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The New Mom Podcast is a Christian motherhood podcast for women navigating pregnancy, postpartum, and early motherhood.
Whether you're a first-time mom, expecting, or in the middle of sleepless nights, this show offers real, honest conversations about motherhood, marriage, identity, and faith. We talk about birth stories, postpartum recovery, relationships, mental health, and trusting God through every stage of motherhood. If you're looking for encouragement, practical advice, and a reminder that you're not alone—this podcast is for you.
Our prayer is that New Mom leaves you feeling seen, strengthened, and a little more equipped for the beautiful calling of motherhood!
New episodes weekly.
Welcome back to New Mom. Today, I got to have an amazing conversation with Hanna Seymour. She's a podcaster and author and a mom of three. She came to chat about her book Everyday, Small Simple Ways to Transform Your Faith Starting Now. Absolutely love this book, and I think you're gonna enjoy Hanna.
Carrie:She implements so many practical, small ways that we can habit stack and incorporate more time with the Lord into our busy days as moms. So without further ado, here's my conversation with Hanna. Hanna, welcome to New Mom.
Hanna:Thank you. I'm so glad to be here. This is amazing space.
Carrie:Thank you. Thank you. I'm so happy. You showed up with the pink dress, I'm like, oh, you fit my little world. I love it.
Hanna:I asked my husband. I was like, is this too much to wear in, like, a video interview? And he was like, oh, depends on the podcaster and the set. And I was like, I think we're good.
Carrie:Or yeah. Yeah. I'm like, wow. I need to wear more pink. Like, it works so well.
Carrie:You're gonna pop like crazy, but you look adorable. Thank you. Yeah. But I'm I'm so excited to have you. For for those who don't know you, I would love it if you would start by, like, giving us a little bio on who you are, maybe how long you've been married
Hanna:Yes.
Carrie:Your professional stuff, your kids. Yes. Yeah. Give us the runaround.
Hanna:I'm always like, where do I
Carrie:even start? Know. It's such a big question. I'm always like, so just tell me who you are real fast. Go ahead.
Carrie:Yeah.
Hanna:So I'm almost 42 years old. So let me just try to catch
Carrie:you up really quick. Just give me the last four years.
Hanna:Okay. Born in Texas, but grew up in Northern Virginia DC area. I moved to Nashville in 2010. My first career was in higher education and student affairs. So I have a master's in, higher education student affairs.
Hanna:Same words. And I worked at a variety of different colleges, mostly secular. But then my last job was at Belmont University, which is what brought me here to Nashville, Tennessee.
Carrie:So cool.
Hanna:And I loved that. I loved the college experience. I loved the idea of walking specifically with women. But, I mean, I worked with college men too. Helping them figure out like who they are and what they believe.
Hanna:And, so I did that for over a decade. And actually, the first book that I wrote is from that era of life. It's The College Girl Survival Guide. And then I transitioned out of that job, It's a whole different story for a different day. And I started working for my dad, who at the time had had a five day a week radio show and decided to come off the air and go online into podcasting.
Hanna:And podcasting was, like, pretty new at this time. And so I he was looking to hire someone. And as we were talking, I thought, I know this sounds crazy, but should I work for you? Like, I think I can do a really good job. And I think I might help bridge the gap for you to be reaching more millennials.
Hanna:And so anyway, long story short, that got me into the nonprofit world and podcasting at that well, I met my husband before then, before I started working for my dad. But, my husband Tyler has been here much longer than I have. He but he came to Belmont as a student actually. Wow. And so we met not while he
Carrie:was a student, but we would have been we were we would have
Hanna:been the same, we would have been students at the same time. But he, you know yeah. We dated, fell in love. We have three kids that are currently let's see. I have to really think about this.
Hanna:We just did birthdays, eight and a half, seven, and five. Okay. So I had three babies Oh, that's insane. In three and a half years. And I do not recommend it, but it was God's plan for us.
Hanna:And so we received that, and we're grateful for that.
Carrie:And you guys are done? Those
Hanna:are We're your so done. Okay. Yes. We're so done. I was so sick.
Hanna:My I had two boys and a girl, and my girl pregnancy was horrible.
Carrie:So many people say that. That's inter was she your third?
Hanna:Uh-huh.
Carrie:So you felt the difference. You had the boys.
Hanna:And Yes.
Carrie:Did you assume you're having a girl quickly because
Hanna:you felt that way? Having twins. I mean, I was
Carrie:Oh, okay. You're like, I'm wrecked.
Hanna:I was so sick. Yes.
Carrie:Really? Yes. Were you sick with the boys at all?
Hanna:I was nauseous with both of them until about twenty weeks.
Carrie:Okay. So not so easy.
Hanna:I wasn't, like, throwing up a like Mhmm. Maybe a few times. Like, it was not It
Carrie:was like your typical first trimester.
Hanna:Okay. But my girl pregnancy was so bad. So anyway, after that, I was like, I'm not doing
Carrie:this again. We did it. Three's three's great.
Hanna:Okay. That's fine. So anyway so, yeah, I still work for my dad and produce his three podcasts. I have two podcasts. I've got two books.
Hanna:I'm trying to think what else to tell you. I homeschool my kids.
Carrie:Oh, do you? I didn't know that. Do. It's amazing. Oh my gosh.
Carrie:What? How are you doing all these things? Was just talking to
Hanna:a friend. I'm like, I don't identify as a homeschool mom,
Carrie:but I do homeschool
Hanna:my children.
Carrie:Yeah. A non homeschool mom who does homeschool. We might need to get into I'm actually I'm I'm how do you like, that's a lot of hats to carry. It is. How are feeling?
