TAKING TIME FOR REST

As a mom, one of the hardest things to do is rest. There is always someone who needs you. Someone who needs your attention and needs it right now! Taking time to just rest ourselves can feel next to impossible. But it’s something we absolutely NEED to do!

I’ve struggled with this for years. Taking that little bit of quiet time for myself seems impossible most days. My days consist of teaching my girls, making dinner, dance classes, grocery shopping, running errands, laundry, cleaning, working from home and anything else that needs done for our family. When do I have time to rest? In fact, we’ve lived in our home for over 3 years now and I have yet to use our beautiful soaking bathtub!

School is getting ready to start back up again for us and that means my “me time” will shrink dramatically. So, I thought I’d share how I plan to make sure I don’t miss a little time of rest each day.

Top 5 Ways to Take Time to Rest:

Schedule Down Time With Your Kids: Why not use this as a learning experience for your kids too. Each day take 30 minutes of down time. No phones. No TV. And NO shenanigans. Everyone can read or maybe color or even take a nap. Just something to unplug and take some down time to chill.
Take a Nice Soaking Bath: Pamper yourself! Maybe a nice warm lavender salt bath is just what the body needs. Read a book and maybe have some classical music playing. Lotion up and get snug in your bed with your book again. Because this just might be one of the most relaxing 30 minutes you can take for yourself. I use my Young Living Lavender Hand & Body Lotion along with their lavender salts.
At Home Spa Treatments: This has become my favorite time of day! My evening routine: Apply my mask to my face and neck (because I don’t want an “old lady” neck), write in my journal to remind myself of the good points of my crazy day, and then finish up the rest of my regimen to totally make myself feel truly pampered. I use my Young Living Art Beauty Mask twice a week.
Schedule Down Time For You: I quite literally write this into my daily planner. In the past, I never used to write it into my schedule and that meant I never did it. I always filled my “me time” with errands & tasks that needed tackled. I mean that blank space was just waiting to be filled right!? Once I started actually blocking out 30 minutes for me to just chill, I actually did it. And I’m not ashamed to say that I’ve even been known to set an alarm on my phone for 30 minutes and just nap. Oh, those are some beautiful days!
Take a Walk/Hike: Getting out for some fresh air and exercise is amazing for you to clear your mind and feeling refreshed. It doesn’t need to be anything crazy. Just some time up and moving outdoors. Plus, this is great for the whole family to join in!

Do you take time to rest? Do you do it daily?

In the past I’d never taken the time to really give myself small breaks in my days. You know, we’re still in the middle of it all and it’s super easy to get caught up in the craziness. But it takes a toll on us and eventually our families.

Mamas, we’re the glue. We’re the ones keeping it all together. If we get stretched too thin – it snaps (and so do we). Take time to rest, just 30 minutes a day, and soak it all in. One day our kiddos will be grown and we want to look back at our time with them and remember it all with a smile. Taking just a bit of time now to rest, will help us in the long run. Truly.

Love Life, Love God, Live For HIM…