Writings of a Beholder 🌿 12.2.22

entering the silence and stillness with God

Photo by Florencia Viadana on Unsplash

Weekly writings of a beholder 🌿

Entering the silence and stillness with God

I don’t know about you, friend, but the Holiday season can tend to leave me feeling a bit short-circuited, overwhelmed, and just plain tired. We’re conditioned as a culture anyway to always be moving, productive, and busy. So when the Holidays come around, you might agree that it feels like that fast pace gets turned up a few notches.

Depending on your life season, Thanksgiving, Advent, and Christmas can feel like they come and go in a flash as you hurry from Christmas shopping to wrapping, family dinners to parties with friends, and kids’ programs to Christmas break. Don’t get me wrong, these are all good things, but they can also be tiring things.

You may have found yourself wondering, as have I, when on earth you’re supposed to find time to let your lungs expand long enough to breathe in grace and exhale the hurry.

Over the last year, I’ve been intentionally incorporating the rhythm of silence into my everyday life and I’ve noticed that a sort of slow filling of the Spirit happens within me when I intentionally seek out silence with God. And I believe it to be a rhythm that we can all engage with in an effort to turn down the loud noise of our lives.

Now, you may think to yourself that there’s no way you could possibly find time for a practice of silence in your busy season of life. Or, perhaps the idea of being still and silent with the Lord sounds a bit intimidating. Maybe you sense some resistance when it comes to the invitation to slow down.

I believe that silence is a daily invitation that the Holy Spirit gently and lovingly extends to us all, even in the crazy seasons of life and even when that resistance rises up.

You may be surprised to hear that silence doesn’t have to be long and it doesn’t have to look a certain way. The whole point of entering into silence and stillness with the Lord is to do just that: be with God and rest in Him as you allow Him to hold you, hush you, and shape you.

This week, I had the massive honor of talking with my friend and fellow writer, Kari Bartkus, on her podcast, Love Does That, as we discussed the practice of being silent and still before the Lord. In this week’s episode, we answer the following questions:

• What does it mean to enter into silence together with God?

• Do I have to be completely silent and still?

• What does it look like?

• How can I practice it?

We also discuss how I was introduced to the spiritual practice of silence, my initial response, ways you can incorporate silence into your daily life, and why silence with God can be so powerful.

If you’re craving that Holy Hush this Holiday season that only the Holy Spirit can provide, then I believe this podcast episode will greatly bless you.

Listen to episode 94 here: Entering the Silence and Stillness with God

Also, if you’re wanting to cultivate a rhythm of silence in your daily life but don’t know where to start, my new Advent eBook, Be Still & Know, may be a great help to you. Grab your copy here: Be Still & Know

Housekeeping

Last Sunday, I sent out an email titled ‘On This First Sunday of Advent’, and proceeded with a devotional reading and a few reflection questions for you to pray about and ponder. I really enjoyed sending out Advent-centered content and have decided to do so every Sunday until Christmas.

With that being said, I’m pausing my weekly Friday letter after today so that your inbox doesn’t grow too tired of me! I’ll resume the Friday letter after Christmas.

So, be on the lookout this Sunday for your next email in this mini, last-minute Advent series 😊🕯

If you missed the first email of the series, check it out here: On This First Sunday of Advent

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A breath prayer for your weekend

breathe in:

For God alone.

breathe out:

My soul waits in silence. (Psalm 62:1)

*if you’d like to learn more about the practice of breath prayer, check out this blog post I wrote titled, How to Use Breath Prayer.

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Resources & fun things to pick up

This week, I was blessed to be a part of my friend and fellow writer, Beth Ferguson’s, Advent blog series. Check out my guest article and subscribe to Beth’s blog to keep up with the series: The Invitation to Come As You Are

In case you missed it, last week on the blog, I wrote about living an unhurried life and introduced you to the spiritual practice of contemplative prayer: Living Unhurried

Grab a copy of my new Advent eBook devotional, Be Still & Know, or a pack of Advent-themed breath prayer cards from my Etsy shop: The Beholding Co.

My friend and fellow writer, Kari Bartkus, is offering an 8-week journaling course called Journal Gently that’s designed to help you experience God’s presence in the midst of grief. I went through the 8-week writing program myself, and it was incredibly healing and life-giving. Check it out here: Journal Gently

Grab a copy of my Bible study, You Are Beloved: a 21-day study on how to root your identity in the love of God, over on Amazon.

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An invitation to pause & reflect

A regular practice of reflection helps us recognize what’s going on beneath the surface of our souls so that we can name it in the Lord’s presence. Because as we learn to name what we feel, what we need, and what we long for, we’re also learning to discern the Spirit’s sweet, gentle voice within our hearts and lives.

Take a few moments today or this weekend to journal or contemplate with the Holy Spirit the following question(s):

How do you feel about being silent and still with God? What rises to the surface? Resistance? Longing? Fear? Take a few moments to ponder this, name it, or journal through it.

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xo,

celia