School has started and parents have been deployed into the battlefield of life.

Like the gunshot fired at the start of a runner’s sprint, after-school fall activities have begun: soccer practice, music lessons, and homework. Not only are we juggling chauffeuring duties, we have to be tutors, counselors, chaplains to address the drama of playground politics, dreaded math homework, and a schedule that kids would love to throw out the window.

In addition, church small groups are starting and if you’ve signed up to volunteer for any ministries, white space on the calendar is disappearing.

In the midst of all this stress and activity, how can we slow down to find rest?

The answer may surprise you.

The answer isn’t found in doing things smarter, faster, or being more organized – although those skills can definitely help relieve some unnecessary stress.

But, solely focusing on being more productive and increasing efficiency can have the opposite effect: it creates more stress.

The reason is this:  the soul of every family is nurtured by presence and connection, not operational effectiveness.

The answer to slowing down and finding rest lies in prioritizing the needs of the soul.

The Soul of a Family

Jesus said, “What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet lose his soul… his very self?” (Lk 9:25, Mk 8:36)

What creates internal stress during the fall season is really a waterfall loss of sleep, relational connection with friends, and downtime — all happening in rapid succession.

The emotional and spiritual reserves filled up during the summer quickly drain away.

The answer to finding rest is creating space to feed the soul of your family.

I call it making room for spiritual whitespace. White space is what designers use to make art beautiful, to bring out the image or text that is most important.

For we are God’s poeima (translated as workmanship), created in Christ Jesus to do good works.” Ephesians 2:10.

In other words, we are God’s works of art.

In the same way, we need to nurture the soul of our families with rest.

Our families are created to reflect the design of God’s heart: beauty like a light in this world.

The more we can creatively inject soul refreshers into our everyday realities, the more we nurture the soul of our family with rest – to meet the demands of fall and shine for Christ.

Here are 9 ways to rekindle the soul of our families…

To be continued….

9 Soul Refreshers to Rekindle God’s Light in Our Families…

… Today’s post is published on iBelieve.com. Click here to read 9 Ways to Rekindle the Soul of Your Family on iBelieve.com.

I’m doing these very 9 soul refreshers with Eric, Josh and Caleb — and they’re really making this fall transition a soulful, happy one for our family,right in the realities of the daily grind.  I hope one of these refreshers bring some rest to your day.

Now It’s Your Turn

Whitespace Thursdays Link Up

Blog about your whitespace moments. 

Publish your post ANY DAY of the week.  

Link up on Thursday.
Visit & comment on the post before yours.

Use the Whitespace Thursday Linkup Badge.

Write what prompts your heart. Share your voice.

Today’s Writing Prompt:
{quite places}
or
share a whitespace moment this week 

Other writing prompts:

* If you’re reading the book, share your discoveries. How is the book speaking to you?

*  Share your whitespace moments.

– moments of beauty and rest
– feeding your soul
– your alone time with God

* Choose your own open writing prompt.  Be you.

Thank you for using #spiritualwhitespace to share your pictures on Instagram & Twitter!
It’s fun to see the moments that feed your soul this week!

{email subscribers, click here to link up your post in the Whitespace Linkup.}

Take The Journey of Rest With Me

Take the Finding Spiritual Whitespace journey to make space to rest.

Take the journey of self-discovery with Jesus with journaling prompts for individual or intimate group exploration. 

Purchase a copy of my memoir-driven guidebook for yourself and your friends.  Because rest isn’t a journey we need to take alone.  We need each other.

Let’s be kindreds. Let’s meet between the pages of Finding Spiritual Whitespace.