Advertise on podcast: Create Your Now with Kristianne Wargo

It starts before the alarm goes off. Maybe even before your eyes open. A low hum somewhere behind your ribs — not a thought yet, just a weight. And then the morning fills with noise, with lunches and lost socks and someone crying over a cereal choice, and you don't have time to name the weight, so you carry it. You carry it through the carpool line. You carry it while you sit in the parking lot for three extra minutes because you just need three minutes. You carry it when you finally do something for yourself and spend the whole time wondering if you should have stayed. That weight has a name, and it's one most mamas know by heart. It's guilt. And the cruelest thing about it? The guilt that lies sounds exactly like the truth. Mom guilt is one of the most effective lies the enemy has ever crafted. Not because it's loud. Not because it's dramatic. But because it's quiet. Desire to be supported and encouraged by other like-minded women? Join us at the Kairos FREE Online Community. https://createyournow.com #ConfessionsOfAnUpsetMama #CreateYourNow #TodaysParent Guilt slides in wearing the clothes of good mothering. It whispers that every hour not spent on your children is a failure. That rest is laziness. That joy apart from them is betrayal. And the reason it works so well is because it borrows the voice of love. It takes the thing you care about most, being a good mother, and twists it into a weapon you hold against yourself. But here is where we pause and be honest. There is a difference between conviction and condemnation. Conviction comes from the Holy Spirit — it is specific, it is corrective, and it leads you somewhere better. It says, "That wasn't right. Let Me help you grow." Condemnation doesn't come from God. It is vague, heavy, and relentless. It says, "You're not enough. You never will be." Romans 8:1 puts it plainly: "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." If the guilt you're carrying doesn't lead you to repentance and restoration, if it only leads you to exhaustion and shame, it is not from the Lord. Think about what guilt actually does when you let it drive. It makes you say yes when your body is screaming no. It convinces you to stay up folding laundry when you can barely see straight, not because the laundry matters that much, but because resting feels like quitting. It talks you out of coffee with a friend because you already "used up" your time away at work. It turns a Saturday morning run into something you have to earn or explain. And so slowly, guilt hollows you out. You keep showing up, but there's less and less of you to give. Your children don't get a rested mother. Your husband doesn't get a present wife. Your friends stop calling because you always cancel. And the worst part is that we tend to call that faithfulness. You call it sacrifice. But it isn't sacrifice when it's stealing from you. It's captivity dressed in an apron. Second Timothy 1:7 says, "For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline." Power. Love. Self-discipline. Not guilt. Not fear. Not the constant, low-grade panic that you are failing everyone you love. The Spirit you were given doesn't shrink you —it strengthens you. And a mother operating from power and self-discipline looks very different from a mother operating from guilt. One of them knows when to stop. One of them can say, "That's enough for today," and sleep without rehearsing her failures. One of them models something for her children that no amount of over-functioning ever could — she models freedom. "Guilt that keeps you small is not from God. It's a counterfeit designed to keep you empty." — Kristianne Wargo Let that sit for a moment. Because the enemy doesn't need you to abandon your family. He doesn't need some dramatic fall. He just needs you emptied out. He just needs you so depleted that you have nothing left to pour from. And guilt is the perfect tool for that — because it disguises depletion as devotion. At some point, you must silence the guilt. The K.I.S.S. ~ Silence the guilt! Your children don't need a martyr, Mama. They don't need a mother who is drowning but smiling. They need a mother who is whole. A mother who can laugh freely, dream openly, rest unapologetically. They need to see you take care of yourself — not as a selfish act, but as a faithful one. Because when you refuse to let guilt dictate your every move, you teach them something that will outlast every homework assignment and every bedtime prayer. You teach them that wholeness is not the enemy of love. It is the very thing that makes love sustainable. So what would it look like to silence the guilt — not stuff it down or ignore it, but actually dismantle it? What if you held every guilty thought up to the light and asked, "Is this conviction from God, or is this condemnation from a liar?" 1. Catch Guilt in the Act This week, every time guilt surfaces — for resting, for saying no, for doing something just for you — write it down. Don't argue with it in the moment. Just record it. At the end of the week, look at the list and ask: "Was any of this actually wrong? Or was it just uncomfortable?" You will be stunned how much of what you carry has nothing to do with sin and everything to do with expectations you never agreed to. 2. Replace Guilt with Truth For each guilt you wrote down, write a truth beside it. "I should have stayed up to fold laundry" becomes "Rest is not laziness. My body needed sleep, and the laundry will wait." "I shouldn't have gone out with my friend" becomes "Connection fills me so I can pour out with joy." Guilt speaks in absolutes. Truth speaks in freedom. Train yourself to hear the difference. 3. Refuse to Apologize for Wholeness The next time you take time for yourself — a walk, a nap, a night out, an hour with a book — don't explain. Don't justify. Don't send a text with three reasons why you deserve it. Just do it and let it be enough. The apology is a habit, and habits can be broken. You don't owe anyone an explanation for taking care of the woman God made you to be. Whether you like it or not, guilt will always knock. It knows your address. It knows your weak spots. It knows exactly what time of night to show up. But you don't have to let it in anymore. You don't have to set it a place at your table and feed it your peace. You are not a bad mother for being a whole woman. You are not selfish for having needs. You are not failing for resting. You are doing exactly what God designed you to do — living full so you can love full. "One step at a time leads to miles of greatness." — Kristianne Wargo "Be present. Be incredible. Be YOU!!!"   🔔 Desire to be supported and encouraged by other like-minded women? Join us at the Kairos FREE Online Community. https://createyournow.com TAKE A.I.M. ~ Action Ignites Motivation  - This is a complimentary (FREE) coaching call with me. You will discuss your specific situation while gaining tools and strategies to move you forward. (https://form.jotform.com/62988215824163) 🙏  Create Your Now TV on Pray.com (https://pray.com) 🎥  Create Your Now on YouTube (https://youtube.com/createyournow) 🎧 Create Your Now on Spotify, Pandora, and Audible. 🎶  Create Your Now on iHeart Radio (http://www.iheart.com/show/263-Create-Your-Now-Your-Best/) ✍️  [email protected]  Instagram @CreateYourNow @KristianneWargo Twitter @KristianneWargo @CreateYourNow Facebook www.facebook.com/TheKISSCoach www.facebook.com/CreateYourNow   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.

There's a difference between being full and being fed. A phone screen can fill thirty minutes. A comparison spiral can fill an entire afternoon. But when it's over — when the scrolling stops and the silence comes back — something still feels hollow. Full and fed are not the same thing. And in the seasons that cost you the most, it matters that you learn to reach for what feeds you. Think about a root for a second. A root underground doesn't just sit still and hope for the best. It moves. It stretches. It pushes through dirt and rock and resistance to find water — because water is what keeps it alive. Desire to be supported and encouraged by other like-minded women? Join us at the Kairos FREE Online Community. https://createyournow.com #Inspiration #CreateYourNow #DailyMotivation A root doesn't wait for perfect conditions to go looking for what it needs. It seeks. And there's something in that picture that should stop us in our tracks. Because too often, when the hard season hits, we stop seeking the very things that sustain us. We trade the nourishing for the numbing. We grab what's easy instead of what's life-giving. And let's be honest about what that looks like. It looks like thirty minutes of scrolling before our feet even hit the floor. It looks like comparison dressed up as "just checking in" on someone else's highlight reel. It looks like filling every quiet moment with noise because silence makes us feel too much. None of it is dramatic. None of it feels dangerous. But over time? It starves us. Slowly. Quietly. And we wonder why we feel so empty when our hands have been full all along. Here's the thing — what we consume shapes us. Spiritually, emotionally, psychologically, mentally. Christine Caine put it so well when she said, "You are what you eat — spiritually speaking. Feed on truth, and truth will sustain you." What we take in becomes what we operate from. If we're feeding on fear, we'll live anxious. If we're feeding on other people's opinions, we'll live unsure. If we're feeding on the world's definition of enough, we'll never feel like we are. But if we feed on truth, truth holds. It doesn't mean we have to have a two-hour quiet time every morning or memorize an entire book of the Bible before breakfast. It means we get intentional. It means we stop leaving our nourishment up to chance and start choosing — on purpose — what gets access to our mind and our spirit. Maybe it's five minutes in the Word before the phone gets picked up. Maybe it's a worship playlist instead of the news on the commute. Maybe it's one honest conversation with a friend who speaks life instead of another hour doom-scrolling through headlines that leave us hollowed out. Small shifts. Big difference! The K.I.S.S. ~Reach for what feeds you! And community matters here more than we like to admit. Because isolation is where the junk food lives. It's where the lies get louder and the truth gets quieter. When we pull away from people who remind us who we are — and more importantly, whose we are — we lose our footing. We start believing the narrative that the hard season is trying to write for us instead of standing on the one that was already written. If you read Jeremiah 17, it paints this picture of a tree planted by the water — one that sends its roots out toward the stream. "But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream." ~ Jeremiah 17:7-8 (NIV) It doesn't panic when the heat comes. It doesn't wither when the rain stops. Its roots already know where to go. That tree made the decision about its nourishment long before the drought showed up. And that's the invitation for us, too. Not to wait until we're desperate to figure out what feeds us — but to be reaching for it now, even in the mess, even in the middle. So here's the real question — and it deserves an honest answer. What are you building your days on? Truth or lies? Peace or panic? The things that fill you up or the things that just fill your time? Because we get to decide. Every single day, we get to decide where we put our stake in the ground. Nobody else makes that choice for us. And the beautiful thing is that it's never too late to reach for something better. Even if yesterday was all junk food and noise and numbing — today is a new stretch of soil. Today, the root can turn. Today, we can choose nourishment over neglect. Scripture over scrolling. Community over comparison. Truth over the thousand little lies that try to set up camp when we're tired. The hard season doesn't get to dictate what sustains you. You get to. So reach, my friend. Reach toward what feeds you. Reach toward what fills you with life and not just distraction. Because when the roots go deep into the right things, the drought doesn't get the final word. And neither does the hard season. "One step at a time leads to miles of greatness." ~ Kristianne Wargo "Be present. Be incredible. Be YOU!!!"   🔔 Desire to be supported and encouraged by other like-minded women? Join us at the Kairos FREE Online Community. https://createyournow.com TAKE A.I.M. ~ Action Ignites Motivation  - This is a complimentary (FREE) coaching call with me. You will discuss your specific situation while gaining tools and strategies to move you forward. (https://form.jotform.com/62988215824163) 🙏  Create Your Now TV on Pray.com (https://pray.com) 🎥  Create Your Now on YouTube (https://youtube.com/createyournow) 🎧 Create Your Now on Spotify, Pandora, and Audible. 🎶  Create Your Now on iHeart Radio (http://www.iheart.com/show/263-Create-Your-Now-Your-Best/) ✍️  [email protected]  Instagram @CreateYourNow @KristianneWargo Twitter @KristianneWargo @CreateYourNow Facebook www.facebook.com/TheKISSCoach www.facebook.com/CreateYourNow   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.

