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A Spacious Life: Trading Hustle and Hurry for the Goodness of Limits
We're told that freedom and opportunity are our ticket to the good life.Get out there and follow your dreams! Be the hero of your own story! Find your happiness! Live your best life! It seems that limitless possibilities await anyone with vision and willingness to hustle their way through life. The thing is, instead of resulting in a sense of accomplishment, this limitlessness merely has us doing more and trying harder--leaving us depleted and dissatisfied. With life and faith. So Ashley Hales invites us to discover a better way: a more spacious life. Contrary to what we've believed, the good life we crave is not accomplished through unfettered options or even hustle and hurry. In fact, it can only be found in the confines of God's loving limits. Ashley helps us recognize that when we live within these limits, we discover a life filled with purpose, joy, and rest. This is the spacious life--finding true freedom within the good limits given to us by our good God.
168 pages, Paperback
Published September 14, 2021
34 people are currently reading
685 people want to read
About the author
Ashley Hales
5 books42 followersAshley Hales holds a PhD in English from the University of Edinburgh, Scotland. She’s a writer, speaker, the wife to a pastor and mother to 4. She hosts the Finding Holy podcast. She's the author of Finding Holy in the Suburbs and A Spacious Life.
Take your hustle habit quiz and find out how your limits are good at: aspacious.life. Connect with Ashley at aahales.com or on social media at @aahales.
Take your hustle habit quiz and find out how your limits are good at: aspacious.life. Connect with Ashley at aahales.com or on social media at @aahales.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 69 reviews
November 4, 2021
I enjoyed this book. Her prose are beautiful, her questions probing, and the topic timely. I wish I understood the spacious, unhurried life, and this book made me long for it more. I will definitely be recommending this book to friends. If you feel hurried or frazzled. I'd recommend this book as a good diagnosis for why we experience this in our current cultural moment.
October 1, 2021
I didn't think I had time to read this book, so I joined a group that held me accountable to finish it. It is a quick read and finishing it made me want to pick it up and start over again. It is RICH. The author's reminders and invitations spoke straight to the tender parts of my heart. Many beautiful, healthy changes to my family life resulted after only one read-through. You probably don't have time to read this book either, and if that rings true for you - you're exactly the person who needs it.
September 14, 2021
Ashley's work is honest and lives and breathes in the real-life. Hence it's as practical as it is insightful. I resonate deeply with the topic of her book, as someone who spent the bulk of her adulthood living life like a relentless race with no boundaries around the course I’d set before me. I believe this narrative of hustle and busy is embedded in Western culture and socially accepted (if not expected!) in most circles. I lived the career version of it, but I’ve seen a version of it transcribed to motherhood, academic pursuits, entrepreneurship, etc.
Very aptly her book is called a Spacious Life, because that's what we are often missing and longing for while in hot pursuit of our to-do’s and goals, ironically. I’ve felt claustrophobic within my own life, fearing it’s taking away some freedoms from me. But, as she points out: “Freedom is not simply freedom from constraints but for something--love.” For such a weighty subject matter, her tone is light and winsome. This book is a helpful tool and makes for a lovely read.
Very aptly her book is called a Spacious Life, because that's what we are often missing and longing for while in hot pursuit of our to-do’s and goals, ironically. I’ve felt claustrophobic within my own life, fearing it’s taking away some freedoms from me. But, as she points out: “Freedom is not simply freedom from constraints but for something--love.” For such a weighty subject matter, her tone is light and winsome. This book is a helpful tool and makes for a lovely read.
September 15, 2021
I started reading "A Spacious Life" with the free excerpt offered by the publisher, InterVarsity Press, and I could feel myself relaxing as I read. "Our God-given limits are the doorway to a more spacious life," writes author Ashley Hales. Since then I've been savouring the rest of the book, each framed as an invitation--an invitation to smallness, an invitation to rest, an invitation to community, and more.
For me this is a beautifully restorative read.
For me this is a beautifully restorative read.
November 2, 2022
“If we say the good life is a happy one, and what makes a person happy is freedom, and we define freedom as unlimited autonomy, then all our unlimited autonomy should create happy, contented people. But our unlimited autonomy isn’t bringing happiness; it’s producing stasis, exhaustion, and hurry.”
“We are lonely, exhausted, and unsure what success or joy even looks like anymore.”
What do you picture when you think of a ‘spacious’ life?
I think of time. A spacious life looks like time.
The reality is, time is a constraint. We cannot make more of it. So how do we use the time that we do have? Is it filled with things that distract us, distance us, depress us?
Especially living in the Western World, life looks full. Full of work. Full of stuff. Full of achievement and striving. Full of standards and measurements. But in all of that fullness, we are left feeling empty. An emptiness that doesn’t feel spacious.
Ashley Hales understands this.
She has written A Spacious Life to invite us into a life that embraces limits.
This is a counter-cultural concept.
We are told the possibilities are endless. Our options are endless. Freedom is ultimate. But as the quote above states— the definition of freedom matters. And we are not all using the same one.
The ‘freedom’ offered by the world is actually a cage. Bondage. Paralysis.
Doing whatever we want whenever we want, having no constraints— it sounds nice.
But humans don’t flourish in a limitless world. Limits and boundaries are good; they are what produces security and flourishing.
Hales poses:
“What might happen if we tried embracing our limits as gifts for our flourishing rather than barriers to our success?”
She goes on to say:
“[After the fall] We began to believe the good life is a life without limits. More fruit, more knowledge, more suspicion, more work, and more on our to-do lists to try to earn for ourselves the things we had already been given: a name, a relationship, a life, a purpose.”
“Limits are built into the fabric of creation as part of God’s loving rule and care. Limits are not a result of sin, strictures to hold us down, but a part of God’s very good plan. Limits create for us a home; they create the condition for flourishing.”
It’s easy to get lost in the hustle and the hurry. When I sit back and ponder that, I think I do try to hurry through life. That doesn’t mean we should try to make every second last as long as possible. It just means we are conscious of our time and we are conscious of our limits.
Hales subtitles her chapters with invitations. Invitations to ways of building a spacious life.
She invites us to:
- reconsider freedom and significance (freedom isn’t freedom from, but freedom for)
- smallness (this is a recognition of our place in this world and our posture before the Limit-Giver)
- set aside social media (our digital lives are not our real lives; the internet lures us in with the poisonous fruit of limitlessness in many ways)
- wait (remembering our dependence on a sovereign and omniscient God)
- rest (reorienting ourselves toward God instead of serving our work)
- delight (this brings us back to our identity in Christ and delighting in the Lord, a dance of joy)
- pay attention (are we seeing others? listening to them? how can we love our neighbors if we’re not paying attention to them?)
