Overwhelmed: How to Quiet the Chaos and Restore Your Sanity by Kathi Lipp
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Have you ever been so overwhelmed you didn’t know which air to breathe next? That’s where I’ve been the last few months! It’s not pretty and makes the people around you wish you stayed in your room all day.
Well, I have a book for you….and me! Kathi Lipp and Cheri Gregory hit it out of the ball park again with their newly released, Overwhelmed: How to Quiet the Chaos and Restore Your Sanity. I committed to join their book launch team back in the summer. I didn’t know the depth of my need for their words right now. In fact, I’m late in getting this review completed and posted for them. I read it from front to back underlining and noting in the margins with big exclamations marks.
Here’s the thing – I’m drowning and not sure how to keep my head up any longer. Sound familiar? How did it get this way? I don’t have time to figure that out but that’s exactly what we need to do. Kathi and Cheri unpack the “how’s”, the “why’s”, and the “whats” by sharing their own stories in each chapter. Yet they don’t leave you there. After the unpacking, they line up the ways to carry your tidy, useful, and manageable suitcase from here on out.
The chapters end with effective questions for yourself or to do with a group and a prayer to reinforce the practices given. Corresponding Bible verses throughout the book aid the points made and are pertinent for memorizing.
Cheri shares; “Most days, I feel as though someone threw my heart in a blender, and added all the feels, and hit puree”…”We can still be blindsided by how draining even basic decision-making becomes when life gets complicated. Research shows that our fluid intelligence-our general ability to think abstractly, reason, identify patterns, solve problems, and discern relationships- drops significantly when we are overwhelmed.”
As aids to this situation, Kathi adds, “When I start my day well, the rest of my day doesn’t feel like one long rush to catch up.” She creates what that looks like by talking about “Early Evening Kathi’, “First Thing in the morning Kathi” and “Daytime Kathi”. She states, “Our most important evening job is to get set up for the next day.” “Our routines help us become better versions of ourselves.”
Kathi, also analyzes in the last chapter what Sabbath is about and how our whole week should be about preparing for that day, instead of Sunday becoming the catch up day. She shares we all need a day of rest. It might not be on Sunday but “you get focused about completing your work in six days instead of seven.”
They discuss “safe” and “unsafe” people and strained relationships that drain you.
I loved this quote, “In the time I spent debating whether to do something, I could have done it. Living without structure isn’t freedom; it’s a free-for-all that turns into chaos.”
You will find help in writing your own manifesto allowing you to know who you are and make choices accordingly. Step by step instructions in accomplishing tasks with micro-steps and placing them on your calendar are included.
This read is fun, correctional, and spiritual with abundant guidance. You can identify with these two women and learn from their study and experience.
If you are feeling overwhelmed, confused, and lacking in decision making in your life, pick up Overwhelmed!
Now my review is written and I can begin to apply the principles I appreciated and learned!
I was given a book by the authors and am writing this review to get the word out about it but I also, bought 8 books hoping for a small group discussion and accountability plus for gifting. The authors have included online aids that can be printed, manifestos as examples, and questionnaires for self-clarification. You will also, find coordinating videos.
Bravo, Kathi Lipp and Cheri Gregory!