Several weeks ago whenever I opened my email there were at least three or four emails encouraging me to buy the “bundle”. Now, for some of you that won’t make a lick of sense and for others you will know exactly what it is. I suppose this epistle is to those who know and for those that don’t? Apply the message as you see applicable!
Dear Sisters,
First and foremost and I am writing this in big letters…
You are enough.
Whether with the bundle or without it. Do you really need OMT (one more thing) on your to-do list? I find irony in this: We complain about having so much to do, so much to read, so much to write and not enough hours in the day and then we fork out $29.95 to buy more things to do, more things to read, and more things to write.
Does that even make sense?
You are enough.
As an empty-nest grandmother I am in a position to 1. afford the bundle; 2. have time to do the bundle. But, you see this word the Lord gave me at the end of 2016 to dwell and meditate on in 2017 is showing me just how the ordinary flow of the every day is SUFFICIENT. Because He is!
You are enough because HE IS.
I want to share a few ‘things’ God had me write down about three weeks ago when He began etching these words in my heart. Apply where needed:
- People crave less to do and willingly procure/purchase/borrow MORE to-do’s.
- Do not willingly take on more when it is less you desire.
- Do not procure/purchase/borrow out of guilt or pressure. “So and so says I need this.” You probably don’t.
- Do not add water to your already drowning-in-responsibility to-do list.
- God does not care how many e-courses you take. He cares about your relationship with HIM.
- God does not care how many books you have read. He cares about how you are stewarding the people and things HE HAS GIVEN YOU.
- We don’t need more self-help; we need more God-Help.
- Have a spare FIVE minutes? Read one scripture card. Talk to the Lord, intentionally, for the remaining time. Set a timer. Tell the kids Mommy is reviving herself. Be like Susan Wesley and pull the apron (or long shirt) up over your head and tell those around you “you are in the closet of your soul.” Practice SOUL-CARE.
- Striving tends to create more strife and less life.
- YOU ARE ENOUGH.
You really are because HE IS.
xo
This week I’ll be linking up with Inspire Me Monday, Testimony Tuesday, Tell His Story, Tea and Word, Porch Stories, Coffee for Your Heart, Tune In Thursday, Dance With Jesus, Fresh Market Friday, and Glimpses of His Beauty.
LOVE THIS! Thank you!
Kathy
YOU ARE ENOUGH. xo
I needed this!
YOU ARE ENOUGH. xo
Well said!
Love you!
XO
Tammy
YOU ARE ENOUGH. xo
I agree, Susan. I don’t even look at these emails anymore and have unsubscribed from some bloggers who just email to sell. I used to look at the bundle selections, but quickly stopped because even if I have time to read one, I for sure don’t have time to read 30. And after reading your words here, you are so right…we are enough! Yes, work on what you want to work on, learn that new skill or hobby, but not because the emails sell you on it. Do it because you want to, with or without the bundle. Well said.
Laura, well said my friend.
Preach it, sister!
I wonder sometimes if we add stuff and responsibilities to our lives so that we can hide behind them.
I may be blackballed, Michele.
Oh, yes! God has been teaching me this same thing – and I didn’t buy the bundle or do several other things recently because I didn’t need another thing or hobby or activity in my life. Thanks for encouraging me in what God is teaching me. Love you!
Will you be my mother?
This is fantastic advice! Thank you, and thank you too for sharing the little tidbits and pieces and pictures of your life with us .
Ali, the woman who “does it all”…I pray you are going to slow down and enjoy this SUMMERTIME!!!
Great read Sue. Yes, we sometimes put too much “other stuff” on our plates but what we really need is a little more “Jesus time.” Have a wonderful ” hump” day. Hugs from Morganton basement!!! Enjoying God’s nature.
THAT Morganton basement ain’t too shabby!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! xo
Yes! Just what I was feeling last night! God knows what we need, & He will make sure we find it when we listen to HIM! Thanks for this good word!
Oh BettieG, HE REALLY WILL!!! He is more than enough.
Hi Susan,
Would that be the graphics font bundle?! 🙂 I’m always tempted to buy the bundle then think I’ll just make do with the free one they offer every week, even though all the pretty scripty fonts are in the bundle! Love these thoughts that we have enough and ARE enough! xo
Valerie, go to picmonkey.com and splurge on the 4.95/mo subscription and get every font known to man!!!!!!
