Getting over the pressure to do it all.

Today I am writing to myself. This is a message I think we all need to hear over and over again. 

Sometimes we put so much pressure on ourselves to live our lives as we think we are supposed to live. Think about the course of a day...

• Wake up - usually earlier than everyone else so that you can get yourself sorted for the day ahead in a little bit of peace and quiet.
• Get up, washed, dressed - and already your mind is racing with all the different things you need to accomplish.
• Have breakfast - but realistically apart from this morning, I can't remember the last day I actually did this. I get too distracted to sit down and actually eat. 
• Start to make a 'to-do' list - you can list you normal everyday jobs, the specific jobs that need done today, but you will always have another list at the back of your mind that has at least 100 other things that you'd love to get done... and another 100 that you think you should be doing.
• Try to accommodate everyone else who is living in your house - getting in your way - giving you even more jobs - and who sometimes then can annoy you by just breathing!
• Lunchtime - and since everyone is at home it becomes a full on meal involving cooking and dishes and washing up and why oh why are they eating so much? 
• The afternoon - there are always a million jobs to do but you are tired from running around all morning - even if it is only your mind that's been running. It's exhausting. You just want to nap or read a book or get a massage - OK so that's probably not realistic but you still dream! Instead you work out what everyone else needs help with, sort some more laundry or cupboards out, and then comes...
• Dinner - oh yeah it's eating time again so that involves more preparing and cooking and trying to come up with interesting things to eat since we've been living off the same 5-7 meals for the last year solid. 
• And then after tea - everyone has somewhere to be - whether its football training, movie night - where we all have our own seats by the way and dear help you if you sit on someone else's! - or games night where no mercy is shown!!
• And finally collapse into bed exhausted...

Well, I don't know about you but that's definitely the way my life feels as if it always goes - a chronic mad rush from I get up to going to bed again. And I don't mean that I don't love my life, I truly do and I know how very blessed I am... but I do feel the pressure of having to get everything done and I feel like I fail a lot. A lot. 

I want so much to be able to go to bed one night and sigh happily at the thought that I have done everything I wanted and needed to get done. 

I've spoken about my battle with depression a lot, but this is one of ways I really find it hard. My head messes with me, telling me that I've failed to do what every other woman, wife, mother finds easy. So I need to remind myself that its OK to not be OK.  It's totally OK to have a slow day, as long as it doesn't turn into a slow week or month (I've had those too so I know the dangers!).

So today I want to remind myself, and whoever needs to hear it -

You don't have to do it all. 

You don't have to do it perfectly. 

You don't have to do it all by yourself. 

Life is meant to be lived and enjoyed not just survived. 

You're going to be OK. 

We are in this together ladies, and the whole point of me sharing my thoughts on here is to let you know that you are not alone if you are struggling. Lift that chin, turn that frown upside down and know you are truly loved - no matter what you've done today! 

Remember God loves you and you can do this!

Tanya ♥

Day 80 - Lessons from the Doctor

The other day I found this old post from Facebook... 

As I thought more about it I realised just how much there is in this. So I thought I'd share a few thoughts with you. 

I know I'm emotional - and it may have been mentioned on here once or twice!! - but this was beyond emotional. As the episode played, and we meet the 'mad' Vincent Van Gogh, who was of course chasing and fighting aliens ( it is Dr. Who remember!!), we meet a man who is lost and who is completely alone. He has no no one around him. And when a Amy and the Doctor tell him they'll be leaving soon he actually cries. He is a broken man who thinks he is less than he is. He thinks he is useless. He has people everywhere, every day, telling him he is worthless. 

And to top it off, he sees the world in a different way to everyone around him. 

Now that story line is enough to bring anyone to tears - especially when, as the viewer, you know that he is an amazing artist who committed suicide at the age of only 37. 

But that's not what got me. In an attempt to show him that he is more, he is worthy and he is special, Amy and the Doctor take him to modern day Paris to the Musee d'Orsy where he gets to see an exhibition of his work, surrounded by people who love it, and meet a curator who says this: 

I started crying as soon as the Tardis landed in Paris... I knew what was coming. To watch someone as they realise that they are capable of achieving so much more than they ever thought possible was incredible. Total emotional overload. And yes I know it's TV and they are only acting, but as I watched I looked around at my four boys and realised that I want them to know that feeling and grasp that truth without having to time travel in a magic blue box! 

You see as Christians, believers in the one true God, we trust that He has an almighty plan for every single one of us. We are here on this earth at this exact time for a purpose. And that purpose should bring glory to God. 

And as we look back on our story, my four boys all are growing up, like Van Gogh, seeing the world a little differently than everyone else. Because they see it as a place where they can live their lives to serve God and glory Him in all they do. They see it's wonder, beauty and the awesomeness of God's creation. They see His fingerprint all around them. 

Unfortunately pain, suffering, persecution, depression and loss will still come. They may well go through periods in their lives where they get a little lost. They may experience an illness or a mental health issue like their mum and Vincent van Gogh. 

But when trials come, they will be ready to trust their Heavenly Father, and they will be able to stand firm in the wake of persecution or pain... At least that is my prayer for them. 

But the one thing I'm certain of is that they have a God who is bigger than any problem and He has the power they need to get through it all. He will bring them out the other side in victory, and they can be certain that His plan and His purpose will help them to be the best they could ever be. 

They will hopefully grow up knowing that God created them to be amazing - to be the best they can be so that their lives bring Him glory. And that's the best feeling ever. That's the feeling you get when you know you are in the centre of God's will - no matter what's going on around you. And the feeling you get when you know you've heard His words and obeyed. 

Its a special feeling that I think they captured in this episode of Dr. Who, even if it didn't help Van Gogh to overcome his internal demons. 

I love it when God steps in and uses something as ordinary as a TV show to blow me away with His truth. 

Day 67 - Healthy Happy Women

Morning ladies! 

So yesterday I shared about physical strength/fitness so today I want to look at mental strength. 

“From the ends of the earth, I cry to you for 

help when my heart is overwhelmed. 

Lead me to the towering rock of safety,”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭61:2‬ ‭

We’ve mentioned this a couple of times in the last few months and talked about finding ways to cope, but I want to share a resource with you today. 

“Chat Now” is a Christian website which facilitates a chat with a Christian - about anything!! A friend of mine volunteers with them and so I wanted to share from two points of view - 

* IF YOU NEED TO TALK TO SOMEONE 

It’s a ‘type’ service so you don’t actually have to ‘talk’, which I think is fantastic. When you are feeling low or worried about someone it can be too emotional to try to put it into words using your actual voice. It is much easier to type it out - and you can even use it if you are in a house full of people so have no space to talk openly. I really like this idea - because sometimes when we are surrounded us when we feel the most lonely. So if you need it - please check it out -https://chatnow.org

* IF YOU’D LIKE TO HELP

We all have some time on our hands - and a lot of you are very good at encouraging people. Some of you have encouraged me when I felt like crap and really lifted me out of a hole. So I KNOW you’d be great at this!! 

To volunteer there is no minimum commitment of time - so that’s perfect for fitting it in to our busy schedules, and of course it’s done by typing, so no phone chatting!!! (You know I love this bit!!!)

This is a busy time for it as the world is struggling, and we all need help focusing on God. And what better way to spend an hour than helping someone else look up and see how much God loves them and values them. 

So whether you need to use it, or you’d like to help do it, check it out - https://chatnow.org