Apr 17

Apr 17 Being Balanced Starts with Your Thoughts: 3 Truths to Cling To

How you think about yourself and your life matters. What if I told you the best solution for being balanced doesn't have as much to do with what you DO, but rather with what you THINK?

My parenting years started as a crisis. I was a teen mom, and from the moment my son was born I thought I had something to prove. When my son was nine months old, I married an awesome Christian guy and attempted to be the perfect mom.

I cooked and cleaned with gusto. We had craft and story time. I guided my son in doing chores when he was only two years old. I volunteered at his preschool, and when more children were added, I became the young homeschooling mom who had her kids in church, in sports, in dance, and in art.

And I thought I was going to lose it! I was an emotional wreck. I did my best and it still didn't seem “enough.”

During this time, God began working on my heart. As I read His word, devoured Christian books, and surrounded myself with godly women, I realized that I needed more balance—not only in my life, but in my thinking!

I talk about this in my new book Balanced. My life changed when I realized:

What I do isn't as important as who I am.
What God can do in my life and what He’s capable of doing can be two very different things—I don’t want to limit Him.
My outward goals are only reachable if I submit my inward soul to God.
When I realize that I'm God's child, and that He has a special plan for me and my children then peace comes. I don't have to try to prove myself. Instead I simply look to God for guidance and approval.

When I ask God to show me His dreams, I'm usually blown away. God has done wonderful things with my life. I'm a author of dozens of books, a speaker, a radio host, and an adoptive mom, but this only happened after I stopped my striving.

Instead I took Henry Blackaby's advice:

“See what God's doing and join Him.”

I had to give of myself to seek God, but that's where balance was found.

That's still where it's found.

When my inward soul is centered on God, then I understand what's really important. His goals become mine, and they often look like giving, serving, and loving in everyday moments. It's putting people before projects and somehow finding success there.

What do you think about yourself and your life? Maybe you struggle with those thoughts. Instead, I encourage you to ask what God thinks. And be prepared to see yourself and your life in ways you never have. When your thoughts change, everything changes and you open yourself up to God's thoughts.

And as you dwell on God's thoughts, dreams, and plans, balance will be found.

Leave a comment below and tell me about your struggles and triumphs with balance, and I'll give one person a copy of my new book, Moms' Night Out!

Blessings,

Tricia Goyer, TriciaGoyer.com

This post is part of our series Finding Balance as a Busy Mom.

Please check the series page for all of the posts!