Every Christmas I make a bunch of calendars for family and friends, filled with photos of the kids from last year. I also order one for us which hangs in the kitchen for both my husband and I to see. On the first day of January I love to hang the new calendar, to see only the black number of each day in each square white box. Clean. No pink, red, or blue pen markings for dinner, dentists, doctors and playdates. It looks fresh as a snow fall before the plows have driven down the road.

We are all given the same 24 hours for each day, the same 365 days in the year. How we fill it is up to us. Now is the time to choose, to think through what is important to you this year.

I’ve heard it mentioned that living by an 80/20 rule is good. 80% of time is committed and 20% of time left for margin.

I’ve slowly been learning the concept. I can’t cram every day to capacity. Last year I began the work of cleaning out my life. It was as if God was saying directly to me, that I needed to decrease so that He could increase. At the beginning of last year, I was homeschooling my oldest, organizing a mom’s Bible study, teaching Sunday School, writing and running my sewing business. It all seemed good. But what I had to realize was that saying yes to all those things meant I was saying no to something else.

I was saying no to soul space and to quality time with my husband. As the year progressed God began to show me where to let go.

It took time of prayer, reflection and the voices of those closest to me for me to be able to see what needed to go. Even though the things I was doing were good, they were not balanced as well as they could have been.

Many of us find ourselves continually giving out to our families, churches and communities. This can be draining, sapping our emotional energy and strength. The solution to this is to come into God’s presence so that He can fill us.

Look at the example of Jesus. He spent much time ministering to people, but He took time to draw from His source of strength, which was found in God. Several Bible verses point out that He went to quiet places to pray. (Luke 5:16 & Mark 1:35) The presence of God is one of the most restful places that you can be.

In John 10:10 Jesus promised that He came to give us abundant life. One reason you don’t experience it is because you must learn to cultivate it. In her newly released book Sacred Rest Dr. Sandra Dalton compares tending to rest, like tending to a garden. “What if rest is in itself a vital activity required to tend the garden of our lives? What if rest is the water that replenishes the dryness? What if rest is the fertilizer awakening us to growth and greatness? What if rest is the hands of the gardener pulling up the weeds threatening to edge out beauty?”

Taking time to draw from His strength in His Presence is a cultivation of this life of rest. Click To Tweet

Life Coach Moment

Look at the calendar and write in 30 mins for quiet space two or more times this month. Do this at the beginning of each month and guard that carefully. If you have kids, decide to have a babysitter or a spouse take care of them while you have your soul space. Don’t let a last-minute demand on your time

Renew Your Mind in Truth

Matthew 11:28 “Come to me, all who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest.”

The fullness of our calendars often creates a burden on our souls. Christian philosopher Dallas Willard says that to grow spiritually we must ruthlessly eliminate hurry from our lives.

The way of Christ is not a path of busyness. Click To Tweet Come to Him and He will show you how to find rest for your soul.

Self-Talk Pont

Silence in God’s Presence is vitally important to my spiritual growth. It is not a waste of time.


We would love to bless you with a gift to encourage you on your journey toward rest an silence. Click the image below to follow the link to enter the giveaway. 

This post is linking up with #chasingcommunity #HeartEncouragement and #FreshMarketFriday

Naomi
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Learn to Cultivate Soul Space by Planning Times of Silence & giveaway
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8 thoughts on “Learn to Cultivate Soul Space by Planning Times of Silence & giveaway

  • January 4, 2018 at 8:53 am
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    Great post, and a perfect reminder at the start of a new year! This is something I’ve been thinking about a lot. My word for the year is “focus”. I think I’ve been trying to do too much lately and I want to learn to be better at saying no, even to good things, to focus on what God is asking me to do. Visiting from #chasingcommunity

    • January 9, 2018 at 7:47 am
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      Lesley, focus is a great word. Praying God will direct your steps this year and help you to focus on what He has for you.

  • January 4, 2018 at 9:08 am
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    Buffer, margin, white space! Yes to all of it. So important to keep us nourished. My Motivational Masterpiece (similar to a vision board) last year actually had a whole blank page, just to remind me of this when I started to say yes to too much! May God guide and direct every activity that makes its way to your calendar in 2018!

    • January 9, 2018 at 7:46 am
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      Liz, blank pages are great! Love that idea!

  • January 4, 2018 at 3:30 pm
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    I’m praying about what I need to trim as well, Naomi. Love the name of that book…Sacred Rest. If only we treated it more sacredly, huh?! So true that a life of abundance is not found in busyness. Thanks for sharing, and Happy New Year! ((hug))

    • January 9, 2018 at 7:46 am
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      Brenda, so true…we don’t always treat rest as Sacred. It is a work in progress for me as well.

  • January 4, 2018 at 7:52 pm
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    Thank you for sharing Naomi and reminding me the importance of boundaries and self-care!

    • January 9, 2018 at 7:48 am
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      Robin, don’t we all need that reminder sometimes? Life can press down on us all to quickly. Blessings in the New Year.

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