Such truth, isn’t it? That word….Depleted.
How often do we find ourselves depleted at the end of the week and weekend?
This weekend was definitely an “eye opener” to me. I have been slammed with business (good busyness). But by the end of the day, I felt depleted. Not the physical kind, the mental kind. The kind where your brain goes from 100 mph speeds to a sudden crash burn plop.
So Saturday morning I decided i needed to refill, recharge restore. I woke up early, spent some extra time with lots of coffee in hand, my devotional, and prayed for rest, mental/emotional restoration. You know, the kind that makes mind feel at ease? Yes, that kind.
I felt better. Then after a full day of work, i felt it again. The ” ‘where’s my brain?” depleted feeling. It was at that moment my husband pulled me me away to spend some time, well, not thinking, just doing something fun. Okay and there may have been wine involved. God bless him.
Sunday was the same. I woke up early, spent time reading/journaling, then back in the kitchen. Later friends came over to help me package all the Blend Retreat Healthy Bites. HUGE HUGE Blessing!
But this time around, I knew what to do. I knew how to get my “refill” before the depleted feeling snuck it. So, I (we) convinced them to stay for dinner and then ventured over to my parents house to celebrate Mother’s day with a low key backyard BBQ .
What’s my point here? When we feel depleted, we often seek our physical rest. Am I right? Yes, this is important, but maybe it’s not what we need refill our “soul.”
We need to refill with time to ourselves. No, exerting too much energy, I mean really sitting down and enjoying solitude. 3 minutes, 5 minutes, 10 minutes, etc. Any little bit of time helps! Pray, journal, be thankful.
We need to refill with others. Whether it’s a date night with your spouse or a get together with friends/family, we need to refill with fellowship. With laughter. With love. We need to accept help and be grateful.
I’d like to think I realized this myself, but I did not. It was pointed out to me by others, and it only took me 30 years to listen. 
So glad I did.
Today I want REFILL your Dark Chocolate Lovers Soul with a recipe from my archives. Enjoy it by yourself or with good company. Either way, you’ll get the FILL need.
[print_this]Filling
- ⅔ cups Pecans, Finely Chopped
- ½ cups condensed Milk and ⅓ cup almond milk combined -melted coconut butter and almond milk if you want the healthy version.
- ⅓ cups brown Sugar (or NuNaturals sugar)
- 2-½ cups Dark Chocolate Chips
- 2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
- ¼-1/3 cup shredded unsweetened coconut.
Preparation Instructions:
Toast the pecans for 3 minutes in a 325 degree oven. Then chop finely. Set aside. Combine milk and sugar in a small heavy-duty saucepan. Bring to a full rolling boil over medium-low heat, and boil stirring constantly for 3 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in chocolate chips. Stir until mixture is smooth. Then stir in vanilla extract. Then, roll chocolate out on parchment paper and sprinkle the pecan and coconut mixture on top. Refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours.
Base Ingredients:
- ½ Cup butter (earth balance for vegans)
- 1 Cup packed brown sugar
- 1 large egg (or ¼ cup egg whites or 2 tablespoon flax for vegans)
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1 ½ Cups all-purpose gluten free flour (you can use regular flour too)
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- * 1 cups rolled oats
- * 1 cup gluten free pretzels
* NOTE: I grounded up the oats and pretzels together to make one dry mix.
Directions:
Set aside 2 Tbsp the butter. Beat the butter with mixer on medium speed for 30 seconds. Add brown sugar; beat until well mixed. Beat in eggs and vanilla. In another large bowl stir together flour and baking soda; stir in oat/pretzel. Gradually stir dry mixture into beaten mixture. Set aside.
Press two-thirds of the oat/pretzel flour mix into the bottom of an ungreased baking pan (I used a 8×8). Take cooled dark chocolate mix and peel it off the parchment paper with the pecan/coconut mix facing down over the oat mixture. You might need to spread it more into the corners.
