It was Monday night. Late at night. We’d just waited through a two-hour mechanical delay at the Denver airport, a rare thing for Southwest, we feel like. Or maybe those are just our rose-colored glasses talking. We were wearing wrinkled clothes, too, the last best option in our suitcases that’d been weathered and worn by the last twelve months of travel. Jordan boarded the plane first. A47. Not bad for checking-in between salad and dinner service at the wedding reception the night before. He grabbed an aisle seat, because he gets a little claustrophobic being trapped by the window. Plus, he always feels bad making other people get up if he needs to stretch his legs. Amy doesn’t care where she sits, as long as she can lean on him when her eyes get tired. She can curl up and sleep anywhere in her black leggings, too, a real travel cat.

we’re exhausted, you guys

And we’re exhausted, you guys.

Would we trade it? No way! Would we do it again the same exact way? We probably would! Would we encourage others to do the same thing? Absolutely! Because, friends, there’s just no substitute for good-old-fashioned hard work. Grinding it out. Getting things done. We are so, so thankful for this business, this life, these blessings, and all the people that have come into our life because of it. But, just like a racecar driver making his way around a track, there’s a time to rev the engine on red, and there’s a time to lay off the throttle and ease into the turns to prepare for the next big push.

That’s us right now. To a “T”. That’s where we are. We’ve spent a season saying “yes” to everyone and everything all the time – and we’re so glad we did, because the people we’ve met and the things we’ve done in the last 365 days have been some of the most rewarding and fulfilling in our life – but it meant a calendar that pushed us to the breaking point of mental, physical, and, most importantly, spiritual exhaustion. Confession time: we can’t remember the last time we went to church, much less our home church. We can’t remember the last time we’ve been in town (or not shooting a wedding!) on a Sunday! We’re finally able to go again this Sunday, and we can’t wait, friends. We really can’t!

A few months ago, we saw a gap in the calendar, a chance to block off time – for the first time in a long time – just for us. To be home. To avoid planes. To not schedule much and to just, well, be. A few weeks of resting, of getting back on track, of knocking out some big goals that can’t be done in an airport terminal or from a Starbucks in a city we can’t remember the name of because we’ve been in so many. To see our families. To cuddle our cats. To get groceries. For Jordan to cook. (For Amy to watch!) And to end our workdays before the sun goes down so we can see it happen, outside, or even from the pool, preferably, instead of stuck inside behind our computer screens.

But that meant we had to say something we just haven’t much lately. A powerful word, that still feels hard to say every time we say it. The word?

No.

No

So, for this July and August, as hard as it was, we protected each day on the calendar. We scheduled less than we have in years. It’s sparse compared to previous summers – and we’re so glad – because, for the first time in a long time, we have what our pastor calls “margin.” We’re going to cut our blogging down to a few times a week instead of five for the summer, and we plan on using that time and the time we’re getting back from saying yes less for all kinds of things. To cross off big-dream goals, and to revel in the little moments in between. But all the time doing things because we want to, not because we feel like we have to just because it’s on the calendar. And that’s an exciting place to be, friends.

And that’s why, as we sat there on that plane that had a two-hour delay, we were exhausted, but not angry. We’re not upset or discouraged. We’re not anxious at all. Because, for the first time in a long time, we know that now we’re home, we get to stay home, and we’ve got a calendar that’s welcoming us back instead of telling us where to go next, and it wouldn’t be that way if we hadn’t said “no” to some things in order to say “yes” to the right things.

So, friends, here’s our challenge. We’re pretty sure we’re not alone in this! What’s one thing you need to say “no” to this week so you can say “yes” to something else? We know it’s hard because we’ve been struggling with this! And maybe not just this week, but this month? This season? What can you say no to, too? We encourage you to join us in a summer that’s less scheduled and more sane!

(Photo by Melissa Jill)