Breaking Busy (a book review)

In a previous blog post, Checklist To A Healthier Me, I posted about how I had begun reading better books that I felt could help inspire further growth in my heart and soul. No self-respecting blogger (even a newbie like me!) could make such a claim and then not follow-up with book reviews on the better books, now could they?! 

For the first review, I'm sharing my thoughts on 'Breaking Busy' by Alli Worthington. My simple one sentence review is this: READ IT!

My first impression as I decided to read this book was "Well I don't really know if I'll get much out of this, or that it can apply to me. I'm not really THAT busy!" But since I had read articles by Alli before, as well as following her on Instagram and enjoying her posts, I thought I'd give the book a try and maybe get one or two things out of it that I could apply to myself.

(Can you hear the pride in that? Yeah, I can too. Note to self: never assume you can't learn something from someone obviously wiser than you, even if you think the topic they're talking about is not for you.)

I highlighted fifty-eight things that struck me from this book. FIFTY-EIGHT. From a book I wasn't sure I could apply to me.

This book is so much more than a how-to for dealing with an overly busy life. Sure, Alli includes helpful tips on editing out the unimportant clutter from our lives and using good decision tools when choosing what to add into our schedules, but there's so much more packed into this. She delivers the practical tips right alongside some major truths that go right to the heart of the issue. 

Alli points out that sometimes we're overly busy because we're still searching for what we're supposed to be doing in life, and we're trying to find that out by doing all the things instead of turning first to God, who created our purpose. "Our lives have gotten so cluttered up with things we think we 'should' do, we can't figure out what we were meant to do," she says.

Using examples from her own life, Alli unravels the truth behind our constant striving to find our purpose and how unnecessary busyness gets in the way of that. She talks about fear, dealing with our lack of self-worth, coming to a place of firm belief that God's ways are better than ours even when it doesn't feel like it, and stripping away things in our lives that are hindering us. "We break busy and find peace in a world of worry when we live our lives in the knowledge that God loves us and is in control of our lives. By recognizing and releasing our fears to God, by letting go of our white-knuckled hold on the details of our lives, and by walking in the belief that He loves us and will provide for us, we find peace and comfort."

And the part that had the most impact on me and where I'm at in my journey is this... "He loves me enough not to grant me all the desires of my heart because His plan is better. And He does the same thing for you. His no always prepares us for His perfect yes. God has set our feet upon a path that He created for us, a path that leads us to our calling, our purpose for being on this earth. When we try to design our own path, taking advantage of every opportunity that comes along without thought to how God designed us, we end up overwhelmed, feeling like failures - and way too busy."

If you're feeling overwhelmed by life and too busy to breathe...read this book. If you're searching for your purpose or think you took too many wrong steps and now it's too late for you to find your purpose...read this book.

Alli's real-life words will leave you feeling refreshed and will give you renewed hope in God's plan for your life. I am so glad I didn't allow my pride in thinking I had nothing to learn stop me from reading this book! I hope it has as much of an impact on you as it did me.

(For a limited time, the Kindle version is on sale for $1.99)

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