WEBVTT 00:02.242 --> 00:04.966 [SPEAKER_00]: Hey friends, welcome to the Christian parenting podcast. 00:05.046 --> 00:08.111 [SPEAKER_00]: I'm your host, Steph Thirling, and I am so glad that you're here today. 00:08.171 --> 00:13.479 [SPEAKER_00]: Discipling our kids to know, love, and follow Jesus doesn't just happen in the big moments. 00:13.559 --> 00:15.482 [SPEAKER_00]: It happens in the everyday rhythms of our lives. 00:15.542 --> 00:22.292 [SPEAKER_00]: And I think that one of the biggest challenges that many of us are facing right now is how to manage our time in the season where 00:22.272 --> 00:26.358 [SPEAKER_00]: Maybe our kids are growing more independent, but somehow life just feels really full. 00:26.518 --> 00:28.021 [SPEAKER_00]: At least that's what I struggle with sometimes. 00:28.441 --> 00:31.125 [SPEAKER_00]: So in today's episode, I'm joined by Sarah Colbert. 00:31.486 --> 00:33.909 [SPEAKER_00]: She is host of the Balanced Mom Life podcast. 00:33.929 --> 00:38.416 [SPEAKER_00]: And we talk about that in between season of Motherhood where everything is shifting. 00:38.556 --> 00:41.901 [SPEAKER_00]: Our roles, our responsibilities, and even our sense of identity. 00:41.881 --> 00:54.937 [SPEAKER_00]: And so Sarah shares practical and encouraging wisdom on how to prioritize your time without guilt, how to think about your life in categories that actually help you make some changes in why small, consistent steps matter more than the big, overwhelming goals. 00:55.538 --> 01:03.667 [SPEAKER_00]: And then of course we also talk about how our faith shapes the way we stewarder time and why investing in your relationship with the Lord is not selfish, it's foundational. 01:04.088 --> 01:05.830 [SPEAKER_00]: I hope that you love this conversation. 01:13.133 --> 01:13.794 [SPEAKER_00]: Hi, Sarah. 01:13.814 --> 01:15.817 [SPEAKER_00]: Welcome to the Christian parenting podcast. 01:15.837 --> 01:16.358 [SPEAKER_00]: Hey, Steph. 01:16.378 --> 01:17.500 [SPEAKER_00]: Thanks so much for having me. 01:17.740 --> 01:18.121 [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah. 01:18.141 --> 01:20.244 [SPEAKER_00]: I'm super excited for this conversation today. 01:20.264 --> 01:25.212 [SPEAKER_00]: So we talked what a few months ago and I just immediately said, please come on my podcast. 01:25.232 --> 01:25.973 [SPEAKER_00]: So here we are. 01:26.353 --> 01:31.902 [SPEAKER_00]: And we're going to talk today about kind of like time management for mom specifically in that really kind of 01:31.882 --> 01:42.460 [SPEAKER_00]: awkward season where your kids are growing up and need a little less help in some ways but then more help in other ways and the family dynamic is just shifting and I think it can feel kind of hard for mom. 01:42.480 --> 01:49.992 [SPEAKER_00]: So we're gonna talk about that a little bit but first tell us about yourself, tell us your background, tell us about your family just so we can get to know you a little bit. 01:49.972 --> 01:50.633 [SPEAKER_00]: Wonderful. 01:50.733 --> 01:54.679 [SPEAKER_01]: Well, my husband and I, we have the married for 20 years. 01:54.719 --> 01:58.345 [SPEAKER_01]: And we have three amazing teen daughters. 01:58.645 --> 02:01.510 [SPEAKER_01]: And my background is actually in television news. 02:01.590 --> 02:03.974 [SPEAKER_01]: So that's what I did for several years. 02:04.474 --> 02:07.519 [SPEAKER_01]: Transitioned into entrepreneurship. 02:07.539 --> 02:12.627 [SPEAKER_01]: My husband and I had a business for many many years and had a little blip in the road with that. 02:12.867 --> 02:16.553 [SPEAKER_01]: But you know, God doesn't waste challenging things. 02:16.533 --> 02:38.801 [SPEAKER_01]: He uses it to grow us if we allow him to, and it's not necessarily easy, but, you know, we just take it one step at a time, and so really what happened for me is about four years ago, I had this tug on my heart to really speak in the lives, into the lives of women who are in this awkward and between season of motherhood. 02:38.821 --> 02:42.686 [SPEAKER_01]: From there, I just kind of been following breadcrumbs ever since. 02:42.766 --> 02:43.907 [SPEAKER_01]: It's been kind of a fun ride. 02:44.127 --> 02:44.548 [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah. 02:44.528 --> 02:45.910 [SPEAKER_01]: and you have three girls, right? 02:46.171 --> 02:47.353 [SPEAKER_01]: We do three girls. 02:47.493 --> 02:51.640 [SPEAKER_01]: So we're definitely in the thick of teenage season here. 02:51.660 --> 02:53.985 [SPEAKER_01]: Two drivers, one more to go. 02:54.025 --> 03:05.505 [SPEAKER_01]: It's just fun, you know, trying to navigate that transition and really learning how to let go and shift in that parenting dynamic is so key. 03:05.865 --> 03:09.692 [SPEAKER_01]: And I tell my husband every day, I do not know what we would do both. 03:09.672 --> 03:16.142 [SPEAKER_01]: with our marriage and in parenting, if it was not rooted in Christ, if God was not the foundation of all that. 03:16.303 --> 03:17.184 [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, absolutely. 