facebook twitter instagram bloglovin
 photo toppost.png

Oct 24, 2020

Learning to Rest



last week, i was a little bit absent from this space.  life just caught up to me, and i needed a break.  i've been so diligent with writing and scheduling posts over the weekend, and having a constant and consistent presence on my blog, but last weekend was just busy in every way...aj was home, my parents rode the philly ride to conquer cancer, and i was still battling a sinus infection and bronchitis. so this last week, once i was able to exhale, things like sleep and catching up on work just took priority.

last wednesday night, i walked into my room after a twelve-hour work day, dumped my bags on the floor, sat down at my desk, and lettered these words:  rest and abide.

god has been slowly whispering to my heart these past few days...rest and abide.  it's been one of those times where life feels like it hasn't slowed down since mid-august.  where the demands of work, relationships, and just life in general have me learning the power of saying "no" to things.  where i've felt nothing short of overwhelmed and dried up at every turn.

and when i get overwhelmed, i get weepy.  to be honest, it doesn't really take much to make me cry...aj often refers to me as a human faucet.  but i hit a wall on wednesday night, with work still to do and friends still to have dinner with and appearances still to keep up, and blog posts still to write, and finally, i decided to shed the guilt of not being present here, or not producing the content i wish i was writing.



at one of those dinners with friends the other night, blogging was a topic of conversation, and one girl was sharing wisdom from an influence network class she had just watched.  "don't let your blog become your kingdom"...those words hit me so hard.  had my blog, the space i've been working so hard to build and the community i've been pouring myself into, become my kingdom, or was i still using it to really do what i have always wanted it to...spread god's kingdom?

(funny, as i write this, i'm sitting backstage on sunday morning listening to our pastor preach...about "your kingdom, or god's?"....think jesus is trying to tell me something?)

i think that we as bloggers, or anyone with an online presence, walk a fine line.  it's so easy to raise up our blogs or our online lives to a high priority...because after all, what will our 750 instagram followers do if they don't see the photo of that latte we picked up at starbucks this afternoon?!

the reality is that our online lives do matter, but only to the point that they are glorifying the lord, and no further.  once they become our kingdom, then they are worthless, and all of the influence we have and all of the followers we've gained mean nothing.

learning to rest is tough...chances are, if you're a blogger, you've spent plenty of late nights at your computer at 11:30pm crafting that perfect post and editing those photos to top it off.  and let's be real, you probably have seen more of those nights than you care to admit.



but i think that it's important to find intentional places and spaces that will encourage you to rest, to consider the influence you have, and to care for your spirit and your heart.  and one of those places is the influence network.

about a month ago, after watching instagram like it was the news all weekend as so many of my blogging friends gathered together at the 2014 influence conference, i decided to take the plunge and purchase a ticket to the 2015 conference.  it's a time to for women with creative hearts to gather and talk about the unique influence they have right where they're at.

and because i'm so excited for next september, i want you to be there too, so i joined up with a bunch of other wonderful, god-loving women to offer you the chance to win a conference ticket.  you don't have to be a blogger to be there...you just need to love jesus and want to know him better.

so i hope you'll consider entering, and if you don't win, then i hope you pray about investing in a ticket to the conference!  i'd love to see you there.

what is the influence network?
via
via
two lucky readers will win a ticket to the 2015 influence conference. the conference is a three day event held in indianapolis, indiana at the westin hotel. you will meet women from all over the country who are seeking to learn the right tools for their passions. there will be workshops, classes, speakers, coffee, & shopping. there will be bloggers, mothers, small business owners, writers, and the list goes on & on. 


two places at once     //     what she saw     //     rivers & roads
oak & oats    //     amy cornwell     //     simplicity relished
rachel rewritten     //     trusty chucks     //     wear flowers in your hair
she lives free    //     elah tree     //     mandy living life
vallarina creative     //     camp patton     //     23 and 9 creative
wetherills say i do      //     oh simple thoughts     //     frankly my dear

you do not have to be a member of the influence network to enter the giveaway or to go the conference but i encourage you to check out the network and consider joining!

a Rafflecopter giveaway
**please note that this giveaway is in no way sponsored by the influence network. 
we are a group of independent women who are joining together to make this conference happen for two of our readers. the two recipients will only receive tickets to the event & are responsible for all other expenses, including but not limited to travel, lodging, meals, parking, etc. if for some reason either of the winners cannot attend the conference they will be expected to contact one of the hosts immediately so that another winner can be chosen.

