Self Love Exercises for Christian Moms
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It is hard to be a mom. It can be especially hard on your self worth and self love. Additionally, how you view yourself may change drastically as you grow through parenthood.
This article is meant to provide self love exercises for Christian moms so that you can not only feel but think better about yourself.
It is too easy to let the negative and stressful thoughts rule your mind. I hope that I can help you today to let the unnecessary thoughts go and feel what God feels for you.
7 Self Love Exercises for Christian Moms
1) Recognize the sacrifices made by you and Jesus.
You have done so much for your family! Take a moment to acknowledge that. You are amazing. Here are just a few things you have sacrificed as a mom:
- Having your body to yourself
- A normal body that doesn’t change and is predictable
- Your time
- Your energy
- Some of your sanity
- A predictable schedule
- Money
- Activities you love to do
- Your vision of the future
- Sleep
- Your peace of mind
Go ahead and take a moment to thank yourself for all that you’ve given up to serve your family. It is in large part because of your continuous sacrifice that they are taken care of and even alive.
If you are feeling alone in this sacrificial journey as a Christian mom, know that you are not alone. Jesus also sacrificed all of the above and more so that He could carry you through this journey. I invite you to take His hand and let Him help you.
“For behold, I, God, have suffered these things for all, that they might not suffer if they would repent.”
Doctrine and Covenants 19:16
You might also like: No Such Thing as “Just a Mom” and “How to Overcome Postpartum Body Image Issues”
2) Journal to remember the happy moments.
Being a mom is meant to bring you and your family joy. (If it’s something you dread, then something needs to change.)
I have discovered that one of the best ways to be happy during the hard moments is to keep a journal. Writing the happy moments down has helped me better remember them, and as a result, helps me to be more happy.
You might be wondering, “Is journaling even a self love exercise if I hate writing?”
Yes! And it doesn’t have to be an official journal. It could be in a note on your phone or a single sheet of paper next to your bed. Whatever is less stressful for you.
If journaling seems super stressful to you, then I invite you to take just 30-60 seconds at the end of each day to jot down a couple things that went well that day. You’d be surprised at how much it lifts your mood throughout the week!
You could write down that the grocery trip went smoother than planned, that God helped you to be a little more patient, or that you got to play with your kids for a few minutes without anyone screaming. Just take a moment to remember the good that happened and thank God that it did.
There have been multiple studies done on the effects of keeping a gratitude journal. These studies have shown that people who do this are overall happier. In referring to these studies Dr. Feldman said:
“Given the turmoil in our world, it’s easy to overlook the little things that fill us with gratitude, instead focusing exclusively on the many negatives around us. Journaling may be a way of ‘hacking into’ the brain, helping us be more mindful of the positive.”
Dr. David B. Feldman
You might also like: The Ultimate Guide to be a Happy Stay-at-Home-Mom
3) Recognize Satan’s lies.
In order to think and feel more self love as a Christian mom, it is so important you understand that Satan wants you to believe you are failing. If you believe you are failing, then it will be easier for you to believe that God doesn’t love you and that you are not fit for your divine calling as a mother.
In other words, if you believe Satan’s lies, it will be easier for you to drift away from God and your family.
So how do you kick those lies out of your head?
- Start by writing down all the negative thoughts you have about yourself, even if it has nothing to do with parenting. (Note: it is very important that you write or type out this list. It will make the self care exercise more effective.)
- Circle the lies in your list that Satan wants you to believe.
- Go through each item in the list, and write down what your Father in Heaven would want you to believe instead.
- Next time you have a negative thought about yourself, remember what God would want you to think instead.
This self love exercise will help you to kick out those unwanted lies from Satan and have an easier time believing what God feels about you.
“For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Romans 8:38-39, KJV
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4) Do not compare yourself to other moms.
Comparing yourself to others is one of the worst things you can do as a Christian mom. So one of the best self love exercises you can do is to actively stop comparing yourself.
Comparing your parenting skills to another mom’s parenting skills is not going to bring you joy or help you love yourself more. It will only make you feel worse about yourself or judgemental towards the other mom. And neither of those are healthy!
I know, it sounds nearly impossible. But let me tell you! Once you can see another mom doing a good job and can say to yourself, “Good for her! And I’m doing a great job too” you will experience so much more peace and joy in your life.
“…I testify that no one of us is less treasured or cherished of God than another. I testify that He loves each of us—insecurities, anxieties, self-image, and all. He doesn’t measure our talents or our looks; He doesn’t measure our professions or our possessions. He cheers on every runner, calling out that the race is against sin, not against each other.”