03:17.224 --> 03:18.105 [SPEAKER_00]: We talked about that all the time. 03:18.145 --> 03:23.774 [SPEAKER_00]: I was like, I don't know how you would do it without the hope of Jesus because there are some really hard parts of parenting. 03:24.075 --> 03:25.036 [SPEAKER_00]: And we'll probably get into that. 03:25.397 --> 03:26.238 [SPEAKER_00]: But I kind of want to talk. 03:26.258 --> 03:28.542 [SPEAKER_00]: I want to start first with 03:28.842 --> 03:41.232 [SPEAKER_00]: a lot of moms feel like in those harder parts of life and even in the good great amazing seasons of life, moms feel kind of that pull between marriage and kids and themselves because 03:41.414 --> 03:42.855 [SPEAKER_00]: We want to show up for our husbands. 03:43.056 --> 03:49.302 [SPEAKER_00]: We want to be hands-on and a good mom and, you know, involves in all the things and make sure our kids get to do other activities. 03:49.683 --> 03:55.509 [SPEAKER_00]: But we also maybe want to do something for ourselves or contribute to the family financially in some way. 03:55.529 --> 03:59.272 [SPEAKER_00]: And we just want to wear a lot of hats all the time. 03:59.613 --> 04:05.599 [SPEAKER_00]: So how let's kind of start with the foundation of how do we navigate that and then we'll get into more and like specifics. 04:05.579 --> 04:06.541 [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, absolutely. 04:06.581 --> 04:25.022 [SPEAKER_01]: And what I like to do is talk through storytelling and and I talk about it because I started there and I think it's a hard to especially if you are a mom and you made the decision to walk away from your career or you pivot it a little bit to have more flexibility and what you were doing. 04:25.002 --> 04:29.288 [SPEAKER_01]: So you could be more at home with your kids and you loved it. 04:29.428 --> 04:30.089 [SPEAKER_01]: I loved it. 04:30.409 --> 04:32.152 [SPEAKER_01]: I don't regret that for a moment. 04:32.392 --> 04:43.006 [SPEAKER_01]: But then this opportunity of, okay, now what I remember with my kids were all in school full-time getting into that tween stage with my oldest. 04:43.026 --> 04:44.328 [SPEAKER_01]: They were all in school. 04:44.608 --> 04:48.033 [SPEAKER_01]: And I thought I'd be five and jump in for enjoy. 04:48.053 --> 04:53.440 [SPEAKER_01]: And I remember sitting on my couch and I'm like, okay, now what? 04:53.420 --> 04:56.488 [SPEAKER_01]: And that question kind of rocked me to my core. 04:56.568 --> 05:01.320 [SPEAKER_01]: My husband and I we had built our business to where it was really on auto pilot. 05:01.380 --> 05:05.972 [SPEAKER_01]: We enjoyed still helping people, but we had tremendous time freedom and flexibility. 05:06.012 --> 05:09.741 [SPEAKER_01]: So I was looking for something and I didn't know what. 05:09.721 --> 05:18.374 [SPEAKER_01]: And so with that awkward and between stage of motherhood, it was this journey of figuring out, okay, what is important to me? 05:18.515 --> 05:21.419 [SPEAKER_01]: What do I want in getting back to that foundation? 05:21.479 --> 05:27.308 [SPEAKER_01]: But I think two women we can lose a little bit of ourselves in motherhood. 05:27.288 --> 05:33.498 [SPEAKER_01]: So I think the biggest thing for me is really, did I lose my identity a little bit in motherhood? 05:33.578 --> 05:34.840 [SPEAKER_01]: And I would say, yes, I did. 05:34.900 --> 05:41.170 [SPEAKER_01]: And the reason why I know that is when I walked away from television news so many years ago, it had become part of my identity. 05:41.891 --> 05:43.874 [SPEAKER_01]: I was just newly married. 05:44.095 --> 05:47.440 [SPEAKER_01]: And I really probably had a mild depression. 05:47.420 --> 05:49.562 [SPEAKER_01]: It was hard for me to get out of bed during the day. 05:49.582 --> 05:51.764 [SPEAKER_01]: And my husband was probably like, oh my gosh, we are newly married. 05:51.805 --> 05:53.166 [SPEAKER_01]: Who did I just married, right? 05:53.546 --> 05:55.829 [SPEAKER_01]: But fortunately, we were rooted in a church. 05:56.229 --> 05:58.852 [SPEAKER_01]: We had awesome people that could come along side us. 05:59.092 --> 06:01.695 [SPEAKER_01]: And I was really pointed back to the Lord. 06:02.075 --> 06:04.338 [SPEAKER_01]: Lord, who am I in you? 06:04.558 --> 06:11.605 [SPEAKER_01]: And so when I saw this and felt this kind of identity shift, as my kids were growing more independent, 06:11.585 --> 06:13.428 [SPEAKER_01]: It's like, who am I, right? 