Hello, friends! Another Thursday is upon us. Thanks for joining me here!

As I think ahead to the holidays, I realize there are some grounding habits and practices I want to have in place before Thanksgiving. The holidays are known for tossing life rhythms upside down, but I want to have my priorities in line to keep up those practices that help me live more fully and become more myself.

These are a few that come to mind:

1. Rest, both physically and mentally
2. Reading and writing
3. Communication to build relationships
4. Practicing gratitude

Each of these points is something that helps restore and center me. If I can pay attention to building healthy, helpful patterns that include these elements, then I know I will feel more solid entering the holidays.

And, truly, rest is one that God has hit me over the head with in the past few weeks, so I’ll start there.

Why is rest so important? Rest allows our bodies and minds to clear and refill, to rebuild after use and exhaustion. On a mental and spiritual level, taking time to not work reminds us that we don’t have as much control as we think we do. On a grand scale, we may have felt forced to acknowledge this fact as a pandemic has shut down our routines and lives as we knew them. In a more personal way, giving up time from busyness submits to God’s sovereignty, owning that while we may do our best with the things we have, God alone can oversee and manage everything, all the time.

It may feel tempting to think of rest as strictly sleeping. While it’s a good place to start (God knows, if we’re busy, we probably aren’t taking care to get enough sleep), that isn’t all it includes.

Dorina Gilmore-Young is an author, speaker, and runner who talks about restorative rest, or, the kinds of things that allow her soul to rest. She enjoys running in the morning to relax and allow her soul to process and be with God. When she gets home, she may take a nap, but the greater restoration for her is in the time set aside to do something that fills her up.

I feel similarly about making things. I enjoy stitching, knitting, and painting. After a while without doing these things, I become restless. While some might find these activities frustrating or time-consuming, they help me to unwind. I incorporate them into my times of rest because my mind can release concerns as it focuses on the beautiful task at hand. I like doing these things to make gifts, too, which has the added benefit of directing me to pray and think about others. Most of the work I do during my week, writing and coaching, calls for a lot of mental exertion, so the break to settle on a craft with my hands is always welcome.

When the holidays come around, we tend to default to the basic things that keep us going. “The way you practice is the way you’ll play,” as many coaches say. Stress breaks us down to our core beliefs and tendencies. If we want to remember to rest when times are stressful, then we should start practicing now.

How can we go about incorporating rest into our routines before the arrival of the holidays, which are notorious for wearing us out? Here are a few ideas:

1. Schedule down time. Let’s be honest: if it isn’t in our planners, we usually aren’t thinking about it. Look at the week ahead and decide when you will intentionally rest. If you have weekends off, you might want to select a day where you can assign as little work as possible: no heavy chores, minimal food prep, etc. If a full day isn’t possible or you have littles at home, you can try a routine of “down time” – an hour or two when the house is quiet, and the family can nap, read, or enjoy other quiet activity. This mindset can also encompass a consistent bedtime routine and morning routine to ease into bedtime or waking up. (Hint: this may also include turning your phone off, or at least setting it aside.)
2. Pay attention to what restores you vs. what drains you. For me, large gatherings of people can wear me out. That doesn’t mean they can’t be fun, but when I’m already tired, that’s not the route I take to rest. My sister, however, feels more alive around people, so she might make plans and gather with others instead of spending time in the house alone. The same goes for different levels of physical activity: consider how much and what kind of physical activity wears you out vs. brings you joy. I’m almost always up for taking a walk or playing volleyball, because those activities relax me. Running, on the other hand, is rarely my idea of a good time. As you think about your down time, be careful to include activity that grants you joy as an individual or as a family and leave out those tasks that add stress or burden. Maybe all you have is a free evening. If so, use that time doing something that uplifts you rather than stresses you.
3. Plan ahead. Yes, if you’re going to schedule rest and hope to include activities that aren’t work, then it might serve you to take care of certain tasks ahead of time. For me, few things make me grouchy like shopping or cleaning. That means shopping and meal prep happen on other days. There may be an emergency or something that pops up – after all, we don’t control everything, right? – but we can do our best to avoid work within our control. (As a Christian, I also incorporate opportunity to worship into the day, whether through church, the music I listen to, or the people I see.)
4. Follow through! This step may seem unnecessary, but if rest is an idea that isn’t comfortable to you, then the only way to become comfortable is to practice! Our bodies and minds aren’t designed to go, go, go all the time. Your idea of rest may look different than somebody else’s, but you need rest just the same. Your body, mind, and heart will thank you!

I hope these ideas can help you catch a vision for inviting rest into your life not just in an emergency state, but as part of a sustainable routine that rejuvenates you.

How do you rest? What activities or priorities do you want to keep in mind as you plan for rest?

Thanks for reading! Have a great rest of your week.

PS – If you want some helpful tips on preparing for Sabbath, the designated time of rest within the Christian and Jewish week, then go find Annie F. Downs on Instagram (@anniefdowns). She has a section in her highlights called “Sabbath!” where she talks about her boundaries and strategies to protect time for rest in her weekly routine. I highly recommend it!