Welcome to "31 Days of Words to Love By." For the next 31 days, I am working my way through my Pinterest board of quotes and writing down my thoughts about each one – what they spark, where they lead me, and how they apply to every day life... I will be putting a Five Minute Friday spin on it, by writing for 5 minutes, free flowing and unedited. This largely unedited free-write is linking up with the annual Write 31 Days Challenge. // indicates the start and stop of five minutes. //

Today's quote: If you get tired, learn to rest, not to quit.

// What a wonderful statement. If you get tired, learn to rest. That kind of makes me giggle, the idea of having to learn to rest. Why is rest not natural to so many of us? And why are we so out of touch with who we are and how we feel that we cannot discern between when we should rest and when to give up. I know, I know, we should never give up. But I don't know about you, but I have, too many times.

Work, school, gym, relationships, projects, family life, goals, to do lists... Life can be busy (I hate that word! But that is for another day)... Just yesterday someone said to me "I don't like doing things that I am not good at". It is here that too many of us are most tempted to throw in the towel.

What does tired feel like in your world? I believe that there are two kinds of tiredness and it is really important to discern which one you are feeling. Are you tired as in, your body is physically tired and do it is purely an energy thing? Or are you tired in your soul? This kind of tiredness, which is actually better describes as weariness, is dangerous if undetected. Because it slowly squeezes the life out of you. Weariness, very quickly gives way to words like hopelessness, despair, stagnation and apathy.

As humans we are each spirit, soul, body. 3 in 1, just like the One who made us. And each part of us needs feeding, nurturing and understanding. When life is relaxed and "on track" we are all generally good at eating and exercising well. We make time to invest in our relationships and do things that "fill up our tanks". But then when stress or pressure comes, these are the activiilites that we often abandon first.

The more pressure we experience, the more we cut out the things that de-stress us. This is the behaviour of insane people.//

And yet I do it. And I bet you do too!

Achieving your goals is meant to be a little hard but when we push through the end product is even more as sweet! When you give up, you rob yourself of the elation you were working so hard for. Don't quit. Rest. If you don't know how to rest then ask yourself these practical questions:

• Do I emotionally recharge with or without people?

• Am I feeding myself spiritually, physically and emotionally?

• When am I at my most and least productive?

• Who are some of the people who energise me?

• What relationships are draining me?

• What makes you light up when you think about doing it?

• Answer this: "I am most at peace when..."

• What is your favourite passage of scripture and why?

When ever you get tired check if you are behaving like a rational person or a crazy one - are you filling your tank? or putting a stopper on the things that energise you while still expecting to function at full capacity?

You are made to be more than a conqueror, so do not rob yourself of the opportunity for victory by giving up.

Don't give up. Learn to rest and then finish strong.

I'm so enjoying this journey with you all!

Thanks for stopping by, K xx

To read more of my 31 Days of Words to Love By Posts, click here

For more information on the Write 31 Days challenge, check out Christina Hubbard’s site!