I just have one question.

That’s probably a lie. I ask a lot of questions of you on here. But let’s just start with one, shall we?

How in the actual heck are there only two months left of 2021?

I know everyone told me that as I get older, time seems to move faster, but this seems a little extreme. Anyone with me?

A few weeks ago, I wrote a blog and shared with you my big news. Woo hoo! It is almost time for my book to be fully out of my hands and into yours. Two more weeks. Is your calendar marked for November 17th?

During those few weeks leading up to that time, as I was putting all the final pieces together, I was in a short season of quiet.

I was off of social media.

I almost feel like I don’t have the words to properly explain that time to you. It almost makes it seem dramatic. It almost puts too much emphasis on the power of our phones over our lives. Because I didn’t really think I had too much of a problem.

But the truth is that – we all have a pretty big problem. And our phones are just one small piece of it.

We’re tired.

Amiright?

In my book, Backwards, each chapter is dedicated to one area of our lives in which the world’s idea is so backwards from God’s perfect plans for us. One of the chapters addresses busyness and rest. This has been a massive lesson in my life that I’m still learning. The problem is that we are moving so fast, we don’t stop long enough to even recognize our speed. Our thoughts are coming at such rapid rates, silence makes us uneasy.

On this forty day social media break, the changes in me were subtle. But the biggest one I noticed was that my head truly just felt less cluttered. It was almost as if I could feel the nonstop scrolling screech to a halt within my own body. I didn’t feel the need to constantly be checking on what I might be missing out on. I noticed some things around me more. And I heard God more clearly.

The reality for our lives is that if you aren’t constantly on the go, the world deems you as unmotivated. Hustle is attractive. But God’s world works completely different. And His is the one that brings about true life.

“God knows. He knows your tendencies, your weaknesses, your strengths; the things that refill you and the things that drain you. He is waiting on the edge of His seat for you to take a step back and show you what real life is like. What real rest is like. When we finally seek Him for our strength and our energy, when we finally say no to some things in order to say yes to the right ones, we see how living can really be. Wait, we don’t have to live in stress twenty-four hours a day? I thought that was just the American dream. It may be. But it is not God’s. You’ll have trouble, yeah. the Bible says that. You will have suffering, yeah. But nowhere in the word of God does He tell us that life should be busy and full of stress and anxiety. Could it be that our anxious culture is a result of forgetting to leave room for God? Not just acknowledging that He is Lord and He is sovereign, but we’ve also lost the idea and the value of creating empty space for Him to fill.

Lots of us are asking Him to come and fill us up, and yet we feel the same way. We’re frustrated, and we conclude that God isn’t answering us. He doesn’t hear us. But maybe, we are just too full, and there’s no room for His Spirit to come and fill.”

Backwards, Chapter Six

This is the photo that represented my most intentional rest time:

Isn’t that amazing? Through this social media fast, I didn’t have my phone to occupy my eyes or my thoughts whenever we drove in the car. I was so much more attentive to my surroundings. And this was the most incredible rainbow I’ve ever seen. As always, my little iPhone photo doesn’t do it justice. We were in Nashville, TN, experiencing a wild encounter with God. It was our last day to sightsee, and it rained ALL DAY. Literally. Until we got in the car to head to the airport. This beautiful, full rainbow followed us on our drive. The symbol of God’s promise, His peace, His covenant.

I’m not here to make you feel guilty about your phone. I’m just asking you to be honest with yourself and with God. Your life may feel a little out of control right now. You have more choices than you are led to believe. The world has lured you in with “must-haves” and they are not in line with God’s necessities for freedom.

What is taking up your time that you have believed wasn’t even your choice?

What is taking up room in your heart where you know Jesus should be?

In Hebrews 12:28, we are promised that “…We are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken.”

If Jesus is in His rightful place, He is the King of your life. And you are inheriting an unshakeable kingdom.

You do not have to be shaken.

When you choose Him over the temporary, glittery desires of the world around you, you will find rest. You will find life.