The Saturday Six

One.

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THIS. This, this, this. I think it is so important to pull over for a funeral procession, and this post shows why, better than anything I've ever read before.

Two.

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Dreamy seaside cottage indeed. I'll take it! {If you love home tours, LOOK AT THIS ONE!!} 

Three.

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Even if you're not a writer, this article is a great reminder of remembering to keep your focus on WHY you do what you do. You're ultimately working for the Lord! Thanks, Jamie, for sending this link my way. Perfectly timed for me this week!

Four.

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I'm not a mom, but one of my mom-of-four friends so highly recommended this product this week that I have to pause to pass it along to you. One of her kids is allergic to ev.ry.thing in the food world, so they have to make all her food at home to keep her well. She found these reusable pouches for juice/yogurt/etc. and loved them. I think it's a pretty great idea if you don't want to spend money on the pricey pre-made pouches! 

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This planner made me swoon just a little. Are you a lover of planners? Swoon with me? 
 

Six.

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In a few weeks, I'm speaking at a women's retreat {SO excited about that!} and the planning committee from the church is studying a book in preparation for the retreat. They were kind enough to gift a copy to me, so I could read it too, and I just finished it this week. {I chose to read it nice and slow so I could absorb it well.} Oh my goodness. I think many exhausted women need the message of this book!


It's called Rest Assured: A Recovery Plan for Weary Souls and is written by Vicki Courtney. Any weary souls out there? Vicki admits in the introduction to the book that she had actually forgotten how to be still. It's how we live, isn't it? We're so busy that we legitimately forget how to be still, and our lives suddenly become void of rest and saturated with exhaustion and anxiety.

The message of her book encourages women to relearn {or maybe learn for the first time!} what it means to be still and to rest. We're busy because that's all our world seems to find acceptable. And sometimes we're busy doing really good things, but they still sap us of everything we have and are and leave us vulnerable and cranky. {And if we're honest, not all that productive, because we're too tired to truly be productive.}

We fill our souls with stuff and things and activities, because we think those things will make us happy and fulfilled {and maybe even accepted?} but they just deplete us even more. We are enslaved to technology and work, taking it with us everywhere we go. And even though we have no time for anything or anyone, we make time to help God do HIS job, assuming responsibilities that are only His to hold.

Vicki's book helps the exhausted busy bees not only diagnose the reasons for their busyness, but actually make practical changes to find rest. To make time with the Lord a priority. To learn to say no. To create space in every day so there's actually room for rest and to embrace the unexpected. She offers permission to go against what everyone around us seems to demand so we can actually enjoy our lives and our God.

The book is convicting without being burdensome. Vicki doesn't beat around the bush {and she shouldn't}, but she offers hope and compassion in each chapter. And while you can easily read this book on your own, like I did, and get much good out of it, it's also formatted to be studied together with a group. There are questions and optional exercises at the end of each chapter, which you can work through on your own or with others!

If you're feeling the burn of busyness and aren't sure where to start in understanding what's wrong or how to fix it, I heartily suggest reading this book and applying Vicki's suggestions to your life! I offer my thanks to the planning team for so kindly sharing the book with me! It was helpful, not just in planning the retreat, but in helping me evaluate my own life and time management!