There's a moment right before a flower opens — right before the petals unfold and the color shows — where everything inside is pressing outward, and the whole thing trembles. That's what becoming feels like sometimes. Not the highlight reel. Not the confident stride. The tremble. The ache of being beautiful and afraid at the exact same time. And if that's where you are right now — caught between wanting to be seen and wanting to hide — you need to know something. You're not doing it wrong. You're doing it real. Desire to be supported and encouraged by other like-minded women? Join us at the Kairos FREE Online Community. https://createyournow.com #WellspringWednesday #CreateYourNow #HealthAndWellness Blooming is one of the most vulnerable things a woman can do. Not blooming in the metaphorical, Pinterest-quote kind of way, but the actual, breath-catching, hands-shaking kind. The kind where you step into something new and your first instinct is to pull back because being open means being exposed. The same petals that make a flower stunning are the ones most easily bruised. And you know that. You've felt that. You've held something beautiful inside you — a dream, a calling, a next step — and hesitated. Not because you didn't believe in it, but because opening yourself up to it meant opening yourself up to everything else, too. The opinions. The judgment. The possibility of failure in full view. Can we just sit with that for a second? Because nobody talks about this part enough. We celebrate the bloom. We applaud the breakthrough. But we skip right over the terror that came two minutes before. The woman who launched the thing? She was shaking. The woman who spoke up in the room? Her voice almost cracked. The woman who finally said, "This is who I am becoming"? She whispered it first in the dark and wasn't sure she believed it. 2 Timothy 1:7 — "For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." That verse doesn't say fear won't show up. It says fear doesn't get to define you. God gave you power — not the absence of trembling, but the presence of something greater inside the trembling. Love that holds you steady. A sound mind that says, "I see the risk, and I'm stepping forward anyway." Think about a rosebud. Tight. Closed. Protected. Everything tucked in safe. Nobody can touch what's inside because nothing is showing yet. But a rose was never meant to stay a bud. It was designed to open — to stretch wide — to let the color out. And yes, once those petals unfold, they can be touched. They can be rained on. They can be bruised by wind. But they can also be seen. They can catch the light. They can stop someone in their tracks with their beauty. That's you, friend. You were never meant to stay tucked in. "Courage isn't the absence of fear; it's blooming anyway." — Kristianne Wargo The enemy would love for you to believe that the fear you feel is a stop sign. That the knot in your stomach means you're not ready. That the vulnerability of being seen is too high a price to pay for becoming who God created you to be. But here's what the enemy doesn't want you to know — that fear? It's confirmation. It means something real is happening. Something worth protecting is trying to come forward. You don't tremble over things that don't matter. Bloom afraid! The K.I.S.S. ~ Bloom afraid! Isaiah 41:10 says, "Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." He doesn't say, "Wait until you're not afraid." He says, "I'm with you in it." That changes everything. You don't bloom alone. You bloom held. So how do you bloom when you're afraid? 1. Do the vulnerable thing before the week is over. Maybe it's sending that email pitching your idea to someone who could say no. Maybe it's posting the video you recorded three times and deleted twice. Maybe it's raising your hand in the meeting instead of waiting for someone else to say what you were already thinking. Maybe it's signing up for the class, submitting the application, or simply saying out loud, "I want more for my life." Pick the one thing that makes your stomach flip — and do it. 2. Say your fear out loud — to God and to one safe person — then move. Fear grows loudest in silence. So name it. Say it in prayer: "God, I'm afraid that if I try this, I'll fail and everyone will see." Then call the friend — the one who doesn't minimize and doesn't rescue, the one who says, "I hear you, and I'm standing right here." Tell her what you're scared of. Let her witness it. And then — together with God and with her voice in your corner — take the step. Courage was never meant to be a solo act. 3. Remember: she was afraid too — and she bloomed anyway. Think about the women you admire — the ones leading, creating, speaking, building, serving, loving. Every single one of them had a moment where their hands shook and their voice wavered. The difference isn't that they weren't afraid. The difference is they didn't let the fear make the decision. Write this on a sticky note. Put it on your mirror. Say it to yourself when the doubt creeps in: "She was afraid, and she bloomed anyway. So will I." You don't have to choose between beautiful and afraid. It's more like both and. In fact, the most breathtaking women I've ever watched step into their calling were the ones who did it with tears still drying on their cheeks. They didn't wait for the fear to pass. They let God hold the fear while they opened anyway. "Every woman who has ever bloomed was also afraid — and she opened anyway." — Kristianne Wargo You are in a season of becoming. And becoming doesn't wait for perfect conditions. It doesn't wait for confidence to arrive fully formed. It presses through. It opens in the rain. It lets the light in even when the light feels like too much. So go ahead, my friend. Be beautiful. Be afraid. Become and bloom anyway. That's how you create your now. "Be present. Be incredible. Be YOU!!!"   🔔 Desire to be supported and encouraged by other like-minded women? Join us at the Kairos FREE Online Community. https://createyournow.com TAKE A.I.M. ~ Action Ignites Motivation  - This is a complimentary (FREE) coaching call with me. You will discuss your specific situation while gaining tools and strategies to move you forward. (https://form.jotform.com/62988215824163) 🙏  Create Your Now TV on Pray.com (https://pray.com) 🎥  Create Your Now on YouTube (https://youtube.com/createyournow) 🎧 Create Your Now on Spotify, Pandora, and Audible. 🎶  Create Your Now on iHeart Radio (http://www.iheart.com/show/263-Create-Your-Now-Your-Best/) ✍️  [email protected]  Instagram @CreateYourNow @KristianneWargo Twitter @KristianneWargo @CreateYourNow Facebook www.facebook.com/TheKISSCoach www.facebook.com/CreateYourNow   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.

Some weeks don't fall apart all at once. They unravel slowly, one fraying thread at a time, until suddenly there's nothing left to hold onto and no energy left to reach. The encouragement that usually helps lands sideways. And somewhere in between the alarm clock and the pillow, the same quiet question keeps circling: where do I go when even my go-to places feel empty? That's a cry for something needed, which is much deeper than a pep talk. You've got to find how to hold the promise that holds you. And that promise isn't a feeling. It isn't a fortune cookie tucked inside a devotional. It's the living, breathing, never-expiring Word of God — and it does not shift with the season. Desire to be supported and encouraged by other like-minded women? Join us at the Kairos FREE Online Community. https://createyournow.com #Inspiration #CreateYourNow #DailyMotivation Isaiah 40:8 says it plainly: "The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever." Everything that looks beautiful and certain today has a shelf life — everything except the truth God has spoken over your life. His Word is not subject to your circumstances. It doesn't waver when the ground beneath you does. It doesn't go silent when the noise gets loud. It stays planted. It stays secured. And it holds, even when holding feels impossible. Think about what that means on a Wednesday afternoon when the news is bad. Or a Friday night when loneliness has a louder voice than hope. Or a Monday morning when the weight of the week ahead already feels like more than two shoulders should carry. In those moments, truth doesn't need to be dramatic. It just needs to be present. And this is the extraordinary thing about God's promises — they don't need perfect conditions to be powerful. They work in the mess. They breathe in the middle of the breakdown. They anchor the soul that has lost its footing. Charles Spurgeon once said, "When you can't trace His hand, trust His heart." The K.I.S.S. ~ Hold the promise that holds you! And isn't that exactly where the tension lives? There are seasons when the path ahead makes no sense. When every door seems closed and the silence from heaven feels deafening. Tracing God's hand through pain isn't easy. Sometimes it's not even possible in the moment. But His heart? His heart has never once turned away. His heart wrote promises into Scripture thousands of years ago that were already speaking to this exact day in your life. That's how intentional He is. That's how deeply held you are. So what does it look like to hold the promise that holds you? It looks like opening that Bible app on a hard morning and reading one verse — not because you feel inspired, but because you need anchoring. It looks like whispering "Your Word endures" when the world around you is anything but enduring. It looks like choosing to stand on what God said over what your fear is screaming. Not perfectly. Not without tears. Just faithfully. One whispered truth at a time. There's something beautifully defiant about a woman who holds onto a promise when everything around her says to let go. She isn't pretending the storm doesn't exist. She isn't faking strength. She's planted — not because she's unshakable, but because what she's holding onto is. And that makes all the difference. Whatever is shaking right now, it doesn't get the last word. The grass will wither. The flowers will fall. But the promise that holds you endures. It has always endured. And it will carry you into the next breath, the next step, and the next beautiful chapter God is already writing. Rise with that truth today. Hold on — and let it hold you right back. "Be present. Be incredible. Be YOU!!!"   🔔 Desire to be supported and encouraged by other like-minded women? Join us at the Kairos FREE Online Community. https://createyournow.com TAKE A.I.M. ~ Action Ignites Motivation  - This is a complimentary (FREE) coaching call with me. You will discuss your specific situation while gaining tools and strategies to move you forward. (https://form.jotform.com/62988215824163) 🙏  Create Your Now TV on Pray.com (https://pray.com) 🎥  Create Your Now on YouTube (https://youtube.com/createyournow) 🎧 Create Your Now on Spotify, Pandora, and Audible. 🎶  Create Your Now on iHeart Radio (http://www.iheart.com/show/263-Create-Your-Now-Your-Best/) ✍️  [email protected]  Instagram @CreateYourNow @KristianneWargo Twitter @KristianneWargo @CreateYourNow Facebook www.facebook.com/TheKISSCoach www.facebook.com/CreateYourNow   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.

