Episode 115
Have you ever thought of your life in terms of being satisfied with it or not? To be honest, I’m not sure the thought of whether I was “satisfied” in my life and motherhood really ever crossed my heart, but when Alyssa Bethke’s book title came across my desk, I thought about the notion of satisfaction…and it became very clear that while maybe it’s something that wasn’t obvious to me in the past, upon reflection I realized that it is something that probably showed up often in my actions and self-talk.
So we’re going to talk about it today—feeling satisfied in life and motherhood. Alyssa is going to share what brings her peace and satisfaction. We’re going to tackle obstacles to feeling satisfied and just unpack and encourage all at the same time. I’m really glad you’re here for this conversation. I know we both hope it leaves you feeling inspired and closer to satisfied.
Alyssa’s Bio: Alyssa Bethke is a mother of three children, Kinsley, Kannon, and Lucy, and a dog named Aslan. She and her husband, Jeff Bethke, live on Maui, and are bloggers, YouTubers, and hosts of The Real-Life podcast. Jeff and Alyssa are the New York Times bestselling authors of Jesus > Religion and It’s Not What You Think and Love That Lasts. They are passionate about encouraging and strengthening families through their awesome work at familyteams.com.
In this episode, Alyssa & I talk about:
- What prompted Alyssa to write her book Satisfied
- Looking outside ourselves for peace, joy, satisfaction, and fulfillment in things like shopping and scrolling
- Where Alyssa finds true, lasting satisfaction
- The wrestle of being on this side of heaven
- Normalizing ups and downs
- Believing only the highlight reels
- It’s the little things that make up our life
- Big events are few and far between
- Being surrounded by wonder
- Leaning into small moments
- Guarding our minds and thoughts
- Our lives are not divided
- Feeling satisfied in life and motherhood
- Holding both self and motherhood at once
- The gift of the Holy Spirit
- Answering callings
- Acknowledging different seasons of motherhood and life
- Seeing our kids as part of the mission and not a hindrance
- Pride vs. service
- Learning to hold different parts at different times
- Taking a holistic approach
- Moms are doing good, good work—our presence alone is such a gift
- Taking pressure off ourselves as moms
- Being a mom is enough
- Domestic Monastery book
- What dissatisfaction can look or feel like
- Obstacles to satisfaction
- Being gentle with ourselves
- When we complain to not be condemning of ourselves but curious instead
- Healing
- Societal messaging
- Give yourself time to unpack your heart
- God is gentle and for our healing, joy, and peace
- Repentance is a gift
- There is no one size fits all answer for everyone
- We have the opportunity for gentleness
- Alyssa and Jeff’s work for families
- The industrial revolution’s impact on families
- The place of dads in the family
Alyssa’s Links: Website and Instagram
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