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Alison McLennan

Emotional Rest
Spiritual Rest
Lifestyle Rest
Relational Rest

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I would love to hear from you!

Email: alison@alisonmclennan.com

Instagram: @alisonjmclennan

Facebook: Alison McLennan, Writer

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Welcome

I'm Alison: writer, introspector, chronic over-thinker. If you long to learn the art of stillness and live an authentic, rested life...well, so do I! Maybe we can figure it out together. Welcome to my grace-laden mess. I'm glad you're here.

Let’s Be Friends

Let’s do this.

On this journey toward a rested life, we'll go farther together than we can alone. Walk with me?

First Name Last Name E-Mail Address

On the Gram

Family movie night! (Thanks, @penncinema for the p

Family movie night! (Thanks, @penncinema for the popcorn extravaganza!) Can you believe, when I took this picture, I didn’t have to say “Pretend you love each other” even once? I know quarantine life has its tough moments, but I’m so thankful for the way our family has grown closer through this concentrated time together. Definite sIlver lining.⁣
⁣
#yum #movienight #friyay #fridayvibes #weekendvibes #familytime #family #popcorn #familynight #thankful #silverlining #lookforthegood #simplepleasures

Fear used to be the defining emotion of my days, t

Mercy in a box, courtesy of @passengercoffee. Than

Mercy in a box, courtesy of @passengercoffee. Thankful for simple pleasures in the midst of a dumpster fire of a week.
.
#coronavirus #covid_19 #coffee #coffeelover #coffeetime #coffeeaddict #quarantine #quarantinelife #socialdistancing #flattenthecurve

There's comfort in walking a well-defined path. Se

There's comfort in walking a well-defined path. Seeing at a glance where you're meant to go, never needing to guess the placement of your next step.⁣
⁣
There is no path right now. That's what it feels like. We're explorers of virgin land, bushwhacking through anxiety and confusion in hopes there's a clearing ahead. Or an overlook, where we can get our bearings and make sense of this foreign place.⁣
⁣
As eagerly as I await that breakthrough, I don't want to miss the gifts offered in this season of lostness. Already this week I have walked in the sunshine, laughed with new neighbors, and slept past dawn. Tonight my family will eat a home-cooked meal around our dining room table. Tomorrow morning, I'll drink coffee with my husband, who is usually out the door before I wake.⁣
⁣
There's a slower, gentler rhythm to these days, is what I'm saying. We're still working hard. Social distancing doesn't automatically mean an empty plate. In some ways, our plates are even fuller, as are our hearts and minds. But there's a solemnity to the hours, and a quiet gratitude, that invites a slower pace. ⁣
⁣
Beneath the buzz of worry, I realize this forced slowdown might be exactly what I need. That doesn't make it easy. It doesn't take away the gravity of suffering around our word. But it does remind me to never stop looking up. To always remember there are beacons of light in the night sky. And that joy and new mercies come in the morning.⁣
⁣
#cultivaterest #covid_19 #coronavirus #quarantine #quarantinelife #socialdistancing #flattenthecurve #lookforthegood #silverlining #newmercies #godisgood #lightinthedark #lightinthedarkness #bestill #newnormal #faithblogger #hopewriter #lancasterpa #lancastercounty

Yesterday, in my stories, I shared the time types

Yesterday, in my stories, I shared the time types our family uses when I need to work from home with the kids around. If you want to check it out, I saved the slides in my highlights to explain the types and how they help me budget my work energy while giving the kids a balanced routine.⁣
⁣
This is how we do summers, which is not necessarily how we are going to do the next few weeks. There are so many unknowns. We’re planning for what is before us in this moment, but trying to hold it all loosely.⁣
⁣
One thing I’m sure of: routine and structure soothe my anxiety and help me cultivate rest. Without them, I spin into unhelpful thought loops that only lead to internal and external chaos. So whatever comes, routine and structure will be central to our plan.⁣
⁣
What’s helping you cultivate rest in these unrestful times?⁣
⁣
#cultivaterest #bestill #routine #routines #quarantine #covid_19 #coronavirus #workfromhome #workathome #wah #wahm #wahmlife #sahmlife #sahm #workingmom #dailyroutine #anxietyrelief