There's a moment — and it happens faster than a heartbeat — when something lands in your mind and just… settles. It pulls up a chair. It crosses its legs. And before you even realize what's happening, it's running the conversation. It's telling you who you are, what you should be afraid of, and why you'll never be enough. And the worst part? You didn't even invite it in. Not every thought deserves a seat or permission to enter your mind. Some thoughts show up like uninvited guests — loud, convincing, and completely out of line with the truth. And yet, we let them stay. We listen. We rehearse. We give them room to redecorate the entire interior of our hearts. Desire to be supported and encouraged by other like-minded women? Join us at the Kairos FREE Online Community. https://createyournow.com #MindsetMonday #CreateYourNow #PersonalDevelopment But what if you didn't? What if the next time a thought showed up uninvited, you met it at the door and said, Not here. Not today. That's not wishful thinking. That's warfare. And it's exactly what Scripture calls us to. "We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ." 2 Corinthians 10:5 (NIV) We demolish. We take captive. This is not a passive posture. God isn't asking you to sit still and hope the bad thoughts go away on their own. He's telling you that you have the authority — through Christ — to grab hold of a thought, examine it, and decide whether it deserves to stay or needs to be escorted out. Think about what the word captive actually means. It doesn't mean "politely asked to leave." It means seized. Detained. Held under authority. That is the level of seriousness God places on what happens in your thought life. Because He knows — and deep down, so do you — that what you allow to live in your mind will eventually show up in your words, your decisions, your relationships, and your peace. It shows up in your life! So the question isn't whether or not unwanted thoughts will come. They do and they will. The question is: what will you do in the space between the thought arriving and you believing it? That gap is everything. "You are not at the mercy of your mind. You are the gatekeeper of it." — Kristianne Wargo You were never designed to be a hostage to your own thinking. You were designed to have dominion — starting right between your ears. And dominion begins with a choice: the choice to stop a thought before it spirals, to sort it against the truth, and to let God's Word have the final say. You must sort your thoughts. The K.I.S.S. ~ S.O.R.T. your thoughts! DOWNLOAD PDF HERE So how do we actually do this? Not in theory. In real life. In the carpool line. In the middle of the night. In that quiet moment when the lie creeps back in and whispers, "See? I told you so." We S.O.R.T. 1. STOP the Spiral The moment you feel a thought start to loop — the worry, the comparison, the worst-case scenario playing on repeat — hit pause. Say it out loud if you need to: "I'm stopping this right here." A spiral only gains speed when it goes unchecked. You don't have to follow it to the bottom to know it isn't leading somewhere good. Name what's happening. That alone breaks the momentum. 2. OBSERVE the Thought Now hold that thought still and ask: Is this true? Is this helpful? Does this line up with who God says I am? If the answer to any of those is no, it doesn't get to stay. But don't rush past this step. Look at the thought honestly. Sometimes the most destructive ones are the ones that feel the most familiar — and familiar isn't the same as true. 3. REPLACE the Thought with Truth Here's the part most people skip: you don't just push a thought out and leave the space empty. That gap is a big deal. An empty room gets refilled. Think about how you arrange your home. You don't leave a blank wall and call it done. You curate. You place things at different heights, different textures, things that complement one another and make the space feel whole. That's what you're doing with your mind — filling it with truths that complement who you are and who you're becoming, exactly the way God designed you. So replace the lie with a scripture. A worship lyric. A declaration. Something that fills the space with purpose instead of poison. 4. TELL Someone the Thought You Threw Away This one takes courage, but it might be the most powerful step of all. Tell one trusted person what thought you've been taking captive this week. Say it out loud. Text it. Speak it into the light. Lies lose their grip the moment they're no longer a secret. There's no reason to hide what needs to be found. When you bring the lie out of the dark, you're not just being vulnerable — you're dismantling the lie's power, one honest conversation at a time. This week, try it. Not perfectly. Not with every single thought. Just start with one. The next time something lands in your mind and tries to pull up a chair, S.O.R.T. it. Stop. Observe. Replace. And tell what you threw away. You don't have to carry every thought that shows up. You were given the authority to choose what stays and what goes — and that authority didn't come from you. It came from the One who already demolished every argument that tried to stand between you and the truth of who you are. So guard the door. You're the gatekeeper. And this week, nothing gets in that God didn't send. "One thought at a time leads to miles of greatness." — Kristianne "Be present. Be incredible. Be YOU!!!"   🔔 Desire to be supported and encouraged by other like-minded women? Join us at the Kairos FREE Online Community. https://createyournow.com TAKE A.I.M. ~ Action Ignites Motivation  - This is a complimentary (FREE) coaching call with me. You will discuss your specific situation while gaining tools and strategies to move you forward. (https://form.jotform.com/62988215824163) 🙏  Create Your Now TV on Pray.com (https://pray.com) 🎥  Create Your Now on YouTube (https://youtube.com/createyournow) 🎧 Create Your Now on Spotify, Pandora, and Audible. 🎶  Create Your Now on iHeart Radio (http://www.iheart.com/show/263-Create-Your-Now-Your-Best/) ✍️  [email protected]  Instagram @CreateYourNow @KristianneWargo Twitter @KristianneWargo @CreateYourNow Facebook www.facebook.com/TheKISSCoach www.facebook.com/CreateYourNow   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.

You know that feeling when you walk into a room and forget why you went in there? Now imagine carrying something so long that you've forgotten you're even holding it. That's what unforgiveness does. It becomes part of the furniture of your life — so familiar that you stop noticing it's there, even though it's taking up space in every room you enter. You adjust around it. You make excuses for it. You tell yourself it's not that heavy. But your shoulders say otherwise, your sleep says otherwise, and that knot in your stomach every time a certain name comes up? That says otherwise too. So what are you still carrying? Because we serve a God who is all about forward motion. Ecclesiastes 3 reminds us that there is a time for everything — a time to keep and a time to throw away, a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak. Every season has a purpose, and every season has an ending. But when we refuse to release what belongs to a closed season, we drag yesterday's baggage right into today's blessing and wonder why it doesn't feel like a blessing at all. Desire to be supported and encouraged by other like-minded women? Join us at the Kairos FREE Online Community. https://createyournow.com #SweetSpirit #CreateYourNow #SoulfulSunday Think about Lot's wife for a second. In Genesis 19, the angels literally told the family to flee and not look back. Run. Don't stop. Don't turn around. And Lot's wife? She turned. One glance over her shoulder and she became a pillar of salt — frozen in place, locked into the very thing God told her to leave behind. Now, we might read that and think, well, that's extreme. But is it? How many of us are standing still in our own lives because we keep looking back? We keep replaying the offense. We keep nursing the grudge. We keep circling the disappointment like somehow revisiting it one more time will finally make it make sense. And all the while, God is saying, "Move forward. I have something ahead of you." That's exactly what Paul understood. In Philippians 3:13–14, he writes, "Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." Paul wasn't a man with a small past, either. He had real reasons to sit in regret. Real reasons to be consumed by guilt or anger or shame. But he made a choice — and it's the same choice sitting in front of every one of us right now. Press forward or stay stuck. And let's get specific, because this isn't just about the big, dramatic heartbreaks. Yes, forgiveness matters when the wound is deep. But it also matters when the wound feels small. The friend who didn't show up. The comment that stung more than it should have. The family member who always manages to say the wrong thing at the wrong time. We shrug those off on the surface, but underneath? We're building a case. We're stacking little bricks of bitterness into a wall we didn't even realize we were constructing. And before long, that wall is blocking our view of everything God is trying to do. Forgiveness is not a feeling. It's an act of obedience. It's not saying what happened was okay. It's saying, "God, I trust You with this more than I trust my own need to hold onto it." And that kind of release changes everything. Because when we drop the offense at His feet, we're not just freeing the other person — we're freeing ourselves. We're untethering from the emotional baggage that has been weighing us down, draining our energy, and stealing our joy. The K.I.S.S. ~ What are you still carrying! Think of it like this. Fall is here, and the trees are doing the most beautiful thing — they're releasing every single leaf. Not because something is wrong. Because that's how they prepare for what's next. The release is part of the design. And if God built that rhythm into creation itself, why do we think we're supposed to hold on to everything forever? Freedom isn't found in our foes. It's not found in getting the last word or finally hearing the apology we think we deserve. Freedom is found in our Heavenly Father, who already fought the battle, already made a way, and is already standing in the next season calling us forward. The question is whether we'll walk toward Him with open hands — or stay planted where we are, gripping things that were never meant to come with us. So here's the invitation. Right now, in this season, drop the trash at God's feet. All of it. The resentment. The replaying. The bitterness dressed up as boundaries. The excuses that sound reasonable but are really just fear wearing a disguise. God wants more for us than a life spent looking over our shoulder. He wants us walking forward, free, light, and full of purpose. Release it. Not because it didn't matter — but because where God is taking us matters more. Press on, friend. The prize is ahead, not behind. And the wisest thing any of us can do today is trust Him enough to open our hands and walk forward. This is how you create your now every day, God's way. "Be present. Be incredible. Be YOU!!!"   🔔 Desire to be supported and encouraged by other like-minded women? Join us at the Kairos FREE Online Community. https://createyournow.com TAKE A.I.M. ~ Action Ignites Motivation  - This is a complimentary (FREE) coaching call with me. You will discuss your specific situation while gaining tools and strategies to move you forward. (https://form.jotform.com/62988215824163) 🙏  Create Your Now TV on Pray.com (https://pray.com) 🎥  Create Your Now on YouTube (https://youtube.com/createyournow) 🎧 Create Your Now on Spotify, Pandora, and Audible. 🎶  Create Your Now on iHeart Radio (http://www.iheart.com/show/263-Create-Your-Now-Your-Best/) ✍️  [email protected]  Instagram @CreateYourNow @KristianneWargo Twitter @KristianneWargo @CreateYourNow Facebook www.facebook.com/TheKISSCoach www.facebook.com/CreateYourNow   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.

