Looking Out the Window: Tracy Wainwright Shares Tips on Resting in the Midst of a Busy Life in Her Give Thanks Gratitude Journal
Hi Tracy, thanks for telling us about your technique for getting rest in a busy life.
About 10 years ago, I began feeling the call to implement a Sabbath rest into life. Over the last decade, I have done better at this sometimes and worse at others. Lately, following an exceptionally busy year and heading into the Christmas/holiday season, the idea of resting in the Lord and being intentional about observing a Sabbath has resurfaced. And it seems like I’m not the only one, as the topic seems to be coming up in a variety of spaces and platforms.
But how do we rest in the midst of busy schedules, obligations, and commitments?
1 – We must be intentional. Once or twice a month, I spend some quality time with my calendar and plan a do-nothing, go-nowhere day. It goes on my calendar just like all the other things and I hold it as non-negotiable (barring emergencies). Because I’ve learned the importance of rest, I’ve decided to make it a priority. Knowing it’s not going to happen naturally or easily, I take the time and make the effort to log it in.
2 – We must rest regularly. I’m still working on getting one day a week where the schedule is clear, but I gained some new insight recently. Rest doesn’t have to mean we don’t do ANYTHING, just that we don’t work. Not for our job or our home or church. This is difficult, as people like to plan things on weekends since most people work Monday through Friday. However, even if you can’t get a day a week, try a couple of days or a weekend a month and a week every quarter or twice a year. God gave the Israelites patterns of work and rest on a weekly and annual basis because He knows what is best for us. As you prepare for the upcoming year, commit to scheduling regular periods of rest.
3 – Pray over your calendar. Prayer is not last because it’s least important. On the contrary, it’s the most important. Let’s call this a last is first type of situation. If you don’t believe you have enough time to do everything you have on your plate to do, then there’s an excellent chance you have tasks, commitments, and obligations that you were never meant to have. As a recovering over-committer, I understand the excitement of doing good things mixed in with necessary things and the mind writing more checks than the body can cash. However, when we take everything to the Lord in prayer and surrender our schedules and calendars to Him, we find that we fill our time with the best things – including regular rest.
I hope you’re encouraged and challenged to enter into this season, or at least the upcoming year, to make rest in the Lord a priority. You’ll be abundantly blessed if you do.
P.S. Intentionally recording what I’m grateful for has helped me focus on resting and trusting in the Lord. If you’d like a biblically based gratitude journal for you or a loved one, I’d be honored if you’d get one of my Give Thanks journals.
About Give Thanks
Discover the transformative power of daily gratitude with our Give Thanks gratitude journal, featuring inspirational readings and Scriptures to keep you grounded and uplift your spirit. This beautifully designed journal with an orange flowers and dragonflies design encourages spiritual, mental, and personal growth, helping you cultivate a mindset of thanksgiving. With thoughtful prompts, verses on gratitude, and motivational quotes from Christian authors, you'll reflect on your blessings from the Lord and embrace a life of gratitude. Perfect for anyone seeking a closer relationship with God, a transformed heart and mind, and intentional living. Start your journey toward joy and greater fulfillment in the Lord today!
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God’s Word has a lot to say about a lifestyle of gratitude. Intentionally recording what we’re grateful for cultivates a lifestyle of thanks-living.
Praising God for the abundant gifts He’s given us retrains our hearts and minds to align with Him, erase negative pathways, and energizes us to the core of our beings.
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Bio: Tracy's been writing for 20 years, She has 17 books published (self and traditional) and 8 books due to release in the next year. She loves sharing God's truths through story-telling and does so through fiction, nonfiction, and speaking. In addition to writing her own books, Tracy loves helping other authors produce works of excellence through editing, coaching, presenting at writers' conferences, and ghostwriting. She squeezes all this in the middle of being a wife, homeschool mom of 4 (3 graduated now!), volunteer at her church, and most recently running for her local Board of Supervisors.
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