THE WEEKLY EDIT
VOLUME 1 • ISSUE 1
Order Begins With
Surrender
Freedom doesn't begin with gaining greater control over our lives. It begins by opening our hands before God.
THIS WEEK IN THE EDIT
Before there can be order, there has to be surrender.
In this first issue of The Weekly Edit, we're beginning with the foundation of an ordered life—not better control, a perfect routine, or another system to manage everything we're carrying.
We're beginning with open hands.
Together, we'll look at what Scripture teaches us about faithful stewardship, examine what may no longer belong in our hands, and consider what it looks like to allow God to establish the order before we begin building around it.
As you read, don't rush.
Bring your real life with you.
Ask God: What are You inviting me to surrender?
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
01 — My Life…His Story
02 — Scripture Meditation
03 — The Order of Beginning
04 — The Morning Landing Zone
05 — A Question I'm Sitting With
06 — One Tiny Shift
07 — WHOLE Reflection
08 — Reflection Before God
09 — Closing Prayer
10 — Resource of the Week
MY LIFE…HIS STORY
WHAT DOES FREEDOM THROUGH ORDER MEAN TO ME RGHT NOW?
Freedom through order means less mental chaos for me right now. Does anyone else feel like their mind is always going—like it will never stop, rest, or take a break? That has definitely been me for most of my life, and even more now that God has me in this new season.
But I am learning that the freedom I have been asking God for isn't going to come simply because I become more organized. For me, freedom is beginning with surrender.
I have to surrender my need to figure everything out. Surrender my need to carry everything. Surrender the version of my life I thought I would be living right now. And surrender my tendency to create my own order and then ask God to bless it.
As I surrender, creating order in the simplest ways brings peace. It brings calm. Honestly, it quiets enough of the noise for me to hear God more clearly and actually live my life instead of constantly trying to survive it.
“Order is not control, it's stewardship.”
By order, I mean simple rhythms or systems that can be repeated over and over again. As I create these simple rhythms, I can declutter my thoughts and use my mental capacity for more meaningful things—not just, What do I need to put on Mom's shopping list? What should I take out for dinner? What did I forget? What needs to happen next?
But even these rhythms have to come underneath surrender. I don't want to organize a life God is asking me to release. I don't want to become more efficient at carrying things He never gave me to carry, and I don't want systems to become another way for me to maintain control.
Order becomes part of my service to God when I allow Him to determine what belongs in my life first, and then faithfully steward what He places in my hands. As I step out of the foggy places of my mind, the Lord is bringing clarity and focus to my life. And let's not even talk about the mental load women carry daily.
At the beginning of this new season, when my Mom had a stroke, I was at the height of my real estate career. I was running with the horses—and then everything stopped.
My attention and focus were needed somewhere else. They were needed with my Mom. But while my physical life had changed, my heart had not completely surrendered to the change. I still felt the responsibility of my clients. I still felt the pull of the grind. I still wanted to hold onto the identity I had built. I didn't see myself as a “caregiver.” I saw myself as this “business mogul” making moves in the real estate industry, and I wanted more...until I didn't.
Has God ever taken the taste out of your mouth—or better yet, removed the desire from your heart—for something you were once adamant about having? And when He began shifting you into something different, did you surrender willingly? Or did you go kicking and screaming? I was definitely the latter. My surrender has not been one beautiful moment where I laid everything at God's feet and never reached for it again. It has been God continually showing me the places where I am still gripping something He is asking me to release (this part right here has had me in tears over and over again).
My plans. My timeline. My definition of success. My need to know what's next. My identity outside of Him. Even my expectations about what this season of my life was supposed to look like. God has been drawing me into a place of dependence where being in alignment with His will matters more to me than maintaining the life I had planned, and the more I depend on Him to make the way clear and my path straight, the more I realize something:
“Everything I am carrying may not be mine to carry.”
Some of it is God-given responsibility. Some of it is necessary for this season. But some of it is self-imposed. Some of it comes from expectations. Some comes from ambition. Some comes from who I thought I needed to be and some of it simply needs to be surrendered. That's where God's order is beginning for me.
Before I ask, How can I manage all of this? I am learning to ask:
God, what have You actually given me to steward?
What am I carrying that You never asked me to carry?
What am I holding onto that You are asking me to release?
What would obedience look like in this season—not the season I wanted, but the one I am actually in?
The only way I know to get back into alignment is to open my hands and allow God to sort it. I have to trust that He has the 30,000-foot view of my life—actually, His view is greater than that because He sees the end from the beginning. He already knows what I need to carry in this season. So I am learning to let Him decide, and whatever He does place in my hands, I want to carry faithfully. I want to continually depend on Him, lean into Him, fall on my knees daily before Him, receive His grace, seek His way, call on His name, obey His will, and walk in His power.
That is what freedom through order means to me now.
It is not me finally figuring out how to control my life. It is me surrendering my life to God, allowing Him to establish the order, and then faithfully stewarding what He chooses to place in my hands.