Hanna:A lot. I discovered recently, I think my problem is that I have a lot of full time jobs that I treat as part time jobs. So I'm working on that right now.
Carrie:Good for you. Yep. Yep. Yep. You gotta
Hanna:You know, awareness is the first step. Yeah. And we're just gonna mhmm. Figure it out.
Carrie:Figure it
Hanna:out as you go.
Carrie:Yep. Well, you're wonderful. Before we dive into I love your book. I'm gonna say Everyday Spiritual Habits. We're gonna get into this, because I love it.
Carrie:But before we do, I always ask my guests, like, what is the Lord teaching you in this season of motherhood?
Hanna:Oh, of motherhood. My goodness. Okay. This is gonna sound horrible. So, hopefully, you and your people understand where I'm coming from.
Carrie:Probably talking to the right people.
Hanna:But I just recently really discovered that I viewed my children as a distraction from, like, the more important work that I was doing. Mhmm. And the Lord very kindly and gently kinda smacked me around recently and was like, no, no. Like everything else is the distraction. Like, this is the priority.
Hanna:This is the most important thing that I have given you to do. And so learning to, like, reorient some of my priorities and even my attitude. And, yes, like, they'll interrupt me while I'm doing dishes. Right? And I like, it's okay for me to say, I need you to give me three more minutes.
Hanna:Let me just finish that. Like, you can wait. That's good for you. Mhmm. It's okay for me to finish something.
Hanna:Like, some you know?
Carrie:Yes. There's, like, balance.
Hanna:Yes. But learning other times, I was looking at them and really pushing them off, like, I you know, I'm in the middle of editing this podcast episode or I'm writing this piece for such and such. And it's like, no. No. I get I get the Lord has opened doors for me to do that kind of stuff, and I will continue walking in them as long as he opens them.
Hanna:But those are second, third, fourth, fifth priorities, not before my children. And so So good. It's been a huge
Carrie:I appreciate you being honest about that because I definitely like, my son's one, so I just have he's my first.
Hanna:Yeah.
Carrie:But I think I have definitely felt convicted at different times about that of, like, just the priorities just being a little bit, like, out of order, you know? Or I also just think that, like, in our generation, so many women I mean, just even with the economy and everything, like, so many women are working to whether they want to or not. And so I have a lot of friends who are like, I don't even wanna work, I do have to work. And so I am distracted or I am feeling like this is too much to carry. And then obviously some of us love our jobs and, like, it feels like a blessing.
Carrie:But still, I think I just appreciate your honesty because I I bet there are so many moms. I know that I resonate with that already. And I appreciate you giving that advice to new moms because I think the earlier we can we can learn that and and try to really pray into that, the better off our kids will be.
Hanna:Yeah. I think that if you love your job, you get such great validation and fulfillment from that job outside of the home. Mhmm. And being a mom is a really thankless job. Like, it's the most important, hardest job you'll ever do.
Hanna:And not until they really start talking will they say thank you and I love you and those things carry you, but, like, there's a lot of kids just they take you for granted. That's what we did with our parents. Like, it's not,
Carrie:you know I always have to remember that.
Hanna:Yeah. Like, we're trying to instill gratitude in our kids, but they're not gonna give us an annual performance review and tell us how amazing we are. Or, like, you know, you're not gonna get to achieve certain things like you do in a career that shows, like, oh, I'm doing really great or I'm being rewarded in this area. Like, the treasures are in heaven and the rewards are from the Lord. Like, he sees what you're doing, and I think that makes it harder.
Hanna:But if we can keep that in mind of, like, I'm doing this my job is to be the best mom that I can because I'm simply being a steward of these children that God has Mhmm. Let me borrow. Yeah. They're not even mine. Like, your kids are the Lord's, and he has given them to you to be a good steward of.
Hanna:And so, like, our responsibility is to him to do our best. And then but then ultimately, they're his. And he cares for them and loves them in ways that we can't even fathom.
Carrie:So good. Well, I wanna get into the book. Okay. So I have to say, read it, absolutely loved it. Needed this as a new mom.
Carrie:Like, needed this. And, I guess, like, tell me your heart behind the book before I ask you some questions about it. Like, what prompted you to write this Yes. Now? Yeah.
Carrie:Share with me your heart behind
Hanna:it. So this was one of those things where it's like all all roads lead to Rome. You know, like, was like every area of my life would kept coming back to this idea of, women, busy women need spiritual disciplines in their lives. But the way that that looks for them is probably gonna look different than the picture they've been given from the pulpit or from books that they've read about it. Or maybe they haven't had any information about it at all, and it's just like, I want to follow Jesus and I wanna grow in my walk with Him, but I don't know where to start.
Hanna:And so I was in seminary in a spiritual formation class where I was reading a ton of spiritual discipline texts and loving it. I am such a nerd. Like, I would do school forever if I could. So I'm reading all these books. I'm like, these are amazing, but they're all written by older white men Mhmm.
Hanna:Which, like, I love an old white guy. Like, I'm sorry. Like, nothing wrong with that. But their lives look dramatically different from mine. Mhmm.
Hanna:They are paid to study their bible for hours a day. They're paid to go on a solitude retreat. They're paid to, you know, go to prayer meetings and pray for like, it is their job to practice spiritual disciplines. And, also, they have wives who, like, buy them toothpaste if they need it and who take care of their children. You know what I mean?
Hanna:Like, they're just there are more differences, I would say, than there are similarities between
Carrie:That's really true.
