I am officially a sap... I'm sitting here replaying 2010 in my mind and tears have started streaming down my face. I guess that means it was a pretty good year! In all actuality it might have been one of my best years yet and for that I am so thankful.

Honestly, I can't think of one moment that stands above another because all of God's blessings this year have been equally amazing. God has been so good and I can't begin to describe how thankful I am for all that He has done for me in my life! 

I have had the profound privilege of honoring Him with my work of being a birth attendant. This past year I have witnessed the emergence of 22 souls in the form of childbirth and I couldn't be happier with the profession that God has chosen for me. Each day as a doula/midwife/yoga instructor I learn more and more about His creation of the female body and the miracle that is childbirth. Daily I am in awe of how He created our bodies to nourish, nurture, & grow a human life within our wombs. Daily He teaches me new things about childbirth in the way that He intended it to be. 

Despite the contentment I find in my work, I am continually frustrated by the medicalization of birth and one of my biggest purposes in life is to show women that it does not have to be that way. My sole reason for being a doula & in the future, a midwife (other than to honor God of course!) is to provide women with the education, the information, and the confidence to birth their babies the way God intended. He has given me a great number of tools to do so and with each birth I attend I acquire even more tools.

These 22 births have been such a joy to be present for. Each one unique, but each one beautiful! Each client will forever hold a special place in my heart and I will forever be grateful for being invited into such a sacred moment. 

It is my earnest prayer that childbirth never becomes mundane for me. I still cry at each birth & I pray that I always will. I pray that God will lead new mamas and families to my door so that I may continue to make an impact and continue to serve pregnant & birthing women and their families. I have found no greater joy in my life than serving God & serving others in this way. 

I am hopeful and open to what God has in store for me in 2011. I can already tell it will be a busy, busy year. I'm ready God!!

Written for: Hope Magazine for Women

I've been  trying to encourage a couple of friends to come to my beginner yoga class. Both girls are in school full-time and have jobs, so I can only imagine how high their cortisol levels are!. As someone who went through college juggling 2 jobs and school, I know hectic it can be. And I know from experience how much yoga can help. But, each time I invite them to class, they hesitate and one day I finally asked why. Turns out they both had a conflict with the Hindu “teachings” of yoga and their Christian faith. We spent the next hour discussing the benefits of yoga , their convictions and the preconceived notions about the physical and spiritual aspects of yoga. So, here I am to tell all of you exactly what I told them... Christians can do yoga too!!

I understand the conflict, in fact I went through it myself...here is an excerpt from a blog entry that I posted while I was going through my yoga teacher certification:

"When I saw the words that our teachers wrote on the white board I considered leaving, but decided to keep an open mind and stay. Part of me regrets it and the other part is very pleased with what resulted in me remaining there. On the board was written a simple chant: 'Hare Krishna, Hare Rama.' Hare is a call to the lord. Now being a Jesus Lover, I'm against calling out to anyone but Him, so the fact that I was asked to do so really bugged me!!! I was completely uncomfortable and immediately began crying. The whole time everyone was singing I was praying, praying, praying...for protection, peace, guidance..."

I struggled with this conflict for a while and even considered dropping out of the training. But after talking to a Christian yoga teacher, I began to gain some new perspective. He gave me this concept to chew on: Is westernized yoga all about religion?

Think about that question... Have you been to beginner yoga class where they chant or discuss Hindu philosophy? I never have! Why? Westernized yoga is not about religion. For most people it's about exercise and wellness. For others it's about stress reduction. Every person has a specific reason for going to a yoga class and each person's reason is different. 

While the original form of yoga is based in Hinduism, yoga is really about being true to yourself, honoring your body with movement, neutralizing stress, and cultivating balance in your life! If you go to class with the intention to honor God with the desire to achieve spiritual and physical balance, then there's no conflict. But, if you go to class worried about Hindu influences or scared of the music that will be played, then chances are you'll miss the whole point of yoga!

Take a chance, try out a beginner yoga class! You may have to attend several until you find a teacher you connect with. Be patient with yourself in finding that person to guide you deeper into your yoga practice and deeper into your connection with The Spirit. Take what you need from the class. and leave the rest behind. Don't hold onto anything that doesn't serve you or doesn't give glory to God. If you find yourself being conflicted, examine the reasons. Pray. 

There are many Christian yoga teachers out there. They may not always advertise themselves as such, but they're there. Keep an open mind and an open heart for what God may teach you through a yogic journey. 

Back in the days of high school I was the time management queen. My schedule was filled to the brim with Theatre, Swimming, Junior Volunteers, Church, School, and more...and somehow I still found time to hang with my friends AND get 8 hours of beautiful sleep.

My obligations these days, while much more demanding and "adult-like" don't take up as much time in the long run and because of that my worker mentality has become lackadaisical and my time management skills have become sluggish to say the least.

As an independent contractor and an owner of my own business I basically get to make my schedule. Obviously I don't have complete control because those babies come whenever they feel like it, but overall I decide when I want to wake up, when I want to update my website, when I want to have time available to meet with clients, when I want to file paperwork and chart, etc. Other than my attendance at births, the only other schedule obligation I have is to teach 8 yoga classes a week...some people would kill to have that much flexibility in their schedule.

NOT ME.

I'm finding it extremely difficult to get motivated and to find some sort of structure in my endlessly flexible life. In high school I had things schedule down to the 15-minute mark (seriously)...I don't want to return to that extreme, but I definitely need to find a way to discover some balance and get things back on track.

To start I've decided to create a schedule (somewhat like the one in high school) with different categories...Doula Work (including updating website, files, charting, marketing), Client Meetings, Cleaning/Organizing/Laundry, Bill Paying, School Work, Creativity (knitting, journaling), God Time, Blogging, Me Time, Errands, Leisure Time (including time on Facebook/Twitter/non work-related emal, TV, etc), and Exercise. WOW, that's a lot. However, I guarantee I won't do all of these things each day, but by scheduling it in (and setting an alarm on my phone to tell me when my time is up...especially when it comes to Facebook/Twitter) I'm creating structure for myself and putting more energy into what's important. 

Each week I will also create a to-do list based on highest priority and looming deadlines. This way I won't feel obligated (or try to procrastinate) to do the easy things until I actually have the time to do it. 


I'm hoping that by implementing these strategies I will be able to increase my productivity and also feel like less of a loser (how lame is it that the 16 year old Lauren had better time management skills than the 28 year old Lauren...I should be progressing, not regressing!!)


If any of you have any tips, please share! I'm definitely open to suggestions!