Ok my holy hustlers! It was so fun to read your responses to last week’s intro/chapter 1 post! This week’s reading assignment was chapters 2-4:
- A Good-Bye Party for Striving
- Called Here
- Hello, Hustle
So what did you think? Did you have a favorite chapter this week, one that stood out to you or resonated most strongly with you? Let’s chat!
So for Chapter 2, we threw a good-bye party for striving. When we went over this chapter with my group at church, we had an actual party – with balloons (ok…so they said “happy retirement,” but it was close!) and cupcakes. I highly recommend it – it makes saying “no” to something a little easier. Striving is sneaky, and sometimes it takes an intentional moment (like a party?) to help us realize where it’s been running our lives, and making us claim that badge of busy a little too proudly.
Questions: When was the last time you said no to something good, to make room for something great? Have you ever had a season where you found yourself striving ceaselessly to try to make things happen on your own? What was the result? What happened when you finally gave control – and timing – back to God?
In Chapter 3, I share one of my favorite stories – the one about Ms. Jean. She’s even more amazing in real life than she seems in those paragraphs, and her example has been a reminder to me that God makes no mistakes when He places us somewhere…but we can make mistakes by refusing to be obedient because we’re waiting for something “bigger.” What if the smaller space you’re in is where God wants you to train, practice, and serve so that you can be ready for the next step? As someone who lives in a super small town, I feel like I have to work harder than some of my peers for opportunities. I can’t travel to big conferences to network with people. I can’t attend live podcasting events or go to writing retreats and I don’t even live near any “big name” speakers to have as a mentor. But that doesn’t mean that God doesn’t have a plan for me, right here. When I can embrace that God has called me here – right here – for this season, I can stop working so hard to keep up with everyone else and rest in the knowledge that being obedient is enough.
Questions: Do you struggle with feeling too “small” in some area of your life? What would it look like if you were to truly embrace where God has you without expecting it to look a certain way? What is one small step of obedience you can take today to use your holy hustle right where you are?
Chapter 4 is the quiz chapter! I love quizzes so much. Facebook keeps recommending new ones to me because I can’t help wanting to know which Disney princess I am, or wondering if a quiz can really figure out how much education I have based on my Starbucks order. So, let’s hear it. Where did you fall on the holy hustle scale? Too much striving? Too lazy? Just right? It’s like the Goldilocks of work and rest 😉 Right now I’ll admit that I’m definitely sliding toward the striving side – and I can tell because I’m experiencing anxiety, sleepless nights, crankiness, and feeling overwhelmed. It’s time to make some small adjustments and slide back over into holy hustle.
Questions: Since it’s November, what Bible verse do you turn to as reminder to have a grateful heart – when things go well AND when you’re faced with failure? How can you make one tiny change over the next week to move yourself closer to holy hustle? How can you use your words to speak beauty and life over someone’s life or a situation you’re facing?
Next week we’ll be chatting about chapters 5-7, so make sure you read those! Then we’ll have a break for Thanksgiving so you can have a little time to catch up. In the meantime, why not pop over to Instagram and leave some questions you want me to answer? And keep an eye out for another live chat – I can’t promise that I’ll be able to give you advanced notice, but if you’re following me on Instagram you’ll at least be able to catch the replay that day!
Did you have a favorite chapter this week, one that stood out to you or resonated most strongly with you? I made the most notes in chapter 4. 😉
When was the last time you said no to something good, to make room for something great? Just recently. I said no to being an ARC member of a fiction writer. I wanted to read her books for free, but I knew I could not commit to reading and reviewing each book within a certain amount of time.
Have you ever had a season where you found yourself striving ceaselessly to try to make things happen on your own? Oh, yes. When I was first married, I tried to clean my house to the perfection my mom taught me. What was the result? I was super resentful of my husband for just cluttering it back up again. We had bad fights. What happened when you finally gave control – and timing – back to God? I finally had to realize that my relationship with my husband was more important than a spic-and-span house. I saw some of the wounds my mom left by nagging my dad and spending more time cleaning than connecting with us children, and I didn’t want to do the same. I finally had to tell myself that “perfection is overrated” and I could get by with “good enough” for the sake of my marriage.
Do you struggle with feeling too “small” in some area of your life? Yes, I felt very insignificant when anyone would ask me what I do, and I was ashamed to say that I was “just a homsechool mom.” I loved homeschooling, but I felt that only teaching my two boys was too small. What would it look like if you were to truly embrace where God has you without expecting it to look a certain way? I began to wonder what I would do once they graduated and moved away. I couldn’t put my whole identity in being a mom. That’s one of the reasons I began my author career. But sometimes I still feel very small in the author world. What is one small step of obedience you can take today to use your holy hustle right where you are? I have been really focusing lately on only spending my time on the most important things to me and trying to cut out things that don’t actually add income or influence.
Where did you fall on the holy hustle scale? The quiz told me that in 5 out of 8 questions, I was just right on the holy hustle scale. Of course, a couple of those I had trouble answering because they either weren’t applicable or I needed to insert another option. I used to battle laziness, and I still do when it comes to housework, because that’s just not very important to me. But I tend toward striving in areas I can check off of my to-do list, like blogging and marketing tasks.
Since it’s November, what Bible verse do you turn to as reminder to have a grateful heart – when things go well AND when you’re faced with failure? Jeremiah 29:13
How can you make one tiny change over the next week to move yourself closer to holy hustle? Make a concerted effort to only work a certain number of hours on my business, no matter how behind I feel.
How can you use your words to speak beauty and life over someone’s life or a situation you’re facing? I want to make sure my boys know I really value them; not just with my words but with my actions in spending time with them. It’s easier with the extrovert who’s persistent in asking me to do something with me, but it’s harder with the introvert when we’re both fine with doing our own thing. I need to carve a special time just for him and me.