Hanna:These the authors of these books and their lives versus mine. And so I really started grappling with, gosh, what would it look like to kind of paint a new vision for how to walk with Jesus through these things we call spiritual disciplines, but in ways that are really practical. And you're not telling a woman whose baby wakes up in the middle of the night, well, you still need to wake up earlier than your baby and spend thirty minutes solitude and bible study and prayer. Like, this is what this is what the Lord deserves from you. You know, it's like, no, no, we don't we don't need that, messaging.
Hanna:And so that's kind of where it started. And then at the same time, I was reading Atomic Habits for, like, the second, maybe third time. And I was just thinking about, man, what if we applied the science of habit formation to the practice of spiritual disciplines? Mhmm. Because when you really dig into the science of habit formation, it makes these lofty goals and hopes and dreams that we have for our lives that people want we wanna become, it makes it, I think, pretty easy.
Hanna:Like, it's a very, like, simple
Carrie:It's like bite size.
Hanna:By number. Yeah. Like yeah. Bite size. And I thought, I think that's what we need right now.
Hanna:And this culture and economy and to your point, like women having babies raising them, but also working outside the home and just got a lot going on. And the Lord's with you in it, and he wants to walk with you in it. So that's where that's kind of the heart of the book.
Carrie:That's so great. Well, I think one of the first questions that you asked in the book was or that you kind of prompted was like, imagining yourself when you're 90 years old and looking back, and are you getting closer to being that person that you do hope you become one day as you walk with the Lord? Like, are you walking in a way that's gonna lead to that fruit of having a life of, you know, union with God. Okay. And, anyway, I just wanted to say, like, that when you when I was reading the book and I saw that question, it it touched me so much because that question is one that was, like, a really big part of my testimony when I came to faith, like, maybe five, six years ago.
Carrie:It was the first bible study I was ever at. That question was was prompted. It was like a Zoom thing during COVID. And and I remember, like, writing down and journaling that question and being like, okay. Oh, yeah.
Carrie:I wanna, you know, I wanna do this and I wanna do this, and I I hope to be this one day, and I hope I'm like this. And and I read it and back, and I was like, I'm not. Like, nothing in my life is gonna produce this kind of fruit. Like, I'm just not living that way. Was I was had one foot in the world and one foot kind of in my bible, kind of wanting to pray, kind of, like, following Jesus, but not fully.
Carrie:So, anyway, that question was, like, honestly, one of the big reasons that I, like, fully surrendered to Jesus. And I was like, I want to live a life that looks like what's on this paper. It almost broke my heart to be like, I'm not doing that, Lord. Like, my character is not going that direction. I have to change my life, and I need to follow you.
Carrie:Anyway, so picking up that question again now when I read your book was really cool because I was like, okay. Well, then I was single. I was I had all the time in the world to pursue the Lord wholeheartedly and be like, I'm gonna do it. And now I kind of, like, needed that question prompted again because I'm like, okay. I walked this way for six years.
Carrie:I've been following the Lord. I love disciplines. I'm very type a. I love my habits. And then I had my son a year ago, and I feel like I'm back to, okay.
Carrie:Hold on. Like, in a completely different way, I'm asking the same question of, woah. My time is so different now. It's taken up by the most beautiful, not distraction, but person that didn't exist when I started walking with the Lord. And so, anyway, I just think that, like, that question starting off this book is so helpful.
Carrie:And, anyway, I just wanted to share that with you. Like, that It's amazing. When that question came back, I was like, oh my gosh. This is, like, my question. This is my question with Jesus.
Carrie:And and I think it's so important that we, like, implement that now, as new moms. And I know so many of my friends. Like, we're all trying our best to walk with the Lord, and there's so many. Like, every single mom, like you just said, with the oh, I don't have time in the morning. I'm so tired or Yeah.
Carrie:I don't so, like, walk us through what kind of, like, the disciplines that you broke down or the practices. And we can just, like, touch on them a little bit. Yeah. But from, like, the New Mom perspective, you just, like, gave such bite sized habits, like you said, and, like, concepts. I know.
Carrie:Seriously. Like, I'm already implementing, like, the laundry one. Like, pray for the kid that you're folding. Like, whoever you're folding laundry right now, it's just me. It's, like, my husband's laundry, Archie's laundry, but I'm already doing that.
Carrie:I'm like, okay. I can, like, I can pray for him as I fold his laundry. That's so practical. I can bring the Lord into that Yeah. Instead of checking out and being like, Lord, when he goes to sleep, I'll catch up with you again.
Carrie:It's just so good. So
Hanna:anyway Yep.
Carrie:Walk us through some of these these different practices.
Hanna:So I think I guess one thing I wanna say before we even dive into specifics is one of the things well, there's two things. Number one is remembering that the season of life that you're in is the one God has given you. Like, He has designed it. He's you know, you know my book. I have a lot of, like, agrarian, analogies of soil and vine and fruit and but, like, this is the soil He's planted you in.
Hanna:Mhmm. And so this is the life that He wants to grow you in. It's not once your kids are older and going to school full time or once you have a baby finally sleeping through the night or like I think sometimes we think, well, once this and this and this changes, then I'll Mhmm. Like, pursue the things of the Lord or then my bible reading will go back to the way that it was. We spend so much time comparing ourselves, not just to other believers, but to, like, our former selves.
Hanna:Have really great rhythms of spiritual disciplines prior to having kids. And just like you, when that first baby was born, it wrecked my world. Like and, like, how can this baby, like, just sleeps all day, somehow take up all of my time? I don't understand this. So anyway, it's remembering, like, the season of life that you're in is the one he wants to commune commune with you in.
