You know when you look at everything between now + the end of the year and think...
I’ll rest after the holidays.
After the deadlines. After the shopping. After the gatherings. After everyone + everything has been taken care of.
But here’s what I want you to consider:
What if the season when you think you have the least time to rest is actually the season when you need it most?
And what if rest was never meant to be something you earned by getting everything else done?
If you’re ready to stop squeezing everything into your day and start making room for what matters most—including rest—my FREE Time Stewardship Starter Kit will help you move from a productive day to a PURPOSEFUL day in just five simple blocks.
When Doing All the Right Things Still Isn’t Working
My guest this week, Carlie Zak || Vitality Habits™, knows what it’s like to do all the right things and still end up running on empty.
She’s a Canadian, mountain-loving mom of two boys, an entrepreneur + the founder of Vitality Habits. She was building a business, caring for her family, working out, eating well...doing what she thought she was supposed to do.
And then… she burned out.
What followed was a seven-year journey of discovering something that challenges the way many of us approach both our health + our time:
Consistency isn’t always about more discipline. Sometimes it’s about getting back into alignment with how God designed us to live.
And that’s where our conversation gets really interesting.
Because Carlie and I discovered that we had much more in common than our entrepreneurial drive.
We had both learned what happens when our bodies start telling us something our busy minds don’t want to hear.
And we had both come to recognize that the solution goes much deeper than a better schedule, a healthier routine, or a vacation.
What If Rest Isn’t Something You Have to Earn?
Here’s something worth considering:
God established rhythms of work + rest before sin entered the world.
Rest wasn’t His response to human exhaustion.
It was part of His original design.
And in Hebrews 4, we’re reminded that God’s invitation to enter His rest isn’t merely something for another day.
It’s for TODAY.
Not when your work is finished.
Not when everyone else is taken care of.
Not after the holidays.
Today.
But what does it actually look like to live + work from that place of rest when your calendar is full and people are counting on you?
That’s exactly what Carlie and I explore in this conversation.
What You’ll Discover in This Conversation
* Why even healthy habits can become another form of striving.
* How our desire to control outcomes can keep us from receiving the rest God offers.
* Why the weeks when we’re stretched the thinnest may actually be the weeks we need more rest—not less.
* How rest + productivity aren’t necessarily opposites.
* A simple 15-minute rhythm to recognize when you’re out of alignment and return to what matters.
Carlie also shares a particularly powerful part of her own story—what happened when she finally realized she couldn’t keep living the way she thought she was supposed to.
And why the answer wasn’t simply trying harder.
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Sacred Truth | Rest Is Part of Faithful Stewardship
We often approach rest as something we’ll get around to once we’ve been faithful with everything else.
But what if receiving rest is itself an act of faithfulness?
God created us with limits.
We need sleep. We need nourishment. We need time to be still, to connect, to receive.
Those limitations aren’t evidence that something is wrong with us.
They’re reminders that we were never meant to do life apart from Him.
And when we ignore those limits in the name of getting more done—even when we’re doing good things—we can find ourselves working against the very design God gave us.
Time is sacred. Stewardship is strategic.
And that includes how we steward our need to be filled + rested.
Stewardship Practice | Give Rest a Place Before the Holidays
Here’s one thing I want to invite you to do this week.
Before you add another holiday commitment, year-end project, or responsibility to your calendar, pause and ask:
Lord, what is it time for?
Then consider where you need to intentionally make room to REFILL—not just POUR OUT.
Maybe it’s a few quiet minutes with the Lord before the day begins.
Maybe it’s stepping away from your desk instead of pushing through.
Maybe it’s protecting your evening from becoming another opportunity to catch up on everything you didn’t finish.
You don’t have to overhaul your entire schedule.
But you do need to stop treating rest like something that only matters if there’s time left over.
That’s why I created the FREE REDEEM Her Time Starter Kit.
It helps you move from a productive day to a PURPOSEFUL day using five simple blocks:
* Morning REFILL — Begin your day being filled + rested.
* Daily POUR OUT blocks — Intentionally make room for your work + service.
* Evening REFILL — End your day with rhythms that restore you.
Because a purposeful day isn’t just about what you accomplish.
It’s about how you live + who you’re becoming over time.
Today’s Stewardship Question
Where have I been treating rest as a reward for getting everything done instead of part of what God has entrusted me to steward?
Take a moment to consider that question with the Lord.
And if you’re willing, share what you’re noticing in the comments. I’d love to hear what He’s showing you.
A Gift From Carlie | Your 15-Minute Realignment Rhythm
One of my favorite practical takeaways from this conversation is Carlie’s approach to creating a simple rhythm you can return to when you recognize that something is off.
And she’s generously sharing her FREE Realignment Rhythm resource with you.
You’ll get her worksheet, an example of her personal rhythm + a video walking you through how to begin creating one of your own.
GET CARLIE’S FREE REALIGNMENT RHYTHM
I’m personally going through Carlie’s Vitality Habits program right now, and it’s been such a valuable part of tending to my own wellness in this season.
You can learn more about her work at Vitality Habits.
Before You Go...
The holidays are coming.
And yes, there’s going to be a lot to do.
But you don’t have to wait until January to begin living differently.
What if this is the year you stop promising yourself you’ll rest later—and start giving rest a faithful place today?
Start with one day. Five simple blocks. Room to REFILL + POUR OUT.
Time is sacred. Stewardship is strategic.
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