Finding My #FringeHours

I remember being nine years old and being simply beside myself on school library day. I wondered what new books would be available. I’m sure I pondered my selection all through math class– A new Boxcar Children book? Or Spunky’s Diary again? I loved library day. Not to mention when the scholastic book fair came around annually. Don’t even. That announcement made my little 3rd grade heart beat wildly just like a little Kathleen Kelly.

If there is one thing in our house that we have an abundance of– it is books. When we first moved in here, the massive floor to ceiling bookshelf on one side of the living room immediately called our name. Which is good, since it’s gargantuan and no beast or man alive could lift it. Never the less, these two bibliophiles quickly packed its shelves with all our treasures.

Still today, the love continues. Last year however, I realized I was always stacking books and never finishing them. Do you find yourself doing that with anything you know you really enjoy? Having all the tools necessary but never really doing it? What is it for you? Crafting? Photo Book Making? Running? Cooking?

It is really easy to slip into the season of “putting off.” That season where you don’t do those things you know you enjoy– the thing that feeds your soul and gives you rest. Life is very busy no matter what stage we are in, and it’s tempting to just stack up those books or virtual albums of photos or running shoes and plan to have more time later. 

But later could be now if we could find those pockets of time, those little bits of minutes where things can happen.

This year I have read five books so far. WOW. That is huge for me, and I don’t say that to show how much time I have– because well, I don’t really. I may stay at home with my girls, but I find that the days and weeks fill up rather quickly no matter what we have planned. We have small group commitments, ministry opportunities at church, I take a spin class three mornings a week at 6am, I review books, I do part-time book editing and virtual assistant work, and I maintain my own blog and spend a good bit of time writing for future projects. And those are just the personal commitments. I also love the time I can spend with our family and friends. All of those things are important to me and so they all have a bit of priority involved. It is easy to let anything I do “for me” slip. The problem with that tends to be that I am prone to be worn out, stretched thin and unable to have much overflow for everyone else if I don’t take time to refresh.

One of the biggest game changers for me has been reading The Fringe Hours: Making Time for You by Jessica Turner. Jessica’s blog, The Mom Creative was one the very first I began reading more than five years ago and even then I was amazed at “all that she did.” This book does not tell you what you should be doing with your time, but it gives you valuable principles that allow you to decide for yourself. The Fringe Hours is an encouraging and exciting look at the time we already have and it directs us to choose those things that matter and invest in them with our time.

The Fringe Hours so assisted me in making time for myself that I was able to locate pockets of “lost” time in which I could read and write. If you keep glancing over at a pile of something you really hope you “get to” soon– I would encourage you to grab this book! It comes out in just a few days and if you pre-order The Fringe Hours: Making Time for You on Amazon, it could show up on your doorstep then!

Happy #FringeHours, Friend!!! I’m linking up with Jessica Turner today in celebration of her book’s release and Fringe Friday!

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