Ellen Miller - Spread Too Thin: Opting Out of Frantic Living. Opting in to Lasting Peace

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Spread Too Thin: Opting Out of Frantic Living. Opting In to Lasting Peace.

Copyright 2018 by Ellen Miller. All rights reserved.

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ISBN 978-1-4964-1941-5

Build: 2021-04-21 22:35:51 EPUB 3.0

FOR STEVE.

MY INSPIRATION. MY ENCOURAGER. MY LOVE.

T HE LATE PASTOR A DRIAN R OGERS once said, If Satan cant make you bad, hell make you busy. Oh my. If this is true, hes got his hooks set in a whole society of American women, including me!

At every stage of life and within every demographicsingle ladies to those who are married, working gals to stay-at-home moms, freshly minted college graduates to retireesI hear the same resounding chant: Im overwhelmed. Im exhausted. Im spread too thin. From daybreak to sunset, many of us obsessively and frantically cross items off a to-do list that is as long as our legonly to fall into bed at the end of the day feeling unproductive, unfulfilled, and sometimes even inconsequential in the grand scheme of life. These distractionsthe things that must be done and even those things we want to dooften prevent us from living a deeply rewarding life. If not managed carefully, even the activities and hobbies we enjoy can override our happiness and rob us of a sense of extraordinary peace.

In the Gospel of John, Jesus said, I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. Jesus did not lay down his life so that we might spend our waking moments stressed out and diluted. He died for our sins so that we might have eternal life and so that we might live a rich, meaningful, glorious life while were here. What disrespect we show when we allow busy to trump our blessed.

I feel that you and I were destined for this divine appointment by the fact that you are sitting with this book in your handsa book that God has had on my heart to write for several years. Written specifically for women who care deeply, love unconditionally, extend themselves selflessly, and work tirelessly, I look forward to our honest exchange about those things beyond our choices or obligations that have us wrung outsuch as the baggage that often contributes to and controls the disposition of our hearts, our state of mind, our physical well-being, and most importantly, the condition of our souls. When we sacrifice caring for and feeding any or all of these areas, our patience with others declines, the quality of our love withers, and the extent of our faith becomes shallow. When were spread too thin, we have a tendency to go flat for everyone, especially ourselves.

As we explore together what drives us, both positively and negatively, well likely find some commonality. In the sections Heart Conditioning and Mind Games You Can Win, we will tackle emotions, sins, virtues, and errant thinking that can lead us to exhaustion. Some topics in this section may stir something deep within youa conviction, perhaps, that an attitude needs to change, or a desire, maybe, to recommit your life to those long-held truths and values that somehow got entombed in the busyness of your life. Negative emotions or thoughts that have held you hostage might be illuminated, allowing you to free yourself from their clutches. And when you feel the stir of the Holy Spirit, I hope you wont suppress it, but instead allow him to move you as you evaluate what attitudes and habits you have that might need to change. If you feel like youre at the end of your rope, I hope you will find the confidence and insight to let go.

But of course, letting go of the rope can be scary if you think theres no one there to catch you! In the sections Strength Training for the Long Run and Soul-Searching for the Abundant Life, well look into how exhaustion hijacks some of the most gratifying moments of our days and how we can reclaim our joy by following a better way. Actually, its the only way. When we let go of our rope and choose to live an abundant life with Christwe find the fall is exhilarating; his net is proven.

As you journey with me, I invite you to celebrate your wins in Christ. Take no pride in your own victory, but praise God for the blessings of discernment, conviction, redemption, and discipline. Honor and revere these gifts and look for more ways to optimize them in order to live an uncommon life of joyregardless of your circumstances. We know we are living well when our thoughts and actions glorify God, transforming us from a state of operating within our own power to operating within his.

My process for writing this book began each morning in prayer, humbly asking God to reveal only his desires for your heart, not my own. My petition was for the ability to declare to you, in the clearest way possible, the love, the power, and the promise that is yours through Christfor I have not the words, but I know he does. Written within these pages are those he has pressed on my mind and heart to share. Now the work is between you and the Holy Spirit. Thus I leave you with this Scripture, the prayer I have prayed over you for months. It is a prayer of enlightenment and empowerment, that you might be encouraged to let go of those things that have you spread too thin in order to live an extraordinary life with all that is at your disposal through him.