Bake in a 350 degree F oven about 25-30 minutes or until lightly browned (chocolate mixture will still look moist). Cool on a wire rack. Let it cool then cut into 2×2 inch inch bars. Makes about 16 bars.[/print_this]
Thanks to my “refill” I feel quite Marvelous this morning. Funny how that works, yes?
How do you REFILL?
Cheers!
LC
Oh I needed this! Somehow you always read my mind lady. I have been trying to make sure to read my devotional before my day starts and before I go to bed – it’s funny how just a little time can set a different course in the day. So glad that the healthy bite business is booming! We will all recharge our much depleted batteries in Park City this weekend – hopefully some wine is involved too =) Can’t wait to meet you!
yes we will!! See you soon! yay!
This is so beautiful Lindsay. I cannot tell you how much I love ‘Jesus Calling’- I look forward to my devotional time each night. I read, pray & just spend time to myself every night before bed. I used to be able to do it in the morning, but then I never really felt that I got enough time- I always felt rushed. So before bed is a great time, the baby is in bed and I can just have ME time. This is such a refreshing post! So glad I read this today. XO
so glad you are enjoying it. It really makes a HUGE difference! agreed!
my goodness, you explained that depleted feeling EXACTLY!! I hate that feeling, and unless you really face it head on, it just wanes, it doesn’t go away until you stop, drop it all and reset. your Saturday morning sounds like it was exactly what you needed, and the weekend overall. XOXO, love YOU and your words!
Oh my gosh- that quote. Soooo needed to read that. Depleted. Me. Yes. And, so jealous of everyone at BLEND getting your bites! Lucky ducks! Lova ya Linds!
you can hop in my suitcase! K?
Yet another beautiful post reminding us that we all need to take a step back from ourselves–our ambitions, our need to be ‘doing’–every now and then. If only I could just LISTEN when you tell me these things. 🙂
I pretty much just want to eat spoonfuls of that chocolate filling. Perhaps with a pretzel dipped in.
no gonna lie, i ate the batter and dipped the pretzels before hand. I almost just left it like that. haha
I so wish i was going to blend retreat!!
me too!
I totally agree! We all need a refill! I try to have a date night once a week with my boyfriend. And hiking always helps too when it’s nice out. It’s just nice to be active in nature. The fresh air and beautiful scenery. 🙂
dates are crucial! Ahh, so agree.
Sooooo, this post of yours? Absolutely and positively me these last couple of weeks. Depleted and in dire need of renewal. I think that’s one reason that I’m looking forward to BLEND so much – because I need that time to recharge my soul with all you lovely friends! And Healthy Bites obviously!! xo
i feel like we have the same brain right now. Is it mush? Want to escape to utah with me? teehee
Mush would be one way to describe it. Totally unfocused and ADD would be another (um, I’m here responding to your comment about two second after receiving your response). hehe. See you in Utah tomorrow?
LOL! See you tomorrow. I’ll buy the wine, you get the kombucha.
😉
Well said, sister 🙂 Oh I wish I could come help you with Healthy Bite goodies…. oh and wine and chocolate pretzel slice. Yummo!
me too friend! Care to venture to Austin? I could see you teaching yoga here too. just sayin..
I’m so happy you were able to recognize that you did indeed to take a step back, and just recharge your brain. So sweet of your loving husband to take you out for a date <3
I married a good man, that’s for sure!
Oh man, I can totally get onboard with this kind of restoration! I am hearing you though – learning to take a time-out is a lesson that I have to relearn and relearn and relearn….
I feel like you just KNEW how I was feeling. I spent the day feeling EXHAUSTED – mentally and physically and by the time I got home from work, I just felt depleted…cranky even. I’ve been spending my evening’s journaling and that’s been HUGE so I can only hope to revive myself with tonight’s words and tomorrow’s day OFF.
i love that! you can always go back and read what you wrote too. Hope your day off was refreshing. xxoo
I’m glad you have such great family and friends to take care of you when you work too hard!
A long walk with the dog, preferably on trails, definitely helps refill!
YES!! And bonus because the dog gets tired.
