This Feels Like A New Chapter With More Joy

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It feels like the beginning of a new chapter in my motherhood journey that’s filled with more joy.

As DJ chases the robins around the yard and Coco wobbles behind him I breath in the fresh spring air.  I let it fill my lungs and feel the expansive and transformative energy of spring. It feels like a beginning, a new chapter filled with more joy.

It’s been a really beautiful and intense period of discovering who I am as a mom.  Now, it feels like the beginning of a new chapter – a chapter with more of the good stuff. I’m focusing more of what brings me joy and less on trying to fit into anyone else’s definition of what a ‘good’ mom looks like.

The momentum of working on a project brings me joy.

Part of defining motherhood for myself is nurturing the momentum I feel being a creator and working on a project.  This is a piece of me that was left behind as I stumbled to find my way in motherhood.  I feel so grateful to have rediscovered it.

I’m so proud and excited to be launching a project that brings me so much joy – the Mothering Joy Podcast. This podcast is for all the mamas out there, especially the ones navigating the season of having young kids.

It’s a place where I tell stories of learning to be a grace filled keeper of the two beautiful children God has entrusted me with.  I celebrate the joys of motherhood but also get real about the trenches young moms find themselves in and how we can nurture joy in the daily grind.

I talk about all things motherhood, mindset, health, and home and share encouraging stories of life as a stay-at-home mama in the rural midwest.

My cup is full because I’m nurturing my passions.

I’ve redefined motherhood for myself as a title that has more room for me and the things that bring me joy. And my cup is so much more full. I’m able to show up as a better mom and better wife. The role of “mom” doesn’t feel as heavy as it used to. I’ve balanced the things that are hard with things that are really joyful.

There are still plenty of challenges in raising young kids but now the hard things don’t define the day. The joyful things that I’ve made space for every day do. These things look like starting my day quietly by myself working on projects thats fill me up. It looks like making time for snuggles and play with my kids. And making time to hang out with my husband after the kids are sleeping.

I’m choosing joy every day.

In the past, I wasn’t able to live into my blessings like I know I’m meant to. I was always plagued by fear, worry, and feeling like I wasn’t enough. Now, I’m able to cultivate joy even when life doesn’t go as planned. This really shows me how some changes towards an abundant mindset have taken root in my heart. Now, I realize that joy is a choice. Joy comes from deep inside of me, it’s not fleeting and circumstantial. It comes from choosing abundance and a grateful heart every day.

This is the heart behind the Mothering Joy Podcast. It’s about the joys of motherhood but it’s also about nurturing joy in the seasons that are tough. Because God puts us in all kinds places we wouldn’t have chosen for ourselves. He puts us there because there’s something for us. That’s the place in which we’re meant to grow and become closer to the person he’s created us to be.

These are the trenches that we find ourselves in as young moms. It’s important to remember that there are also so many others here with us, doing the work, feeling the feels, wiping the poop, cleaning the dishes, kissing the boo boos, navigating these really complex and profound emotions right along side singing the Blippi excavator song on cue. I want to create a place where we are here together and we can share about it and encourage each other and lift each other up when we need it most.