Allie Pleiter on rest and creativity

“It’s no accident that the best idea I’ve ever had in my life — perhaps maybe the best one I’ll ever have in my life — came to me on vacation.”  Having taken a bit of a break myself twice this summer—rare for me—I’ve been fascinated by Lin-Manwel Miranda drawing a direct connection between his vacation and his spectacular success with HAMILTON.  

I am a creature of persistence.  I can dig my heels in with the best of them. If you need someone to stick in there and bang at a problem or challenge until it relents, I’m your gal.

And, I am learning, that is not the gift I used to think it was.

God is teaching me the value of rest and play—seasonally and daily.  It is the essential fuel that runs creativity and grace, the enemy of scarcity, the seed of joy.

“The moment my brain got a moment’s rest, ‘Hamilton’ walked into it,” Miranda says in a recent interview.  As I look to my next series beyond the Blue Thorn Ranch, I need some new characters walking into my brain, so I’ve been seeking ways to give it rest.

Sure, anyone who knows me knows one of my favorite ways to play is with yarn and knitting needles.  Trouble for us writers, however, is that one of the places we also love to rest and play is in books.  Rather a “busman’s holiday,” wouldn’t you say?

For me, I have to be careful about what I read or my brain kicks into “work mode.”  Audio books help with this, as does reading outside the genre I’m working in.  For example, I’m knee-deep in contemporary romance, so Kristy Cambron’s The Ringmaster's Wife was the perfect retreat for me recently.

What about you?  What do you read when you need to “play”?  Where do you find rest and rejuvenation when you need it?

Letting Nature Renew You

by Jill Kemerer

Last week I had a craving to sit and stare at one of the Great Lakes. Ideally, I'd sit on Lake Michigan all day--or for an entire week!--but Lake Erie is within an hour from us. My husband agreed to take a Sunday afternoon drive to check out a nature preserve along Lake Erie. I packed a cooler and a few camping chairs, and we were on our way.

About 90 seconds into the trip, I said, "Let me just check the hours of the park." It's a good thing I did, because it was already 3:00pm and the park was closing at 4:00pm! Our GPS clearly showed a fifty minute drive.

On to Plan B...

We're blessed with many gorgeous parks in our area, and many of them have pretty views of the Maumee River or small, inland lakes. We decided to stay local and went to a heavily wooded Metropark. Once there, we strolled to the pretty lake where families fished and picnicked.

I took this picture last year, but this is the little lake we visited.

It's been an extremely busy month for me, so I was happy to just sit on a bench and let the shimmers on the water whisper all my stress away. After lazing about, we decided to walk along a trail we hadn't tried in the past. I'm usually up for a power walk, but neither my husband nor I had much energy, so we took it slow.

The two-mile path cut through diverse environments. One minute we were in a patch of towering pines, the next we were in a meadow with bluebirds and butterflies. We even saw three deer on our walk. Beautiful!

I took this picture a few years ago, and I still love the message!

I still want to explore the nature preserve we originally intended on visiting, but the local park revived our energy, renewing us for another hectic week. What a blessing!

Do you have pretty parks nearby where you can explore? What about nature renews you?

Have a wonderful day!

Jill Kemerer writes Christian romance novels with love, humor and faith for Harlequin Love Inspired. Jill loves coffee, M&Ms, fluffy animals, magazines and her hilarious family. Visit her website, jillkemerer.com, and connect with Jill on Facebook, Twitter and sign up for her Newsletter.

HER SMALL-TOWN ROMANCE is available in paperback or ebook from online retailers like AMAZON now.

Finding Her Way Home 

Cozy Lake Endwell, Michigan, seems the perfect place for Jade Emerson's new T-shirt shop—and perhaps a fresh start. After a lifetime of letdowns, she is finally ready to face the future on her own. So when local wilderness guide Bryan Sheffield offers to help Jade overcome a past trauma, she warns him they will remain strictly business. But soon, with the help of Bryan's big, complicated family and a boisterous St. Bernard named Teeny, Jade's frozen heart begins to thaw. Now Jade wonders if she can return the favor, bringing a little happiness to a man who has long kept his own sorrow under wraps…

SLOWING DOWN

I’m currently writing this blog post from my bed, with a heating pad on the bulging disc at the bottom of my spine. I’ve had bronchitis for over a month now and I coughed my way into some serious back pain. I’m on painkillers, a muscle relaxer and a steroid, so hopefully my post won’t come out too terribly jumbled.

