9 Takeaways about God-Sized Dreams

April 25, 2018 By Bethany Mcllrath 4 Comments

Takeaways from the book You're Made for a God-Sized Dream by Holley Gerth

Today, we’re wrapping up our book study of You’re Made for a God-Sized Dream, by Holley Gerth. This is the book that started it all for our group. Ironically, I was a few months into participating in this ministry when I realized the book existed!

It’s been convicting and encouraging to read along with everyone.

Here are the highlights I’ve learned along the way:

The More You’re Made For

So many lies keep us from dreaming. Holley highlights 5 of them and communicates the truth:

Dreaming is NOT selfish
You DO have what it takes
It’s NOT too late
You DO deserve to dream
You DO have time

Takeaway: Answering lies about dreams with the truth helps us knock out excuses holding us back from pursuing God’s will.

You Might Have a God-Sized Dream If

It’s easy to think that God-sized dreams are about results or doing something great for God. The truth is, they’re all about Him! So when we’re wondering if God’s given us a dream, we can start by looking at what He’s already given us—our personalities, strengths, gifts, and passion for serving Him.

Takeaway: We can recognize our God-sized dreams by considering how God made us and how our unique composition can glorify Him.

The Heart of a Dreamer

If you aren’t sure if you’re a dreamer this chapter is for you. Signs you’re a dreamer include:

You keep your heart open
You encourage others
You don’t do it all
You pursue a different kind of ambition

Takeaway: If you’ve got the heart of a dreamer, you can make a difference anywhere.

What Comes Next For You

Being a planner, I love understanding practical steps. Holley’s approach begins further back than my to-do lists tend to go though. She invites us to start with our “why.”

Takeaway: If we don’t define our dreams, we can easily get bogged down in “figuring them out” instead of following God along the way.

A Guide to Overcoming Your Fear

This is my favorite chapter! Holley addresses fear as reasonable and God-given. But, then she explains that fear can get out of hand. Her advice for training fear (like a dog!) is gold.

Takeaway: If we avoid fear instead of training it to be useful, we miss out on much of what God has for us.

The Disclaimers

Dreaming isn’t all sunshine and rainbows. Anyone who pursues a God-sized dream knows that too well.

Takeaway: We’ll face unexpected and unpleasant things as we dream with God, but we can count on God to always be good and reliable.

When Your God-Sized Dreams Go Wrong

More than just being surprising or challenging, dreaming can also be full-on disastrous. We can fail. Circumstances may seem to kill our dreams dead.

Takeaway: “The Dream Giver is also Dream Keeper.” And, I might add, the One who gives life in the first place and also raises the dead!

How to Stop Sabotaging Yourself

It seems we dreamers can also be over-achievers. Our striving often leads to our demising. Holley shares several ways we can stop sabotaging ourselves, like:

Remember you’re human
Take care of your body
Build a dream team

Takeaway: We need to be “on our side,” seeing ourselves as God does, not as the Enemy wants us to.

Why Your Dream is Worth It

When I am discouraged in the pursuit of a God-sized dream, this is a chapter to return to. There are many reasons our dreams are worth it.

Takeaway: The most important reason our dreams are worth it is that they are all about obeying God and being close to Him!

What were your biggest takeaways from You’re Made for a God-Sized Dream? How has this book impacted your dream-walk with God?

Shared by Bethany McIlrath

Feeling Lonely While Pursuing Your God-Sized Dreams?

March 26, 2018 By Elise Daly Parker 22 Comments

“Was just talking to God and I realize I get bored and lonely when not collaborating in some way. I have wonderful stuff I’m doing. I like my editing work. And I’m enjoying writing content for The Mom Mentor. So I’m thinking…do I just need to get over myself or is there something I’m missing that I’m made for? Just a minor question for a Tuesday…”

This was a text I sent to Kimberly Amici, one of the co-hosts on our Slices of Life podcast. I was relieved to hear that she also struggled with working alone. She had already been talking to another member of the Slices of Life team, Noelle Rhodes, about the same thing.

