What if self-care wasn't just about rest—but about discovery? When we care for our bodies, minds, and souls in Christ-centered ways, we create the space to hear God's voice more clearly and step into the unique calling He's placed on our lives.
In this episode, we're exploring how intentional self-care moves us from simply surviving to truly thriving. Together, we'll see how daily stewardship opens up clarity, renewal, and deeper discernment of who God created us to be.
✨ Here's what we'll uncover: 💡 Why neglecting our needs leaves us stuck in survival mode—and how Christ-centered care breaks that cycle. 🙏 How caring for body, mind, and spirit equips us to notice God's nudges and invitations. 🕊 Practical ways to use the CARE framework for both daily balance and long-term discernment. 🌱 Why self-care is a pathway to uncovering our gifts, passions, and vocation.
Friend, we are God's masterpieces—created for good works (Ephesians 2:10). When we root our rhythms of care in Him, we discover more of who He created us to be and step into our calling with joy.
📩 Ready to take the next step? Email me at kara@karatrochta.com to set up your own Christ-centered self-care planning session. Let's create a plan that helps us bloom into who God made us to be! 🌼
Join The Nourished to Bloom Community: www.community.karatrochta.com
Instagram: www.instagram.com/karatrochta
The Nourished to Bloom Podcast Show Notes: www.podcast.karatrochta.com/shownotes
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So the last few weeks we have been talking about Christ
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centered self care. What it is, what does it look
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like, what is the purpose of self care when we put it
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through the lens of a Christ centered perspective.
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And so we're going to continue that conversation today because what
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if self care wasn't just about rest or recovery,
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but also about discovery? When we
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care for our bodies, our minds and our souls in that Christ
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centered way, we create space to better hear
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God's voice more clearly, more
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confidently, and we can step into that unique calling he's
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placed on our lives. So in today's episode, we're exploring
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how this intentional Christ centered self care doesn't
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just fill your cup, but it reveals more of who
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God made you to be.
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Welcome to the Nourish to Bloom podcast where your faith meets your
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health. I'm your host, Kara Trochta, a registered dietitian and
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certified Catholic coach, and I'm here to help you cultivate a deeper connection
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with your body, your spirit, and the nourishment that sustains them
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both. In a world filled with noise and confusion
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about food, health and body image, this podcast offers
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truth and healing from a Christ centered perspective. Together,
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we'll untangle the deep roots of diet culture and discover what it means
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to truly care for ourselves through joyful nourishment
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of mind, body and soul. We're here to dive into the
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transformative power of intuitive eating coupled with the rich teachings of our
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Christian faith. With every episode, I'll be cheering you on,
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offering insights, inspiration and practical tools to help
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you heal your relationship with food and embrace the beauty
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of your body as a temple of the Holy Spirit with
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confidence and courage that can only be found in Christ.
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Join me as we journey together towards a more holistic approach to wellness,
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one that honors the wisdom of your body as God's creation,
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the teachings of our faith, and the unique purpose you're called to
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fulfill. You were made to bloom,
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to come into full beauty and health in order to bear good fruit
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for the Lord with your life. So if you're ready to nourish your body,
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feed your soul and bloom into the best version of yourself, then you're
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in the right place. And I'm so happy you're here. Welcome
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to Nourish to Bloom, where every day is a sacred
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invitation to thrive. Hey there. Welcome back to
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the Nourish to Bloom podcast. So happy to be spending some time here
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with you this week. I hope your week is off to
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a great start. Now, last week on that podcast
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we got really practical in Our conversation about self
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care and I shared with you that care framework
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that I came up with. Check in action plan,
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renew and evaluate. And using that care
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framework allowed us to see how simple daily practices
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can move from self care that's
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overwhelming to self care that is really sustained,
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sustainable. So today we're going to shift our focus a little bit
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and we're not going to look at self care as just something
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that we do, but really understand more of
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why it is so important to us as Christian
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women. Because self care isn't about just being able to get through the day
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with less stress. It's about living your life from
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a place of clarity and alignment with God's design.
