Six Tips for Fall to Avoid Overcommitment!

Six Tips for Fall to Avoid Overcommitment!

The summer heat fades. Crisp mornings begin. Store aisles boast gorgeous fall pumpkins and colored leaves. You replace summer wardrobe whites with warm rustic browns, greens, and oranges. Fresh season. Fresh beginnings.

I know you. You are my precious friend who loves to jump into new things. Meet new people. Relish new experiences.

But wait. Let’s take a moment and be sure the things you jump into are those activities God ordained and planned for your life at this season, at this moment, at this time, so you can fulfill His purposes for your life.

SO, where do you start?

Here are seven ways to make good choices to avoid overcommitting this fall:

1. Start with Prayer

Since God has a special plan for your life, who better to instruct you on how to use your time? One of my favorite verses is, “We are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works that we might walk in them ( Ephesians 2:10). Begin by asking the Lord Jesus to reveal what to say “Yes” to through His Holy Spirt speaking to your heart.

“Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and he will establish your plans.” (Proverbs 16:3)

2. Take a Moment and Write Out Your Priorities

New seasons often bring new priorities. Are you a wife? A Mom with small children? A professional woman with a demanding job? God always comes first, family usually follows (unless you are without family), and then choices follow from there. What are the most important people and activities in your life? It only takes a moment to list these and consider how much time they actually require. This simple act provides perspective. How much time do you actually have to schedule activities and engage in additional commitments?

Jesus replied: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’[a] This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’

(Matthew 22:37-39)

3. Learn to Say “No”

At a critical time in my life, I stopped everything due to a medical diagnosis. It proved to be wrong, but God used it to stop me from living a life of complete overcommitment. He showed me that when I said “Yes” to things He didn’t call me to do I was robbing someone else of His will for their lives. He also showed me that though Jesus left so many unseen and untouched, He could say at the end of His life, “ Father, I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work YOU gave ME to do.” John 17:4) It has been my life mission since to know God’s will and do it. I am not perfect in this constant pursuit, but it is my daily desire.

“Let your ‘Yes’ be yes, and your ‘No,’ no; anything more comes from the evil one.”

(Matthew 5:37)

4. Stop the Busyness Cycle

When my children were young and needed more attention than other times in their lives, I quickly learned that I could do no more than one major activity a day in addition to caring for my family. If I wanted to get together with a friend, attend an event, or plan a meeting, I would choose only morning or afternoon and make that the one thing written on my wall calendar that I did extra that day. This alone gave me margin in my life as a busy pastor’s wife. I knew stress was not my friend and I worked hard ( though I’m sure imperfectly) to maintain a pace that enabled me to be the Mom I wanted to be.

“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.”

(Ecclesiastes 3:1)

5. Choose Rest

You know when you are stressed and overcommitted. Be willing to regroup and eliminate things from your calendar. It’s tough sometimes to say “No” to people you want to please, but it is imperative if you are going to find rest, peace, and balance in life. God convicted me very clearly once with Pauls’ words from Galatians 1:10 and I have taken them to hear ever since,

“Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.”

(Galatians 1:10)

6. Know God’s Will

Many ask me how they can know what God’s will is for their lives. I believe there are four questions with answers that provide confirming elements and bring clarity:

  • Do trusted family and friends agree that this seems the appropriate direction for you? Ask for their counsel and insight.
  • Is what you desire to do clearly found in the Bible? I always seek God’s will in the Bible. It is His instruction book for life. Is there a particular Bible verse the Holy Spirit seems to be confirming that offers direction?
  • Can you do this without detracting from your established priorities as far as time and attention?
  • Do you sense God’s pleasure in your desire to do this? Eric Liddell, the runner featured in “Chariots of Fire” said, “I believe God made me for a purpose, but he also made me fast, and when I run, I feel God’s pleasure.”

“ For I know the plans I have for you,’ says the Lord, ‘plans for well-being and not for trouble, to give you a future and a hope.”

(Jeremiah 29:11)

Anything we do that is not God’s will for us is eternally worthless. Let’s do the fruitful things He has called us to do and be fruitful bringing Him pleasure and glory on earth.

“I am the vine: you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit: apart from me you can do nothing.”

( John 15:5)

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