That’s an email I sent yesterday to my dear friend, Lindsay. It was a cry for help (to which she had some wonderful words of encouragement!)
I’m usually really good at multi-tasking and being able to balance it all. It seems lately though, that I’ll lay down at night and think, “WHAT DID I DO TODAY THAT HAD ETERNAL PURPOSE??” Twitter, Facebook, this blog…none of those things really matter longterm. After I put the kid’s down just now, it hit me. I had basically ignored them for the last two hours, doing things that I thought were more important. My heart broke in an instant.
I’ve got too many things on my plate, guys. Let’s make a list.
An “on my plate” list:
- Aladdin rehearsal every night this week. Dress Rehearsal’s start Saturday, show opens next Tuesday.
- BLEND Retreat stuff. Lots of different pieces to be worked on.
- A couple of writing assignments with deadlines fast approaching.
- Three product reviews that need to be written.
- Countless emails to return.
- Tuesday Trainer video to come up with and film.
- Cook and deliver a meal to my friend who just had a baby.
This is all on TOP of my normal wife and mother duties.
- Laundry
- Cleaning
- Teaching/disciplining
- Cooking
- Loving
Then, under all of THAT, comes time with God, which should be the foundation on which everything else falls. I’m been SEVERELY lacking in spending quality time in the Word. I KNOW that I feel like I’m drowning because I’ve neglected my Abba.
So that’s what I’m doing today instead of writing my E.D. post (which I’ll resume next Wednesday).
I’m spending some time with Him.
Filling up my tank again.
Then all the other stuff will fall into place.
“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”
I’m not expecting a quick fix to this. I need to learn how to say NO. The show will end soon enough and I don’t plan on doing another one for quite some time. Planning BLEND is actually pretty fun.
Blogging is fulfilling. To a point.
I’m taking Thursday and Friday OFF! I need time to BE IN THE MOMENT, and not online, wrapped up in “virtual moments”. I need to sit on the couch with Travis tonight and not be typing, while he finds something on TV. I need to be PRESENT! Does that make sense?
I’ll be back on Saturday though. With a Tuesday Trainer theme and a little thing I like to call, “Winning a Dance-Off“.
You can’t get rid of me for that long.
QUESTION: When’s the last time you smiled? Do you ever take on too much? Ways of coping? Have you ever taken a break from “the world”?
P.S. I need some MAJOR votes if I’m going to pull this Love Grown Foods win off! Please, Please Vote! Just “like” my picture. I think I’m behind because I haven’t opened up my blog to really all that many Franklin people. Should I??
splendid…lindsay
hi sweetie!! <3 <3
I am still backpacking through Mexico, but have a rare time with internet tonight, and am checking in on my favorite friends I miss SO MUCH!!
oh how I miss you in my daily life!!
I read this and thought how HAPPY I was to hear you are reaching out to one of MY favorite people to LIFT ME UP, our precious Lindsay! she is a wonder, as are you… we all go through rough times, even I have during this trip, which has been absolute Heaven!
I am sending you BIG HUGS and love, my dear! miss having you in my daily life… I am back in the states December 21… will get back to normal soon after!! XXO!
KRIS!!! You’re alive!!
I’ve missed you so! Glad to hear you’re well! I’m so envious of your backpacking! And yes, I’m going to end all of these sentences with exclaimation points! That’s how much I’ve missed you!
Hugs and kisses!
So refreshing to see that I’m not the only one battling the big NO and prioritizing:) I don’t have kids yet but definitely know what it feels like to juggle.
Keep up the great work trusting in the One who gives us strength!
P.s. I love your blog ;)
Psalm 61:
1 Hear my cry, O God;
Attend to my prayer.
2 From the end of the earth I will cry to You,
When my heart is overwhelmed;
Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.
Thought I’d share. Praying for your renewed strength and peace.
THANK YOU, Tasha!! Love that Psalm!
Gorgeous photo of you and OF COURSE you needed to have an electronic de-tox! Everyone should do it, and ofteN! (i do for my sanity!)
I totally understand where you are coming from. Life is always about balance and something we are constantly having to work on. I pray that you find that balance with all that you are doing and that God refreshes you in your rest. I am currently reading Ann Voskamp’s book One Thousand Gifts. If you haven’t checked it out, it is amazing. Learning to be thankful for the little things and finding joy in every moment. Just what all of us need.
My sister-in-law just finished that book and said it was wonderful! I’ll snag it from her!
Amen!!! I’ve been feeling the same way lately. There is just not enough time for it all and I need to do a better job prioritizing! You always totally make my day and I love reading your posts and trying my best to keep up with your Tuesday Trainer! But you deserve some time to recharge your batteries and spend some time with God. We’ll all be here when you get back. :)
hi new friend!! sending prayers for peace and TIME your way. also, mrs. cotter is totally a fave :)
enjoy your weekend!
You know what I think about all this. Also.. you are doing way more for BLEND and I am feeling swamped with it myself. I can’t imagine how you feel…
Definitely enjoy your time off…I would LOVE to take an Internet break as well. One of these days hopefully!
