it right to help my kids not struggle.
• 15:40
  SPEAKER_00: I can't get it right that my marriage always feels like a healthy, happy place.
• 15:44
  SPEAKER_00: I can't get it right that my house is falling apart and there is so much dust and there's chores to do, and there's just not enough time in the day.
• 15:51
  SPEAKER_00: And I feel like I'm letting people down at work because I'm not getting things in the timeline that I would want to, or things are falling through the cracks.
• 15:58
  SPEAKER_00: And it is just so easy to go down this spiral of, I am failing, like I am not doing well.
• 16:06
  SPEAKER_00: And in having this conversation with the family member who's been using this language recently, I just said it makes me think of specifically when they said back to me, I just feel like every single area of my life is needing growth.
• 16:20
  SPEAKER_00: And to be able to reframe that and say, Amen, 100%, I agree with you.
• 16:24
  SPEAKER_00: Every single area of my life I could use growth in, every single one.
• 16:29
  SPEAKER_00: But when we look at language and the power of it, I said, when you say things like failing, I'm failing, when we look at that in the lens of a grade, when your teacher is grading you and you are getting an F, you are failing, right?
• 16:45
  SPEAKER_00: That means there is not much good that's coming from this.
• 16:49
  SPEAKER_00: You're probably not putting in the effort you need to, you're not following through on the things that you said you're gonna do, you're not showing up in the way that you should be showing up, you're not being diligent in the steps that you need to take for you not to be getting an F in that class.
• 17:03
  SPEAKER_00: And so failing is pretty black and white.
• 17:05
  SPEAKER_00: But I think when we say things like, I'm failing at fill in the blank, I'm failing at being a mom, I'm failing at maintaining my home, I'm failing at managing my emotions.
• 17:17
  SPEAKER_00: That's a pretty strong statement.
• 17:19
  SPEAKER_00: And so in this conversation this last week with the family member, I said, if you were really honest, you're probably getting B plus A minus in all of the things that you feel like you're failing in.
• 17:32
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah, you're not at an A plus.
• 17:33
  SPEAKER_00: You're not nailing it.
• 17:34
  SPEAKER_00: Everything isn't coming super easy, everything isn't lining up just right.
• 17:38
  SPEAKER_00: You don't have enough time for every single class, quote unquote.
• 17:43
  SPEAKER_00: And so you feel like you're falling behind.
• 17:45
  SPEAKER_00: But in reality, when you step back and you look at the evidence around you, the fruit of the things that you are spending your days on, like you're a solid B plus, A minus, and in several areas, an A or an A plus, again, quote unquote students.
• 18:02
  SPEAKER_00: And it was just this aha moment for that family member to go, you know what?
• 18:06
  SPEAKER_00: That is a lot different than what I've been telling myself.
• 18:09
  SPEAKER_00: I the words failing and dropping the ball are very different than, man, I would love to be a 4.0 student, but right now I'm like a 3.65.
• 18:20
  SPEAKER_00: And that is so different than what we can let our emotions make us believe is our reality.
• 18:27
  SPEAKER_00: As we go into the holidays, I just want to encourage you, if you're having a little bit of language in your life where you feel like everything is hard, maybe step back and say, okay, if I was giving myself a report card in being a mom, what would I give myself?
• 18:43
  SPEAKER_00: And friends, even when you're having the days where you're like, why am I so impatient with my kids?
• 18:49
  SPEAKER_00: Why do I raise my voice?
• 18:50
  SPEAKER_00: Why am I short fused?
• 18:52
  SPEAKER_00: Why am I anything that you're struggling with, fill in the blank?
• 18:56
  SPEAKER_00: Even when you take those things into account, when you measure them up with my kids are clothed and they're taken care of every day.
• 19:04
  SPEAKER_00: My kids always get to school on time and they get where they need to go.
• 19:08
  SPEAKER_00: My kids are in activities where they enjoy life and they laugh and they have fun.
• 19:12
  SPEAKER_00: My kids are eating nutritious meals and I'm taking care of their needs inside the home.
• 19:18
  SPEAKER_00: They're sleeping in a clean bed with a warm house.
• 19:21
  SPEAKER_00: We did a craft.
• 19:23
  SPEAKER_00: We went to the zoo.
• 19:24
  SPEAKER_00: We had a play date.
