Throughout my life, my faith in God has always been absolutely central to my sense of identity and peace and purpose. But to be perfectly honest, in the three years since I started 3 in 30, my relationship with Him has felt more and more distant because I’ve been busier than I’ve ever been in my life, and I just haven’t prioritized connecting spiritually with God the way that I used to. This isn’t something that I’m proud to admit, but I also believe that He understands and loves me anyway,, and I am consciously working to bring back more spiritual connection into my life.
This is why a recent comment on Instagram really resonated with me, and it turns out, it did with many of you as well. I asked the 3 in 30 community there “If you could hear an episode of 3 in 30 about anything, what would it be?” One wise mother left a heartfelt comment about spiritual disconnection and craving a closer relationship with God, and dozens of other women liked the comment and replied to it sharing their agreement and their advice and ideas.
Based on the big response to that comment, as well as my own personal yearning for more connection to God during this busy time in my life, I knew this was something I wanted to cover on the podcast, even though it is a bit outside the scope of what we usually talk about here.
To set the stage for this interview, I want to read that comment for you:
Lindsey Leon on Instagram wrote: “My biggest issue currently is feeling any kind of spiritual connection–to God, to my own soul, anything. I think the busy noise of motherhood is making it hard for me to hear/feel the quiet [Holy] Spirit, plus the lack of peaceful alone time for meditation and prayer or scripture study. And I’ll be honest, I’m so tired that all of that doesn’t make it high on my priority list anyways. I’ve been reading a lot of articles and listened to several podcasts on the subject but they all come from a (well-meaning) place of assuming that we are all totally able to dedicate more time and attention to spiritual practices. I’d love some ideas for feeling the Spirit without the extra time and attention to give to it. Because I’m certain that God loves me even when I don’t have the time/energy.”
Yes, God loves you even when you don’t have time and energy, and today on the podcast, I have a guest who is going to share three takeaways for nurturing your connection to Him, even in your busiest seasons.
Darla Trendler has been a podcaster for 2 1/2 years hosting the Spiritually Minded Mom podcast interviewing guests about their experiences learning to navigate motherhood by partnering with God. Now she’s sharing on a new podcast, Spiritually Minded Women, helping Christian women embrace their personal and unique spiritual journey.
Dara has been married to her husband, Tim, for 23 years. With two girls and two boys ages 21-13, Darla’s current stage of motherhood involves watching her children leave home, loving teenagers, and being her kids’ biggest cheerleader. Darla is passionate about helping women gain confidence in their ability to hear and follow God’s voice, and I can’t wait for you to hear her takeaways today:
Three Takeaways on Connecting Spiritually with God, Even When You Don’t Have Extra Time:
- Set an intention to be closer to Him and then do small things to remind you of that intention. Use everyday moments within motherhood as triggers, such as every time you touch water, think of Him; every time your feet hit the ground in the morning, say a one-sentence prayer; or everytime you feel overwhelmed throughout the day, recite a memorized scripture verse to help you reframe the moment.
- Reimagine what prayer looks like, and embrace that God wants to communicate with you in the ways that fit with your unique personality, gifts, and passions. You might pray through your writing, painting, enjoyment of music, work outs, cooking, or mothering. Try out different forms of prayer in your life and see what helps you to feel close to the divine. Don’t discount those things just because they don’t look like a traditional prayer–you can talk to God wherever you are.
- Remember that God wants to be close to you. He’s not trying to push you away. He understands the season you are in, He accepts your efforts, and He wants to be close to you.
My friends, December is a holy month for a lot of different religions around the world and an opportunity to think more about our connection with God and His gifts in our lives. I hope this episode will help you draw nearer to Him in this holiday season.
-Show Notes-
Darla’s Website: www.spirituallymindedwomen.com
Darla’s Instagram: @spirituallymindedwomen
Darla’s Podcast: Spiritually Minded Women
Darla’s Free Course on Reimagining Prayer
Episode 130: The ABC’s of Creating Good Habits // BJ Fogg
Spiritually Minded Mom Episode 50: How Promptings From God Can Be Hard + Good At The Same Time
-Sponsor-
I Believe In Me, an online membership program for middle school girls, ages 11-13, to help them build strong minds and strong hearts!
As a parent, you purchase a monthly subscription for your daughter, and then she can log in each week to view the 15-20 minute lesson on an important life topic.
Some episode topics include: what to do when your feelings get hurt, how to react to failure, developing good morning and evening routines, cultivating gratitude, fighting against negative self-talk and thoughts, developing study skills, and so much more.
On top of these weekly 15-20 minute episodes about life skills, girls have access to a library of Bloom videos, which are 3-4 minute tutorials, on topics they might be interested in, such as fashion, beauty, healthy lifestyle, and holiday fun.
This would be a unique and incredibly meaningful holiday gift for your pre-teen daughter that will bless her with skills that will not only make her middle school experience more positive, but will enrich her social and emotional intelligence into adulthood.
-Announcements-
- Don’t forget to reserve your copy of the Flecks of Gold Journal, a three-year journal to help you gather the golden moments within your motherhood!
- Join our community of heart-fueled mothers on Instagram!
- Would you like a recap of ALL of the takeaways from every episode of 3 in 30? Get signed up here: 3in30podcast.com/takeaways
