Today, I’m talking to my friend Sarah Bragg about her new book, A Mother’s Guide to Raising Herself. But the truth is we started out by sharing some of the funny and hard stuff in parenting and saying, “This is why we can’t have nice things.”

Sarah Bragg – This is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things

There is no truer statement, and it all comes down to this: our perfectionist tendencies vs. reality as moms.

My perfectionist self likes:
a clean house
a manicured front yard
laundry folded and put away daily
wearing cute clothes
make-up

My perfectionist self likes:
an empty email box
a clean desk
work projects turned in on time
a do-able schedule
time with friends
vacations

My perfectionist self gets very cranky during the day, and I’ve learned two things:

With kids in the house, I’ll never make my perfectionist self happy, because it’s impossible to keep up
Yet, I can get my perfectionist self to calm down

How do I calm down this inner, perfectionist voice? By sharing truths like this:

People are more important than projects
God’s best is even better than a clean house
I will not regret spending time with family
I can do many things well, but I can’t do many things perfectly … and that’s okay
I get to choose what to focus on

And—if that doesn’t work—still, I keep speaking:
I am thankful for the life I’ve chosen
I want my children to follow God with their whole hearts, so I need to model how

I’m not making excuses for why the house isn’t always clean. Instead, I’m reminding myself that a clean house isn’t the most important thing (even though it’s where my comfort zone is).

In a world of Pinterest projects and Instagram snapshots, my heart changes when I change my mind first.

As Romans 12:2 says,
“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is — His good, pleasing and perfect will.”

And that’s why conversations, like I had with Sarah Bragg, are so important. As moms, we also need to remind each other what really matters.

In this conversation we chat about finding ourselves, giving ourselves graces as moms, and deciding what’s really important. Sarah Bragg is the host of the podcast Surviving Sarah. I know you’re going to love this podcast, and when you’re done listening to my podcast, pop over to hers!

I hope this episode will remind you that you are not just a seed planter, but that God is also planting seeds in you, and He delights in little things that grow slowly in His time. If God has patience in the slow growth, maybe we should, too.

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Scripture to ponder

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is — His good, pleasing and perfect will. Romans 12:2

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Mentioned in This Episode

A Mothers Guide to Raising Herself | Sarah Bragg
I was gone for two days and this is what happened
Notice the good

Who is Sarah Braggs

Sarah Bragg is the host of the podcast Surviving Sarah. Along with being a master at brewing coffee and a champion of cheering for others, she is also a mother of two girls and a wife to Scott. She and her family reside in Tennessee.

Connect with Sarah Braggs

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