Sus – when you come to my house on Saturday morning, PLEASE print me a copy of this and bring it. Truer words were never spoken. While my heart and soul wants to pull back and say, “No” my “ought-a says you need to”. There is NO peace of mind and heart and spirit in all the ought-as the world and worst yet WE put on ourselves. After having been in the work force for over 42 years, raised a son, worked full time/overtime, cleaned house, laundry, ironed, food shopped & cooked, run errands, washed basketball, football and baseball outfits………………….get the picture??? Surely there can be REST for the mind and body. Surely. Yet. While we used to live “on the wheel” now many of us stand beside it and think we need to climb back on to be right with others and ourselves. Man. This article this morning hits just the right places. Thank you. Copy please.
Yes, ma’am.
I’m probably one of those who emailed you about “the bundle” lol. I’m about he last person on earth to push it over schedule myself, but I love those bundles! I pick and choose what books I want to read and what courses I want to take and discard the rest, and it’s still a good deal. Two bundles ago I got a class that taught me to make printables in Excel that totally rocked my printable world, and this last one had the Nester’s class. There’s a new work from home one coming out that I’m also going to buy lol.
Don’t you worry your pretty head….there is NO condemnation. And, you seem to handle bundles well. LOL. You know I love ya!!!
Love, Love, Love this, I’m sharing honey. Tonight when I get home, I’m going out to my garden and just Breath and swing with my Abba
YAY.
Such a wise word, Susan! I know that for the last month, I have sensed the Lord saying for me to rest, to just be in Him and with Him. I get so many of the “bundle” emails each day and always feel bad to hit “unsubscribe”. But I think as they come into my inbox, this is what I will do so that eventually they will stop coming. There’s much freedom in letting Him be enough in us and for us.
SO MUCH FREEDOM!!!
Fear of missing out was not invented til now. I fear I’m guilty of that fear. Loved your passion and writing like a boss-mama. I turned down a course this week since I haven’t finished my last one
Love you.
You nailed it, “fear of missing out.” THAT is exactly IT.
I purchased one bundle in m y life. A lot of good did me, didn’t read any of them yet. Oh I love the bundles , all kinds. But they can get me in a lot of trouble. Sometimes I think I need them. Thank you for the reminder that I is enough!
And, Barbie – you haven’t missed it, have you? O we must guard our hearts, our wallets, our schedule. YES, LORD.
Love you list, my friend! I’ve fallen into the e-course buying folly…but I’m realizing I DON’T have time for them all! Time to stop!
You especially don’t!!! Love your life.
Susan,
I love this! We just down-sized to simplify things, but the unpacking and further minimizing is wearing me thin…if only in size, ha! 🙂 I know it will be a good thing when we’re all settled and I love the reminder. It’s all about our relationship with HIM. Praying you are able to rest in the knowledge that you are enough.
Be Blessed & Refreshed,
~Sherry Stahl
xoxo
Sherry – I hope you write about this minimalizing process!
Ohhh yes!! I love these bundles too, well it’s a love/hate thing haha! I bought one last year and have read a few. It is good inthat I can go to them at my own pace if I need to learn something (I got the blogger’s toolkit one) but before I realized I could do it at my own pace, I stressed myself out about keeping up with Blogdashians (get my joke babahaa!) I am posting brave lately about my struggles and what God is showing me because so many keep hopping on bandwagons (myself included) and not that those are wrong, we just need to be cautious we aren’t getting desensitized to the Holy Spirit who lives in us. It can be so easy to heed another blogger’s advice (even Christian) over what He is saying because He speaks gently to us, not in a loud “I’m-going-to-be-heard” kind of manner. I still may purchase the work from home one because that is where God is leading me (marketplace, even here in my home town). But I am glad you spoke up. Keep being you. Love you!
And, you are being Spirit-led. THAT’s the key!!!
Thank you. This has been on my mind lately… when my ‘basket that holds the fruit’ doesn’t look like common expectations. Constantly fighting the ‘water’ that threatens to ‘sink my ship’.
How to put what God put inside my heart, in my personality, and in my path-all together in His perfect plan…That’s a daily task!
