October 2, 2018

How to strengthen your family and yourself-- Come to Mom Power

If you’re like I once was, you might find yourself feeling fear when you consider your family and all of the challenges pressing on them. With the opposition that infiltrates our families, you may consider your home more of a war zone.
Your home is a zone, but it is not a war zone when you reclaim your power as a mom. It becomes a Heart Zone where you and your family can thrive.
The battles I have faced with my family have led me to speak boldly and claim my MOM Power! Every mom has power, even if you feel powerless.
I invite you to claim your power through my new MOM Power class. This Eight-week online experience is designed to help you gain the freedom to be the mom you want to be in your heart zone. This is the place where you fight fiercely for the ones you love the most.
My next MOM Power class begins Tuesday, October 9th and runs through Tuesday, November 27th from 9-10 am MT each week. The class is online, so you can attend no matter where you live!
ALL mothers, ALL faiths, ALL ages, ALL shoe sizes (I'll bring my 11's!) will find this powerful and helpful. Unite with me to be a purposeful and powerful mom.


Please reach out to me and my team at support@mompowertraining.com with any questions.
I'm only brave enough to do this because I have you to do it with! Thank you from the bottom of my heart for that!
Love and blessings,
Karen Broadhead
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May 13, 2018

Motherhood – A Grand Tradition of Ups...and Downs


Motherhood – A Grand Tradition of Ups...and Downs 

Don't Get Stuck in the Downs 

Each of you have been in my heart and in my mind this past week leading up to Mother's Day.  

I have been studying Elder Jeffrey R. Holland’s April 1997 General Conference talk, “Because She is a Mother” this past week.  While studying this talk, the Spirit taught me so many truths.  Of course, I wanted to share them with all the amazing mothers I know! Especially my Mothers Who Know sisters! 

This week in our 9am Mothers Who Know meeting we discussed how to keep a truthful perspective about how we are doing in our stewardships as mothers.  It is challenging to not assume we are failing when our child is behaving contrary to our values and God's commandments. 

 So, when we are being celebrated for our efforts as mothers, we feel the evidence is overwhelming that the last thing we should be comfortable with is the results of those efforts. This can only be made worse as we hear talks, see videos, and listen to songs that highlight glorious insightful successes of other mothers.  

Add to this the tactic of our enemy satan to fog the truth and fill us with lies.  He uses our obvious and evident messy failure at our house to convince us into literally hating Mother’s Day. 

Consider what’s really going on here.  Is there truth behind our misery or are we being deceived? 

Elder Holland shares: 

“Sometimes the decision of a child or a grandchild will break your heart. Sometimes expectations won’t immediately be met. Every mother and father worries about that. Even that beloved and wonderfully successful parent President Joseph F. Smith pled, ‘Oh! God, let me not lose my own.’ That is every parent’s cry, and in it is something of every parent’s fear. But no one has failed who keeps trying and keeps praying. You have every right to receive encouragement and to know in the end your children will call your name blessed, just like those generations of foremothers before you who hoped your same hopes and felt your same fears.” 

Consider the disappointment of some of those mothers before us.  Elder Holland points out: 

 “ours is the grand tradition of Eve, the mother of all the human family, the one who understood that she and Adam had to fall in order that “men [and women] might be” and that there would be joy.” 

As Elder Holland puts it; “ours is the grand tradition of these noble mothers”. This tradition includes both great success and great pain. Ups and downs! 

Eve was a mother who had some serious messes at her house.  Her son Cain listened to satan more than God, killed his brother Abel and then pledged his allegiance to satan and served him in darkness. For a mother, this would be devastatingly painful. 

The mothers of the sons of Helaman sent their young, inexperienced sons off to war to fight a fierce enemy they knew very well.  They understood how much the Laminates hated those they sought to kill, because they had lived among them and once thought as they thought and lived as they lived.  Miraculously none of these sons were lost but they had to see all their sons wounded, some of them with very deep wounds.  This could cause a mother high levels of shame and regret if she were one of the mothers whose sons wounds were so deep that each time she looked at him she was reminded by the handicap he lived with - of what he gave up for her to be safe. 

Sariah, the mother of Laman and Lemuel, had some pretty unbelieving, disobedient, disrespectful, grumpy sons who had such bad tempers they would consider beating, tying up or killing their brother when they were mad.  I can just imagine the tears that welled up in her eyes as they would sing their day’s version of “There is Beauty All Around, When There’s Love at Home” for Family Home Evening.  I'm sure she would have wondered in frustration and overwhelm; “What else can I do? I’ve tried every way I can think of to teach them that in our family ‘we don’t hit…we use our words,’ but they just won’t listen.”  

Mary, the mother of Jesus, had to watch her perfect loving son be publicly disrespected, arrested, tortured, beaten, mocked and belittled and finally, brutally murdered right before her eyes. How incredibly tormenting and painful to a mother's heart…her very soul. 

