Leftovers Called For a Change of Pace

Routines and Resets

From Thanksgiving to New Year’s Day, it feels like we’re all living off leftovers.
The same foods reheated. The same casseroles passed from one gathering to the next. The same conversations just with different scenery or people. Our calendar commitments stacked one on top of the other. Farm chores on auto pilot and all homesteading efforts fading quickly into all my semi-homemade go tos. 
By the time January rolls around, everyone is pushing the last of the leftovers before they finally go bad — both in the fridge and our energy stores. We are all hoping not to waste anything in this season of plenty. 

In the middle of the post-holiday's final plans, I found myself with a rare evening alone with my middle son.
No wrestling practice. No brothers to contend with. No extra places to be. Just us for a whole night. We knowingly took our escape and told noone of our plans to get a bite to eat and head home.  Without hesitation or a second suggestion, we both agreed on Chinese buffet.
It wasn’t fancy. It wasn’t healthy. But it was different. A flavor we hadn’t had in weeks. No leftovers in sight. Guaranteed to be sufficiently filling and satisfying. 
We people watched as we piled our plates high with fried brown foods, dumplings drowned in mysterious sauces, and meats that all looked the same but had distinctly different flavors. We ate until we were stuffed and then had sugar donuts and soft serve. 
When we got home, the house was quiet. We doom-scrolled on our phones without saying much — not because we had nothing to say, but because we were both enjoying the stillness of not needing to say anything at all... an unspoken agreement to just be.
Eventually — way too late to start a movie — we found one anyway. And as we sat there, I had this sense that he was thinking the same thing I was:
'This is easy.'
I knew he felt relief from the pause — no practices, no school pressure, no chores beyond the basics. I felt it too.
Not because I don’t love our busy life or our people — I do. But because sometimes the loudness of “normal” needs a quiet interruption.

The rest of our break quickly filled back up.
We spent the remaining days with church, cousin fun, and doing all the things to squeeze every bit of joy from our Holiday break.

The leftovers were finally eaten or tossed.
School, wrestling, work, feeding animals, and homemaking have all resumed.
Life is getting back to its steady rhythm.
And as I step into this new year, I’m realizing something important:
Routine is necessary — but so is knowing when to change the pace.

Scripture speaks of the importance of consistency in our day to day walk. 
"...And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us"
— Hebrews 12:1
"You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you" 
— Isaiah 26:3

There is wisdom in consistency, faithfulness in showing up, and anchors in routine. But even Jesus taught us the practice of stepping away from the crowds to rest. It’s not abandoning routine - it’s about refreshing the rythym before it grows stale.

"He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul. He guides me along right paths for his name’s sake"
 — Psalm 23:2-3

As I begin another 365 day journey through the Word.... I am reminded in Genesis that God built Sabbath into creation — not as an interruption, but as an intentional, reflective rest.

"So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation." 
—Genesis 2:3

As we move forward into this year, I’m grateful for the anchors of our life — the farm chores, the school schedules, the shared meals, the homesteading upkeeps and even the full calendar. But I’ll also be watching for those small moments to change things up: A quiet night. An unexpected pause. A break from routine. Because sometimes, all it takes to keep the momentum going strong… is one evening with no leftovers.


Where might a small change of pace or an initial rest or break from routine help you reset without losing your rhythm?


Lord, thank You for the routines that steady my life and the pauses that refresh my soul. Help me walk faithfully, but also recognize when rest or change is needed. Teach me to keep a steady pace without letting my spirit grow weary or stale. Amen.


Until next time, keep following the Plott, and I will be praying for us all. 💛

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