3952 Are You Chasing the Wrong Part of the Heart?
Create Your Now with Kristianne Wargo
Marriage. A word that conjures images of bliss, partnership, and forever—but also confusion, frustration, and unexpected challenges. When two people say, “I do,” it isn’t just a promise to love; it’s an entry into a complicated dance of needs, expectations, and realities. And somewhere along the way, you might find yourself wondering: Are you chasing the wrong part of the heart? Let’s be real—too many people step into marriage thinking it’s all about them. They want their partner’s role to serve their needs, validate their feelings, and eliminate inconveniences. Desire to be...
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3951 Prepare the Way
Create Your Now with Kristianne Wargo
When your children are little, parenting feels all-consuming. Overwhelm doesn't even seem like a fitting word, yet you’re hands-on from feeding to teaching to fixing. Every day is full of immediate needs, constant crisis management, and unconditional love sprinkled throughout. It’s easy to believe that how you prepare the way means just getting them through those early years. But then, they grow. They move into adolescence, young adulthood, and beyond—and suddenly the kind of parenting required shifts. Desire to be supported and encouraged by other like-minded women? Join us at the...
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3950 Choose What You Carry Forward
Create Your Now with Kristianne Wargo
So much in life is left in the trenches of what we lost or what didn't make it. Success can leave scars as much as failures. But the sting is always greater when something does not go your way. Yet, that's not how your story gets to end. There is joy in the morning, and you get to choose what you carry forward. That choice isn’t because of how much you know or the wit you’ve picked up along the way—though those add richness to your journey. Desire to be supported and encouraged by other like-minded women? Join us at the . It’s because your power lies in what you decide to hold...
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3949 Lean Into Leverage
Create Your Now with Kristianne Wargo
If you have a life where everything is perfectly aligned—ideal schedule, boundless energy, and endless resources—great. This isn’t for you. But for the rest of us? Especially when it comes to healthy living, the reality is messier, more complicated, and rarely perfect. So, instead of getting caught up in the magnitude of all the things 'health,' maybe it's all about how you lean into leverage. And not the leverage you are probably thinking of. Desire to be supported and encouraged by other like-minded women? Join us at the . That’s why chasing some ideal “health” picture rarely...
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3948 Play YOUR Game Always!
Create Your Now with Kristianne Wargo
It’s easy to get caught up in the hustle: where you’re going, what you need to do next, and—most dangerously—what everyone else is doing. When the pressure piles up, it’s tempting to look sideways, to compare your progress, your strategy, or your style to those around you. But if you want to reach places you haven’t been, you have to play YOUR game always! That means something simple yet incredibly powerful: show up as YOU every single day. No noise, no side distractions, no sneaky comparison traps. Just your game on your terms. Desire to be supported and encouraged by other...
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3947 Why Fear Is Not What's Holding You Back
Create Your Now with Kristianne Wargo
Fear has a sneaky way of showing up and rallying an entire battalion of emotions. Doubt, anxiety, indecision, frustration—they all line up behind fear, forming an invisible yet impenetrable wall that paralyzes you from moving forward. So, have you ever wondered why fear is not what's holding you back? When those wall feels high, your first instinct might be to bulldoze through with brute force. Push harder. Hustle nonstop. Throw all your energy at the problem until something breaks. Desire to be supported and encouraged by other like-minded women? Join us at the . But here’s where most...
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3946 Find Peace in the Midst of Troubles
Create Your Now with Kristianne Wargo
Troubles come to all of us—and how we handle them defines our peace and effectiveness. Sarah Young’s insight from Jesus Calling drives this home: "Rehearsing your troubles results in experiencing them many times, whereas you are meant to go through them only when they actually occur." You can find peace in the midst of troubles. This truth challenges a common tendency—to ruminate on problems long before (or after) they happen, replaying them in our minds like a broken record. Instead, God calls us to a different way of handling struggle, a way rooted in trust, courage, and rest....
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3945 The Heartbeat of a Powerhouse Marriage
Create Your Now with Kristianne Wargo
Marriage isn’t about becoming one person. It’s about two whole individuals choosing to grow together in a way that creates something far stronger than the sum of its parts. But the reality? That kind of connection doesn’t come easy. It takes diligent, ongoing effort for each spouse to develop themselves as confident individuals, and then to intentionally build a relationship that thrives on shared purpose and deep connection. That's the heartbeat of a powerhouse marriage. Consider Dan and Joanne Miller. Dan Miller, the New York Times Best-Selling author who passed two years ago, left a...
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3944 Love Them More Than It Hurts
Create Your Now with Kristianne Wargo
Why do our children challenge us so much that it strangles our hearts? Raising kids is tough on parents; who cares about how the kids feel? Yet we deeply care about them. However, it's during those difficult times that we learn to love them more than it hurts. Raising kids is brutal sometimes. On the surface, it might seem like parents should just lay down the rules, set boundaries, and move on. But if it were that simple, parenting wouldn’t tear us up so deeply. Desire to be supported and encouraged by other like-minded women? Join us at the . So why do our kids challenge us in ways that...