Heavenly Mother had to watch countless numbers of her children turn away from their Father and seek to destroy His plan for our happiness.  She had to watch as one of her most distinguished sons – Lucifer - used his influence to deceive his brothers and sisters, taking advantage of their vulnerabilities, instilling doubt, and filling them with fear.  I’m sure Her mother heart broke as She considered his motive of wanting to have honor and glory.  I can’t help but wonder what Her council might have sounded like as She attempted to guide him, yet understood that nothing She said or did would ultimately dissuade him from mis-using his agency.    

The kind of conversations She and Father must have had before Father had to cast them out of His presence.  The kind of yearning and heart ache She had after they had to leave and what Her heart, in all Her motherly love, must still feel as she watches the casualties of war continue, the truth that 1/3 of her children will never experience anything that The Father has promised.  

I think it would be safe to say that THE VERY BEST OF MOTHERS had really big messes in their families and experienced the heart ache and sadness we feel when our children struggle or fail in painful ways. 

Get ready, tune in – sarcasm to follow:  Maybe instead of being filled with shame and sadness on Mother’s Day we can embrace the tradition of the noble mothers before us…Living the tradition of the good, the bad, and the ugly…  LOL. ðŸ˜Š We are living every mother's dream since the beginning of time.  Accepting the ups and the downs with courage and faith!  

Seriously. Consider how absurd it is to think that only the mothers who break from tradition and seem to have only “awesome” at their house are good mothers.  What if we were to embrace that sticking to tradition is 

Heavenly Father’s plan.  As we - like those mothers who went before are keeping the tradition of believing in Heavenly Father’s great plan as we honor agency.  We are standing and fighting here just as we did in the pre-existence for the cause of Christ.  When we have pain in our mothering and see evidence of our less than perfect results as our children work the plan, our perspective needn't be “I hate Mother’s Day because all I can see is my failure.” Or “I hate Mother’s Day because it makes me feel so sad at my children’s failures to follow God’s plan.”  Or “I avoid going to church on Mother’s Day and warn all near me to not celebrate me because I’d rather isolate myself in a dark corner and focus on my wounds of shame that satan convinced me I should have.”   

Instead, Elder Holland explains a brighter perspective when he said;  

“may I say to mothers collectively, in the name of the Lord, you are magnificent. You are doing terrifically well. The very fact that you have been given such a responsibility is everlasting evidence of the trust your Father in Heaven has in you. He knows that your giving birth to a child does not immediately propel you into the circle of the omniscient.” 

Then he points out what we can do to embrace the tradition of noble mothers.  In summary: 

·         Strive to love God and live the gospel 

·         Plead for that guidance and comfort of the Holy Spirit promised to the faithful;  

·         Go to the temple to both make and claim the promises of the most sacred covenants a woman can make in this world;  

·         Show others, including your children, the same caring, compassionate, forgiving heart you want heaven to show you;  

·         Try your best to be the best parent you can be   

...“If you do these things you will have done all that a human being can do and all that God expects you to do.”    

Elder Holland concludes:   

“Yours is the work of salvation, and therefore you will be magnified, compensated, made more than you are and better than you have ever been as you try to make honest effort, however feeble you may sometimes feel that to be. 

Remember, remember all the days of your motherhood: ‘Ye have not come thus far save it were by the word of Christ with unshaken faith in him, relying wholly upon the merits of him who is mighty to save.’

Rely on Him. Rely on Him heavily. Rely on Him forever. And ‘press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope.’  

You are doing God’s work. You are doing it wonderfully well. He is blessing you and He will bless you, even—no, especially—when your days and your nights may be the most challenging. Like the woman who anonymously, meekly, perhaps even with hesitation and some embarrassment, fought her way through the crowd just to touch the hem of the Master’s garment, so Christ will say to the women who worry and wonder and sometimes weep over their responsibility as mothers, ‘Daughter, be of good comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole.’ And it will make your children whole as well.” 

Fellow moms, I invite you to study this article as the Mother’s Day gift it is to a wounded mother’s heart.  I invite you to allow His light to wash away the darkness the adversary is deceiving you with.  How about we give ourselves the huge Mother’s Day gift of celebrating that we are the CRUSHER.  Satan is just a bruiser.  He has no power over us unless we give it to him.   

