"I feel so overwhelmed."

Do you race from one thing to the next, unable to keep up with all the demands of your ever-growing to-do list? Are you overcommitted and overstretched, but don’t know how to slow down when the world just says to speed up? Is there any hope for rest in a world of never-ending demands?

Many women don’t realize they’re running at an unsustainable pace until it hurts them physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Drawing on many years of counseling and their own experiences of burnout, wife and husband team Shona and David Murray want to help you slow down to a more grace-paced life—enabling you to avoid the pitfall of burnout, cultivate sustainable habits for the future, and experience the rest of body and soul that God intends for you.

Table of Contents

Introduction
Station 1: Reality Check
Station 2: Replay 
Station 3: Rest
Station 4: Re-Create
Station 5: Relax
Station 6: Rethink
Station 7: Reduce
Station 8: Refuel
Station 9: Relate
Station 10: Resurrection
Acknowledgments
General Index
Scripture Index

About the Authors

David Murray (DMin, Reformation International Theological Seminary) is professor of Old Testament and practical theology at Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary and the pastor of Grand Rapids Free Reformed Church. He is also a counselor, a regular speaker at conferences, and the author of Jesus on Every Page.

Shona Murray is a mother of five children and has homeschooled for fifteen years. She is a medical doctor and worked as a family practitioner in Scotland until she moved to the United States with her husband, David.

Endorsements

“We live in a culture that constantly demands more of women. Young women are not exempt from this pressure. In fact, this is the time—in our teens and twenties—when we’re just beginning to fall prey to the increasing stress of school, social media, smartphones, relationships, work, and busyness. We’re barely out of childhood and already feeling overwhelmed, exhausted, depressed, drowned, and burned out. That’s why we need the joyful refreshment of the gospel of grace. And that’s exactly what Shona and David Murray deliver in Refresh. They write warmly, empathetically, biblically, and practically. I will be applying the wisdom of this book to my own life and eagerly recommending it to the young women I know!”
Jaquelle Crowe, lead writer and editor in chief, TheRebelution.com; contributor, The Gospel Coalition; author, This Changes Everything

“I have searched high and low for a book that helps me deal with stress-related illness in a God-honoring way. I have stacks of books that either overspiritualize depression and stress-induced illness, or overmedicalize it. I struggle with balance, and I need help. To the rescue comes Refresh, a book that meets you where you are, preaching neither overspiritualized idealism nor worldly fatalism. Read this book and give it to friends. It will change the way you see God’s providence in your emotional suffering and physical weakness, and it will encourage you on a path of self-care that honors the Lord and enables you to serve your family of God for the long haul.”
Rosaria Butterfield, former professor of English, Syracuse University; author, The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert

“Shona’s transparency and gentle coaching throughout this book provide the perfect context for the encouragement that Refresh will be to many women who have experienced burnout, or are on the verge of burnout. As a counselor and a woman who has experienced burnout, I appreciated the holistic approach to both the causes of burnout and its treatment. The Murrays fully address both body and soul in their book, which will leave you refreshed, renewed, and ready to lead others alongside streams of living water flowing from the Great Shepherd of our souls.” 
Heather Nelson, biblical counselor; author, Unashamed: Healing Our Brokenness and Finding Freedom from Shame

“Burnout and exhaustion are not solely a female issue, but as a woman I can attest to experiencing these very things in recent years. The demands on our time are many and coming from all directions. How will we use our time? How will we find balance? How will we maintain our walk with the Lord in the midst of so much? Shona and David Murray understand these pressures and speak directly to them in this book. Drawing on her own experience of depression and burnout (and experience as a medical doctor), Shona has a winsome and practical approach to the balance and rest we all crave (yet struggle to find). If you are desperate for relief, you will find encouragement in Refresh.” 
Courtney Reissig, author, The Accidental Feminist and Glory in the Ordinary

“Reading Refresh in a bone-weary season of my life was like having a life-giving conversation with a couple of grace-filled friends who have been there themselves and were able to encourage me with practical, biblical wisdom.”
Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth, author; Bible teacher; host, Revive Our Hearts