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Thriving in Motherhood: I Surrender

July 3, 2016 by Jaimi Erickson 2 Comments

Ready to have the ENERGY to be the best mom you can be? Get started! Thanks for stopping by!

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Welcome to Mom Motivation Mondays where weekly contributing writers share their motherhood experiences to encourage you to find the joy in being a mom.

{This week: Post by Lisa}

I thought thriving in motherhood would b eeasy. Before having kids I thought I knew it all. After one week with a newborn, I know I needed to learn more to thrive as a mom.

I thought thriving in motherhood would be easy. I went into parenting thinking that I had all the answers. It only took a week with a newborn for me to realize that I did not know it all.

When my kids were toddlers I went to bed most nights feeling overwhelmed. The preschool years got easier in some ways and more difficult in other ways.

It feels strange to me now that my children are school-aged. They are so different than me. Who are they?  It’s a bit scary and exciting all at the same time!

Every day I discover what makes them sad or happy. When I watch how they react in different life situations, I learn a great deal about their temperaments and how they receive love. This helps me serve them better. And when I say “serve” I mean as God intends.

God holds the wheel for our family and I am learning to be a quiet passenger. I have to take several deep breaths and hold my tongue a lot. If I don’t, I end up telling God what direction I want to go and I miss out on what He is showing me along the way.

It’s a rough world we live in and I’m learning to take every thought captive that leads me to worry about my kids. In doing this I realize that I must look at the eternal glories and not worry about the present circumstances.  My children are safe in God’s hands and He has a plan for them.

Daily I put to rest my expectations of who I think my children should be and how they should act.  They need me to accept them for who they are and challenge them to be the best they can be.

I want to teach them the skills they need according to the talents they display.  I acknowledge their God given gifts and I help them walk through doors that will enable them to grow in the things that interest them.  I don’t always get this right.  There is a lot of trial and error.

Thriving in Motherhood

My focus as a Mom is to help my kids find confidence and strength in God.  The best way for me to do this is to show them how I live life for God.  They learn through my actions.

For example, I don’t need them to thank me or notice the little things I do for them. It’s my responsibility to care for them. Believe me, I sometimes get all huffy and puffy when they don’t show appreciation.  I am getting quicker to correct my error in this type of attitude. Thriving in motherhood is an every day challenge.

When I start to think that I do too much for my family and not enough for me, I remind myself that Christ gave His life for me.  He doesn’t expect anything in return.  He gave us life so that we could give hope to those He puts in our hands to care for. I don’t expect my kids to serve me and return any favors.  I chose to love my kids unconditionally with no strings attached.  And this is what I believe a true servant looks like.

I have discovered that thriving in motherhood is attainable when I seek God for direction and I obey Him.  Being a Mom is challenging and I don’t always want to put my kid’s needs before mine.

There is always a consequence for selfishness.

21 For me to live is Christ [His life in me], and to die is gain [the gain of the glory of eternity]. Philippians 1:21 (AMPC)

I have to let go of my ways to have peace and joy. 

Thriving in Surrender

I desire to empty myself so that Christ living in me is noticeable. It’s more important that others know Jesus than me. In order for that to happen I must put God and others first. It’s a challenge but the right thing to do as a Christian.

I’m more rested and confident in who I am as a Mom when I let God drive.  His presence assures me that He is available for me.  I seek Him for understanding and wisdom.

A servant of Christ surrenders her life to God.  God changes us from our old ways and shows us how to live a meaningful life in a new way.

I surrender all to Christ because He has given me eternal life. In Him life is filled with blessings.  Because of Jesus I have gone from surviving to thriving in motherhood.

I thought thriving in motherhood would b eeasy. Before having kids I thought I knew it all. After one week with a newborn, I know I needed to learn more to thrive as a mom.


Wanted: Mom Friends! Lisa Brown from COmmunity Moms blog shares how she felt when she became a new mom and did not have a support system in place. This is great advice for moms whether new or experienced!I was forty when I got married. I had my first child in 2008 and my second child in 2010. I am not a young mom. I’ve been married since 2006 to an amazing man that is my best friend and we live in Colorado. Before I had children I was a Preschool Teacher. Now I’m a Home School Teacher.

I write to encourage and inspire. Life is messy and sometimes makes no sense. I’m learning that I don’t have to be perfect. I’m loved by God just because, and so are you. Join us at Me Too Moments for Moms to connect with other moms seeking faith and joy in this season of life.