[clickToTweet tweet=”Sometimes, while pursuing my God-sized dreams, I feel lonely and alone in my work.” quote=”Sometimes, while pursuing my God-sized dreams, I feel lonely and alone in my work.”]

I think there are a number of reasons why this is so, some of which you just might identify with.

We live in a digital world – So while the Slices of Life podcast, for example, is collaborative because it’s at least three people having a conversation about real faith, real life, real community – we can do the work of taping over Skype. The upside is we can be in our own homes in sweats with no makeup on. The downside is we are not really in the company of one another. We do catch up a little, pray, tape, and chat for a few more minutes every time we tape, but there’s just no substitute for being in a room together.
Some of us just don’t like being alone so often – Most of my work as a writer and editor requires me to be quiet (obviously not the case when I’m life coaching). I’m also easily distracted. So I need to be by myself. I’m likely to get the most done most efficiently alone in my own home office. No music. No talking. Just me and my computer. But after days and days of that, I’ve got to get out. I’ve got to engage with other people. I am an extrovert and being alone can drain me after a while.
Isolation can lead to “stinkin’ thinkin’” – When I’m alone for too long, I can start to feel discouraged. Is this really what I’m called to? My imagination can get the best of me. Comparison can creep in. In my boredom, I can start to look for ways to fill my loneliness – like eating things that aren’t good for me but feel like comfort, or going off on a social media bender for an hour…anybody?
We can feel like we’re in a vacuum – I’m an idea person, many dreamers are! We just can’t help ourselves. An entrepreneurial spirit is often part of the makeup of a God-sized dreamer. So we have ideas…All. The. Time. And by talking to others we can figure out if the idea might be worth pursuing. We process verbally. Sometimes writing can help, but sometimes we just need to share ideas with an understanding or like-minded friend out loud.

[clickToTweet tweet=”So what’s the solution for a God-sized dreamer who needs to be alone to pursue her dream, but craves the company in collaboration? ” quote=”So what’s the solution for a God-sized dreamer who needs to be alone to pursue her dream, but craves the company in collaboration?”]

Here are a few ideas:

Meet regularly with a friend or two – Since Kimberly and Noelle were feeling similarly, the three of us are going to meet together in one of our homes on a regular basis. We’ll be intentional about our time with an agenda that includes collaborative talk time, a lunch break, independent work with headphones on, then we’ll end our time together with a little additional sharing.
Consider a Meetup – You can join a Meetup group, start your own through Meetup, or gather a like-minded group regularly on your own, much like a book group. What’s Meetup? According to their About, “Getting together with real people in real life makes powerful things happen. Side hustles become careers, ideas become movements, and chance encounters become lifelong connections. Meetup brings people together to create thriving communities.” Groups of people are getting together to share writing, cooking, decluttering, and so much more through Meetup all over the world.
Try Coworking – Yes…it’s a real thing. Ideal for small businesses, entrepreneurs, and freelancers, these are flexible shared office spaces. There are at least two spaces I know of right in my own town. You can agree to meet with friends a few times a week. You can buy a Day Pass, Monthly Pass, even a Monthly Dedicated Desk that allows you to use this space with a desk reserved just for you every day if you wish.

As Holley Gerth says in You Were Made for a God-Sized Dream, “Sometimes we feel alone not because we need to be with others but because God wants to be with us…Sometimes the feeling that we are alone is actually an invitation to stop and recognize his presence with us.”

You’ll definitely want to discern the difference between when you’re called to be alone so God can meet you in the quiet…and when you’re feeling lonely and need to connect with others.

When you need to step out and be with others…go ahead and find a way to do it. I’m cheering you on!

Shared by Elise Daly Parker

An InLinkz Link-up

God-Sized Dreams Never Die

January 17, 2018 By Bethany Mcllrath 7 Comments

Someone tell me I’m not the only one!

There are moments where the thought that I could die anytime at all strikes me silly.

I’m not worried about where I’m going. I believe God’s Word in 2 Timothy 4:18–He will deliver me safely into His Kingdom. I know my loved ones; they’d trust God with my death.

