When Making Time For You, You Can Draw Closer To God!

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book as part of the launch team for this book. I have also included affiliate links in the body of the post so if you choose to buy using my links, I will receive a small percentage of the sale.

Life can be hectic even for the most organized. Women most often put others before themselves. Spouse, children, church, work, and upkeep of the home consume them. It seems making time for themselves to pursue their dreams and interests are always on the bottom of the to-do list.

I am luckier than most women. I am disabled and retired. I stay at home and take care of my family; making sure my daughter gets to and from school, cleaning house, and completing my husband’s to-do-lists. I have time though that I can carve out for my interests. Lots of time: more time than the average wife or mother who juggles work, home, and family life.

I used to be in the position where I had little time to myself. I ran, ran and struggled to keep my home life and career in balance. Fringe Hours is something I had never thought of or knew existed. I wish I had this book, written by Jessica Turner, 10 years ago. The book, however, hit the shelves this week! This book is a great investment for every woman who needs a plan for making time to pursue her passion or dreams, “making time for you.”

Jessica is a busy mom, herself. She is the founder of the popular lifestyle blog The Mom Creative, where she documents her pursuit of cultivating a life well crafted. She is a writer for DaySpring’s (in)courage community, an advocate for World Vision, a regular speaker at blogging conferences nationwide, and an award-winning marketing professional. She and her husband, Matthew, live with their children in Nashville, Tennessee. Connect with her on TheMomCreative.com

The goal of Fringe Hours is to help women devise a plan to pursue their passions and to invest in themselves by finding those “fringe hours” to work toward their dreams. Fringe hours are pockets of time in a day that they can dedicate to “self care” and pursuit of passions.

First, Jessica makes the case of why finding these fringe hours to invest in ourselves is so important for not only us but our families as well.

If you do not make time for yourself, you will flatline. Pursue a life of joy and contentment, and you will be happier, healthier, and more at peace. Making time for yourself is both necessary and fulfilling. (page 50)

After she makes the case for why it is important to invest in ourselves as women, Jessica then moves on to providing a road map to do so. First, she encourages us to stop trying to be all things to everyone in our lives.

We act like we have to be Wonder Woman, doing everything and doing it all perfectly. We think we need to be everything for everyone, but we can’t. (page 42.)

I think back to my working years. If I had embraced this concept, maybe I could have written that novel I have dreamed of writing.

She also encourages women to let go of guilt about investing in ourselves and letting go. The most valuable quote in this section for me was:

Self-care needs to be included in what we should be doing. It is not a privilege, but a necessity.

I loved some of the practical advice she gave including, posting a note somewhere reminding myself that I am valuable and making it a point to pray that God would help me remove self-inflicted guilt from my life.

In the book, Jessica helps women chart a course to using their time more wisely so that they can accomplish the will of God for their lives. God uses our talents to point others to Him. When we dedicate our time to discovering those unique talents and finding fringe hours to invest in them, in the end, we really are serving Him. Think about it. For us women, many of our hobbies often are service orientated; so, in finding time for us we often are finding time to servie God.

I highly recommend this book to all women, even retirees. Also if you are the mother of a young woman, this would make a great gift to help your daughter as she begins her young adult life. I wish I had a book like it when I was in my early 20s. I think it would have been an invaluable resource as I started out my life in a new career or as a mother.

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