Break… not as in break a body part or break a dish, but as in Spring Break. Take a break. Rest. Breathe.
Are you and your family on Spring Break this week? For people like me who work from home and have no children at home, spring break looks differently. But for me, that means I am sending you today some Good Words I’ve previously written. It gives me a little time to take a break the rest of this week. And some extra time to relax and enjoy family.
Part of taking a break is enjoying solitude and silence. In August last year, our good word was Silence. Take a break, breathe, read and enjoy….
When I begin my days, I love being outside on my deck with my Bible, journal and hot coffee. And my dogs. I love hearing the birds starting the day with their songs. I breathe in the cool morning air stirring the trees. This is my sanctuary. And I hear Him say, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” Psalm 46:10.
I’m reading a book called, “Sacred Rest: Recover Your Life, Renew Your Energy, Restore Your Sanity by Saundra Dalton-Smith, M.D. In it, several areas of our lives are explored to find where we most need rest. One of those is mental rest. Here is a practical way to create a life that leads to peace:
One way to create a mental sanctuary is to choose a characteristic of God to rest on each day like love, joy, peace, kindness, goodness, gentleness, and faithfulness. Let each characteristic be the mental place you return to throughout the day as you practice creating a mental sanctuary.
Sacred Rest
It’s challenging to turn off ALL our easily accessed technology, and just. be. silent. Have you tried it lately?
“For God alone my soul waits in silence; from him comes my salvation. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be greatly shaken.” Psalm 62:1-2 ESV
“The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.” Exodus 14:14.
“And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed.” Mark 1:35
Share Your Good Words
Good Questions of the Week: Do you have time for silence in your busy days? Where do you like to go to be quiet and alone with your Maker? How do we drown out the crazy and tune in to only hear His gentle, quiet voice? How are you spending your spring break?
Photo: She Is Safe
Good Unseen People
This story is in Unseen People:
The following excerpt is from a story that will be included in my upcoming book, Unseen People: Sharing Light and Life with Your Neighbors and the Nations. Click the link below to see the progress of the book.
Listen…. Do you hear that?…. Nothing?…. Exactly.
I take that back. I hear the wind through the trees and autumn leaves wisping to the ground. The solo of a bird chirping nearby. It’s music to my soul. The quiet. The coolness. The nothingness of being still.
I invite you to read more about how God calls us to see the unseen. Click the link below to read more on my website about Unseen People: Sharing Light and Life With Your Neighbors and the Nations.
To mark the progress of the book and to give you weekly insights into my writing life, please follow along and watch the videos on This Week in Unseen People. Click the image below to watch the videos on my YouTube channel. Please subscribe to my channel while you’re there!
A Good Post: How do you respond to silence? This is a Facebook post by podcaster and writer, Linda Goldfarb. She hosts the podcast, Your Best Writing Life.
A Good Blog: Do you hear it? This is my blog from a few years ago. Do troublesome sounds disturb your sleep?
A Good Book: An Invitation to Solitude and Silence, Ruth Haley Barton. This book is an invitation to you to meet God deeply and fully outside the demands and noise of daily life.
In the blog I mentioned above, Do you hear it? I end with this thought concerning noise and interrupted sleep:
But what if we flipped a different switch in our brains and chose to first pray? What if we acknowledged the obvious — yes, there is an unknown sound but yes, there is God my Father who sees and knows all things. And loves me. And even if it is a problem, God is still there and He still sees me. And loves me.
And instead of Drip. Drip. Drip. Or Tick. Tick. Tick. I hear His comforting whisper…
“And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:7
And I turn over and go back to sleep.
I’d love to hear from you. This is your chance to share with me whatever is on your heart today. Please share. I value your thoughts!
