Clearing Out Your Space and Schedule

I’m a well-organized person. I like things neat and tidy. Generally, that quality leads to positive results in my life. But it can also lead to dashed expectations and conflict. Clutter around the house can really bother me, if I let it.

So can clutter in my schedule. My leadership team here at Focus on the Family helps me manage my time well, but my life is full, and I always have more to do than I have time to do it. If I’m not careful, I’ll drown, ironically beneath a flood of really good things.

Author Courtney Ellis felt the same way 10 years into her marriage. She was happily married, had celebrated the birth of her second child, and enjoyed working and living with her husband in Southern California. Life was idyllic.

Until Courtney started having panic attacks.

Searching for answers, Courtney determined that both her home and her schedule were becoming overwhelmed with clutter. She was drowning from too many commitments and too many material things.

Then she remembered Matthew 6:19-21, which says, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Courtney decided it was time to learn how to downsize and simplify. As a result, she says her mind now feels uncluttered and free from her unhealthy preoccupation with possessions and an overburdened schedule. She also feels more attuned to spiritual opportunities around her.

Courtney Ellis is with us on our Focus on the Family Broadcast “Clearing Out Your Space and Schedule” to share ideas that will help you not only declutter your home, but your heart as well.

Courtney is an author, speaker, podcast host, and pastor. Listen to our full conversation on your local radio station, online, on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, via Google Podcasts, or take us with you on our free phone app.

While you’re here, I’d like to extend an invitation for you to become a special partner with us through our monthly “Friends of Focus on the Family” program. When you do, I’ll send you a copy of Courtney’s book Uncluttered: Free Your Space, Free Your Schedule, Free Your Soul as a way of saying thank you for touching others with the love of Christ. You’ll also receive member-exclusive benefits. To make your pledge, or for more information, click here or call 1-800-A-FAMILY (232-6459).