My (foolish!) concern?

I worry that I might die before I get to finish certain study and writing projects. I fear my dreams might be left unfinished, unaccomplished. And with that, I realize I have an idol issue.

God-Sized Dreams Aren’t Meant to be Idols

In chapter two of You’re Made for a God-sized Dream, Holley asks:

“Why are God-sized dreams so compelling?”

Her answer offers swift correction for any dream-scheming:

“Because we powerfully experience God’s presence in our lives through them. It’s not about the destination. It’s not about what we will get if we complete them. It’s about the relationship.”

Fearing of missing out on our dreams before they’re achieved means forgetting what our dreams are all about.

[clickToTweet tweet=”God doesn’t give us dreams so we can work for a trophy on a shelf.” quote=”God doesn’t give us dreams so we can work for a trophy on a shelf.”]

His dreams for us result in the prize of closeness with Christ.

God-Sized Dreams Are Meant to Be Eternal

The kinds of dreams God gives us are intended to glorify Him. They build up His Kingdom in one way or another. That means that pursuing our God-sized Dreams isn’t just about us.

Holley points out that:

“Ultimately you know the calling in your soul is about more, so much more than anything you might hope to gain from it.”

Our dreams are about Him. And He isn’t changing, failing, or going anywhere. Worship is and will be received by God for forever.

[clickToTweet tweet=”Our God-sized dreams aren’t about the temporal. They’re designed by God to have an eternal impact.” quote=”Our God-sized dreams aren’t about the temporal. They’re designed by God to have an eternal impact.”]

God-Sized Dreams Aren’t Threatened By Our Fears

Hopefully your fear about dreaming is not associated with dying. (oh, the human imagination!)

Maybe you worry instead that you’re going to miss out on your dream because of setbacks or surprising life changes. Fear of failure might be holding you back from even starting. Perhaps you fear because the dream just seems too huge.

There’s good news:

God can do all things. No plan of God’s can be thwarted. (Job 42:2)

As Holley says: “You don’t have to be big to have God-sized dreams, because in Him you are enough.”

His dreams for us may not look like we expect. Some aspects that we think are vital might not be. But we know that what He purposes, happens. God will complete your dream in the best way.

[clickToTweet tweet=”We can trust that God’s purposes for the dreams He gives us will NOT die, even when they are threatened.” quote=”We can trust that God’s purposes for the dreams He gives us will NOT die, even when they are threatened.”]

Shared by: Bethany McIlrath

Spring Book Club: Breaking Busy, Communication and Worth

March 31, 2016 By Gindi Vincent 1 Comment

The lie of shame. Shame drives us into a never-ending cycle of trying to fix ourselves, to prove to the world and ourselves that we are not inherently flawed, that we have value.

The lie of not enough. Every day the Enemy lies to people, to tell you you’re not good enough, trying to distract them from their calling.

The lie of unworthiness. When we live life feeling unworthy, we wonder if we will ever be enough – smart enough, creative enough, thin enough, rich enough, spiritual enough. We stay stuck in cycles of busyness trying to please others to gain assurance and acceptance.

What a powerful way to end our God-sized Dreams spring book club studying Alli Worthington’s Breaking Busy. Today we tackle Chapter 9 on Communication and Chapter 10 on Worth (excerpted in part above). This book closed on an important note for all of us dreamers who are spinning like tops trying to prove ourselves or make everyone happy.

Understanding how we communicate can help us in eliminating the unnecessary busy in our lives.

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And a great way to kick off that conversation is with Chapter 9 on communication. Understanding how (and why) we and others communicate can help us in eliminating the unnecessary busy in our lives. How? Think of time you waste on needless, idle conversations, or how much energy gets expended with people not understanding what you or others mean when you’re trying to communicate a message.