06:13.728 --> 06:22.260 [SPEAKER_01]: And I remember my kids, this was back in 2019, as they were even growing more independent and having this really fork in the road. 06:22.601 --> 06:24.003 [SPEAKER_01]: What am I going to do? 06:24.023 --> 06:34.538 [SPEAKER_01]: I want to be able to be, shop as the wife that I want to be, be the mom that I want to be, and figure out, where do I fit into all of this? 06:34.518 --> 06:41.486 [SPEAKER_01]: And I remember lying on my carpet in my room, my Bible is open and tears just flooding my face. 06:42.067 --> 06:43.569 [SPEAKER_01]: And I just cried out to the Lord. 06:43.629 --> 06:57.325 [SPEAKER_01]: And the verse Jeremiah 2911 came to mind for the, I know the plant I have for you says the Lord, plants to prosper you and not to harm you, plants to give you a hope and a future. 06:57.345 --> 07:02.972 [SPEAKER_01]: And I get choked up about that stuff because 07:02.952 --> 07:24.690 [SPEAKER_01]: of a future and knowing that if I just continue to press into the Lord and follow the breadcrumbs in obedience, there was going to be opportunity for me that would come along and still honor that I wanted to be the wife to my husband and the mom to my children while still fulfilling something God is calling me forward too. 07:24.670 --> 07:46.560 [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I feel like this is a conversation I have with so many people in my life right now because we're all kind of in that stage of our kids are in school full time or they're just like even like middle school high school like way more independent and so I've talked with a lot of people were like I think I'm going to go back to work, but it feels almost selfish because I'm not contributing that much you know, because part time is hard to find part time work that 07:46.540 --> 07:51.367 [SPEAKER_00]: actually contributes a lot, actually, you know, if you have to involve child care in there. 07:51.427 --> 07:53.610 [SPEAKER_00]: So there's this balance of, is this selfish? 07:53.991 --> 07:55.053 [SPEAKER_00]: Is it just for me? 07:55.093 --> 08:00.340 [SPEAKER_00]: Or is it okay for me to, like, find something that fulfills me outside of my family? 08:00.501 --> 08:03.165 [SPEAKER_00]: And I just think these are the questions that so many of us ask. 08:03.185 --> 08:05.027 [SPEAKER_00]: And I'm not really sure why we wrestle with it. 08:05.388 --> 08:12.919 [SPEAKER_00]: So much, but I think it's a pretty universal thing of, is it selfish to find fulfillment outside of my family 08:12.899 --> 08:13.160 [SPEAKER_01]: Right. 08:13.220 --> 08:26.786 [SPEAKER_01]: And I think a lot of times when we look at we want to pursue something we look at the big picture right and sometimes we say okay I'm going starting from ground zero and I see where I want to be and that looks so overwhelming. 08:27.047 --> 08:28.630 [SPEAKER_01]: So you're like, yeah, do that. 08:28.610 --> 08:40.467 [SPEAKER_01]: I can't climb that huge mountain, so then you think about all the time effort and energy you're going to have to put in, but what I have found is to work with these small pockets of time. 08:40.708 --> 08:47.057 [SPEAKER_01]: And I always found that it's best to pursue something you're passionate about when you have some stability. 08:47.037 --> 08:51.405 [SPEAKER_01]: So we have been able to take some pressure off financially. 08:51.525 --> 08:56.113 [SPEAKER_01]: I'm still working outside the home very part time to help bring in some income. 08:56.493 --> 09:00.761 [SPEAKER_01]: While I pursue something that I feel God has led me to. 09:00.801 --> 09:02.143 [SPEAKER_01]: Does that make sense? 09:02.123 --> 09:05.566 [SPEAKER_01]: So we might have to be that little bridge opportunity. 09:05.606 --> 09:08.749 [SPEAKER_01]: That's between you and your spouse and praying about it. 09:09.009 --> 09:14.154 [SPEAKER_01]: But also, it's these little small pockets of time where you can say, okay, great. 09:14.575 --> 09:16.396 [SPEAKER_01]: This is what my day looks like. 09:16.777 --> 09:25.845 [SPEAKER_01]: This is what I can have 15 to 30 minutes to explore what I wanna do, to pray about it and then protect those times. 09:25.985 --> 09:29.008 [SPEAKER_01]: That's the key, protecting the time. 09:29.242 --> 09:32.889 [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, well, I think that kind of applies to not just what do I want to do? 09:32.949 --> 09:34.692 [SPEAKER_00]: Like, do I want to start a different career? 09:34.712 --> 09:35.814 [SPEAKER_00]: Do I want to follow a passion? 09:35.834 --> 09:37.437 [SPEAKER_00]: But just how do I take care of myself? 