allume

real light living

Escape the noise. Find quiet. Find God.

By

“The fear of letting go is strangling the freedom of rest.” I read these words at Jacque’s place tonight as I was editing this write, and they served as confirmation.

It’s difficult to let go, unplug and walk away from online life, even if it’s just for a week. It takes faith. I wonder every time, but less and less, “Will my voice go unheard because I’m going quiet?”

Last summer I decided every seventh week, I’ll unplug. Six weeks of blogging and social networking, and the seventh week — rest. I schedule and plan around it.

  • Refresh and rejuvenation for my spirit and soul, drawing in close to God and waiting on Him to breathe new life.
  • Refocus to see clear the vision God has given me, turning my heart and actions to Jesus and His purpose for me.
  • Renew my devotion to the God, guarding my heart above all else, proving that I have a blog and the blog doesn’t have me. <–Tweet

It can be hard.

But it’s harder to write from a tired place. Everything is hard when tired. In that place, I find myself battling falsehoods I should be far from believing.

Feeling as if that blogger’s success amplifies my failure.

And why should I bother when there are a thousand others saying the same thing?

And how can my one voice be heard out of a million others?

Lies.

Before I can catch myself I’m being overrun by the waves that come crashing — rogue waves of discouragement. The pummeling pounds me down. I feel lost, shrouded in darkness that presses in on all sides. While trying to find my footing, I wonder, “What hit me?”

The un-likes, un-follows, and un-subscribes knock the wind out of these sails. Who am I kidding?

Knocks. Me. Over.

And I see the dishes have spilled out and over the sink — overtaking the counter tops, too. And mounds of clothes cascading out of their baskets and covering the laundry room floor slowly creeping their way into the hallway and kitchen. And they might knock me over, too.

And books sit shelved I’m to be reviewing, and friends I want to be tweeting, and kids I should be teaching, and maybe I’ll catch up on Dowton Abbey, instead.

I’m running this race, and perhaps I’ve entered the wrong one. Maybe I should go this way. Or perhaps — that? Being double-minded, tossed to and fro makes one unstable in all their ways. (James 1:8)

“And you should be writing right now,” I tell myself as I switch back and forth from Facebook and Twitter, and get swept into the never stagnant stream. And do I notice, my stream has become stagnant, and the river has stopped flowing and words have run dry?

And I falter under the weight of the burden I carry — wife, mama, daughter, sister, friend. I realize again I’ve taken the place of the Burden-bearer and have been doing it in my own strength.

I’ve gone off course as I’ve gone to the left and then right, eyes on what everyone else is doing rather than where God’s leading — His Voice growing more faint. And mine, too.

And can I say it? I. Want. More. Readers. But what about the audience of One?

Somewhere in the midst of the busy and the noise my loyalty to the One has been divided and the “one” un-like and the “one” un-subscribe steals the desire to hear the applause of the One I’m supposed to be writing for.

I pour out and I give. I give when I feel I have nothing left. What good am I to anyone in my family or even God, if I am running on empty? This is not light-living — becoming disconnected from the Vine, trying to connect to everyone else. <–Click to Tweet

And I’m confused, and I’m weary, and I’m maybe I should just quit. Just. Quit. Blogging.

And I know I’m missing the mark — His mark.

And when I’m in need of rest is when I struggle most.

“Jesus left the crowd and went into the house.” (Matt. 13:36 NCV)

Though surrounded by possibly twenty thousands fans, He turned away from them. Christ repeatedly escaped the noise of the crowd in order to hear the Voice of God.” — Max Lucado

And maybe we need to also. Every blogger — escape the noise — find quiet.

And find God.

I’m talking about burn-out here, and how I endeavor to prevent it. What about you, friends? How do you guard yourself and your family against it? I’d love to hear.

 

 

 

Comments

  1. I asked one of my groups just this week, “how do you handle writers block and burnout?” So many responses were unique about how they cope. But consistently the answer came, “step back and rest – then return with fresh eyes and renewed heart.

    Beautiful as usual my dear Michele-lyn!

    • Yes and yes. I’d love to hear about the unique ways people do that, and I wholeheartedly agree. If Jesus had to, how much more do we? Thank you, sweet friend. I hope to hug your neck at Allume again. 🙂

  2. This.. gold for a newbie blogger. A gentle but straight talk reminder for the veteran. Thank you.

    • So glad you did! Thank you. 🙂 I keep thinking about this, “Christ repeatedly escaped the noise of the crowd in order to hear the Voice of God.”

  4. It’s hard to rest when the demands of the urgent call for our attention. I’m working on this. I like the idea of unplugging for a day each week, or every 7th week. That’s some to consider.

    • Stephanie,

      I know exactly what you mean — the urgent taking the place of what’s most important. As I go through my day and wonder how I am going to get it all done, I think, “God has given me enough time to do what He’s asked. So, what can I let go of that He hasn’t.” I’m still learning.

