Take a break.

Today I had the privilege of visiting The Rising Church at the Norva. Pastor James spoke about resting on the sabbath day (Exodus 20: 8-11).

He mentioned how we tend to refer to ourselves as busy; how our schedules are filled beyond the margins; and how we often equate busyness with importance.  We live our lives in this state that causes us to always feel the need to be connected.

If we’re not going the extra mile within our careers, we’re volunteering our services, or we’re taking the kids to practice, or we get sucked into doing something that we really don’t want to do. Even on our “off days” we still find a way to work. It’s just a part of who we are, especially living in this digital savvy world, which fuels the need for us to feel as though we should always be busy doing something.

Before the winter break, I felt so overwhelmed with the pressures of life: working within my career, starting a small business, writing for my blog and academia, creating within the ministries at my church, and being an active and proactive sorority member and local chairwoman. The list goes on…And if you know me, I want to be the very best and give my very best to everything that is attached to my name, which there is nothing wrong with that, but I forgot to rest and I was running myself wicked. I was stressed; I was overwhelmed; everything begin to seem like it was too much.

But in 2016, I vowed not to get to that level again.

I’m great at prioritizing and balancing my life but I have to become good at saying no. And saying no is not a bad thing. You have to know your schedule, you cannot do everything and be everywhere.

My Grandfather always told me: “You cannot be a jack of all trades and a master of none.”

So I choose to be the master of my fate.

Remember that your worth is not in your work, it’s in who you are. We can no longer associate our being with what we do.

Prioritize, organize your life and stick to it!

If we seek first the kingdom of God, the Bible says everything else will fall into place.

God first, family second, work third. And remember to rest on the sabbath!

This allows you to refuel your thoughts, energy, and creativity. You are as important as the work that you do everyday.