Take back your power by celebrating your efforts and all the heart you have given to keep with tradition and remain in the truth of your divine identity and purpose.  We were never meant to be perfect at our mothering job.  Our divine identity and purpose is not to be a Savior for our children – they already have one.  The way we truly honor our Father, His son - our Lord and Redeemer – and our foremothers is to believe in ourselves and our children; because the everlasting tradition is that even though we may struggle with our stewardship as a mother from time to time…God never ceases to be God and we know:  

“HE LIVES TO COMFORT ME WHEN FAINT, HEAR MY SOUL’S COMPLAINT, WIPE AWAY MY TEARS, COMFORT ALL MY FEARS… “ 

Don’t break with tradition!  Honor the eternal promises that are ours because of Christ!  Celebrate the privilege of being a Mother Who Knows, knows that she walks with God and knows that her work helps in bringing about His work and His glory - through the ups and the downs! 

I honor you as the divine women each of you are. 

Together in the fight! 

With love, 

Karen  

December 22, 2017

A Christmas Message to all Mothers Who Know


I want to wish you a very Merry Christmas from my home to yours.  How wonderful it would be if I could open my door and invite you in to my entry way with a hug and a heartfelt; “Thank you for coming, Merry Christmas;” and express my love and appreciation for you.”
If this beautiful daydream were to come true and we were to spend some time together, I’m sure at some point I would have the opportunity to show you my favorite holiday decoration…My simple, but awesomely special Nativity.
It is so special to me because each piece has been created and handmade by my husband over the years.  It is unique and one of a kind, made by someone’s hands and heart I appreciate and love very much. 

I would want to pick up the first piece my husband gave me years ago to show you how much I love it.  The figure of Mary cradling baby Jesus in her arms and holding him softly up to her face, so their cheeks were touching is beautiful and so meaningful to me.

Sisters, how often have we done this with our tiny ones.  I’m sure you can recall as I can the special, even sacred feelings of sweet peace and joy that filled your heart and mind as you considered your love and dedication to your child as you held them close to you.
I have often wondered and pondered about Mary, especially at Christmas time.  I try to imagine her experience and feelings as she heard a heavenly angel tell her she was blessed among women and ask her to be the mother of Christ our Savior…her Savior.
My ponderings about Mary were enlarged when Elder L. Whitney Clayton said the following in the April General Conference of this year.  
Mary had been a young woman when the angel Gabriel appeared unto her. At first she had been “troubled” by being called “highly favoured” and “blessed … among women … and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be.” Gabriel reassured her that she had nothing to fear—the news he brought was good. She would “conceive in [her] womb … the Son of the Highest” and “bring forth a son … [who] shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever.”
Mary wondered aloud, “How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?”

The angel explained but only briefly, affirming to her that “with God nothing [is] impossible.”
I, like Mary, “when she cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be,” on a much lesser level than what was asked of her -  have been troubled at first when Heavenly Father asks things of me that I don’t understand as a woman and mother.  Thinking surely, He must be worried as He sees clearly my weakness and lack of faith or perspective.
I wonder if He can see more in us than we can in ourselves?  Perhaps when He is asking us to walk through difficult things we don’t understand, He is seeing us as His highly favored daughter, who is blessed among women because of the knowledge and power we have in the Gospel of Jesus Christ and our covenant promises with Him.
We can all relate to the feelings of fear and discomfort when we find out a loved one has fallen to a pattern of unwanted behavior that can cause many consequences and needs support to heal.  Our lives can be turned upside down and we can wonder what hit us.  
We want to know the why.  “Why did this happen and how?”  “Why am I the one in pain when it feels so undeserved?”  “Why is such a painful thing required of me and my family when we have tried so hard to get it right?”  “Why can’t I find the answers and support I need?”  “Why is there no peace or hope?”
Here is a fact I have come to realize.  It seems to be true for almost any pain - if we want to find peace and hope in the pain of trial and start gaining a growth perspective that will lead us to healing - we have to want to find Christ more than we want to find the “Why.”
Mary was able to accept God’s will in faith because she wanted Him more than she wanted to understand all the answers.  When the angel told her that with God nothing is impossible, she believed him.
Remember what Elder Clayton taught us that Mary did? 

“Mary humbly responded that she would do what God asked, without demanding to know specifics and undoubtedly in spite of having countless questions about the implications for her life” …can I/we?

She committed herself without exactly understanding why He was asking that of her or how things would work out…. can I/we?

She accepted God’s word unconditionally and in advance,4 with little knowledge of what lay ahead. With simple trust in God, Mary said, “Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word.”5

It is beautiful that faith in our Lord Jesus Christ is the FIRST principle of the gospel.  
Mary wasn’t perfect, but she was the perfect Mortal Mother for Jesus.  She was willing to have faith in Him first.  We’re not perfect, but it’s important to consider we are the best mortal mothers for our children even with all our imperfections. And we can follow Mary’s example of believing Christ, and no matter the storms we are asked to stand in…put our faith in Him first.
Even when, it’s downright hard sometimes to do this! 