I have been feeling incredibly depleted lately. This early morning in the field all day teaching schedule is KILLER. I just need to get through the next two weeks and then I’m done!
you can do it!! No stress. I CAN SEE THE LIGHT!
I saw these bars on IG and I HAD to come see the recipe!! WOW! These look amazing!!! I have felt the same way at the end of EVERY day the last few weeks or so. I have been trying to refresh myself with ‘me’ time at night. I just sit and read a book or watch a bit of TV and just let my mind go blank. It definitely helps when trying to get to sleep at night too! My mind isn’t running in 900 directions!
I know!! Love that ME time. It helps. Just need a little more of it. hehe
I love this post so much….honestly, this is exaaaactly how I’ve felt lately – and today too! – just completely depleted…I’m stuck in a job right now that makes me feel miserable, but I’m less than 2 weeks away from being completely done wit hit…I’m so thankful for each little moment I have right now that I get to spend “recharging” through prayer, exercise, reading, or just time with my husband. We need that refueling time!!
those are key ingredients to restoration friend. YOu can do it! Hang on a little more.
Love this! I’ve been trying much harder lately to refill with quite alone reading time, time spent talking to my hubby or playing with my son rather than blogging, surfing the internet or working out. So much of my energy is directed at those things lately!
Ummm those bars look so dangerous!
it is a lot of energy, and so much of it we can put toward more VALUABLE things, like family. Well said.
You always leave me better off than when I came friend. I am mentally and spiritually depleted. Talking to a good friend, praying, and spending time with the Lord are all good for refilling and refueling my soul. You are a God send in my life friend!
i know you need some RESTORATION friend, hugs hugs! You are a blessing to me!
Your posts always leave me feeling inspired and thinking! I love that.
This is the way I’ve been feeling lately, overexerting myself a tad. I’m a little happy I have a good excuse to be resting for the next week, well on Thursday. I’m always looking for more moments to de-stress life!
Yes, and embrace that rest. I’ll be thinking and praying for you Lisa! Keep us posted.
Those bars sound seriously amazing!! I love the salty and sweet combo :).
next time i should try potato chips. haha, no joke!
I think you need to make this for me when we see each other again! I’ll come over to pull you away from ball rolling, so we can enjoy good wine, good food, good conversation, and not talk about work. Sound good? XOXO
sounds too good!
I took some time to refill today. We moved this weekend and had my mother in town, so i was on ‘go go go’ Friday through Sunday!
oh moving, it’s a PAIN! I hope you got some REST yesterday friend. At least you got in a workout with that move! haha
I think this is a good description for how Kirk and I both felt yesterday, just drained and blah. Weird! I think I need to take some time tonight for that recharge…maybe a bubble bath and soft music.
And then dream about this dessert..holy moly girl!
oh yes, those help a lot! good for those muscles too!
oh i love so much about this post. i have been refilling by surrounding myself with people who build me up not tear me down. i have also been reading a lot about becoming my authentic self. and of course running is my way of refilling too. so glad you are taking time for you and not pushng through until there is nothing left…..
xoxoxox
so good to hear friend. You deserve those people in your life. Sending more LOVE and HUGS your way.
It was one of those weekends for me too, as you well know… I was so thankful to have had time with family and with Marc to ‘refill’. We went for a late day hike on Saturday in the mountains, it was such a gorgeous day. No phone, no taking pictures, just him and I talking about everything going on in our lives. So refreshing. I need more moments like that to de-stress and reconnect!
those are my favorite moments.. away.. from EVERYTHING
Re-charge for me is done on the road… er pavement, I guess? Can be alone or with friends, but that usually makes everything right. With my run out of the way it frees my mind to focus on other things, family, work, play, whatever.
I’m glad you were able to get your YOU time in.
oh yes, pavement. That’s a good place to refill, LUNGS and ALL!
😉
I LOVE to journal… and read. but journaling definitely helps me to recenter my brain. Hiking does good in that area too.
And those pretzel bars… oi! girl. YUM!
This is a wonderful reminder (one that we will all need to be reminded of again ….and again… forever. But those are always the most beautiful because they are the ones that show us God.)
