{"id":1612,"date":"2016-07-05T07:39:18","date_gmt":"2016-07-05T12:39:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/annswindell.com\/staging\/?p=1612"},"modified":"2016-07-04T21:06:44","modified_gmt":"2016-07-05T02:06:44","slug":"5-quick-ways-to-refresh-when-you-cant-slow-down","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/annswindell.com\/staging\/2016\/07\/05\/5-quick-ways-to-refresh-when-you-cant-slow-down\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Quick Ways to Refresh When You Can’t Slow Down"},"content":{"rendered":"

Although many of us hope that summer\u00a0will be a season of rest and renewal, the truth is that sometimes the summer months are packed with more activities than we can count. If you’re finding yourself stretched thin, I hope that this piece of mine from <\/em>Today’s Christian Woman<\/a> will offer you some practical\u00a0ways to refresh your soul in the midst of the craziness of life.<\/p>\n

<\/em>You can read the whole article here<\/a>!<\/em><\/p>\n

\"5<\/a>
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

Most days, it seems like there\u2019s not quite enough time to accomplish everything we need\u2014or want\u2014to do.<\/strong> It might be that we\u2019re juggling kids, a marriage, and a dog; or it might be that we\u2019re trying to balance classes and friendships and work; or that we\u2019re living in the tension between our professional and personal lives. Whatever roles and responsibilities we carry, we have all experienced that nagging feeling that we\u2019re not doing enough<\/em>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

So it may seem counterintuitive to suggest that what we actually need is more refreshment.<\/strong> It may sound, in fact, like an unattainable luxury: to refresh ourselves when there are things to get done. It\u2019s easier to put our own lives on hold when the kids are screaming, when the deadline is looming, when the bills are overdue.<\/p>\n

We can\u2019t put our need for refreshment on pause forever, though many of us feel as if we have to do just that. I\u2019ve struggled with the tension of wanting to renew my soul but feeling guilty about the desire to do \u201csomething for myself.\u201d As I\u2019ve learned the hard way, though, things that refresh my body, mind, and soul aren\u2019t luxuries. They are\u00a0necessary<\/em> for long-term health and wholeness\u2014just as necessary as food and sleep.<\/strong> Go without refreshment too long, and you\u2019ll find yourself exhausted and fried.<\/p>\n

Making time to refresh our body, soul, and mind isn't a luxury--it's a necessity. <\/a><\/span>Share on X<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

One problem is that we associate refreshment with big trips or expensive experiences\u2014and those seem unattainable. What we need instead are smaller, more consistent ways to refresh in the midst of our everyday lives, and that doesn\u2019t have to take a lot of time or money. Here are five ways to refresh when you don\u2019t have time to slow down.<\/p>\n

1. Listen to Scripture<\/strong><\/p>\n

If your time to read the Bible is rushed or nonexistent, consider downloading a Bible-reading app to your phone or computer. Find a version of the Bible that you love, and start listening before you pull out of the driveway on your morning commute or while you\u2019re on your way to drop off kids at school.<\/p>\n

We\u2019d all like to have time to study the Bible deeply, but listening to the Bible is another way to concentrate on Scripture in the midst of full days. This listening can keep us focused on \u201cwhat is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable\u201d\u2014the things that we are called to \u201cthink about\u201d (Philippians 4:8<\/a>). Consistently hearing the Scripture fills our minds\u2014and hearts\u2014with God\u2019s truth, and that truth will refresh and sustain us in a soul-nourishing way that nothing else can.<\/p>\n

\n

2. Put Your Feet Up for Five Minutes<\/strong><\/p>\n

Whether you close the door to your office and put your feet on your desk or hop on your favorite couch at home, get your feet off the floor. Put your phone down and turn it on silent (it\u2019s only five minutes, remember?), close your eyes, and focus on breathing.<\/p>\n

Rest is good for our brains and our souls. A University of Illinois study<\/a> points out that taking short breaks enables us to stay focused over the course of a long project. Similarly, a writer for the New York Times argues<\/a> that idleness is good for us, stating that \u201cThe space and quiet that idleness provides is a necessary condition for standing back from life and seeing it whole.\u201d<\/p>\n

Scripture helps us see our lives as a whole, too. When we step back from the minutiae of our lives to consider the vast world God has created, we can rest in his mindfulness of us (Psalm 8:3-4<\/a>) and in his ability to hold the world together\u2014a refreshing truth and something we don\u2019t have to accomplish on our own (Colossians 1:15-17<\/a>).<\/p>\n

Regularly refreshing ourselves is not a sign of weakness or selfishness\u2014it is the way to stay healthy. <\/a><\/span>Share on X<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

3. Spark Your Senses<\/strong><\/p>\n

God created us to experience the world through all of our senses. If you are calmed or invigorated by a certain scent, for example, invest in a fragrant candle and light it during a particularly stressful part of your day. If you can\u2019t have flames in your workspace, consider melting wax pods, which release the aroma of a candle without the fire.<\/p>\n

Similarly, if you are refreshed by the mountains or the ocean but can\u2019t look out your window and see them, purchase a photo of a beautiful place and put it in your office or by the kitchen sink.<\/p>\n

Music, too, can be a powerful way for us to refresh our souls. One study<\/a> showed that playing music can decrease anxiety, even in an environment as stressful as an emergency room. Even if we must be in a stressful environment, it may be possible to turn music on in the background, or in headphones. Choose music that encourages you and lifts your spirits.<\/p>\n

Read the rest of the article here, at Today’s Christian Woman<\/em><\/a>!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Although many of us hope that summer\u00a0will be a season of rest and renewal, the truth is that sometimes the summer months are packed with more activities than we can count. If you’re finding yourself stretched thin, I hope that this piece of mine from Today’s Christian Woman will offer you some practical\u00a0ways to refresh […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1613,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[61,542,624,826,828,827,825],"class_list":["post-1612","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-christianity","tag-christianity-and-busyness","tag-how-do-i-get-refreshed","tag-i-need-to-refresh-my-soul","tag-i-need-to-slow-down","tag-quick-ways-to-rest","tag-refresh","entry"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/annswindell.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/5-Ways-to-RefreshWhen-You-Cant-Slow-Down.jpg?fit=800%2C1200&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/annswindell.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1612","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/annswindell.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/annswindell.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/annswindell.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/annswindell.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1612"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/annswindell.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1612\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1615,"href":"https:\/\/annswindell.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1612\/revisions\/1615"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/annswindell.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1613"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/annswindell.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1612"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/annswindell.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1612"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/annswindell.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1612"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}