Yesterday, we had the awesome privilege of hearing from Rachel Stafford of the Hands Free Mama movement! Just 18 months ago, while running, Rachel had a breakthrough moment with God and realized that she was "doing it all"but it was costing her everything. Too many "good" things were coming her way and she had no time left to pursue the things that really mattered. She had spread herself so thin and knew she was missing out on so much. She cried out to God for help and He said to her, "if you let go of the distractions of life, I will let you experience joy, peace, and connection with me and with others every day. " She listened to God and her life has never been the same.
What is a present mom? A present mom is a "hands free" mom. Put down the cell phone, put down the tv remote, close the laptop and make eye contact with your children and your spouse! Be free of the compulsion to check all of your devices and updates! Turn off the notifications! Rachel speaks in elementary schools and it broke our hearts yesterday when she shared the stories of young children who felt so neglected because their parents preferred technology over them!! Put away your "to-do" list, get on some old clothes, go outside with your children and play! Think of your death bed. Do you want your children to remember you as a good tweeter or facebooker or as a mom who shared her time and her life with you?
I apologize here if I am sounding a little harsh. I know a lot of you moms are so young and have grown up with technology but take it from an older mom. I would give my right arm to be able to go back to the Cove, when my children were little and play outside with them. Once those days are gone, you can't get them back. You can tweet, facebook, blog, cook, sew, volunteer, read, etc when you are an empty nester. I am looking at my nest being empty in 17 months and let's just say, that I am not doing too well. In fact, I am really struggling with it.
Rachel left us with a challenge. Here it is. Get a piece of paper. Write two columns. On one side write "I am farthest from grasping what matters when...." On the other side write "I am closest to grasping what matters when...." I pray that this will be a day of revelation for you. Start today and make a little progress every day! Rachel's blog can be found at www.handsfreemama.com She has hundreds of entries with hundreds of suggestions for becoming "hands free." Read it today and start your journey! Thank you Rachel, for being a light to thousands of mamas who want to pursue what really matters!
I pray today that your life will be as wonderful as it was in the mind of God when He created you. Remember, you don't have to be perfect to be wonderful!
Every blessing and lots of love,
JoAnne
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Thank you for having Rachel speak to us! I started working on being hands free when I got home from small group yesterday!! LOVE IT!
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Thank you for this beautiful re-cap of a wonderful experience together! I felt so inspired by the honesty and authenticity of the women in this group. Thank you all for giving me loving encouragement to be transparent and speak what God placed on my heart.
ReplyDeleteThank you Hands Free Mama for sharing your revelation! JoAnne and Connie for all your prayers, counsel, love and wisdom. This group is blessing my socks off! I love you ladies! I'm so encouraged every week and especially this week. It's not about adding more to our plates, having spotless homes, or completing a to-do list. Life is about praising God for every countless blessing in our lives- especially our husbands and our children. Its about simplicity and being present where we are. We need to have boundaries to protect our time because no one else will and it's OK to say "No" to things. Ha! The biggest challenge is staying off my phone in the car. When you're not talking/texting it's pretty amazing what you hear. :)
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