Brave Moms

Empowering and Revitalizing Weary Moms

What Moms of Toddlers Need To Know (EP 24)

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What do you need to know as a mom to a toddler? How can you set yourself up for success and have the right expectations? Today we are sharing helpful ways to be a Brave Mom in the early years when you have a toddler.  Share this episode with the moms of toddlers in your life.

IN THIS EPISODE:

  • Extra sleep is still needed because your toddlers will have lots of energy.
  • Play games with them that have them using up their energy (run around the table 10 times)…
  • Be consistent with what you require from them and discipline
  • If they get away with something more than once you will have to work way harder later on to undo it
  • Remember that discipline is love. “Those who spare the rod of discipline hate their children. Those who love their children care enough to discipline them.” Prob 13:24
  • Keep having them take naps and if they stop napping turn it into quiet time in their rooms so that you continue to get the break and rest you need.
  • Have expectations for them that are on their level. Don’t expect too much or too little
  • Teach them how to act BEFORE you go places. Practice at home and remind them in the car on the way there.
  • Their “why” questions may drive you crazy but answer them when they are not questioning your discipline. Kids need to know the reason why and you are educating them with moral reasons why that will stick with them for the rest of their lives. Why don’t we run in the store? Because someone might come around the corner and we could run into them hurting them and that would not be nice.
  • Give them choices with rewards for good decisions and consequences for bad decisions.
  • Your strong-willed toddler will change the world one day. Equip them to make good choices and be self-disciplined.
  • Start teaching them now to pray and to wait and listen to hear God’s voice.
  • Play with them and make memories but you are not allowed to feel guilty when you need to do the laundry and they want to play. Doing the laundry is for them too and it helps them learn there is a time to play and a time to work. It also helps them to learn to entertain themselves which is a valuable skill as they grow.
  • Start teaching them about how special their bodies are and that no one should be touching them inappropriately. Tell them what to do if that happens and repeat this every so often.
  • Make date night a priority. Keep working on your marriage. Keep taking good care of yourself.
  • Keep doing the things that light you up inside.
  • Remember this is a season and it will end and a new season is around the corner.

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If you love the podcast leave a review here. It will take 30 seconds and I’d be so grateful. Plus, it will help more moms find this encouragement.

What Moms of Newborns and Infants Need to Know (EP 23)

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What do you need to know as a mom to a newborn or an infant? How can you set yourself up for success and have the right expectations? Today we are sharing helpful ways to be a Brave Mom in the early years when you have a little one.  Share this episode with the new moms in your life.

IN THIS EPISODE:

  • Give yourself lots of grace and lower your expectations for yourself. You’re going to want to do it all but you won’t have the capacity in the same way you did pre baby
  • Give yourself extra time for everything
  • Meet with Jesus frequently – He is your lifeline
  • Quiet all the external voices and ask for wisdom – start now getting in the habit of praying about everything
  • Talk to your husband often about how you want to parent, what discipline you will use, etc… get on the same page as much as possible now
  • Learn about the differences between boys and girls
  • Speak life over your babies
  • Start praying for their future spouse – remember their mom might be in the same boat you are. What a gift for you to pray for her this whole time and she doesn’t even know it
  • Sleep whenever you can for the first several weeks.
  • Write down all the things that overwhelm you and whenever a friend asks how they can help actually let them see your list. In the long run, you’ll be grateful you were honest and didn’t try to pretend you had it all together
  • Keep doing the things that light you up inside and pursuing your dreams in small ways
  • Enjoy this time and remember this is just a season and a new season is around the corner. By

LINKS WE MENTIONED:

Wild Things: The Art of Nurturing Boys

 

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If you love the podcast leave a review here. It will take 30 seconds and I’d be so grateful. Plus, it will help more moms find this encouragement.

A Heart for Foster Care – An Interview with Candace Jones(EP 22)

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Candace Jones believes there’s never an asterisk on what God asks us to do in His Word. She is an advocate for foster care. She has 8 children, 2 biological and 6 adopted. God called her and her husband to foster and the two of them have taken some wild steps of obedience. Candace doesn’t pull any punches in this interview. In this gut-honest conversation, she busts through excuses and misconceptions about fostering and shares her heart and what God did in her life to take such a huge leap of faith. After listening to this episode, you will be encouraged, challenged and informed on how to make a difference in the lives of children that desperately need you to do something. She also shares the most important thing any child needs. Don’t miss this episode.


