The Balanced MomCast | For Overwhelmed Christian Moms Seeking Time Management, Work Life Balance, and Focus

If you struggle with balance on a regular day, the holiday season with all its obligations and expectations can send you into complete and utter chaos. What is aggressively marketed as the most wonderful time of the year, feels more like stress, and debt and five pounds of fat around your midsection. We can change that. This is a replay of an episode that aired exactly 2 years ago in November of 2...

Today’s question is a mash-up of multiple comments: "My biggest balance struggle is finding me-time. I have no time for my own interests, like reading or exercising or spending time with friends. I cannot keep up with my hobbies--hobbies I need to keep me sane--because keeping up with my kids and my house takes up all my time. I don’t even know who am right now. How do I figure out who I am o...

In all of Season 8, I’m addressing your specific questions and balance struggles. Today, I’m responding to two listener emails: One asks about loneliness and finding community with a baby at home. The other asks about how to make quality time for her husband while raising 4 small children. I have lots to say about both of those things, so if you struggle with any of that in your own life, you’ll l...

Caring for your physical health is one of the best things you can do to lead a well-balanced life. But what is going on when you decide to start cooking healthier meals or begin a workout program and by day-3 you are sitting on the couch eating peanut butter straight out of the jar? Maybe the problem is self-sabotage. Sometimes our sincere efforts completely backfire on us. Today I’m offering you...

Today my friend Kirsten Vossler joins me for Part 2 of our discussion. She’s a homeschooling mom of 8 and the creator and host of the podcast Rejoicing in Motherhood. Last week we left a tired Kirsten after she described her typical day right at the point of getting her kids to bed. Today, she drops her pearls of wisdom as she describes how she makes room for her priorities--Spoiler alert: she let...

Kirsten Vossler is a homeschooling mom of 8 kids ranging in age from 12 years down to 9 months, and the creator and host of the podcast Rejoicing in Motherhood. I asked Kirsten to give us the nitty-gritty of her typical day. In the process of that, she dropped some seriously great tips on everything from healthy breakfast and lunch ideas to creative ways she teaches her kids about the Lord. Whethe...

One of my favorite exercise mantras is “something is better than nothing.” I adopted this phrase as my fitness motivation when I was trying and succeeding to stay physically fit and strong with babies and small children crawling all over me. As a mom with little ones, some days I was able to carve out a full hour of a hardcore work out and other days I just did what I could and moved on. So, fully...

What do you do when a child accuses you of letting his younger sibling get away with everything? How do you decide what to cook for dinner each night and actually cook it when you hate meal planning and cooking? What do you do when no one in your house will help you with household chores? These are YOUR questions and today I’m giving you MY answers.  For show notes, please visit thescooponbalance....

Last week in EP119 I invited my friend Mary K Tiller to join me, and I played the first half of our conversation. Today in Part 2 we confess we are not "Fun Moms" and we discuss the creative ways we’ve learned to connect with our kids despite this shortcoming. We also talk about loneliness in motherhood and what we do to combat it. Mary K offers some beautiful words of encouragement for...

Today, for the first time ever on the Balanced MomCast, I am inviting a friend to join me. This episode is for all the work-from-home moms. We chat about the perks and challenges of working from home, especially with small children in the mix. We discuss making difficult choices about how to divide our time between work and kids, what we prayerfully neglect for the sake of balance, and how we lean...

Today I’m addressing one listener’s struggle about establishing a Bible reading and prayer life. If you have never established a daily time to connect with God and the thought of starting one feels overwhelming, or if you just want to be more consistent with the practice you already have, I offer encouragement and practical tips for this mom and for you. Listen in.  For show notes, please visit th...

Mom, you are NOT the emotional thermostat of your home. You cannot control the moods and attitudes of your children or your spouse. But you CAN create an environment where peace thrives. Today we look at the book of Proverbs and discuss four practical things you can do to facilitate a peaceful home environment: 1. Be Patient: Prov 16:32 2. Be Proactive: Prov 17:14 3. Be Gentle: Prov 15:1 4. Light...