Here is the “why” we should fight for this…
“When we decide to do “whatsoever [God] saith unto” us, we earnestly commit to align our everyday behavior with God’s will. Such simple acts of faith as studying the scriptures daily, fasting regularly, and praying with real intent deepen our well of spiritual capacity to meet the demands of mortality. Over time, simple habits of belief lead to miraculous results. They transform our faith from a seedling into a dynamic power for good in our lives. Then, when challenges come our way, our rootedness in Christ provides steadfastness for our souls. God shores up our weaknesses, increases our joys, and causes “all things [to] work together for [our] good.”6  Elder L. Whitney Clayton
May we all follow Mary’s example to accept God’s will and use our trials, and even questions, to come closer to Christ and let Him work miracles in our lives.
I wish you all a very Merry Christmas as you enjoy the Savior’s love this special time of year!



#LightTheWorld Day 22 and Day 23

LISTEN HERE to our Day 22 #LightTheWorld Podcast: "The War Between Remembering and Forgetting"

"Why do I (or my loved one) forget my important values and do things I will regret later? How do I win this war between remembering and forgetting what matters to me so I can live up to the person I want to be?"

Today’s #LightTheWorld podcast features Maurice Harker, Director of Life Changing Services, discusses personal self mastery and preventing addictive behaviors. Maurice shares tools and techniques to help you make choices consistent with your values and the covenants you have made to always remember Jesus Christ. For “that which ye have seen me do even that shall ye do.” -3 Nephi 27:21

Our mission at Life Changing Services is to provide training and healing for the WHOLE FAMILY when a family member needs instruction to overcome a pornography addiction or other sexual misbehavior. We provide impactful therapeutic programs for LDS men, women, young men and young women and FREE SUPPORT programs for their family members such as Mothers Who Know and WORTH. Please email us (generaloffice@lifechangingservices.org) or call 1-877-HERO-877 for more information.

…………………

From Alana Gordon: 
“Luke spent years trapped in addiction with no hope of ever breaking free. When he came forward and told me about the years of lies and betrayal, I felt like I had been ripped from my safe, happy life and thrown into an emotional prison against my will.  I too could not see how to break free.  In the darkest of hours, it was the Savior’s light, and grace, and love that found us.  This is our story…"

LISTEN HERE to our Day 23 #LightTheWorld Podcast: Luke and Alana's Story of Healing After Addiction

"Can adult men really gain mastery over sexual (pornography) addiction? Can marriages recover from severe betrayal trauma?"

Today’s #LightTheWorld podcast features Luke and Alana, leaders and coordinators of Men of Moroni, our self-mastery training program for LDS men. They discuss healing and boundaries after betrayal trauma: the husband and wife experience different paths of healing on the road toward forsaking, forgiveness and repairing the marriage. Luke discusses Men of Moroni, Alana discusses the WORTH group (FREE therapeutic program for wives looking for healing from a spouses' addiction).
"I was in prison, and ye came unto me" - Matthew 25:36

Our mission at Life Changing Services is to provide training and healing for the WHOLE FAMILY when a family member needs instruction to overcome pornography addiction or sexual misbehavior. We provide impactful therapeutic programs for LDS men, women, young men and young women and FREE SUPPORT programs for their family members such as Mothers Who Know and WORTH. Please email us (generaloffice@lifechangingservices.org) or call 1-877-HERO-877 for more information.
 

December 19, 2017

A Christmas Poem

A beautiful Christmas poem from one of our Warrior Moms.  I thought this was so perfect for all of us, I asked for permission to share with all of you.  Kathy graciously agreed. 
 
To all Mothers Who Know this Christmas season:
 
A Christmas Message 
Throughout the Christmas season, and the whole year through,
The Savior of the world is calling, out to me and you.
“I’ll lift your heavy burdens, and make them oh so light,
If you will just have faith in me, and try to do what’s right.

“I’ve paved the way for you to go, if you’ll just follow me,
Your willingness to draw me near, will keep you at the tree.
Keep putting on your armor, so your prepared to fight,
For Satan seeks to have you, and he fights, day and night.

You have no need to worry, for I am always here,
Remember God was not the one, who gave the gift of fear.
Your loved ones all around you, were place with so much care,
I’m confident in who you are, and all that you must bear.

Your power mom from head to toe, be sure to use the tools,
For those who don’t, will find themselves, in line with other fools.
Every morning when you rise, fall down upon your knees,
I love the time you talk with me, come visit, will you please?

Open up the scriptures, seek answers to your prayers,
The words of modern prophets, can sweep away your cares.
Take pen in hand and listen well, to where the spirit guides,
For if you do, I promise you, a calm and joyful ride.”
We celebrate the birth of Christ, every single year.
The gift he wants from each of us, he’s spoken oh so clear.
Let’s lay our troubles at his feet, and give our very best.
For then we’ll see things clearly, and we won’t feel so stressed.

Written by
Kathy Foster
12/6/2017