I’m slow getting my notes into blog form from dotMom. Please excuse the tardiness!
I knew that I would have a chance to do two breakout sessions while at dotMom and I had heard great things about many of them. But Jason encouraged me to pick one session that was just for me and wasn’t necessarily about our family or our kids. So I chose to go to Branda Polk‘s “One Hot Mama” session.
Branda is a fitness trainer and wellness coach and so I wasn’t sure what I was getting myself into with her session but I was interested enough in trying it out. I was so blessed with her session and all that I learned. One of the things that struck me was at the beginning of her session when she read Romans 12:1-2 from The Message version.
So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life — your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life — and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you. – Romans 12:1-2, The Message
Branda pointed out that the world says that “hot” is purely physical, but that God looks at our insides to judge our worth. She drove home the point for me when she talked about how often we, as Mom’s, can feel like we don’t measure up and that what we’re doing doesn’t matter. Wiping noses, making lunches, doing laundry. Those monotonous things that seem so boring and tedious and like they couldn’t matter to anyone. But these verses tell us to take our everyday life and place it before God as an offering. Even though it might seem small to us, it’s all we have to give God and he values our gift.
I loved when Branda continued by talking about your child picking you a dandelion while at the playground. She pointed out that a dandelion is a weed that we try and kill in our yard. And yet, when our child gives it to us, we treasure and exclaim over it. How often do I belittle what I can give because I look at it from the position of the supplicant as opposed to looking at it from the position of a loving parent.
Some other things that stuck out to me from her session were the following:
– We need to find something that we’re passionate about for ourselves and not just for our family. We need to invest in ourselves. She also gave a good idea to connect with your husband on something that one of you is passionate about and the other enjoys and do that together.
– Just like I tell my children that they are fearfully and wonderfully made, so am I!
– Instead of comparing yourself with someone, compliment them. Maybe the other person can help you improve the area in yourself that you feel less confident in. (i.e. if someone else is a great dresser and you feel like you never match, ask her to help you put together some outfits)
– Be aware that our daughters are watching what we’re wearing and if we wouldn’t be comfortable in them wearing something we don’t need to put it on ourselves.
Overall, I was so thankful that God directed me to Branda’s session. I left feeling like there were lots of small things that I could do to improve my health, mentally and physically. And I also now can use her as a resource if I have any questions!