IT reminds me of my new favorite quote… (not sure why but I want to share).
“We can never get enough of what we don’t need…because what we don’t need NEVER satisfies.”
It’s a great thing to have in mind when I find myself wanting to over-do anything (and yes that includes saying “yes”).
PS- That view! Wow.
wow, that’s powerful. It never satisfies, yet I still WANT it. WHY? Learning to shift my satisfaction these days.
So great! Refilling is so important, isn’t it? And I can guarantee I do not do it enough…thanks so much for this reminder. I know first I need to go to Jesus, then it’s often time with Mikey or myself. A short solo run helps but often I refill with others, like you said! Way to go James for that time together. 😀 And your recipes are so creative and delish-looking! Glad you got some help prepping for BLEND – can’t wait to sample some of the goodies but more importantly to see YOU! 😀
Yes, Jesus. He is always there to restore. THANK GOODNESS!! <3
I felt that EXACT ‘depleted’ feeling you describe above last night. As I was realizing that the weekend was ending very soon and I just felt a little empty, a little blue, a little ‘not me.’ And it frustrated me. Because I truly have a very blessed life and have nothing to be ‘blue’ over. I told my sis I thought the cure could be prayer, quiet time with my thoughts and with Him. And boy was I right. I haven’t been lifting my thoughts up to Him nearly enough and it’s exactly what I needed to shake the negative out, the depleted sad feeling I was having, and to gain new perspective, a shift in focus, and a sense of calm peacefulness again. Amazing what a few minutes of solitude and thoughts lifted up in prayer can do. PS so glad the hubs stole you away for some alone time, and that it involved wine 🙂 xo
YES YES, HE IS GOOD! We often don’t go to him soon enough, amen?
This is exactly how Tony and I have felt for the past few weeks! The mental exhaustion is just overwhelming. The funny thing is, by the afternoon, around 4pm, I feel like I could go for a run or pass out. I really feel like it’s the mental drain that is getting to me. I told Tony last week that I am not going to be all over the place anymore. I need to find a focus and I need to make the time each day to complete a task on my list. I can’t do it all (even though Lord knows I try). Good for you taking some time!
see, parallel lives. So glad we have each other to encourage though.
Hope you got some time to REFILL
why arent those chocolate pretzels in my mouth RIGHT NOW?!
i love my night-time quiet time. before bed, i always read. gives me a chance to relax and refill before heading off to zzzz-land 😉
i really think you need to relocate.. next door to us!
Jeez, we’re so much alike. I really have a hard time taking a “time out” unless my husband makes me (God bless him!). I’m naturally introverted so my tendency is to refuel with some alone time, and I sometimes have to force myself to go out and refuel with some fellowship time as well. When I do, I’m definitely reminded afterwards how needed that is! So glad that you had kitchen helpers yesterday and got to hang out with Abby. Kitchen time + friend time is a double bonus! Love you! (and so psyched to hopefully get to see you next month! then we can plan our own blend, hehe!)
oh my gosh, we are alike. SAME BRAIN and all.
I love that quiet time… A person needs to take it. You are very right about 3 min, 5 min, etc…any bit helps. It can be very hard to put down the distractions, but so worth it. Every day.
You are KILLING me with that recipe. haha
so worth it! and i always feel restored, HE IS GOOD.
My Pastor was just talking about this yesterday. He said if Satan can’t make you bad, he will make you busy. That busy-ness takes my focus away from God…not good. Thank you for the additional reminder!
I love the quote about feeling depleted, and I totally agree with your take on how to refill — doing something we love and getting some R&R can be incredibly rejuvenating. 🙂
Thanks for posting this delicious recipe, too — I’m going to have to try it out!
rejuvenating is also a perfect word! They go hand in hand, agreed.
Let me know if you try the recipe Lilian!
YES! you are such a wise old soul in a young woman’s body!
Totally agree about taking the time to recharge and refill! I got my refill this weekend with fellowship and good times with good friends. Much needed!
