Being a wife and a mother brings a lot of joy, happiness, and laughter to our lives. From the cute, yet crazy things, our kids say to us every day. To the loving way, our husbands often look at us when they think no one is looking. Yet with all the awesome things that come along with being wives and mothers, every moment is not.
There are times, more often than not, that life is hard and it takes a lot of work. Putting in the work for our marriages and our families is worth it, but it can also take a toll on us. So it’s important through all the ups and downs of life that you make sure you invest in yourself.
For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church.
Ephesians 5:29 (NKJV)
Practicing good self-care is not only for us, but also helps us to be better wives and mothers. That old saying “If mama’s not happy, nobody’s happy” has some truth to it. You are often the heartbeat of the home. Taking care of that ‘heart’ and taking the time to invest in yourself is important for the well-being of the entire family. So here are five simple ways you can invest in yourself.
1) Have Regularly Scheduled Time With God
Maintaining and investing time in your relationship with God is key. God wants to spend time with you just as much, if not more, than you do with Him. Spending time with God feeds your mind, body, and soul in a way that nothing else can. For me, my day just does not go right if I do not start it with my morning devotions, prayer, and praise and worship. How you spend that time with God is completely up to you. There is no right or wrong way to spend time with God, just that you do.
2) Journaling
There is something very powerful about writing things down. Seeing your thoughts, prayers, goals, or visions on paper is empowering and freeing. Just like with spending time with God, there is no right or wrong way to do this either. This is simply something you are doing just for yourself. I recently bought myself a journal Bible, so I can write notes while studying my Bible. I also have a journal that I just write in. How you journal, what you journal about, and where you journal is completely up to you.
3) Schedule Dates With Your Girlfriends (Even If It’s a Phone Date)
Spending time with a really good girlfriend or two is also a great way to invest in yourself. There are just some things that, no matter how in tune or knowledgeable, our husbands just will not understand.
As wives and mothers, we need someone in our lives that understands the things we go through while also supporting and encouraging us. Your date with your girlfriends can be something as big as a girlfriends’ only getaway or something simple like grabbing some coffee before you have to pick the kids up from school.
If you are like me and some of your best girlfriends also live out of town, then you can schedule a phone date. My girlfriends and I pick a day and time in the week that works for both of us. Then we take the time to talk and catch up. Spending time with and investing time in those relationships is what’s most important.
4) Take a 30 Minute Life Break
With so much going on in our everyday lives, we all need a life break from time to time. By life break, I mean you take a break from your to-dos and normal everyday to something by yourself and for yourself that is all about you. You take 30 minutes to do something that brings you joy and that you enjoy. The possibilities are endless. Consider things as simple as reading a book, coloring, crafting, or watching your favorite show on Netflix.
5) Hug, Kiss, and Tell Your Husband That You Love Him
Showing love and being affectionate towards your husband is as much for you as it is for him. Feeling connected to your husband is very important. This connection is not just physical, but emotional. Whenever I feel like my husband and I are not connecting, it causes a void for me.
So making sure I stay connected with my husband is very important, and the same goes for you. There is nothing like being wrapped in the arms of the man that God destined for you to be with.
Taking the time to invest in yourself does not take much, but it is worth the investment. With these five simple tips, we can all practice taking better care of ourselves.
I’d love to hear your favorite way to invest in yourself in the comments!
So true! I think regularly scheduled time with God is the biggest improvement I can make.
t is one of the best things we all can do, Amy.
These are all wonderful ideas, and I make use of them. One of my “treats” is a trip alone to Target!
#1 is definitely key!! Keeping God first is what keeps me grounded. I also agree about showing affection to your husband. This can be more difficult when you have young kids. My husband and I try to make time together a priority. We work together to put the kids to bed so we can have quality time together in the evenings.
Journaling – and now blogging – really helped me make myself a priority this year. I’m so glad we have the same line of thought there! <3
Oh I LOVE this list! All 5 things are things that I need to do MORE! I am trying to make time with God on the top of my list! It’s sad how it goes on the back burner sometimes…thank you for the gentle reminder 🙂
I’m all about some self indulging – I think everyone in today’s world is so “go go go”. This is an awesome post! It’s good to get back to the basics of loving yourself. Thanks for sharing!