Alli offers great tips in chapter nine for both undercommunicators and overcommunicators as well as help identifying which you are if it’s not obvious to you. “It’s crazy to think that something as simple as communicating better can help us break busy and find our voice in a world of noise, but it can and it does. Taking control of the multitude ways you can communicate with others can literally give you hours back in your day.” p. 192, Chapter 9

Then, Breaking Busy powerfully closes with a chapter on worth, and how it can be the most critical element in eliminating the busy because it fuels our busy for the wrong reasons.

It is God that keeps us grounded and aware of who we are and why we are here. It is our faith that has to fuel our actions not our sense of shame or worthlessness.

Keeping us busy trying to prove our worth is the easiest way to keep us from the life God created us to live because it makes us think that our worth is based on what we do, instead of who God is. p. 197, Chapter 10

Go back. Reread that.

Our worth is not based on what we do. #breakingbusy

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Someone needed to hear that alone today. Sweet dreamer: your worth is rooted in who God is and how He sees you and who He says you are. And it is good and beautiful and worthy and forgiven and loved and treasured.

Your worth is not based on what you DO.

Being rooted and grounded in His love and His message over us (and for our lives – our dreams!) is the ultimate antidote for the needless busy in our lives. What better way to close than with Alli’s own closing words:

The best things in your life? They are not of your own doing. They are not because of who you are or what you accomplish, but because of who God is and what he has already accomplished.

Friends, it’s been such a treat to walk through this book club with you. I’d love to hear what you learned and how it’s changing how you make decisions and schedule your life.

Spring Book Club: Breaking Busy, Time and Decision

March 24, 2016 By Gindi Vincent Leave a Comment

Time? What time? Um, maybe I’m not Breaking Busy yet!

That’s right, today we’re tackling Chapters 7 (time) and 8 (decisions) in our spring book club study of Breaking Busy.

Let’s jump right in with an all-too-close-to-home verdict on how often our life devolves into a tyranny of the urgent. Alli explains the phrase:

It describes a life of constant tension between the urgent (constantly putting out little fires and checking off the to-do lists) and the truly important (our relationship with God and the bigger priorities of life). The problem is that many important tasks (such as getting adequate sleep, spending quiet time with God every day, and working toward our big goals in life) don’t seem urgent enough to demand our immediate attention, while urgent tasks (like stopping the kids from bickering over who gets the toy first or answering that text) aren’t always important.
But urgency is not patient. Urgency has no boundaries. Urgency is demanding and controlling.
Urgency is a terrible tyrant. She demands that you give her 100 percent of your attention 100 percent of the time. (Chapter 7, p. 142)

Dreamers?

This is absolutely us!

When the urgent drowns out the important, we are unable to achieve our dream. #breakingbusy

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When the urgent drowns out the important, we are unable to achieve our dream. And months, years, heck decades, fly by in the face of all of life’s urgent demands. We have to stop and take our own time out. Schedule time for what is truly important and not allow the never-ending urgent tasks divert us from hearing God’s voice and doing what God has prepared for us.

Ephesians 3:20 reminds us God “is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us.” God has big plans for us and is at work in us, as Alli reminds us in Chapter 7, “when we steward our day-to-day lives well, we can live the life he has planned for us.”

How? There are some great tips at the end of the chapter:

Make a stop doing list – this can be as valuable, if not more, than a start doing list. What is sucking you dry right now? Find ways to stop (or scale back) those things.

Learn to say no to yourself and others – Boy can this be hard. That means turning down what sounds like fun opportunities sometime in order to create space for what is truly important as well as turning down requests for which you’ve long felt obligated or just felt obliged in order to keep people happy. I loved this tip, “Choose discomfort over resentment!” Amen!

Plus: Add in time to stay connected to God, time to connect to others, and time to take care of yourself.

If that wasn’t enough, Alli follows up with Chapter 8 and lots of insightful advice when approaching decisions in your quest to break busy.

One of the easy reminders for how to check your decisions to make sure they are being made based on the most important priorities is checking “the Five F’s: faith, family, future, fulfillment, and friends.”

