Find Joy In July + July Affirmations (Audio)
Being Intentional About Finding Joy in Every Season.
JULY AFFIRMATIONS
Take a deep breath. Listen…and receive.
I hope this helps you. Let me know in the comments section if it did.
For many, whether you’re a mum or not, July comes with some reflection. It’s halfway through the year and you may not have crushed the goals you set at the beginning of the year. Or you feel like you should be further along by now. I wrote more about this below.
If you’re a new mum it may just be another typical month. The same routines, lack of sleep, and getting by day to day. The mundane of motherhood. For many, it’s the summer holidays. On the side of the world where I live, it’s winter. Thankfully winter is mild here, but it’s still a holiday month. For parents, the thought of filling their child’s schedule or making sure they’re occupied in some way may be daunting.
July means different things to different people. For the mother who has been forced to slow down and it feels like you haven't achieved much in 2024 or it’s holiday season and the second half of the year and you feel, here are some things I’m investing in as I intentionally seek joy in this season: -
Gratitude and Contentment
But godliness with contentment is great gain, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content.”
Gratitude opens the door to contentment. Focusing more on what you’ve been blessed with instead of what you think you’re lacking will reduce anxiety and stress. The grass isn’t greener on the other side, it’s greener where you water it. I started a gratitude jar recently. I realised an actual gratitude jar would be more work than I thought in this current season and I got the idea( shout out H.S.) to do a hand-drawn gratitude jar that I could fill up over time and eventually have a book filled with gratitude jars. Much easier to carry around than physical gratitude jars.
Sitting with Jesus more
“And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus,”
This is where I want to be a lot more these days. Why? Because the perspective from above is different. And spending time with the Life-giver will give you life. Now sitting doesn’t always mean sitting down, literally. If you have a small kid or kids, you may not have much time to sit leisurely, but the idea is to bring Jesus into whichever space you find yourself in, mentally and physically. Share the difficult moments and the joyful moments. Bring Him into all the moments. On the days that I do this, my perspective changes. I truly believe in these moments I’m sitting in heavenly places and I can see things differently.
Don’t fight the pace of your current season
I saw a quote recently, that I’ve already seen a few times and it’s a good reminder to us mothers.
“If you include your children they might slow you down but maybe that was the point.” - Unknown
Like it or not, having children will slow you down, in a good way I believe and fighting that pace will cause more anxiety and stress. My walks with my son back home from his school are always filled with one discovery or the other. I'm learning to indulge patiently. He’s unhurried. Curious. Taking everything in. In this noisy, fast-paced world, I could learn a thing or two.
Avoid trying to ‘Christianese’ your feelings away
I think sometimes, as Christians, we fear our feelings or we fear acknowledging them. We feel that in doing this we push ourselves away from God, because ‘God is not an emotional God’, but I believe the opposite is the case. The best way to acknowledge and process your feelings is with God. Its not necessarily complaining because you’re doing it with Him, not at Him. If anyone bring you out of that dump it’s Him.
So remember these things, sweet Mama. Gratitude is a saving grace and there’s no place more comforting than sitting with Jesus and bringing him into every space. Give yourself permission to slow down and instead of denying how you feel, process them with the One who created them.
“Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is holy to our Lord.
Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”
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JUNE AFFIRMATIONS Take a deep breath. Listen…and receive. I hope this helps you. Let me know in the comments section if it did.