I love the idea of a 30-minute life break! I’m gonna get on that today! ;-D Thank for sharing, sometimes we all need reminders to invest time in ourselves.
These are such sweet, simple ideas. They are all so meaningful too, not just the “pamper yourself” types of things I had anticipated, which is fun! I love that you look at affection with your husband as investing in yourself too!!!
Thanks, Kayla. The ‘pamper yourself’ ways of self-care are important too, who doesn’t like a mani/pedi from time to time, but not everything. I do not know any wife who doesn’t enjoy a little quality time with the hubby. ?
I love this post! I struggle w the time to just do nothing- and being ok w it! I love the idea of scheduling time w long distance friends!
I love all of these ideas! I do find that starting my day in God’s Word is critical to my being what I need to be for my family during the day. It means getting up pretty early, but if I can make that a habit, it does get easier.
I also really need that 30-minute life break some days! Reading is a favorite hobby for me, so half an hour with a good book can give me the boost I need to get through the rest of the day.
Thanks for sharing this list!
We could all use 30 minutes here and there to relax from daily life. Great post!
Thanks, Kristen! It’s the little things in life that we often neglect that can make a world of difference.
These are so good! Time with God is certainly the most important! 🙂
Great tips! It’s so important to take care of yourself!
I love the idea of the phone date with your girlfriends!!! I find life is so crazy busy and we all live in different parts of the province so we never seem to have nights out (compared to our once a week coffee dates a few years ago!). I am going to message them now to set that up! <3
I totally agree that it’s important to invest in yourself. I workout everyday and I make sure to shut down about an hour before bedtime and kick back and drink hot tea and hang out with my family.
These are great!! I’m a big reader so I love reading inspiration self help books about marriage, parenting, improving myself, etc. I like to invest in myself by taking some time away with a great book and a nice hot cup of earl grey. ??☕️?
These are so sweet. Scheduling uninterrupted dates with God always makes my day/week go so much smoother and better.
Yes! I love this! One way I love to invest in myself is spending a few minutes every morning listening to a motivational podcast. Something to kick off my day with some positivity & the right mindset!
XO-L
Lots of great tips here but I think the first one, prioritizing time with God, is the most important!
such a great list. One of the things that I do (almost) every day is close my eyes for about 10 mins. I need to decompress so I can be the best I can be for my family for the rest of the day.
Great post! I love these ideas for making sure you are taking good care of yourself.
Taking a thirty minute life break sounds like the perfect thing to do! I find myself busy all the time and really need to do this more often.
With Love Rochelle
Phone dates! Great idea!
This list is great and your blog is beautiful. I like to read on my kindle or paint my nails.
Thanks so much, April.? And these are great ways to invest in yourself. I do not know what I would do without my Kindle. It’s the first thing I pack whenever I travel too. ?
I treat myself by waking up before everyone to have my quiet and prayer time before all the noise of the day starts.
That’s a great way to treat yourself, Kenya. I love my quiet time in the morning too!
My new investment is exercise. Love your blog!
Thanks so much, Kierstan! And that’s awesome that you have started to take better care of yourself by exercising. Exercising is an great way to invest in yourself.
These are great tips to having me time. I find that I get so lost in everything else that I forget to just take a break and have some time to myself or with friends.
I love everything about this! Making time for yourself is so important and often overlooked for moms.
30 Minute life break and time with a girlfriend (even if it’s the phone!) are awesome! I am continuing to learn that finding time to invest in myself is about finding rhythms throughout my week to steal that time for myself. Love this post!
I love the idea of a ‘life break’. Every now and then I give up on my to do list and just sit on the sofa with a cup of tea. It’s lovely and so refreshing. I’m going to start calling it a life break too 🙂
Yes! This is important! One way I treat myself is by drinking my coffee from the couch that faces a huge window so I can watch the sun rise each morning!
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