  5. This was beautiful, Michele-Lyn! I’m in the midst of my first break in two years of my on-line ministry. I decided to take this entire month off from blogging because I was preparing for a speaking engagement and writing a book. Of course in the back of my head I think those that I minister to will forget my ministry, but then I remind myself it is not my ministry. It’s God’s. God does not need me, He can use whomever He wants to build His kingdom. I’m His daughter, first and a vessel pouring out to others, second. I try to keep that perspective. And I put on blinders to what others are doing. I’m not here to compare myself to others (which is our tendency) because when I do, I look at me, instead of Jesus. I’m careful with the burnout as well. I experienced it in a different ministry and let me just say, “I hated serving the Lord in my flesh!” That’s not a path that I care to ever revisit. So I watch for signs and then I just let things go because I’m not anyone’s Savior! I’ve learned that I’d rather be resting in the presence of Christ where my spirit is being filled, rather then pouring out in my flesh. I seek to serve the Lord as a Mary rather than a Martha.

    • Jolene,

      I love your thoughts here. It’s very hard to serve God in our own strength and then to serve when it seems “burdensome.” One reason for the breaks I take is to re-align my desires with His — remembering it IS God’s ministry. Thank you for this!

  6. I love your heart and love how intentional you are with your blogging and resting. Thank you for sharing this needed encouragement!

  7. As always, I love your heart on these matters! Your “rest” has inspired me to do so as well, only I take most of my weekends off…I need the recharge or real life. Thank you for sharing!

  8. Tweeted both points in this post. I loved it so much. You hit the nail on the head, Michele-Lyn, who do we write for and how have we connected with him before we write are fantastic questions I should be asking myself before I sit down to blog. I’m still so new to this and your words of encouragement are exactly what I needed to hear. Thank you for your heart. I’m inspired to schedule in a week of rest in my rhythm of blogging. and oh— you have one more reader 🙂

    • Osheta,

      Thank you for sending those tweets. I am grateful. 🙂 I appreciate your comment here and your words serve as a great encouragement. I’ve been blogging about 17 months and I still feel I’ve just begun. 🙂

  9. You left a comment on my blog about taking that seventh week for rest and I had an aha moment. Then here you are writing about it. Love this. I think you are wise Michele-Lyn. I’m getting ready to take a little break myself to re-fuel. And you know what? I wrote about this for Imperfect Prose this week. It seems to be a sacred echo among many of us. It’s good to link arms with you lovely.

    • Shelly,

      Oh yes, I’ve so enjoyed your thoughts on the Sabbath. They’ve help confirm and encourage me in my own choice to take a Sabbath rest from blogging. I wrote a post last July about wondering what Sabbath means for us under the new covenant. That’s when I began taking the breaks. I’ve grown to enjoy them and need them. And I think that’s okay. 🙂

  10. Your words were perfect. I stopped blogging for awhile….not really burn out. And then, I was used to not blogging. Just now seeing if this is something God wants me to pick up again….only if there is joy in it. Thanks so much!

  11. Michele,
    I think this is an absolutely marvelous idea. I have been thinking about how I can “get away” – have time for myself, my hubby and my grandchildren. I am going to do exactly what you say. When we take the week to transition back from the US to CAnada – I am going to “go away” and pull the plug. And I love your seven week span with the seventh as a Sabbath. Thank you for much for this. I have been praying for some way to do this. So I can find peace. No burn out yet but sometimes I feel I might be missing a piece of something.
    Blessings to you as you renew with God in this week of peace. May He strengthen you, guide you and give you vision.
    Janis

    • Janis,

      I am glad this encouraged you to take a rest. When I first began last July, I did after seeking God about the Sabbath and wanting to know what it means for us under the new covenant. At least for me it meant being intentional about blog breaks. It takes faith and obedience and practice but I am growing to love them.

  12. Thank you friend, for these words. I am in that “writing is hard because I am tired” place. I wonder sometimes if He’s done with me on this journey of blogging. I know that is my flesh, because I still feel His pulling to write, to encourage, to share His story, but sometimes I questions my purpose. I love you my friend.

    • Hey there 🙂 A Sabbatical rest isn’t an end, it’s life a renewal or recovery to regain strength for the next leg of the race. I pray for that God would breath new life into you — body, soul and spirit. Love you friend. My begins now, but I wanted to reply before the week started. 🙂

  13. I love this idea of taking the 7th week off. When i get a little burnt out I take a break but it not intentional, then I feel guilty, and it takes forever to get back in the groove again. But intentional rest is so important even in blogging. thanks for sharing!

    • I know what you mean. 🙂 The rest feels like a recovery — like after hard workouts or running a lot — your body needs time to recover so it can be stronger for the next time. Does that make sense? 🙂 And scheduling them is the only way for me to actually do them. 🙂

  14. The thought of taking a respite every 7th week seems like a wise way to get quiet. Thank you for such an honest reminder to refocus on our Audience of One.

  15. What a beautiful concept. I’ve taken periodic intentional breaks and then spontaneous one’s over the years, but never anything this consistent. I find that I tend to pull back and unplug when I can’t think clearly, but I hadn’t quite made the connection you did with drawing back to hear his voice.
    Thanks for the encouragement!

    • Just before every scheduled break, I crave it. I can tell by the quality of my speech and attitude that it’s time to pull back from the noise and find God in the quiet.

      It’s been a confirmation to me, how necessary it is for me. I think being an introvert might be part of the reason, too. 🙂

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