Wright - Take Back Your Time The Guilt-Free Guide to Life Balance

Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Psalm 37:4 ESV

2021 Lampo Licensing, LLC

Published by Ramsey Press, The Lampo Group, LLC

Franklin, Tennessee 37064

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Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.Zondervan.com. The NIV and New International Version are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.

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Editors: Jennifer Gingerich and Rachel Knapp

Cover Design: Chris Carrico and Gretchen Hyer

Interior Design: PerfecType, Nashville, TN

Ebook formatting by Mark DAntoni, eBook DesignWorks

ISBN: 9781942121565

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Wright, Christy, author.

Title: Take back your time : the guilt-free guide to life balance / Christy Wright.

Description: Franklin, Tennessee : Ramsey Press, [2021] | Includes bibliographical references.

Identifiers: LCCN 2021014607 | ISBN 9781942121565 (hardcover) | ISBN 9781942121572 (ebook)

Subjects: LCSH: Time management. | Time managementReligious aspectsChristianity. | Work-life balance.

Classification: LCC BF637.T5 W75 2021 | DDC 640/.43dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021014607

Printed in the United States of America

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For my amazing husband, Matt.

Matt, you are patient. You are kind. You dont envy others and you dont boast. You arent proud and you arent rude. You arent self-seeking. You arent easily angered and you dont keep a record of wrongs.

You are truly the definition of love.

This book is about how to create balance in a life you love and are proud of, and the only reason Ive been able to do that is because of you.

I love our family, I love our life, and most of all,

I love you.

I cant believe I get to do this. I would have never in a million years dreamed that I would get to write my own book one day, much less multiple books. Each book represents not only a new dream but an incredible team who has worked tirelessly to bring that dream and that book to life.

There are several people in particular I want to say a special thank-you to.

First, to my editor Jen Gingerich: Jen, I am so thankful for the many ways you have taught me and led me and shaped me into a stronger writer through this process. This book is so much better because of you, and Im grateful for all of your hard work that got us here. You helped me shake off my own guilt in the writing process in ways you dont even realize.

Rachel Knapp, Amy McCollom, Caitlin Cofield, Jasmine Cannady, Eva Daniel, Jennifer Day, and the entire Ramsey Press team, thank you for the heart and hard work you poured into this. You owned this book and contributed ideas and suggestions that made it so much more impactful.

Chris Carrico, Gretchen Hyer, and Seth Farmer, I am so grateful for how encouraging you were through the whole cover design process. You let me bring crazy ideas to the table and even helped make them happen.

Elizabeth Cole, thank you for helping to get this message out into the world. You work harder than anyone even realizes, and Im so grateful for all you do for me and this team.

Kristyna Murphy, you do everything for everything. I dont know how you thank someone for that, but thank you. Your fingerprint is on every single thing we do, and I couldnt do it without you.

Preston Cannon, thank you for leading this entire initiative. You and I have worked together for so long, and I am always grateful for your friendship and leadership through each project. I love to write and am thankful you help make it happen.

Jeremy Breland, Suzanne Simms, Luke LeFevre, Jen Sievertsen, and the entire leadership team, thank you for all of the many ways you have poured into me over the years and continue to. I am better because of each of you.

Dave Ramsey, for giving me the job of a lifetime. Im thankful every day that you took a chance on me, and I still cant believe I get to do this.

Tyler Seymour, my brand manager, and Bekah Stallard, our nanny, you are two people who have literally changed my life. Tyler, youve changed my work life. Youve helped me work smarter, be kinder, and overall be better in every aspect of my job. I have no idea how I did anything before you joined the team. Bekah, you have changed my home life. You love our children like they are your own and you have made this bookand every project I work onpossible because of all you do and all you are to our family. Having any sense of balance in my life has only been possible because of both of you.

To my mom, my dad and stepmom Diane, and my mother- and father-in-law, Pam and Forrest, thank you for all the ways you love and help mewhether thats watching the kids or helping with one of our unending house projects. Each of you love and support our family so well. You are the greatest grandparents our children could ever have and Im thankful for the many ways youve encouraged me personally through this journey.

Carter, Conley, and Mary Grace, of all the things Ive ever accomplished in my entire life, nothing even comes close to the joy I get to experience being your mom. I love each of you more than you can possibly imagine, and Im so proud of you.

Matt, if there is anyone in the world who could balance me out, its you. You are everything I am not, and you challenge me to be better in a million different ways. You are at the center of everything that matters to me, and Im so grateful for all of your sacrifice and support that made this book possible. I love this life weve created, and most of all, I love you.

To you, my reader, thank you for picking up this book. Ive heard your stories, your fears, and your frustrations around this topic of balance for over a decade. So many of you contributed to this book in ways you dont even realize, and my passion for this topic comes from getting to walk this out with you for so long. Because of you, I couldnt