Recently during my vacation in the mountains I read a book called Wide Open Spaces.

I love the imagery of wide open spaces.  Who doesn’t like a wide open space?  I think of when I take my kids to the park and they discover a huge open field- they just want to run free.  It inspires them to let go and just enjoy it.

Or think about when you stand at a shoreline and look into the distance.   The vast open space of the ocean is so peaceful.

I read something profound for me from the book, From Clutter to Clarity. She said, “space promotes peace.”  I believe that is so true in our physical space/world as well in our spiritual world.  I also believe that concept to be true in our calendar and schedules.  I will share practical ways to help in each of those areas.

PEACE IN THE PHYSICAL SPACES:

My closet is now the most peaceful place in my house because it has wide open spaces.  I won’t show you Jeremy’s side of the closet yet.  I have a goal to totally organize my whole home/garage before we adopt.  More on organizing and adopting later.  My closet went from a chaotic mess I avoided to a place where I like retreat to for some peace. 🙂

I also love when my hallway and stairs are not littered with lego land mines.  It is as though it cause me to take a sigh of relief instead of a sigh of dread.  When my front room is clear and clean it turns into a dance floor for my kids.

I think it is magical when I actually have my kitchen counter clear of dirty dishes, papers and everything else that is drawn to it like a magnet.  It is often a dumping ground because we choose to be lazy and not put something in its place.  Flat surfaces are known to be magnets for clutter.  But when I clear them off it feels freeing and restful.  I am not inspired to bake cookies with an already messy kitchen.  So I miss out on doing something I love because of my clutter.

So I am working hard at creating wide open spaces in my home.

PEACE IN OUR SCHEDULES AND CALENDAR:

Space promotes peace in our schedules.  I know when my week is so full that I have little or no down time it is not close to peaceful.  It feels chaotic.  During these times I am more likely to snap and yell at my kids and hubby.  My kids are more likely to melt down.  My kids like to just go home after school.  They hate when we have to stop at the grocery store or run errands.  They want to to go home to their refuge.

There are days or sometime a week can that be uber full but that is not sustainable for me to maintain over the long haul.  It is not life giving.  It causes me to feel depleted.  Someone once taught me so life giving.  It is the concept of the 7 zones.  I use this to help my schedule not get overbooked.

God has given us a way to create space in our week.  It is the concept of taking one day a week called Sabbath.  It was so important to him that He commanded it of us in the 10 commandments.  It was a commandment to protect us and to give us life.  Every week my family looks forward to our Sabbath where we unplug from work, chores and busy schedule.  Find out how to take a day off here

PEACE IN OUR SPIRITUAL LIFE:

I have to create space in my life and schedule to pursue spiritual things.  I can’t just hope it happens.  Life anything important in our calendars- we schedule it.  We schedule lunches, dates, coffees with everyone else but we forget to plan time to be with our creator.   True God is with us all the time but the peace comes from making space for him.

I am learning the more space I make to meet with Jesus, the more peace I have.  I don’t do this out of guilt or obligation.  That is not what Jesus would want for us.  I do it because my soul needs it.

One way I create space in my schedule to seek the peace of God is through the spiritual practice/spiritual discipline of the Daily Office.  It is also called the Divine hours, Liturgy of the Hours, or the Divine office.  It is choosing to give your soul a recess a certain times during the day.  It is seeking silence and solitude for a few minutes throughout my day.  Here is a post on how to do this:  Your Soul Needs a Mini Retreat

All these thoughts came from my journaling this morning (click here to hear how I journal).

“And that’s not all; we throw open our doors to God and discover at the same moment that he has already thrown open his doors to us.  We find ourselves standing where we always hoped we might stand- out in the wide open spaces of God’s grace and glory,  standing tall and shouting our praise.”- found in the book of Romans chapter 5 verse 2.