This enforced bed rest makes me crazy, but I think it may be God’s way of slowing me down. I am not someone who lets physical ailments get in the way of what I have to do or I wouldn’t get anything done, especially since I have a couple of chronic illnesses. But this spine problem slam-dunked me. I can’t ignore it, since standing and sitting currently requires a second person to leverage me up. I hate it when that happens, but I know the good Lord has it all in His hands.

One of the attributes an author, as well as all those who work-at-home, is the ability to self-motivate. That book is not going to write itself. My problem isn’t so much being able to push myself, but knowing when to stop and smell the roses. Writing is kind of a twenty-four hour a day job. I am always thinking about my novel and even dreaming about it.

But I don’t want to be that wife, mom or granny who can’t set aside my laptop to love on my Boo and Busy Bee, or to share a recipe with my three adult daughters, or to stop and listen to my dear hubby talk about his day.

There are times, of course, that I have to put up the “Do Not Disturb” sign and push through, tight deadlines that keep me up half the night and have my family calling for pizza if they want to eat. Probably more often than it ought to happen. Sometimes I’ve ignored what my body is telling me and I end up sick for a long time—like that bronchitis I mentioned.

One way I’ve found to slow down is keeping the Sabbath. On Sundays, I don’t have to worry about anything except worshipping God, spending time with my family and getting some rest. It’s the only day I give myself permission to relax. It is, after all, God’s idea. I also start and end every day with prayer.

I would love to hear how you get away from the madness of ordinary life. How do you relax and turn your mind back on the Lord?

The Cowboy's Twins is Deb's May release from Harlequin Love Inspired.

Permission to Rest

by Jill Kemerer

Lately I have been pushing through, getting things done, checking items off the list, and just grinding through my day. I'm a tad tired (maybe more than a tad!). And I know I'm not alone. Can you relate?

My daughter is graduating from high school in a few months. My son will be entering high school next year. Wasn't it yesterday I was crying as I packed up their size 2T clothes? Sending them off to preschool with a wave and a prayer? Watching their elementary school plays? Driving them to birthday parties and the zoo? Okay, now I'm getting teary again!

In a few months, life won't be as busy and I won't be as tired. At least that's what I tell myself. The reality is I will still be tired. July will be busy, too. And August. And every month after. You know how it is!

As much as I want to cram it all in, a voice in my head says, I can't keep up like this forever.

All year I've been studying devotional books on being enough, embracing vulnerability, and, yes, thriving. The messages have been sinking in. It's easy to get caught up in performance. Sometimes I attach too much value to what I'm accomplishing as opposed to who I am. It's one thing to say "I'm worthy." It's another to look at my peers--who seem to be superstars--and believe I am worthy.

Comparison is a major culprit. I see pictures on Facebook of beautiful homes, a beach vacation, a multi-book contract, a child going to a well-known university on a full-ride scholarship, another child's team winning the league championship, the adorable couple who just celebrated their happiest anniversary yet, and let's not forget the friends who donate tons of time and money to worthy charities. I try not to let myself, but often, I feel inadequate.

When I'm feeling weak, I tend to push harder to be better, but I only end up exhausted.

It's good to have goals and to strive for them. It's not good to be motivated by insecurity.

That's why I'm actively fighting the feelings of not-being-enough. I pray. I slow down. I pray some more. I realize this is an ongoing issue in my life, and I accept that.

Since being physically tired makes me more prone to insecurity, I give myself permission to rest. If insomnia bites me, I take a nap the next day. If I get a request (even one I would love to say yes to), I pray about it before automatically agreeing. I remind myself  that this is a season.We all struggle in areas of our lives, and that's okay. God loves us just as we are. He couldn't love us any more or any less than He does right now.

If that doesn't give me permission to rest, nothing will!

***

My new release, Her Small-Town Romance, is in stores now!