16 comments:

  1. I can definitely relate to this. Sometimes it's hard for me to push back the guilt I feel from taking a couple hours (or a day) to just sit down and do what I need to in order to rest. I have so many things I could be doing, but sometimes taking a moment to slow down is way more important than all of those things!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thank you for sharing this, Betsy. There are days when all this social media business gets so draining, but it also has enriched my life in strange ways. It's good to allow ourselves a break.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Betsy--your writing is intoxicating. Whenever I read your posts, I feel like I'm sitting right in front of you with a cup of coffee. I'm such a new blogger so I always feel guilty when I don't post all the time but I have to take a step back and remember why I started blogging in the first place--to glorify HIM.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I can so relate to this post. I can become so overwhelmed about getting posts up that I become a basket case. I have to step back and ask myself is it really so important that it's worth ruining my day and my family's day? This post was perfect for me to read this week. Thanks for sharing your heart. :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. I'm beginning to learn this lesson as a part-time teaching mom. Resting, relaxing, and enjoying my time as a mother and wife rather than staying caught up with lesson plans and grading.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Oh my goodness. Thank you for writing this. Lately, I haven't been busy, but I've been mentally busy - my brain running this way and that, making lists and worrying about tomorrow. Sigh. I want to never worry about tomorrow, but I always seem to end up doing it anyway, until I ask Him to take my Worry Burden. Rest & Abide. Thank you for that.

    ReplyDelete
  7. You literally just woke me up. I always feel guilty everytime I take a
    break from the online social media world and I still dont know the
    reasons why. Maybe because I'm putting so much pressures on myself that I
    don't believe in resting and failures. But then I realized, there is
    only so much I can take. My actual life is already busy and occupied
    enough, sometimes coming back to my room and open my blog and try to
    find a topic for a blogpost is a very difficult thing to do even though
    it is something that you love to do..

    I agree with you that rest sometimes is all we need to refresh our brain and heart and possibly life.

    xoxowww.colorsinmybubble.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  8. @H earn at your home and get paid $8500 in 1 month by working on the internet If You do not have time to Come to Meet then You can Visit our Website Where You can Get Complete Training About this Online Money Making Program register here...http://➽.ws/easyearn

    ReplyDelete
  9. Oh my word....I totally know the feeling! Real life is ALWAYS more important than your online life....and it can be so hard to shed the guilt when the latter falls by the wayside a bit! But taking a break and refreshing is always worth it.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I totally hear you! I feel like I've been forgetting things left and right because my brain has been going a mile a minute! Giving that worry to Jesus is so freeing!

    ReplyDelete
  11. I'm teaching part-time too, and it feels like there is ALWAYS more to do! I struggle so much with feeling like my lessons aren't creative enough or good enough...but sometimes, you just have to say "I'm done" and give energy and attention to other, more important, things!

    ReplyDelete
  12. So true! Not worth ruining ANY day over! It's so easy to succumb to the pressure of having every post published just so, but rest is necessary and there are other, more important things!

    ReplyDelete
  13. oh my word, you are too sweet! I was SO so so inconsistent when I first started blogging! haha...but yes, keeping that original goal...to glorify Him...in mind is SO important. And let's grab that cup of coffee sometime :)

    ReplyDelete
  14. thanks for reading it! i totally hear you...this online world can be so enriching! but sometimes, ya just gotta take a break :)

    ReplyDelete
  15. yes...i'm the sort of person who is used to always being crazy busy, so when i actually take time to rest and relax, I can get overwhelmed with everything that I'm not doing!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Yes...resetting is so incredibly important! I often feel like if I take a break, none of my readers will be there when I get back, but that's probably not the case! haha...and resting is just so incredibly important...so we need to take those intentional times!

    ReplyDelete

Hi! Thanks for reading! I read every comment posted here. Your thoughts are valuable to me! Thanks for taking the time to contribute!

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...
 photo envye.jpg
envye blogger theme