This has been our year of rest.
Then summer came. We traveled & had a fabulous summer. The schedule was somewhat relaxed but it was also busy at times. Very busy. For good reasons, like spending time with family and friends and planning a wedding.
Summer has come to an abrupt halt and we are settling into our new routine. We realized, or maybe I should say, I realized, my mind has been caught up in so much that I’ve had a hard time resting.
This year of rest has taught me that the hardest thing for me to quiet down is my mind…more to come on this during 31 days. {Yes! I’m doing it again and Greg and I will be writing about 31 Days of Rest & Risk}.
For someone who’s not really wordy, this is turning into a wordy post!
All this to say, September will be a quiet month.
Quietember. Purgetember.
As soon as I wrote that I chuckled. It’s never quiet in this house. It’s rarely quiet in this world. True, right?
When life is LOUD {and it will be} you need to find a way to be QUIET & REST.
I need to find a way….
So, during the month of September, I am going to find QUIET & REST by ::
* deleting Facebook & Twitter & Pinterest & Instagram {gasp!} from my iPhone
* removing all notifications on my iPhone except for text messages
* reducing my RSS feed to a reasonable number
* reading these books:
* my computer will be used for work, emails & writing blog posts which may include using Tweetdeck, Pinterest & Facebook but only during the hours that I set aside to do that each day
* unsubscribe from daily emails from merchants to get the best deal
* 2-3 handwritten letters a week
* exercising 3 times a week
* only drinking black coffee & water
* not eating sweets
* planning our meals {definitely slacked in this area over the summer!}
I’m sure as the month goes on there will be bumps in the road and I am not going to be overly strict but I do want to use my time wisely. I may even decide to purge more stuff as I go along if I notice that I’m distracted by it.
I want to be purposeful. I want to allow God to speak to the areas of my life & in the words of Jen Hatmaker “help Jesus overcome me” {7, pg. 29}.
Here we go! Quietember starts tomorrow!
p.s. Are you doing 31 Days this year??
p.p.s. Gonna be honest :: My first few drafts of this post did not include Instagram as one of the things to delete from my iPhone. I LOVE INSTAGRAM! I kept sitting here, staring at the computer screen, staring out the window, and back to the screen and knew it had to go but totally rationalized in my head that it could stay. Instagram is my friend. It’s the way I stay connected to people near and far. But it’s one of the little icons on my iPhone that I’m constantly clicking when I have a free moment…even in the bathroom. {Admit it, you do it too}. 30 days of no Instagrams. I know I’ll survive, but I will miss you.
phew. totally in my face in the best way. i read something this week about consuming, consuming, consuming and i’ve been so challenged about how much information i try to stuff in throughout the day. all the while, my little life is happening. the real stuff.
taking some time to think about how i can make september quiet. and i CANNOT! wait to read both of your perspectives on rest and risk. pretty sure i’m doing 31 days. something about finding your voice? maybe.
i knew it was getting bad when every time i had a free moment, i was checking my iPhone & sometimes it was an automatic response to sitting down! unreal. i think my brain cells were slowly dying…
i hope you do 31 days! you inspire me friend.
Inspiring, Caroline! I also have been noticing during my time of rest how hard it is to quiet my mind, and im challenged by your example! I’m lookin forward to hearing more about your month as it moves along. (Also, glad Traveling Mercies is in your book stack! Was thinking about you tonight and hoping that you were having a good read.) Love you!
thanks again for the book! i haven’t cried again…yet
looking forward to seeing where your adventure takes you next…love you too!
Wow! I’m so impressed, I should probably do the same thing. Maybe I will. September is my crazy busy month so it would probably be good to rest instead of instagram etc.
I WILL be doing 31 days this year, just still not sure what about yet. Excited to read yours.
I will miss you on instagram,terribly.
Love!
the timing was right for me to do this in september, right after the crazy summer & when i’m starting a new routine for fall. it seems like a good start. i know i’ll miss instagram but it was refreshing to wake up this morning and only check to see what time it was instead of a bunch of little notifications filling up my screen…
can’t wait to follow your 31 days!
I admit it. I do it too
the iPhone has replaced the magazine…
Love that you are doing this. We’ll be purging right along side you but just in the food area this month. You are so brave for giving up instagram. I too am so addicted:/ I will try not to post anything too exciting this month so you won’t miss out:)
Just send me a pic the old fashioned way – with a text
Just yesterday I was looking at my phone yearning to remove apps–even the PHONE app–is that even an app? Who has a phone without a phone function? You have inspired me, I’m taking instagram and twitter off my phone this month too. I’ve never hooked up fb and pinterest is no fun on the phone so those aren’t an issue (yet)
If I see a great photo, I may just have to email it to you and then you can email me back a heart?!
xoxoxo
Cant wait till october!
I’m only 3 days in and I’m already noticing how I’m more intentional with my time.
I am guessing you may have read it yourself but in case you didn’t. JC this morning is sweet confirmation of your Quiet September. “As dew refreshes grass and flowers during the stillness of the night, so My Presence revitalizes you as you sit quietly with Me.”
We will definitely be using this quote next month
Your intentionally is inspiring. I’m disconnecting from instagram (among other things) for a while as well. To be more consumed in “this” moment, to quiet my mind to hear God more clearly, and to create more margin in my life and allow God to use it. ? ya!
Are you doing it for a month or longer? I would love for you to share your thoughts of what you learned along the way.
well your stack of books sure did make me smile. I’m reading 7 too. And just finished The House at Riverton and LOVED it. And Anne Lamott always has interesting things to say. And that other one? Well, you know how I feel about that
Love this, Caroline.
I loved The House at Riverton too – couldn’t put it down! Very Downton Abbey-ish!
Will be cheering you on tomorrow