Selah Reflections

Inviting You To Find Stillness in the Midst of Life.

The Importance of a Morning Routine: Why I walk my dog every morning

The idea of a morning routine might make you cringe. The thought of being told what to do and when to do it, especially when you first get up, sounds restrictive and unappealing.

If you take a minute to think about it, you might be surprised to realize that you use routines every day. You have a sequence you use each morning to get dressed — a series of steps that take you to get ready each morning before you head out the door.

All of these are routines you have developed over time, and now you do them without thinking. 

If you are anything like me, you probably don’t jump out of bed full of energy, ready to start the day. As slow starters, we need all the help we can get to wake up and get the blood flowing.

While the idea of a routine may sound restrictive and confining, a healthy morning routine can help: 

  • Eliminates the need for big decisions first thing when we wake up, who has the brainpower for that? 
  • We already know what we need to do, which helps us reduce mental fatigue, which can give better energy management for the day.
  • Set a positive tone for the day.

Knowing this brings up the question, “what should a healthy morning routine include?”. [Read more…]

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How Sabbath Rest Can Help Manage Stress and Anxiety

The idea of Sabbath has always seemed to me like a strange, Old Testament word. I couldn’t see how it applied in our modern life.

My understanding of the Sabbath began to change as I looked for ways to manage stress and anxiety. Rest is always at the top of the list for those struggling with chronic stress. But, I’m not naturally able to “rest.” So, I was surprised to find that there were few practical suggestions on the interwebs. Mostly it was generic advice like, “you need to learn to rest,” and, “you need to find ways to manage your stress.” Yeah, I know, but how??

So I kept digging.

Tulip field and blog post title

That is when the word Sabbath started to show up. I began to discover what the word means, what Sabbath rest look like, and what does the Bible say about it. Slowly I began to develop and a better understanding of what this type of rest was really about. [Read more…]

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When Resting Feels Lazy

We’ve just wrapped up summer, September is here, and kids are back in school. This time of year feels like a freight train picking up speed as we start hurtling toward the holiday season. As the pace picks up, finding time to rest only gets harder. When we do find some time, we feel lazy and unproductive since there is so much still to do on our to-do lists.

Am I the only one who feels that way?

When Resting Feels Lazy by Marta Goertzen

 

My Journey to Becoming a Workaholic

Learning to rest and not feel guilty about it has been (and is) hard for me.

Growing up, I couldn’t sit still. I was a mover and a shaker, and it was hard to keep me entertained for any length of time.

  • As a toddler, I would climb out of my highchair and OVER the tray.
  • During a church service, I would have a small pile of activities to occupy me.
  • To my Mom’s great delight, I stopped taking naps at the age of two. Yeah, she was thrilled.

As I got older I found ways to move while staying seated in one spot. Fun things like bouncing my leg, tapping a pencil, or folding up a napkin as small as I could, unfolding and starting over again until it dissolved in my hand.

Amazingly there were two ways that you could keep me still. My favorite movie, Star Wars, or getting lost in a good book. As an avid reader, that wasn’t too hard. Once I got into a new book, you probably would find me hours later still engrossed. That was my version of resting, and I didn’t feel guilty about it. Oh, the joys of being a kid without the responsibilities of an adult.

In college, things started to change. To get myself through school, I took an extra heavy credit load each semester and worked 2-3 jobs part-time jobs to pay the bills. That was the start of my workaholic lifestyle, and it only grew from there.

That brings us to today. These days when I sit down and watch a movie, I have to be doing something else too. Like sorting through paperwork, getting my accounting up-to-date, pulling out a knitting project. (Actually, I learned how to knit so I could sit and create something new that didn’t involve a keyboard!).

Even in movie theaters, I pity the person sitting next to me as I am constantly shifting, moving, crossing, and re-crossing my legs. It is best to give me a bucket of popcorn and a drink to give me something to do.

3 Types of Rest

Learning to rest has been an interesting journey. Rest, it sounds so simple, but for me, it never has been. What I’ve learned is that there are different types of rest: active rest, passive rest, and sleep.

