Giving Yourself Permission

I don’t know about you, but I can give myself some strange rules to follow. I’m only allowed to write at a coffee shop if I am able to work there for at least three full hours. I can only go grocery shopping in the morning (it never ends well if I go at night). And I must always do a sweep through the apartment, look in every room and space, before I can leave the house.

Recently, I’ve been feeling the need to plan for 2019. My time is becoming increasingly limited, so I must make sure I do all I can to maximize the time I do have. Between work, volunteering, friendships, adulting, and my own personal development, where is there any time for writing? Because my time is in such short supply, I’m having to schedule my writing time and can’t sit at the computer and wait for inspiration to strike. I need to put some guardrails up, create some outlines, and do as much preparation as humanly possible.

But I didn’t want to make a plan.
I looked down on creating a content calendar for myself.
I got it into my head that doing so was cheating.
I thought planning would limit the Holy Spirit.

Oh, that arrogance of mine!

So, during the few days I had off for Christmas, I wrote a lot and finally gave myself the permission to plan… a lot. And when I finally lifted the restrictions off of myself, I felt inspired.

I strategically placed a few 30-day series that I want to during the remainder of the year and then looked at the empty spaces that I had. Then topics began flowing into my mind—it was amazing! Then I stepped away for a few moments and asked the Lord what he wanted to say through me, asked him what else I should write about, and he spoke to me again!

It’s amazing how the rules that we put on ourselves can actually put a damper on what the Lord wants to do in and through us. I’m not saying that we should live with no rules, but I think there’s a healthy balance between the two. My suspicion is that we likely have some rules set up in our lives that aren’t actually needed. We might be so focused on the rules in one area of our lives, that we’re missing out on something greater being done.

Because I was able to plan and bring some structure to the content I’m developing, my brain was able to work more optimally and I was able to better tune into what the Lord was saying. I was able to do what I could do so that the Lord could take over with the rest.

What rules have you put on yourself unnecessarily?

What guardrails can you put in place so you have a plan with room for the Holy Spirit to move?

To go Deeper: Read Pride and Control, Err on the Side of Grace