Happy Thanksgiving, y’all! Whether you are with family, extended family, alone or at work, I wish you many blessings today. The God of the universe sees you and cares about you. Yes, you.
The past year or two have been hard. And that’s an understatement. So give grace today…for yourself, and your loved ones.
If you don’t make the mashed potatoes with lumps, or into the tots like they want, it’s okay. Remember what is truly important today. (I am preaching to myself.).
If you need an inhale/exhale exercise, here you go. We all may need this today, right? It is from Psalm 107:1:
Inhale: Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good,
Exhale: for his steadfast love endures forever!
God Bless you all and have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Follow my family in Charleston on Instagram at : Momaboutcharleston
“Our butts are sitting where George Washington’s butt sat?” my son asked me in this holy and reverent place.
“Yes! Isn’t that amazing?” was how I responded. Because why not? It is incredible, right?
I was so overwhelmed being in St. Michael’s Church in downtown Charleston, SC today. I have taken pictures of the outside of this beautiful place several times before, but never stepped foot inside. I had no idea they let people go inside it to view the beauty and history of it all until recently. So when we were downtown today, I was determined to take my children in here and find pew 43. Pew 43 is where President George Washington sat for worship when he visited the Holy City many years ago. Later, another famous man would sit in the same pew, a man by the name of Robert E. Lee.
This church just happens to be one the oldest surviving church structures in Charleston. Its first service dates back to 1761! Is your jaw dropping yet? Mine was! I just stood in the church sanctuary in awe. I opened the little door to pew 43 and sat inside it with my children. This was surreal for all of us. The stained glass windows in here are absolutely gorgeous, by the way. I never would have known how old this church was if history didn’t tell me. It’s breathtaking. Taking it all in, seeing this massive wooden door to step back out into the reality of the hustle and bustle of Meeting Street was so… unreal. I told my husband I was overwhelmed with the history and stories this church held. History can do that to us. If this made me amazed, I cannot imagine what visiting the Holy Land would do to me. Walking where Jesus once walked just seems too wonderful.
St. Michael’s cemetery holds wonderful people of the past, including some of the men who signed the Declaration of Independence. Normally, my son wouldn’t want to go into a cemetery, but it was during the day, and I gave him a task to find some important names for me: Pinckney and Rutledge. (There are several more famous people buried here as well.) This made it like a treasure hunt for my son and it was easier for him to be here without having a lot of fear or sadness. My daughter on the other hand, finds old cemeteries fascinating and wants to go on a haunted Charleston tour with us. Funny how your own kids can be so completely opposite in some ways.
Charleston is called the Holy City for many reasons. One of them being that you can see over 400 church steeples in downtown alone! And its churches do not disappoint. They hold such amazing history and the fact that we can walk in freely and sit where these iconic men of history have once sat still amazes me. It is definitely something I would recommend doing when you make a visit to Charleston. It is absolutely free to walk inside and you leave with such a great feeling of awe and gratitude. At least I did.
Charleston endured an earthquake in 1886, and a tornado in 1938. The church suffered some damage but was repaired and still stands. I find it amazing how this church, with a massive steeple of 186 feet tall, and its bells and clock imported from England in 1764 are all still here. Are you ready to go back in time? Even on a rainy day, it’s beautiful. Plan that trip to Charleston already!
Ecclesiastes 3:11 says, “He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.”
Follow my family and me as we explore and discover the Holy City of Charleston, SC on Instagram: MomaboutCharleston
I stayed up until after midnight watching a live home birth of a friend on Instagram. I know. Some folks may think that is totally weird, but there were almost 20,000 people watching at one point! It was done very tastefully and it was amazing to see thousands of people cheering this Mama on. It was like a crazy awesome baby story on TLC, but it was live and it involved precious people I know and care about. And we were all cheerleaders. The sweet mama was intentional about remaining calm throughout the entire process and explained how this eases pain. Releasing the fear and panic eases the physical pain of labor. She was even teaching about the uterus and how it works in between contractions. It was amazing. I have had two babies myself, and I wish I had been more calm, and had more options for moving around, etc. Of course this Mama wouldn’t say she didn’t experience any pain at all…it is still giving birth. But it was the calmest birth I have ever witnessed, live or on a television show. (If you want to find her on Instagram, her name is leslie_burris. She is one of my Young Living team leaders and I am proud to say I have learned a lot from her over the years.)
Watching this mom calming herself, listening to spoken Scripture in the background and being supported by her family was a precious thing to watch. I have never personally had a home birth. I am not telling you to have one or not. She had midwives present who were checking her and baby’s vitals regularly. But her composure throughout labor was incredible.
