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Take Back Your Morning

Writer's picture: Danielle CrawfordDanielle Crawford

I was scrolling Facebook this morning and landed on a post in a Mom group asking “Moms, how are yall doing?”


Under the post, comments were flooding in of Moms saying “not ok,” “exhausted,” “my kids are sick,” “struggling,” “depressed, and “I’m ready for school to start.”


It was so disheartening to see all of the moms in our area struggling so much. I felt so sad and at the same time resonated with them because being a mother IS exhausting. We’re not all ok. Most of us are overwhelmed and beyond our breaking points, but as a mom the show must go on.


I sat there reading the comments and just kept thinking what can I do to help? What do all of the moms need? What can be done to lessen the depression, anxiety, exhaustion, and overload moms today are feeling?


I’m still working on a solution in my head, but the first thing that came to mind was just for someone to tell them a few things.


First, I see you. Sometimes all a woman needs is for someone to listen with the intent of understanding, not fixing. Men are problem-solvers by nature so sometimes when we vent our frustrations or sadness to them, they bypass the empathetic listening stage and go straight to telling us what we should or shouldn’t do the remedy the situation. While they have great intentions, sometimes that is NOT what we need! So I’m here to tell you that I hear you and I see you and I understand. It is freaking hard to be a mom in today’s world…which leads me to my next point.


Society has us thinking we all need to be super moms and it’s doing nothing but adding stress on top of stress. Instagram will make you believe that if you’re not creating the summer of your child’s dreams, you’re somehow a bad mom. They’re constantly shoving “you only have 18 summers” messages down our throats to evoke emotion from us to gain followers. I wish I could grab them all by the virtual arm and say STOP IT! We aren’t stupid, we know we have 18 summers with our kids at home, but that does not mean that we have to bend over backwards to provide entertainment every hour of the day, or go into debt trying to finance extravagant trips for them every summer! Some of the best summer memories of our childhood are playing out in the yard with neighborhood friends, right? Let’s bring back SIMPLE SUMMERS! Let your kid use their imagination, and for the love of God LET THEM BE BORED!!! By constantly “creating” fun for them, we are inhibiting their ability to use their imagination to create their own fun! Turn off Instagram, turn on your sprinkler, and let them run around thinking of fun ways to entertain themselves!


Next, stop trying to do it all. You will never be able to do it all and feel emotionally or physically well. If you are stressed to the brim by trying to keep your household clean while being a working (or stay at home) mom, you’re going to eventually run yourself into the ground. It is physically impossible to remain in a state of low cortisol (the stress hormone) while trying to achieve some form of motherhood mastery. Trust me, I know. I have finally been able to throw my hands up and say what is important will be done and what isn’t, can wait. I would 10 times out of 10 rather go swimming with my little dude than fold the laundry mountain on my couch.


And lastly, doing any of this mom stuff without God is just plain torture. Humanly strength is limited by physical stamina, emotional resilience, and our sheer will to keep going. Godly strength has no limits. The same power that raised Jesus from the dead literally lives inside of you when you are a saved Christian. How can we harness THAT amount of power to take on the day before us without crawling into bed at night as a depleted shell of a human being? (Oh wait, if your husband is in bed you better muster up another bit of energy because it’s quite literally your only time to connect, just the two of you.)


It starts in the morning.


Before anyone else is awake.


When you hear your alarm, open your eyes, count backwards from 5 and get straight up. No snoozing. NO SCROLLING SOCIAL MEDIA. I mean it. Don’t even take your phone off of sleep mode. These first 5 seconds are the hardest part of the morning routine but if you can make it through walking to the bathroom and peeing, you’re golden. Now you’re awake.


Walk into your kitchen and make your coffee. Find a cozy spot in your living room next to a table and lamp, and open up your Bible.


By this point you’re close to being fully awake. Close your eyes and say “Lord, lead me to what you want me to read today.” Thumb the pages of your Bible until God tells you to stop and open it right where you are. SOMETHING on that page or in that chapter is for you. I promise.


When you get to the part that jumps off the page at you, write it in your journal, and write why it’s significant to you. You’ll look back on it one day and thank God for showing it to you!


After this, take a few minutes to write out something in your journal whether it’s a prayer or just an entry about how you’re feeling and maybe what you have going on that day.


Here comes the most important part.


Ask the Holy Spirit, with all of his divine wisdom, and the strength that goes beyond understanding, to fill you up today. Ask Him from your head to toes to be completely submerged in his presence, and to keep you going today. Ask Him to nudge you in every decision you make. Ask Him to be with you through every mundane task. Ask Him to stay in communion with you throughout the day and to constantly be at the forefront of your mind. Then thank Him for this promise that He will fulfill; because you are seeking Him out, He will be found.


Last part to get your day going….and it’s a big one…. get up from your coffee and intimate time with Jesus and do 10 squats, 10 pushups, 10 sit up’s, and 10 jumping jacks. (Even modified if you need to.) This 5 minute routine will get your heart pumping just enough to give you energy that will last throughout the entire day. I don’t know how it works or why it works, but I know on the days that I don’t do this part…I CRASH after lunch. That few minutes gets your blood pumping to your heart and to your brain and it sustains you throughout at LEAST mid morning! You may have to do it again after lunch.


I hope this little blog helps in the smallest or mightiest of ways today, tomorrow, and whenever you need it. If you feel empowered or gained something from it, please share. Let’s help women in our community start off our days as facing them head on and with the strength of our Father in heaven!


Xoxo- Danielle


PS- one more thing that I wanted to add that totally fuels my mornings are listening to the Mel Robbins podcast. Her episodes are empowering and tactical ways to improve your life! Even my 3 year old knows when Mommy is listening to Mel, you entertain yourself 🩷😂


*pictured here- said mountain of laundry.

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