- community (our faith is not just about our individual experience but the affect of the gathered body of Christ living and acting in community with one another)
- remember the stuff of the kingdom (remembering God’s faithfulness; seeing things as markers of where we’ve been and how God is making all things new)
- abide (means “to stay put, to remain, even to wait defiantly, to stand ready, to sojourn, and to watch” during the hard or dark times)
- be surprised by hope (though we are limited, our Savior is limitless)
- purpose (“Our purpose has less to do with what we do and more with who we are becoming in Christ.”)
In short, “The spacious place is God himself.”
All of the limits he has given us draws us to him in dependence, rest, hope, love, purpose, and truth.
“However God has made you, wherever God has placed you, with the limits that are yours to embrace, you get to be a part of his great mission: finding ways to connect the ordinary with the story of God. That is your job: to bear witness, from the budget-doing, to the carpooling, to working to end injustice, to your work and leisure. All of it is holy. All of it can be redeemed, multiplied, and given in love— from the cup of cold water given to the prayers prayed.”
If you’re now wishing for a ‘How-To’ book that tells you how many activities you can sign your kids up for, how many hours you can be on your phone, and how often to serve in your church, etc., you’re missing the point.
Your life will become spacious when it is oriented around God. When you stop finding your purpose in what you’re doing but in who you’re becoming in Christ. When you feel the freedom of limits.
The way we spend our time, minute by minute, hour by hour, is not prescriptive. But is your life characterized by rest, hope, attentiveness, joy, and community? If not, maybe it’s time to rethink how you view your life and make some changes in your schedule, your attitude, your family, and your heart.
This book can feel like abstract ideas when we desire concrete tasks. Even as I’m writing this review I’m feeling challenged to explain it. I don’t know if my life is spacious. I don’t know if it’s something we can ever really achieve long-term.
But what I love about this book is that even if I don’t get a list of steps, I am reminded of a Person. And I think what Hales is getting at is that if we lean into Him, we will find our lives become more free, more spacious, and more meaningful.
I think you should allow this book to challenge you as it did me. I think it’s one I’ll have to revisit frequently to check in and see if I’ve fallen back into the alluring cycle of hustle, hurry, and striving.
Further Reading:
She quoted a few books in her book that I really enjoyed and would recommend as well:
- To Hell with the Hustle by Jefferson Bethke
- Gentle and Lowly by Dane Ortlund
- On the Road with Saint Augustine by James K.A. Smith
- Raising Worry-Free Girls by Sissy Goff (on my TBD)
I also recommend:
- When Strivings Cease by Ruth Chou Simons
- Humble Moms by Kristen Wetherell
More Quotes
“My biggest growth point in parenting is realizing that though it has narrowed my “free” time, attention, and availability, it has also helped me grow in empathy, to practice asking for forgiveness, and it reminds me I cannot meet everyone’s needs. This is a gift.”
“As God’s creatures made in his image, we are limited by our bodies, by our personalities, by our places, by our circles of relation, and by those for whom we are responsible. We are limited in our power and authority and by particular seasons of work, health, and faith. We are limited in our time, our attention, and our calling. Our God-given limits are the doorway into a more spacious life.”
“We must start by putting screens away. We use them to push off dissatisfaction with long lines, the emotional fallout from a fight, boredom, and loneliness. We’re being formed by screens instead of through embodied and habitual spiritual practices that move us toward Jesus.”
“When we wait we leave behind hurry; we slow down to see the beauty of being a creature, a part of God’ good created order, not the masters who are responsible for keeping it all spinning.”
“Waiting time isn’t wasted time… In the waiting we are becoming.”
“Waiting is trusting that our normal human limits aren’t mean as defects but as guardrails that guide us to God.”
“In pursuit of freedom, we instead serve our work. We are desperate for rest and so very fearful of it.”
“The order of the universe is always grace first: we receive first and then we work in response to the rest and care we’ve been given. We do not work for rest or in order to earn our rest. We start with rest.”
“The general human failing is to want what is right and important, but at the same time not to commit to the kind of life that will produce action we know to be right and the condition we want to enjoy.”— Dallas Willard
“We think guardrails restrict our freedom. When freedom is freedom from constraints, we live in a world we can’t control— yet we find ourselves caged by the things we chase.”
“Part of our work as followers of Jesus is resisting the limit to create our own purpose and instead receive the one God gives us, even if it doesn’t look like what we imagined. My children were not inconveniences to more important things; they named the boundaries of my body and the limits of that season of mothering little ones.”
Shelf Reflection Book Review Blog
Book Review Blog | Facebook | Pinterest
“We are lonely, exhausted, and unsure what success or joy even looks like anymore.”
What do you picture when you think of a ‘spacious’ life?
I think of time. A spacious life looks like time.
The reality is, time is a constraint. We cannot make more of it. So how do we use the time that we do have? Is it filled with things that distract us, distance us, depress us?
Especially living in the Western World, life looks full. Full of work. Full of stuff. Full of achievement and striving. Full of standards and measurements. But in all of that fullness, we are left feeling empty. An emptiness that doesn’t feel spacious.
Ashley Hales understands this.
She has written A Spacious Life to invite us into a life that embraces limits.
This is a counter-cultural concept.
We are told the possibilities are endless. Our options are endless. Freedom is ultimate. But as the quote above states— the definition of freedom matters. And we are not all using the same one.
The ‘freedom’ offered by the world is actually a cage. Bondage. Paralysis.
Doing whatever we want whenever we want, having no constraints— it sounds nice.
But humans don’t flourish in a limitless world. Limits and boundaries are good; they are what produces security and flourishing.
Hales poses:
“What might happen if we tried embracing our limits as gifts for our flourishing rather than barriers to our success?”
She goes on to say:
“[After the fall] We began to believe the good life is a life without limits. More fruit, more knowledge, more suspicion, more work, and more on our to-do lists to try to earn for ourselves the things we had already been given: a name, a relationship, a life, a purpose.”
“Limits are built into the fabric of creation as part of God’s loving rule and care. Limits are not a result of sin, strictures to hold us down, but a part of God’s very good plan. Limits create for us a home; they create the condition for flourishing.”
It’s easy to get lost in the hustle and the hurry. When I sit back and ponder that, I think I do try to hurry through life. That doesn’t mean we should try to make every second last as long as possible. It just means we are conscious of our time and we are conscious of our limits.
Hales subtitles her chapters with invitations. Invitations to ways of building a spacious life.