Take care of yourself my friend.
I’ll miss you, but I know you’ll come back to us renewed and refreshed!!
Clearly all of us can relate and agree that it is sometimes best to step back and take a breather! There are lots of nights I decide not to post because I stop and think how important it actually is in the grand scheme of things. It’s so piddly compared to spending that time with my honey and enjoying his company, especially when I only see him for usually 2 hours a day!
Wish I could vote for you again! I’m not so sure I’m gonna make it, but that’s ok! Being on the list is an honor in itself :). And I’m glad you’re taking a needed break Linds! Sometimes we all need to take a break from pretty much everything and focus on ourselves.
Amen for taking time off! I get that overwhelming feeling more often than I ‘d like… I too need to work on saying no more often. Guess us do it all-ers just need to work on taking a break and slowing down sometimes. I love when you share verses, when i’m feeling closer with god it always seems to make life easier and just flow better. That’s how it should be.
I’m feeling like that now, but I have no choice. Im in my second year of law school and my first final is saturday. this weekend I spilled water on my computer and lost everything on my hard drive, including all my notes from the semester and all the outlines to use during exams that i spent weeks putting together. I now have to start all over and it’s so overwhelming i don’t know if I can do it, at least not with my sanity…
You for sure need a break! I was actually wondering the other day how you “do it all” because you seem to post a lot and I see your comments on other blogs and I know reading other ones takes time PLUS being a mom/wife!
It’s weird how we bloggers get into our brains that we have to post this many times a week and be on top of twitter and facebook and e-mails…when really, it’s up to us how much time we devote to our blogs. I feel the pressure too, believe you me.
I usually take weekends off from blogging unless I have nothing else to do. It feels amazing to unplug for a couple of days! And Twitter feeds aren’t working on my phone anymore so that’s one less thing to distract me from the people around me I should be focusing on. ;-)
Daily devotions are also something I am needing to focus on as well. Let’s pray for each other in this area, yes? :-)
This is exactly why I went unplugged last weekend. I felt far too disconnected and imbalanced and it was affecting every single aspect of my life…including my relationship with my husband. It is SO SO SO important to give yourself time for YOU but also for your family and your “offline” life. You can do this!! Enjoy it, embrace it, do more of it! And hang in there!!
Isn’t Mrs. Cotter the best at encouragement?! Love that lady. And I tooootally get what you’re going through! When I was still in massage therapy school and assignments were piling up (along with my full-time job and trying to spend time with my man and the pups) I really had to let the blog hang out in the background for a while with an occasional post. I was blown away that anyone was still reading by the time I got my mojo back (and lately that’s only been because afternoons at work are slow enough for me to pop on and throw up a post!), but they were all still there with open arms, and I know your readers will do the same! Take some down time for you, your family, and the Big Guy… it’s so refreshing! That’s one thing I’m grateful to have experienced too, is the time away from the blog, because now it’s SO much easier to just let it go sometimes if I need to. You rock, Lindsay!! xo
I find myself in the same boat lately. It’s so funny that you wrote this post today because it was the first day that I woke up early to say my morning prayers (which haven’t been said in a LONG time) and read 3 chapters of my scriptures. Can I just say that my day is already going better than normal?! You’ve got to do the best for yourself and your sanity! We’ll all be here when you get back!
SO true! Have a wonderful rest of the week :) Eternal things are just way more important than the ‘worldly’ things–with that perspective, some of the other things we think are vital start to slip away. He can help us figure out what those all are for each of us individually. Thanks for posting!
Poor Lindsay, I definitely know how you feel…always so much on my plate, so much more I want to do, and never enough time. GOOD FOR YOU realizing the most important thing is the Father and taking the time to put Him first. I will be praying for you! It will all work out in His time and according to His purpose for your life! :)
Don’t know if this helps, but it helps me when I get busy…I have devotionals sent to my email every morning…here’s the link if you want to try it out! :)
http://profile.purposedriven.com/managesubscriptionssimple.aspx
God bless!
Good for you, Lindsay! This post reminds me of Psalm 32–my all time scripture (it was my basketball # in HS and college). xo
I was number 32 in high school too, Kiah!! :) :) Best number!
My prayers are with you today! I know that feeling all to well – I’ve had a few days with the same sentiments. I woke up super early today and didn’t turn on the computer or work out(victory over distraction!) and just spent time reading my Bible and enjoying some quiet moments in prayer before the day began. I feel like a new person – why do I forget that doing that is the key a peace-filled heart?
Enjoy your time with your babies today. Love you.
it seems like everyone can relate. We just never express it! we need to! we need to be okay with doing less. It can be so exciting at first, taking on new things. I totally am that way, then it comes back and bites me in the ARSE! I am praying for you, for us all, to be in the moment, with God, with ourselves, and soak up some much needed solitude time. I love you friend. Praying for you. And seriously, let me know if you need ANYTHING!!!
Good luck getting it all under control. You’ll pull through. :) I smiled quite a bit this past weekend, but I could already use a few more of those.