There is something about the last night of October that invites us to look at what haunts us. And no, I am not talking about the costumes or the carved pumpkins on the porch. I am talking about the things that haunt a marriage — the old wounds that rattle around in the background like ghosts in the hallway, the resentments we have dressed up so well that we barely recognize them anymore. They show up at the dinner table. They linger in the silence after an argument. They whisper reminders of what was said three years ago. And the truth is, some of us have been living in a haunted house of our own making — not because we chose the hurt, but because we never fully released it. If that feels familiar, then today is the day we talk about the grace of letting go — not because the wound was not real, but because carrying it is costing you more than you know. Here is the thing about unforgiveness. It does not just sit quietly in a corner. It moves in. It redecorates. It rearranges the way you see your spouse, the way you respond to their words, the way you interpret their silence. You think you have buried it, but unforgiveness does not stay buried. It seeps into the way you pull away when they reach for your hand. It colors the way you hear a simple question like, "What is wrong?" and turn it into an accusation. Desire to be supported and encouraged by other like-minded women? Join us at the Kairos FREE Online Community. https://createyournow.com #RelationshipBuilders #CreateYourNow #LoveAndMarriage And the longer it stays, the more it starts to feel normal. That is the danger. We get so used to carrying the weight that we forget what it felt like to walk freely beside the person we married. But God never designed marriage to be a haunted house. He designed it to be a place of refuge. A place of grace. Colossians 3:13 says, "Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you." Consider the last part — "as the Lord forgave you" — that part levels the playing field. None of us earned it. None of us deserved it. And yet He gave it freely. So when we hold onto unforgiveness in our marriages, we are essentially saying, "God, Your grace was enough for me, but it is not enough for them." And when we see it that way, it changes things. Now let me be clear. Forgiveness is not pretending the hurt did not happen. It is not sweeping it under the rug and slapping a smile on your face. Forgiveness is not a feeling — it is a decision. It is looking at the wound and saying, "I am choosing to stop letting this define how I love you." That takes courage. That takes grace. And most of the time, it takes doing it more than once. Martin Luther King Jr. said, "Forgiveness is not an occasional act; it is a constant attitude." And if that does not hit home in the context of marriage, I do not know what does. Because your spouse is the person you see every single day. They are the one whose habits you know by heart, whose flaws you could recite in your sleep. Choosing forgiveness in marriage is not a one-time event — it is a daily posture of grace. Think of it like this. If your house were haunted — truly haunted — you would not just close the door to the room where the noise was coming from and call it handled. You would want it cleared out. You would want those chains broken, those shadows gone, the whole atmosphere changed. That is what forgiveness does. It does not just close the door on the past — it clears the house. It lets the light back in. It makes room for something new to grow where something painful used to live. Ephesians 4:31–32 spells it out plainly: "Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you." Get rid of it. Not manage it. Not minimize it. Get rid of it. And then replace it — with kindness, with compassion, with the kind of grace that only God can fuel. The K.I.S.S. ~ Release to receive! So where do we start? Right here. 1. Identify One Thing You've Been Holding Onto Be honest with yourself. Is there a hurt, a disappointment, or a frustration you have buried but not released? Name it — even if only to yourself and to God. And you may need to take a hard look, because we become accustomed to our own habits in how we act with our spouse. The way you sigh when they tell a story you have heard before. The way you tense up when a certain topic comes up. Those reactions did not come from nowhere. Look hard. Look deep. Ask the Holy Spirit to show you what you have been carrying that He never asked you to hold. 2. Pray a Prayer of Release Try this: "Lord, I choose to forgive. I lay this hurt at Your feet. Help me to stop picking it back up. Give me the grace to move forward with a heart that is free. Amen." You might need to pray this daily. And if a memory triggers it — if something your spouse says or does drags you right back to that moment — go to prayer right then and there. Do not wait. Do not let it fester. Take it to God in the middle of the mess, because that is exactly where He meets you. 3. Replace the Old with Something New Here is what most of us miss — you cannot just release the hurt and leave the space empty. If you do not like a certain food, you do not just stop eating. You go find something better. The same is true here. When you release the pain, refresh that space with something life-giving. If the old wound was rooted in feeling overlooked, start a new habit of expressing gratitude to each other before bed. If the hurt came from harsh words, begin speaking a specific encouragement over your spouse each morning. You are not pretending the past did not happen — you are choosing to plant something beautiful in the soil that was cleared. That is how healing grows. Forgiveness will not rewrite your history. But it will rewrite your future — if you let it. And you do not have to do it perfectly. You just have to do it willingly. "Forgiveness does not erase the chapter. It gives you the pen to write the next one." — Kristianne Wargo Your marriage does not have to be a haunted house. It can be a haven — a place where grace lives louder than the ghosts of what used to be. But that starts with a choice. Your choice. Not your spouse's. Yours. So let the chains fall. Let the shadows go. And let the grace of God do what only grace can do — make something new out of something that felt beyond repair. "Be present. Be incredible. Be YOU!!!"   🔔 Desire to be supported and encouraged by other like-minded women? Join us at the Kairos FREE Online Community. https://createyournow.com TAKE A.I.M. ~ Action Ignites Motivation  - This is a complimentary (FREE) coaching call with me. You will discuss your specific situation while gaining tools and strategies to move you forward. (https://form.jotform.com/62988215824163) 🙏  Create Your Now TV on Pray.com (https://pray.com) 🎥  Create Your Now on YouTube (https://youtube.com/createyournow) 🎧 Create Your Now on Spotify, Pandora, and Audible. 🎶  Create Your Now on iHeart Radio (http://www.iheart.com/show/263-Create-Your-Now-Your-Best/) ✍️  [email protected]  Instagram @CreateYourNow @KristianneWargo Twitter @KristianneWargo @CreateYourNow Facebook www.facebook.com/TheKISSCoach www.facebook.com/CreateYourNow   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.

She almost said it. It was right there — sitting on the edge of her lips at the kitchen table while her friend asked how she was doing. I want more. But she swallowed it, smiled, and said, "Oh, you know. Busy. The kids keep me running." And just like that, the truth went back into hiding. Because admitting you want something beyond motherhood feels like confessing a sin nobody gave a name to. But what if wanting more isn't the problem? What if the real problem is that no one ever gave you permission to want more — and maybe it's time you gave it to yourself? The lie goes something like this: a good mother gives everything away. Her time. Her dreams. Her energy. Her identity. She pours and pours until there's nothing left, and then she pours some more — and she does it with a smile because that's what sacrifice looks like. And if she ever catches herself wanting something that doesn't have her children's names attached to it? Well, that must mean she's ungrateful. Selfish. Not enough. Desire to be supported and encouraged by other like-minded women? Join us at the Kairos FREE Online Community. https://createyournow.com #Inspiration #CreateYourNow #DailyMotivation Can I be honest? That's not sacrifice. That's erasure. And it's not from God. See, here's what nobody tells you when you become a mama: the desires that were planted inside you before your first child took a breath? They didn't expire. They didn't get revoked. God didn't hand you a baby and say, "Okay, now forget everything else I put in your heart." He's not a God of subtraction. He's a God of abundance — and that abundance includes you. Psalm 37:4 says, "Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart." Notice it doesn't say, "Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart — unless you have kids." The desires are still valid. The calling is still real. Motherhood didn't cancel it. Motherhood just made you brave enough to fight for it. Think about it this way. A tree doesn't stop growing because it bears fruit. It keeps reaching. It keeps stretching toward the sun. The fruit actually comes because the tree is healthy, rooted, and alive. You are that tree, mama. Your children are beautiful fruit. But the growing? The reaching? That's not optional. That's how you stay alive — and that's how they learn to grow, too. There's a woman in Proverbs 31 that people love to quote, and honestly, she used to intimidate me. But read her closely. "She sets about her work vigorously; her arms are strong for her tasks." She's not sitting still. She's not shrinking. She's working with strength and purpose — and it's celebrated. She had dreams of her own. She had a vision for her life. And nobody called her selfish for it. They called her blessed. So why do we call ourselves selfish when we want the same thing? Because somewhere along the way, we confused selflessness with self-disappearance. We thought being a good mother meant becoming invisible — that the more we faded, the brighter our families would shine. But that math doesn't work. You can't pour from dust. And your kids don't need a ghost. They need a woman who is whole, alive, and unafraid to want something that lights her up from the inside. The K.I.S.S. ~ Give yourself permission! "Wanting more for yourself doesn't mean wanting less for your family. It means wanting to be whole while you love them." ~ Kristianne Wargo Let that sink in. Sit with it. Because somewhere deep down, you already know it's true. Maybe it's a career you've been tiptoeing around. Maybe it's a creative dream you put in a drawer the year your first was born. Maybe it's going back to school, starting a business, learning to paint, writing the book, or simply having something — one thing — that is yours. Not mama's thing. Not wife's thing. Yours. And that doesn't make you less devoted. It makes you more whole. And wholeness? Wholeness is the best gift you'll ever hand your children — because they learn how to live by watching you do it. So here's the question: what would it look like to stop apologizing for the want and start honoring it instead? 1. WRITE the Permission Slip Literally. Grab a sticky note, the back of a receipt, your journal — whatever you've got. Write these words: "I give myself permission to want something that's just for me." Now stick it where you'll see it. On the bathroom mirror. On the dashboard. Inside your planner. Let it meet you in the mundane moments when the guilt tries to creep back in. You don't need anyone else's signature on this. Just yours. 2. NAME What You Want Not what sounds noble. Not what you think you're supposed to want. What do you actually want? A career shift? A creative outlet? Time to learn something new? Space to just think without someone tugging at your sleeve? Say it out loud. Whisper it first if you have to. Write it down if that's easier. But get it out of hiding. Desires that stay unnamed stay unfulfilled — and you've hidden yours long enough. 3. STOP Qualifying Your Desires and Dreams The next time you share a want with a friend, your spouse, or even yourself, pay attention to what comes after. "I'd really love to go back to school… but I know I should just be grateful for what I have." "I've been thinking about starting something… but it's not a big deal." Stop. It is a big deal. Your desires don't need a disclaimer. They don't need an apology. Let them stand on their own and watch how powerful they become when you stop shrinking them before they even have a chance to breathe. TRUTH: God didn't make a mistake when He wired you with ambition alongside motherhood. He didn't accidentally leave dreams in a heart that was also meant to raise children. He did it on purpose — because He knew the woman who pursues her calling and loves her family fiercely would raise children who believe they can do the same. You're not taking something from them by wanting more. You're showing them what it looks like to be fully alive, to be whole and alive. So give yourself the permission. Not because the world says you deserve it — but because the God who created you never asked you to disappear. He asked you to grow. He asked you to bear fruit. And He promised that when you delight in Him, those desires of your heart are not just okay. They're part of His divine plan. "Be present. Be incredible. Be YOU!!!"   🔔 Desire to be supported and encouraged by other like-minded women? Join us at the Kairos FREE Online Community. https://createyournow.com TAKE A.I.M. ~ Action Ignites Motivation  - This is a complimentary (FREE) coaching call with me. You will discuss your specific situation while gaining tools and strategies to move you forward. (https://form.jotform.com/62988215824163) 🙏  Create Your Now TV on Pray.com (https://pray.com) 🎥  Create Your Now on YouTube (https://youtube.com/createyournow) 🎧 Create Your Now on Spotify, Pandora, and Audible. 🎶  Create Your Now on iHeart Radio (http://www.iheart.com/show/263-Create-Your-Now-Your-Best/) ✍️  [email protected]  Instagram @CreateYourNow @KristianneWargo Twitter @KristianneWargo @CreateYourNow Facebook www.facebook.com/TheKISSCoach www.facebook.com/CreateYourNow   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.