09:37.717 --> 09:42.726 [SPEAKER_00]: Like, how do you find those pockets of time and set them aside just for you? 09:42.927 --> 09:44.770 [SPEAKER_00]: Because I think we're really bad at that. 09:44.750 --> 09:47.597 [SPEAKER_00]: Even if we're talking here like, I don't want to start a job. 09:47.697 --> 09:48.900 [SPEAKER_00]: I just want to be at home. 09:48.940 --> 09:51.706 [SPEAKER_00]: That fulfills me enough, and I'm not looking for something else. 09:52.027 --> 09:59.464 [SPEAKER_00]: The concept of taking 30 minutes to do something that's not multitasking, but as strictly for you, is really, really hard. 09:59.845 --> 10:00.527 [SPEAKER_00]: It thinks so. 10:01.128 --> 10:01.589 [SPEAKER_00]: Why is that? 10:01.669 --> 10:03.754 [SPEAKER_00]: Why is it so hard for moms to take care of ourselves? 10:03.734 --> 10:12.573 [SPEAKER_01]: Well, I think, too, I kind of look at there's three different categories that for me that have been helpful to see where I'm spending my time because we all have the same 24 hours in a day. 10:12.713 --> 10:15.278 [SPEAKER_01]: And I am not this time management master. 10:15.559 --> 10:16.441 [SPEAKER_01]: Guru, right? 10:17.042 --> 10:23.295 [SPEAKER_01]: I just have really learned to peel back what is important to me in this season. 10:23.275 --> 10:38.922 [SPEAKER_01]: And I credit that a lot with just the foundation of my parents and then really challenging me to say what do I want look at it right it down and I think sometimes we have these competing priorities and if you look at 10:38.902 --> 10:40.465 [SPEAKER_01]: for categories sake, okay? 10:40.805 --> 10:43.350 [SPEAKER_01]: You have you, your people and your life. 10:43.710 --> 10:58.817 [SPEAKER_01]: You is your personal development, your spiritual growth, how you take care of yourself, then it's your people, how you're building connection with your husband, your kids, your community, your friends, and then you have your life like the day-to-day tasks. 10:58.797 --> 11:02.744 [SPEAKER_01]: Sometimes we feel like we're buried beneath your life category. 11:02.825 --> 11:03.847 [SPEAKER_01]: That's the way I looked at it. 11:03.907 --> 11:08.976 [SPEAKER_01]: So I had to really look at stuff where I was spending my time. 11:09.217 --> 11:12.483 [SPEAKER_01]: And a lot of it was in the your life category. 11:12.503 --> 11:19.877 [SPEAKER_01]: And especially as my kids started growing more independent, I was like, oh my goodness, I am doing way too much. 11:19.857 --> 11:28.347 [SPEAKER_01]: And I always like to share this story of, I remember one day, I just had this low level resentment, kind of sneaking in, because I'm like, I am doing all the things. 11:28.848 --> 11:29.589 [SPEAKER_01]: What is going on? 11:29.629 --> 11:32.512 [SPEAKER_01]: And actually, no one really asked me to do all those things. 11:32.973 --> 11:34.475 [SPEAKER_01]: I just kind of took them on. 11:35.115 --> 11:43.806 [SPEAKER_01]: And I knew I wanted to have more time in the UK category, but I really had to take an honest look at where my time was going. 11:43.786 --> 11:48.399 [SPEAKER_01]: And I remember one day I was walking up the stairs going past my girl's bathroom. 11:48.960 --> 11:54.035 [SPEAKER_01]: Ed, the toilet paper was overflowing on the bin that sits on the tank. 11:54.255 --> 11:56.662 [SPEAKER_01]: I didn't feel like I had made the conscious decision. 11:56.762 --> 11:58.046 [SPEAKER_01]: I'm not gonna fill it anymore. 11:58.206 --> 11:58.808 [SPEAKER_01]: I am done. 11:58.788 --> 12:00.330 [SPEAKER_01]: They can figure that out, right? 12:00.370 --> 12:01.372 [SPEAKER_01]: And they did. 12:01.432 --> 12:13.850 [SPEAKER_01]: We've had conversations since then about really delegating some of those things in the your life category to allow more opportunity for connecting with my people. 12:14.230 --> 12:17.215 [SPEAKER_01]: You know, my husband and my kids and my friends. 12:17.595 --> 12:22.522 [SPEAKER_01]: And spending that time with personal growth, spiritual growth, and taking care of my body. 12:22.703 --> 12:23.023 [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah. 12:23.003 --> 12:30.128 [SPEAKER_00]: I feel like I really struggle to delegate those life things because I can do them so much faster myself. 12:30.310 --> 12:32.653 [SPEAKER_00]: that I'm just like, I just want to get it over with. 12:33.074 --> 12:33.574 [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah. 12:34.015 --> 12:38.461 [SPEAKER_00]: I'm not that I'm like pretty type B and so I'm like, it's fine. 12:38.541 --> 12:41.946 [SPEAKER_00]: If it doesn't get done, like, I'm not like super scheduled of a person. 12:41.966 --> 12:43.468 [SPEAKER_00]: So I'm like, it'll be fine. 12:43.528 --> 12:47.834 [SPEAKER_00]: But then I get really overwhelmed because I let too many things go and I don't ask for enough help. 12:47.854 --> 12:53.061 [SPEAKER_00]: And then, you know, I just turn into this like angry drag and mom and everyone's like, what just happened. 