I can totally apply this to my life, right? When we can breathe deeply, and calm our hearts, it can also help us diminish pain – emotional and physical pain. So many times I think our physical pain can be directly linked to our emotional state. I used to think that was impossible but as I have gotten older and learned more about our bodies and how they are so intricately designed and connected, this is now proving to be true. So even though our mental health is being pushed aside by the powers at be in this country, I firmly believe that is the wrong approach. Our mental health matters just as much as our physical health. We should not be sacrificing one for the other.
This week I was anxious, and having trouble sleeping. I started asking the Lord to take my burdens and provide for our family in specific ways. I had to say aloud that I was putting it in the Lord’s hands. It is crazy that I still get surprised when He answers these prayers. Why should this surprise me? He has always taken care of me. Yes, there have been some very rough times in my life, but I can’t look back and say that God had ever abandoned me during that time.
Speaking truth, inhaling and exhaling truth when we feel overwhelmed is so helpful. Our body gets the oxygen it desperately needs and our minds are hearing truth. I used Psalm 29:11, and made the following exercise.
Inhale: May the Lord give me strength!
Exhale: May the Lord bless me with peace!
Some people have no problem being calm individuals. But these past two years, I have been contacted by more and more people who have never experienced anxiety before, suddenly filled with it and wondering how to handle it. So if you are one of these people, take heart. You are not alone! And there are various ways to help us with this-exercise, eating healthy, prayer, oils, bilateral music, therapy, medicine…the list goes on. Every individual is different. As much as the government wants to tell you that there are one-size-fits-all-cures for us, that simply is not science based, and untrue. It may be a journey to find out what helps you in these moments, and that’s okay. Press into the journey, and keep in mind this is for a season, not necessarily a lifetime.
This verse plays over and over in my mind:
John 16:33 says, “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
I was honored to be asked to be on my friend’s podcast, Pause Renew Next again this past week. The first time I was on her podcast was over two years ago, and we chatted in depth about my anxiety struggle at that time. When she asked me to be on it again this year, and share about our year in the RV and my current anxiety situation, I thought…people will be so sad to hear that my anxiety has reared its ugly head again. See, my anxiety ebbs and flows. And after this past year, we have probably all felt and experienced some anxiety. Throw a few major location changes in there for our family personally, and it’s no wonder my body and brain are just now processing it all.
Last year, I had to remain strong. I was in survival mode almost. We had to move away from our friends and home of the past five years. It was just the beginning of the pandemic. And it was weird. I was VERY sad, but I was unusually calm. I wasn’t so worried about getting sick. I wasn’t overly anxious about living in an RV. I was fairly dare I say, “chill?” At least for me. Haha! My husband may beg to differ on that, but I digress. But it was lonely. We are not made to live alone. We were made to be in community with one another. So when community was cancelled last year, it did a number on all of us. Even the introverts. And then survival mode put me mentally and physically into full gear, using all cylinders. I don’t know about you, but all of my energy was spent homeschooling my children and making sure they were taken care of during the weirdest year they have probably ever experienced to date. A year they will never forget, I’m sure. If you’re a parent or not, you get what I’m saying. So last year was like a very long sprint. Trying desperately to make it out alive on the other side.
So once we moved into our home in Charleston, my anxiety came back with a vengeance. My brain and body finally had time to digest the past year and a half of the million changes and upheaval we had experienced. It was like my brain was finally allowed out of its survival mode, my body was finally released from the sprint, and I was being allowed to start recovery mode. Needless to say, it was a lot to process at once. I am still processing it all.
If you find yourself never wanting to take a moment to stop…you may have a lot to process and recover from. If you find yourself anxious when it appears to be a time where you should be “fine”, make sure to give yourself grace. Anxiety builds over time. And God has given us a unique ability in times of trial to press on. Thankfully, there is hope and there is help available.
So be gracious to yourself, okay? You made it through 2020, friends! And if you’re still processing it like I am, that is completely understandable. If it is effecting your quality of life, talk to a therapist. Talk to your doctor. Mental health matters and it shouldn’t be ignored like it has been for over a year. I will say it over and over again that our mental and physical health are intertwined. One should never be separated from the other. The authorities at be have definitely ignored mental health for over a year, and it needs to stop.
So hold your head up high. You made it a LONG way. You are still here and it is almost Christmas of 2021. Decorate the heck out of your house. Put lights in trees that have never seen lights before. Let your house be seen from space! This Christmas my family will be praising the Lord for bringing His only Son into this dark world, and for walking with us through the pandemic. No, it’s not completely over, but we have the King on our side. He will continue to help you process 2020 and continue through the rest of 2021.
II Thessalonians 3: 3 says, “But the Lord is faithful. He will establish you and guard you against the evil one.”
My podcast episode will air in December. I will keep you updated on when it is live. In the meantime, you can hear other encouraging stories of faith on the Pause, Renew Next podcast by Ginny Detweiler.
Find my family and I on instagram at: MomaboutCharleston
Mom About Charleston 