She invites us to:
- reconsider freedom and significance (freedom isn’t freedom from, but freedom for)
- smallness (this is a recognition of our place in this world and our posture before the Limit-Giver)
- set aside social media (our digital lives are not our real lives; the internet lures us in with the poisonous fruit of limitlessness in many ways)
- wait (remembering our dependence on a sovereign and omniscient God)
- rest (reorienting ourselves toward God instead of serving our work)
- delight (this brings us back to our identity in Christ and delighting in the Lord, a dance of joy)
- pay attention (are we seeing others? listening to them? how can we love our neighbors if we’re not paying attention to them?)
- community (our faith is not just about our individual experience but the affect of the gathered body of Christ living and acting in community with one another)
- remember the stuff of the kingdom (remembering God’s faithfulness; seeing things as markers of where we’ve been and how God is making all things new)
- abide (means “to stay put, to remain, even to wait defiantly, to stand ready, to sojourn, and to watch” during the hard or dark times)
- be surprised by hope (though we are limited, our Savior is limitless)
- purpose (“Our purpose has less to do with what we do and more with who we are becoming in Christ.”)
In short, “The spacious place is God himself.”
All of the limits he has given us draws us to him in dependence, rest, hope, love, purpose, and truth.
“However God has made you, wherever God has placed you, with the limits that are yours to embrace, you get to be a part of his great mission: finding ways to connect the ordinary with the story of God. That is your job: to bear witness, from the budget-doing, to the carpooling, to working to end injustice, to your work and leisure. All of it is holy. All of it can be redeemed, multiplied, and given in love— from the cup of cold water given to the prayers prayed.”
If you’re now wishing for a ‘How-To’ book that tells you how many activities you can sign your kids up for, how many hours you can be on your phone, and how often to serve in your church, etc., you’re missing the point.
Your life will become spacious when it is oriented around God. When you stop finding your purpose in what you’re doing but in who you’re becoming in Christ. When you feel the freedom of limits.
The way we spend our time, minute by minute, hour by hour, is not prescriptive. But is your life characterized by rest, hope, attentiveness, joy, and community? If not, maybe it’s time to rethink how you view your life and make some changes in your schedule, your attitude, your family, and your heart.
This book can feel like abstract ideas when we desire concrete tasks. Even as I’m writing this review I’m feeling challenged to explain it. I don’t know if my life is spacious. I don’t know if it’s something we can ever really achieve long-term.
But what I love about this book is that even if I don’t get a list of steps, I am reminded of a Person. And I think what Hales is getting at is that if we lean into Him, we will find our lives become more free, more spacious, and more meaningful.
I think you should allow this book to challenge you as it did me. I think it’s one I’ll have to revisit frequently to check in and see if I’ve fallen back into the alluring cycle of hustle, hurry, and striving.
Further Reading:
She quoted a few books in her book that I really enjoyed and would recommend as well:
- To Hell with the Hustle by Jefferson Bethke
- Gentle and Lowly by Dane Ortlund
- On the Road with Saint Augustine by James K.A. Smith
- Raising Worry-Free Girls by Sissy Goff (on my TBD)
I also recommend:
- When Strivings Cease by Ruth Chou Simons
- Humble Moms by Kristen Wetherell
More Quotes
“My biggest growth point in parenting is realizing that though it has narrowed my “free” time, attention, and availability, it has also helped me grow in empathy, to practice asking for forgiveness, and it reminds me I cannot meet everyone’s needs. This is a gift.”
“As God’s creatures made in his image, we are limited by our bodies, by our personalities, by our places, by our circles of relation, and by those for whom we are responsible. We are limited in our power and authority and by particular seasons of work, health, and faith. We are limited in our time, our attention, and our calling. Our God-given limits are the doorway into a more spacious life.”
“We must start by putting screens away. We use them to push off dissatisfaction with long lines, the emotional fallout from a fight, boredom, and loneliness. We’re being formed by screens instead of through embodied and habitual spiritual practices that move us toward Jesus.”
“When we wait we leave behind hurry; we slow down to see the beauty of being a creature, a part of God’ good created order, not the masters who are responsible for keeping it all spinning.”
“Waiting time isn’t wasted time… In the waiting we are becoming.”
“Waiting is trusting that our normal human limits aren’t mean as defects but as guardrails that guide us to God.”
“In pursuit of freedom, we instead serve our work. We are desperate for rest and so very fearful of it.”
“The order of the universe is always grace first: we receive first and then we work in response to the rest and care we’ve been given. We do not work for rest or in order to earn our rest. We start with rest.”
“The general human failing is to want what is right and important, but at the same time not to commit to the kind of life that will produce action we know to be right and the condition we want to enjoy.”— Dallas Willard
“We think guardrails restrict our freedom. When freedom is freedom from constraints, we live in a world we can’t control— yet we find ourselves caged by the things we chase.”
“Part of our work as followers of Jesus is resisting the limit to create our own purpose and instead receive the one God gives us, even if it doesn’t look like what we imagined. My children were not inconveniences to more important things; they named the boundaries of my body and the limits of that season of mothering little ones.”
Shelf Reflection Book Review Blog
Book Review Blog | Facebook | Pinterest
July 27, 2022
A beautiful book in so many ways. Ashley's prose is lovely—I was continually surprised and delighted by a turn of phrase or a metaphor she used. She quotes from a range of thinkers, bringing some of the best gems of the brightest theological minds into the midst of discussions about career disappointment, little children, or busy schedules. I especially appreciated the creative and intentional flow of the book, walking through different stages of Jesus's life and connecting each to a specific area (community, stuff, social media, rest, etc.) where we can embrace limitations.
That idea, of embracing limitations, is the best part of the book. It's something I've been forced to confront the past two years, as I wrestle with both physical and personality-related limitations that don't look like they'll be going away anytime soon. What kind of life do I want to live, accepting these terms I have been given? And how do I accept those terms when so often I want to rail against them? That anger against the way things are is alluring but exhausting, and Ashley is honest about her own battle with this. But she also offers hope.
It can sound a bit defeatist when we talk about limitations. I know I can veer too far to a kind of determinism—"Did you know you actually can't change as much about your life as you want to? So just suck it up!" I'd have made a good Stoic.
But Stoicism isn't what we're after, not as Christians. We are after abundant life and hope, and Ashley's argument is that those things are found within our limitations, not through overcoming them. This isn't to say transformation or healing in certain areas is not possible. I'm still trying to figure out how to have faith that things can change and also accept the things that are not changing. But the fact is, there are some aspects of our lives, whether external or internal, that limit us. And even transformation does not mean we become limitless creatures—it just redefines some of the boundaries of our limits. So whatever our lot in life, and however we grow, we will always run up against limits.
