Awake - Ten Days of Intentional Parenting

This is a passion of mine. Actually, living awake, living aware, living joyfully is a passion of mine -- one that I long to share. For the next ten days I will be doing a focused approach to Ten Days of Intentional Parenting. It will be a mixture of hands on activities, journal opportunities, memory making, heart seeking and more.

I am thrilled that you are here, right now, to walk this journey with me and others. In fact, as I've been writing these words I've been thinking about each person who decides to join -- whether in just reading or actively participating. You are here, you are reading for a reason.

And that reason? Being a better, more intentional mother.

It takes work. Discipline. Awareness.

Or like I love to say - being awake.

Our culture, our world, our media has the ability to lull us to sleep. We become so used to day after day rolling by so fast that we dull our senses, lose our joy, and parent on auto-pilot. Ten Days to Intentional Parenting will be a journey of waking up. Seeing the small things. Rejoicing. Looking at our own hearts. Seeking out our children's heart.

And being real.

There are no masks. There is no pretending. This will not make you the perfect parent. I don't believe in the perfect parent thing -- in fact, in my mind,  the perfect parent thing is a lie of this world guaranteed to put us back to sleep. It's set up to make us feel like we've failed, we'll never measure up, that we're no good, that we stink, that we just can't do it.

Not true.

Not true, not true, not true.

You can do it. You can mother with an intentional heart. You can find joy in the every day beautiful moments of life. It is a posture for your heart to live in -- a posture of being aware, awake, and really living for today.
Will you join me?

Here's what to expect: each day, in addition to my post, I will provide a journal page for you to download and print out. Now, if you're reading this on a Thursday, simply start on a Thursday.  There is no perfect day to start! I will also discuss the day on my facebook page {if you haven't joined make sure to click findingjoyfacebookpage to join}and we can build community as mothers. You are not alone. We moms are a team -- the more we link our arms together the stronger we will become which will make us more confident and intentional with our families.

Today's journal page? It's about being awake. Aware. It's a simple exercise in examining what you do well and what you'd like to see change. And then, there's a challenge at the end for you to do with your kids. That challenge? Spending a set amount of time with just them. It's training you, the mom, to not get distracted in our very busy world, and to instead really focus in on the lives that we are blessed to mother.

To get today's download {partial preview below} please click

 10 Days of Intentional Parenting Day 1 - Awake

Tomorrow? Tomorrow I'll be writing about our hearts, our mothering hearts, and the importance of letting our hearts feel. Part of that? Involves letting go and building up.

To go to Day 2 : Heart {and the next download page} click Heart
To go to Day 3 : See {and that download page} click See
To go to Day 4 : Listen {and that download page} click Listen
To go to Day 5 : Record {and that download page} click Record
To go to Day 6 : Grace {and that download page} click Grace
To go to Day 7 : Influence {and that download page} click Influence
To go to Day 8 : Work {and that download page} click WorkTo go to Day 9 : Family {and that download page} Click FamilyTo go to Day 10 : Celebrate {and that download page} click Celebrate
If you haven't subscribed and would like finding joy and this series to come directly to your inbox simply click -->>Subscribe to finding joy by Email {it's a two step process - make sure to confirm via the email sent to you} And please take time to visit many of the other wonderful 10 Days series listed below. See you tomorrow! Please also help me spread the word about this series - via fb likes, or a tweet, or a post, or even a pin, or a comment {I really do love to hear from you and if you're joining} - we've all worked hard! Thanks, friends!

The 10 Days Series is organized by iHomeschool Network, a collaboration of outstanding homeschool bloggers who connect with each other and with family-friendly companies in mutually beneficial projects.Visit us on Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter. And of course, click the image below to visit all the 10 Days posts from these homeschool moms of the iHomeschool Network. You'll be blessed with almost 300 posts on things ranging from  how to handle bad days to cultivating curiosity and teaching with Legos to cooking some fabulous gluten free/wheat free meals. Click the photograph to visit the iHomeschool Network site with links to all participants!