Your insight is always a blessing!!
D A I L Y.
Wise words, Susan! When my perfectionism gets the best of me, God always sends me good reminders like these! Blessings!
Leslie, how nice to have you here today. Thank you for the encouragement.
Susan, such wise advice. I’m trying to cut back on my bargain purchases. Bargains are a huge temptation for me, and I often end up overspending because I’m getting such a good deal. Thanks for this timely reminder! Visiting from #tuneinthursday
I understand, Sarah!
Susan, this is just what we’ve been learning in studying the Gospel of John through Bible Study Fellowship! He is my all in all, my Sufficiency.
I love your list. I will have to refer to it often because it’s sooo easy to get sucked into the need for more–when the house is overflowing. Or to think I’m going to miss out on something special here. (But I’ve had that nature since I was a child. My Mom used to tell me that when we had company, they couldn’t put me to bed. I had to be in the middle of the company, even if it meant falling asleep on the living room floor!
Hopped over from #Heart Encouragement.
Blessings,
Janis, another Consilium member
Seems that “missing out” theme is popular. We don’t have BSF where we live but I am familiar with it. The Gospel of John – I love it so, I even wrote a book on it.
I’ll have to check it out!
Janis
I love your message that we are more than enough in Him. If we don’t hear anything else, we need to know that we are perfectly loved by God and completely accepted by Him. Everything else is just extra. Thanks for linking up today at Salt & Light.
Perfectly loved by The One and Only Perfect God.
#6 Really resonates with me even though I hardly read. You would be surprised to hear that after looking at the piles of books I have bought.
Meditating on #6 tonight: God does not care how many books you have read. He cares about how you are stewarding the people and things HE HAS GIVEN YOU.
I AM ENOUGH!!! Thank you for that reminder!
Larissa, THANK YOU for taking a smidgeon of time and visiting here. I am humbled. (((xo)))
I have so many trainings and courses I’ve purchased and never touched… they add to a sense of failure. Thank you for this message.
See??? And who on earth wants us to chalk up another failure? Yep! The enemy of our soul. UGHly.
I think you hit a nerve based on all the comments. Good job (willyoubemymama?)
Yes, at least, your elder sister. 😉
Love this, Susan!! You are so right!!! The blessing of retirement that I had not expected was the discovery of how tired I was from doing more for so long! I think as women and Christians we are very susceptible to doing that even when a small voice inside is saying, “enough…stop”. I sleep so much better now that I have let go of the “do more” messages.
Pam, I’m looking forward to that day. I still work fulltime BUT at home so that is a huge blessing affording me time to write, which is my true passion!
Like Martha, we add more and more and sometimes neglect the most important, don’t we!
Yes, we do! I don’t think intentionally (or?) but because we don’t want to miss out.
Amen!!! I was invited to a virtual party this week for a product line, and although I wanted to go to visit and see the products, I wrestled with the guilt of not purchasing because it might offend the host…(even though I was a last minute invite). I ended up thanking her and leaving it at that. Didn’t need to buy one more thing just because of guilt or what I feared she might think. Great post Sue!
Thank you, Crystal, for telling me that.
Susan, I love your 10 tips! I especially love number four. It feels as if I am always adding water to my to-do list. Thanks for your encouragement and thanks for linking up with #TuneInThursday this week. See you next time!
Thanks for your words today, Susan. I am presently a contributor for a homeschool bundle that is selling right now – but I HATE pressure sales! I’ve mentioned it briefly in a newsletter before the sale and gave more detail in this week’s newsletter along with my regular stuff – but at the bottom;) But I don’t send out a bunch of emails with it being the primary focus – I just can’t do that. That’s the only bundle I promote – and I don’t even do that ‘well’;) But for me, it’s to get my course ‘out there’ – I’m not caught up in sales. I really just want families to be blessed with my course – I created it with my teen daughter.
I also get a lot of bundle emails that I just end up deleting.
Thanks for linking up with Grace and Truth. May you be blessed.
Aimee, NO CONDEMNATION!!! AT ALL. I feel that way about my new book, 52 Commands of Jesus for Children – I want every family to have this book!!! Maybe I need to participate in a Mom Bundle!!!! Thank you so much for visiting and commenting.