"Motherhood is a sacred appointment.. Only problem is, plenty of minutes in my day I feel more like a pinball being pinged from one issue to the next... The role of mom often feels more scattered than sacred."
Click Here to listen to Episode 78, Touring The Six Rooms of the Intentional Mom's Home. Let's explore together the heart of our ministry to moms. Episode 78 is full of parenting nuggets in all the areas of your momlife.
Motherhood is a sacred appointment. We have the divine role of shaping these little or big hearts that have been entrusted to us.
Only problem is, plenty of minutes in my day I feel more like a pinball being pinged from one issue to the next – whether I’m dealing with sibling squabbles, menu planning, pet stains, schedule challenges, or budget challenges… the role of mom often feels more scattered than sacred.
Being a mom is SO BIG that it is frequently OVERWHELMING even to the most seasoned of mothers. What can we do to reduce the struggle and increase our clarity?
It was from my wrestling with and praying about this common mom struggle that I began keeping six notebooks, one for each of the six main areas of my momlife. I told you about these notebooks in Episode 75 and called them my Mom Brain Books. CLICK HERE to go back to that earlier episode. The goal of today's podcast, episode 78 is to show you the connection between those six areas of the momlife & this ministry.
Reducing the Struggle & Gaining Clarity
These notebooks were a total game-changer for me. Not only did it help me get more organized, but it also accidentally, helped me learn to prioritize the tasks in my life.
For example, As I began tracking things in my Family Room Notebook that deals with sibling relationships or parent child relationships or heart issues or character development, it didn’t take me long to figure out that those sacred tasks of parenting my child’s heart is far more important than anything I’m writing down in my Laundry Room Notebook, or that taking time for my relationship with God must supersede all my other roles because HE IS MY SOURCE for fulfilling all of those other roles.
A recipe for laundry detergent or learning how to mend a shirt, is not anywhere near the importance of mending a broken heart or a wounded spirit in my child. All of those are tasks that we moms face every day, but some of our tasks are of much greater importance than others. I needed to learn that, to get better clarity for all my tasks, to identify the MORE important from the LESS important.
So, should we just STOP learning to mend a shirt or keep a budget or create a menu?
No, making simple systems for those things matter because the more efficient I become in my mundane tasks, the more I am freed up to focus on what matters most - tending the hearts of my children.
Sure, teaching my child how to scramble eggs or plant a raspberry bush are very useful skills. However, my child’s heart and my child’s ability to maintain healthy relationships or grow in character qualities such as honesty, hard work, diligence, or their ability to make good friend choices, or how to confront firmly but kindly, these are sacred issues for me to cover with my kids.
My six notebooks have helped me to not be quite as bugged or overwhelmed by the minutia of mom tasks when a sacred moment to impact my child’s heart arises unexpectedly. Click HERE to listen to Episode 75 with more info about My Six Mom Brain Books
The Six Rooms of Val's Ministry
When I was preparing to launch my podcast, I was also in the process of revamping my website. At that time all of my blog posts were just randomly displayed, no organization at all to them. Since keeping the six notebooks made such a difference in my life, it just seemed fitting to reorganize my ministry content into the same six rooms that I had been organizing my life. Thus was born the theme that now runs throughout my ministry of the six rooms of the intentional moms home.
Also in episode 78, I take you back to the beginning of this podcast when I introduced the six rooms of my ministry. It's a little peek into what treasures await you when you go to my website, PracticallySpeakingMOM.com, and click in each of the six rooms. Put your seatbelt on because you’re about to hear A LOT of parenting nuggets. CLICK HERE to listen to episode 78. I thought you might find it helpful to have a cross reference of most of my episodes. You can always look in the six individual rooms on my website to find all of these, but I did divide the family room into some additional categories. I hope you find this helpful.
Mom's Mental Health w/ Therapist Amanda Colliate 13
Mom's Marathon Path 22
How a Busy Mom Gets Quality Time with God Daily
Self-care Isn't Selfish 35
How do you Measure Mom Success? Goodbye Comparison & Perfection 54
Let God Write Your Victory Song 60
There are additional blog posts that are not podcast episodes in the Front Porch Section of my website. My favorite blog post is my collection of Prayers & Moments with God for Intentional Moms
Intentional Marriage, Redeeming Your Marriage 8
Overcoming Negative Communication Habits 23
Goal-setting & Dreaming in Your Marriage 17
Nurturing a Sense of Security in Marriage and Family 54
Coming 4/2021 How to Effectively VALUE your spouse toward wholeness
My husband, Rich, joins me for all the marriage episodes.
He also is the tech producer of the podcast. This ministry is definitely a partnership with my husband of 29 years.
