by Barb Roose | Sep 11, 2018 | Better Together Podcast
When we are intentional moms, it assists us in becoming less-stressed moms.
When we bring our babies home from the hospital, our dream is to raise them in a happy and healthy home. But, from the time that we get pregnant or we announce plans to adopt, others begin giving us their opinions about what we should or shouldn’t do. If we’re not careful, other people’s input will confuse us and add a lot of stress to our already busy lives.
Today, I’m continuing my fun and freeing conversation with my friend, Susan Seay. She’s a speaker, author, and homeschool mom to seven – yes, seven kids! Susan is the author of Intentional Motherhood: Parenting on Purpose When Life Gets Busy.
If you listened to part one of our interview, the podcast ended with Susan saying that she hit the wall after the birth of her seventh child.
“I became so burdened with my efforts to be a “good mom” and trying to do all the things a “good mom” should do. My list of “should’s” was so long I was ready to give up. In fact, I did give up. I announced it one night at dinner to my husband with a simple “I’m done!” – Susan Seay, speaker and author
During this episode, Susan shares about the crucial conversations that she had with her husband, Ron about their individual expectations of what it meant to be a good mom and a good dad. In Susan’s effort to be a great mom and Ron’s drive to be a great dad, the couple discovered that their unspoken expections actually drove a wedge in their relationship with each other.
As you listen to Susan talk about how they worked through this challenge to their marriage and family, you’ll love her sense of humor and insight. Ultimately, Ron and Susan discovered the key to reshaping their family and unifying them for the future.
What you’ll hear in this episode:
- How core values can keep your family focused and help you make decisions with less conflict;
- Why Susan always lets her kids let go of a hug first;
- How Susan uses technology to stay connected with her kids;
LEAVE A COMMENT BELOW: How do you sort out all of the opinions and information out there about how you should raise your kids?
LINKS FROM TODAY’S SHOW
Susan Seay Website | Facebook | Choosing Your Values Podcast
Through the “Mentor 4 Moms” Podcast and the relatable style found in her book The Intentional Parent: Parenting On Purpose When Life Gets Busy, you get a sense of Susan’s heart to provide encouragement to moms combined with helpful practical tools. As a wife and mom to 7, she truly understands the challenges of trying to be an Intentional Parent. Susan has been a mentor to women locally in Austin, Tx and Internationally for over a decade.
Check out these other Better Together episodes:
by Barb Roose | Sep 11, 2018 | Better Together Podcast, Women's Topics
I became so burdened with my efforts to be a “good mom” and trying to do all the things a “good mom” should do. My list of “should’s” was so long I was ready to give up. In fact, I did give up. I announced it one night at dinner with a simple- “I’m done!” -Susan Seay, mother of seven (yes, seven!)
Mom, do you ever “should” all over yourself?
- I should do another load of laundry…
- I should stay up late and make cookies for my daughter’s class…
- I should volunteer to drive carpool, even though I’m working late this week.
Sometimes those “should” feel so heavy and make us feel like we’re buried under unreasonable expectations.
If you’ve ever struggled with the “should,” you’ll love my conversation with my dear friend, Susan Seay. She’s a speaker and author living in Austin, TX. Susan and her husband, Ron are the parents to seven, yes seven kids. Not only that but Susan is a homeschool mom, who also supports and consults with other homeschooling moms on a national level. Susan is the author of Intentional Motherhood: Parenting on Purpose When Life Gets Busy.
Susan and I have been friends online for almost a year, but we met IRL (in real life) in July at the She Speaks Conference, hosted by Proverbs 31 Ministries. Susan actually flew from her home in Texas to help me out with my workshops –that’s a great friend! On top of that, I got to see Susan in action as she provided gentle and loving encouragement to every woman who crossed her path. If you meet Susan, she’s going to make your life better, whether you talk to her for one minute or an hour.
As a speaker and author, Susan’s wheelhouse is that she is a mentor for moms. And as the mother of seven, she’s got some great expertise in that area.
During our Better Together conversation today, Susan talks about a trap that is so easy for moms to fall into – the quest to be the mom that tries to do everything.
Susan and I will discuss:
- The crazy questions that people ask when they find out that she has seven kids;
- A GENIUS trick that Susan used when her kids lost their minds in the grocery store;
- What unreasonable expectations makes moms tired and discouraged;
- Stories of encouragement that will put a smile on your face;
- Overcoming the trap of perfection.
About Susan Seay…
Through the “Mentor 4 Moms” Podcast and the relatable style found in her book The Intentional Parent: Parenting On Purpose When Life Gets Busy, you get a sense of Susan’s heart to provide encouragement to moms combined with helpful practical tools. As a wife and mom to 7, she truly understands the challenges of trying to be an Intentional Parent. Susan has been a mentor to women locally in Austin, Tx and Internationally for over a decade.
LINKS
Susan Seay Website | Podcast | Intentional Parenting Book
LEAVE A COMMENT: What’s the worst piece of mom-advice that you ever received?
by Barb Roose | Aug 17, 2018 | Better Together Podcast
"God, I can't do this."
In 2006, speaker and author Gail Cooper spoke these desperate words on her knees in a field on the way to where rescuers were looking for her 21-year old son. He'd been canoeing with a friend right before college graduation when his canoe went under - and Gail got the call in the middle of the night.
One of the goals of my Better Together podcast is to talk about real life issues that live deep in the souls of women. One of those issues is grief. These days, grief is a daily part of my life in losing my father and father-in-law in the past year. But there are other forms of grief - a lost dream, losing a job, divorce or marriage crisis. Friend, it's okay to give yourself permission to grieve if you've lost something important that you loved.