12:53.412 --> 13:05.979 [SPEAKER_01]: Yes, I've completely been there, and I think too, when we're talking about this, and I'm pointing out all these different things where I think moms can get overwhelmed also, is they're looking at the whole picture. 13:06.319 --> 13:09.005 [SPEAKER_01]: So it's really simplifying and focusing. 13:09.386 --> 13:13.294 [SPEAKER_01]: What is the one thing that you want to accomplish? 13:13.325 --> 13:22.257 [SPEAKER_01]: and it could be taking that list of you, your people, and your life, doing a brain dump of where you might see an imbalance. 13:22.578 --> 13:33.693 [SPEAKER_01]: And then going from there, say, okay, whoa, I don't even have the margin right now because I'm so heavily in the your life category trying to be the manager of all of the things. 13:34.054 --> 13:37.138 [SPEAKER_01]: So you're saying, okay, what is the one thing? 13:37.118 --> 13:43.506 [SPEAKER_01]: I can delegate to take a little load off for our house it started with weekly chores. 13:44.507 --> 13:45.268 [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah. 13:45.288 --> 13:47.591 [SPEAKER_01]: And I had to let go of it being perfect. 13:47.631 --> 13:49.454 [SPEAKER_01]: I had to say, good enough is good enough. 13:49.734 --> 13:51.877 [SPEAKER_01]: And that equips your child, too. 13:52.277 --> 14:00.027 [SPEAKER_01]: It is so amazing to see how they take the oneness to say, wow, because I know I don't want to just raise good kids. 14:00.387 --> 14:04.172 [SPEAKER_01]: I want to raise good kids who become greater adults. 14:04.152 --> 14:12.822 [SPEAKER_01]: and that's how I've been able to take that mindset shift of me wanting to do all of the things because I know I've been there. 14:13.162 --> 14:18.108 [SPEAKER_01]: I have that in me also and I think a lot of moms do because we are the caregivers. 14:18.468 --> 14:29.721 [SPEAKER_01]: We want to be the ones who are navigating the ship a little bit obviously with some things right and so I think for me it's just saying hey how am I 14:29.701 --> 14:34.229 [SPEAKER_01]: modeling this for my kids or even spending time with my spouse. 14:34.349 --> 14:39.759 [SPEAKER_01]: I've coached some women who are like, I never have date night with my spouse because you're looking at this. 14:39.819 --> 14:44.687 [SPEAKER_01]: Oh, my goodness, I need to spend two hours on a weekday out of my house. 14:44.788 --> 14:45.569 [SPEAKER_01]: I don't have that. 14:45.970 --> 14:50.157 [SPEAKER_01]: Well, my husband and I we started doing speed dates at home 15 minutes. 14:50.137 --> 14:55.487 [SPEAKER_01]: where we just say don't go away mad, just go away to our kids and we lay that foundation. 14:55.648 --> 15:12.280 [SPEAKER_01]: So it's these small pockets of time that really can allow for opportunities for you to connect with yourself and your family and then kind of understanding where you can let go of some of the stuff and the your life category, if that makes sense. 15:12.260 --> 15:12.881 [SPEAKER_00]: No, it does. 15:12.941 --> 15:16.908 [SPEAKER_00]: And I like kind of the reminder to keep things small, so I think so often. 15:16.968 --> 15:21.075 [SPEAKER_00]: We like to focus on the big goals because those are more exciting. 15:21.155 --> 15:25.623 [SPEAKER_00]: Like this year, my kids are going to really like step it up around the house and they're going to do all these things. 15:26.163 --> 15:29.229 [SPEAKER_00]: And sometimes we just get lost in that because that's a very overwhelming. 15:29.629 --> 15:31.012 [SPEAKER_00]: Like we pick something too big. 15:31.032 --> 15:34.217 [SPEAKER_00]: Like we try to run a marathon when we should just try to run a mile. 15:34.197 --> 15:58.867 [SPEAKER_00]: That's what I think like even just the idea of just can you give your kids each of them one weekly chore and once they master that can they add another one Absolutely because they can handle more than one, but I don't know can that one's mind probably can that's that's an idea for myself you guys Well, and I think too. 15:59.027 --> 16:03.192 [SPEAKER_01]: We have to look at it. 16:03.374 --> 16:06.180 [SPEAKER_01]: low about just my health and wellness. 16:06.260 --> 16:07.463 [SPEAKER_01]: And so I can't wait a minute. 16:07.864 --> 16:13.856 [SPEAKER_01]: I want to really drill down to this and through that process, I learned so much about myself. 16:13.977 --> 16:21.653 [SPEAKER_01]: But what I learned mostly is that on average, it takes about 66 days before a new behavior becomes automatic. 16:21.633 --> 16:24.236 [SPEAKER_01]: So when we start saying, okay, great. 16:24.576 --> 16:27.139 [SPEAKER_01]: I'm going to go, I'm so on fire now. 16:27.239 --> 16:29.182 [SPEAKER_01]: I'm going to take my your life category. 16:29.202 --> 16:31.885 [SPEAKER_01]: And like you said, totally rearrange it and get overwhelmed. 