Women today are pulled in so many different directions. It doesn’t matter if we’re in the workplace, staying at home with children, or juggling both. We spend hour upon hour navigating schedules, deadlines, and to-dos. By the end of the day, we’re running on fumes with very little to offer those who matter most.
Suggesting to a woman that she needs rest often falls on deaf ears because she hasn’t stopped long enough to discover what that really means. This module can help you understand what rest truly means and how it’s essential for our lives and our souls to make time for intentional rest.
Tools & Challenges for Growth
Scripture Memory:
One of the best ways to grow spiritually is simply by memorizing scripture and praying it back to God. Bury His Word in your heart:
Use the wallpaper below to put on your phone (press + hold your finger on the pic).
Print it to use as a bookmark.
Write it down in your journal or on index cards.
Pray it out loud each day throughout the month.
Challenge yourself to recite it without peeking.
Quiet Time:
Make it your goal to have quiet time 5 times per week.
Suggested Book:
Present Over Perfect: Leaving Behind Frantic for a Simpler, More Soulful Way of Living - Shauna Niequist
Other Book Choices:
The Life You Long For: Learning to Live from a Heart of Rest - Christy Nockels
The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry: How to Stay Emotionally Healthy and Spiritually Alive in the Chaos of the Modern World - John Mark Comer
The Rest of God: Restoring Your Soul by Restoring Sabbath - Mark Buchanan
As you read or when you’re finished with the book, write a summary of the key insights God gave you and any applications to your life. Think through the following questions:
In what ways did God encourage or challenge me through this book?
Are there any new truths I need to apply to my life?
Personal Challenge:
Observing A Weekly Sabbath - This month, observe a weekly 24-hour Sabbath. For one full day, do no work, no leisure activities, nothing that yields progress. Spend your time with a God-ward focus, whether it’s personal worship or spending time with your husband, kids, or close friends. Come prepared to share what happened, what you learned, and what you plan to do with what you learned.
Marriage Focus (if applicable):
Praying For Your Husband’s Heart - This month, you’re going to make a concentrated effort to pray for you husband. Not only does God hear us when we pray for people, His first step in answering our prayer is often changing our hearts toward the very person we’re praying for.
Think hard about your husband. What are the top three things you’d like God to work in his heart? Don’t be condescending or selfish with your desires for him or your marriage. Think about what God might think and care about. If you’re not sure, ask God what it is you need to be praying for and then sit quietly and see what comes to mind…
“God, please give _______ more understanding as he deals with our kids.”
“God, please give _______ a clearer picture of his purpose and calling in life.”
“God, please heal _______’s heart of the hurt he experienced as a child.”
Write these three prayer requests in your journal and pray for your husband every day for the next thirty days. Come to the group ready to share how God moved in your marriage as you started to pray in a consistent, earnest way for your husband’s heart.
Growth Partner Challenge:
Share your experiences with Sabbath. Discuss the best and worst things that happened and share your plans for observing Sabbath going forward. Encourage each other and keep an open mind as you experiment with this.
