Rebekah Lyons, author, wife, and mother shares her strategies for balancing work, which for her includes writing, speaking, and traveling, with the needs of her busy family. Rebekah manages the load she carries by coordinating her work times while her kids are in school and her rest time while they are on breaks. She also pays attention to finding rest and rhythms of renewal each day, each week, as well as in each season.

Rebekah grew up with two working parents, both schoolteachers who pursued further degrees during her childhood. She saw their work ethic but also how they balanced the time they were able to spend at home with their family because they taught school and had the same breaks and time off as their kids. This showed her the importance of prioritizing time with family. Now, she does the same with her kids as much as possible.

Before learning to build rest into her life, Rebekah says, “I never knew what I wanted, where I was going, or why I felt the way I felt. There was no time for reflection in my life. I was always stressed, overreacting, trying to keep my head above water. The constant chronic phrase [in my life] was overwhelmed. When you live a life of overwhelm, you certainly don’t think you have the luxury of stopping. But, here’s the problem: you will burn out if you don’t pause. You’re going to pay the price of time one way or the other. When Jesus says, “Come into my rest”, rest requires pursuit. Rest is an action. Rest is very different than solitude. Rest is not numbing out, it’s not escape, it’s not avoidance. Sometimes we think the pause is, “let’s binge on Netflix” or “let’s go cybershopping”. No, the pause of solitude says, “This becomes priority”. Rest reminds us we’re not God. Rest reminds us that we’re not saving our kids, that we’re not the saviors of our home, our family, or our work. It reminds us how fragile and frail we are so we can receive replenishment versus always being the one giving it out.”

Why is it so important to build in rest and rhythms of renewal in our work and home life?

Rest is necessary
Rest is a command
Rest prevents burnout
Rest is a promise
Rest calls us to surrender
Rest in Christ is freedom from condemnation

For the full show notes and links go to - https://soloparentsociety.com/blog/2021/01/25/how-to-balance-work-and-family