Hanna:And then the other thing is I realized years ago that I was compartmentalizing my day as God's time and my time. So, like, in the morning when I wake up, again, before having kids, and I could like, well, that's God's time. I can wake up early and I can spend an hour studying my bible and praying. And that's probably, honestly, as far as I went and, like, practicing spiritual disciplines at that time. But, and that's not bad.
Hanna:But it was like that was a check that I was able to check off my list, and then the rest of day was mine to do what I wanted to do with instead of I just heard a guy say, I would rather you read one verse in the morning, spend five minutes reading one verse, and thinking about that one verse 50 times throughout your day than reading the bible for an hour in the morning. That's really good. It's a mate. And I was
Carrie:like, yes. It's like exactly what my book says without saying that.
Hanna:I wish I had written those exact words in my book. This.
Carrie:But Yeah. But his point
Hanna:of instead of thinking that walking with Christ has to look a certain way or be intense for a certain amount of time, it's like, no. Walking with Christ just means walking with Christ Mhmm. All throughout your day while you're doing laundry, when you're brushing your teeth, you're working out, you're making your cup of coffee, you're, you know, doing your budget, whatever. Okay. So to answer your question,
Carrie:I wrote That's about so good. Thanks for sharing that.
Hanna:Biblical intake, which I I called it that because I wanted it to be an umbrella term for reading your bible, studying your bible, meditating on scripture
Carrie:Mhmm.
Hanna:And oh, memorizing scripture and hearing scripture. Yeah. And that's the other fun one. I just had a dad, like a British radio host interviewed me yesterday, and he has a seven month old who's not sleeping through the night. And he's like, I can't wake up.
Hanna:I can't,
Carrie:like, tell me what to do.
Hanna:And I said, listen to the bible during your commute when you drive I you drive to work every day. Right? Monday through Friday. He's like, yep. I'm like, just listen.
Carrie:So good.
Hanna:Listening counts. It counts. You don't have to have the word of God open now I prefer it. I prefer to read it because I'm not the best. Like, my mind will wander.
Hanna:But we have to remember the people of God listen to the word of God for so many generations Mhmm. Until just, like, a little over a hundred years ago. I mean, so anyway okay. Hearing. So that's biblical intake, then prayer, solitude, Thanksgiving celebration, practicing the presence of God, and friendship.
Hanna:Yeah. And now most spiritual discipline books will talk about fellowship or community. And so that's where that friendship is coming from. And we can dig into that more if you want to.
Carrie:But, like I do wanna dig into that more.
Hanna:Where do
Carrie:you what do you wanna talk about? Where do wanna go? Actually, that's that's one of the two that I highlighted. Okay. I wanna dig into friendship because I'm just will speak for myself.
Carrie:I don't think I'm the only new mom. I love my friends. You mentioned in the book that you're kind of, like, a little bit you can struggle with the out of sight, out of mind thing. Mhmm. I'm a very present friend.
Carrie:And so before I had kids, like, I'm not the best texter. Like, friends, if they're listening, can, like, tell you that. I'm not the best at being like, oh my gosh, I'm thinking of this person that I haven't talked to in three weeks. But I'm very, very much like, let's sit in a corner. Let's have coffee and talk for five hours.
Carrie:Come to my house. Stay with me. Yes. I just love time with people. But I love time in person.
Carrie:So anyway, that's something before I had a kid. I was, like, really trying to work on was, like, I really want to find ways to be intentional about friends that are far or if I haven't talked to you or whatever. So anyway, I already came from that place. But I think once I became a mom, I was like, oh my gosh. Friendship just got so much harder, and I have to be so much more intentional because you're not just gonna come up once I used to go on a walk with, like, a friend today, a different friend.
Carrie:You guys have that intentional time. Like, it's just different now. Not that you can never see your friends, obviously. But, yeah, I I think that just the practicality and the importance, like the emphasis that you put on like, you know, obviously, this book's not just for moms, but me reading it as a new mom, it's still so important and it's still so doable to prioritize that. And just the fact that that is a part of our walk with the Lord, we can't do it alone.
Carrie:Yeah. So, anyway, do you remember, like, when you were a new mom, like, what did that look like? Were you implementing these habits yet? Like, how did friendship look?
Hanna:This is one of the areas that I struggled the most with and really had to learn and grow through trial and error. Mhmm. But I, you know, I had my firstborn. I was still working part time. So that made it you know, for the moms that are listening, I I think it's just different camps.
Hanna:Like, you're working full time, you're working part time, you're fully stay at home, and even that kind of changes who you can connect with on a daily basis. Mhmm. And I didn't have a ton of friends that were had kids but were part time. And, it just you have such little time to, like, hang out and connect. And so I did learn to start I mean, I think in my book, I talk about, like, there was a season where at 8PM every night, I would sit down on the couch and just text three friends of, like, how's your week?
Hanna:How can I be praying for you? Mhmm. I may not be able to see them that week or even have a long conversation with them, but just to know, like, the things that your friends are gonna tell you that they need prayer for, like, that's the stuff. Like, that's what's really going on with them. And so to know that and then to be able to be praying for them throughout the week made me feel a connection with them even though I'm not necessarily sitting down and having coffee.
Carrie:I think that's really practical. I definitely appreciated that just because, like I said, because I struggle with the texting and I'm not it helps so much to have if you do ask, like you mentioned, asking your friends if you wanna, like, go deeper because we do have such little time. How can I pray for you throughout the week? That's so different than just how are you? Oh, you're good.
Carrie:Good. I'm good. Okay. Bye. Checked in with them.