My surrender comes before His order and His order is teaching me how to walk in freedom.
~Brandy Tennille
SCRIPTURE MEDITATION
FAITHFUL IN LITTLE
“Whoever is faithful in very little is also faithful in much, and whoever is unrighteous in very little is also unrighteous in much.” Luke 16:10
Luke 16:10 comes in the middle of Jesus teaching His disciples about stewardship. In the parable of the shrewd manager in Luke 16:1–15, a manager is called to give an account for how he has handled what belonged to his master. Jesus uses the subject of money and possessions to reveal something much deeper about the heart: what we do with what has been entrusted to us matters to God.
Then Jesus says something that confronts me:
“Whoever is faithful in very little is also faithful in much.”
Jesus doesn't begin with much. He points to the little.
The small responsibility.
The ordinary assignment.
The resource already in your hands.
The thing that may not feel important enough to matter.
And yet, according to Jesus, our faithfulness in those places reveals something about us. That changes the way I think about stewardship. I can easily focus on what I believe God might allow me to do someday—the greater impact, the bigger assignment, the larger platform, the next opportunity—while overlooking what He has already placed in front of me today. But Jesus' words bring me back to this question:
“Am I being faithful with what is already in my hands?”
For me, one of those things is time.
There was a season when I believed that if God gave me more time, I would use it to make a profound impact in real estate and financial literacy. I wanted my work to matter. I wanted to accomplish something significant. But somewhere along the way, impact became hustle. Hustle became grind and the pursuit of success began taking from other areas of my life that also required faithful stewardship.
Luke 16:10 makes me examine that differently now. The question isn't simply, Was I accomplishing something good? I have to ask:
“Was I faithful with everything God had entrusted to me while I was doing it?”
My time.
My family.
My home.
My body.
My relationships.
My gifts.
My work.
My opportunities.
My relationship with Him.
I’m beginning to understand that stewardship isn't proving how much I can carry. It is faithfully handling what belongs in my hands and that connects deeply with what God is teaching me in this season about surrender. Before I ask Him for more, I want to become faithful with what He has already given me. Before I chase another assignment, I want to recognize the assignment already in front of me. Before I determine what deserves my time, I want God's priorities to establish the order of my life. I want to live a WHOLE life ordered by the Lord—not because every area will always be perfectly balanced, but because every area belongs to Him.
REFLECTION BEFORE GOD
Sit with Luke 16:1-15 before answering:
What “little” has God already placed in my hands that I may be overlooking while focusing on something bigger?
Where has ambition, urgency, comfort, success—or even something good—competed with faithful stewardship?
If the way I currently use my time, resources, influence, gifts and opportunities reveals what I value, what is my stewardship saying about my priorities?
PRAYER PROMPT
Lord, show me what faithfulness looks like with what You have already placed in my hands. Reveal where my priorities have become disordered, and teach me to faithfully steward what belongs to You.
In Jesus’ Name Amen.
THE ORDER OF THE WEEK
THE ORDER OF BEGINNING
Begin where you are, with what you have, and with what God has already placed in your hands.
I am beginning again, but this time I’m not doing this alone. I’m not leaning to my own understanding and I’m not running without vision. I am moving in alignment with God. I give glory to God for this season of my life, He has transitioned me into a place of introspection. At 46, in this place of transition, in this place of solitude I’m looking at where I am, how far I’ve come, and where the Lord is taking me. I don’t want to move without God’s unction, I don’t want to move without the Holy Spirit leading the way. I’m tired, exhausted and burnt out from trying to do it 70% my way with 30% of the Holy Spirit - it just doesn’t work for MY life. It does not produce the God fruit that my soul craves or the impact on how God intends to use me. SO as I stated before, I am beginning again with where I am, with what I have and with what God has already placed in my hands. If you are in this same place or even a place that feels similar to this go to your quiet place and ask God what do you have in your hands so that you can begin again as well.
~Brandy Tennille
PRACTICAL STEWARDSHIP
THE ORDERED HOME
The Morning Landing Zone
A Morning Landing Zone is a designated place in your home where the things you regularly need to begin your day are kept together and returned each evening. It might be one space—or a few intentional spaces throughout your home—depending on your morning routine.
The goal is simple: give the things you reach for every morning a home.
Your Bible and journal might stay beside your favorite chair. Keys, purse, and anything that needs to leave the house with you might have a designated place near the door. Medications, vitamins, or morning essentials might have their own consistent space.
At the end of the day, return everything to its landing zone.
Over time, this becomes a repeatable rhythm. Instead of waking up and immediately asking, Where did I put that? What do I need? What am I forgetting? you've already made those decisions.
You're not trying to control every detail of your morning.
You're creating enough order to make room for peace.
TRY THIS
Look at your morning routine and ask:
What do I regularly search for, gather, or have to remember each morning?
Choose a consistent home for those items.
Tonight, before bed, reset your Morning Landing Zone.
Tomorrow morning, notice what changes when you begin your day with one less decision to make.
A QUESTION I'M SITTING
WITH
“Where have I been asking God for freedom, but resisting the order required to walk in it?”