16:31.965 --> 16:33.687 [SPEAKER_01]: And well, then it's just too much. 16:33.807 --> 16:40.535 [SPEAKER_01]: And the wheels are falling off the bike before we even gotten started because you're trying to add too much. 16:41.015 --> 16:43.038 [SPEAKER_01]: So yes, that's where we have to simplify. 16:43.058 --> 16:45.580 [SPEAKER_01]: The one thing, what do you want? 16:45.801 --> 16:46.982 [SPEAKER_01]: Why do you want it? 16:46.962 --> 17:02.799 [SPEAKER_01]: that's kind of your so that I want to delegate this one thing so that it allows more time for me or it allows my kids to have more responsibility and then you have to establish these connection points into it consistently. 17:02.819 --> 17:12.069 [SPEAKER_01]: 66 days on average before that new behavior becomes automatic before you add anything else and I know it's kind of like you have to slow down before you can speed up. 17:12.089 --> 17:14.472 [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah and we're really good at that as parents. 17:14.452 --> 17:16.175 [SPEAKER_00]: So tired, but it's true. 17:16.235 --> 17:18.258 [SPEAKER_00]: We do have to like, and that shows our kids. 17:18.298 --> 17:20.321 [SPEAKER_00]: We have to follow through as well, right? 17:20.341 --> 17:25.009 [SPEAKER_00]: But like, that can be hard because we want to rush so much that we might not be able to follow through all the way. 17:25.510 --> 17:31.700 [SPEAKER_01]: Well, and then you have to celebrate the wins along the way, too, because you just sometimes you can just be, okay, great. 17:31.840 --> 17:32.681 [SPEAKER_01]: Check, check. 17:32.721 --> 17:33.142 [SPEAKER_01]: I did this. 17:33.222 --> 17:35.466 [SPEAKER_01]: I did this, but you have to say, hey, this is awesome. 17:35.726 --> 17:37.489 [SPEAKER_01]: We're making some forward progress. 17:37.469 --> 17:37.769 [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah. 17:38.150 --> 17:38.610 [SPEAKER_00]: Absolutely. 17:38.650 --> 17:47.900 [SPEAKER_00]: How do you feel like your faith has changed the way you kind of view your time and your priorities and these three categories of you, your people and your life? 17:48.141 --> 18:03.898 [SPEAKER_01]: I think it all comes back to how I'm stewarding my time and you hear that a lot, but being purposeful with what I'm prioritizing, really simplifying it, not making it super overwhelming 18:03.878 --> 18:17.242 [SPEAKER_01]: As moms, we are making, and if some dads are listening to, I'm just speaking from being a mom experience here, but we make a ton of decisions every single day to the point where it can be a little fatiguing. 18:17.262 --> 18:22.512 [SPEAKER_01]: It's like, oh my gosh, one more decision, and then you're questioning your decisions. 18:22.492 --> 18:44.365 [SPEAKER_01]: And especially when it comes to how you're prioritizing your time, like oh my gosh, I should be doing this or I should be doing that and you could should yourself all the way through this guilt spiral right and with how this has grown my faith and how I prioritize my time, I just have to say you know what I that's where it goes back to what do I want. 18:44.345 --> 18:47.372 [SPEAKER_01]: and praying about it, really being in relationship. 18:47.412 --> 18:52.625 [SPEAKER_01]: I mean, Jesus is our Savior, but He's also our Lord of our life, right? 18:53.186 --> 19:02.067 [SPEAKER_01]: And so I want to say, Lord, this is what I want in my relationship with you, first and foremost, I want to grow. 19:02.047 --> 19:03.169 [SPEAKER_01]: to get to know you better. 19:03.289 --> 19:12.762 [SPEAKER_01]: And then this is what I want in my relationship with my husband and my kids in my community and in myself and writing things down. 19:12.822 --> 19:14.124 [SPEAKER_01]: That has been huge. 19:14.504 --> 19:16.146 [SPEAKER_01]: Sometimes we have it in our mind. 19:16.847 --> 19:22.435 [SPEAKER_01]: But for it to go from what we want, what we think we want to our heart, it needs to go down to paper. 19:22.415 --> 19:24.278 [SPEAKER_01]: in a lot of times we bypass that. 19:24.619 --> 19:28.025 [SPEAKER_01]: And we just, or we write it down and we put it in a drawer, we forget about it. 19:28.386 --> 19:32.112 [SPEAKER_01]: But we need to have it in the forefront of our mind. 19:32.133 --> 19:36.681 [SPEAKER_01]: Otherwise, you're gonna have the thing that's the loudest, take away your time. 19:37.021 --> 19:40.187 [SPEAKER_01]: And what is usually the loudest, the laundry? 19:40.302 --> 19:45.347 [SPEAKER_01]: the dirty, dirty bathroom, you know, all the other things. 19:45.627 --> 19:53.435 [SPEAKER_01]: So that's why it's so important to write it down and just remind yourself what you really want in this season. 19:53.695 --> 19:53.916 [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah. 19:54.416 --> 20:02.144 [SPEAKER_00]: You know, I'm thinking of as you're talking is if we're prioritizing, we're writing things out of prioritizing, like what's our main priority? 