Let's wind up my Book Review week with something not quite so weighty as the previous selections — a dip into my nerdy obsession with organization and time management. I can recommend quite a few books to help boost your productivity in this area, but Alisha Illian's little book Chasing Perfect might be one of the only volumes that came with a generous serving of soul balm, too.
The title gives it away to some extent — we're tired because we are always chasing perfect, sometimes to the detriment of good. And Illian's point is that the chase is empty if it's not in context of the bigger picture, which she accurately nails as a vibrant relationship with Jesus. He is the very reason we want to strive for the best, yet His grace is so abundant when we struggle. Most organization or time management books for moms are designed to help you be a better Martha — and that's a good thing. But Chasing Perfect is really about being a better Mary. (Read Luke 10:38-42 if you don't know which Martha and Mary we're talking about.)
Just as the book gets started, Illian delivers a gut punch reminder about just how little time we have with children at home. She's calculated how many more times she might have to pray with her kids as she tucks them in. How many more weekly pizza nights they have together. As a mom whose kids-at-home-time is gone, this hits hard — I found myself desperately wanting to go back and do it with more mindfulness of how quickly it would pass.
If you still have kids at home, please know that all the best organization and time management tips, the best natural healthy foods and cooking for them, the best educational choices, the best books for them to read, the best activities to help them blossom — all of that has to be balanced with how very little time you actually have with them. In other words, you don't have enough time to give them everything perfectly.
I think this book will help you choose wisely. It might also make a dent in your tendency to fret about everything. On the topic of worry, she quotes Watermark church pastor Todd Wagner:
Worry is thinking God will get it wrong and depression is believing that He already did.
I had to write that one down so I could come back to it at the appropriate times!
Since this is the last book recommendation of my Book Review week, I wanted to address the topic of when we find time to read. I think a key way to make time for reading is to not be screen-ing. I know that's really difficult but I'm working on getting us (my empty nester husband and me) to dedicate some evenings to books instead of screens. I think this will be a rewarding change.
Along those lines, Illian has a whole section on phone addiction which really hits home. She asks - what if instead of looking at my phone I:
checked in with God regularly
was constantly alert for notifications and necessary updates from Him
desired His likes
struggled to put Him down
checked all my directions with Him, knowing I'd be lost without Him
searched for answers to all of my daily questions in His Word
made Him the last check-in at night and the first check-in in the morning
captured all my precious moments with Him
found joy in connecting others to Him
carried Him wherever I went
Good food for thought, no?
You can buy Chasing Perfect here.