Elder Jeffery R. Holland
5) Acknowledge your negative feelings.
(Note: This self love exercise may not be effective if you have diagnosed depression or anxiety. Those with overwhelming and lasting negative feelings and thoughts should get professional help.)
You are not a bad mom if you have negative feelings or thoughts. In fact, it is quite normal.
Feeling angry, frustrated, worried, sad, or confused are okay feelings to have. And the thoughts that come with those feelings are normal to think. It is important that you don’t ignore these negative emotions.
One of the best ways to exercise self love is to acknowledge your feelings and thoughts. See them for what they are, which is your inner-self trying to have her needs and desires met.
Once you acknowledge your negative thoughts and feelings, learn to let go of the ones that are not helping you. Notice what it is that your inner-self wants, then let the rest go.
If you need help deciphering and letting go of your negative thoughts and feelings, I highly recommend the book, Decode Your Darkness, by E.K. Richards. It was a game-changer in how I viewed my thoughts and helped me love myself more.
You might also like: Mom Anger Management Tips
6) Memorize self love affirmations.
Self love affirmations can be very empowering if you know how to use them! The key to this self love exercise is to read, recite, or listen to the affirmations often so that you memorize them and they become a part of you.
Once they become a part of you, you can start to believe them and allow them to influence your life in a positive way.
How do you go about memorizing self love affirmations?
First, you need to pick out your self love affirmations. You can create them yourself or find some online. It’s helpful to not do too many affirmations so that you are actually able to remember them.
Some other important tips!! Be sure that the affirmations are in the first person (“I” not “you”) and are in the present tense. (As if you already believe it or feel that way.) There are some examples of self love and other positive affirmations for moms here.
There are many ways you can memorize your self love affirmations and experience the inner strength that comes from them:
- Meditation: As you meditate, you can think of your self love affirmations, or you can speak them out loud. Doing this in a relaxed state helps your mind to more easily accept the self love affirmations.
- Hypnosis: This is very similar to meditation. I’ve had my husband record a relaxing hypnosis script and edited it to include affirmations I wrote for myself. Listening to it almost every day empowered me and I found myself believing those affirmations very easily!
- Print them out: I chose to print out each of my affirmations (one affirmation per page) in big letters and stick them to my side of the room on the wall where I’ll see them every day.
- Sticky notes in places you’ll see them often: Write each affirmation on a sticky note and put it where you are for sure to see it and will pause to read it. You could put them on a door handle, in your car, on the bathroom mirror, next to where you charge your phone, on the fridge, etc.
- Recite them out loud: Have a list of your affirmations handy and say them out loud to yourself. It’s even more powerful if you can do it while looking at yourself in the mirror!
7) Learn about God’s love for you.
It is much more easy to exercise self love when you know how much God and Jesus love you.
Jesus suffered, died, and was resurrected so that you could experience joy and relief in life as a Christian mom. He loves you so much and wants you to know that.
Please make the time to get to know Jesus and how He feels about you. You can even ask God how He feels about you, and He’ll tell you if you listen.
You can also learn about Christ’s and God’s love through scripture stories. Study about Their mercy for God’s children, and read comforting words spoken by Jesus.
Scripture verses about God’s love for Christian moms
Romans 8:34-39 is a great example of how much God loves you, not just as a person but as a mom. (Read the verses below.) The actual verses are italicized, and my own added annotations are in bold.
34 Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.
Christ can come in between you and the negative thoughts and feelings you have about yourself.
35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
36 As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.
You work hard as a Christian mom and sacrifice your time, energy, and sometimes sanity for your children.
37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.
Despite the hardships you face in motherhood, Jesus can help you conquer your divine roll of being a mother!
38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Nothing will stop God and Jesus from loving you, even if you feel like you failed today at being a mom.
If nothing can stop God and Jesus from loving you, why beat yourself up for not being good enough? They know you and love you as you are, and They aren’t comparing you to the cool mom you saw in the grocery store calmly managing her 10 kids. (Who, by the way, is also struggling to keep it together.)
God and Jesus know how hard it is for you. They know your weaknesses, fears, inner battles, and failures. And yet they still love you and are cheering for you. They are on your team.
You can do this!
If you take nothing else away from this article, know that Jesus is with you and He can help you do this. You can do this, but it is only because of Him. Jesus can make your impossible possible. He can help you love yourself again. He can help you find the strength to have daily self love as a Christian mom.
Start practicing those self love exercises today and see how God works in your life!