20:02.164 --> 20:03.205 [SPEAKER_00]: Like what do we want the most? 20:03.525 --> 20:08.470 [SPEAKER_00]: Most people listening to the Christian parenting podcast probably want a strong faith. 20:08.450 --> 20:13.035 [SPEAKER_00]: and, you know, to really rely on Jesus throughout every season, especially this one. 20:13.075 --> 20:17.020 [SPEAKER_00]: But that's in the U category of what we're talking about here. 20:17.080 --> 20:20.063 [SPEAKER_00]: That's not in the people category or the life category. 20:20.083 --> 20:21.184 [SPEAKER_00]: That's in the U category. 20:21.224 --> 20:28.112 [SPEAKER_00]: So if your first priority is your faith, is your relationship with the Lord, which it should be, that's in the U category. 20:28.312 --> 20:31.015 [SPEAKER_00]: And that feels weird for a parent. 20:30.995 --> 20:33.378 [SPEAKER_00]: Because that's, do you not the category we put first? 20:33.938 --> 20:35.040 [SPEAKER_00]: But it's so important for the life. 20:35.320 --> 20:39.525 [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, it's so crazy and one thing that I really, this is a not negotiable for me. 20:39.865 --> 20:43.669 [SPEAKER_01]: I encourage people to write down if you only can start with one non-negotiable. 20:43.749 --> 20:45.191 [SPEAKER_01]: What is your one non-negotiable? 20:45.671 --> 20:46.132 [SPEAKER_00]: Everything. 20:46.552 --> 20:48.134 [SPEAKER_01]: Decide it before you go to bed. 20:48.495 --> 20:55.062 [SPEAKER_01]: What is your one non-negotiable that you will do before your head hits the pillow that night? 20:55.042 --> 21:08.019 [SPEAKER_01]: And for me, I started this back in 2018, when I started that health among the students, I needed, I knew I needed to invest in myself before I could be what I needed to be for my kids and my spouse. 21:08.340 --> 21:11.564 [SPEAKER_01]: And my friends, I don't necessarily like that term. 21:12.084 --> 21:14.948 [SPEAKER_01]: You can't pour from an empty cup, but it is so true. 21:15.128 --> 21:16.290 [SPEAKER_01]: It is so true. 21:16.270 --> 21:21.962 [SPEAKER_01]: And so what I started doing again, it wasn't one hour, block of time, it was 15 minutes. 21:22.303 --> 21:29.338 [SPEAKER_01]: I woke my rear end up in the morning because I looked at my day and I'm like, okay, this is where it goes for me. 21:29.698 --> 21:30.841 [SPEAKER_01]: And that's not for everyone. 21:30.861 --> 21:35.190 [SPEAKER_01]: That's why you need to look at what your day honestly looks like. 21:35.170 --> 21:44.964 [SPEAKER_01]: I will be surprised how many people if they're really honest, they're going to find more time than they think because distractions are out there. 21:45.245 --> 21:45.485 [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah. 21:45.685 --> 21:50.572 [SPEAKER_01]: There are so many distractions whether it be social media is the huge one. 21:50.913 --> 21:52.595 [SPEAKER_01]: How much time are you on there? 21:52.615 --> 21:55.980 [SPEAKER_01]: I had to take all on sabbaticals from that. 21:55.960 --> 21:59.284 [SPEAKER_01]: Just really evaluating where those distractions are, but then shifting. 21:59.484 --> 22:05.992 [SPEAKER_01]: So for me, it was spending that time with the Lord in the morning, and now it has grown because it's something I crave. 22:07.154 --> 22:12.981 [SPEAKER_01]: Something that I just, again, consistent effort over time produces your desired result. 22:13.161 --> 22:13.581 [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah. 22:13.601 --> 22:14.803 [SPEAKER_01]: Does it mean it's going to be perfect? 22:15.003 --> 22:15.884 [SPEAKER_00]: No, never is. 22:16.064 --> 22:18.047 [SPEAKER_00]: But consistency is more important than perfection. 22:18.367 --> 22:18.888 [SPEAKER_00]: Absolutely. 22:19.208 --> 22:19.909 [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah. 22:19.889 --> 22:27.319 [SPEAKER_00]: We, Trevor and I have a really great therapist, and she had us each share with each other, our three marriage non-negotiables. 22:27.539 --> 22:31.444 [SPEAKER_00]: And she's like, don't you don't have to do them together, like you each come up with your own, and then you just share them. 22:31.744 --> 22:32.766 [SPEAKER_00]: And they're not to be huge. 22:32.786 --> 22:39.234 [SPEAKER_00]: They were just like little things, but it was, it was so helpful for us, because we're able to be like, okay, these are the things that are most important to you. 22:39.274 --> 22:41.857 [SPEAKER_00]: And I'm making sure that I'm aware of that. 22:42.077 --> 22:46.403 [SPEAKER_00]: And in my like doing everything I can to make sure that I give those things to you. 22:46.383 --> 23:03.160 [SPEAKER_00]: So I think sometimes just sitting and we had to write them down and actually like verbalize them and I just think sometimes just that act again like he said of writing it down, making it known what are my priorities for myself or also for my marriage to for my people, but I think that's really important as we just don't sit down actually think about it. 23:03.140 --> 23:04.402 [SPEAKER_00]: until we're challenged too. 23:04.702 --> 23:05.363 [SPEAKER_01]: Absolutely. 