Quiet.....
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"make it your ambition to lead a quiet life: You should mind your own business and work with your hands, just as we told you, 12 so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody." 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12
This verse comes to mind often these days.
Leading a quiet life gets more difficult by the day.
You would think with one child off at college, and only one child left in the home, life would be quieter.
It really is not the case.
Noise doesn't just mean voices and chaos. Noise can be white noise, just buzzing loud enough to steal away our peace and quiet.
Noise distracts us and pulls us away. We are so accustomed to noise, we don't know what to do in silence, or stillness.
We get antsy.
We pick up our phones, send another text, scroll another few minutes...and we are right back in the middle of noise.
Connection is good, as long as our primary connection is God.
What is our ambition?
Maybe we need to look at our calendars and see what fills it the most.
Or, maybe we should take a look at our phones and see what catches our attention and draws us in and keeps us from having quiet-er soul.
Relationships can get noisy too.
We can over-do conversations and end up saying things we never meant to say.
We spend too much time talking that we don't listen, pause, and take a breath.
An older mentor once told me the best advice...
She said that we should not spend more than 10 minutes on the phone with others because it will lead to gossip and/or saying meaningless things.
She told me this way before social media became a thing...
Her wise words still resonate.
The bible warns us not to become "busy bodies".
Yet we hear that some of you are leading undisciplined lives and accomplishing nothing but being busybodies. 2 Thessalonians 3:11
Busy bodies are constantly stirring up conversations, gossip disguised as prayer requests, and slander.
If we are not careful, we lose our way, and our feet come right out from under us.
I think that is why the first part of the above scripture in 1 Thessalonians is, "Make it your ambition".
We can become ambitious about many things.
But are our ambitions in line with God's Word and leading a quiet-er life?
I for one, have been off track countless times.
This verse never fails to draw me back in and reset my heart.
We can have a quiet heart even in a choatic life.
No matter how busy we are, it is still possible to have peace and quiet.
I think of Jesus when the storm arose out in the middle of the ocean.
He slept peacefully as the others were literally freaking out.
His Heart was One with God and His connection was peace and quiet.
Oh, I so want a life like this. Don't you?
How about we start today.
Grab a notecard or sheet of paper.
Let's write this down..
"Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life...."
Now, put it somewhere you will see it often.
Mine will be in the car. :)
quieting down,
jill
Subscribe to SHINE emails: Go here.
"make it your ambition to lead a quiet life: You should mind your own business and work with your hands, just as we told you, 12 so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody." 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12
This verse comes to mind often these days.
Leading a quiet life gets more difficult by the day.
You would think with one child off at college, and only one child left in the home, life would be quieter.
It really is not the case.
Noise doesn't just mean voices and chaos. Noise can be white noise, just buzzing loud enough to steal away our peace and quiet.
Noise distracts us and pulls us away. We are so accustomed to noise, we don't know what to do in silence, or stillness.
We get antsy.
We pick up our phones, send another text, scroll another few minutes...and we are right back in the middle of noise.
Connection is good, as long as our primary connection is God.
What is our ambition?
Maybe we need to look at our calendars and see what fills it the most.
Or, maybe we should take a look at our phones and see what catches our attention and draws us in and keeps us from having quiet-er soul.
Relationships can get noisy too.
We can over-do conversations and end up saying things we never meant to say.
We spend too much time talking that we don't listen, pause, and take a breath.
An older mentor once told me the best advice...
She said that we should not spend more than 10 minutes on the phone with others because it will lead to gossip and/or saying meaningless things.
She told me this way before social media became a thing...
Her wise words still resonate.
The bible warns us not to become "busy bodies".
Yet we hear that some of you are leading undisciplined lives and accomplishing nothing but being busybodies. 2 Thessalonians 3:11
Busy bodies are constantly stirring up conversations, gossip disguised as prayer requests, and slander.
If we are not careful, we lose our way, and our feet come right out from under us.
I think that is why the first part of the above scripture in 1 Thessalonians is, "Make it your ambition".
We can become ambitious about many things.
But are our ambitions in line with God's Word and leading a quiet-er life?
I for one, have been off track countless times.
This verse never fails to draw me back in and reset my heart.
We can have a quiet heart even in a choatic life.
No matter how busy we are, it is still possible to have peace and quiet.
I think of Jesus when the storm arose out in the middle of the ocean.
He slept peacefully as the others were literally freaking out.
His Heart was One with God and His connection was peace and quiet.
Oh, I so want a life like this. Don't you?
How about we start today.
Grab a notecard or sheet of paper.
Let's write this down..
"Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life...."
Now, put it somewhere you will see it often.
Mine will be in the car. :)
quieting down,
jill