I’ll take physical exhaustion over the mental kind any day, but it’s so, so easy to mistake one for the other. I’m definitely guilty of heading for a nap when I’ve had a mentally tiring day, and while I find it usually helps me feel better, I can’t deny that taking a little time for myself to really breathe does the job pretty well too. And so does chocolate… that’s one thing that never fails me.
chocolate and fresh air.. ya, that’s one heck of a restoration plan. LOVE IT
By the end of the day, I always feel exhausted mentally from how much worrying I do about my knee. It really does take a toll on you after a while. I need to learn to relax and unwind like you did this weekend! Hopefully one of these days things will click! Too bad I take Ibuprofen because wine would probably help, too 😉 PLEASE SEND ME THOSE BARS. Omgosh, those look incredible.
yes, worrying is heavy on the heart. Learning to let it go is hard but worth the lightweight feeling. xxoo
You are right on the money, Lindsay! Sometimes even when my schedule isn’t packed, my mind is. So while I know physical rest isn’t the answer, that mental..spiritual rest definitely is 🙂
I’ve been refuelling more and more lately. I’ve needed it..mentally.
It’s felt so good just to tell myself. It’s okay. stop. breathe. enjoy. live.
xo
BEST MOTTO! or shall i say perfect FU motto!
ah that recipe looks ridiculously amazing!! super yum.
I love that you are having BBQ’s on Mother’s Day…we had snow, hail, and rain and it was barely above 30F! definitely no bbq’s happening here!!
oh now that is not good. 30F? in MAY? MOTHER nature was pissed?
those bars look amazing!!! yum yum yum. so bummed not to be able to make the blend retreat! glad you had some help with those packages 🙂
next year you must come! K?
will most definitely try!!
I refilled this weekend by simply enjoying being outside. Fresh air, blue skies, sunshine.
and it looks like you got that sunshine this weekend. Feeling restored? xxoo
I want to make these bars stat!! When I feel depleted I walk my dog. Honestly most days I get home from work and feel depleted all I want to do is lay on the couch. I force myself to walk the pup drown out my mind by listening to NPR and by the time I get home I feel like a whole new person!
I feel like my daily dog walks do the same. They benefit us more than them! haha
PS: Been telling everyone with this tweet plugin that is does not work for me since later Saturday.All was fine up to then…
ditto!! I am not sure why it’s not working. ARGH
LOVED the beginning quote!!! Ain’t it the truth & loved how you renewed! You are so right! I have had lots of thinking lately & more now! 😉
So glad you renewed!
That recipe looks decadent! YUM!
and i can’t wait to hear your thoughts.. tomorrow?
The bars look like something I would give my kids after school or on a Sunday afternoon, you could add in so many good things to those! Can’t wait to see you in less than a week! xo
yes! make them! will steve approve? haha. See you soon!
You’re speaking to me with the need for mental rest. I finally took a blogging day off last week and it was glorious. And the world didn’t end. And I kickboxed, caught up on my “real” job, and happily stuffed my face with Healthy Bites. There are more at Blend?!?! So excited to see you and your bites.
i’m pimpin my balls..bites at blend. Don’t you worry.
whoa.
Ive never heard that before and THAT IS IT for me too.
the SPIRIT IS DEPLETED.
You are so right – I feel like I’m at the point where I need to refill by being around people that I care about!!!
Glad that you were able to refill over the weekend!!!
they always know what to say and what to do. Thankful for those people. yes! restore.
Chocolate + Pretzels = Yum!!!
The word “depleted” never really meant much to me, but when you put it like that, it gets pretty heavy, doesn’t it? Whew!
totally! Such a strong word. But one we can easily change.
YOU have a beautiful soul 🙂
I so wish I was going to BLEND! I hope I get to meet you one day! <3
i know, i am going to miss meeting you so much! <3
I usually sleep for 6-8 hours a night…pretty good I think…but sunday we turned off all alarms and slept in until around 1015…holy rest needed!
oh i wish i could sleep that late. haha
LOVE! Sometimes the soul needs to be refreshed and rested too!