Overwhelmed Schedule – Underwhelmed Soul
This post is part of Lysa TerKeuret’s “The Best Yes” Blog Tour, which we are delighted to be a part of along with many other inspiring bloggers.
To the woman with the overwhelmed schedule and the underwhelmed soul…if you are reading this right now…just breathe.
Have you had days where your schedule seems so jam-packed with appointments, housework, to do lists, and family demands that you feel like your suffocating? It can be hard to find your purpose when your life consists of dirty diapers, dishes, laundry, and car-pooling. Or perhaps your schedule is a 9-5 job with demanding after hour responsibilities, late nights, and frequent work trips. You run around making sure the demands of the day are fulfilled and everyone else’s needs are being met. Your head hits the pillow with less than 6 hours of sleep to go (if your lucky) …and then you are up and out of bed before you know it and it is time to do it all over again. No matter what you seem to do your schedule leaves you feeling defeated before it has even begun. You are utterly…overwhelmed. But you keep telling yourself “next week will be better”! You’ll make time to “get in the word” and “open your Bible” or have some “alone time with the maker”. You realize you need Him. You realize He is always there. But you seldom make Him a priority in your schedule.
How can you say “No”? When everyone around you needs you?
There are moments when you feel lost in this sea of constant busyness that sometimes you almost forget who you are…who He made you to be.
Your overwhelming schedule…. leaves your soul feeling underwhelmed. Your purpose for life feeling as if it was sucked right out of you.
You ask yourself. What has happened? How did I get here?
We know in our hearts that our maker is the only one who can bring peace and comfort to the lives we live. We know that sometimes we over commit and can fall in to the trap of saying “Yes!” when our hearts really meant to say “No!”. God can slow the pace and still help you win the race. It all starts with intention.
Here are five simple ways you can start making intentional change in your life. Learn to say “No” to the unnecessary demands and learn to say, “Yes” to Jesus.
He Always Has Time:
Know that God is waiting for you… He is never too busy for you. He always has time. And He always will greet you with open arms. Like an old friend who you can pick up right where you left off, just set the date, grab some coffee and your Bible. Whether it’s for 2 minutes, 5 minutes, 30 minutes or an hour. If it means putting your Bible next to the bathroom toilet…you have time.
Learn to Ask For Help:
Tired of being the one to always throw the block party? Outsource the responsibility to others. If nobody is willing to take it up and move forward with it…then they must not have thought it was that important to begin with. Learn to let go of things that aren’t necessary to hang on to…sure its nice and a “feel good” thing…but in the end if it is causing you stress and it is low on the priority list, get rid of it!
Learn to Say No – And Mean It:
Sometimes saying “No”…is tough. Especially, for those of us who don’t want to disappoint someone. Learn to say “No” and mean it. Practice saying it out loud in the shower or in front of a mirror, even just hearing and feeling how it rolls off the tongue and comes out of the mouth will provide you with more confidence when it comes time to use it.
You Don’t Need A Reason:
For most, in order to say “No”, you feel there needs to be a reason or an excuse as to why you are letting the person requesting the favor down. Have you ever found yourself scrambling for a reason why you can decline the invitation? You are scrambling for a reason to say “No” because deep down you really don’t want to…you feel drained…tired…and your list is too long to add any more of anyone else’s responsibilities to it. Just remember you don’t need a reason. Simply saying, “Thank you, but No, it won’t work in my schedule”, is enough.
You Aren’t Your Children (or Husbands) Personal Maid:
Many mothers and wives end up falling in to the “I can just do it” category of life. Dirty clothes all over the bathroom floor that need to be picked up, you say to yourself “I’ll just do it”. The garbage is over flowing and you realize it needs to be taken out, you say to yourself “I’ll just do it. It is easier to just do it then argue and corral someone else to do it for me.” And the list goes on. Sometimes it seems so easy to just take care of business yourself…why not? You do everything else around the house? Your Super Woman! STOP. Do not let yourself fall in to that routine of being everyone’s maid. If you have children capable of picking up after themselves, start enforcing it now. If you have a husband whom we know is capable of making burgers on the grill one night for dinner and doing dishes afterwards, by God, let him do it!
Our lives are shaped by our actions. Our schedules start out blank and we fill them in.
“The decisions you make determine the schedule you keep. The schedule you keep determines the life you live. And how you live your life determines how you spend your soul.” – Lysa TerKeurst, The Best Yes.
To the women with the overwhelmed schedule and the underwhelmed soul…
You got this.
New York Times Bestselling author Lysa TerKeurst has written a new book about finding your Best Yes. Many call this book “inspiring” and “fabulous.” We call it a game-changer.
To purchase your copy of “The Best Yes” by Lysa TerKeurst, click HERE
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