Anybody weary??
Or feeling dangerously close to empty today??
Personally, this week, I reached the “stick a fork in me, I’m done” stage.
After a full month with kids stuff, plus a bazillion camps & activities, not to mention fun brainstorming sessions, big decisions with Jake, the She Speaks Conference in North Carolina (and super late nights while I was there), and an exciting project I can’t wait to tell you about (only God!)….
I reached empty. Ugh.
Sunday night, soon after getting off the plane, hugging everybody, and collapsing in my comfy purple chair, I was ready for a big long nap….EXCEPT….
….we were leaving bright an early in the morning for 4 days at a lakeside cottage.
Everything in me just wanted to stay in my jammies all day (have you been there before too?)…
….but this beautiful cottage was waiting for us…
My husband John’s friend invited our family to stay at his cottage (for free!). Just our little family while his family was away. What a huge blessing! 🙂
Thankfully John had everyone packed (but me) when I got home from my trip ~ so I scooped all my heels and jackets and business cards out of my suitcase, and plopped in tank tops, bathing suits and flip flops.
And we were off!
Here is a quick photo recap of my week unplugged
(Yes ~ no TV, no internet, no screens ~ except my new little iPhone that sometimes had a signal….)
* Tubing
* Fishing (not that I went anywhere near the fish, but everyone else did!)
*Loving on my gang….
* Joking with John 🙂 (I warned him this was going on the blog!)
And yes, I did manage to find some quiet time to work on my “scripts”. 🙂
I’m so thankful that Jesus offers rest for our weary souls.
Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy-laden and overburdened, and I will cause you to rest. [I will ease and relieve and refresh your souls.] Matthew 11:28 AMP
I know life doesn’t always allow for us to refresh at a lakeside cottage (if only!) ~ so here’s what I’ve learned to do when my “low fuel” light is warning me to pull over and fill up!!
1. STOP
Pull over for a pit stop! Pay attention to the symptoms (weariness, short temperedness, craving coffee, etc…) and just stop.
2. Spend time with Jesus
Sometimes when John has come home, I’ve literally I’ve run out the door with my Bible and made a beeline for the local bookstore. To fill up, I must spend time with Jesus in prayer, and digging into the Word.
3. Examine my Schedule/Priorities/To-Do List
Am I using my new favorite word “or”, or have I overextended myself?
Does something need to go from my schedule?? Are my priorities in order??
4. Allow God to fill me back up (& stay in His care until He’s done so!)
Of course, everyone is different. Personally, I fill up by being alone with God, renewing my mind with Truth, and some good 1:1 with time with loved ones, where I can just “be” and not have to “do, do, do”.
5. Pay attention to Self Care
Am I eating well? Resting? Drinking water? Getting exercise??
I am learning that self care is crucial (and not selfish), but critical to living as the rest-full, joy-filled woman God has created me to be.
So how about for you??
How do you fill up when you are starting to feel empty? Weary? Discouraged from life’s demands?? I’d love to hear from you (please!).
May we learn from one another and have tips & techniques ready for when our “tank” starts heading towards “low fuel”!
Thanks for stopping by *She Sparkles*!! God’s richest, fullest blessings to you!
P.S. The winner of the Ann Voskamp giveaway is Lora (please send me your mailing info, Lora)! Thank you to all who entered! 🙂
I'm still not really great at this, but I have learned to at least recognize the feeling of being overwhelmed. In the past few years, I have downsized my commitments and so I get overwhelmed far less than i used to.
So nice for ya'll to be able to get away like that. Cool how God provides those extras. Love how you pointed out "empty" indicators. I see these things in my life as well. I work against it sometimes by building in some time every Friday morning where I get away with just me. During the week I've incorporated our four year old into my quiet time. I used to think I had to do it alone because who wants a toddler and her Dora doll to hang out during a time of meditation, praise and prayer. But I've seen some neat stuff come out of me have my time with God aloud and with her in my lap. Not only am I getting in that valuable time with Him but she's learning what a personal time with God looks like and she even contributes. It's been pretty cool.
Oddly enough, I fill up by writing. One would think I'd get tired of the pen since I write so much already, but writing is truly my getaway, my escape, my way of taking the load off and leaving it on paper. Looks like you had fun resting after She Speaks. Unfortunately, a lakeside cottage was not waiting for me upon my return. Just a job that I am thankful for! 🙂
Love this post – we had a speaker at church last week that was talking about this! Is someone trying to hit me over the head or what???
This was great! Loved the picture recap of you time at such a beautiful place. To tell the truth, I can't remember maybe EVER just getting away without being in a hurry to get somewhere and feeling like I was under even more pressure than before I left home! It's something I really need to work on doing! Cause the stress is really taking a toll.God bless you!Marilyn…in Mississippi
This post really speaks to me. I'm in fact feeling very weary. I'm a stay-at-home mom and a wife. I've got my own blog that I'm trying to keep up with the writing for. I'm a highly goal driven, task oriented person with a long list of to-do's. I'm also training for a half-marathon (my own personal run for God's glory) and the training runs are taking an extra two hours out of my schedule at least 3 times per week. I'm exhausted. I don't sleep enough. I want to have more time with the Lord each morning so I find myself getting up earlier than my body and mind are ready for. Yes, I'm weary. And God has blessed me with an upcoming trip to Southern California with my daughters where we'll be staying with my dad. Our days will be filled with swimming, napping, hanging out, and just being together. But my hubby won't be able to go along. So I'll be doing the single mom thing for 2 weeks. The thought of going it alone with two young girls makes me tired, but I'm wondering if this is God's blessing for me to unplug from technology, sleep later in the morning, not be required to cook or clean or do laundry. I don't know. I'm sure it will be a great trip. Sorry for rambling. Thanks for this great post. 🙂 Blessings,Rosannhttp://www.christiansupermom.com/
I'm so glad you had a wonderful, rest-full week with your family!!
Well put, as usual, Cindy! So glad you had some get-away time, it sounds very deserved. Thank you for encouraging others and letting God speak through you with beautiful *sparkles*.
So good to be back in touch after being away for several weeks with my sick Daddy. This was the perfect entry for me at this time. I've been running on empty a lot these past weeks and have to just stop and "recoup and regroup" before I can continue to "go forth." God's strength always sustains me just when I think I can't go on. Blessings to you my friend!