• 19:26
  SPEAKER_00: When you put it all together in one big rubric, if you will, right?
• 19:30
  SPEAKER_00: When you're getting a grade for a class, you are probably scoring so much higher on that score sheet than you are giving yourself credit for.
• 19:40
  SPEAKER_00: And I just think that it was a good reminder for me this week in having that conversation, just to remind myself, to remind the person I was having the conversation with, to remind you as listeners, that a lot of times we can lie to ourselves about the actual successes that we're having and the couple of hard things that we're navigating, or the couple of bad habits, or the couple of sin patterns that we're working on that keep tripping us up, can put a lens on life that makes us feel like this is not good.
• 20:12
  SPEAKER_00: And I just, again, going back to last week, really want to encourage you with an attitude of gratitude and growth and grace to just look at the areas in your life that maybe you're being really hard on yourself and saying, okay, I am actually doing a lot better job than I'm giving myself credit for.
• 20:31
  SPEAKER_00: And then also being encouraged by what are the things in my roles in all those different things that we want to work on parenting, marriage, or maybe our discipline around our house, around some of the tasks that needs to get done.
• 20:44
  SPEAKER_00: Am I being quicker to recognize when it's not getting done?
• 20:48
  SPEAKER_00: And am I being slower to fall into those patterns?
• 20:51
  SPEAKER_00: So when it's a when it's an integrity issue, when it's a sin issue, whether that's I'm lashing out in anger or I'm short-tempered or I'm using language that I shouldn't use, then it's that quicker to repent, slower to repeat.
• 21:05
  SPEAKER_00: But when it's maybe just discipline issues, it's not going to need to be quicker to repent.
• 21:09
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe it's going to be quicker to recognize that, oh, I'm scrolling on my phone when I should be folding laundry or I'm watching too much TV when I should be meal prepping so that we can have healthy meals because that's been a goal to just use that gauge and to be willing to accept growth as a gain, not perfection as the end goal, but growth as gain.
• 21:32
  SPEAKER_00: And a lot of times as we come into the end of a year, it's very tempting to want to look and go, I failed at that, I failed at that, I failed at that, and I failed at that.
• 21:42
  SPEAKER_00: And again, challenging you to go back and write yourself a report card if there was 10 or 15 components that made up the grade for that quote unquote class that you're grading, what would actually your grade be?
• 21:56
  SPEAKER_00: Would there be some teacher remarks that say, amazing mom cares for her children, always shows up, is always at their activities, all the different things, could use a little bit of patience or could use a little bit of kindness in her tone.
• 22:09
  SPEAKER_00: That is how everybody else grades everything.
• 22:12
  SPEAKER_00: And we need to be a little bit kinder on ourselves when we are looking at some of these things.
• 22:16
  SPEAKER_00: And so just a little bit of encouragement for you all.
• 22:19
  SPEAKER_00: Remember that these are the days that we're gonna miss, that we never get tomorrow back and we never get to redo today.
• 22:26
  SPEAKER_00: Today is all we have.
• 22:28
  SPEAKER_00: Just remembering that these are the days that we will miss, that so many of us right now are living the exact life that we prayed for.
• 22:36
  SPEAKER_00: I think sometimes we romanticize what that life is going to look like.
• 22:40
  SPEAKER_00: But if we really stop and just pause and look around our house at what's happening, for most of us, we are living exactly the life that we prayed for as high school girls, as college women, as young women, when we prayed to be in the midst of marriage and momming and raising kiddos and building careers.
• 23:01
  SPEAKER_00: And it's so easy to lose track of all of the blessings that we are sitting in, that we are right in the middle of so much that we always prayed for.
• 23:11
  SPEAKER_00: And so, just again, at the end of the year, I know that it can be stressful.
• 23:15
  SPEAKER_00: I know that a lot of you are gonna be listening to this maybe as you're making crazy preparations for the holidays.
• 23:20
  SPEAKER_00: Also, just want to give you permission to say no to things that don't matter, so you can say yes to your family.