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Very early on in the episodes about self care we talked about how it was
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about stewardship of the gift that we are the gift that our bodies
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are our minds, our souls, the gift of the calling
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that he has put in each one of our lives. And so today
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we're going to get a little bit deeper into really that stewardship
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talk and about how self care is
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really not just about something that you're doing, but when we practice this
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Christ centered self care, it really opens, opens us up to
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that place of discovery, of being able to better hear
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God's voice and where he is calling us. Because when
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we neglect our self care it's. We
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often find ourselves living in just survival mode. I think we all know what that
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feels like, right? We're just too exhausted, we're
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distracted or we're really burned out. And
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when we get to this point we, we aren't really open or
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really aware to be able to notice God's invitations
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because we are just, we kind of have those blinders on of just
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trying to get through the day. Like we know what
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survival mode feels like. It is heavy, it is not a
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fun place to be. And because we kind of live in that those with
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those blinders on and we're just so focused on like oh if I
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could just get through this day. It doesn't leave us open
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to really being able to hear God's voice or
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notice the invitations that he's putting in in our, in our lives.
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And so when we adapt this Christ centered self care
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model, it helps us to quiet that noise because
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it helps us to restore our energy. It helps
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us to clear out that mental clutter and it
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calms our emotions. And when we're operating from
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that place, not survival mode, but really like
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this isn't a word y', all, but I'm just gonna come up with this thrival
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mode. I don't think thrival is a word, but it sounds great, doesn't it?
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So we're gonna go from survival mode to thrival mode.
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That's what Christ centered self care can do for us. We are
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again able to clear out that noise. We're energized.
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We don't have that, just mental clutter.
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And we're operating from a place of being emotionally calm.
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And that really allows us to be open to God's invitations.
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And so when our minds, our bodies and our spirits are all cared
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for, it allows us to better be able to discern
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where is God leading you, what gifts is
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he entrusting to you and how are you called to
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use them? And we can really dive into
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some scripture around this. We look at Ephesians, chapter 2, verse
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10. You are God's masterpiece created
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in Christ Jesus for good works.
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When we really put on that mindset of us
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being God's masterpiece and caring from ourselves, from
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that view that we are precious, that we are
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loved, that we are a masterpiece of God's
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creation, it really allows us
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to care for ourselves in a, in a really
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beautiful and divine way. And that allows
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us to be open to these works that the Lord is putting on
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our hearts. And that caring for yourself
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allows you to live out those good, good works with
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freedom, with joy and with a sense of
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fulfillment. So we can kind of compare and contrast
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this, right? We can look at this survival mode versus our thrival
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mode, right? So let's think about life without this
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Christ centered self care. And I don't think it's really hard for us
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to imagine this because I think all of us have experienced this at some
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point in our lives. And maybe you're still experiencing it now, right?
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But you're running on empty. You are maybe skipping
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meals, you are cutting sleep short, you're
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ignoring the stress that is wreaking havoc on your body.
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You have put your prayer life on the back burner.
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Maybe you're feeling stuck or resentful. You have
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a lot of self doubt about your worth and you
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can't imagine what God could be calling
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you to because you just feel so depleted. You feel like
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you just can't give anymore. So how
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would it be possible for you to even answer God's
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calling, right? So now let's look at this from that
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Christ centered self care view where we're practicing that care
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framework. So you're checking in daily
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to see, you know, what is the state of my mind, my body, my soul,
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my emotions, you're nourishing yourself consistently
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throughout the day. You've been able to set gentle
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boundaries, letting your yes mean yes and your no mean no.
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Maybe you're journaling. Maybe you're
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practicing joyful movement. And you've made space in your life
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for prayer. And over time, you're able to
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notice that, wow, when I do this, I'm more patient with my
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kids. Maybe you have this. This
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creativity within you that's been there, but it's just
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now being able to come to the surface. So you're able to be more
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creative in. In your work, in your play and your ministry and your
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giving and your serving. And you are more
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open to God's whispers. And so
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you. You're. You're just open to whatever the Lord is putting on your
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heart. So maybe you begin to dream again. Maybe you start
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to rediscover passions and gifts that you had
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buried under all of that exhaustion.
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And I want to point this out, y'. All, like, the difference
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isn't that your life has become easier.
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It's just that you've created space for the Lord to work.
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And within that space, he has given you room for
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clarity and renewal. And so you've opened that
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door for God to reveal more of
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who he is in your life and what he is calling you to.
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Right? So we're shifting from surviving to thriving, right?
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Our survival mode to thrival mode. It helps us shift from
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reacting to life to being able to respond with purpose
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and intention, from being defined by exhaustion
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to really defined by
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who we are, because we know who we
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are from the lens of God. So we are
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defined by the fact that he loves us, that we are a beloved child
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of God, that we are living his calling and his
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purpose and his will on our lives, through our vocations, through
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our interactions, through the things that we are doing throughout the
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day. And we shift from constantly wondering,
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like, who am I? Why would the Lord call me to do this?
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To just really resting in,
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I am a beloved daughter of God created for
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this moment. I just want to pause there, right?