EPISODES for PARENTING YOUNG CHILDREN
Love Your Child more effectively at every age, ep. 3
Dealing with Lying In Your Child (or any serious heart issue), ep. 4
Toddlers & Manners, ep. 4
Making a Schedule for Littles, ep. 19
Kid's Emotions, Self-Sufficiency & Talk with a Preschool Mom Becca Hammond, ep 36
Potty-Training & Other Fun with Becca Hammond, ep 37
Littles who Won't Listen ep 61
EPISODES FOR PARENTING MIDDLES & TEENS
The Mistaking Parent Part 1 Part 2
Middles & Teens & Negative Self-Talk, ep. 6
Preparing Teens for Success, ep. 7
The Hope-Filled Life of the Mistaking Parent 46
Lessons Learned by the Mistaking Parent 47
Launch Time: What Comes Next 49
Running from God, Finding Grace with Victoria Dahilig 51
Your Child's Sacred Struggle with Victoria Dahilig 52
Teach Your Kids about Love & Relationships & Marriage 72
EPISODES FOR PARENTING General AGES & STAGES
Root Parenting vs. Surface Parenting Ep. 25 Digging Deeper, ep 26 Q&A, ep 28
Mercy Seat Parenting & Consequences, ep. 12 (part 2 of Lying)
Love Your Child more effectively at every age, ep. 3
Dealing with Lying In Your Child (or any serious heart issue), ep. 4
Kid's Emotions, Self-Sufficiency & Talk with a Preschool Mom Becca Hammond, ep
Misbehaivor: Opposition or Opportunity?, ep 37
Getting Kids to Listen the 1st Time, ep. 5
(Moms of Girls of all ages should listen) A Girl's Self-worth: Parenting Teens & Those Who Will Be, with Victoria Dahilig ep. 32,
Part 2: Peers, Drama, Boys, Boundaries, ep 33
Listener Q&A Consequences, Child Weaknesses, Mom Mistakes, ep. 9
Developing Kids' Character, Wisdom, Relationships... Raising a Luke 2:52 Kid, ep. 14
Teach Goal-Setting to Your Kids, ep. 17 and Goal-Mapping, ep. 20
Teach Kids to Look for God's Vision in their Lives, ep. 18
Growing Heroes & Helping Weaknesses with audio adventures & Jim Hodges 48
Sibling Squabbles, Bonding, Listener Q&A 53
Nurturing a Sense of Security 54
Mending Your Child's Heart at Every Age 62
Unlock Your Child's Strengths & Impact their Self-Perception 63
Made to SHINE: The Value of Your Child's Identity 64
Four Benefits of being an IMPERFECT MOM 65
Mom, Take Time to Refine, The Five R's of Intentional Parenting 68 Part 2 69
Let's Get Real, a Heart-to-Heart with Val & Tiff on the Mom Life 70 71 73
Teach Your Kids about Love & Relationships & Marriage 72
What's In My Mom Box: tools to reduce negativity from mom 74 tools for positive reinforcement 75
Listener Q&A with Dr Amy Barfield Screens Stress Sleep 76 ADHD 77
Overcoming Negative Communication Habits, ep 23
Relationship Killers & Maintaining the Right to Influence, ep 27
ScreenTime, Chores, Habits of Blessing, ep. 29
Val's book Clash In Your Home: Getting a Game Plan for Cleaning Up the Conflict
Mom SURVIVAL GUIDE in Crisis, ep. 30
What Makes Your Child Come to Life, ep 31
A Girl's Self-worth: Parenting Teens & Those Who Will Be, with Victoria Dahilig ep. 32,
Part 2: Peers, Drama, Boys, Boundaries, ep 33
The Year Families Familied, Plus Seasons of Motherhood, ep 34
Getting Kids On Board with Boundaries, ep 35
Raising Loving Leaders, ep 39
Legacy Dream Come True, 40
Sibling Relationships, Family Values, and Lots of Laughs: Val's Four Daughters, 41
Fatherhood: Hope, Help, Honor, 42
Best of Year One 58 Bloopers Year One 59
Family Table Talk Ideas 60
Break it down into small steps for big results for your kids 61
Val's Book Clash In Your Home: Getting a Game Plan for Cleaning Up the Conflict EBook
Healthy Family begins with Healthy Mom with @StephFisherWellness 57 Part 1 58 Part 2
Mom Favs for Body & Mind, ep 40
Managing Stress in Mother & Child with Therapist Amy Colliate, LMFT, 43 44 45
Also see blog posts that are not podcasts in the Kitchen Room of the website. My favorite is Save Your Sanity: One Hour Per Week Meal Plan
Time Saving Strategies in Busy Homes
Part 1 Manager of the Monkeys - it's not your kids, it's tasks, 2
Part 2 Getting Kids to do Quality Work in Chores 5
Part 3 Reduce Chaos 10
Instilling Work Ethic at Every Age 7
Cut Laundry Chaos 21
Mom Making Money: Work Habits that Work so Your Focus Can be on Your Family 38
Val's Book, Wearing All Your Hats without Wearing Out E-Book
Throughout my podcasts, I sprinkle in our homeschooling journey.
Val's DOWNLOAD of How I Homeschool: Simple Systems for Homeschool Success
What's Coming on the Podcast:
"Rich & Val - What makes you feel VALUED? What makes you feel un-valued? Four Steps to Identify & Give Value more Effectively Among Family Members"
"Trial, Triumph, & Fav with Val"
"Chat between Val & grown daughter, Becca, mother of two preschoolers"
Want to connect on social media? Intentional Mom, Strong Family community is now in TWO locations: FacebookMeWe
Connecting with Val to have her speak at a parenting or women's event or for Rich & Val to speak at a marriage event: email