Why am I so tired?

Hey tired Mama,

I see you. The world feels like a lot right now.... and I want you to know you’re not alone.

The work you are doing to make life feel safe right now is important and worthy work.

Runny noses, changing diapers,

making snack, doing homework, driving...

kids...

to...

school...

...keep breathing...

YOU ARE NOT ALONE.

All the mamas know.

And we are holding you.

It’s ok to feel all the feelings.

It’s ok to do a little less so you can just hold your babies a few minutes longer tonight.

It’s ok to want to do something, but not know what to do.

The answer of what to do will come.

I know it will come because I know your mama’s heart is for healing and wholeness and LIFE.

In the meantime, listen to your body.

Listen to your deeply longing heart.

What do you need?

It’s ok to give yourself what you need first so that you can hear the next step of what to do for our hurting world.

And if what you need is a few quiet days away—to rest, to listen, to breathe, to remember who you are beneath the weight you’re carrying—this is the heart behind Aligned Source Retreats. They are gentle spaces to step away from the noise and tend to your own soul, so you can return rooted and whole.

Find your path.

Rest is resistance too.

With you on the journey,

Kimberly

NOT a vision board…really.

The new year is underway, and you may have big dreams, goals, and visions already taking shape. Perhaps you’ve even created a vision board—or have one in progress. Capturing images of what motivates and inspires us, or reflects what we long for, can be a helpful practice as we move toward the lives we hope to live.

This week, I invite you to consider a different kind of vision board for 2026.

Instead of envisioning the things you want to experience, achieve, or purchase, take some time to envision the person you want to become this year. Who is the version of you that feels most aligned and whole? What character traits do you want to be known for?

Imagine it’s the end of December 2026. If we surveyed your closest friends and family, how might they describe you? More importantly—what would you hope they would say?

So often, we focus on the things we want to have rather than the person we are becoming. And yet, it’s possible that the things you long to receive or achieve may only come after you become the kind of person who is ready to receive them.

If your hope is a promotion at work, a meaningful family vacation, or finally writing that book—ask yourself: who is the person who does those things? Imagine the thing you’re longing for has already happened. You did it. How has that experience shaped you? Has it grown your character? What skills, habits, or inner traits does that future version of you need to have—or practice?

Perhaps your goals this year are more relational. Maybe you want to respond more calmly with your kids, find the life partner you’ve been hoping for, or continue healing from grief and loss.

Picture yourself one year from now, having made real movement in those areas. What is it like when you’re in the thick of parenting? How are you responding differently? Or now that you’re in a committed, loving partnership—how have you changed to become someone who can sustain a healthy, life-long relationship? Or if you’ve weathered the waves of grief and found yourself standing again in moments of sunlight—what does that feel like in your body, your spirit, your everyday life?

You cannot change others. But you can change yourself.
One day, one habit, one thought, one choice at a time.

My prayer for you this week is not that you’ll feel overwhelmed by all that lies ahead, but that you’ll feel hopeful about what is possible within you. You are more than a human who is here to accomplish things. You are a beloved child of God, growing, learning, and healing—step by step. And you are not alone.

With you on the journey,
Kimberly

Journaling Prompt:
Set aside a few quiet minutes this week and reflect on these questions:
Who is the person I am becoming this year? What qualities, habits, or ways of being feel most important to cultivate right now? What is one small, compassionate step I can take today toward becoming that person?

P.S. If there is someone you admire and hope to become more like, consider reading biographies or autobiographies of people who embody the qualities you long to grow in.

The weight…and the waiting.

Dear friend,

Today is the winter solstice, and for those of us who live in the northern part of the northern hemisphere, that means the shortest day and longest night… the most darkness. For some of us, this season of Christmas can also feel like the darkest time of year. Memories of childhood, loved ones we miss, mourning what could have been and perhaps never was… the weight can feel like too much to carry. Almost as suffocating as the darkness.

Today, I feel that weight in my chest, and I take time to notice it and address it with kindness. If you also feel that weight, I invite you to practice this attentiveness with me. Take a moment for yourself, and let’s sit together with the weight.

I place my hand on my chest and take a few deep, cleansing breaths. Breathe in to fill my belly and nervous system with oxygen and life. Slowly release the tension as I release that breath. Again. Breathe in…. Release. Once more, breath in… release. 

Hello weight. I notice you. What emotion are you?

I listen and wait for insight. I recognize grief and loneliness.

My soul, grief and loneliness are weighing me down in this moment. Where are they coming from? What memory, thought, belief, or event is behind this heaviness?

Take time to listen and hear the story, the account the emotions are telling. 

My emotions are reminding me of things I am missing this season. So I take a few moments to remember what I loved about those things and speak gratitude for them. I remind my soul I am not less because I don’t have them this year. They are part of my story. I can experience new joys this year that may be different. 

Thank you for reminding me of these beautiful things, weight. You did your job, and now I release you and invite hope to take your place. I wait in anticipation for joy and light.

Today on this darkest day, I am praying for you. May any weight you feel in this season get its message through to your attention so that you can hear it and listen to it and release it. May you find light and hope and joy even in the darkness.

Let us wait with anticipation for the light. It is coming. It is strong and beautiful and healing.

Am I just dreaming?

Dear friend,

The New Year is just a few days away, and for some of us that means hope in a fresh start or maybe even just some new goals to achieve. For some us it may feel like the never-ending attempt at change that goes absolutely no where. We try, we fail, we just got on with life as it was and seemingly always will be.

My prayer for you is that 2026 would be a year when you are more gentle with yourself. A year of naps and pauses, of stopping to listen when your soul notices something is not quite right, a year of slow instead of hurry. And maybe even a year of joy and hope instead of the “way things always are and always will be.”

Did you know that your body has a hard time telling the difference between something you are making up in your imagination and reality? Activating your imagination is a powerful way for you to experience a new way of living… whether that is a healing change in your physical body, or practice having a different physical or emotional reaction to something that has been difficult for you. Your mind is a powerful tool that you can either use to create change, or you can let it run on its usual track and never experience much change at all. 

What is it your heart longs for this new year? Something different or for things to stay the same?

If you want things to be different, to change, what change do you long for? Do you want a relationship to be more healthy? Do you want a part of your body to work better? Do you want more opportunities to do the things you love? Do you want your finances to improve? Your mind to be sharper? Whatever your “impossible” dream might be, I encourage you to give yourself permission to spend a little time there.  Imagine it… but not just the picture in your mind’s eye. Imagine what it would feel like… emotionally, physically, even spiritually. Imagine how you would react, what would you say, how would you be. Place yourself in that future you are longing for and live in it, even if for a few minutes every day. Give your body a new memory, a new way of existing. After a few moments (or several moments) of living in that imagination, turn your heart towards gratitude.

Speak it out loud. 

Thank you that my back doesn’t hurt anymore when I bend over to pick up the kids toys off the floor.

Thank you for the way my finances just completely turned around and now I can save for _______.

I am so grateful for the way I am able to interact with so-and-so and not feel anxiety, just love, or safety, or patience, or whatever the feeling is that you want to feel.

Let gratitude flow out of your hopes and dreams and imagination. Your words have power as you speak them aloud. Speak with gentleness and joy the things you long to see. And may you see them come to life in this new year.

Yours gratefully,

Kimberly