Carrie:Like, they're good. No. It's so it I just I loved that, and I really wanna implement that even more. Just like, how can I pray for you? Because then if I'm only thinking of you five minutes a day, but those five minutes are spent with, like, praying for your family or praying for provision or whatever it is, that's gonna deepen your friendship without being in person.
Carrie:So I love that you wrote about that. I think it's really practical.
Hanna:And, like, who wants to respond to a text that just says, how are you? I mean, maybe some people do. I know. I have no idea who I am, and I don't have time to process
Carrie:voice memo.
Hanna:Yeah. Exactly. Get back to you tomorrow. Okay. But speaking of voice memos, this is something, I guess, more in the I mean, it's funny how these spiritual disciplines all kinda weave together.
Hanna:But I started, another friend did this for me, and then I thought, I'm gonna start doing this. When a friend does text back and tell me something they need prayer for or usually it's more like someone reaches out and says, hey. I need prayer for x y z. I will just start a voice memo and start praying for them. And I'll start it by saying like, hey.
Hanna:I'm gonna pray over you. Listen to this when you can just be still for or, like, I mean, you don't have to be still, but, like, you can focus. Like, let know? Pray along. Yeah.
Hanna:And it feels vulnerable and a little scary. As someone who's not afraid to pray out loud, recording myself and sending it definitely feels vulnerable and scary. To be on the receiving end is so incredible to, like it's it's different than your friend just being like, oh, yeah. I'll pray for you. And you know that they mean it.
Hanna:Right? Yeah. Like Yeah. They're already gonna pray for you. But to actually hear their words and hear how the spirit prompts them to pray over you Mhmm.
Hanna:And even that, I think, is like knitting y'all together in a way and just, like, deepening your connection and friendship. Mhmm. But then you're really praying for them too. You know?
Carrie:So That's that's really good. And that's practical because then it's, like, it's so easy to like, you're so well meaning. You're like, I will pray about that. And then it's just you either forget or it doesn't happen for two days or whatever it is. I love that.
Carrie:My friend Becca is so good about that. She'll always send me, like she'll, like, on the spot do it, like you just said. And it is so powerful. And she's back in LA, and it just makes me feel we only maybe catch up once a month, but it's always through, like, prayer voice messages. And it's so powerful.
Carrie:And I feel so connected to her sometimes more than I do to friends that I get catch up with for two seconds, three times a week Yeah. Because the depth is there and you know that they're going to bat for you and they're Yes. They they care and yeah. That's really beautiful. Yes.
Carrie:That's so good. Okay. You also talked about solitude, which is another one that changes a lot when you have a baby. Yeah. So and I'm home with him a lot of the time and I work part time but from home, like, doing this.
Carrie:So I'm home and he's home. And, you know, if you're trying to work at nap time And you know. Yeah. There's a lot going on. Yeah.
Carrie:There's a
Hanna:lot of, like, you know, things you're stepping on.
Carrie:I just I just hurt my ankle a couple days ago, and then I just keep stepping on these little race cars. And every time it, like, reenters it, I'm like, oh, okay. But anyway, I laughed when you said that when you when your kids are little, like, solitude time was sometimes your pantry. Oh, yeah.
Hanna:Okay. Still sometimes.
Carrie:Yeah. And mine's just a closet. So I'm like, dang it.
Hanna:I'm not gonna fit in there.
Carrie:But I do wanna know I was very convicted when you said I actually wrote it down. Hold on. Solitude as a mom can be incongruent. Okay. So I have felt this nudge when I'm desiring solitude as a mom that kind of like what we've been talking about, I feel the Lord gently saying, it's just it's gonna look different.
Carrie:Like, desiring hours of solitude and what is maybe just, like, not not congruent with, like, the mother that you want to be the children that you're you're you're the the sorry. The mom that your children deserve. You know what I mean? Right now. Like, it's just so anyway, not to put words in your mouth of what that means to you, but tell us a little bit, you know, as as busy women, as moms, like, what can solitude look like when we're desiring that connection with the Lord that's a bit more bite sized or a bit more practical?
Carrie:Because I found this chapter to be helpful and also a little convicting, honestly.
Hanna:Well, I think solitude is one of the spiritual disciplines that we don't practice very often. And one of the reasons is because we think it's supposed to be, like, a day or at minimum an hour. You know? Like, early in the morning, like, we hear, like, oh, yeah. Jesus.
Hanna:It was his habit. It's literally the word scripture uses. It was his habit to get up early in the morning and get away and be alone with the father. I wanna be like that. I think we're supposed to emulate Jesus and try to be and look like him.
Hanna:However, I am not a 30 year old Jewish first century rabbi. I have a husband and three children, and I live in the year 2026 of our Lord. And, you know, like, this is again, this is the season of life. This is who God has created me to be and where he's planning me to be. So I think but I think solitude is vital for our survival.
Hanna:Like, just baseline survival. I wrote in the beginning of that chapter how I went through a really difficult season and I was just having my annual check-in with my OB and, crying, like weeping to him about just all the things. And he literally took out his prescription pad and he's like, I'm gonna give you a prescription then we can talk about some other options. But he wrote a weekend of solitude and handed it to me on this prescription pad. And I looked at him like, I don't have like, I can't do that.
Hanna:And to be honest, I still haven't done it. So this is not a story where, like, my OB told me to do this. I didn't obey. If he's listening right now, she knows I didn't. It's fine.
Hanna:But it that started me on a journey of going, what is biblical solitude? And what's its purpose? And then what can it practically look like? And so biblical solitude is not just being alone in your pantry in the dark. You know?
Hanna:Biblical solitude is being alone with God. It's learning to shut out the noise and the world around you and to just be still in His presence. And and ultimately, it's so that we are connected to Him, that we hear Him. I started realizing that in parenting a toddler, I was, you know, trying to figure out like, are we doing time out? Do you need a time out?