Just for a second, stop climbing. Not because the top isn't worth reaching, but because something underneath you is shifting and you can feel it. The ladder looks right. The goal looks right. But the ground you planted it on is the part no one wants to talk about. When you anchor before you rise, you have the courage to step back down and check the foundation before you trust it with the height you're heading toward. A tree that shoots straight up without first sending its roots down deep is the first to fall when the wind picks up. You've seen it. Maybe you've even lived it — that season where everything looked right on the outside, but one strong gust knocked it all sideways because nothing was holding it in place underneath. Desire to be supported and encouraged by other like-minded women? Join us at the Kairos FREE Online Community. https://createyournow.com #Inspiration #CreateYourNow #DailyMotivation That's what happens when the rush to rise replaces the willingness to be rooted. The height isn't the problem. The timing is. And God, in His kindness, often slows the visible growth because He's doing the invisible work that will keep you standing long after the storm passes. Colossians 2:6–7 says it plainly: "So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness." You've got to be rooted first. Built up second. Strengthened along the way. And then — overflowing. Not rushing. Not forcing. Not pushing. Overflowing, like something that fills so completely from the inside that it can't help but spill over. That's what anchored growth looks like. It doesn't strain. It rises because it's ready. But we live in a world that rewards speed. The promotion, the platform, the visible harvest — those are the things that get the applause. Nobody celebrates the woman who's still in the dirt, still pressing her roots deeper into prayer, still choosing faithfulness over flashiness. And yet, she is the one being prepared for something that won't crumble when the weight of it lands on her shoulders. "You don't need to announce what God is building. The fruit will speak for itself when the season is right." ~ Kristianne Wargo The K.I.S.S. ~ Anchor before you rise! Here's the tension, though. Depth can feel like delay. When you're watching everyone else bloom, it takes real faith to believe that your season isn't behind — it's beneath. You're not stuck. You're being established. There is a difference, and it matters. "A woman rooted in God's truth is not moved by every storm that comes. She bends, but she does not break." ~ Kristianne Wargo That kind of strength doesn't come from hustling your way to the surface. It comes from surrendering to the process and trusting that what God is doing underground is more important than what anyone sees above it. Think about what an anchor actually does. It doesn't stop the boat from being on the water. It doesn't prevent the waves. What it does is keep the vessel from drifting when the current tries to pull it somewhere it was never meant to go. That's what this season is doing for you. God is anchoring your identity — not in your title, not in your productivity, not in how far along you look compared to someone else — but in who He says you are. And when that anchor holds, you can rise into anything without losing yourself in the process. So if you're in the deep right now, don't rush it. Don't despise the hidden work. The roots you're growing today are the very things that will hold the weight of your tomorrow. Depth isn't delay. It's preparation. And when the time comes for you to rise — and it will come — you won't just bloom. You'll stand. Firmly planted, fully anchored, and completely unshaken. "Be present. Be incredible. Be YOU!!!"   🔔 Desire to be supported and encouraged by other like-minded women? Join us at the Kairos FREE Online Community. https://createyournow.com TAKE A.I.M. ~ Action Ignites Motivation  - This is a complimentary (FREE) coaching call with me. You will discuss your specific situation while gaining tools and strategies to move you forward. (https://form.jotform.com/62988215824163) 🙏  Create Your Now TV on Pray.com (https://pray.com) 🎥  Create Your Now on YouTube (https://youtube.com/createyournow) 🎧 Create Your Now on Spotify, Pandora, and Audible. 🎶  Create Your Now on iHeart Radio (http://www.iheart.com/show/263-Create-Your-Now-Your-Best/) ✍️  [email protected]  Instagram @CreateYourNow @KristianneWargo Twitter @KristianneWargo @CreateYourNow Facebook www.facebook.com/TheKISSCoach www.facebook.com/CreateYourNow   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.

There's a picture that lives somewhere between a woman's heart and her hopes — a sketch of who she thought she'd be by now. Maybe she imagined herself more polished. More confident. More put together. Or maybe she thought she'd be softer by this point, gentler with herself, finally at peace. But then life happened. God happened. And the woman staring back in the mirror is not wrong. She's just not the version that was penciled in. She's the colors you didn't expect — and she might be the most beautiful surprise of all. When you hear that, is that you? A woman who's spent years building a mental blueprint of who she's becoming, yet realizing the finished product doesn't match the plan. Desire to be supported and encouraged by other like-minded women? Join us at the Kairos FREE Online Community. https://createyournow.com #IWellspringWednesday #CreateYourNow #HealthAndWellness Maybe the strength you carried wasn't in the original drawing. Maybe the tenderness that surfaces now catches you off guard because you thought becoming meant toughening up, not opening up. Or maybe you're bolder than you ever gave yourself permission to be — and that boldness feels unfamiliar, like wearing a color you never would have picked off the rack. TRUTH: God's divine design has never been limited by our crayons. Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV) says, "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Notice who's holding the plans. Not you. Not the version you sketched out in your twenties. Not the woman you thought you'd be after the kids were older, after the career shift, after the healing. God holds the plans — and His palette is wider, richer, and far more intentional than anything you could have chosen on your own. Think about it this way. You planned to be the calm, collected mom who handles everything with grace — and instead you became the fierce, protective one who fights for your kids' well-being with a fire you didn't know you had. That wasn't in the blueprint. But it was in the design. Or maybe you imagined you'd be leading by now — heading up the ministry, running the business, standing at the front of the room — and instead you've become someone who leads quietly, behind the scenes, through prayer and presence and steady, faithful showing up. That's not less than what you planned. That's deeper. Sometimes the most sacred colors are the ones you never would have chosen. "One step at a time leads to miles of greatness." — Kristianne Wargo And that's what this season is really about. Not arriving at the picture you drew, but falling in love with the masterpiece God is painting. That means letting go — not of hope, but of the insistence that becoming has to look a certain way. It means trusting that the unexpected shades, the qualities you didn't plan for, the version of yourself you didn't see coming — all of it is purposeful. All of it is His brushstroke. Isaiah 64:8 (NIV) reminds us, "Yet you, Lord, are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand." The clay doesn't get to dictate the glaze. But the clay can trust the Potter. And if you can get to the place where you look at the colors you didn't choose and say, "I see You in this" — that's where freedom begins. That's when you get to embrace the surprise. The K.I.S.S. ~ Embrace the surprise! So here's the real question: What would it look like to stop comparing who you are to who you thought you'd be — and instead, get curious about who God is creating you to be? 1. LET GO of one expectation you had for who you'd be "by now". And thank God for who you actually are. Maybe you thought you'd have it all figured out at this age. Maybe you imagined a different career, a different body, a different level of confidence. Maybe even a different spouse than who you married. Name that expectation honestly. Then open your hands and say, "God, thank You for who I actually am today — not the sketch, but the real thing." Love yourself where you're at, not where you thought you'd be standing. 2. EXPLORE one unexpected strength, interest, or quality that has emerged in this season. And then lean into it. Maybe you've discovered a compassion you didn't used to carry, or a creative side that surfaced after loss, or a patience that grew out of waiting longer than you ever wanted to. Don't dismiss it just because it wasn't part of the original plan. Ask yourself: What have I gained from this season that I never would have found on the easier road? That gain is a color worth keeping. "Sometimes we want to throw away all the broken color crayons. But maybe those broken colors are the ones that are a perfect match." ~ Kristianne Wargo 3. REWRITE one part of your story that you used to see as a detour. And recognize it as a defining color in your design. That season you thought was wasted? That relationship that reshaped you? That chapter you wished you could skip? Look at it again — not through the lens of regret or bitterness, but through the lens of a God who wastes nothing. He knew your color before you did. And every shade He's added — even the ones that came through pain — is part of something breathtaking. Here's what you need to hear today: the woman you're becoming doesn't have to match the woman you imagined. You just have to be real. You just have to be willing. And you have to trust that the Artist who started this work isn't winging it — He's been choosing every color with your name in mind since before you took your first breath. Ephesians 2:10 (NIV) puts it perfectly: "For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." Handiwork. Not a rough draft. Not a happy accident. Handiwork, on purpose. So today, put down the blueprint. Stop measuring yourself against a version of you that was never supposed to exist. And take one long, honest look at the woman you're actually becoming — the one with unexpected colors, unfamiliar strengths, and a story only God could write. You're not a mistake. You're a masterpiece in motion. Now go — and Create Your Now. "Be present. Be incredible. Be YOU!!!"   🔔 Desire to be supported and encouraged by other like-minded women? Join us at the Kairos FREE Online Community. https://createyournow.com TAKE A.I.M. ~ Action Ignites Motivation  - This is a complimentary (FREE) coaching call with me. You will discuss your specific situation while gaining tools and strategies to move you forward. (https://form.jotform.com/62988215824163) 🙏  Create Your Now TV on Pray.com (https://pray.com) 🎥  Create Your Now on YouTube (https://youtube.com/createyournow) 🎧 Create Your Now on Spotify, Pandora, and Audible. 🎶  Create Your Now on iHeart Radio (http://www.iheart.com/show/263-Create-Your-Now-Your-Best/) ✍️  [email protected]  Instagram @CreateYourNow @KristianneWargo Twitter @KristianneWargo @CreateYourNow Facebook www.facebook.com/TheKISSCoach www.facebook.com/CreateYourNow   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.

