This weekend has turned into an absolute blur. Today felt like Monday because no one worked or went to school yesterday. And since I spent most of the weekend sneaking chocolate out of Madi’s Easter candy to make up for the fact that some sort of sinus plague has threatened to take me out, I’ve felt pretty useless.
But of course this morning during my workout the trainer reminded me about the importance of consistency and blah blah blah, so here I am. Hanging out in your inbox with this week’s book club chat. Better late than never? We’ll go with yes.
After last week’s trio of chapters I wasn’t so sure what to expect this week, but I was pleasantly surprised. If you aren’t quite caught up yet, you’ll definitely want to keep reading. I think these might have been my most highlighted sections since we started. I know the chapters on marriage and motherhood probably didn’t resonate strongly with everyone, but two out of the three chapters this week were HUGE for me. In fact, one of them is something I feel so strongly about I included a section about in “Holy Hustle.”
Let’s chat!
Chapter 10
The lie: I should be further along by now
The takeaways: I knew I was going to relate to this chapter from the very first page when she was talking about how much she loves her birthday. I have finally come to the realization that if I’m going to have the kind of birthday celebration I want, I’m going to have to plan it myself. So I did – and in a few weeks my sister, mom, and I are going to spend the day at a spa and I am SO excited. Because I’m a planner. Which means I’ve always had plans and goals and vision board pictures, and when she made the comment about how she thought her goals had expiration dates, I nodded and highlighted and starred that phrase. ME TOO! This chapter was so full of great reminders for me that not only do my dreams and goals no expire, the road God has for me in the journey is going to be full of opportunities to learn, fail, grow, succeed, stumble, and try again. It’s in the waiting when I become the most impatient, but it might just be where God needs me to learn something essential before He allows that dream to come true.
The discussion questions: If you were to make a list of everything you’ve accomplished, like Rachel suggests, what would you be most proud of? How would doing an activity like that help you appreciate, or at least understand, the waiting season you might be in now? How would looking back at that list of “successes” encourage you?
Chapter 11
The lie: Other people’s kids are so much cleaner/better organized/more polite
The takeaways: There is no part of my personality that wants to embrace my chaos. I have spent years trying to control or ignore the chaos in my life, and Rachel’s recommendation to embrace it feels…hard. Maybe that’s why I’m not the “fun” mom. But, as she started to talk about the different ways our bodies react when we try to ignore chaos (insomnia – check. back pain – check), I realized that maybe the lie for me isn’t that everyone else’s kids are less chaotic, but that I have a responsibility to try to control the chaos. Instead of embracing one of those wonderful “fruit of the spirit” attributes that Rachel shares, all patience and kindness goes out the window as I try to make my life and my family look/act/behave/function the way I think it “should.” (side note: she shares some AMAZING Scripture in this chapter and I can’t for the life of me understand why none of it includes a verse reference.)
The discussion questions: Which one of the fruits of the Spirit (love, joy, patience, peace, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness or self-control) do you need most in your particular season? What is one way you can say “Yes, please” to something – or someone – this week so you don’t miss the freaking boat? 😉
Chapter 12
The lie: I need to make myself smaller
The takeaways: This is the one that I share about in “Holy Hustle” – because I have often made myself smaller, moved out of the way, added a layer of space between myself and other people, or played down my accomplishments to make sure I wasn’t taking up too much room. Put me on an airplane and not only will you get all the armrests, I’ll probably volunteer to take the middle seat. And when Rachel talked about how she refuses to raise her daughter “with the ideal that only one parent is ultimately responsible for who she will become” I wrote a big HOLY HUSTLE! in the margins because that is the legacy I can’t wait to leave for my own daughter – one where she’ll grow up to believe that she can be anything she wants to be, do anything she wants to do, and she can take up as much space as she needs to make God’s plans for her life happen.
The discussion questions: Did you relate to this chapter? How have you made yourself “smaller”? Have you done anything bold (like Rachel’s tattoo) to help break out of that cycle?
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So if you were hoping to join me last week for a live Facebook video, I’m so sorry. I forgot about Good Friday, and then I was sick and in my pajamas until about 30 minutes before friends came over for an Easter egg hunt. It was seriously poor planning on my part. But please always feel welcome to come here and share your thoughts, or connect with me on Instagram!
Next Week: Read Chapters 13-15