This, however, does not have to be scary thing. Ashley makes the powerful point that limits existed before the Fall: "Limits are built into the fabric of creation as part of God's loving rule and care. Limits are not a result of sin, strictures to hold us down, but a part of God's very good plan. Limits create for us at home; they create the condition for flourishing."
Limits aren't so scary when we remember Who created them, and Ashley continually calls us back to the character of God as the foundation for our hope. That's also why I love that she chooses to structure this book around the story of Jesus's life. God himself embraced limits.
"We are made by Love for love, and love joyfully accept constraints in order to love others particularly and fully." There's a lot of talk these days about loving our neighbors and building the Kingdom, and it's great. I love it. But I think without being honest about our limits, both individually and as humans in general, we'll do more harm than good.
I would love to see a book club or curriculum that reads this book alongside James Davison Hunter's To Change the World and John Mark Comer's The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry because they all explore the question of how we can best image God and serve the world around us within the confines of recognizing reality: that we are God's crowning creation and also limited and broken.
This idea is, as Alan Noble says at the back of the book, radically countercultural. It's also freeing, as I have found personally and as Ashley eloquently argues.
One last thing: sometimes I struggle with modern written prayers because they feel kind of fake or just not like me, but I found most of Ashley's really refreshing. Highly recommended, this whole book.
That idea, of embracing limitations, is the best part of the book. It's something I've been forced to confront the past two years, as I wrestle with both physical and personality-related limitations that don't look like they'll be going away anytime soon. What kind of life do I want to live, accepting these terms I have been given? And how do I accept those terms when so often I want to rail against them? That anger against the way things are is alluring but exhausting, and Ashley is honest about her own battle with this. But she also offers hope.
It can sound a bit defeatist when we talk about limitations. I know I can veer too far to a kind of determinism—"Did you know you actually can't change as much about your life as you want to? So just suck it up!" I'd have made a good Stoic.
But Stoicism isn't what we're after, not as Christians. We are after abundant life and hope, and Ashley's argument is that those things are found within our limitations, not through overcoming them. This isn't to say transformation or healing in certain areas is not possible. I'm still trying to figure out how to have faith that things can change and also accept the things that are not changing. But the fact is, there are some aspects of our lives, whether external or internal, that limit us. And even transformation does not mean we become limitless creatures—it just redefines some of the boundaries of our limits. So whatever our lot in life, and however we grow, we will always run up against limits.
This, however, does not have to be scary thing. Ashley makes the powerful point that limits existed before the Fall: "Limits are built into the fabric of creation as part of God's loving rule and care. Limits are not a result of sin, strictures to hold us down, but a part of God's very good plan. Limits create for us at home; they create the condition for flourishing."
Limits aren't so scary when we remember Who created them, and Ashley continually calls us back to the character of God as the foundation for our hope. That's also why I love that she chooses to structure this book around the story of Jesus's life. God himself embraced limits.
"We are made by Love for love, and love joyfully accept constraints in order to love others particularly and fully." There's a lot of talk these days about loving our neighbors and building the Kingdom, and it's great. I love it. But I think without being honest about our limits, both individually and as humans in general, we'll do more harm than good.
I would love to see a book club or curriculum that reads this book alongside James Davison Hunter's To Change the World and John Mark Comer's The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry because they all explore the question of how we can best image God and serve the world around us within the confines of recognizing reality: that we are God's crowning creation and also limited and broken.
This idea is, as Alan Noble says at the back of the book, radically countercultural. It's also freeing, as I have found personally and as Ashley eloquently argues.
One last thing: sometimes I struggle with modern written prayers because they feel kind of fake or just not like me, but I found most of Ashley's really refreshing. Highly recommended, this whole book.
September 30, 2021
I needed this gentle invitation into real, true spacious living. Here’s to limits!
September 14, 2021
This is one of those all-too-few books that breathes God. Chapter by chapter, Ashley Hales invites us to consider different ways that accepting life constraints could help train our lives into the specific kinds of human and spiritual growth God intends. I wasn't surprised to find commendations of Sabbath keeping, community, and rest; I didn't expect to see such a solid (and delightful!) justification for play. I would have liked to see Hales address more directly some of the specific constraints experienced in the disability/mental illness/low income world where I work. Still, I'm truly grateful for this excellent work. (I received an advance copy through InterVarsity Press, IVP).
September 14, 2021
Hurry and haste are
not in good taste. Slow down and
delight in your Lord.
A greatly beneficial Christian living book! So thankful for its thoughts and the 'reset' it could bring into a life that is out of control and alignment, or full of frustration or despair. Reflect on what Ashely Hales has to say and learn that the guardrails of God's limitations in our lives are for our own good. The old adage, "our disappointments are His-appointments" seems appropo to describe many of the thoughts in this book.
This is not a book to skim through in "hurry or haste". Take your time. Read carefully and delight in the words Hales pens and the thoughts to which she leads the reader. Discover that "cathedral" where we can find spaciousness even in the limitations with which life underscores us. Meet with God at those roughshod times. He's there. Stretch out in His spaciousness He's creating for us all and to which Hales invites on His behalf. She's been there. She knows firsthand.
The limitations are invitations from Jesus to learn of the hope resurrection brings; to learn of Him and to draw us to our Heavenly Father which could bring new life and purpose despite losses. These are His gifts to us, Hales informs. Do what it takes to pay attention to Him.
Very pointed discussion questions are provided. They are good to answer for oneself and/or in a group setting. Acknowledgements and Notes about quotes used, follow.
~Eunice C., Reviewer/Blogger~
August 2021
Disclaimer: This is my honest opinion based on the review copy given by the publisher.
not in good taste. Slow down and
delight in your Lord.
A greatly beneficial Christian living book! So thankful for its thoughts and the 'reset' it could bring into a life that is out of control and alignment, or full of frustration or despair. Reflect on what Ashely Hales has to say and learn that the guardrails of God's limitations in our lives are for our own good. The old adage, "our disappointments are His-appointments" seems appropo to describe many of the thoughts in this book.
This is not a book to skim through in "hurry or haste". Take your time. Read carefully and delight in the words Hales pens and the thoughts to which she leads the reader. Discover that "cathedral" where we can find spaciousness even in the limitations with which life underscores us. Meet with God at those roughshod times. He's there. Stretch out in His spaciousness He's creating for us all and to which Hales invites on His behalf. She's been there. She knows firsthand.