There's this quiet pressure — a whisper that says, Figure it out. Hold it together. Don't let anyone see the mess behind the smile. And so we carry it. We smile through the overwhelm, we nod when someone asks how we're doing, and we go home and sit in the middle of the same spinning thoughts we had yesterday. Changing anything takes work, but as you show up unfinished, you create your now. Because that's where the impact begins, or continues, with God meeting you there every time. And He never expected you to walk in with all the answers. Desire to be supported and encouraged by other like-minded women? Join us at the Kairos FREE Online Community. https://createyournow.com #Inspiration #CreateYourNow #DailyMotivation Somewhere along the way, we picked up this idea that renewing our mind is a private project. Something between us and our journal. Us and our morning quiet time. And yes, those things matter — deeply. But here's what we miss when we keep this work tucked behind closed doors: we were designed for connection. The Proverbs tell us to trust God with everything — not just the Sunday parts, not just the parts that look good on paper — all of it. Every anxious thought, every question we're too embarrassed to say out loud. And the promise that follows? He'll straighten the path. Not because we finally figured out the right formula, but because we finally stopped pretending we had one. (Proverbs 3:5–6) That's where community comes in. Not the surface kind. Not the "let's grab coffee and talk about the weather" kind. The kind where someone looks you in the eye and says, "How are you really?" — and actually waits for the answer. The kind where you can say, I don't know what I'm doing, and instead of judgment, you get, Me neither. Let's figure it out together. When was the last time you let someone into the unfinished parts? Not the polished version. Not the testimony after the breakthrough. The middle. The messy, uncertain, I-cried-in-my-car-again middle. Because here's what happens when we try to renew our minds in isolation: we end up recycling the same thoughts. The same fears loop. The same lies get comfortable. And without another voice — a trusted friend, a prayer partner, a community that's reaching for the same things — those lies start to sound like truth. They settle in. They build a home. But when you let someone in? When you say the hard thing out loud? Something breaks. The lie loses its grip because it was never meant to survive the light. That's how God works. He uses people. He uses conversations and prayer circles and that friend who texts at just the right moment. He doesn't just meet you in solitude — He meets you in the middle of your people. The K.I.S.S. ~ Show up unfinished! Think about it. Even Jesus didn't walk alone. He had the twelve. He had the three He pulled closer. He had the ones He asked to stay awake with Him when the weight was unbearable. If the Son of God invited people into His hardest moments, what makes us think we're supposed to handle ours solo? So here's the honest question: where are you right now? Not where you wish you were. Not where your Instagram makes it look like you are. Where are you — really? And the follow-up: where do you want to go? Because those two things — the honesty about where you stand and the courage to name where you're headed — that's the beginning. That's renewal in motion. And it moves faster when you surround yourself with women who are reaching for the same things. Not perfect women. Not women who have it all together. Women who are willing to show up unfinished and trust that God is doing something with the pieces. You don't have to have it all together. You just have to show up and let God use the pieces. That's not weakness, friend. That's wisdom. That's the kind of trust that says, I can't see the whole picture, but I know the One who can — and I know the people He's placed around me to help me keep walking. Renewing your mind is a daily decision. Some days it's bold and some days it's barely a whisper. But it was never meant to be a solo project. So today, open the door. Send the text. Make the call. Show up at that group you've been thinking about. Walk into the conversation you've been avoiding. And if you don't have that circle yet — start looking for it. Ask God to bring the right people. He will. He always does. You were built for this — but not by yourself. You were built for this with Him and with the people He's already placing in your path. "Be present. Be incredible. Be YOU!!!"   🔔 Desire to be supported and encouraged by other like-minded women? Join us at the Kairos FREE Online Community. https://createyournow.com TAKE A.I.M. ~ Action Ignites Motivation  - This is a complimentary (FREE) coaching call with me. You will discuss your specific situation while gaining tools and strategies to move you forward. (https://form.jotform.com/62988215824163) 🙏  Create Your Now TV on Pray.com (https://pray.com) 🎥  Create Your Now on YouTube (https://youtube.com/createyournow) 🎧 Create Your Now on Spotify, Pandora, and Audible. 🎶  Create Your Now on iHeart Radio (http://www.iheart.com/show/263-Create-Your-Now-Your-Best/) ✍️  [email protected]  Instagram @CreateYourNow @KristianneWargo Twitter @KristianneWargo @CreateYourNow Facebook www.facebook.com/TheKISSCoach www.facebook.com/CreateYourNow   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.

Somewhere along the way, somebody said something about you — and you believed it. Maybe it wasn't even spoken out loud. Maybe it was a glance. A silence where encouragement should have been. A tone that told you you're not enough without ever using those words. And without even realizing it, you tucked that message into the deepest part of who you are and started building your life around it. So who told you that? Because here's the thing — and I say this as someone who spent years running on a script I didn't write — most of us have never stopped long enough to ask where our thoughts about ourselves actually came from. We just… accepted them. Like hand-me-down clothes that never fit right, but we wore them anyway because we didn't know we had a choice. Desire to be supported and encouraged by other like-minded women? Join us at the Kairos FREE Online Community. https://createyournow.com #MindsetMonday #CreateYourNow #PersonalDevelopment Think about it. What have you been told — directly or indirectly — that has directed your decisions, shaped how you see yourself, and colored everything you believe you're capable of? Do you really think about what you think about when it comes to who you are? And maybe the bigger question is this: who decided that for you? Look at Jake Bauers with the Milwaukee Brewers. You know the name of the team because they are playing in the 2026 World Series as we speak with the third game tonight. He broke into the MLB in 2018 with the Tampa Bay Rays. Imagine that? But as time moved on, his career didn't rev up maybe as he had hoped, being shuffled between the majors and Triple-A. In 2024, he was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers and by November he was removed from the 40-man roster. Free agency was where he was headed. Imagine all the things that went through Bauers' head. We can play mind games with ourselves to the point of burying us alive in the "not good enough" graveyard. I've been there. Headstone already engraved. Flowers laid. And the whole time I was the one digging the hole. Not because the lies were true — but because I never questioned who handed me the shovel. Who wants to live a life on lies? Here's what nobody tells you: every single day requires the act of renewing your mind. Not once a year at a conference. Not when you hit rock bottom and finally cry out. Every. Single. Day. This is deciding what you want to see and what you let into your mind, your body, and your spirit. This is not something to take lightly. And honestly? It's not talked about nearly enough — except in those surface-level conversations about "being more positive" or "having a better posture in what you do." But can I be real with you? Is that really leading your life the way God intended? Romans 12:2 is one of the most quoted verses in the entire Bible — and if you've been in church for any length of time, you've probably heard it so many times it slides right off. But listen to it again like it's the first time: "Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is — his good, pleasing and perfect will." — Romans 12:2 (NIV) Did you catch that? This isn't a suggestion. This isn't a self-help tip with a Bible verse attached. As Paul reminds us what God desires: Stop letting the world write the script for your life. Stop letting culture, comparison, social media, old wounds, reels, shorts, YouTube, and other people's opinions shape how you think about yourself. Be transformed. And how? By the renewing of your mind. But here's the part we skip right over — this isn't a one-time event. This is a daily choosing. Every morning you wake up, there's a battle already in motion for what's going to occupy your thoughts. The world is loud. It has an opinion about your worth, your beauty, your success, your role, your body. And if you're not intentionally putting something different in? You're going to default to whatever's been playing on repeat. Paul drives this even deeper in Ephesians: "You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness." — Ephesians 4:22–24 (NIV) Put off. Be made new. Put on. That's not passive. That's an exchange. You don't just wake up one day and think differently because you hoped really hard. You take off the old — the lies, the labels, the limitations, limiting beliefs — and you deliberately put on what God says instead. Not by willpower. By surrender. Marcus Aurelius once wrote, "The soul is dyed the color of its thoughts." And while that's not Scripture, it sure lines up with it. What you soak your mind in is what you become. If you've been marinating in "I'm not enough," "I'll never change," "It's too late for me" — that's the color you're wearing. And it was never the one God picked out for you. "You don't have to stay dressed in what the world put on you. God already laid out something better — you just have to be brave enough to change." — Kristianne Wargo The K.I.S.S. ~ Renew your M.I.N.D.! DOWNLOAD HERE TO RENEW YOUR MIND! So what does renewal actually look like in real life? It looks like catching yourself mid-thought — that old, familiar voice that says you're behind, you're failing, you're not like her — and choosing to interrupt it. It looks like opening your Bible before you open your phone. It looks like saying out loud, "That's not what God says about me," even when your feelings are screaming something different. It looks like deciding, before your feet hit the floor, that today you will not conform. Today, you choose new. You get to dress up in your new jeans, put on the slub tee, those shoes with red bottoms, and the sparkly jewelry that highlights your smile. Dress your mind in what matters. M — MARK the lie you've been living by. Get honest. Write it down. What is the one thought about yourself that you've carried so long it feels like fact? "I'm too much." "I'm not good enough." "I don't deserve good things." "Nothing's gonna change." Name it — because you can't put off what you won't acknowledge. I — INTERRUPT the pattern with God's Word. Find one Scripture that speaks the opposite truth over that lie. Write it on a card, tape it to your mirror, set it as your phone wallpaper. Every time the old thought surfaces this week, read that verse out loud. Out loud matters — faith comes by hearing, and sometimes you need to hear your own voice speaking what God already said. N — NEGOTIATE nothing with the old narrative. Stop entertaining it. Stop giving it a seat at the table. When the lie shows up dressed as wisdom — "I'm just being realistic" — recognize it for what it is: a pattern of this world trying to conform you. You are not being renewed if you're still negotiating with all of your lies trying to make them truths. D — DECIDE before your feet hit the floor. Every morning there are new mercies and a fresh exchange. Before the noise starts, before the phone lights up, before the world gets a word in — declare it: "Today, I put off the old and I put on the new. Today, I choose to think the way God sees me." Make it a daily, deliberate, out-loud decision. Remember Jake Bauers? Well, he told his agent that he was going to retire. Yet 3 days later, his wife announced the pregnancy of their second child. "Guess I get to go back to work." He re-signed with the Brewers and was named the 2026 MVP of the National League Championship Series (NLCS) after helping the Brewers get to the World Series. Do you think he had to renew his mind? Do you think he had to change what he was dressing in every day — mind, body, and spirit? Friend, you were never meant to live under the weight of someone else's verdict about you. You were never meant to carry labels that God didn't write. And the beautiful, messy, brave truth is this — renewal is available to you right now. You don't have to wait for it; you can create your now today! This isn't about being more positive. This isn't about trying harder just to think happy thoughts. This is about surrendering your thought life to the One who created your mind in the first place and letting Him do what only God can do — transform you from the inside out. So who told you that you weren't good enough? Who told you it was too late? Who told you that you are what you've done or what's been done to you? Because God says different. And His Word doesn't return void. "Renewal is not an upgrade — it's an exchange. You give God the lies, and He gives you the truth. Every single day, that trade is available. Take it and run with it. One step at a time leads to miles of greatness." — Kristianne Wargo "Be present. Be incredible. Be YOU!!!"   🔔 Desire to be supported and encouraged by other like-minded women? Join us at the Kairos FREE Online Community. https://createyournow.com TAKE A.I.M. ~ Action Ignites Motivation  - This is a complimentary (FREE) coaching call with me. You will discuss your specific situation while gaining tools and strategies to move you forward. (https://form.jotform.com/62988215824163) 🙏  Create Your Now TV on Pray.com (https://pray.com) 🎥  Create Your Now on YouTube (https://youtube.com/createyournow) 🎧 Create Your Now on Spotify, Pandora, and Audible. 🎶  Create Your Now on iHeart Radio (http://www.iheart.com/show/263-Create-Your-Now-Your-Best/) ✍️  [email protected]  Instagram @CreateYourNow @KristianneWargo Twitter @KristianneWargo @CreateYourNow Facebook www.facebook.com/TheKISSCoach www.facebook.com/CreateYourNow   Cover Art by Jenny Hamson Photo by Canva.com   Music by Mandisa - Overcomer http://www.mandisaof