Finding Her Way Home 

Cozy Lake Endwell, Michigan, seems the perfect place for Jade Emerson's new T-shirt shop—and perhaps a fresh start. After a lifetime of letdowns, she is finally ready to face the future on her own. So when local wilderness guide Bryan Sheffield offers to help Jade overcome a past trauma, she warns him they will remain strictly business. But soon, with the help of Bryan's big, complicated family and a boisterous St. Bernard named Teeny, Jade's frozen heart begins to thaw. Now Jade wonders if she can return the favor, bringing a little happiness to a man who has long kept his own sorrow under wraps…

Purchase links, Pinterest Boards, discussion questions and reviews can be found HERE!

***

Are you tired? Do you give yourself permission to rest or are you hard on yourself?

Have a lovely day!!

Recovering After the Push

Missy, here. I just finished up a new proposal for a book I'm hoping to sell to Steeple Hill. After a big push like that (like after a book deadline or doing a new proposal), I usually take a day to pretty much collapse. To get caught up on laundry, cook a decent meal, make a full grocery store trip, spend some uninterrupted time with my family. I did that on Tuesday this week. It was so nice to take some time to rest.

But I haven't gone to the grocery store yet. So today for lunch (Wednesday), I did one of those "throw everything in but the kitchen sink" meals. :) I had some leftover spaghetti noodles, so I decided to make some sort of sauce. I had some grape tomatoes that needed eating, found some bacon, and decided to throw in some chopped up romaine lettuce. I sauteed the sauce in olive oil, then stirred in the noodles. I made BLT pasta! It was so, so good.

So what do you throw together when you're too busy to go shopping for ingredients?

Rest and Renewal, by Carol Steward

There comes a time when everyone needs renewal of some sort. It may be a time of physical exhaustion, recovery from an illness, or a season of spiritual crises. When this time reaches out to you, it's time to reach out to those who love you. It's time to let them give back and give to you.

When I'm writing, I build a cocoon around myself and force myself to focus on the current book. My family builds the layers of protection around me, supporting me so I can focus. When I was younger, letting others take charge of those chores around the house was out of the question. Who knew that letting go would be such a challenge?

As a mother, I learned to juggle everything to keep my family going at warp speed. I didn't know what sleep was, literally. The time I thought I needed for renewal was shorter then, maybe an afternoon of shopping with a friend, a date with my husband, sleeping in for an extra hour on a Saturday morning. I had things to do and people to meet… I didn't have time to "waste" on the frivolity of renewal.

As His child, I realize more than ever that God intended for us to renew ourselves regularly. Much as I try, to this day, I can't seem to sit still on Sunday. It's often my one day to catch up with housework or writing for a longer stretch of time.
His plan included a day of rest, as documented in Genesis 2: 2, "And on the seventh day God finished his work which he had done, and he rested..." Even God took time to renew and reflect, setting an example for all of us.

Mark 6:30-31 says, "The apostles returned to Jesus, and told him all that they had done and taught. And He said them, 'Come away by yourselves to a lonely place, and rest a while.' For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat." Stress and busyness has been around for as long as man. Exhaustion leads to stress and stress kills - not just the body. Stress kills our hope, our joy, and our love.

It's critical that we continue trying to fit rest and renewal into our lives. Rest and renewal go hand in hand. Through the winter, many plants go into dormancy, a time to renew. Spring is a perfect visual example of God teaching us the importance of renewal. Trees and flowers wake up from a long winter's nap. The icy cold melts away to warmer days of light. And light naturally boosts our mood, our hope. God has that one ALL figured out, doesn't He?

A few years ago, my daughter and daughter-in-law helped me replenish our supply of sugar Easter eggs - one for each family on Easter morning. By sharing that time together and taking my mind totally off writing, He refreshed me and I was able to get back to writing again. Find ways to treat yourself and make it a concentrated effort to follow through. Here are a few ideas to let grow on you this week. I'll be working on several of them, too.

Go to bed early one night a week. (not tonight)
Turn off the television and pick up a book.
Reach out to someone else who might need a reminder to slow down and let God refill their cup.
Sit down and eat dinner rather than eating it on the run.
Have a friend over for coffee.
Pick up a craft or hobby that you never finished.
Listen to soft and relaxing music.
Get a massage.
Go for a walk.

The list is endless. Just stopping to plan to rest gives my mind a much-needed break. What about your ideas? How do you Renew yourself?