I have been asking God for freedom from the clutter in my home. I want to live more simply and let go of the things I truly don't need. But if I'm looking inward, I also have to admit that I've been resisting some of the very order I'm asking God to help me create.
I have a hard time letting things go. There's always that thought: What if I need this for a future project? What if I want to shop my own home and create a new look? What if I get rid of it and later wish I hadn't? And so I keep it. Then I look around and realize that all of those little decisions to hold on have contributed to the very clutter I'm asking God to give me freedom from.
Now, I also want to give myself grace for this season. My Mom had a stroke, she moved back into our home, and caregiving required my attention. A lot of things stopped—and honestly, my home shows it.
But I'm beginning again.
One room at a time, I'm using a simple KEEP | DONATE | TRASH system to bring order back into our home. And while I originally thought I was just decluttering, I'm realizing there is something deeper for me to examine.
“What am I afraid will happen if I let go?”
Maybe some of my resistance isn't really about the stuff. Maybe it's about wanting to make sure I'll have what I need later. Maybe holding onto things gives me a small sense of security. And maybe God is using something as ordinary as decluttering my home to teach me another lesson about surrender: I don't have to keep everything just because I might need it someday.
So instead of asking whether my delay is disobedience or fear, I'm bringing the question before God: Lord, have You already shown me what needs to go—and am I delaying what I already know to do? If so, then the next step isn't another prayer for freedom. It's obedience. For me, right now, that obedience may look as simple as picking up the next thing and deciding:
KEEP | DONATE | TRASH
Then letting it go.
ONE TINY SHIFT CHALLENGE
Walk outside for fifteen minutes.
No agenda. No rushing. No scrolling.
Just sunlight, quiet, nature, you, and God.
Let your mind settle. Notice what is around you. Talk to God—or simply be still in His presence.
Your challenge: Take one 15-minute walk with God this week.
THE WHOLE
REFLECTION
W — WORSHIP & WELLNESS
Where do I need God’s peace this week? I need God to cover me in this new journey of Her Ordered Life to know that I am in alignment with his Will.
H — HOME & HEART
What part of my home or heart needs order? My whole home has been a mess since my Mom had a stroke and moved back in. Two months later, I am now starting to declutter and organize through the keep, donate or trash system one room at a time so that I can bring my home back into an Ordered Life.
O — OVERFLOW WORK
What work matters most this week? Working on Her Ordered Life matters so much to me right now because I am doing this with everyone of you who joins me on the journey.
L — LIFE & LEGACY
What future am I preparing for? I’m preparing to impact future women that are going from chaos to clarity or overcoming overwhelm and creating an Ordered Life to live WHOLE.
E — ENJOY & EXPERIENCE
Where will I choose joy? Enjoying my family and being present for each of them in what they are doing but as for me a much needed pedicure is in Order (no pun intended 😉).
W
WORSHIP & WELLNESS
H
HOME & HEART
O
OVERFLOW WORK
L
LIFE & LEGACY
E
ENJOY & EXPERIENCE
REFLECTION BEFORE GOD
Take a few quiet moments before the Lord. Don't rush to answer. Ask Him to reveal what He wants you to see.
What is creating the most chaos in my life?
What am I trying to control?
Where is God inviting me into greater surrender?
CLOSING PRAYER
LET'S PRAY
Dear Heavenly Father,
Here I am, with open hands.
You know what I’ve been carrying. You know the things I’m tired of carrying, the things I’m afraid to release, and even the things I’ve picked up that You never asked me to hold.
Help me to let go.
Show me what belongs in my hands in this season and give me the courage to release what doesn’t. Forgive me for the times I’ve tried to control what I should have surrendered, rushed ahead of You, or allowed striving to become louder than Your voice. I don’t want to build a life and then ask You to bless it.
I want You to lead me.
Teach me to be faithful with what You’ve already given me—my time, my home, my relationships, my resources, my body, my work, and my calling.
Lord, establish Your order in me before I try to establish order around me. When I’m tempted to pick back up what I’ve surrendered, remind me that I can trust You. When I don’t understand what You’re doing, help me trust Your wisdom and Your timing. I don’t need to have everything figured out. I just want to take the next faithful step with You. Whatever You ask me to release, help me open my hands. Whatever You ask me to carry, help me carry it well. And whatever You are finished with, give me the courage to leave it behind.
My life is Yours, Lord.
Teach me to surrender, to trust, to obey, and to walk in the freedom that comes from being fully in Your hands.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen.
CONTINUE THE JOURNEY
The Weekly Edit is published every Friday with Scripture, prayer, honest reflection, and practical stewardship for women becoming who God is calling them to be.
THIS WEEK’S RESOURCE
The WHOLE Daily Rhythm
Guide
A simple guide to help you create daily rhythms in the 5 areas of everyday life. WHOLE, now you can move from chaos to clarity.
KEEP READING THE WEEKLY
EDIT
NEXT: Creating Rhythms That Support Your Season — September 11