Grief is a part of life, but when we're afraid to feel grief or even talk about it, grief becomes a prison. How do we learn how to embrace grief as a process that God can bless with purpose?
Gail shows us what that looks like in her life during today's episode. We'll talk about that life-changing night and what happened during the five-days that it took researches to find her son's body. Gail tells us about her grief journey, her anger at God, and a prophetic moment at a Beth Moore event that left me with chill bumps! Twelve years after her son's death, Gail is living purposefully, even in grief.
Here are a few things that Gail said that blessed my heart:
"I gave to God what I could not handle on my own."
"I felt like God was telling me, 'Gail, you're driving into something bigger than you can handle on your own.'"
"I wake up celebrating life!"
When I finished talking with Gail, I was so encouraged by her passionate faith - and I think that you will be, too.
If you or someone that you know is struggling with grief at any stage, please share this podcast with them. You can share it, send the link via email or send it via Facebook messenger.
LINKS FROM TODAY'S PODCAST:
Gail Cooper website | facebook (She Shed Moments)
COMMENT: ARE YOU GRIEVING A LOSS IN YOUR LIFE? WHAT DO YOU WISH THAT PEOPLE WOULD STOP DOING OR SAYING WHEN SOMEONE IS GRIEVING?
by Barb Roose | Aug 17, 2018 | Better Together Podcast
How many times a week do you say, “I’m so tired?”
Here are some signs that you’re might be exhausted. If you say “yes” to one or more of these, keep reading!
- Do you get sick often – like sinus infections or headaches?
- Is your mind so cluttered that you can’t concentrate?
- Do you feel like you’re floating around aimlessly or that your life doesn’t have true purpose or calling?
- Do you feel too drained to be around people or do you often feel people are judging you?
Believe it or not, but these are the warning signs of rest deprivation. Too often, we think about rest as just getting a good night’s sleep or watching hours of tv.
Rest is much more than that! But, if we don’t figure out how to really rest, then we’re going to end up living really messed up lives.
Let me introduce you to someone who can give you the help and hope that you need today!
My Better Together guest is Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith, an author, speaker, and board-certified internal medicine physician. She has an active medical practice in Alabama (near the Birmingham area).
Dr. Dalton-Smith is a national and international media resource on the mind, body, spirit connection and a top 100 medical expert in Good Housekeeping Doctors’ Secrets. She has been featured in many media outlets including Women’s Day, Redbook, First For Women, MSNBC, and Prevention. She is the author of Set Free to Live Free and Come Empty (winner 2016 Golden Scroll Nonfiction Book of the Year and 2016 Illumination Award Gold medalist).
Her newest release is Sacred Rest: Recover Your Life, Renew Your Energy, Restore Your Sanity, including ground-breaking insight on the seven types of rest needed to optimize your productivity, increase your overall happiness and live your best life.
Today, Dr. Dalton Smith answers these pressing questions about rest:
- How can we get a better night’s sleep?
- How do we know when we’re rested?
- What are some warning signs that we need to know?
- Why is there more than one type of rest?
- Why do women struggle with rest?
LINKS FROM TODAY’S EPISODE
Saundra Dalton-Smith: website | facebook page
Rest Test Quiz: http://ichoosemybestlife.com/quiz/rest-quiz-test/
COMMENT: ON A SCALE OF 1 (A LITTLE) – 10 (EXTREMELY), HOW TIRED ARE YOU? WHAT DO YOU THINK THAT YOU NEED TO DO DIFFERENTLY IN ORDER TO EMBRACE MORE REST IN YOUR LIFE?
by Barb Roose | Aug 16, 2018 | Better Together Podcast
“Don’t burn bridges. Be graceful in all of your converations, especially when people say or do hurtful things.”
-Lisa Toney, speaker, author & leader
On this week’s Better Together podcast, we’re talking about one of my favorite ways for us to get better together. On today’s episode, we’re talking leadership! Not only that, but our leadership inspiration is Lisa Toney, an executive and teaching pastor from Purpose Church in California. She’s a seasoned leader who loves investing in both men and women, equipping them to lead at the highest levels of God’s call in their lives.
Lisa is the author of Thrive: Live Like You Matter and her new book, The Scripture Challenge releases this fall.
Not only that, but Lisa is a new voice in the next generation of Women of Faith. Any Women of Faith fans out there? Me! For over 20 years, WOF events around the country mobilized hundreds of thousands of women and now, a generation of voices, including Lisa’s are on deck to make a global impact. Lisa tells us all about WOF’s vision to reach the world and how YOU can be a part of it.
In my humble opinion, today’s conversation is like a mini-leadership retreat that packs a big punch! You should listen to today’s podcast:
- If you’ve been struggling with confidence;
- If you’re trying to figure out how to be a leader, wife, mom, and friend;
- If you’re just tired and wanting to give up.
Friends, if any of those fit, then I believe that today’s podcast is exactly where you should be right now!
Let me share a few bits of Lisa’s inspiring wisdom:
“This competition thing that we have between women doesn’t get us very far. When I get together with other women and we exchange ideas, all of our lives get so much better!”
“When I think about work life balance, I just laugh. Is it ever balanced? I don’t know. I love living every day to the full.”
“I want people to see Jesus in me because that’s evidence that I’m living the call that God has placed on my life.”
SHARE YOUR COMMENT: Have you taken Myers-Briggs (MBTI), Strengths Finders, Enneagram, or other personality tests? Tell us about your results below.
LINKS FROM TODAY’S CONVERSATION:
Lisa Toney website | Facebook | book
Women of Faith Facebook Page (To find Scripture Challenge and Aloud)
Strengths Finders
If you listened to part one of our interview, the podcast ended with Susan saying that she hit the wall after the birth of her seventh child.