23:05.703 --> 23:07.986 [SPEAKER_01]: And it's so important to just take that time. 23:08.447 --> 23:15.135 [SPEAKER_01]: And again, if you have to set a timer, set a five minute timer, 10 minute timer, and say, okay, great, this is what I got done. 23:15.355 --> 23:16.937 [SPEAKER_01]: Move on, and that's the next thing. 23:17.178 --> 23:19.581 [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I have to set timers for cleaning my house all the time. 23:19.641 --> 23:21.884 [SPEAKER_00]: I'm like, I was gonna do it 15 minutes, I can get so much done. 23:21.924 --> 23:26.710 [SPEAKER_00]: Totally, and then I find if I have a timer set, then I'm less likely to get distracted. 23:26.810 --> 23:28.652 [SPEAKER_00]: 100% because I got like beat my timer. 23:28.692 --> 23:32.337 [SPEAKER_00]: I don't know what I'm beating, but I'm beating, it's like turned into a race. 23:32.519 --> 23:33.160 [SPEAKER_00]: I love it. 23:33.220 --> 23:34.161 [SPEAKER_00]: That's so good. 23:34.502 --> 23:35.523 [SPEAKER_00]: Okay. 23:35.583 --> 23:39.528 [SPEAKER_00]: Tell us just kind of to wrap us up because I know you have like a time reset course. 23:39.648 --> 23:40.629 [SPEAKER_00]: You have a podcast. 23:40.649 --> 23:44.514 [SPEAKER_00]: So tell us about your resources and then how we can connect with you. 23:44.895 --> 23:46.217 [SPEAKER_00]: And lastly, yeah. 23:46.297 --> 23:56.670 [SPEAKER_01]: So I have the balanced mom life podcast where it's really taking prioritizing your time without guilt is your kids grow up. 23:56.650 --> 24:00.934 [SPEAKER_01]: And that is once a week, the new episodes drop every Thursday. 24:01.014 --> 24:04.917 [SPEAKER_01]: You can find it on all podcast platforms. 24:05.378 --> 24:08.981 [SPEAKER_01]: You can also go to WestMetroMom.com. 24:09.341 --> 24:11.263 [SPEAKER_01]: You'll find all the links there. 24:11.283 --> 24:12.504 [SPEAKER_01]: And yes, I'm super excited. 24:12.684 --> 24:20.912 [SPEAKER_01]: I am offering a time reset workshop that is coming up later next month in the month of May at the end of the month. 24:21.052 --> 24:26.657 [SPEAKER_01]: So if you're interested in learning more about that, 24:26.637 --> 24:46.367 [SPEAKER_01]: It's just going to be an opportunity for women to come get some really tangible takeaways to implement like, right now, to start feeling more aligned with your time and your priorities to where you can move the ball forward to really what you want, whether it's more time for you. 24:46.347 --> 24:51.093 [SPEAKER_01]: with your spouse, or your kids, or having more time with your girlfriends. 24:51.394 --> 24:52.795 [SPEAKER_00]: So, just forget about it. 24:53.076 --> 24:53.717 [SPEAKER_00]: Yes, me too. 24:53.757 --> 24:59.043 [SPEAKER_00]: And I will put links and channels that people can easily find it, and we'll make sure to get those dates out there. 24:59.344 --> 24:59.784 [SPEAKER_00]: Awesome. 25:00.105 --> 25:01.687 [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, thank you so much for joining me. 25:01.707 --> 25:04.691 [SPEAKER_00]: I really appreciate you taking time out of your day to be with us. 25:05.031 --> 25:06.133 [SPEAKER_00]: Thank you for having me stuff. 25:06.213 --> 25:07.174 [SPEAKER_00]: I really appreciate it. 25:08.555 --> 25:09.958 [SPEAKER_00]: thank you so much for joining me. 25:09.998 --> 25:13.704 [SPEAKER_00]: I hope that this conversation encouraged you as much as it encouraged me. 25:14.165 --> 25:23.181 [SPEAKER_00]: I think that so many of us are navigating this exact season trying to figure out how to care for our families, stay connected in our relationships and still makes space for what God is doing in our own hearts. 25:23.622 --> 25:26.968 [SPEAKER_00]: And I really love Sarah's reminder that it doesn't have to be overwhelming. 25:27.708 --> 25:40.188 [SPEAKER_00]: If this episode was helpful, I'd love for you to share with a friend who might need some of the same encouragement, and then be sure to check out the show notes where I will link Sarah's balanced mom life podcasts and then her upcoming time reset workshop. 25:40.208 --> 25:41.891 [SPEAKER_00]: As always, thank you for being here. 25:42.272 --> 25:43.534 [SPEAKER_00]: May the Lord bless you this week. 25:43.734 --> 25:50.425 [SPEAKER_00]: May you keep your eyes focused on him and lean on him to align your priorities in yourself, your life, and your home.