A storm doesn't ask permission. It doesn't check the calendar, wait until the kids are older, or hold off until the marriage feels steady. It just comes. And in the space between the first crack of thunder and the moment everything goes quiet again, one thing becomes impossibly clear — whatever was underneath all along is the only thing that matters now: built on the rock. Jesus called it the difference between rock and sand, and He did not mince words. Desire to be supported and encouraged by other like-minded women? Join us at the Kairos FREE Online Community. https://createyournow.com #SweetSpirit #CreateYourNow #SoulfulSunday In Matthew 7:24–27, Jesus laid out two builders side by side. Same rain. Same flood. Same wind. One house stood. One house fell — and Jesus said it fell great. Not a slow lean or a gradual settling. A total collapse. The only difference between those two outcomes had nothing to do with the quality of the walls or how beautiful the house looked from the street. It came down to one decision made long before the sky ever turned dark: what did you build on? That's the part that gets missed. The wise builder didn't have better weather. She didn't get a heads-up from the forecast. She made a choice — before the pressure came, before the crisis hit, before the phone call that changed everything — to anchor her life to something that could not be moved. And that choice didn't look dramatic at the time. It looked like opening the Word when the morning was already loud. It looked like praying through the frustration instead of reacting out of it. It looked like forgiving when the hurt was still fresh and choosing to stay surrendered when walking away would have been easier. Ordinary, invisible, daily decisions. But those decisions were laying stone. Proverbs 24:3–4 says, "By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established; through knowledge its rooms are filled with rare and beautiful treasures." There's a sequence there that matters. Wisdom builds. Understanding establishes. Knowledge fills. It doesn't happen all at once. Nobody wakes up one morning with an unshakable life. It's constructed — brick by brick, prayer by prayer, choice by choice — and every piece of it is held together by the intentional decision to trust God's divine blueprint over the world's. The K.I.S.S. ~ Built on the rock! And here's what makes that blueprint different from every other plan out there: it accounts for the storm. "God never designed a life that depends on perfect conditions. He designed a life that holds under real ones." ~ Kristianne Wargo The marriage that survives the hard year isn't the one that never had conflict — it's the one where both people chose to build on covenant instead of convenience. The woman who stands steady in a season of loss isn't the one who saw it coming — she's the one who anchored her identity to something deeper than her circumstances long before those circumstances shifted. That's the real question this parable asks. Not will the storm come — because it will. The question is: When it does, what will be left? Sand is sneaky. It feels solid enough on a calm day. It's faster to build on, easier to start with, and nobody notices the difference when the sun is shining. Sand looks like building a life around what people think instead of what God says. It looks like measuring worth by productivity. It looks like performing stability instead of pursuing it. It looks like hearing the Word on Sunday and setting it down by Monday. Sand isn't always sin — sometimes it's just distraction dressed up as busyness, or comfort disguised as wisdom. But the moment real weight lands on it, sand does what sand has always done. It shifts. Rock doesn't shift. Rock is the Word applied — not just read, not just highlighted, not just posted on a wall — but Christ's words heard and Christ's words acted on. That's the distinction Jesus drew. Both builders heard. Only one did something with what she heard. Obedience is the mortar. It's what turns knowledge into structure, what turns belief into something load-bearing. And it often looks, from the outside, like the harder path. Because it is. Digging down to rock takes longer than smoothing out sand. But nobody regrets the depth of their foundation in the middle of a hurricane. So build wisely. Build with the kind of quiet, steady purpose that doesn't need an audience. Build the marriage on prayer, not just chemistry. Build the family on truth, not just tradition. Build the calling on obedience, not just ambition. And when the rain falls — because it will — stand firm. Not because the storm isn't real, but because what you're standing on is more real than anything the storm could ever throw at you. The house that stands isn't the one that was built fastest. It's the one that was built on the only foundation that was never meant to move. Nothing is impossible; build on the rock! "Be present. Be incredible. Be YOU!!!"   🔔 Desire to be supported and encouraged by other like-minded women? Join us at the Kairos FREE Online Community. https://createyournow.com TAKE A.I.M. ~ Action Ignites Motivation  - This is a complimentary (FREE) coaching call with me. You will discuss your specific situation while gaining tools and strategies to move you forward. (https://form.jotform.com/62988215824163) 🙏  Create Your Now TV on Pray.com (https://pray.com) 🎥  Create Your Now on YouTube (https://youtube.com/createyournow) 🎧 Create Your Now on Spotify, Pandora, and Audible. 🎶  Create Your Now on iHeart Radio (http://www.iheart.com/show/263-Create-Your-Now-Your-Best/) ✍️  [email protected]  Instagram @CreateYourNow @KristianneWargo Twitter @KristianneWargo @CreateYourNow Facebook www.facebook.com/TheKISSCoach www.facebook.com/CreateYourNow   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.