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3943 Give Up What Doesn't Work
Create Your Now with Kristianne Wargo
Imagine this for a moment: You’re gearing up for the Super Bowl of your life. Every move calculated, every drill intentional, every moment optimized. Would you spend time doing things that don’t work—things that have brought you zero results? Of course not. You’d double down on what delivers every single time. So why not give up what doesn't work? So why, in the everyday game of life and business, do we cling so stubbornly to habits, strategies, or mindsets that have proven ineffective? Desire to be supported and encouraged by other like-minded women? Join us at the . The...
info_outlineWhen your children are little, parenting feels all-consuming. Overwhelm doesn't even seem like a fitting word, yet you’re hands-on from feeding to teaching to fixing. Every day is full of immediate needs, constant crisis management, and unconditional love sprinkled throughout. It’s easy to believe that how you prepare the way means just getting them through those early years.
But then, they grow. They move into adolescence, young adulthood, and beyond—and suddenly the kind of parenting required shifts.
Desire to be supported and encouraged by other like-minded women? Join us at the Kairos FREE Online Community. https://createyournow.com
The challenges become less about diapers and homework, and more about identity, independence, big life choices, and emotional resilience.
Yet the tricky part is that your responsibility doesn’t pause; it evolves.
The last thing you want is to be caught off guard when the next stage hits. Being prepared means adapting your mindset and skills before your kids need you to. The way you parent teenagers or young adults isn’t the same way you parent toddlers—and that’s exactly the point.
Preparing the way is a lifelong commitment—not just to raise kids, but to grow with them.
The K.I.S.S. ~ Prepare the way!
Think about how you have parented your kids in the past. Have you made changes along the way as they go through their stages of life?
Think back to a situation where you wished you had responded differently. Maybe it was when you were at the store, the movies, or church.
Consider the environment and how you could have responded differently in:
- What you said
- The tone of voice used
- Discipline used, or lack thereof
- How it ended
We can be so quick to try and put out a fire for hundreds of reasons. But what matters is how you prepare the way for them to learn the lesson. This isn't about your ego or how good a parent you are; it must be in the child's best interest. And yes, that means your response in how you prepare the way will differ for each child. One-size does not fit all!
Are you exhausted just thinking about it? Well, that means you care!! So give yourself a high-five!! Don't beat yourself up over what you think you did wrong. Use your reflection to gain a deeper understanding of where you are and where your child needs you to grow.
Here are the three ways you grow alongside your kids—no matter their age:
1. Stay Curious and Keep Learning Together
Your kids don’t stop growing—and neither should you. When you embrace curiosity instead of trying to have all the answers, you set a powerful example. Read that book, learn that new skill, or dig into what fascinates them.
This isn’t about pretending to be cool or chasing trends; it’s about genuinely investing in the things your child cares about. Doing this together levels up your connection and shows that growth never stops. It sends the loud message that learning is a lifelong adventure, not a checklist.
2. Adapt Your Role as Their Needs Shift
When kids are young, parents are fixers, teachers, sheriffs. But as they grow, your job shifts from controller to coach, from manager to mentor. This requires self-awareness and humility because the way you lead and support needs recalibration.
Recognize when to step back, when to step in, and when to cheer on quietly from the sidelines. Your willingness to evolve moves your relationship beyond authority-based parenting into partnership and mutual respect.
3. Model Emotional Honesty and Resilience
Growth isn’t linear. Life throws curveballs, and the way forward isn’t always clear. Let your kids see you wrestle with your own challenges, express authentic emotions, and bounce back.
Showing how you handle setbacks teaches a crucial lesson: strength isn’t about perfection—it’s about persistence. Letting go of the “super-parent” act and embracing real humanity actually empowers your kids to do the same.
If you look at Indiana University and how they won the College National Championship, you would see that their quarterback, Fernando Mendoza, wasn't raised with the best of everything. Instead, his mom and I'm sure his dad, taught him how to do his best in whatever circumstances he found himself in. He wasn't recruited by a top 10 football program. In fact, he was third string with more failures on the field than successes. That doesn't work well for a hopeful NFL quarterback.
But Mendoza's mom did everything she could to the best of her ability, even with her diagnosis of MS (Multiple Sclerosis). When her children were young, they didn't know what mommy had been fighting as they were growing up.
Just from a few things I've read since all the hype from her son's success on the field, Mendoza's mom can teach us all a few things: be who you are becoming, love more, and be present.
Parenting doesn’t stop when your kids hit milestones or chase their own dreams. The “way” you’re preparing is never finished—it’s a living, breathing path you pave together. Grow with them, adapt, and show up honestly. That’s the living legacy your kids will remember.
"Be present. Be incredible. Be YOU!!!"
#ConfessionsOfAnUpsetMama #CreateYourNow #TodaysParent
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Cover Art by Jenny Hamson
Photo by Canva.com
Music by Mandisa - Overcomer
http://www.mandisaofficial.com
Song ID: 68209
Song Title: Overcomer
Writer(s): Ben Glover, Chris Stevens, David Garcia
Copyright © 2013 Meaux Mercy (BMI) Moody Producer Music (BMI)
One Songs (ASCAP) Ariose Music (ASCAP) Universal Music -
Brentwood Benson Publ. (ASCAP) D Soul Music (ASCAP) (adm. at CapitolCMGPublishing.com) All rights reserved. Used by permission.