June Pearls of Encouragement for Christian
Working Moms
Welcome
Blog Comments
Article – Are you Discouraged?
Final Thoughts
Welcome
Hello everyone! I do think we have gotten
all the bugs worked out in sending you the interviews
and newsletters. Thanks so much for your patience
and understanding. I hope you are enjoying your summer
so far, I guess technically it is not summer but when
my outdoor thermometer hits 90 degrees – it
is summer.
We have been to the pool quite a lot. We now have
over 950 women who have filled out the Christian Working
Mom Survey on our way to 1,000. If you have not filled
out the Survey go to http://www.christianworkingmom.com
and click on CWM Survey on the home page. Thank you
so much for your help. Hopefully, the survey data
can give a voice to the silent majority of Christian
Working Moms.
Blog Comments
We are getting more and more women to
participate on the blog. Please come join us. We have
discussed how you handle the dinner hour and what’s
for dinner. Current topics are how do you handle “I’m
bored” and what are free, fun things to do in
the summer. As always you can post your own questions
or comments. You can visit the blog at http://www.kimberlychastain.com/my-journal.
Article – Are you Discouraged?
Are you feeling discouraged? What about
overwhelmed? Or just plain tired? Being a Mom, Christian,
employee, maybe spouse, church worker, etc. can often
leave us feeling beaten down. Discouragement can sometimes
lead to depression or anxiety. I have been reading
several books lately that have opened my eyes even
more to how Satan uses discouragement to keep us from
trusting in God.
In one book I read it stated that all
discouragement is from the devil. At first, I wanted
to argue with that statement and then I gave it some
more thought. Look at Joshua 1:9, “Have I not
commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be
terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your
God will be with you wherever you go.” This
command was given to Joshua right before he was to
go into battle. We are in a battle as well, Satan
wants to defeat us with discouragement and make us
forget whose we are and that we are not alone. The
verse in Joshua is saying do not be discouraged for
the Lord you God is with you. We need to really let
that verse sink deep into our hearts. Since, God is
with us we need not be discouraged. I would like to
encourage you whenever you feel discouraged to turn
those feelings over to God and in the same breath
state that God I know you are with me and you can
take care of these feelings. Also, to begin to thank
God for all he has done for you. In one particularly
discouraging time for me I could not sleep one night
due to all my worry and discouragement. I then began
singing to myself every Praise song that I knew and
recounted all that God had done for me. Then, I was
able to go to sleep. Remembering what God has done
in the past let me know that He will be faithful in
the future.
Another book I have been reading, Calm
My Anxious Heart (recommended by a CWM subscriber
and can be found at http://www.christianworkingmom.com/resources.htm.)
challenged me about worrying. One statement that stuck
out to me, of many, was “When we worry, we are
saying, God can’t.” When we walk in anxiety,
we don’t walk in faith. Again, Satan wants us
to believe we can do it ourselves and don’t
need God. When we follow 1 Peter 5:7, “Cast
all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.”
we are trusting God to take care of us. His ways are
always so much better than our ways.
God cares about all of your discouragement,
worries, tiredness, pain, and everything about you.
He is also waiting for you to give it all to him and
leave it there. Trust that your heavenly Father knows
what is best for you and wants you to live a joyful,
victorious life. Discouragement and worry are not
from God. He wants you to trust him for your past,
present, and future. Give it all to him.
Final Thoughts
If you would like a daily dose of encouragement
and laughter you can to
http://www.beliefnet.com/dailyjoke/DailyJoke.aspx?QID=5420
and see a Daily joke or get one sent to your mailbox.
Here is one of their jokes. Hope it brightens you
day.
Leaves of the Book
A little boy opened the big Bible. He
was fascinated as he fingered through the old pages.
Suddenly, something fell out of the Bible. He picked
up the object and looked at it. What he saw was an
old leaf that had been pressed in between the pages.
"Mama, look what I found!" the boy called
out.
"What have you got there, dear?"
With astonishment in the young boy's
voice, he answered, "I think it's Adam's underwear!"
Till next time,
Kimberly Chastain
Kimberly Chastain, MS, LMFT is the Christian Working
Mom Coach and a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist.
She is the founder of CWMU and author of 2 ebooks
that can be found at www.christianworkingmom.com.
For a free, initial coaching session send an email
to Kimberly@kimberlychastain.com
with free coaching in the subject heading.
