Daily, Affordable Mini-Retreats Can Help Moms with Overwhelming Stress
Women often feel overwhelmed with daily life. Throw in a hefty dose of a world that doesn’t seem to care for Christians, and Christian women feel doubly overwhelmed.
Even going to the bathroom alone is a struggle or having the opportunity to drink a cup of coffee the first time it’s hot. Life can be overwhelming for moms, wives, and daughters—especially if you’re the caregiver for an aging parent plus your own children.
Building your own retreat time to just be able to breathe during the day is important, especially in the summer when a lot of homeschooling families take some time off from academics. Living in the world of 24 hour news and ideas that are counter to what we believe in can take its toll as well. Here are some tips on how you can minimize your stress levels in the summer.
– Teach and enforce life skills this summer so your children can have set chores to take some of the home management off you.
– If you need the structure of homeschooling, there’s nothing wrong with requiring math fact review worksheets, an hour of reading, or watching educational videos.
– Turn off the news. Don’t watch news bits on the Internet. It just adds more stress.
– Get up a little earlier before the children get up. Have your coffee, breakfast, and spend some time in the Bible.
– Shower, dress, even put on some makeup if that’s your thing. Sure, the kids may ask, “Where are we going?” but that’s okay.
– Take some time for yourself even if it’s sitting down on the front porch with a glass of lemonade. Breathe. Watch birds. Do something quiet for yourself.
– On a day when your husband is home or if you can get someone to watch your kids for a couple hours, go and have lunch by yourself or with a friend. It’s a great recharge.
– Some museums have free days once a month or week. Load up the kids and take them.
There are times when stress about this world and life gets to be so overwhelming that you need a weekend getaway. Sometimes, you need a weekend of rest, respite, and revival.
Moms do a lot for their families. It’s critically important, in order to have the stamina to take care of our kids and husbands, that we take time for ourselves, too.
Terrie McKee is an author, speaker, podcaster, and blogger who also homeschools her youngest daughter. She is founder and president of IAJ Ministries which is putting on the “For Such a Time as This” Christian Women’s Retreat (www.IAJMinistries.org/iajretreat). Terrie is married to Greg (who is paralyzed). Together they have four children who all have varying special needs. A follower of Jesus Christ, she teaches adult Sunday School and writes books to encourage Christians on their faith journey. As a homeschooler, she also encourages and inspires other Christian homeschoolers as they home educate their children. Follow her at Homeschooling1Child.com.
