I always feel that we can learn something just by watching the natural world. Just as the natural world retires and withdraws for a season, so too can we benefit—from not just a day of rest, or a week of vacation, but rather an extended period of time, a season if you will, of focusing on rest and not a whole lot else. We all need a season every so often (perhaps once a year?) when we aren’t focusing on the running around, on all our projects, and the go, go, go of it all. We would benefit greatly if we would just quiet down and be still long enough to listen to that still, small voice inside of us, and reflect on the life we are living. Is this really our best life? Is this really the life we were designed to live? Here are several books to slow down with this season.
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The Best Yes by Lysa TerKeurst
The focus of this book is making sure that all the yeses that you’ve been saying are really the ones that you want to be saying. When we say yes to all things, we miss out on saying our best yes—the one God created us for. Helping others in meaningful ways, growing our intimate relationships—these are things we miss out on when we are busy saying yes to every single thing that comes our way. What I really appreciated about this book, was Lysa’s Bible-based framework for deciphering what we should say yes to. In an age where so many messages are yelling the self-care message, it is easy for self-care and creating time for yourself to be an excuse to be selfish with our time. I appreciated the biblical approach, backed by scripture verses, to help inform our decisions and make sure we are always saying our best yes.
Chasing Slow by Erin Loechner
In this book Erin tells her story. Starting from the beginning, she tells of when she and her new husband moved to California to start their careers, how busy their life became, and then just as they were starting to focus on slowing down, the economy tanked, sending them packing and moving in with their parents. She talks of how she started her blog Design for Mankind, and the ongoing battle with chasing slow, leaving the frenetic pace of life as behind them as possible. One of the recurring topics of the books is that Erin’s husband has a brain tumor. It is inoperable and while it hasn’t shown signs of growth as of the writing of her book, it very well could. The doctors originally told him he wouldn’t live as long as he has. The overtone of this medical condition gives weight to this book. If we only had ten years left to live, where would we be allocating most of our time?
The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry
My favorite quote of the book . . . “Jesus never hurried.” Enough said? Honestly, I don’t even remember a whole lot of other takeaways from the book besides the discussion on the fact that Jesus never hurried—anytime or anywhere. When we break it down and think of hurrying and how it portrays us to others, it is the exact opposite of how Christ wants us to act towards others. In my own life I think about how many times I’ve hurt people’s feelings or had spats with people—I’d say 95% of the time the discord brought about in my relationships with others is brought about by one of us hurrying—and usually it’s me. If you rush about a little more than you should (what is an appropriate amount to rush?), give this book a try.
Anxious for Nothing by Max Lucado
This is a short little read and while not specifically about slowing down, this book is a biblical approach to letting go of anxiety and worry. When we are filled with anxiety and worry it is difficult for us to slow down and rest. Mr. Lucado takes a scripture-based approach on how to invite God into our lives and help us let go of our anxieties.
Rest
I talked in depth about this book in my post “My Impression of Rest: A Book About Work” and again, this book isn’t specifically about slowing down—it is more about the part rest can play in our lives. I’m still getting over how short, but really focused, the work days were of some of the most influential people throughout history—we are talking about people like Edison! Long doesn’t necessarily mean a lot of meaningful work. There is a point of diminishing returns, and I believe that is something that often gets overlooked in our culture today.
I’ve enjoyed these books to slow down with this season and I think you may enjoy them also. Thank you!