Rest Type #1 – Sleep:
I’m a night owl, I am usually up too late, which has turned out okay for this season. I struggle with insomnia so going to bed later has helped, I go to bed tired and have had a lot less trouble getting to sleep. But this does mean many nights I don’t get quite enough.

Rest Type #2 – Active Rest:
This summer, I’ve been giving myself permission to work on projects and try out new skills (and power tools!) that I’ve always wanted to try. Refinishing furniture, furniture building, creating home decor out of wood. I. Love. It. It is a type of creativity that brings me so much joy.

Other times it’s tackling a project out in the yard like gardening or mowing the lawn. The sense of accomplishment, and just being outdoors, is what I often need.

With my chronic pain, I have to be very careful with how hard and long I work at these projects. Being outside, creating with my hands, listening to a great audiobook or podcast, and being off my computer is restorative. This is my version of active rest.

Rest Type #3 – Passive Rest:
When pain flares up, or it’s just time to slow down, complete rest is what I need. That may be sitting in a comfy chair to read or write, it may be sitting out in the yard on a lovely summer day with the dogs around me, or it may be watching a favorite movie. On these days physical exertion is at a minimum.

When Resting Feels Lazy | SelahReflections.com
My ultimate example of passive rest. My friend Molly!

Learning To Rest

My word of the year is Cultivate, and habit of resting on purpose is one of the habits I’m trying to cultivate.

Learning to rest has required an adjustment in the expectations I place on myself and a change in how I think rest should look and feel like.

If I hope to find rest or I’m looking for a time to rest it rarely happens. It has taken purposeful effort and scheduling to make time for rest.

If you would like to cultivate a habit of rest, here are a few things to consider.

Give yourself grace. To-do lists will always too long. If you don’t finish it all today, guess what, it’s okay! Give yourself a break. Chances are you are placing more pressure on yourself than anyone else is.

Get Outside More. Morning walks with my dogs is the most important thing I can do for myself, for them, and those around me. There are amazing physical, emotional, and mental benefits to spending time outdoors.

Pursue a hobby. Give yourself permission to write, knit, crochet, scrapbook, or garden. Find something you have always wanted to try and go for it.

Make Time to Be Social. Yeah, I’m terrible at this one! Spending face-to-face time with people instead of just through texts or social media makes a huge difference.

Learn About Sabbath. More than anything else on this list, learning about Sabbath has helped me understand what rest is. I’m learning the difference between physical rest and True Rest that comes from God.

Resting is NOT lazy

It turns out resting is essential to your well being. The more I read about stress, adrenals, hormones, sleep, and spiritual growth, the more I see a needed emphasis on rest and recovery, and less about the glorification of busy.

The way you rest is most likely going to look and feel different from everyone else. It will take time to figure out what works best for you. And let’s face it, some days – it just ain’t gonna happen. Learning to give yourself grace in that moment is a form of rest too.

How will you choose to rest this week AND not feel guilty about it?

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Lessons I’m Learning: Be Strong and Courageous. And Do the Work

In recent weeks, I’ve been battling a lot of anxiety. With so much on my plate, there are times I end up feeling paralyzed, wondering what my next step should be.

Besides running off to the private island, I keep thinking I should buy.

Things like:

  • Getting my new “His Unfailing Love” journal published was once again plagued with massive computer issues.
  • Massive computer issues that kept me from getting all sorts of work done.
  • Our family is getting my Mom ready to move into an assisted living facility. This move has been filled with many unknowns including when her room would be ready let alone and how do we would get her packed and moved. It’s added a lot of extra traveling to my schedule.
  • I’ve been needing to take more time off of work to get everything done and wondering about finances over the next few months.
  • With all the stress, long days, and late nights my fibromyalgia and Lyme symptoms have been flaring up.

Yeah, it’s been a quite the start to 2019.

Are you overwhelmed with to-do-lists, unfinished projects, fear, or anxiety? Here's a lesson I'm learning: "e Strong and Courageous. And Do the Work".