Are you seeking God’s direction as you debate your yes and your no? Have you gut checked it with your family? Does the decision lead you down a path for the future you want to walk? If you embrace this choice, will you feel more fulfilled? And have those dear friends who have seen you through the ups and downs offered their perspective on what your decision means?

There are some other great short and sweet techniques in Chapter 8 you can consult as a go-to when you’re in a pinch or a pickle over a decision you can’t seem to make.

As always, Alli has short videos for Chapters 7 and 8 which offers her summary on each chapter.

So sound off. What drowns the best use of your time and how do you make sure those priorities and dreams find time in your schedule? And what is one of the best techniques you use when you have to make a wise decision?

Share your insight here or on Facebook and read Chapters 9 and 10 in preparation for our final installment next week.

Spring Book Club: Breaking Busy, Thoughts and Traditions

March 17, 2016 By Gindi Vincent 6 Comments

Welcome to our fourth installment of our Spring Book Club studying Alli Worthington’s Breaking Busy.

I hope you are enjoying it – I’d love to hear what you’re applying to your life and dreams after getting several chapters in. Today, we’re covering Chapters 5 (Thoughts) and 6 (Traditions).

In Chapter 5, Alli asks us what are we focusing on? Our fears and our flaws all too often. If that’s where our thoughts are, then that drives us to “be and do” more which creates a vicious “hamster wheel” of busy.

I don’t know if this hit you like it did me, but I love control and that can fuel all sorts of fear and worry.

My worries were born out of my need to be in control. #breakingbusy

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“My worries were born out of my need to be in control, my desire to know what was next in my life, and a lack of gratitude for the grace he had already given me… Worry is different than anxiety. Anxiety is a deep sense of doom rooted in a fear that is often a lie from the Enemy. Anxiety cripples us and leaves us feeling incapable of escaping our situation. Worry, on the other hand, is our attempt to control the future.”

We have to cut out the worry stopping us from doing what God is calling us to do (and not to do).

So what to do?

Alli’s tips are to: abide in Christ (His voice is far kinder than our own), stay mindful, surround yourself with positive friends (their positive energy is contagious and can counteract a negative cycle), and focus on the discipline of gratitude (there’s a ton of research that proves this grateful daily mindset does wonders for your thoughts and your success as well!).

We live in a world of expectations. None more so than when it comes to traditions – whether that’s a Thanksgiving meal or a preschoolers birthday party. I know. I’ve lived, and failed, my share of traditions. Traditions need to add to our lives and not just pile on the busy stressors. As Chapter 6 says, “traditions done for the wrong reasons shackle us to unrealistic expectations and a whole lot of unnecessary busy work.”

Traditions need to add to our lives and not just pile on the busy stressors.

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Alli shares some wonderful tips for managing “traditions:” Drop (or don’t pick up) the traditions you don’t enjoy; look for a win-win solution (think carpools, swapping holidays, and the team approach for holidays); and give yourself permission to disappoint (you can’t always find a win-win!).

As always, Alli has short videos for Chapter 5 and 6 which give her insight on the chapter up close and personal.

So sound off. What do you do to short-circuit those damaging thoughts your inner voice can start up with? And what do you do about traditions and the ever increasing pressure of Pinterest and Instagram?

Share here or on Facebook and read Chapters 7 and 8 in preparation for next week’s installment.

Spring Book Club: Breaking Busy, Calling and Editing

March 10, 2016 By Gindi Vincent 5 Comments

Welcome back to our third week of God-sized Dreams spring book club! Today, we dig into chapters 3 (calling) and 4 (editing) of Alli Worthington’s Breaking Busy.

I don’t know about you, but Chapter 4 hit me like a boulder. What is resonating with you as you read?

Before we launch into Alli’s tips on Editing, let’s dig into the work we have to do first to find our Calling. How can finding our calling help us break busy? It doesn’t eliminate busy. But it does help us choose wisely what keeps us busy. Instead of pleasing others and filling a void, we become “busy with a purpose” which energizes and keeps us focused on what’s really important.

