God-sized Dreams

Where Dreams Set Sail

  • Home
  • The Dream
    • The Beginning
    • Videos
  • Meet The Sailors
  • Resources
  • Contact
    • Guest Post Submissions
  • Shop

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

Click To Tweet

“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.

Click To Tweet

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.

Related

Filed Under: Book Club

[sharethis]

Avatar

About Gindi Vincent

Gindi Vincent dreamed dreams as far back as she can remember. Today, her life resembles nothing of her childhood visions of serving in Africa, but God has allowed her to serve in an entirely different space. She is an attorney for a global energy company, mama to four-year-old triplets, and wife to a farmer/restaurateur hunk. She has experienced storms that knocked her dreams off course, but God charted a course that’s taken her beyond what she could ask or imagine. Gindi authors a daily blog for working women of faith at Gindi's, offers random musings, and released her first book, Learning to Lead, in 2013.

Comments

  1. AvatarMichele Morin says

    March 17, 2016 at 11:31 am

    Ali’s words about traditions hit very close to home for me because I’m all about holidays and birthday parties — scavenger hunts when the tooth fairy came to visit. I wore myself out. With one November birthday and two in January (flanking Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years) by the time I came to that second January birthday, I didn’t care if I NEVER saw another cake or party in my whole life.
    Thanks be to God that His voice of reason came through and we have found ways of celebrating that work for our family and that focus on the special traits we love in our kids.

    Reply
    • AvatarGindi Vincent says

      March 17, 2016 at 11:21 pm

      Oh I have been there Michele – the birthday parties for triplets through me for a LOOP! I love planning parties but enough is enough and I called Uncle last year. I’m with you on finding the balance that works for you.

      Reply
  2. AvatarAlecia says

    March 17, 2016 at 2:36 pm

    Giving myself permission to disappoint has been the most freeing thing I’ve done around the holidays. Knowing my capacity and sticking to my guns even when it means letting others down has done so much to alleviate holiday stress. And really, I was letting them down in my head more than in reality.

    Reply
    • AvatarGindi Vincent says

      March 17, 2016 at 11:21 pm

      I want your tips – I’m not all the way there yet Alecia!

      Reply
  3. AvatarPaula M says

    March 19, 2016 at 2:24 pm

    I am enjoying your blog, posts and posts by the other ladies. Thanks for sharing your hearts. I felt recently that I was “missing something”. I have been through this before, when God has a season of rest for me, or He has His own ideas of what He wants me to focus on, sometimes I get restless because I think, “That’s it?” This time it was helping my 8 year old niece with her math. What?! Just math? Not too grandiose in my book but I knew God was calling me to this. They have the “new” math, and while it’s not horrible, it’s a lot more work than when I was her age and we had to memorize the facts. Anyways, I attended a “class” for parents at her school for an hour a couple months ago, because the Lord put it on my heart, and my sister in law said she doesn’t understand math at all and she has been having some health issues lately which take all her energy. So, I got a couple resources from her teacher, and my niece and I have been doing math homework 3x per week for the past couple of months.

    I wasn’t sure if she was getting it, she would say “I hate math”, “uugh!” whenever I would have her re-do what she did in class and explain to me how she got her answers. Then the other day her mom went to the parent teacher conference at my niece’s school. She told me my niece has improved so much that she no longer needs “extra support” and isn’t being pulled out with the other kids who are struggling, to work with someone in a small group. She had been doing this all year. Wow! She was so excited about that, and I can see the confidence this has brought her. She still would rather draw pictures, dance, sing, play games, ride her bike, etc., but she is doing it. The Lord allowed me to be a part of this and I wouldn’t trade it for anything. I know this has created a stronger bond between my niece and I as well.

    If I would have been “busy” doing other things, I would have totally missed this! I continue to learn what saying yes to God looks like and it’s so beautiful! Blessings to your day, Paula M

    Reply
    • AvatarGindi Vincent says

      March 23, 2016 at 11:35 pm

      I love this story so much Paula! God offering ways to create space to do really important things like this – and your niece (and sis in law) will always be grateful, and God will honor your faithfulness.

      Reply

Leave a Reply to Michele Morin Cancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Follow on Facebook Follow on Twitter Follow on Pinterest

Set Sail With Us

Have God-Sized Dreams delivered to your inbox.


Categories

Fistbump Media University Learning Center

The Book

God-Sized-Dreams-by-Holley-Gerth-cover-662x1024
This error message is only visible to WordPress admins

Error: No connected account.

Please go to the Instagram Feed settings page to connect an account.

Popular Posts

When Following Dreams Means Facing Past Hurts

Say “Yes” Anyway

Between the White Lines and Beyond…Trust Without Borders

Copyright © 2021 God-Sized Dreams

Site Design by The Copper Anchor, New Season Design & Design by Insight