5 Tips to Being Still in a Hectic World

5 Tips to Being Still in a Hectic World

“Step out of the traffic! Take a long,

    loving look at me, your High God,

    above politics, above everything.”

-Psalm 46:10 (MSG)

1. Have a few minutes a day of stillness and quiet--preferably when you wake up.

Each day is a gift. In order for you to be still (in every sense of the word), it is important to breathe the day in before rushing into it. As women, our minds try to start rushing before our feet even hit the floor out of bed. It's of a great value to us to be still the first moments we awake--dwelling in thankfulness. It will steer your attitude in the correct direction for the day.

2. Turn the radio off or listen to classical music while driving. 

I enjoy music just as much as the next person--especially when I can sing along. But there is something soothing when I turn on my classical radio station. I am immediately put at ease. My muscles begin to relax. In order to be still, diffusing the sounds can help reign in your stress level.

3. Take a bath or hot shower at the end of the day.

Take my word for it. You will slow down. Don't take a magazine or book--just yourself. Breathe in & out. Relax and watch the stress leave you.

4. Light a candle.

Whether you're at the office or at home, you can bring peace to your environment by lighting a soothing candle. In the evenings, I light a lavender/vanilla scent or a wintergreen scent. In the morning, I light a lemongrass scent to awaken my senses. Whatever time of day it is, though, a candle immediately brings peace to the environment.

5. Take deep breaths.

Breathe in and out. As you do so, you'll sense peace.

Encouragement to you and stillness in every sense of the word. As you take up a few of these tips, may you bask in the goodness of Jesus! And may peace come to you and your day! 

Unknown

I watched the movie, Wild, last night. My heart was left inspired and my heart burned to respond. I, like Cheryl Strayed, had traveled alone as a woman into the unknown. During my time, I was forced to look myself, hopes, and dreams in the face. I was forced to take a challenging look and then to respond.

But the real honesty is this: I'm still looking. I'm still responding. I'm still learning to dance in this world. But this, I have learned. I have seen it with my own eyes:

Life is fragile and unpredictable. It carries us along a road and a path of the unknown. And our faith is representative of this too. It is is winding discovery and a place of stability. 

-Hellen Willett

Home, that place where my heart resides--is the place where my heart resides. And home resides in my heart. And so, just as Cheryl Strayed, hiked to discover more of herself, I believe we have seasons in our lives where we need to do the same. 

Currently, I find solace and comfort in writing out my thoughts to keep me moving forward. Whether they are about faith, friends, relationships, home, cooking, or wine--my heart refuses to stop. This life is meant to be recorded and shared.

The story of human intimacy is one of constantly allowing ourselves to see those we love most deeply in a new, more fractured light. Look hard. Risk that.

-Cheryl Strayed

Say it. Speak up.

I've recently been on a John Mayer kick. I've been listening to him non-stop. Next to worship music, he has been the current and up-to-date singer blasting through my stereo. There is an album that he wrote a few years ago. It was about love and the difficulties of it. There is a specific song that talks about saying what you need to say.

Take out of your wasted honor/Every little past frustration/Take all your so called problems/Better put them in quotations/Say what you need to say

Walkin' like a one man army/Fightin' with the shadows in your head/Livin' out the same old moment/Knowin' you'd be better off instead/If you could only/ Say what you need to say

Have no fear for giving in/Have no fear for giving over/You better know that in the end/It's better to say too much/Than never to say what you need to say again

Even if your hands are shakin'/And your faith is broken/Even as the eyes are closing/Do it with a heart wide open/A wide heart

There have been many times in my life where I've gotten my "foot in my mouth" because I've said too much or more often than not, I had spoken the truth, but at the wrong moment. I've seen relationships come and go in my life due to this, but one thing that I'm grateful for is this: I never held back. Each person knows how I feel and where they stand with me. I say what I need to say.

Gracefully stumbling across my words. Sometimes hesitantly with hands shaking. Boldly and confidently speaking from the heart.

In a day in time where we are becoming more and more self-consumed and less relational or communicative, I encourage you today to "say what you need to say"! Speak up. Speak from the heart and say what needs to be said. Have the difficult conversations. Have the good and delightful conversations.

Because we have this life and it's a gift. It's momentary. Embrace it and embrace others with love.

Romance: Found in the Acts of Kindness

For me, romance isn't an over-the-top act. It's someone offering to help and to support me. Or if that person thinks I'm making the wrong decision, he'll tell me. I want him to be honest, because being that honest takes a lot of guts. 

This morning, as I stumbled out of my bed and set my coffee to brew as quickly as possible, my tired eyes came across this matter-of-a-fact quote from Thora Birch. Upon reading it, my eyes opened and I received a bit of revelation on romantic relationships: Romance is in the mundane. It's in the simple acts of kindness where love is found. 

