top: madewell | jeans: madewell | shoes: madewell | bag: madewell | sunnies: karen walker
Hi, babes! The weekend is upon us and we are pumped! We have a fun family night with some friends tonight followed by a back-to-school play date and pool party tomorrow. What are your plans for the weekend?
So earlier this summer I fell into a trap that I’ve fallen into many times before – comparison. Most of the time I can keep my blinders on, but for some reason this summer was a struggle. I found myself scrolling through instagram and comparing myself to everyone under the sun – other influencers, moms appearing to do a way better job than me, friends with “perfect” lives or “perfect” houses, etc.; and do you know where it got me? No where. In fact, it squelched my creativity. I fell victim to what I warn every new influencer about – “comparison is the thief of creativity.” It’s also the thief of all joy, and I experienced both.
After several weeks, maybe even months, I took time to analyze my life and determine why I was feeling down, judgmental, and stuck. What I realized was how little time I was spending in the word or meditating, and how much time I was spending on social media. So, over the last couple of weeks I’ve made some significant (although not new) changes to my daily routine in order to help me set positive intentions for the day.
setting positive intentions:
intentions: a determination to act a certain way
time in the word:
This may not be for everyone, but for me it’s a big one. If I’m not spending time reading the Bible (a.k.a. “the word), then it becomes much easier to live for my kingdom and my desires rather than for the Lord’s. My amount of time I spend in the word directly correlates to the health of my relationship with my husband and kids.
Life is crazy and I’m quickly realizing it will only get crazier. So, my old excuse of not spending time in the word – “this stage in life is so crazy” – is invalid. Life will always be crazy and instead of putting my quiet time to the side, I need it now more than ever to survive this crazy life of toddlers. The devotional I’ve been using is New Morning Mercies. I love that it’s brief if you need it to be, but gives extra reading from the Bible if you want to go deeper.
meditation:
Although I haven’t been incredibly consistent, I started meditating last year and it’s been amazing. I got out of habit over the summer, but have started to bring it back. Meditating allows me to focus, breathe, and remove the “noise” of my life.
journaling:
Journaling has been truly incredible in my process of setting positive intentions. Before kids I journaled all the time, but I’ve struggled to stay consistent since kids. However, when I started spending more time in the word, and more time meditating, I’ve also started to journal more. It’s really helped me to see on paper where I’m struggling, and what I’m working for. It’s helped me to see what I’m grateful for and what I need/want my intention to be.
know your weaknesses:
This part has been key for me and note: knowing your weakness is different than dwelling on it. Journaling and time in the Word has helped me to see what’s really been a struggle for me lately – namely comparison and patience. So, knowing what my weaknesses are has helped me to form positive intentions to combat these on a daily basis.
be grateful:
Whenever I’m struggling to have a positive intention or mindset, I turn my attention to what I have to be grateful for. Every once in awhile I’ll even write out everything I’m grateful for on paper so I can visually see the blessings in my life.
let go:
Let go of the unnecessary. Let go of those things that don’t bring you joy. When you set an intention for your day whether it be have patience or seek joy in the unexpected, it requires you to let go. It requires you to let go of unintentional hurts, of small offenses, and of personal expectations. It’s actually very freeing.
Once I’ve gotten through my time in the word, my meditation and my journaling, I set a specific intention for the day. It’s crazy what saying something aloud will do for you. When I speak aloud or write down my positive intention – patiently love my girls or seek joy in the mundane – my day goes so much better
top: madewell | jeans: madewell | shoes: madewell | bag: madewell | sunnies: karen walker
photography: maribel morales