Taking Small Action Steps

Over the years I’ve found that taking an action step, no matter how small, changes things. It snaps me out of the overwhelm so that I can move forward again. That small step leads to another, and then another. Soon, I am making progress and have a weapon that helps me fight against the overwhelm and anxiety.

Then I read the verse below, 1 Chronicles 28:20. In it David is talking with his son Solomon about his work building the temple:

Be strong and courageous, and do the work (emphasis mine).
Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord God, my God, is with you.

Do The Work

Some times doing the work is hard. We would much prefer to curl up in a ball, hide from the world and binge watch Netflix as an escape from what is going on around us.

And you know what? Some days that’s okay.

Most of the time, however, we need to just do the work. Clean the house, make the meal, pull out our Bible, set aside time for prayer, pull out the client project that’s been delayed far too long, get the book published, or sit down and write your daily 500 words.

There are so many different action steps we could take both big and small that can help move us forward and get back on track.

Today, my “do the work” action step was to get a blog post written, even if it was shorter than usual!

Do you need to “do the work” today?
What is one small action step you could take to fight anxiety and overwhelm?

His Unfailing Love: A Daily Quiet Time JournalHis Unfailing Love: A Daily Quiet Time Journal, is a 31-day journey filled with five simple activities to develop your faith, cultivate gratitude, and nurture your creativity, including:

  • Reading and writing out the verse of the day
  • Keeping a daily gratitude list
  • Tracking prayer requestsJ
  • ournaling thoughts and prayers
  • Creating with simple designs for coloring and space for lettering, doodles, and more

 

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What I’m Learning About Rest: Pace Your Activity

Have you run into those oh so helpful articles or blog posts that give you wonderful tips like “reduce stress,” “eat healthier,” or “take time to rest”? Yep, me too, and I’ve been guilty of that myself here on the blog from time to time. Well, with this new blog series on “What I’m learning about rest,” I aim to change that.

When you are looking for answers, even simple action steps, these vague tips, and suggestions are so frustrating.

A new series: "What I'm learning about rest - Part 1: Pacing Your Activity" - Learning to not overdo it, rest, and heal. #rest #wordoftheyear

I think that is one reason Rest became my 2018 Word of the Year. The more I learn I realize 1) I don’t rest well, and 2) I often rest wrong!

One way I’m pursuing my word Rest is by blocking out time each week to dive deeper into my word and start to really and truly understand what it means to rest. What is it? How does one rest? Is rest more than sleeping and napping? How much is too much?

Changing one’s approach to rest is not something we can magically learn overnight and suddenly be good at it. It is a journey of small changes and deliberate daily decisions.

I should note here, “small changes and daily intentional decisions,” is a recurring theme throughout this new series. You will see it often!!

Categories or Types of Rest

One thing I’ve noticed right away is that there are different types of rest. To start with, I’ve created a list of 5 different types or categories of rest.

  • Pacing Your Activity
  • Active Rest
  • Passive Rest
  • Simple / Cozy / Minimalist Rest
  • Sabbath Rest

For the first post in this series, I’ll be focusing on “Pacing” your activities and managing your energy.

Pacing as Rest

The idea of pacing came from several different sources over the past few months, even before I had selected my word of the year.

1) “Little by Little Is Progress” Lara Casey. Small steps each day accumulate overtime to bring about significant results. We don’t have to tackle it all today, right now. When we get overly ambitious and not pace ourselves, we will burn out, get discouraged and feel overwhelmed.

2) “Finish” by Jon Acuff: A book I highly recommend by the way. In it, Jon talks about how perfectionism is our biggest battle in going after goals and completing projects. I’ve never considered my self a perfectionist before, but the way he describes perfectionism, I can see how I have allowed it to sabotage the pursuit of goals.

And one particular way is how we tend to charge after our goals the first couple weeks in January then have a bad day or two and give up. In other words, we don’t pace ourselves, and when we hit a roadblock, we quit.

It doesn’t matter if the goal is to lose weight, change our eating habits, run a marathon, or learn a new skill, it takes time and effort. Most often it’s the small daily decisions that make the biggest difference. And when we fail miserably and eat that bag of chips? We have to decide to give ourselves grace and get back on track. It’s the (often small) daily healthy decisions that help us meet our goals.