A weekly series of motivation for moms brought to you by stay at home mom bloggers at The Stay-at-Home Mom Survival Guide.

Successful Mom Daily Checklist to help you gain balance between housework and play time with the kids. Get more done, and feel more successful as a mom and homemaker.

Enjoy your time at home!

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Filed Under: faith, me time, motherhood, motivation Tagged With: devotion, God, Jesus, MMM contributors, self-care

Comments

  1. Samantha says

    July 10, 2016 at 6:30 pm

    This was so well written. This general topic has been on my mind and heart for the past couple weeks so to read it here was another encouraging reminder. As one of my favorite songs says, “tomorrow’s freedom is today’s surrender” and I’m finding that to be true, that when I surrender to Christ, He is able to shine through my life and there’s a certain freedom in that.

    Reply

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  1. Thriving In Motherhood – I Surrender | Me Too Moments For Moms says:
    July 6, 2016 at 9:51 pm

    […] It’s a rough world we live in and  – to read the rest of my post  Thriving In Motherhood – Surrender […]

    Reply

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They were posing nicely, but I said make some funn They were posing nicely, but I said make some funny faces. They did. 🤣🤣

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All troubles in life can be solved with more Jesus All troubles in life can be solved with more Jesus. 

He is risen! ☀️ 

Happy Easter / Resurrection Sunday from the Erickson clan. 💕 

I pray each of you seek the ultimate truth and know God is working through you. You are significant, loved and appreciated. 🤗 

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I pictured myself as a mom of boys before having m I pictured myself as a mom of boys before having my babies. I have learned so much from all my children but having my girls is a blessing I never knew I needed. 

Want to eliminate mean girls? Raise daughters to do the opposite.

Want to teach women to better communicate with each other? Raise daughters to listen and articulate.

They are my own little girl group and I am grateful for it. They love me on my bad days and give me compliments I do not even deserve. 

I do love being the mom of girls (and boys). They both teach me so much. 

What are the top lessons you wish girls would learn before becoming adults? 

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Will you be spending time with family for Easter? Will you be spending time with family for Easter? 

My husband’s parents have arrived - adding one more big dog to our house and lots of crafts and fun. We have not seen them since June. Everyone is excited to spend time together.

Both of my big kids have birthdays and we will all get to spend time at the beach this month. Our school work will morph into field trips so we soak up every day we can being present with family. 

I am looking forward to making memories, soaking in time together and celebrating two milestone birthdays - one happening tomorrow. 💛 

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“Never underestimate the healing of a quiet mome “Never underestimate the healing of a quiet moment in the garden.” 
-Unknown

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🌟The faces we make when a Costco run with all t 🌟The faces we make when a Costco run with all the kids actually goes well!!! 🌟 

Ice cream after helped of course. 😂

All prepped for my in-laws coming to visit us after not seeing them since our move last summer. Looking forward to some fun events ahead that will make my kids think they are on spring break but they will technically be field trip days. Check, check. 

Are you guys on spring break this week? What do you have planned?

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Some days you put on the 10 year old comfy jeans, Some days you put on the 10 year old comfy jeans, fill your mind with encouragement and just keep moving forward. 

Recovery days are not just for working out. They are for the mental state we walk around with too. Yesterday felt heavy. My God is a power lifter and takes the burden away. 

Today will be better.

Today we will rest and refocus.

Hooray for comfy jeans, motivational graphics and the Word to focus on through it all. 

(Faith fashion: @choseninchrist use code Jaimi to save.)

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🌟That Face!!🌟 That little boy is soon to t 🌟That Face!!🌟 

That little boy is soon to turn 13, guys! I mean in a few weeks. 😅

This is a throwback but brings back so many fun memories. 

—————————————

I love creating activities and crafts on the fly. Always have even before my kids were here.

I noticed that my son did not have a lot of little toy people to play with while he was pretending one day. We have a few cylinder blocks in a set. We never used them when we built. I thought we could turn them into little DIY toy people. 

They were so cute and easy to make. It was a preschool art project for him. We made them together.

If you don’t have wooden cylindrical blocks at home, you can use pieces of wood dowel or even a few square blocks glued together. You can even make DIY toy people out of toilet paper tubes. 