I have learned that God plants gifts in us and provides opportunities throughout our lives to fulfill our life’s purpose. But we have to break the cycle of busy in our lives if we are going to have enough room to discover God’s plan – our destiny. p. 67, chapter 3

To jumpstart your assessment of where your calling lies, if you don’t already know, Alli offers some great questions to ask yourself:

what activities have you loved since childhood?
what do you love?
what tugs at your heart?
if money were no object, what would you do for free?
what energizes you?
what is something everyone says you’re good at?

Did that shed a little light? Take some time. Pray about it. Ask your friends or family. Rethink what’s possible and put your busy energy toward your life calling.

But if you’re going to have time to focus on what God really wants you to do, you’re going to have to do some editing.

Sigh. This. Is. Hard.

Every single one of you who is busy right now must read chapter 4 if you read nothing else. There is so much good here about God’s nudging and the importance of stepping away from things, even those that seem “good:”

I’ve learned through the years that when I am both surprised and challenged by a whisper in my spirit, it’s God asking me to do something that stretches my limited concept of what I can do…
God sometimes calls us to quit things that are good in exchange for His plans that are greater. p. 80, chapter 4

If you thought breaking busy would be a piece of cake, then boy do I have news for you.

As I read this chapter, I had to make some tough choices. In areas where I was succeeding and leading. Because the reality is, if we are filling our life with busy things, even things that look good or even Godly to the outside world, but they’re not God-approved, we have to lay them down.

We have to lay down the busy, even if it looks good or Godly, if it’s not God-approved.

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And the laying down process can be hard for us and for those impacted. I stepped off boards and stepped away from commitments, and those decisions impacted others too.

Alli gives readers a head’s up about this editing process, God was trying to alter my life and was refining my character to suit his particular purpose. But sometimes edits hurt, and sometimes they cause others to hurt. When you feel the need to edit something out of your life, expecting the process to be easy will only make that change harder. Like most growth in life, editing out the good is not easy, but it is ultimately worth it. p. 86, chapter 4

We have to trust what God is calling us to. And trust what He will bring on the other side of the pruning.

Some of the tips provided on making proactive edits (the best kind – reactive edits are when you’re at the end of your rope) included: look for areas in your life that are not fruitful; be proactive, not reactive; and look where God may be calling you. Who knows what He has prepared in advance for you (Eph. 2:10) that you need to make room for now in order to create a space for Him to move you.

What struck you in chapters 3 and 4? How did you find what God is calling you to? What are your tips on editing the busy out of your life?

I hope you’ll join in the conversation here or on Facebook and we’ll take up chapters 5 and 6 next week! A reminder, Alli offers great resources and here are her videos for chapter 3 and chapter 4.

Spring Book Club: Breaking Busy, Capacity and Relationships

March 3, 2016 By Gindi Vincent Leave a Comment

Welcome to God-sized Dreams Spring Book Club of Breaking Busy by Alli Worthington. If you haven’t gotten the book yet, it’s not too late. We’re just covering Chapters 1 and 2 today.

I don’t know about you, but I love that the book started with an entirely relatable first chapter about capacity. While I’ve never had a ringing bra, I definitely have had early morning flights with fuzzy thinking and lost car chargers and missing papers because I’ve pushed too far for too long.

Capacity.

Most of the time, I can’t envision what capacity is because I’m so far over it. Alli quotes to a study on p.21 which found women, especially those ages 30 to 60, reported being busier than men and were sacrificing sleep, recreation, hobbies, friends, and families! Yikes.

Because of the seasons in our lives (think care for kids, parents, or spouse, a new work assignment, a relocation, illness, etc.) we have to recognize we can’t always function at the same capacity. Alli helps us identify when we may be firing well over capacity. Some of the warning signs include:

The inability to control your emotion: Have you ever snapped or burst into tears when the circumstances didn’t warrant it? I’ve nearly fallen apart at a pass the ketchup simply because I couldn’t do one more thing.
Lack of self care: Even those of us that know how to eat right and get enough rest can find all that slipping away when we’re munching on a bag of chips at midnight to meet that deadline. We’ve got to take care of ourselves so we can continue to function effectively.
Self medicating/excess: Boy did this one hit close to home. In the busiest and most stressful of seasons, I reach for a cupcake or glass of wine instead of identifying the cause of my stress and restructuring. This is dangerous if you don’t reset before it becomes unhealthy or an addiction.