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

IN THIS EPISODE:

  • God calls husbands and wives together
  • 30% of youth that age out of foster care become homeless
  • The Holy Spirit comes and sets up camp so unmistakably when you foster. God wants these kids.
  • The kids are hungry for scripture
  • How would you give a foster kid back? It’s maybe a valid excuse but it’s still an excuse. The scriptures never have an asterisk
  • Ask God to give you calluses on the right parts of your heart and keep the other parts soft
  • God is not asking you to do more than He knows you can do
  • I would not be good at that. Moses wasn’t good at public speaking… That excuse doesn’t hold up with God.
  • Pride says – I’m not good at that. God only asks for our obedience
  • How will it affect my biological kids?
  • God never asks us to trade our kid’s childhood for someone else’s childhood. 
  • Don’t get ahead of God and make assumptions
  • You get to fill out a thorough questionnaire of what would work for your family when fostering
  • 100,000 are legally eligible for adoption
  • Half of all foster children are returned to their parents and half of those kids returned end up back in foster care.
  • Half of all foster parents quit the first year. It can be very isolating. Gather your friends before you begin and have them pray. Have them come and sit with you.
  • Start scripture memorization with foster kids. It is powerful.
  • In our American culture maxed out is very self-inflicted
  • What do we have in our calendar that is keeping us from doing God’s will?
  • God removes so many excuses. 
  • Father of the fatherless and protector of widows, is God in his holy habitation. Psalm 68:5
  • Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. James 1:27
  • How to support someone who is fostering: 
    • Contact a foster care agency and ask to get on their approved babysitter list. Offer them a regularly occurring night out.
    • Go over with a coffee and sit with them and let them talk.
    • Fold laundry, clean her kitchen, help her practically.
    • Ask the kids sizes and get new pajamas, new underwear, new shoes.

 

  • Don’t look left and right. Look ahead. Find an older mom who is a couple of seasons ahead of you to mentor you.
  • All extracurricular activities fade in comparison to knowing the Bible and knowing what the truth is.
  • Men often have financial concerns about fostering. The state of Texas and most states now if they are adopted from foster care or currently in foster care can go to college for free. Any state college. Tuition is paid. That also includes medical school, law school, and technical school. They also have Medicaid insurance through age 18. 100% of them qualify to go to college for free but only 3% of them take advantage of it. 
  • Cultivating a love for the Lord through scriptures. ABC printable scripture flash cards. Do 1 a week at breakfast. A whole week to talk about what it means. Discuss who said it in the Bible, what was going on, and when it applies to our lives. God’s Word has power.

LINKS WE MENTIONED:

Dallas Life Shelter

Scripture Printable Cards

CONNECT WITH BRAVE MOMS:

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If you love the podcast leave a review here. It will take 30 seconds and I’d be so grateful. Plus, it will help more moms find this encouragement.

How to Have a Good Day (EP 21)

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Did you know that you can actually plan for a good day? So many times we just look back on our days and decide whether it was good or bad. Life happens and circumstances arise that can throw us off. But what if there were some things you could do to set yourself up for more good days? That’s what we are talking about on the podcast today. We hope you’ll join us!


IN THIS EPISODE:

  • How to plan to have a good day
  • Listen to your thoughts
  • Are you trying to numb feelings? Really feel them.
  • Remember that God tells us to be strong and courageous. 
  • Joshua 1:9
  • God’s encouragement is always that we can do this and He’s got us. He never says we’re stuck or that we’ll stay here forever
  • Remember the big picture. This is a season. Perspective is everything
  • Other moms are going through the same things and we will get through this
  • Have fun! Make time for fun and look for beauty

LINKS WE MENTIONED:

Podcast Episode on Margin and Keeping it all Together: https://www.bravemoms.com/margin-and-keeping-it-all-together/

CONNECT WITH BRAVE MOMS:

website | Instagram | facebook

If you love the podcast leave a review here. It will take 30 seconds and I’d be so grateful. Plus, it will help more moms find this encouragement.

Back to School Encouragement for Moms (EP 20)

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Back to School time is filled with so many things to do, buy and read and sign. It can be exhausting. How do you keep your heart from growing weary during this time? This week we have some ideas for you to take note of how your heart is doing and how to refuel so that you are set up for a great school year with your kids.


IN THIS EPISODE:

  • Tend to your heart
  • Ask God to show you what you need in this season
  • Take care of your whole self
  • Be prepared to slow down
  • Remember that you don’t have to do any of this as a weary mom

CONNECT WITH BRAVE MOMS:

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If you love the podcast leave a review here. It will take 30 seconds and I’d be so grateful. Plus, it will help more moms find this encouragement.

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