Hanna:Do I need a time out? And so I started having mommy's time out. I'm like, I need a time out. Like, I'm going I'm going to my room to have a time out. And the Lord really gently corrected me and saying, you don't need a time out.
Hanna:You need time with me. Like, is not about you removing yourself from your children. This is about you getting in a huddle with me, allowing me to fill you so that you can get back out there, get back in the game. But now you have the resources, the heavenly resources that I have equipped you with and poured into you so that you are equipped to do the job that's, you know, ahead of you today. And so then I started going, okay.
Hanna:So what does it look like for me to have these, like, time outs with the Lord, these moments of solitude? Because again and and no doubt, I can imagine going on a solitude retreat would be lovely. Mhmm. But reentry, when you go on vacation with just your husband and you come home to, like, your three beautiful, amazing, loud, chaotic children, it's really funny. You're very excited to see them, but your patience muscle and your grace muscle and all of that has actually weakened while you've been out of town because you haven't been practicing them all
Carrie:the time. Haven't done that yet.
Hanna:So you get it like, you get more easily annoyed by their behavior. You're quicker to be frustrated.
Carrie:Whatever it is. Yes. Yeah.
Hanna:That makes sense. So, you know, thinking about that in terms of solitude, it's like, great. Go have a weekend of solitude. But is that really going to be what, like Is that gonna be helpful? Helps me.
Hanna:Yeah. It helps me, like, be a great mom right now. And so anyway, I write about in the book. This was not my original idea. It was John Ortberg, I think, coined this idea of minute retreats.
Hanna:And it's like just stealing literally sixty seconds alone with the Lord throughout your day. And so most of the time, the prompt that I use to trigger me is when I feel that, like, anxiety or anger or whatever rushing in that's like, this is unfounded. My kids are being kids, and I need to just go have a moment of solitude with the Lord. And it's usually a really quick prayer just like, okay, Lord, I'm here. You're with me.
Hanna:What do I need from me right now? Or what do you need to tell me? Or maybe I just need to sit in silence just imagining knowing that you are physically with me in this room.
Carrie:Yeah. I'm trying
Hanna:to think of some other things in that chapter. So I guess the other big thing that I talk about in that chapter is our phones. Oh, yeah. And how our phones are, I think, like the number one enemy of us experiencing solitude with God. Because when we have we there are pockets in your day, in my day, in everyone's day where we can have moments of solitude with God.
Hanna:But what do we do instead?
Carrie:We scroll.
Hanna:We pick up our phones.
Carrie:I was gonna say, I I think I've noticed just the last even few weeks, just paying attention to the phone usage and stuff, that it's by far a bigger distraction than my child because it's like, I'm sitting there. If we go to the park, we have a park across the street. If we stroll over there and I don't have my phone, like, he's not talking to me yet. We're having the best time. He we're not communicating necessarily.
Carrie:Yeah. That feels like solitude in a sense to me because there's quiet. He's swinging. He's laughing. It's a peaceful thing.
Carrie:Yes. Right now, he's not a full toddler yet. And so, really, it's like that's still a time where I can be, of course, communing with the Lord and and feeling a sense of solitude if I don't have my phone. If I have my phone and maybe there's an AirPod in or maybe someone's calling me or maybe I'm trying to do this while I'm swinging him, chaotic. So I totally agree.
Carrie:I think that the phone I think so often we blame like, oh, I'm momming all day. It's chaotic. But I'm like, actually, like, I put my phone away for a few hours this morning with him. It was so chill. I'm like, I think it's maybe the both.
Carrie:It's it's just too much. You know? And obviously, for a zillion reasons, we shouldn't have both all the time just to love them well. But I also think there is so much more space for the Holy Spirit when the phone is, like, as far as possible. And It's hard to hear the voice of the
Hanna:Lord when you, like, have the voice of the world screaming at you from your phone. Mhmm. And sometimes it's not like, it could be a great podcast that's, you know, completely Jesus centered.
Carrie:Could be.
Hanna:Could be. It's great. This still can't replace hearing the voice of the Lord. And so, yeah, not quite the same thing, but I was, in a season where I was just overworked, overwhelmed, and literally working through like, what do I need? What do I need in this season practically, but then what do I need from the Lord that I am not looking to Him?
Hanna:Because Christ promises to satisfy us and to fulfill our every need. So what is it that I'm there's a disconnect and I need to be looking to the Lord and asking Him to fulfill me. And through this processing journey, I was literally praying to the Lord like, no, I actually need you to, like, come in bodily form and fold my kid's laundry and put it away. That's actually what I need. Like, I know you can do all these things for me spiritually.
Hanna:Again, heavenly resources, blah blah blah. Like, physically need you to fold the laundry and put it away. And I felt the holy spirit say, yes, I'm not gonna do that for you. But I am with you while you're folding your laundry. And right now you're watching a TV show to numb out and to take a mental break while you're doing a chore that you don't like, which not wrong.
Hanna:Yeah. Like, I love to watch, you know, a cringe show that my husband isn't gonna watch when folding laundry. It feels like the reward to a hard chore. Yes. It does.
Hanna:But felt the Lord saying, like, you can be spending time with me. And, again, I can be filling your tank during that time, and that is gonna help you far more than watching the latest, like, Virgin River episode. So That's great.
Carrie:I like it.
Hanna:But same with I think a lot of times we go to our phones, and I used to think that, like, I deserve just, like, five minutes on Instagram. Just let me check out and just just feels like I'm ally for myself.
