A Time to Rest

Happy New Year. Today, I welcome Erin Unger to my blog. She has some timely advice for the new year. As you’ll see, she welcomes comments and offers a chance to win a five-dollar gift card – a perfect amount for a new Kindle book. Welcome, Erin.

A Time to Rest

It’s the day after the beginning of the new year, and I bet you’re dreaming of reclining on your couch and taking a deep breath, since all the craziness of the season has finally wrapped up. Yet you won’t allow yourself to do it. You force yourself to keep the fast-paced life, no matter how badly you need a rest. You’re already thinking about the long list of to-do’s for today.

We are all guilty of this very thing. We rush to the next workday, to the next writing project, to the next child’s activity. But God says, “Take a break.” Whoa, I said it. You heard correctly. Take a break. I know this isn’t politically correct in our society. I mean, if you aren’t filling every waking hour with something, you must be doing something wrong, right? Think again.

Mark 6:31       And He said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat.

Does this sound familiar? Even in Jesus’s day, the people were way too busy. Jesus pleaded with his disciples to go away for a while and rest. To rejuvenate. To clear their minds.

As writers, sometimes doing too much means we get overwhelmed to the point of losing our ability to write. We choose activities that seem fine and good but, in the end, are just another filler in our day. That means we can’t use our gifts to the best of our ability. It often means we don’t spend time with the people who are the most important to us—like our loved ones, our church family, our writing friends.

Stop and consider. Ask yourself a few questions.

• Do you really need to do that activity?
• How can you slim down the time you spend on social media?
• If you’re called to write, should you be adding a bunch of other ministries to your work load?
• Are you making activities and not people your focal point?
• How much time do you need to relax to stay sane?

Allow yourself to slow down. Society has set this ridiculous pace of living—not God. And remember the people around you. The time you spend with them is more important than the activities you do with them. And it takes way less energy.

Have you struggled with being way too busy? What helps you take a timeout from life when necessary? Comment below for a chance to win a $5 Amazon Gift Card.

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Erin Unger was raised in the hills of Virginia, exploring abandoned houses and reading the scariest books she could find. After marrying so young it would make a great romance novel, she has enjoyed an exciting life with her hubby. But her fast-paced life sometimes rivals the suspense in her books thanks to all her mostly grown children and a couple grandkids. Her romantic suspense novel, Desolate Paths, releases January 11, 2019. You can read more at www.erinungerwrites.com.