Take a break, you deserve it. Sometimes it is difficult to take a break from something you love to do. But when it starts to feel like “work”, it’s time to slow down! As much as I love exercising and moving, I took two rest days in a row so I could focus on a choir rehearsal and performance. My body received a much needed break and my heart was lifted from singing with others. Blogging will always be there and so will your readers! Thinking of you this week :-)
I understand this, and is also the main reason why i stopped blogging every day when I got sick. As much as we all love having you around, a happy Lindsay is better than a stressed Lindsay! So if that means missing out on a few posts, I’ll take it :) Also, I know how it feels to drown in e-mails. Sometimes you gotta just let those things go. I think we have a bad habit of giving more stress to things than they deserve. You’re a smart cookie for realizing this xoxo
I tend to tackle way too much way too often. I realized the same thing this morning – my quiet times have slipped down on my priority list to almost non-existent. :( I need to get back to starting my day with Him and let the rest of the day wait a few minutes while I recharge. I am trying to get better at balancing blogging & workouts & work & life. Enjoy your unplug break and we’ll be here when you get back!
Sounds good. Enjoy your time off. Sometimes we all need it. The internet will be here when you get back!
I know exactly what you mean about all of this. It gets to be too much too fast. That is a big part of why I made my blog switch too. I felt like the “blogging pressure” had become too much and wasn’t fulfilling me and was taking away too much from my family. Even though they never really expressed it, I knew in my heart things were off balance. By branching out, I could put my focus on training and let the blogging part fall where it may. Like today – not posting because I didn’t have the time or energy after all that mattered most yesterday and didn’t get the chance to prep somethign for today.
Love you and I’m here for you whenever you need a listening ear or prayers as well.
I like you. I just can’t like you on Facebook because I don’t like Facebook. I wish that I could vote without having a Facebook account! Because I really do like you.
Social media can be almost…dangerous? That’s not really the word I’m looking for. But it’s tons of positive reinforcement (emails! comments! reactions! tweets!) that exist outside of the real world. Or in a DIFFERENT real world. And I, for one, can get almost addicted to that reinforcement. It’s hard to shut it off, but I think that it’s also really important to back away from social media now and then and just LIVE. Good for you for realizing what’s really important.
You absolutely deserve a couple days off to catch up on everything. I can definitely relate to feeling the way you’re describing, and it seems like you’re doing just what you need to do – time with God, being present with your family, and time for yourself. Balance is harder than it seems, I think. It’s one of those things that is always challenging us in life. You are awesome, my friend. :)
I totally understand, Lindsay…and of course am praying for you today! I think we all take on too much at times and very often all need a break from the world. I get the typing while husband’s on TV thing, the list with God at the bottom, the need to unplug. Enjoy it to the fullest and find fulfillment in Him! …going to turn this off and read my Bible before my first client. :) Thanks, friend.
Oh friends- I HEAR YOU!!! I’m just about to write something just like this. I’m in the exact same place. Too much and then it’s hit’s you. I’m going to take a little break to spend time with my men and THE MAN above too. :) Love you! HUGS!!!!
I smiled this morning while training my client, because she looks fabulous and has come so far since we first started training. She looks great and most importantly is listening to her body. I hear you on taking on too much. It happens and I think it’s also this time of year, when there is just so much going on. You need to take a step back, breathe, love, laugh, and take care of yourself, so you can take care of your loved ones. Enjoy your “rest” time and have a happy Hump Day! :)
Amen to everything you just said. It’s crazy how we can put so much pressure on ourselves. I’m guilty of the same things. I like that you’re taking a vacay! I may do that soon myself! It’s a constant battle to put my Savior first. It shouldn’t be, either. I’m ashamed of that. Have a fun time off!
Overcommitting is a constant battle for me. I have to think about it ALL the time because I so easily wrap myself up in too many things. And then it’s just a big distraction from all the people that really count. Jonathan is so good for me in that way because he reminds me often, “You know, you don’t REALLY have to do that.” And most of the time he’s right. Sometimes I lose it and start spouting off about why all these things I’m doing are so important…but as I hear myself I realize that most of them really aren’t important at all. Sometimes I ask myself, if something happened to Jonathan or one of the kids, what would I keep on doing and what would I regret not doing. It’s a centering question for me. Sometimes things don’t get done. I hate saying I’ll do something and then backing out, but sometimes that’s what I have to do…quite humbling for me, but then the next time I am more likely to pause and consider all the ramifications of what I’m committing to. I struggle with the desire to actually count and make a difference and BE a change or make a contribution…whatever you want to call it. Somehow, raising four beautiful little ones to know Jesus and be gracious and bright people, doesn’t seem like enough. But when I try to count for something I just end up running around in circles like an idiot. Ironically, when I rest and receive and practice contentment with my home, my little ones, my simple life, then things start to happen…people suddenly appear that I can be a blessing to, or my writing gets better without me straining at it, or my three year old asks Jesus into her heart, etc. But that’s just my experience…and it’s a constantly changing scene. You’ll find your equilibrium, friend. I just know it.