Disclaimer: Blogs are a great place to get helpful information but they should never replace mental healthcare and this blog is no exception. These blog posts do not replace mental heath care and are not medical advice.

As a pregnant mom of a toddler I get stressed from the moment I wake up in the morning most days. As soon as I wake up my body is achy from pregnancy-driven changes in my body, my feet hurt, and I probably woke up a couple of times throughout the night to pee or to deal with my whining toddler waking up randomly. When I wake up all that floods my mind is the things I have to do that morning to get ready for my day.

I’ve learned that I have to stop myself in the morning and take several moments to center myself and prepare mentally, emotionally, and spiritually for the day.

Below are things that I do to help me de-stress before I do anything on my mental to-do list.

No Social Apps or News

First and most important - I do not read e-mails, go on social media, read the news, answer texts, or ANYTHING before I do the following:

Feeding My Spirit

1. The first thing I do is listen to a devotion. My synod uploads daily 3 minute devotions and I listen to them while I brush my teeth, use the bathroom, and get myself ready.

2. Once the devotion is over I listen to a sermon. Many churches in my synod have podcasts and they record all of their sermons. I pick a sermon (usually they are 20-30 minutes long) and play it as I continue to get myself and my daughter ready for the day.

3. Once I’ve fed my daughter breakfast, I do a 3-5 minute journal time. I found this on the Moms Grab Coffee Podcast (which I also listen to if there aren’t any new sermons uploaded or if I need an extra pick-me-up).

The first question I answer is: where did I see God show up yesterday? This question is helpful to me because I’ve found that it is very easy to focus on the negative aspects of my day and forget about the positive things. This question serves as a reminder to me that God does show up for me every day. 

Next, I answer: What am I praying for today and what do I know about God’s character? Obviously, prayer is powerful and it is part of our daily Christian lives but I rarely thought about God’s character as it pertains to my prayers. This question is helpful to me because it gives me time to talk to God and also makes me remember who God is by pointing me back to the scriptures to answer that second part of the prompt.

Finally, I answer: What scripture am I grounding myself in today? This question is probably the most important question for me because the scripture I choose serves as an affirmation throughout my day. It also points me back to scripture and gives me peace. 

The scripture that I chose for today is Matthew 11:28 “Come to me all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest.” After writing that scripture down I told my husband I needed to lie down. I rested for about a half hour as I listened to another sermon and it shifted the trajectory of my day.

Intentional Body Movement

4. The next thing I do is some form of intentional body movement. I can’t do much with a toddler joining me but I do try to do something. Sometimes I just stretch, sometimes it’s prenatal yoga, sometimes I take a walk or I just walk around my house for a half hour. It depends on how much time I have and what my body feels like doing that day. These intentional body movements are important because they help me feel more refreshed, energized, and generally positive. I find that on days when I skip this I’m less likely to do very much, I’m crankier, and it’s harder for me to focus on work.

Feeding My Body

5. Finally, I make sure to eat breakfast. I am not a huge breakfast person and usually don’t like eating or drinking anything early in the morning. But, if I don’t eat at least a small meal in the morning I feel low on energy and cranky by noon. So I’ve had to add “breakfast” to my morning to-do list otherwise I may forget.

That’s it! Once I’m done it’s usually time to get to work!

There is something to be said about the mind, body, spirit connection. When they are all fed, we thrive but when we ignore one, we struggle. I hope these tips help you out! 

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Bye for now,
Carmelita