Wake up! Notifications slam you with a reality check. Get dressed, all the more thinking how you're possibly going to get your long list of to-dos done. In the car, you begin thinking of what it would be like to escape it all. Money problems, friendships hanging on by a thread, isolation from family, early mornings, sleepless nights, uncertainties, and worst of all, knowing you haven't had a single conversation with Jesus in months.

It breaks my heart. Some days I don't even want to wake because facing the day and all it brings leaves me wondering if life is going to reach up and grab be around the neck.

I begin to question. Is it worth it? I begin to ask myself how much I would be willing to sacrifice to never hear myself or any of my friends use the words "I'm Busy."

What would it be like? What would the world be like to wake up, walk outside the door and stop to talk with your neighbors? Or go to the grocery store with your family and laugh when you think of Joey from Friends putting a Turkey on his head. Wow. What would it mean to you to periodically, through the day, stop for an hour and just sit with the Lord and feel the breeze of the fall air fill your lungs as if to remind you that there really is a God?

The reason we keep making ourselves busier is so we can avoid time with the Lord. And if your the one saying "everything I do is to bring more glory to Jesus, so my busyness is justified," let me go ahead and tell you that you're just as guilty. Our culture tells us that busyness is just what we will have to accept to be an acceptable human being. Let me let you in on a little secret. Busyness is UN-Biblical, UN-acceptable, and will lead you to feel empty all the days of your life. Busyness wants to put you in a chokehold until you finally let go and say "I can't do it anymore." To summarize, busyness is the reason the enemy is winning in our minds.

So how do we fight against our cultural instincts and take back our lives?

1. We have to accept that we have made a mistake.

You can not hold onto to the fact that you are wearing yourself thin by overcommitments. Realize that you have made a mistake or you will never be able to see a brighter outcome.

2. Stop overcommitting yourself.

Let me be the first to say I am absolutely horrible at this. I constantly join things and then quit them or push myself so hard that I see them as a burden. Let go of a few things.

3. Pray and talk with Jesus.

Of all the things on this list, this is my absolute worst. But if I, (or you), want to live a life that doesn't require to you to be miserable at everything you do then we need to talk to Jesus about it. Ask him what commitments need to be honored and where you can pull back. Ask God to forgive you for becoming too busy for Him.

4. Make a change.

Don't go back to your old ways. Stick with what you have chosen to invest your time in. Rebuild friendships that have been neglected. Love on your dogs, family, friends, etc.

5. Don't be lazy.

The occasional Netflix friends marathon is ok. But don't allow it to be then the new reason you are now "busy". Again, go out with friends, take your dog to the dog park, clean house, spend time with Jesus, plug into a community group, serve in a ministry. BUT KNOW WHEN TO STOP!

6. Don't be discontent with where you are.

This point has to be the most important one. Do not start feeling sorry for yourself. Just because you don't have as many friends to fill some of your empty time, or your house isn't as nice as you want it to be/look, or you find yourself restless and wanting to fill void does not mean you should. Jesus has to physically take things away to get us to wake up and see that it's time to recharge and reconnect with Him. The reason you feel so empty is because you no longer have meaningless things taking your attention. You forced to be still and deal with real heart issues. So do it and let the Lord work out all of those kinks. God knows we all have plenty of them.

In conclusion,

Your busyness does not make you a bad person, but it does make you of the world. To have Kingdom eyes, focused hearts, and genuine relationships with Jesus, we are going to have to stop with the busyness. Starting to with me.

I hope you will join me.

With Love,

Hope.