• 23:28
  SPEAKER_00: I am definitely in a season right now of no to a lot of things so that I can say yes to my family, so that I can be home at night to cook dinner and sit and chat around the Christmas tree and the fire with my kids, to say no to extra things during the day, so that I can get to a place when my kids are at school and at work where I can just be at home instead of filling my calendar with a thousand things because there is some flexibility in my schedule, to just really being intentional about protecting that time so that why my family is away, I can be diligently doing things with the podcast, things with my job, things around the house that need to get done, so that there is a space in the evening where I can just sit and be and enjoy.
• 24:14
  SPEAKER_00: Because again, I am recognizing more than ever that the season that we're in, it's a blimp on the calendar.
• 24:20
  SPEAKER_00: It's a little dot in time and it is a precious time that we don't get back.
• 24:25
  SPEAKER_00: And in two years from now, when all of my kids are out of the house and I have every day and every night just me and my husband with so much extra time, that's a great time when I can take on some more volunteer things or I can take on some additional things that right now I just need to say no to so that I can really be present in the moment for the things that matter the most.
• 24:46
  SPEAKER_00: And so as you go throughout the holidays, if it feels stressful to you, if the cookie bake feels stressful, go buy the cookies.
• 24:53
  SPEAKER_00: If the gifts for the teachers that you usually go all out and are super elaborate feel overwhelming, go buy the gift card, put it in a card.
• 25:02
  SPEAKER_00: If hosting feels overwhelming, go buy the paper plates, go cater the dinner, go decide to do something totally not traditional.
• 25:10
  SPEAKER_00: Ask for help, be willing to accept help and just be okay with saying I don't have to have it all together.
• 25:17
  SPEAKER_00: I don't have to be ranking A plus in every single area of my life.
• 25:21
  SPEAKER_00: The real, the real thing that I want to show up to the holidays with isn't perfection, isn't the perfect curated meal and decorations and home.
• 25:31
  SPEAKER_00: It's I want to show up with energy and joy to be able to sit with my family and create memories, not just about the fancy to-dos of the holidays, but the game nights, the times we're sitting doing a puzzle, because I have intentionally created margin for us to be able to sit in those times.
• 25:51
  SPEAKER_00: And so just a little bit of reflection as we go into this, into the season, as we go into a new year, be gentle with yourself on the grading, eliminate words like I'm failing, I'm dropping all the balls, and instead be honest about, okay, here's some areas where I could use some improvement.
• 26:09
  SPEAKER_00: Work on that quicker to repent, slower to repeat as a as just a gauge for growth.
• 26:15
  SPEAKER_00: Again, there is so much growth that happens that we don't accept as gain and accept as movement in the right direction.
• 26:24
  SPEAKER_00: And so I hope that you just take some time to reflect, take some time to be truthful about the areas where you need to have growth and then recognize that growth when it's happening as a win.
• 26:37
  SPEAKER_00: And so, friends, I am, I'm so grateful that you show up here week after week and just excited about what's going to continue to happen here on the podcast.
• 26:46
  SPEAKER_00: It means the world to me that you all download the episodes.
• 26:50
  SPEAKER_00: So many different friends that I know on Thursdays.
• 26:52
  SPEAKER_00: I get texts that listening to my podcast, I have a sweet cousin who every lunch break, he listens to the podcast on Thursday and he'll text me and say either coffee with Nikki or lunch break with Nikki and just people that show up week after week, that offer so much encouragement, that share the podcast, that like it, that rate it, that follow it.
• 27:12
  SPEAKER_00: And I just mean so much.
• 27:13
  SPEAKER_00: So again, just so excited about what's going to happen in season three, trusting God for all of it and gonna lean into this little five or six week break here before we come back in January to start season three super strong.
• 27:28
  SPEAKER_00: So, friends, I hope that you and your family have a beautiful holiday season.
• 27:32
  SPEAKER_00: If it's a season of struggle for you right now, I pray that you would be able to find gratitude in it.
• 27:38
  SPEAKER_00: If it's a season of just great abundance for your family, I pray that you would be so aware of that that you would be willing to share just the overflow of blessings, whether that be in your resources, in your time, in your energy, with those who are feeling a little less in a season of abundance, and that you would just have a wonderful season reflecting with your family on all the gifts that we truly have, even in the hard seasons.
• 28:05
  SPEAKER_00: There is so much to be grateful for.
• 28:07
  SPEAKER_00: So just praying for abundance for you all.
• 28:09
  SPEAKER_00: So until next year, friends, take care.