The limitations are invitations from Jesus to learn of the hope resurrection brings; to learn of Him and to draw us to our Heavenly Father which could bring new life and purpose despite losses. These are His gifts to us, Hales informs. Do what it takes to pay attention to Him.
Very pointed discussion questions are provided. They are good to answer for oneself and/or in a group setting. Acknowledgements and Notes about quotes used, follow.
~Eunice C., Reviewer/Blogger~
August 2021
Disclaimer: This is my honest opinion based on the review copy given by the publisher.
January 9, 2023
Good book to start the year off with. A reminder that we don't have to constantly hustle and hurry. As God's creatures made in His image, we are all limited by our bodies, by our personalities, by our places, by our circles of relation, and by those for whom we are responsible. This is intentional on God's part, and it is GOOD. Our limits remind us that we are but dust. They remind us that we are dependent. We can flourish within the boundaries He has set. We are reminded to reckon with our "smallness". We cannot meet everyone's needs all the time; we must learn to embrace the limits of our time and attention. However, sometimes we choose to "limit ourselves" by showing up when we'd rather not, by giving of our time to listen, talk, and pray, by giving financially, by volunteering. So at times limiting ourselves looks like giving of ourselves. This "spacious life" isn't about all we have achieved or about condemning ourselves for not measuring up. It's about remembering that our identity is in Christ. We are washed, forgiven, and beloved. We are invited to follow Christ, to say "yes" to Him, to trust that He will take care of us.
April 8, 2023
I enjoyed this read very much and highly recommend it! Here are my thoughts upon turning the last page.
We've all had those jarring realizations that life is passing us by. Shouldn't we be further along? Shouldn't we be more content and more accomplished? Being human is learning to confront reality: especially when our expectations are far, far from it.
In A Spacious Life, we find help in this process. The gentle, wise voice of Ashley Hales takes readers on a journey of discovery--and confrontation, depending on the topic. She invites us to consider all the notions we live by in our attempts to find the good life. And she points to Jesus as the reality for everything our hearts long for.
I needed this reflective journey. Reality has felt heavy in the past few years, leaving me a bit cramped inside. Reading through A Spacious Life knocked down some protective walls that I'd constructed and eased me into hope. I especially appreciated the closing prayers at the end of each chapter. This would also make for a great group discussion book or a devotional read while away on a retreat.
We've all had those jarring realizations that life is passing us by. Shouldn't we be further along? Shouldn't we be more content and more accomplished? Being human is learning to confront reality: especially when our expectations are far, far from it.
In A Spacious Life, we find help in this process. The gentle, wise voice of Ashley Hales takes readers on a journey of discovery--and confrontation, depending on the topic. She invites us to consider all the notions we live by in our attempts to find the good life. And she points to Jesus as the reality for everything our hearts long for.
I needed this reflective journey. Reality has felt heavy in the past few years, leaving me a bit cramped inside. Reading through A Spacious Life knocked down some protective walls that I'd constructed and eased me into hope. I especially appreciated the closing prayers at the end of each chapter. This would also make for a great group discussion book or a devotional read while away on a retreat.
October 17, 2021
Ebook from library.
Such a timely read. It is grace filled and encouraging.
Life brings with it limits. It is counterintuitive, yet, when I live inside my limits (getting good sleep, giving myself permission to say no and to place boundaries, to not try to “do it all” and do it all by myself…) I will find that “limited” area to be spacious and life-giving in Jesus, rather than stifling.
“The hurried life is a slow creep back into busy habits - habits that do more than take up our time; they also take up space in the soul for creativity, growth, and the slow work of transformation.” Chapter 6, page 2
“What if the good life has nothing to do with what we try to control but everything to do with God’s small invitations to name our limits, feel our humanity, and hide ourselves in Him?” Chapter 13 page 6
Such a timely read. It is grace filled and encouraging.
Life brings with it limits. It is counterintuitive, yet, when I live inside my limits (getting good sleep, giving myself permission to say no and to place boundaries, to not try to “do it all” and do it all by myself…) I will find that “limited” area to be spacious and life-giving in Jesus, rather than stifling.
“The hurried life is a slow creep back into busy habits - habits that do more than take up our time; they also take up space in the soul for creativity, growth, and the slow work of transformation.” Chapter 6, page 2
“What if the good life has nothing to do with what we try to control but everything to do with God’s small invitations to name our limits, feel our humanity, and hide ourselves in Him?” Chapter 13 page 6
September 13, 2021
How do we make sense of the very real limitations that we all have and the slow nature of change when the world not only expects us to move at the speed of light but rewards busyness? In A Spacious Life, author Ashley Hales invites us to slash our to-do list, rest, and even find freedom from the tyranny of the urgent. Hales is a gentle, wise, and clear-headed guide who avoids using shame or religious clichés to make her point. A Spacious Life will help you understand how embracing our limits can lead to flourishing.
January 31, 2022
The last page brought tears to my eyes. This book is beautifully and thoughtfully written, gentle in its convictions, and wonderfully encouraging. I am moved to DO less, but BE more in ways that make much of Jesus and little of me. What a sweet rest for my soul in these pages.
November 23, 2021
I really liked this book and almost love it. It led to some really great conversations and some really great thought work, but I was almost confused and distracted by the amount of self-disclosure by the author, I wanted to know more about her story and why the events she referenced mattered in the broader understanding of appreciating the goodness of limits.
November 23, 2025
While this book seems more geared toward women, i still found it refreshing. It seems like a stripped down version of “You’re only human” by Kelly Kapic
December 19, 2021
This book is designed for Christian women who are feeling overwhelmed with life. It shows that God has designed limits for all of us and that is a good thing. She encourages women o use ordinary means of prayer, worship, Bible reading and caring for others to connect us with God and our neighbors. This quote helps to summarize this book. "However God has made you, wherever God has placed you, with the limits that are yours to embrace, you get to be a part of his great mission: finding ways to connect the ordinary with the story of God. That is your job: to bear witness, from the budget-doing, to the carpooling, to working to end injustice, to your work and leisure. All of it is holy." I recommend this book to any Christian who wants to deepen her life.
I received a complementary copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I received a complementary copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
September 14, 2021
Time and energy, those are the limits I rail against the most, pushing the boundaries of what I know my body can handle in the name of doing more, of squeezing in one more thing. When I view my own limits as the enemy, I know I'm striving too much, living too rushed and hurried.
I'm learning to embrace my limitations instead as a blessing and as an invitation into a more free and spacious life. Reading "A Spacious Life" by Ashley Hales has been so life-giving in this regard! She frames each of our limitations as invitations into a life of flourishing within God's kingdom. Her short chapters are packed with so much insight, I seriously highlighted half the book!
