"Do more for your family" and "Be present in the moment" are conflicting messages that moms hear everyday. You may have heard it described as being a Mary or a Martha.

Claire McGarry felt that tension and began to look deeper at that Bible story about those famous sisters. Along the way she discovered a gift from that story.

In this episode, Claire shares her G-I-F-T method where we

G-Gauge what our stress is
I-Invite it in
F-Filter through it with God's loving eyes
T-Transform it into grace at the feet of Jesus

Meet our Guest Claire:

Claire McGarry is the author of Grace In Tension:  Discover Peace with Martha and Mary, and the Lenten family devotionals, Abundant Mercy and With our Savior. She's the founder of mosaic of faith as well as a regular contributor to living faith Mornings with Jesus and Catholic Mom. She's also a freelance writer, and her work has appeared in These Days, The Secret Place, Chicken Soup for the Soul books and Keys for Kids, which is near and dear to my heart, is I looked forward to that arriving in my mailbox when I was a kid. And if that's not enough writing for you, she also blogs at shiftingmyperspective.com. Claire is a former lay missionary to Guatemala now living in New Hampshire with her husband and three children. 

Connect with me and let me hear your thoughts:

Website - http://www.thismomknows.com
FB - www.facebook.com/thismomknows
IG - www.instagram.com/thismomknowspodcast

Topics we cover:

• Claire's experience as a lay missionary in Guatemala
• Reasons for moving to New Hampshire
• Claire's journey as a mompreneur and writer
• Balancing priorities between family and business
• Importance of quality time and values in family life
• Writing for God as Claire's top priority
• Establishing a routine for strategic planning and scheduling
• The tension between doing and being, exemplified by Mary and Martha
• The misconceptions and labels associated with Mary and Martha
• Recognizing the positive aspects of tension and stress
• The GIFT acronym: Gauge, Invite, Filter, Transform
• Applying the steps of GIFT to navigate stress and tension
• Seeking clarity and seeing situations through God's eyes
• Identifying the good and taking transformative actions
• Her favorite time saving gadget/tool

Resources mentioned:

You can go even deeper in the book she has written called Grace in Tension: Discover Peace with Martha and Mary.

Her book, Mary and Martha were from the Gospel Luke

Some themes you'll hear in this episode are:

• we need both doing and being, and
• right action with the wrong intention, or wrong action with right intention will leave us feeling unbalanced
• In doing or being, Jesus can help us realign and choose the best

Claire's favorite gadget is her DustBuster!

Link to transcript: https://www.thismomknows.com/blog/episode-62 

Connect with Claire:

Website: https://shiftingmyperspective.com/

Facebook: https://web.facebook.com/ClaireMcGarryAuthor

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/clairemcgarrywrites

About This Mom Knows

Moms know a lot of things, and when we start talking, ideas form, energy builds, and we take action. This Mom Knows is a place for moms to mompreneurs to find encouragement, connection, and maybe even collaboration but most importantly community with moms who know.  So, grab a cup of coffee, maybe a paper and pencil to jot down an idea or two, and let's discover what This Mom Knows.