I find it humorous that this is the week I decided

I find it humorous that this is the week I decided to resume practicing stillness. It's hard enough on any given day to quiet my mind and be present with God, but this week? You guys. SO MANY THOUGHTS.⁣🤯
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⁣
Still (ha! See what I did there?), as hard as it was to focus, even a few minutes of intentional quiet each morning helped me shed anxiety and enter my days breathing a little deeper.⁣
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⁣
How are you doing this week? Is there something that's helping you weather the barrage of crazy news and unanswered questions?⁣
⁣
#bestill #cultivaterest #stillness #meditation #meditate #prayer #journaling #spirituality #mentalhealth #mentalrest #emotionalrest #spiritualrest #rest #practicerest #practicesoulcare #soulcare #healthyhabits #bestillmysoul #anxiety #anxietyrelief #spiritualdiscipline #sacredrhythms

For a few months last year, I wrote one sentence e

For a few months last year, I wrote one sentence each day that began with "Thank you for..." These tiny prayers of gratitude were meant to reorient my "perspectacles," which prefer to focus on the negative and worrisome rather than God's daily mercies.⁣
⁣
I can't remember how or why the habit waned, but I started it up again this week. Two days so far, two sentences. I've barely started, yet the impact of those sentences is disproportionate to the scattering of letters on a page. In lifting my eyes heavenward, even for a span of words, my spirit lifts as well. Away from the headlines. Away from the chaos. To the Source of peace and rest.⁣
⁣
If you're feeling weighed down, maybe this practice will help ease your load as it has mine. One sentence a day, just a breath of thanksgiving. A small step to #cultivaterest.⁣
⁣
#mygracenotes #dailygracenotes #dailygrace #gratitude #practicegratitude #mentalhealth #healthyhabits #gratitudejournal #bestillandknow #gratitudepractice #gratitudeattitude #thankful #gracenotes #gracenote #soulcare

The breeze keeps flipping the pages of my Bible, b

The breeze keeps flipping the pages of my Bible, but no way I’m closing that window. The first breath of spring tastes like hope and new life every. single. time.🌱
.
#spring #springiscoming #bible #biblestudy #notsodailydevos #springfever #chasingslow #thehappynow #wellwateredwomen #cultivaterest #spiritualrest #rest #healthyhabits #mentalhealth #dailygraces #dailygracenotes

I’ve been at the lake with my BFF for 3 days. It

I’ve been at the lake with my BFF for 3 days. It’s been a glorious time of connection, laughter, writing, and rest, but this morning we both head home, in opposite directions. It’s time for reentry.
.
I always want to go home from retreats a new person, to leave behind all the baggage I carried in. But that’s not the purpose of rest. The purpose is to give our depleted bodies and fatigued minds a chance to replenish. Not to become a different person, but rather a more nurtured version of ourselves.
.
I go home today deeply grateful for God’s kindness in giving me @kallisonbrannon as a kindred spirit, and for our husbands who encouraged us to get away, even though it’s never a simple thing to be absent.🌿
.
#retreat #rest #cultivaterest #friendship #mentalhealth #restore #retreatweekend #smithmountainlake #sml #sunset #lakelife #getaway #writingretreat #amwriting #writing #writinglife #hopewriters #hopewriterlife #bestill

Connect on Instagram

Ready to exhale?

My monthly email is quiet little space for rest-related stories and resources reserved just for my email friends. Join us?

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Be still. Be you. Be made new.

On the Gram

Family movie night! (Thanks, @penncinema for the p

Family movie night! (Thanks, @penncinema for the popcorn extravaganza!) Can you believe, when I took this picture, I didn’t have to say “Pretend you love each other” even once? I know quarantine life has its tough moments, but I’m so thankful for the way our family has grown closer through this concentrated time together. Definite sIlver lining.⁣
⁣
#yum #movienight #friyay #fridayvibes #weekendvibes #familytime #family #popcorn #familynight #thankful #silverlining #lookforthegood #simplepleasures

Fear used to be the defining emotion of my days, t

Mercy in a box, courtesy of @passengercoffee. Than

Mercy in a box, courtesy of @passengercoffee. Thankful for simple pleasures in the midst of a dumpster fire of a week.
.
#coronavirus #covid_19 #coffee #coffeelover #coffeetime #coffeeaddict #quarantine #quarantinelife #socialdistancing #flattenthecurve

