The Fringe Hours – Finding Yours!

At the beginning of the year, I was honored – and thrilled – to be selected as part of Jessica Turner’s blogging team for her new book, The Fringe Hours. While I received this book for free, all of the opinions expressed are my own. This book was at the top of my “to read” list for the year anyway and the fact that I got to read it before it was released was extra exciting. The book officially (and finally) releases today, and I want to tell you about this incredible book.

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It’s life changing. It’s encouraging. It’s the book every woman needs to read. 

The Fringe Hours is a book about finding and reclaiming time for yourself. Why is this important? When we doing something we love, we are more energized for life in general. It’s a struggle for many women today – me included – because we are constantly going and doing. As Jessica says on page 43, “The reason so many women today struggle to make themselves a priority is because they are trying to be everything for everyone!” True!

The Fringe Hours talks about why you should make time for yourself and then it shows you how to make time for yourself. Jessica is very honest in this book and reminds us that, “What works for someone else might not work for you.” I need that reminder to make my life and time work for me. Besides, “You are never too busy to make time for what you love.”

You are never too busy to make time for what you love. Jessica Turner - Fringe Hours

We all have different things that we enjoy doing. For some of us, it may be reading or scrapbooking. For others, it may be baking or sewing. For still others, it may be taking pictures or doing home projects. Whatever it is, Jessica encourages us to go ahead and do it. Stop saying there isn’t time – and make time to do what you love! Yes, this means the dishes may wait for a bit but do something for yourself every day.

Jessica had so many brilliant quotes in this book. My book is underlined and starred throughout as I read and took notes of all the things I wanted to remember. One of my favorite quotes is below about nights. With Nathan crawling (and almost walking), my days are becoming even busier as I keep up with my little boy. When he goes to bed, it’s so tempting to hurry and accomplish all the chores that didn’t get done during the day. After reading The Fringe Hours, I’ve made a shift in how I approach my nights. Some nights still have to be a chore or project completing night but I am trying to use my nights to do more of what I want to do instead of only what I have to do. 

The gist of  The Fringe Hours is that we need to really evaluate our life and our time. Are we using it in the best way we can? If we are energized and renewed, then we can care for everyone around us with more joy and passion. After reading this book, I started making more time to bake from scratch. I am also making my writing and blogging more of a priority. Finally, I’m making sure that I have time to work on my digital scrapbooks and of course, read. This book reminded me that we always have a choice about what to do with our time. I’m working at being more productive with my working hours so that I can still have fringe hours for myself daily.

I truly believe that every woman – single or married, with children or without, stay-at-home Mom or working professional, young or old(er) – needs to read The Fringe Hours. Let’s start making ourselves a priority! Are you ready to do so? Go read this book and tell me how you’re going to use your fringe hours. What excites and energizes you? What do you want to do just for you?

Finally, I’ll leave you with one last quote from Jessica and her wonderful book that I loved. “Life is not perfect. You are not perfect. But you are a glorious creation, and your life is meant to be lived with joy. Some days you aren’t going to get your makeup on, you will burn the cookies for the school bake sale, and you will spill wine on the rug. In our mess, God makes us strong. In your glorious imperfections, you can still shine beautifully bright. Embrace that truth. Stop trying to be everything for everyone and start investing in who and what really matter.”

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3 Comments

  1. Hello Kristen,

    This is such an important topic. As a cancer survivor, now living with Congestive Heart Failure, I am learning to make self-care a priority. Unless I care for myself, I will have nothing to share with others. It’s vital for me to listen to my body’s signals for rest. I’m glad you mentioned doing things that bring you joy. So true. If we are happy, the emotions are contagious. Comfort and joy are both very healing. So now I treat myself to travel, to pedicures, to music, to books, to documentaries. And, of course, time with friends. Journalling is another fulfilling activity. It is important to deal constructively with feelings, and not to let them fester and cause dis-ease.
    Another aspect of self-care is caring for our appearance. When you respect yourself, others respect you too.

    Thanks for your wonderful blog. It is so full of excellent ideas.

    God bless you.
    Honey Bee

  2. Beautiful last quote! I ordered this from my library, it’s on order currently, but I am top five! Very excited, because yes, we need to stop, take time and LOVE ourselves!

    Happy Tuesday Kristen!

    1. Oh, good, Christina! I hope you get as much from the book as I did. It really was quite the encouraging read. I think you’ll find Jessica’s style of writing just like sitting down with a good friend, too.

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