Becoming A Strong Mom

Each of us has moments in our life that make us feel strong.  Stephanie Dunnan advises us to focus on those strengths and deny the weaknesses, and don't let others define our strong moments for us.

Using the SIGN method, we can assess where we feel strong and channel those strengths into feeling better about ourselves on a regular basis.  We should answer yes to these questions most days of each week, and if you don't yet, keep working at it...it's a process!

S--Do you feel successful at what you are choosing to do at any given time?
I--Do you instinctively look forward to something in your day or week?
G--Are you doing anything that you feel you are growing in?
N--Are your needs fulfilled? How often do you get to do things that make you feel energized?

Put all of your activities into a Love it or Loathe it list to help you STOP...

S--Stop doing things that you don't like or feel strong doing
T--Team up with another person, reaching out to find a mutually beneficial relationship
O--Offer up your time to your strengths
P--Perceive our weaknesses through our strengths (ie, Listen to your favorite music while doing your  not-so-favorite things)

We need to refocus our time, accept and nurture our strengths, not the ones others think we have.

Let's remember that we get to praise God more when we get out of weak moments and celebrate strong ones!

Stephanie based her talk on the book "Find your strongest life" by Marcus Buckingham, and you can learn more about the author at www.stronglifetest.com, in addition to taking a quiz that will tell you your strengths. Have fun with it and GET STRONG TODAY!

All My Friends Have Issues!

We were so delighted to have Amanda Anderson speak to us regarding friendships.  She gave us some great tips on how to have, and be a friend.

 

Friendships are scary but they're also where we can find refined safety.

We need safe and sane friends! Safe friends are honest, willing to admit their faults, able to give and take from the relationship and are interested in personal growth.

To have safe friends, we need to BE safe friends.

1 Peter 4:8 says "Above all, love eachother deeply for love covers over a multitude of sins"

To have lasting friendships with flawed women, stop trying to figure out whose issues are worse.  We must not compete with our friends.  She advises us to not go into relationships wondering if you are the broken one or the fixer.  Competitiveness can kill friendships and comparison will be make them sick. See each other as teachers and encouragers, instead.

Proverbs 27:17 tells us "As iron sharpens iron, so one man (or woman) sharpens another."

Pretending you have it all together makes others feel that they are falling apart...so let's get real with eachother, ladies! And we can't forget that sometimes our issues are not our personality flaws and fears but our circumstances.  "Misfortune shows those who are not really friends" -Aristotle

And, please, don't compare your insides to another's outsides.  Remember, intimacy is based on vulnerability and when we are vulnerable, our friendships grow deeper.

Holding a friend's hand sometimes mean that you will be held back as you hold them up, but hang in there....it's worth it! Remember also that God wants these connections for us, and Satan does not.

We all need a network of girlfriends....that's just one more reason to be thankful for M2M bringing all of us together!

You can contact Amanda at belovedcreations@att.net and her blog can be found at www.scrapsofsoul.blogspot.com

Go and be a friend to someone today!