There's comfort in walking a well-defined path. Se

There's comfort in walking a well-defined path. Seeing at a glance where you're meant to go, never needing to guess the placement of your next step.⁣
⁣
There is no path right now. That's what it feels like. We're explorers of virgin land, bushwhacking through anxiety and confusion in hopes there's a clearing ahead. Or an overlook, where we can get our bearings and make sense of this foreign place.⁣
⁣
As eagerly as I await that breakthrough, I don't want to miss the gifts offered in this season of lostness. Already this week I have walked in the sunshine, laughed with new neighbors, and slept past dawn. Tonight my family will eat a home-cooked meal around our dining room table. Tomorrow morning, I'll drink coffee with my husband, who is usually out the door before I wake.⁣
⁣
There's a slower, gentler rhythm to these days, is what I'm saying. We're still working hard. Social distancing doesn't automatically mean an empty plate. In some ways, our plates are even fuller, as are our hearts and minds. But there's a solemnity to the hours, and a quiet gratitude, that invites a slower pace. ⁣
⁣
Beneath the buzz of worry, I realize this forced slowdown might be exactly what I need. That doesn't make it easy. It doesn't take away the gravity of suffering around our word. But it does remind me to never stop looking up. To always remember there are beacons of light in the night sky. And that joy and new mercies come in the morning.⁣
⁣
#cultivaterest #covid_19 #coronavirus #quarantine #quarantinelife #socialdistancing #flattenthecurve #lookforthegood #silverlining #newmercies #godisgood #lightinthedark #lightinthedarkness #bestill #newnormal #faithblogger #hopewriter #lancasterpa #lancastercounty

Yesterday, in my stories, I shared the time types

Yesterday, in my stories, I shared the time types our family uses when I need to work from home with the kids around. If you want to check it out, I saved the slides in my highlights to explain the types and how they help me budget my work energy while giving the kids a balanced routine.⁣
⁣
This is how we do summers, which is not necessarily how we are going to do the next few weeks. There are so many unknowns. We’re planning for what is before us in this moment, but trying to hold it all loosely.⁣
⁣
One thing I’m sure of: routine and structure soothe my anxiety and help me cultivate rest. Without them, I spin into unhelpful thought loops that only lead to internal and external chaos. So whatever comes, routine and structure will be central to our plan.⁣
⁣
What’s helping you cultivate rest in these unrestful times?⁣
⁣
#cultivaterest #bestill #routine #routines #quarantine #covid_19 #coronavirus #workfromhome #workathome #wah #wahm #wahmlife #sahmlife #sahm #workingmom #dailyroutine #anxietyrelief

I find it humorous that this is the week I decided

I find it humorous that this is the week I decided to resume practicing stillness. It's hard enough on any given day to quiet my mind and be present with God, but this week? You guys. SO MANY THOUGHTS.⁣🤯
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⁣
Still (ha! See what I did there?), as hard as it was to focus, even a few minutes of intentional quiet each morning helped me shed anxiety and enter my days breathing a little deeper.⁣
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⁣
How are you doing this week? Is there something that's helping you weather the barrage of crazy news and unanswered questions?⁣
⁣
#bestill #cultivaterest #stillness #meditation #meditate #prayer #journaling #spirituality #mentalhealth #mentalrest #emotionalrest #spiritualrest #rest #practicerest #practicesoulcare #soulcare #healthyhabits #bestillmysoul #anxiety #anxietyrelief #spiritualdiscipline #sacredrhythms

For a few months last year, I wrote one sentence e

For a few months last year, I wrote one sentence each day that began with "Thank you for..." These tiny prayers of gratitude were meant to reorient my "perspectacles," which prefer to focus on the negative and worrisome rather than God's daily mercies.⁣
⁣
I can't remember how or why the habit waned, but I started it up again this week. Two days so far, two sentences. I've barely started, yet the impact of those sentences is disproportionate to the scattering of letters on a page. In lifting my eyes heavenward, even for a span of words, my spirit lifts as well. Away from the headlines. Away from the chaos. To the Source of peace and rest.⁣
⁣
If you're feeling weighed down, maybe this practice will help ease your load as it has mine. One sentence a day, just a breath of thanksgiving. A small step to #cultivaterest.⁣
⁣
#mygracenotes #dailygracenotes #dailygrace #gratitude #practicegratitude #mentalhealth #healthyhabits #gratitudejournal #bestillandknow #gratitudepractice #gratitudeattitude #thankful #gracenotes #gracenote #soulcare

The breeze keeps flipping the pages of my Bible, b

The breeze keeps flipping the pages of my Bible, but no way I’m closing that window. The first breath of spring tastes like hope and new life every. single. time.🌱
.
#spring #springiscoming #bible #biblestudy #notsodailydevos #springfever #chasingslow #thehappynow #wellwateredwomen #cultivaterest #spiritualrest #rest #healthyhabits #mentalhealth #dailygraces #dailygracenotes

Copyright © 2020 · Alison J. McLennan