There is a conversation happening inside your home right now — and it has nothing to do with the dinner, dishes, and dogs. It's actually quieter than that. It lives in the sigh you let out when your spouse walks in the room. In the way you respond — or don't. In the joke that carries just enough edge to leave a mark. In the silence that stretches across the couch like a wall neither of you built on purpose but both of you feel. Your marriage deserves a vocabulary wall that gives life; words that build, words that bloom. Words matter. Not someday. Not in some abstract, poetic way. Right now — in the living, breathing, choosing-each-other space of your marriage. Because the truth is, every word you speak to the person you said "I do" to is either building something beautiful or slowly chipping away at what once was. Desire to be supported and encouraged by other like-minded women? Join us at the Kairos FREE Online Community. https://createyournow.com #RelationshipBuilders #CreateYourNow #LoveAndMarriage Now understand this is not about guilt. It is not about looking back at what you said last Tuesday and beating yourself up over it. This is about looking forward. It is about becoming the kind of spouse whose words are a safe place to land — the kind of partner whose voice makes the other person stand a little taller, not shrink a little smaller. Proverbs 18:21 says, "The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit." Read that again. The power of life and death — and it lives right between your teeth. In your marriage, that power gets wielded every single day. Sometimes it builds a fortress of trust. And sometimes — without even meaning to — it tears one down, brick by brick. Think about the last time your spouse said something that made you feel like you could take on the world. Maybe it was an "I'm proud of you" after a hard day. Maybe it was the way they looked at you and said, "I noticed what you did, and it matters." That kind of language does not just feel good. It heals. Proverbs 16:24 tells us, "Gracious words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones." Healing. That is what the right words do. They do not just encourage — they restore. They renew. They reconcile. Now think about the other side. The sarcastic comment you played off as a joke. The critique you slipped in under the guise of being "helpful." The tone — not the words themselves, but the way you said them — that told your spouse exactly how you felt without you ever having to say it out loud. Or worse — the silence. The cold, deliberate quiet that screams louder than any argument ever could. Here is the thing no one tells you about marriage: it is not the big blowout fights that do the most damage. It is the slow erosion. The daily drip of careless words, half-hearted responses, and missed opportunities to speak life. A sigh here. An eye roll there. A "must be nice" tossed across the kitchen that lands harder than you think it does. You think it's a soft Nerf ball, but it hits like a bullet. But here is the beautiful thing — it works the other way, too. The same mouth that can wound is the same mouth that can heal. The same voice that can dismiss is the same voice that can affirm. And when you decide — when you choose — to use your words to build your spouse up instead of pointing out what they got wrong, something shifts. Not overnight. But steadily. Faithfully. Like a garden that finally gets watered. Ephesians 4:29 puts it plainly: "Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen." According to their needs. Not according to what you feel like saying. Not according to your frustration or your anger. According to what they need to hear. That is a game-changer. Because encouragement is not flattery. It is not telling your spouse they are perfect. It is telling them you see their effort. It is saying, "I believe in you" when they are doubting themselves. It is whispering, "We are going to get through this" when the weight of the world feels heavy. It is choosing — in the moments when it would be easier to criticize — to speak something that gives life instead. "Your words are seeds. Plant them with purpose, and watch your marriage bloom." — Kristianne Wargo It's about time to throw a kiss! The K.I.S.S. ~ Throw a K.I.S.S.! So let me ask you something — and I want you to sit with this before you answer: If your spouse could only hear the words you have spoken to them this week — no context, no explanation, just the words — what kind of marriage would those words describe? K — KNOW Your Words Before You Speak Them. Catch yourself before the criticism lands. This week, every time you are about to correct, critique, or complain about your spouse — pause. Just pause. Ask yourself three things: Is this necessary? Is it kind? Is there a better way to say this? Most of the time, the answer is yes — there is a better way. And sometimes, the most powerful thing you can say is nothing at all. Not the cold silence that punishes — but the grace-filled pause that protects. Know your words before they leave your mouth, because once they are out, you cannot take them back. I — INSPIRE with Specific Encouragement Every Day. One word of encouragement. Every single day. But here is the key — make it specific. "You're great" is nice, but it floats right past. "I love the way you handled that conversation today" — that sticks. "I noticed how patient you were with the kids tonight, and it reminded me why I fell in love with you" — that changes the atmosphere of your home. Your spouse needs to hear what you see in them — the things they may have stopped seeing in themselves. Be the voice that calls out the gold. S — SCRIPT a Handwritten Note. Put pen to paper this week. Not a text. Not a voice memo. An actual handwritten note. It does not have to be long — a sentence or two will do. "I am proud of you." "Thank you for being mine." "You make this life better." Leave it on the bathroom mirror. Tuck it in a jacket pocket. Slip it into a lunchbox. There is something about seeing love in someone's handwriting that a screen will never replicate. A text says, "I was thinking of you." A handwritten note says, "I stopped everything to tell you." S — SUSTAIN the Practice Beyond This Week. One good day of kind words will not undo months of careless ones. This is not about a single gesture — it is about building a new rhythm. Commit to speaking life over your spouse not just this week, but every week. Make encouragement a habit, not a headline. Let your words become the daily soundtrack of your marriage — steady, intentional, and full of grace. Because love is not just a feeling. It is a language. And it is spoken one word at a time. Your marriage was never meant to survive on autopilot. It was designed to thrive — and the words you choose are the water and sunlight that make that possible. You do not need a perfect vocabulary. You do not need to be a poet. You just need to be intentional. To choose life when it would be easier to choose silence. To choose grace when it would be easier to choose correction. To choose "I see you" when the world has made your spouse feel invisible. "The strongest marriages are not built on the absence of conflict — they are built on the presence of words that heal." — Kristianne Wargo This week, throw a K.I.S.S. Know your words. Inspire your spouse. Script a note. And sustain the practice — because the marriage you are building is worth every single syllable. "Be present. Be incredible. Be YOU!!!"   🔔 Desire to be supported and encouraged by other like-minded women? Join us at the Kairos FREE Online Community. https://createyournow.com TAKE A.I.M. ~ Action Ignites Motivation  - This is a complimentary (FREE) coaching call with me. You will discuss your specific situation while gaining tools and strategies to move you forward. (https://form.jotform.com/62988215824163) 🙏  Create Your Now TV on Pray.com (https://pray.com) 🎥  Create Your Now on YouTube (https://youtube.com/createyournow) 🎧 Create Your Now on Spotify, Pandora, and Audible. 🎶  Create Your Now on iHeart Radio (http://www.iheart.com/show/263-Create-Your-Now-Your-Best/) ✍️  [email protected]  Instagram @CreateYourNow @KristianneWargo Twitter @KristianneWargo @CreateYourNow Facebook www.facebook.com/TheKISSCoach www.facebook.com/CreateYourNow   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.

There's a girl in the back of your memory who used to laugh a little louder. She stayed up too late because the conversation was that good. She had plans scribbled on napkins, dreams she talked about with her whole body, and a sparkle in her eyes that had nothing to do with anyone else's schedule. The girl before the to-do list, seemingly left behind in the beautiful chaos of raising a family. Because somewhere between the first positive test and the four hundredth permission slip, something quiet happened. Not dramatic. Not sudden. Just a slow, steady shift where everything that made her her got tucked into the bottom drawer to make room for everything everyone else needed. Desire to be supported and encouraged by other like-minded women? Join us at the Kairos FREE Online Community. https://createyournow.com #ConfessionsOfAnUpsetMama #CreateYourNow #TodaysParent And nobody told her to do it. She just did — because that's what good moms do, right? They pour out. They show up. They handle it. And eventually, the pouring becomes so automatic that she forgets she was ever full of something that was just hers. Here's the thing no one says out loud: motherhood was never supposed to be a trade-in. It was supposed to be an addition. Ephesians 2:10 says, "For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." The purpose God planted inside of you before you ever held a baby is still there. It didn't expire. It didn't get reassigned. It's been waiting under the weight of the laundry, lunches, and love you give to everyone but yourself. And this isn't about guilt. Nobody's pointing a finger here. This is more like a gentle tap on the shoulder from the woman you used to be, saying, Hey. I'm still here. Can we talk? Think about what used to light you up. Not what you do now because it's practical. Not the hobby you picked because it fits between carpool and dinner. What made you come alive before your identity got wrapped up in someone else's milestones? Maybe it was writing. Maybe it was travel. Maybe it was a subject in school that made you feel like you could change the world. Whatever it was — it mattered. And it still does. Jeremiah 29:11 reminds us, "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Those plans didn't stop being yours when your kids' plans started filling up the calendar. God is big enough to hold both — your calling and your children. In fact, the two were never meant to compete. Your kids don't need a mother who abandoned herself to raise them. They need a mother who lives so fully and wholly that they learn what it looks like to become who God made them to be. The K.I.S.S. ~ Remember her! So what would it look like to go find her? Not in some dramatic reinvention, but in a quiet, Tuesday-afternoon kind of way? 1. Go back to find her. Pull out a photo of yourself from before you had kids. Not a group shot — one where it's just you. Look at her face. What was she excited about? What was she working toward? What did she dream about becoming? Now write one sentence about what you see in her eyes. Not what she was doing — what she was feeling. Maybe it's something like, She believed anything was possible. Or, She wasn't afraid to want something big. That sentence is the thread. Pull on it gently this week. 2. Name three things that are still yours. Not your kids' activities. Not your spouse's interests. Not the thing you do because someone needed a volunteer. Three things that belong to you — a passion, a skill, a curiosity. Maybe you used to paint. Maybe you've always been fascinated by interior design. Maybe you've got a recipe idea that's been living in the Notes app on your phone for two years. They might be dusty. They might feel silly. But they're still yours. Write them down — pen to paper, not just in your head — because naming something out loud is the first step to giving it oxygen again. 3. Reclaim one this week. Pick one of those three things and give it fifteen minutes. That's it. Fifteen minutes that belong to nobody but you. Read a chapter of that book. Sketch something on the back of an envelope. Play a song you used to love on repeat. Look up that class you've been curious about. It doesn't have to be productive. It doesn't have to lead anywhere. It just has to be yours. Because fifteen minutes of remembering who you are has a way of turning into an hour, and an hour has a way of turning into a life that feels like it fits again. Here's what no one tells you about rediscovering yourself inside of motherhood: your kids are watching. They're learning what it means to be a whole person by watching you try to be one. When you pick up that paintbrush or open that book or sign up for that class, you're not taking something away from them. You're showing them that a woman can love fiercely, serve generously, and still hold onto the fire that makes her who she is. "Motherhood was meant to add to your story — not erase the chapters that came before or the ones here and now." — Kristianne Wargo She's still in there. The girl with the big laugh and the bigger dreams. She didn't leave — she just got quiet. And maybe it's time to remind her that she still matters. Not because the world needs another hustle or another hashtag, but because God didn't make half of you for before kids and the other half for after. He made all of you for all of your life. "Be present. Be incredible. Be YOU!!!"   🔔 Desire to be supported and encouraged by other like-minded women? Join us at the Kairos FREE Online Community. https://createyournow.com TAKE A.I.M. ~ Action Ignites Motivation  - This is a complimentary (FREE) coaching call with me. You will discuss your specific situation while gaining tools and strategies to move you forward. (https://form.jotform.com/62988215824163) 🙏  Create Your Now TV on Pray.com (https://pray.com) 🎥  Create Your Now on YouTube (https://youtube.com/createyournow) 🎧 Create Your Now on Spotify, Pandora, and Audible. 🎶  Create Your Now on iHeart Radio (http://www.iheart.com/show/263-Create-Your-Now-Your-Best/) ✍️  [email protected]  Instagram @CreateYourNow @KristianneWargo Twitter @KristianneWargo @CreateYourNow Facebook www.facebook.com/TheKISSCoach www.facebook.com/CreateYourNow   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.