As each moment trickles down, there is an opportunity for growth or decline. I can either offer kindness or hurt. I can choose selfishness or selflessness. I can choose honesty or deceit. I can choose to work through it by verbally communicating or I can shut down with determined silence. I can offer courage or cowardice. Either way, romance is found in the "everydayness" of life. It is found in the acts that I think don't make a difference. 

From experience, those are the key life moments that I remember. Yes, I remember some beautiful large grandiose acts of love, but I would say that more oftentimes than not, I recall the small amorous endeavors that beautifully have interrupted my day.

As a single woman, I would agree with Thora Birch's quotation. What I desire to have in a romantic relationship is just that: support, help, honesty, kindness. But as a bold woman, this can be difficult to convey to the opposite sex. Dating relationships are a learning experience--learning another person and the best way to communicate with them. Relationships also pull on my own insecurities or weaknesses, as well as exemplify my strengths. It's work and requires effort from both individuals. But as the relationship evolves, I have the opportunity and gift to develop more. 

But the biggest question is this: Will I take on the commitment and allow myself to grow in the process? 

Love is a choice.

Romance. It is truly discovered and found in the simple acts of kindness. 

Snowed In: Beauty in the Barren

Today, I awoke and begrudgingly pulled myself out of my comfortable and warm bed. As I prepped my coffee and waited for it to brew, I was stopped for a moment by the stillness. I peered out out my window and there was fresh laden snow and ice. The neighborhood was quiet. There was barely a stirring. I, unlike most, had to report to work. I didn't get the luxury of sleeping in or taking a morning off.

But there was a gift in the midst of the stillness. The gift was stillness (though I didn't realize it until now).

Complete.

Quiet.

Stillness.

In my life, I am always filling the silence. The silence is uncomfortable for me. Even in waiting for tasks to be completed or for a friend to communicate with me, I oftentimes fail miserably. I get uncomfortable. So, I try to fill the silence with noise.

But what the situation calls for is what I'm trying to avoid--stillness. Silence. Meditation. Thought.

Over the past few weeks, I've had different situations come up. Change is apparent. And the Lord is crying out to me: Be still and know that I am God. Be still and know. Be still. Be.

All you've ever needed is found in me. It's found in the quiet moments. Wait. Don't try to push the door down. Wait for me to help you open it. My timing is perfect. For that conversation. For restoration. For desires to be fulfilled. For you to hear my voice. But you need to be still and expect that I will move. Trust me. Don't be afraid of the barrenness. Don't be afraid of the stillness. Embrace it. And watch me move...

And so just as the stillness echoed throughout nature today, so my heart is being disciplined to do the same. I can't control it all. It's all in his hands. My role is to trust and to lean heavily upon His strength--not my own.

So thankful to find beauty in the barrenness...

Overwhelming Beautiful Grace

But as it is written, "What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him." -1 Corinthians 2:9

I'm breathing in your grace and breathing out your praise! -MattR

Jesus is all about relationship. When we're in relationship, we learn each other. When we are in relationship with Jesus, we learn him. And we can't help but begin to reflect him! -Hellen Willett

My heart has been stirring over the past month or so. Specifically, over the past month, I've been reflecting and meditating more deeply upon the goodness of God. Within the lives of others, I'v
e witnessed excelled growth and hunger for Jesus. And I can't help but stand and respond with praise.

Are there still areas of breakthrough I know that Jesus wants to plummet through in my own heart and in the lives of others this year? Yes! But as I wait for Him, my strength is being renewed. My heart is being restored, refreshed, and I'm realizing something: Every moment is a gift. Relationships. Finances. Health. Spiritual revelations. It's all a gift! Every second. It's all because of HIS grace! 

And as this truth moves from my head to my heart, I can't help but praise Him! Regardless of my circumstance, I am seeing--I am witnessing--I am a testimony of His goodness. And so are YOU!

And what's more--just like all of creation, we are not meant to walk in this alone. We are meant for fellowship with one another--to pour into, to laugh with, to cry with, and to be vulnerable, real, broken, honest with those around us. Because we are God's workmanship--prepared in advance for HIS good work! We, as believers and followers of Jesus, are meant to SHINE LIGHT into a darkened world. We're meant to be an offering of praise and to BURN for others to see and know the beauty and glorious HOPE found in Jesus.

Every place you put your foot. Every person you speak to. Every physical responsibility you have before you--you're meant to exude and seep with the beautiful aroma of Christ!

And NOW is the time. It is the time to discover the ever-present hand of a good and sovereign God and how He is closer than we could ever imagine. He is near! And it is time for us to recognize this truth and to walk in a deeper reality of that truth.

As you lean into the love of the Father, may you be overwhelmed by his unfailing love and grace and expectant that He's near and he will show up and show off!

