Sacred in Place - Sabbath Living

I've posted twice now about defining a sacred space in your home where you can meet with God - and I've been grateful to those of you who have posted responses about your willingness to have your quiet times in the midst of your family life as a way to model to your children the priority of meeting with God daily, and in some cases out of necessity or as a spiritual discipline. I think I missed some important opportunities as a mother by keeping my prayer times more private - out of selfishness I suppose - out of deep need in hard circumstances - and out of ignorance. I wish someone had pointed out to me the value of having my kids seeing me meet with God.

I'd like to respond by proposing not an either/or, but as my pastor is quick to suggest, an "and". Perhaps a worthy goal is to build a beautiful, tranquil place for yourself. Our American homes have lots of bathrooms, indoor laundry facilities, dens and man caves and office space and of course lots of room dedicated to electronics and entertainment....but have you ever been in a house that had a chapel? Why not? What fun to have a place set aside to honor God. Yeah, all of our home should honor God (I love magnets with lists of blessings on fridge doors, and scripture signs over the fireplace), but what about a place where one can escape the busyness and sit at the altar? Then...here comes the AND....also incorporate times of worship, prayer and contemplation into the rhythm of our lives. Let your kids catch you meditating on the Word....stop and pray when life is getting too crazy...and as Ann Voskamp models, eat the Word at every meal. 

I want to be better at reaching out to God in the chaos, and even better at letting him reach out to me in the chaos.  I want my daily to-do list to have unwritten priorities to pray first rather than as a last resort, to count blessings and denounce spiritual attack. But, at my heart, I still crave my little corner that helps me to shut out the cares of the world and find my center in Christ. 

Call waiting....God's on the other line!