My kids are just like your kids. If I give them the choice between cookies and fruit for dessert, they will choose the cookies. That's why I am deliberate and strategic to train them to choose healthy food when faced with a choice. Today, as part of my Summer Series Replay, I'm replaying an episode that originally aired in May 2019, where I offered 22 strategies I use in my own home to t...

Depression affects 300 million people worldwide, and I am one of them. The good news is, depression is entirely treatable and almost always, preventable. If you have mild depression and anxiety and want to explore some options outside of prescription medication, I'm giving you the exact things I do on a daily basis that keep depression and anxiety at bay. This is part of my Summer Series Repl...

If you're a mom drowning in your responsibilities, I'm here to throw you a lifeline. As part of my Summer Series Replay, I'm going back to August 2019 (EP15) where I offered 7 things that will give you immediate relief from the pressure of "too much."  For show notes, please visit thescooponbalance.com/114   While the Balanced MomCast is on hiatus, you can find me at Behin...

Jesus said 8 times (!) in John 15 that He wants us to bear fruit. But what does that even mean? In EP112 we said that abiding is all the stuff that no one sees. Well, fruit is the stuff EVERYONE sees (and feels, and tastes, and smells) coming from you. Welcome to my Summer Replay Series! I'm rerunning a series that first aired in Feb-March 2020 on Abiding in Christ (John 15). This replay seri...

Welcome to a very frank yet loving discussion about what it really means to abide in Christ. At the risk of sounding completely over the top, studying, understanding, and then applying these truths has impacted every single area of my life . My heart is to encourage and equip you to live a fruitful life. So, if you’re ready for some tough love on how to become a branch in Christ that bears much fr...

What does it mean when Jesus said, "Apart from me you can do nothing"? Who are these people? Are they really doing nothing? Am I one of these people? Are you one of these people?  Welcome to my Summer Replay Series! I'm rerunning a series that first aired in Feb-March 2020 on Abiding in Christ (John 15). This replay series begins with EP108 and this is Part 4. Be sure to go back and...

Motherhood often feels like loss: Loss of your schedule, loss of control, loss of yourself. This can be very confusing because, as a Christian, you KNOW God has called you to live an abundant life! So, what's up with this? Are you doing something wrong? Or are you doing something right? (spoiler: you're doing something right!) For show notes, please visit thescooponbalance.com/110   Whil...

Welcome to my Summer Replay Series! I'm rerunning a series that first aired in Feb-March 2020 on Abiding in Christ (John 15). In EP108 I introduced you to the series If you haven't listened to that episode yet, do that first! Today I will introduce you to the Cast of Characters and the 5 Branches, but we will discuss in detail the branch in Christ that does not bear fruit. What is it? Ho...

It’s summer! And I’m stepping away from the podcast for a few weeks to rest and enjoy my family. But while I’m gone, I’m replaying some of my favorite episodes that you may have missed or you may want to hear again. For show notes, please visit thescooponbalance.com/108   While the Balanced MomCast is on hiatus, you can find me at Behind the Balance on Substack , Writing Off Social , or The Scoop...

Your family eats every day, several times a day, whether you like it or not. Today I share my philosophy on cooking and a simple 4-step process for easy meal-planning. This is the last episode in our series on organization. Listen in.  For show notes, please visit thescooponbalance.com/107   While the Balanced MomCast is on hiatus, you can find me at Behind the Balance on Substack , Writing Off So...

We are in a mini series about organization. So far we’ve talked about organizing our time, decluttering our unwanted items, and organizing our things in a way that makes sense to us and is also easy to maintain. Today, we are zeroing in on creating simple and sustainable systems to keep our homes running smoothly. Think laundry and housekeeping.  For show notes, please visit thescooponbalance.com/...

We are in a mini-series about organization. Last week I talked about the necessary act of decluttering. Today I’ll give you some tips about how to organize your things in your home. Listen in. For show notes, please visit thescooponbalance.com/105   While the Balanced MomCast is on hiatus, you can find me at Behind the Balance on Substack , Writing Off Social , or The Scoop on Balance.   Substack...

The first rule of home organization: Do not organize your clutter! Before you can organize your home, you need to purge it of things you don't love, don't use, and don't have space to store. In this episode, I take you through a simple decluttering process and give you 10 questions to ask yourself as you're sorting to decide what to keep. For show notes, please visit thescoopon...