I'm learning to embrace my limitations instead as a blessing and as an invitation into a more free and spacious life. Reading "A Spacious Life" by Ashley Hales has been so life-giving in this regard! She frames each of our limitations as invitations into a life of flourishing within God's kingdom. Her short chapters are packed with so much insight, I seriously highlighted half the book!
March 12, 2023
I just finished this book for the second time in a year. The first time I had borrowed it from the library, and I wanted to own it and read it again with a pen to underline and star. It speaks to me right where I am and is so calming and refreshing for my soul. Gales is a beautiful writer who uses words to speak God’s love and truth into our lives. The book is truly a blessing!
December 14, 2023
One of the best books I’ve read on what Christian living really is. Haley’s writes with so much accessibility and gets right to the point. Each chapter will leave you with something to ponder in your own life. In our fast paced super busy lifestyle and culture boundaries seem like hinderances when actually they are blessings. A must read.
January 3, 2022
Good read. Seemed to be tailored for female readers, though not exclusively. Augustinian reflections on true freedom and the good life.
October 9, 2021
Oh my, it's not often that you read a book, relate well, and are sad that it ended. This book is that kind of book for me. I will re-read this book. I found it to be biblical, relatable, and created a picture of a gospel-focused life with the beauty and surrender it entails. It challenged me, it resonated with me, and it has me thinking and is pushing me to grow in my own relationship with the Lord. That's a book worthy of high honor in my opinion.
This book focuses on gospel living. It's focused on life in the limits of Our Good and Gracious God, Jesus' work on the cross for us, His sending of the Holy Spirit, who lives within us, and brings us much space. It's focused on real community, real abiding in Jesus, real life, and a real invitation to live like Jesus models for us. The author shares relatable aspects of learning her limits, with scripture concepts and examples of Jesus living and teaching on earth, and the larger concepts of gospel living in real authentic community, with all the sacrifice that brings.
At the start of the book-this concept, I identified with: "What I didn’t know, at least not then in a deep-in-your-bones sort of way, was that these limitations on my time, body, and affections were actually an invitation. Instead, I fought them. For years I fought God about the gap between my imagined life and my given one. My crash course in acknowledging my limits was parenthood."
"We are made by Love for love, and love joyfully accepts constraints in order to love others particularly and fully."
"The goodness of gathered salt is that it shows us how food works and tastes best. Might the people of God show us how we work best as humans—not overly individualistic, but bearing a communal identity of love? Might we be more concerned about enhancing the flavor of others than enamored with our own saltiness? May the people of God minimize bitterness, temper saccharine sweetness, and heighten the aroma of Christ. What does this look like? Love. Joy. Peace. Patience. To be the gathered salt of God, we must consent to the constraints of community."
"But to be the gathered salt of God, we must consent to the constraints of community—of being for others instead of using others—often through limiting our time, desires, and even those secondary identities we hold dear."
"Rich community in the church, that first family that Jesus adopts us into—like a beef bourguignon or homemade pasta—builds and grows in its flavor only through constraints. It happens slowly. To build thicker communities, we’ll have to stick around, live under gracious and loving authority, forgive each other, and choose to spend time together, rather than making the best choice for any one individual."
"Rich community happens through diverse people, layered and simmering together."
"We crave the goodness of gathered salt. But to actually be the community we crave, we must limit ourselves. We limit ourselves by choosing to show up when at times we’d rather not. We limit ourselves when we give of our time to listen, talk, and pray. We limit ourselves when we participate in weekly liturgy even when we do not feel like it. "
"Part of our work as followers of Jesus is resisting the limit to create our own purpose and instead to receive the one God gives us, even if it doesn’t look like what we imagined. . . Jesus, who limited himself for love, asks us to follow him: to steward our limits for others. Limits create conditions for community."
Thankful to partner with IVP through Netgalley and read an advanced copy of this book. Off to purchase a hard copy!!
This book focuses on gospel living. It's focused on life in the limits of Our Good and Gracious God, Jesus' work on the cross for us, His sending of the Holy Spirit, who lives within us, and brings us much space. It's focused on real community, real abiding in Jesus, real life, and a real invitation to live like Jesus models for us. The author shares relatable aspects of learning her limits, with scripture concepts and examples of Jesus living and teaching on earth, and the larger concepts of gospel living in real authentic community, with all the sacrifice that brings.
At the start of the book-this concept, I identified with: "What I didn’t know, at least not then in a deep-in-your-bones sort of way, was that these limitations on my time, body, and affections were actually an invitation. Instead, I fought them. For years I fought God about the gap between my imagined life and my given one. My crash course in acknowledging my limits was parenthood."
"We are made by Love for love, and love joyfully accepts constraints in order to love others particularly and fully."
"The goodness of gathered salt is that it shows us how food works and tastes best. Might the people of God show us how we work best as humans—not overly individualistic, but bearing a communal identity of love? Might we be more concerned about enhancing the flavor of others than enamored with our own saltiness? May the people of God minimize bitterness, temper saccharine sweetness, and heighten the aroma of Christ. What does this look like? Love. Joy. Peace. Patience. To be the gathered salt of God, we must consent to the constraints of community."
"But to be the gathered salt of God, we must consent to the constraints of community—of being for others instead of using others—often through limiting our time, desires, and even those secondary identities we hold dear."
"Rich community in the church, that first family that Jesus adopts us into—like a beef bourguignon or homemade pasta—builds and grows in its flavor only through constraints. It happens slowly. To build thicker communities, we’ll have to stick around, live under gracious and loving authority, forgive each other, and choose to spend time together, rather than making the best choice for any one individual."
"Rich community happens through diverse people, layered and simmering together."
"We crave the goodness of gathered salt. But to actually be the community we crave, we must limit ourselves. We limit ourselves by choosing to show up when at times we’d rather not. We limit ourselves when we give of our time to listen, talk, and pray. We limit ourselves when we participate in weekly liturgy even when we do not feel like it. "
"Part of our work as followers of Jesus is resisting the limit to create our own purpose and instead to receive the one God gives us, even if it doesn’t look like what we imagined. . . Jesus, who limited himself for love, asks us to follow him: to steward our limits for others. Limits create conditions for community."
Thankful to partner with IVP through Netgalley and read an advanced copy of this book. Off to purchase a hard copy!!
October 11, 2022
Three words to describe A Spacious Life would be, clear, merciful, and gentle.
Reading this book really was a stop along the way of a road I’ve been traveling as I work through peace, silence, consumerism, and prayer. I was curious to see what Ashley would share in her book, especially back to back with Jennifer Dukes Lee’s book on a similar topic, Growing Slow.