Carrie:It's a guilty pleasure. So we're not
Hanna:And it's like, okay. Again, I'm not gonna tell you it's wrong, but you have such a better option of something that has eternal value that's going to fill you wholly and completely and actually carry you and sustain you versus numbing out for five minutes. Mhmm. Yeah.
Carrie:It may take from you yeah. That's okay. Yeah. That's that's really great. So anything else you wanna say about the book?
Carrie:I do have a couple more quick questions for you, but I just wanna shout it out one more time. Everyday is spiritual habits. It's very good. And and I really do think, like, the the cool thing about this book is that you can just take it even the chapters, you can take them bite size. You can be like, I need get better at friendship.
Carrie:I'm just gonna read that chapter Yeah. And like kinda because there's so many practical pieces in there you that could really just read a few pages Mhmm. And be like, oh, this is, like, plenty for me to implement, you know, do that. So, anyway, great job on the book. Thank You're you're a wonderful author.
Carrie:I never read the college one, but I'm like, okay. Didn't go to college. It sounds really good. It sounds really good. Thank you.
Carrie:And that's like such a needed space. Okay. So I wanna ask I did not know that you homeschooled, so I'm curious. Like Yeah. Do you like, what does that look like for you?
Carrie:Do you have any homeschool tips from have so many mom friends that wanna homeschool. Mhmm. What like, what do you guys you said you're like, I'm not a homeschool mom. I'm not homeschool. Like, what does that look like for you guys?
Carrie:I feel
Hanna:like we fell into homeschooling. My first born, who's now eight and a half going into third grade, When he was like, you know, the year before kindergarten is when you kinda really start going, okay, what are we doing? Are we sending them to our public school? Are we sending them private? Which my husband was like, over my dead body, am I paying for private school tuition in Franklin, Tennessee?
Hanna:We have three children. Yeah. I'm like, okay. But my son truly taught himself to read like around the age of three and a half, four. And just just silly this is the silly smart kid.
Hanna:And so I was looking at him going, you're gonna be bored out of your mind in kindergarten. So that was kind of the door that cracked open for me in homeschooling. I thought, well, what if I just homeschool you your kindergarten year? We see how it goes, but then you can be learning where you are and that seems way more efficient. I'm not, you know, losing you from eight to four every day.
Hanna:Like, let's just see how this goes. And what I found was, first of all, homeschool education. Someone I saw the other day said, privately. Like, my children are privately educated. That's instead of saying homeschool,
Carrie:they say privately educated. I like that phrase.
Hanna:It is insanely efficient. I love efficiency. So I'm like, this is kind of incredible. Now everyone doesn't have the capacity job like Mhmm. Does not everyone can homeschool.
Hanna:But my job allowed me to do it. And so I thought, well, let's just kinda keep this up. So I mean, now we're at all three are homeschooled. We one thing that was really important to me was being a part of a homeschool community and tutorial.
Carrie:Mhmm.
Hanna:So there's 1,000,000,000,000 in the Nashville, Tennessee area. So depending on where you're living, like, might be a lot, there might only be a few. I could not do it by myself five days a week.
Carrie:So my kids are home with me three days a
Hanna:week where I'm in charge of their education, what they're learning, and then they go to a tutorial two days a week Oh, that's great. They have a teacher, they have, you know, around 20 other students in their classroom. And so that for us, I would say if we didn't have that, I don't know that I would have made it
Carrie:this long or that it would have been,
Hanna:like, the best fit for our family. Okay. Yeah. But our tutorial even, like, it's very paint by number. They tell you what books to buy and what to be teaching and, like, what you're supposed to do every single day of the week.
Carrie:That's great. Because that's my biggest thing. I'm like, I would know Yeah.
Hanna:Where to start. There's a million curriculum out there and how do you choose? And I mean, there are resources and people who, like, help you do those things too if you wanted to do it on your own or figure out what the best curriculum is for your kid. But for us, it's just been sweet. Like
Carrie:Do your kids like it? I mean It's kinda nice that they get that time with I I assume there's other kids too, like, that day in the classroom and stuff like that. That's kind of best of both worlds.
Hanna:That's what I think. And I have a friend who, her child just decided going into like, has been homeschooled her whole life. Ninth grade, she wants to go into high school. I have a few friends that have done that. And, some of them go to high school, and then they're like, I'm going back to being privately educated because this is not a family.
Hanna:Yeah. And then others love it because they like more of the extracurriculars and and whatever. So I think the other thing I've always said is like kid by kid, year by year. So I'm just not someone that's gonna be like, we're in a homeschool
Carrie:for life. Homeschooling.
Hanna:Yeah. We're gonna I'm not gonna say that about anything except for, like, we're gonna follow Jesus for life. Like, that's pretty much the only thing that I, like, like, guarantee. Yeah. We're gonna do it.
Hanna:So, you know, I think, yeah, I think if that's something you're interested in, I would start with going like, why do I wanna homeschool? What would be nonnegotiables for me? Which mine was community, like Mhmm. Nonnegotiable. And then what's out there that's gonna help support us in that journey and
Carrie:That's super helpful. Thank you. I I really I I honestly
Hanna:You've got some time.
Carrie:So I mean, I know It's year before it was awesome. Because it just didn't used to be like that. Like, when we were growing up, it was very much like you're homeschooled and that felt like, woah, that's like really unique. Really I ended up ironically being homeschooled in high school. That's a different story for another time.
Carrie:But like, before I was a homeschooled kid, it was very much like, oh, they're homeschooled? That's so weird. Yeah. And not and then I did it, so I'm clearly not making fun of it. But then now I feel like it's just so much more normalized, common, and also the way that they implement it now with hybrid models and stuff.