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That idea of being created for this moment in time,
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that of. Of all of the
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timeline of the history of the kingdom of God,
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that He created you for this specific moment,
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for this specific time, and that he wants you to be open to whatever
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he's calling you to do, because he needs you to be open
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to that at this specific time. And
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taking care of yourself is going to allow you to be open
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to that and allow you to be able to
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live your best health and your Best wellness. So you
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can best serve the Lord in this moment that he needs you to
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serve in. So how can we kind of look at this with some
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practical steps, Right? So the first one would be using
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that care framework for discernment. So during
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those check ins you can ask things, you know, where am I feeling drawn?
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What is stirring in my heart or in my mind?
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Right? God often speaks in those small nudges, those little like
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heartstrings that he just keeps tugging on that
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gosh, the voice of the enemy keeps telling you to ignore, like how could I
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possibly do that? But the Lord is there and he's just, he's,
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he's working on your mind and your soul and asking you to
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just pray through these moments so you can be open to
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discerning his will. Number two, notice
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your energy patterns, right? Which self care
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practices leave you feeling more alive,
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more joyful or more connected? And when you are
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aware of these things, it's often pointing you to your
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natural God given strengths and passions.
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And then I think this one is so important for the
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time that we are living in. But creating space for silence,
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y', all, our world is so noisy.
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You could be in your quiet house and my God
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goodness, it is still so noisy from the
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societal pressures, from the social media, from the
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constant ticker tape of noise that is running through your head.
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But create space for silence because in that silence
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is where God's going to speak most clearly, most
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loudly, where you are most able to really hear
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what he is asking you to do. So maybe that's just starting with
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building five minutes of silence into your rhythm.
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And maybe that looks like it's in the car line pickup. But
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instead of reaching for your phone to scroll through social media, you
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just sit in that car and you kind of let the engine be the
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white noise, right, that's drowning everything else out.
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And you just sit for five minutes and let the Lord speak to you.
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And then number four, invite others in.
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Share your self care journey. Share it with a friend.
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Seek out a mentor. I'm available if you need a mentor, a
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spiritual director. Because God often uses
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community to help us confirm those callings, to help
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us see clearly, like mirror back to us
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what it is that he is calling us to do, to help us
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see ourselves as he sees us, to help us understand
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and recognize those strengths and those
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passions. And so this week I just want
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to challenge you and encourage you to
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see your self care practices as more than just
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something to do and really
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allow it to be a place of discovery and
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asking yourself. What is God revealing to me when I am
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rested and nourished and renewed?
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And how might these moments of care be pointing me toward my unique
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calling? You can journal those
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answers. You can bring them into prayer. You can
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email me those answers karaharatrokta.com
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and we can start a conversation. Remember, your vocation
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doesn't have to be this grand or flashy thing, but
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it really starts to reveal itself and begin with
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just faithfulness in your everyday life
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in doing the things that you are normally doing
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for his, for his glory, with his perspective
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shining on each of the things that you are doing and allowing it just to
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be a place of of constant conversation and constant prayer with
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Him. Remember, Christ
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centered self care doesn't just refresh you, but it can
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really help you uncover the masterpiece that God created you
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to be. That you are worthy of being cared
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for and that by tending to your whole self, you make room
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for his voice, his dreams and his mission in your life.
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I thank you so much for joining me this week. I
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hope that you have a beautiful and blessed week. And
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guys, I'm serious if you want to talk about self care since me an email
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and we can set up some time to chat about it. It's I
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think one of the most beautiful and practical ways that we can
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really shift our wellness and
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really get to that place of thriving and not just surviving.
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So I love to talk about this. Shoot me an email
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karaharatrokta.com we can set up some time to talk
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about self care. I mentioned, you know, if you are looking for
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for a mentor, I am available for that. I love
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mentoring moms in this transition phase as we're kind of like
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trying to figure out, you know, how to better take care of ourselves. What is
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this mission that we are being called to? How are things looking different in each
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of these phases of motherhood? So shoot me
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an email if you if you want to talk. I'd be happy to set up
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some time with you. But again, I hope you have a beautiful and blessed week.
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I as always, thank you for joining me here on the podcast. I look
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forward to this every week and I
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just remember beauty held as a seed, beauty shared as a flower.
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Y', all, this is your time to bloom. God created
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you in this moment to be able to bloom, to come
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into that full health and beauty so you can boldly
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and confidently live for the Lord. That is my challenge.
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That is my mission to you. I will continue to
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pray for you. Please pray for me until next week.
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Take care and we'll talk soon. Bye.