Each chapter of A Spacious Life is an invitation to embrace your limits and pursue your ambitions while respecting your God given abilities. With topics like smallness, rest, waiting, community, delighting, paying attention, and purpose, Ashley leads you to all the places of conviction. While reading, I felt like a close friend and I were getting a cup of coffee as she confronted me about my need for boundaries. I think what I enjoyed most about A Spacious Life was how each topic built upon the previous chapter. You have a hard time reframing the limits of community when you haven’t considered the limits of yourself. Her work is filled with an abundance of ways to live within your limits. I think what I enjoyed most about A Spacious Life was how each topic built upon the previous chapter.
The chapter that I enjoyed most was the chapter on community, “The Goodness of Gathered Salt”. Ashley writes, “We are scooped to be like handfuls of salt and tossed into water. We are to be run to tenderize meat. We are to preserve the flavor and taste of food so it does what it’s supposed to do - to help us work right, to nourish, and to delight. We’re really not much use on our own. We don’t do what we’re supposed to do as lone rangers. God’s people are gathered salt.” After the last year, I have a renewed appreciation, desire, and joy for attending church. Sitting with my community before the Lord is so sweet. But I realized I was not participating. I really think it was this chapter that motivated me to lead the women’s bible study this year. To embrace that my limits are different than another woman’s means I am able to do different things. I may not be able to have a consistent nine to five, five days a week job, but I have enough time to actually research and plan out a curriculum.
A Spacious Life will sit on my shelf for recommendations if you are starting to dismantle your life, goals, plans and readjust. Ashley Hales’ book is available now.
“Our limits, rather, invite us into a proper relationship with God.”
Reading this book really was a stop along the way of a road I’ve been traveling as I work through peace, silence, consumerism, and prayer. I was curious to see what Ashley would share in her book, especially back to back with Jennifer Dukes Lee’s book on a similar topic, Growing Slow.
Each chapter of A Spacious Life is an invitation to embrace your limits and pursue your ambitions while respecting your God given abilities. With topics like smallness, rest, waiting, community, delighting, paying attention, and purpose, Ashley leads you to all the places of conviction. While reading, I felt like a close friend and I were getting a cup of coffee as she confronted me about my need for boundaries. I think what I enjoyed most about A Spacious Life was how each topic built upon the previous chapter. You have a hard time reframing the limits of community when you haven’t considered the limits of yourself. Her work is filled with an abundance of ways to live within your limits. I think what I enjoyed most about A Spacious Life was how each topic built upon the previous chapter.
The chapter that I enjoyed most was the chapter on community, “The Goodness of Gathered Salt”. Ashley writes, “We are scooped to be like handfuls of salt and tossed into water. We are to be run to tenderize meat. We are to preserve the flavor and taste of food so it does what it’s supposed to do - to help us work right, to nourish, and to delight. We’re really not much use on our own. We don’t do what we’re supposed to do as lone rangers. God’s people are gathered salt.” After the last year, I have a renewed appreciation, desire, and joy for attending church. Sitting with my community before the Lord is so sweet. But I realized I was not participating. I really think it was this chapter that motivated me to lead the women’s bible study this year. To embrace that my limits are different than another woman’s means I am able to do different things. I may not be able to have a consistent nine to five, five days a week job, but I have enough time to actually research and plan out a curriculum.
A Spacious Life will sit on my shelf for recommendations if you are starting to dismantle your life, goals, plans and readjust. Ashley Hales’ book is available now.
“Our limits, rather, invite us into a proper relationship with God.”
September 30, 2021
In the early pages of her new book A Spacious Life: Trading Hustle and Hurry for the Goodness of Limits, Redbud author Ashley Hales roped me to my chair, reading more. A few lines double-knotted me there:
“Without the loving setting of limits on the natural world, it would be void and without form.”
“Limits create for us a home; they create the condition for flourishing.”
“Limits, given to the world by a loving God, are the conditions for life.”
*****
“Hm,” you say. “Limits? Spaciousness? Aren’t they mutually exclusive?”
Quite the contrary, according to Hales. In fact, acknowledging God-ordained limits on ourselves—reckoning with our smallness, instead of gulping, grasping, consuming, and trying to be big—is the very mindset that makes roomy, joyful significance possible. Limits give us space to rejuvenate and heal, to love and grow in abiding intimacy with Jesus in ways that actually make us productive in more meaningful ways.
Hales explains her position with thoughtful, wise exposition and vivid illustrations—both deep and broad—and a feast to read. As she addresses universally relevant topics, she invites us to slow down, rest, delight, and pay attention. As we do, we will enjoy community as never before, will approach material goods differently, and will thrive in hope and purpose.
I’m taking this book to heart. I loved Hales’ insights, her succinct, lyrical writing . . . all of it. I imagine pulses quieting, smiling broadening, paths crystallizing as others read this, just as mine did.
“Without the loving setting of limits on the natural world, it would be void and without form.”
“Limits create for us a home; they create the condition for flourishing.”
“Limits, given to the world by a loving God, are the conditions for life.”
*****
“Hm,” you say. “Limits? Spaciousness? Aren’t they mutually exclusive?”
Quite the contrary, according to Hales. In fact, acknowledging God-ordained limits on ourselves—reckoning with our smallness, instead of gulping, grasping, consuming, and trying to be big—is the very mindset that makes roomy, joyful significance possible. Limits give us space to rejuvenate and heal, to love and grow in abiding intimacy with Jesus in ways that actually make us productive in more meaningful ways.
Hales explains her position with thoughtful, wise exposition and vivid illustrations—both deep and broad—and a feast to read. As she addresses universally relevant topics, she invites us to slow down, rest, delight, and pay attention. As we do, we will enjoy community as never before, will approach material goods differently, and will thrive in hope and purpose.
I’m taking this book to heart. I loved Hales’ insights, her succinct, lyrical writing . . . all of it. I imagine pulses quieting, smiling broadening, paths crystallizing as others read this, just as mine did.
Read
September 27, 2021Ashley Hales invites believers to leave behind their 21st-century addiction to hustle and to embrace the spaciousness of a life within God-designed limits. Humanity has been boundaried since The Garden, but we persist in living as if it weren’t so, first in stepping up to a forbidden tree and, ultimately, today using our iPhones to style ourselves as omnipresent and Google to fake omniscience as we power through our days on caffeinated omnipotence.
Drawing from her own experience as a mom to four, a church planting ministry wife, and an academic, Hales is well-qualified to speak to the futility of hurry and the goodness of real community—even with all its constraints. It turns out that freedom lies along a road with strong guardrails.
