Category: What I’m Learning

The more I think about rest, the more I have to analyze, practically, what that looks like. If I were to put the question to the wide, wide world, I would probably receive many responses related to leisure.

Our culture is all about leisure.

We live for weekends and holidays, during which we want to unplug from everything. We have movies, books, video games, ball games, amusement parks, and all manner of activities that allow us to escape life for just a little while as we supposedly rest.

So, why do we stay exhausted all the time?

I think it’s because rest was never meant to be mindless. It was never intended as escapism. Yet, so much of our leisure is just that. It’s mindless.

Now, I’m not saying that the activities I mentioned are bad. But, when we approach them as escapism, they become something that sucks the life out of us instead of pouring it back in. If we’re going to enjoy a good ball game, snuggle up for a movie, read a book, head to an amusement park, or engage in any other activity, we need to be intentional to engage in them mindfully. We must choose to actively explore how we can avoid the mindlessness that rises as the archenemy of rest.

What does this look like?

Well, that’s just it. This is all a work in progress for me. A mission of discovery. I am creative in many ways, but I do not think outside the box well. I have a hard time breaking the mold of what has been exemplified for me. If I dislike the mold, I am more inclined to leave it empty than to recreate the shape. I know I cannot leave this one empty, but I am often stumped as to how to change it. Fortunately for minds like mine, changing the mold often starts with evaluating the mold itself to see if there are useful aspects to it.

For instance, think of one thing that so many of us struggle with: time on the Internet.

We “hop on” for a “quick” look, only to find we have wasted thirty minutes without realizing it. How can we turn that around? By choosing to be purposeful in our time on the web. Think about Pinterest. Many of my friends laugh at me because I avoid Pinterest as often as possible. It’s a bottomless pit of overwhelming. But, when I have a specific task to accomplish, it can be very helpful. I choose my keywords, set a time limit, start a search, and then take my finds and go apply them to whatever project I wanted to tackle. A few years ago, ten minutes on Pinterest and a couple of hours of sewing resulted in several adorable gowns for my girlies to pack for camp. I had so much fun making those gowns, and the whole experience was one of mindful leisure and rest.

Mindfulness. Intentionality. Purposefulness. And fun! That is actually restful!

I have so much to learn about rest. How to avoid feeling guilty when I say no to people so I can obediently rest. How to balance personal and family rest. How to anticipate the Sabbath so I don’t spend the first few hours of the day wandering aimlessly trying to figure out what to do to avoid the mindless leisure that so often comes to mind first (and never satisfies!).

But I am excited to know that God will teach me as I discipline myself to rest His way. Mindfully.

Sometimes a great idea for organization or structure or time management flows through my mind. I try it. It works. I begin to implement it and see the difference. I share it here. Then something happens to derail that wonderful thing.

April was a month of derailment. Looking back, I accomplished one single thing: I finished my large, annual writing project. But, in the process, just about everything else fell apart. And I mean everything. Almost no grading was accomplished in the month of April. Writing, other than that one project, was nonexistent. Discipline went out the window, as did motivation and inspiration. I pulled off a column, two blog posts, and a book review in April, but little else. May was even worse.

My husband looked at me recently and said, “You’re struggling because you’re not writing.” He’s right. Every area of my life is a challenge. But, every time I sit down to write, the blank screen or blank notebook page mocks me. Even writing for work has been a challenge. How in the world can I get past this? How can I improve when the one thing that will help me just won’t come?

By writing just one sentence at a time.

I intended to give a blog post a go on Monday, but fear of the blank screen caused me to avoid it. I had no accountability. So, that night, I told my husband I would write a blog post the next day. At some point, I’d just sit down and do it. I’d make myself write one sentence. Then another. Then another. Accountability. One stage of discipline and one small measure of motivation.

Maybe the sentences, when compiled, would make sense. Maybe they wouldn’t. But at least I would be trying.

One sentence at a time.

You see, I’m a finisher. I like to see a project through to its completion. But I also struggle when the project is huge and finishing seems so far away. Small, manageable tasks that I can check off are helpful, but often I have trouble breaking the big picture down into small manageable bites. So, I get easily overwhelmed by the big picture.

And lately, even a single article has felt like too great of a project.

So, as I sit down now to write, I choose to break it down. One thought. One sentence. Word by word. I can do that.

And just like that, I have over 400 words. Not the greatest blog post in the world. Not worthy of publication anywhere other than my own blog – if even there. But it’s a start.

And right now, that’s what I need. A start. Choosing to actively work to put discipline, motivation, and inspiration back into place.

One sentence at a time.

Often when I write a “What Works for Me” or “What I Do” post, it really should fit into another category. Because, in all honesty, I haven’t done it long enough to definitely say it works for me. I try to communicate that as I write, but the truth is I am constantly trying.

A friend of mine wrote a post recently about continuously trying, and it made me stop and think. I’m not as adventurous as she is. I would often rather keep doing what I am doing than try something new. I have never been one to take a dare. I have never been one to tackle something just because it was put in front of me. I need a reason, or at least an interest or a sense that I just might be good at it. Even so, the idea presented in her post definitely resonated with me. I, too, am constantly trying. I don’t tend jump at things put in front of me like she does (although sometimes I’d really love to be that kind of person!), but I am always wanting to improve.

I want to challenge myself. Not because I crave it or enjoy it, but because I want to grow, and I know that is the only way to grow.

So, I, like my friend, am continuously trying. I’m trying to be a more aware and supportive wife. I’m trying to be a more engaged mom. I’m trying to improve my writing skills and increase my writing content. I’m trying to challenge my brain and increase its sharpness by reading nonfiction and learning languages. (Yes, languages…plural. Because I’m beyond crazy.)

But, in order to effectively try, I have to break these things down. They can’t just be general resolutions to be better at ______________. I have to have specific actions. So, I’m creating a new writing category: What I’m Trying.

I doubt it truly matters to you, my readers, how I categorize each and every post on my blog. But this new category will help me. It will encourage me to mentally distinguish between What I Do (the responsibilities that truly drive each day and week’s focus), What Works for Me (those things that are tried and true and really have proven to have long term effectiveness in my life), and What I’m Trying (those things that have come to mind when I have prayed for a solution to some issue in life – things that need to be tested and tried before I categorize them as temporary guidance, stepping stones to improvement, or What Works for Me solutions).

I think we all need a way to categorize those concepts in our heads. Why? Because we often get complacent in what we do and the things that work for us, and we don’t challenge ourselves to try new things – to better ourselves. It’s just easier to maintain the status quo. I’d love for you to join me and share what you’re trying so we can encourage and motivate one another.

So, my friend, please do share…what new thing are you trying?