Carrie:It's just a lot less Yeah. You are home twenty four seven with your family. You don't leave kind of thing. Yeah. So that's so great.
Carrie:Yeah. Okay. This has been so fun. My last question is, what would be your best piece of advice for new moms that are in their first weeks or months of motherhood?
Hanna:Okay. I feel like I have to make spiritual and go with my book. But my first No. No. You do.
Hanna:I can I can tack that on at the end? But, I mean, my first the first thing that came to mind was I just want you to remember that everything is for a season. And so if something's really hard right now, if your baby's not a good sleeper or there's just something else that's going on that's like killing you, it's I promise it's just for a season. It's going to change. Also, like the sweetest things are also just for a season.
Hanna:And so remembering to, like, cherish those things as well. And then the other thing my husband and I always tell, especially new parents, firstborn, is whatever is within your control that's driving you crazy, fix it. So, like, breastfeeding versus pumping versus bottle is such a huge conversation. It is. That's where every woman, I think, it's like you figure out what's gonna work best for you and then you do that.
Hanna:Whatever gives you the most peace
Carrie:Mhmm.
Hanna:Do it. If it's I'm trying to think, being baby wise schedule versus very, like, ce la vie, no schedule at all. It's like, if there is something in your life that's causing you anxiety, look at it and go, is this within my control, and can I change it in a way that brings peace instead of anxiety? I just think there's so much That's really good. In that young parent phase that naturally brings anxiety.
Hanna:And for women, there's just so much going on hormonally that gives us additional anxiety. And so it's like, you know, once a week, just take a deep breath and assess. Is there something happening that's in my control that's bringing me anxiety that I can change right now?
Carrie:I love that. We literally did that with eating out a few, like a few months ago. We were we were over it. We're like, why are we trying to be these people? Why are we trying to be these people that can just go out anytime?
Carrie:Like, oh, sure. We'll bring the food. We'll bring the bring the high chair. It just wasn't working. It maybe even would be different now.
Carrie:Actually, no, it wouldn't because he gets sad when we are eating and he's not. It's not our season. But we did. We had to, like, adjust and and because I kept saying yes and we put this pressure on ourselves and then I'd be sweaty and I'd be, you know, a hot mess mom that's like, oh my gosh. We're gonna do this.
Carrie:Here we go. And we'd walk in and then we'd leave and like, well, we just spent, you know, money on a meal we did not enjoy Yep. To to, you know, try to be in community or try to do what we think we should be able to do this. Why aren't we able to do this? Other parents are doing this.
Carrie:Yes. So that's really good. Yeah. We we did that and I'm like, we need to that's such good advice. Like, what is in your control?
Carrie:Because it's like you can't always help your kids sleep or you can't help their, you know, acid reflux or whatever's going on. But, like, those are things that that you can help. That's really good. Yeah. Yeah.
Carrie:I hope moms implement that one.
Hanna:That's okay. That same thing of like Yeah. We just don't eat out anymore. Like, it was just like, we just don't do that. And we don't like, we kinda stopped having to trying to, like, cart our kids around with other friends.
Hanna:Like, if we wanna have quality time with our friends, we get a babysitter. We like, it I mean Yeah. And, again, it works different for different families, and that's Yeah.
Carrie:But that's exactly. That's why the advice is so good. It's like, what's within your control that you can do? And, yeah, if you can afford a babysitter once a week or once a month with your friends, that's that's so good. Yeah.
Carrie:We've noticed, like, with new community here, bible studies and stuff, there's a lot of, you know, childcare is gonna be provided. And it's like, woah. That changes the game. You know? It's just different.
Hanna:It's really
Carrie:and it's nice because you do need, you know, that time. So yeah. Well, Hanna, this was so great. I really appreciate you being on. I am Thank Hanna.
Carrie:Total fan of your writing. I think you're wonderful. Also, I gotta shout out your Instagram. I think you have great mom content. I personally think like,
Speaker 3:you posted this one reel that was like I'm not a creep, by the way. I promise. But I saw this one reel
Carrie:that was like, sometimes, like, we have a better day if we don't clean up the house. It was Oh, yeah. Like, You're I'm just gonna let the house be messy until they're in bed, and it's a better day than trying to, like
Hanna:Manage it all. It's too much. I
Carrie:like, that has been in my brain since I saw that because it's so true. It's like if I'm constantly like, it. Clean it. Clean it. He just did this.
Carrie:Then my day is more stressful. But, I just I I loved that, and I'm I can be a little type a. So I was like, that's really good to remember. Like, if your house is a construction site each day, like Yeah. That just means there's a happy kid there.
Hanna:That's right. You know? We're getting a lot done. Yeah. He's starving.
Carrie:Awesome. Well, anyway, I'll I'll, link your socials, but I'll those all. Yeah. Thank you so much for being on, Hanna. You're wonderful.
Hanna:Thank you. You too.
Carrie:As always, thank you so much for listening. I hope you enjoyed my time with Hanna. And again, her book, Everyday Spiritual Habits is available. I have the link below. So definitely check it out if that is something that you are wanting more of.
Carrie:If you are feeling like you want to go deeper with the Lord, you want him more, in your day to day and you don't know how to do that as a mom, this book is truly for you. Also, as always, I like to say subscribe, leave a review. I love to hear from you moms and just hear how you're liking the podcast, what you wanna hear more of, and even ways I can be praying for you. Drop it in the reviews. I read them in the comments.
Carrie:I read them all. So thank you again. I feel super blessed to have all of you on this journey with me.