“Your limits are an invitation into the presence of God. He desires to meet you in your limits” (106).
The truth of this counter-cultural claim washed over me in a season of hurry and hard work, and I’ve already written one post grounded in Ashley’s good thinking. Laying my spinning plates at Jesus’s feet sounds like a good beginning, a spiritual practice that leads to life, A Spacious Life.
Many thanks to IV Press for providing a copy of this book to facilitate my review, which is, of course, offered freely and with honesty.
Drawing from her own experience as a mom to four, a church planting ministry wife, and an academic, Hales is well-qualified to speak to the futility of hurry and the goodness of real community—even with all its constraints. It turns out that freedom lies along a road with strong guardrails.
“Your limits are an invitation into the presence of God. He desires to meet you in your limits” (106).
The truth of this counter-cultural claim washed over me in a season of hurry and hard work, and I’ve already written one post grounded in Ashley’s good thinking. Laying my spinning plates at Jesus’s feet sounds like a good beginning, a spiritual practice that leads to life, A Spacious Life.
Many thanks to IV Press for providing a copy of this book to facilitate my review, which is, of course, offered freely and with honesty.
September 12, 2021
A Spacious Life
Trading Hustle and Hurry for the Goodness of Limits
by Ashley Hales
Pub Date 14 Sep 2021
InterVarsity Press, IVP
Christian
I am reviewing a copy of A Spacious Life through InterVarsity Press, IVP and Netgalley:
In A Spacious Life we are reminded that Freedom is not simply freedom from constraints, but for something we love. We are reminded too that our God-Given limits are a doorway into a more spacious life.
We are reminded too that Limits, given to the world by a loving God, are the conditions for life. The readers are reminded too that your limits create a unique path whereby Jesus comes to you in that moment and invites you to live for the life of the world. It is pointed out too that waiting opens us up so God can make his home in us.
We are reminded too that we can form habits that create the conditions for rest, but rest is ultimately a gift given by a good God.
We are reminded too that in Jesus things find both their proper use and place.
I give A Spacious Life five out of five stars!
Happy Reading!
Trading Hustle and Hurry for the Goodness of Limits
by Ashley Hales
Pub Date 14 Sep 2021
InterVarsity Press, IVP
Christian
I am reviewing a copy of A Spacious Life through InterVarsity Press, IVP and Netgalley:
In A Spacious Life we are reminded that Freedom is not simply freedom from constraints, but for something we love. We are reminded too that our God-Given limits are a doorway into a more spacious life.
We are reminded too that Limits, given to the world by a loving God, are the conditions for life. The readers are reminded too that your limits create a unique path whereby Jesus comes to you in that moment and invites you to live for the life of the world. It is pointed out too that waiting opens us up so God can make his home in us.
We are reminded too that we can form habits that create the conditions for rest, but rest is ultimately a gift given by a good God.
We are reminded too that in Jesus things find both their proper use and place.
I give A Spacious Life five out of five stars!
Happy Reading!
September 14, 2021
I loved reading this book. The tone is tender, caring, and soft - Ashley invites you into a deeper, more intentional pace of life that is simply refreshing, like taking a cool drink of water on a hot day. She offers poignant observations and practical encouragements to embrace your God-given limits, to remember they are good and necessary, and to stop the hurried, harried pace that will leave you exhausted and out of breath. You can't do it all, and that's okay. Accepting that and living into that truth will set you free.
I loved the flow and format for each chapter - beginning with a personal story, entering into the main idea, pointing back to Jesus and his life and teachings, and ending with a prayer. The chapters are short and meaningful. This book exudes intention and delight and instead of leaving feeling like I have a set of to do's to try to improve my life, I feel invigorated to breathe a little deeper, walk a little slower, and embrace Jesus and what he's given me a little more each day. It's countercultural, and it's so important. Thank you for writing this book!
I loved the flow and format for each chapter - beginning with a personal story, entering into the main idea, pointing back to Jesus and his life and teachings, and ending with a prayer. The chapters are short and meaningful. This book exudes intention and delight and instead of leaving feeling like I have a set of to do's to try to improve my life, I feel invigorated to breathe a little deeper, walk a little slower, and embrace Jesus and what he's given me a little more each day. It's countercultural, and it's so important. Thank you for writing this book!
January 21, 2022
Someone shared how they heard their own ache in the beginning pages of the book so I grabbed it and I couldn't put it down. This was what I was in need of, a gospel-saturated invitation to embrace God-given limits in order to have a "spacious life."
While the Megachurch vibe tells you to be "limitless" Hales actually builds a resounding case for the good of limits and a fresh experience of life within them.
From the publisher: "Contrary to what we've believed, the spacious life is not found in unfettered options or accomplished by our hustle and hurry. The life we crave is found within the confines of God's loving limits. Ashley helps us recognize that when we live within these boundaries, we discover a life filled with purpose, joy, and rest. This is the spacious life—finding true freedom within the good limits given to us by our good God."
Thirteen chapters through really normal things of life Hales paints a clear vision of running after less to gain more. I highly recommend it to you.
While the Megachurch vibe tells you to be "limitless" Hales actually builds a resounding case for the good of limits and a fresh experience of life within them.
From the publisher: "Contrary to what we've believed, the spacious life is not found in unfettered options or accomplished by our hustle and hurry. The life we crave is found within the confines of God's loving limits. Ashley helps us recognize that when we live within these boundaries, we discover a life filled with purpose, joy, and rest. This is the spacious life—finding true freedom within the good limits given to us by our good God."
Thirteen chapters through really normal things of life Hales paints a clear vision of running after less to gain more. I highly recommend it to you.
April 27, 2022
This was interesting. I heard Ashley interviewed on a podcast and she was such a breath of fresh air. Some of this book really spoke to me and it was very poetic and beautiful. There's no how-to in this book, which could frustrate some people who was also refreshing with how many self-help books there are these days. This was more a series of short essays on topics women struggle with, Ashley in particular, but relateable to women overall.
Sometimes she personified details from the Bible in a way that I didn't quite get or agree with, almost adding to what was not said in the Bible. It was only a few times, like describing a scene of Jesus and the disciples but it was odd to me (think Jesus Calling maybe). This book was super short, s I got through it quickly. Can't say it impacted me much though.
Sometimes she personified details from the Bible in a way that I didn't quite get or agree with, almost adding to what was not said in the Bible. It was only a few times, like describing a scene of Jesus and the disciples but it was odd to me (think Jesus Calling maybe). This book was super short, s I got through it quickly. Can't say it impacted me much though.
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