“I cannot do another thing,” I told my husband this past Wednesday. I shut my schedule down immediately after work, choosing to ignore the list of action items because I just couldn’t do another thing. However, I’d finally found out why I was exhausted.

I stumbled across a podcast featuring Dr. Saundra Dalton Smith earlier that day, and I felt as if God had tossed me a lifeline. The problem with my exhaustion was that I had been sleeping. With the extra routines I’d established, I was technically getting more sleep than ever!

Sacred Rest

Thankfully, the research Dr. Saundra Dalton Smith’s book conducted for her book, Sacred Rest, came to my rescue. Turned out, I needed some social rest. You see, in her book she outlines seven different types of rest:

• Physical
• Mental
• Spiritual
• Emotional
• Social
• Sensory
• Creative

With my recent return to social media and all the things we’re launching with The Colorfully Candid Paradigm, I needed just about all of them (with an exception of physical rest), and I’m happy to report, Dr. Saundra Dalton Smith is a baddie who knows what she’s talking about.

Social Rest

Did you know that social rest is a whole thing? It not only invites us to consider who we’re giving our energy to, but who’s refilling us. Dr. Saundra shared that there is a need for those life-giving relationships, and the Bible concurs.

Sweet friendships refresh the soul and awaken our hearts with joy, for good friends are like the anointing oil that yields the fragrant incense of God’s presence.

Proverbs 27:9 TPT

Thankfully, I got all of that yesterday! I had the opportunity to go to Ignite Life’s event titled She Speaks Truth, and it was so good to be around sweet friends, incredible worship, and encouraging women (including one, precious 17 year old who can preach her BEHIND off)!

Life Has Changed Forever

One pastor I recently listened to encouraged us to stop trying to get back to normal and start working to get back to the Kingdom Agenda because we’re wasting time waiting for normal. Seasons change and our world has changed forever. However, one thing remains and that is Jesus is Lord. He’s told us that sweet friendships refresh the soul so I’m going to start making more time for those. They’re worth it.