3) Pain Management: I was looking at the concept of Active Rest and Passive Rest, and the idea of pacing struck a chord.

The State of Virginia Mental Health Division has a couple of diagrams that made so much sense, they call it “Activity Pacing.”

Activity/Pain: A vicious cycle of overactivity, pain, and then forced rest.
Overactivity —> Which Leads to Pain —> Which Forces Us To Stop —> We feel better and then get overactive again causing another flare-up of pain.
We’ve all done it! After being sick or injured we start to feel better, overdo it and take several steps back in our healing journey.

Activity/Rest: A paced journey of activity and rest.
Activity —> Rest —> Activity —> Rest
This way you are pacing yourself as you heal and taking huge steps backward in your healing journey. Plus as you get healthier and stronger you can increase the level of intensity of the activity and need less rest.

This balanced approach to healing and recovery is what helps you improve both physical and mental health.

A new series: "What I'm learning about rest - Part 1: Pacing Your Activity" - Learning to not overdo it, rest, and heal. #rest #wordoftheyear

3 Ways to Pace Yourself and Find Rest

In an ideal world, we would have balance and be able to pace our activities day in and day out. Well, we all know we do NOT live in an ideal world and to be honest, balance the way it gets talked about in the media, is a myth.

Personally, I think balance is more about seasons and cycles. Right now my season is to learn to rest, to learn to pace myself better and allow healing to occur. There are times we are crazy busy, and there are times we can slow down, the idea is to find ways to incorporate rest into your life, right now, and not put it for off.

Putting off rest is something you will pay for in the end as you start to experience health problems, depression, or anxiety. It will happen if you don’t make a point of resting now. Learning to pace your activities with periods of rest is a simple way to get started.

Pomodoro Technique:

I’ve heard about the Pomodoro Technique for years and have even tried it a few times but couldn’t stick with it. In the past few weeks I’ve been working on my pacing, and the idea behind Pomodoro is helping to make a difference a difference.

This productivity technique where you set a timer and work for 25 minutes and then take a 5-minute break. You do this for four rounds, and then you take a long break. It’s a simple way to pace your activity and not overdo it. Bailey sure likes it! With these breaks, we tend to go outside more :).

Daily Housecleaning:

I’m working on adding this back to my routine as it makes such a huge difference! My house is small, but when I try and tackle all the cleaning in one chunk, it causes exhaustion and a flare-up of pain.

By breaking up the cleaning and doing it in 10-15 minute chunks of time each day, the house stays cleaner, and I don’t overdo it. Flylady anyone? Another example of pacing an activity so that it is doable and not overwhelming.

Shorter More Realistic To-Do Lists:

I’m a lister. If it ain’t written down, it ain’t getting done. I’m also an over-achiever lister in that I make huge lists that are impossible to get through. So I push myself and try to get as much done as possible, overdo it and pay for it the next day. Plus then I’m discouraged at my apparent lack of progress.

This month, I’ve gotten my daily Bullet Journal set-up. And, yes I’ve officially jumped on the Bullet Journal / Travelers Notebook bandwagon click here if you want to see what I’m talking about. In my daily journal, I have intentionally kept my daily list of to-dos short as possible. In a separate section, I keep a wish list of to-dos or things I don’t want to forget on a “braindump” page of my journal.

Items get crossed off my list as complete, and it is not so discouraging to see a whole list of tasks not completed. There is great satisfaction in crossing an item off a to-do-list don’t you think!

Adopt the pace of nature, her secret is patience. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson #quote #selahreflections

Cultivating Habits of Rest

There’s nothing earth-shatteringly original here. Pacing is just one way to cultivate a habit of rest instead of overdoing it one day and hitting a wall the next. It’s the daily decisions we make each day to make little by little progress and give ourselves grace on the days we fail.

I could add a few more cliche’s to the paragraph above, but, cliche or not, they are all true!

How Will You Pace Yourself This Week?

As you read through the three ideas above did any catch your attention? What is one way you can cultivate a habit of rest by adding pacing to your schedule this week?

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