🌟Full details through Blog link in bio 🌟

——————————————

I am so excited and yet in complete shock by how fast these little lives grow. I have never missed moments and I am so so grateful especially as we approach the teen years in my house. 💛 Soak up even the hard days of being a mom. TOTALLY worth it. 

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👌 There are a lot of parenting opinions out the 👌 There are a lot of parenting opinions out there. I try to ignore a lot of them. 😂 

My kids stay up later than most recommend, but so did I when I was a kid. 

She loves to read. She loves to write. Abby writes plays, journal entries, songs and on a bad day she will write her feelings about it all, in depth, no holds barred. 

This night she was trying to finish up a play - setting, character details, order of lines - for a play she made for her younger sister. 

I am so thankful that we can count her love of writing in her free time as school work. I am so thankful that how we do school allows this passion and talent to thrive. She has stacks of drawings, plays and writing blurbs. They are all precious to her.

There are days I question whether this choice or that choice is right or “approved,” but it does not matter when I see my children dive deep into the things they love. 

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Give me my people any day. Family time this Sund Give me my people any day. 

Family time this Sunday was a 5k fundraiser race. We helped raise 💵 for the spouses’ club scholarship fund. Scholarships will be awarded for post secondary education to military kids and spouses. 

If you can choose any action in life, choose to help others. Side bonus when it involves fun family time together.

Best day yet. 💛💛💛

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💛 Friday Introductions💛 It has been a while 💛 Friday Introductions💛

It has been a while since I did a good run-down here to give ya the cliffs notes (are those still a thing) version of me. 👋 

💛 Detroit-born a few blocks from where Eminem lived. The city is still my hometown despite moving away as a kid.

💛 I am a big believer in traditional values, but with a modern woman twist. My husband drives his career and I drive this household.

💛 We live in eastern NC 30 mins from the beach. I want to stay here forever, truly, but military life will come to an end some day...still don’t know specifically when that will be.

💛Born and raised to be a planner, Type A personality, having 4 kids beat that out of me 🤣 and I am very “day at a time” now. 

💛I was a teacher turned stay at home mom turned blogger turned entrepreneur that had to set it all on the back burner a bit to focus on homeschooling my kids. I can only have so much on my plate and complete it successfully. (When we listen, God guides and is loud and clear with His direction. 💛)

💛I believe I can be humble and confident; I can be fully present with my kids and make space to rest and rejuvenate; I believe the biggest successes I will achieve in life will not have a paycheck as its valuation. 

💛I believe that true peace, value and love all come from Jesus. 

You will find me sharing the ups AND the downs of motherhood, wife life, homeschooling and being a Christian woman with the modern day pull to fight what that can mean. (There is def a force trying to convince us to push those values aside, my friends.)

👌What is the cliffs notes version of you? What do you want people to know/realize most of all?

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🌟Teaching Kids to Make Friends🌟 Often our c 🌟Teaching Kids to Make Friends🌟

Often our children learn hard lessons when they have to move to a new state or school. 

My kids have become all too familiar with this through military life. Every three years they have to make new friends.

It is not always simple.

As a child, my family moved a lot. We were not military, but in junior high I moved to a new state and had to make all new friends.

This was a challenging and even to some extent a traumatic time of life.

Being the new kid, is a humbling experience. Suddenly you are hoping that your peers will want to get to know you and like you. It creates some self-consciousness.

Reading is such a beneficial way to teach children about life lessons. It teaches much more than that. It teaches self esteem through the cuddle time. It teaches language skills, and it teaches children to use their minds to be creative.

As they have grown and navigated more friendships, books are a resource for us to discuss tough challenges. I have found a great series of books that present friendship challenges and help children learn to navigate them.

It just so happens that the author is my neighbor too! How cool is that?! Moms are amazing.

These books will be treasured by your family for their quality values. The @stingrayjelly series teach children how to make friends and navigate friendships to love others well and support them through shared similarities and recognized differences.

Author, Lauren Giannella is a military wife and my neighbor! Anna Perdue is the illustrator and also a military child. 

Read my blog post for details on each book and links to purchase through @barnesandnoble 

We love our military community and all they do to give back.

What are your favorite children’s books that teach children how to make friends or help them maneuver through tough life challenges?

#books #booksforkids #militaryspouse #militaryspouses #militarywife #militarylife #militarykids #teachingkids #goodbooks #readtokids #readingtime #homeschoolreading #homeschoolmoms #eastnc #usmclife #marinecorpsfamily #motherhoodsocial
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