Thriving where we stand.

“Thriving. That's fighting... Surviving is barely getting by.”

― Jillian Michaels.

The other day I wrote a post on Instagram about what it means to thrive for me.. I honestly wish we could all share what it means to thrive for all of us while sitting in a coffee shop drinking our favorite beverage..One day perhaps.

I can only write so much on instagram so I thought I would turn my little instagram into a post.. You see I believe God has given us all missions here and personally I believe God has given me the passion to equip and lift up moms and encourage them to thrive and to have joy in every season they are in.

Not because I'm the perfect mom! Because that's so far from truth. I experience those days where I am tempted to judge myself for letting my girls watch more TV then planned. Or letting my oldest have too much chocolate and I have lost it with them as well.. I'm far from a perfect homemaker. In fact the second we are able to hire a cleaner guess what we're doing? I can clean and I'm pretty good at it and I love organizing when I'm kid-free which never happens however, keeping up with it all I do find myself choosing to play with my kids rather than the dishes. But that's something I'm working on as well.

My point in being.. I'm not a spokesperson for thriving because I have it all together.

I don't think thriving is a awesome Idea because I'm the perfect mom who is in a state of happy circumstances all the time.

And I'm far from perfect in all areas (We got that covered, right?)

I'm a messenger for thriving because thriving isn't about perfection. It's about being a imperfect mom who is not defined by circumstances. Who is not defined by her weaknesses and not defined by her strengths. She is not defined by the judgement of others and she certainly is not defined by the lies of the devil. She is only influenced by Jesus. Her Savior.

I think the problem with us as  moms is that we are living with empty cups.. We run out of things to give because we have nothing left. That's how we end up in surviving mode.

But God wants to be our river. He wants to fill our cup over and over again so it doesn't empty. He gives us so much scripture to remind us that He is our rest. He is our source. He is our strength and He is our joy. In Him there is no one refill only. There's only refill after refill. All you have to do is go get it!

How do we go and get it? You receive it from Holy Spirit. Lets say your baby wakes up in the middle of the night and decides he doesn't want to fall back a sleep just yet. And that morning the first thing that will most likely come to our minds is "I'm so tired"

In our Bible plan from last week I wrote a post called "Our day is what we speak" 

Where we talked about Proverbs 18:21 and how our words have power to bring life and to kill.. And by experiences I've learned how true that can be!

Are we speaking life over our day? Or are we  surrendering to how we feel?

Maybe when our baby has been up all night and we are feeling so tired and so done before it is even 10 AM we should remember Isaiah 40:30-31 where  Jesus said "  Even youths grow tired, and young men stumble and fall; But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on the wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint."

So instead of saying "I'm so tired today" and giving into our feelings lets declare that our hope is in Jesus today. Not a few extra hours of sleep. In Jesus is where my strength is. That's what going to Him is. He knows we can't spend hours in a prayer closet. ;) Even though that would be awesome!

You see thriving where we stand isn't about being happy on good days. That's no fight at all. Thriving is choosing Jesus on the good days and the bad days. It's about choosing His truths over the devils lies. It's about running to God's refills and not giving up. It's about not condemning ourselves when we mess up (Because it will still happen) but instead seeking scripture where it says "There is no condemnation in Christ!" (Romans 8:1.)

Thriving is fighting for the battle that is already won.. Jesus won the battle thousands of years ago and until He comes back Satan will try to plant seeds into your mind that it's not won.. Right now the enemy is hard at work fighting for your joy, your peace and your family.. And with the power of our words we can fight back with God's truth.. That's how we thrive where we stand. By choosing God's truth over our lives instead of the enemies lies.. Is it hard sometimes. Yes! Because we're so used to living in our emotions.. But what would happen if our children saw us thriving where we stood? Being unshakable in good and bad circumstances. I think it would be way more natural for them if they were brought up that way.