Praying with each of you...

Hope Deferred

I promised to write each day--to journal. I must admit that I'm daily tempted to cast this goal aside. And I've already failed in completing this assignment. But I've realized that it's alright. Because my desire is to write from the heart. My desire is to allow the deepest places of my heart to pour out into the blank pages of your heart.

I have promised myself to write each day a bit of wisdom of where I am.

Today, my heart is all over the map. Maybe it's because of the unending worldwide trial of terrorism, hate, and division. Or maybe it's because like these divided issues, so is my life at the moment--divided. I've been in a season, for the past couple of months, of self-discovery--learning more about who I am and where I desire to embark my career path. For the past 15 or so years, I've been involved in ministry--specifically international missions work. I've traveled to far-off lands and I've prayed with the sick and dying. I've seen numerous healed physically, emotionally, and spiritually. I've seen salvations and commitments to Jesus. I've witnessed the miraculous. My life has been an adventure.

And so, my adventure continues. But as many of you have experienced yourselves, when your life is no longer familiar and you look out over a vastness of uncertainty, anxiousness strives to take a hold of you like a drowning soul reaching for air. If you're a believer in Christ, you know in your mind that you are to trust in the Lord and his timing and to believe that his promises are forever good. And you are to rest in his peace. I don't know about you, but this is often difficult for me.

So, this is where I find myself today.
A difficult and uncertain place.
Not knowing the outcome.
Waiting.
Desiring to trust.

And this verse rings in my ear:

Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life. (Proverbs 13:12)

My hope has been deferred.

Hope for a husband. Hope for a home. Hope for a career. Hope for children.

Day after day. Week after week. Month after month. Year after year.

Deferred hope.

Seeing the hopes of others becoming trees of life, but still awaiting my own to be fulfilled.

And my heart is elated for others' fulfillment, but my soul has become weary and doubt is fighting to overtake my belief and strength.

So, I look to Jesus, the author and perfecter of my faith--reminding him of his promises over my life. Bringing it all to him in prayer. Trusting in his timing. Trusting in his goodness. And believing that he sees it all. He hasn't forgotten the desires of my heart. He hasn't forgotten for one second. And even now, I am reminded of the promise of his fellowship and faithfulness.

So--today, I am weary and struggling, but I will choose to lean on the One who is stronger than I and who holds everything together. He who has called me is FAITHFUL.

He is faithful to you. He is good to you.
His word is enough. He is enough.
Take JOY in his unfailing love!
Lean in and hear his voice. Rest in his presence.

Faith: Simple and Magnanimous

Faith.

Such a simple word, but one that fills the room with such magnitude.

I don't know about you, but the word faith often leaves me feeling like I'm "falling short." Like an endless and bottomless sea, I want my faith to be so incomparable that doubt becomes a foreign word.

But if I'm honest, doubt can creep in.

This year, I've decided that I want to carry more faith. I want to believe my God--my Jesus--for bigger and greater things. I desire not to carry this on my own or to think that I can conjure up enough faith. No--my heart steadily beats to carry faith that only Jesus contains. Because, let's face it--he's uncontainable.

So--you problem solvers might be thinking. Well, that's wonderful Hellen, but how are you going to get more faith? Good question.

The answer is this: One step at a time. I will look not to what I can do, but to the One who is greater than I. I will take each day as it comes, but hold onto the One who is able. And I will choose to expect Him to show up in the ordinary, the mundane, and in the simple.

And I will choose to trust when I cannot see.

So--here's to looking at the simple word of faith and allowing it to fill the room beyond my imagination!

More from the desk of a dreamer and blogger...

2015: A Promise to Write Daily

One of my hopes for this year of 2015 is that I would begin the joy and discipline of writing on a daily basis. I haven't given myself any rules--other than that I needed to write daily and be intentional in the process. I'm believing that out of this daily routine that my dream to focus on  my book will come about. So--even though it's Day 4 in the New Year, I'm determined to catch up even now.

Here is what I wrote yesterday:

The struggle with starting over is just that: starting over--the reality of suspicious and ever-gleaming promise of what is to come. 

And fear often immediately follows it (especially when you cry out for "anything but"). Likewise, hope delightfully skips along as well-reminding your heart of the never-ending and glittering beauty that is to come.

Beginning again. The determination and will to move forward is stronger than the pull to stay.

And so this year--2015--has begun. And I've decided--planted in my spirit--that instead of focusing on the desires that haven't been fulfilled in my life (marriage, home ownership, a career, children, travel), I'm going to peer into the beautifully ordinary box of what I do have (work, a roof over my head, food, friends, Jesus, family, experiences, wisdom, compassion). 

And the list goes on...

But I choose this day and this year to serve the Lord with all that I am!

Happy 2015 and to NEW beginnings! May this be the BEST year yet!!