Alli offers great tips on how to identify what’s going on and recognize our limits. One of the best tips is to take the time to identify why you are exceeding your capacity: In addition to pride, any number of things can cause us to exceed our capacity. We might be too focused on getting ahead. We might be operating outside our area of giftedness. We might be making bad decisions built on guilt or people pleasing. Stepping back to evaluate why we are doing what we are doing gives us insights into whether or not we need to keep doing them.

Then, wow, what a powerful reminder Chapter 2 on relationships was for me! How about you? We DO have to focus on the most important relationships in our life and they all too often get left in the dust when we’re too busy in our lives.

If we are going to start breaking busy, we start with focusing in on the relationships that fill our soul.

Breaking busy means breaking the idea keeping up with the Joneses will ever bring us any peace.

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First we have to check where our relationship is with God. He’s waiting for us to set aside the time in the middle of “busy” to find Him.

Next, oh for you married friends, it’s finding time for your man. Alli shares what so deeply resonated in my own life: From lost babies to lost hopes to lost dreams – the shared struggles are what brought us together so deeply. What I’ve learned is that a great marriage isn’t made of moments you see in the movies. Marriages are made in the moments of weakness, humility, and instability.

Can I get an Amen?

And last but certainly not least, we HAVE to find time for our friends. After spending this past weekend with two of my fellow God-sized Dreamer writers and a college roommate, I can tell you that is medicine for breaking busy like none other I can find. Friends “pour life into me instead of draining it out.” All too often we let our friendships fade into the background as we try to juggle all the busyness that assails us. We MUST find time for our girlfriends.

Alli’s been leading a book club study over at Propel Women, where she’s the Executive Director, and there are some wonderful videos from her on Chapter 1 and Chapter 2 which will definitely add to your enjoyment of these chapters.

So sound off.

How do you know when you’re over capacity? What do you do to bring things back into a manageable state?

And what about your relationships? How do you keep them a priority when the busy ramps up? I’d love to hear what you’re learning as we study Breaking Busy together.

*Congratulations to Amber Baake who won the free copy of Breaking Busy!

Spring Book Club: Breaking Busy, Introduction

February 25, 2016 By Gindi Vincent 15 Comments

Welcome dreamers and readers!

I’m so excited to launch God-sized Dreams spring book club. Over the next couple of months, we’ll be reading Alli Worthington’s Breaking Busy: How to Find Peace and Purpose in a World of Crazy together. I don’t know about you, but my life is a little insane right now. Work, triplets, marriage, volunteering, and just getting out the door… Let me introduce you our book club with a few seconds of my week’s mayhem:

(Random facts: little bit is in a dress because we’re going to the ballet, but I’ve just finished work and have to make sure my people eat, and my boys think footballs go everywhere.)

I read this book in pieces on holiday car trips and work plane trips and each chapter holds nuggets of wisdom. Alli’s warmth and humor help deliver a message we all need to hear, but her genuine street cred as a God-sized dreamer should make us all pay attention. From launching her own business to giving it up to struggling with God in the midst of it all, this working wife and momma to five boys understands busy. This isn’t a book to send you joining a commune in nature. Instead, it offers insight into how to live in today’s busy culture without losing your head.

Each week, we’ll study two chapters. So I hope you’ll pick up a copy of Breaking Busy if you don’t already have one and join us next Thursday as we dive into chapters one and two.

Plus, one lucky dreamer wins a copy of Breaking Busy for free. All you have to do is to comment on this post or on Facebook with one area of your life that is busy right now, or give us a tweet out:

Join godsizeddreams.com spring book club of @alli new book, Breaking Busy.

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We’ll select a winner at random and have the book to you before next Thursday.

I look forward to chatting in the weeks ahead.