At the risk of recommending so much new reading that I add to your busyness and stress, I can’t pass up recommending one more: “Taking Care of Busyness” by John Ortberg.

This is an article that I just today re-discovered in my files after first reading it in Leadership magazine in 1998. Though more than 10 years old now, the article is probably more needed and helpful today than when it was written, since the problems of busyness and stress have only seemed to get worse.

After re-reading it today, I know why I filed this away: this is a great article. It has pointed conviction, warm encouragement, enlightening stats, practical suggestions, and diverse quotes (from Kierkegaard to Alice in Wonderland).

His prescription is to “ruthlessly eliminate hurry” from our lives. 

Jesus was often busy but he was never hurried. Being busy is an outer condition; being hurried is a sickness of the soul. Jesus never went about the busyness of his ministry in a way that severed the life-giving connection between himself and his Father. He never did it in a way that interfered with his ability to give love when that was what was called for. He observed a regular rhythm of withdrawal from activity, for solitude and prayer. He ruthlessly eliminated hurry from his life.

Go read the whole thing. I really do think it’s worth your time. And then prayerfully seek to apply it. I’m praying for wisdom for you and yours as I write this.