Was All Stress Created Equal?

Hi y'all!!

If it wasn't already apparent, I took a hiatus from Mama Made a Blog for the last few months. At first I kept meaning to post and meaning to post, and adding more and more to my to do list so of course I kept putting it off.

And finally I had one of those defining moments when you gain clarity over what you're supposed to do - and I knew I just needed a break. I needed to downsize my to do list, and anything that was less than necessary needed to come off.

It is so easy to want to do more and more and more, and continue to add to our calendars and our to do lists. Haven't we heard of quality over quantity? You can make it to every single event on your social calendar, bake goodies for every organization and person who asks you to, and give your time to numerous other outlets and activities, but does any of that matter if you can't enjoy it?

I'll give you a hint, the short answer is no! :)

So, I stopped blogging for a while, and I got through the rest of the Spring semester, got through a nursing simulation and test, decided to take another year before finishing nursing classes, found out my little was wait-listed for preschool (it's a need-based program at the local public school, and she scored very high on her testing, so that was a blessing even though I want for there to be enough room in the class for her), Reagan turned 4, and we had the whole summer off together until I started the Fall semester this past week.

So clearly my to do list wasn't actually lacking ;)

That being said, I've been taking lots of classes on the Influence Network, reading some books just because I want to, and spending time with Reagan and loving on myself as well as Jesus.

Sometimes when we really feel like we need a break, what we really need to do is give ourselves one. I don't mean the kind of break you take when you have it all finished and your to do list is completed. Let me tell you, that time will not come. There will always be something you can put before your own rest and rejuvenation. 

Did you know that all stress has the same effect on your body? That's right, even good stress like blogging has the same effect as those things I need to get done that I don't want to because they're both adding to the amount of stress I'm feeling. A stress response is a stress response. It doesn't matter if it's wedding planning or cramming for your final exam. You might enjoy one more than the other (I hope!) but you're still going to experience your body's reaction to stress.

I'm currently reading The Best Yes by Lysa TerKeurst, because I still need tons of help prioritizing and saying yes to the right things. So far so good, but I'll write a full review when I'm done. Until then has anyone else read it? Have you had any times that you felt the need to pull back and say no, even to activities that you loved?

xoxo,

Katie