Learn how to unplug for 3 months… and you just might never look back!

I want to introduce you to Kate Merrick, a welcomed guest on my Unstoppable Year online course. Kate is the cofounder of the Reality family of churches, along with her husband, Britt, who also shapes some of my surfboards! When she’s not writing, speaking at retreats and conferences, or #slayingmotherhood, you can find her at the beach, in the garden, or making delicious messes in the kitchen. She lives with her family, a few donkeys and a flock of chickens in Carpinteria, California.

In Kate’s first book And Still She Laughs (2017), she examines the Bible’s gritty stories of resilient women as well as her own experience losing her precious daughter at a young age – a journey followed by more than a million on prayfordaisy.com—to reveal the reality of surprising joy and deep hope even in the midst of heartache.

In the Unstoppable Year, Kate will share more from this journey, and how it revealed to her that time on social media was causing her to become more and more bitter at her life circumstances; and how it was causing her to miss out on what was right in front of her… her own life and her daughter’s life.

Kate will share how she found true joy and necessary healing through completely disconnecting from social media. This allowed her to be fully present with her family in the last few months of her daughter’s life… and she never went back.

“It was a digital detox… and it was a gift.” -Kate Merrick

In her most recent book -which I could not put down- Here, Now (2019), Kate dives into the topic of Being Present (our first area of focus in the Unstoppable Year). Here, Now is about about presence, contentment, and what it looks like to search for and practice those things.

I really connected with this book! I’ve been on my own journey of understanding how being present, slowing down and being smart about time spent on devices not only helps me toward my goals in sport, but to be a better wife, mother, daughter, sister and friend. And to better face adversity when it comes!

“Distraction is not going to take you where you want to go.”

Do you find yourself mindlessly scrolling through your feed, or automatically grabbing your phone every so often throughout the day? You may need to rest your mind, heart and soul. Kate and I challenge you to ask yourself:

• What am I looking for?
• Why am I so over-connected?
• Is it just a habit?
• Is it an addiction?
• Am I trying to escape the hardships I’m facing?
• Am I looking for affirmation?
• Am I looking for love or acceptance?
• Am I looking for beauty or for joy?

Those are deep needs, and we keep looking for fulfillment in the wrong places.

We won’t find it in our phones… WE’RE GOING TO FIND IT THROUGH REST.

This is an area of life that I’m really excited to encourage you in. That’s why it’ll be the first topic we address in The Unstoppable Year – an online course that will begin this September.

If you’re intrigued by Kate’s journey, will you consider joining us? For those of you already signed up, I cannot wait for you to hear more from Kate soon!