Purposeful Pauses

Description

Moments of Renewal for Your Mind Body and Soul

You deserve a pause, a pause to be renewed and loved! The Purposeful Pauses you are about to experience will allow your heart to be shaped by God’s view of you and be renewed by his love. Included are twenty simple pauses you can easily fit into your daily routine that will help you live a more intentionally crafted life. An intentional life creates space for you to live in alignment with what is truest about you. Purposeful Pauses are similar to James Bryan Smiths’ notion of “holy leisure”. He explains, “The practice of holy leisure gets me in touch with the fact that I’m loved, I’m valued, I’m important if I don’t do anything. It teaches me to slow down and break the grip that the world has on me so that I can just value my being.” When we learn to pause in this way, we experience the most precious gift of all, being loved just for who we are not for what we do.

My hope is that these practices will renew your mind, body, and soul! Renewal means to “repair something that is worn down or broken – to make like new”. Deep down most of us know we are in need of renewal, but at the same time we resist it. We’ve been shaped by a culture of productivity to believe that busy is better. When over-doing is the norm, we feel guilty when we pause to rest. So, my remedy, to provide you with simple, short practices that will easily fit into the rhythm of your day. The Purposeful Pause practices are simple, momentary resets. There are many options, make them yours, combine them, add to them, or simply soak them in as they are. The first myth you must get beyond to pause and be still, is that there is one right way to do it. Find what is most renewing for you and do more of that! And if you choose, you can slow it down and practice one skill for a whole month. Savoring is key!

Believe me, as a recovering perfectionist and striver I know how hard it can be to rest, to pause, and to just be. Go into this knowing that it may feel uncomfortable and unnatural at first & that you will be easily distracted (maybe even 100 times a minute). That, my friend, is completely normal. We can’t keep our mind from thinking, but we can choose where we put our focus. There is an old saying that “one thorn is removed by another”. The mind needs to be occupied; so, purposely occupy it and when you get distracted just notice it and simply return back to the practice you were doing. Learning how to sit with and be more connected to yourself, your needs, longings, emotions, and thoughts will help you connect more fully with God’s heart – where renewal is waiting for you.