Faith Archives - Page 5 of 20 - Find Living Above the Noise Podcasts here:

Finding Quiet In A Noisy World

I awoke this morning to my usual world, one where I don’t know where I’ll be living in a year, with ceilings that look like I’m in a doctor’s office, and adjustments all around to life in my fifties. That’s when I again realized the necessity of quiet time in this crazy, noisy, chaotic world.

Now, if I were writing this post from the mountains of Tennessee or on the beach in California or any of my “perfect” places, I might not feel the chaos of the times. But for most of us, calm days are few and far between, and we enter our days running.

I’m in my quiet corner of the world right now, yet, there is noise. There are a hundred things shouting my name, calling me to come hither, that they might steal my joy, my peace.

Get Ready For Battle

And so we must fight. We must wage war on this culture which seeks to steal our peace. We must plan an attack early in our day, lest we get caught in the onslaught of the wave of “hurry” and the avalanche of to-dos.

But how do we do this? What does it look like for a busy woman? Where will we find space away from the crowd or the tumult?

This is where need and self-control come in. Once you discover the much-needed commodity, quiet for the soul, there will be little that can stop you from creating space in your day to get it. Once you realize your need was there all along, you’ll know the minute it rears its little head begging for more. You will have to make it happen, not much different from when you feel hunger or thirst. You will realize your cells are running dry when you feel distant from God, or when you snap too quickly, or when discouragement is draining your energy. But you must find the time.

Is God An “Add-On” Item To Your Day?

My husband and I went to a “Christian” marriage counselor/psychologist years ago. I questioned the depth of his faith because in his counseling— God was an “add-on” (like in Amazon’s cart when you want free shipping but the product is low cost, so it must be “added on” to a larger item). He treated God as if He was an “add-on” to his therapy, someOne to give a little power to the message. Let’s not do that with God! Let’s give Him the pre-eminence He deserves.

We can only do this by giving Him our personal time. Offer Him a tithe of the first fruits of your day. Let Him fill you with His wisdom, strength, counsel, and love before you begin in this crazy life we each must live. You may have children who need you from sun-up to sun-down, husbands who need to talk. You have work to do, meals to make, and clothes to wash. You have birthday cards to write, houses to clean, and lessons to teach. And that is why quiet time with your Lord is so very critical.

You need Him and He desires for you to place Him where he belongs in your life. Center front, first love, ever present, constant in your minute-by-minute life.

But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, “God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” Submit therefore to God….Draw near to God and He will draw near to you…. Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you. James 4:6-8, 10

Make Space For God

You will have to figure out how to keep God center-front, but do figure it out!

Steal fifteen minutes while you’re nursing a baby.
Grab five minutes after your shower.
Hold onto those precious moments when your husband has the kids busy.
Even one verse to meditate on while you shower is time with your Father.
Simply pray for wisdom and listen to His voice while you wash the dishes or brush your teeth.

Create space in your day (preferably your morning) to make a quiet, purposeful, listening time with your God. No doubt it will make your day run smoother, brighten your outlook, give calm to the hurry, and deliver you from fear of the unknown. But do take time. Time to listen. Time to think. Time that gives God space to speak to you, time for you to listen.

God wants us dependent on His grace, love, wisdom, strength, and so much more!

Find His Truth for any lie. Feel the comfort in His arms.

Discover rest.

I will praise the name of God with song and magnify Him with thanksgiving.

And it will please the LORD better than an ox or a young bull with horns and hoofs.

The humble have seen it and are glad; you who seek God, let your heart revive.

For the LORD hears the needy and does not despise His who are prisoners.

Let heaven and earth praise Him, the seas and everything that moves in them.

Psalm 69:30-34

Goals…and A Planner – A Necessary Part of Success

By livingabovethenoise

Goals are an often discussed topic this time of year. They’ve certainly been on my mind as I consider what this year might hold. But moving from having a “goal” to actually getting it done is another story.

I look at it this way, I have two options:

Continue on as I so often do, hoping things will get better, wishing I’ll become more organized, wanting to do better at my homeschooling goals, dreaming my home would be neater, and desiring to growing in my relationships. OR….
I can choose to live differently, doing more than just think about what I need/want to accomplish. Take time to set my sites on my goals and then plan organizational and proactive activities into each day that will accomplish those goals. List out duties I am accountable for to help my family live out their goals in a comfortable home while developing strong bonds with family and friends.

Choices

It’s always a choice, isn’t it? Discipline is always something we must make ourselves do. It’s never something that just happens simply by osmosis. We can talk and think and hope for all those changes to take place, but the cart just won’t move without getting the donkey in front of it! And guess what? Each one of us is that donkey (oh, I’m sorely tempted to use the other word here, but I’ll contain myself! :o) and we must do the hard work of moving into the tasks at hand and forging forward toward our dreams and into our responsibilities.

So, as I begin a new season, I am choosing to move, choosing to grab hold of another year, another day to “get it right”.

I’ll start by brainstorming (stating and listing out my goals), not just dreaming about them.
Then I’ll make a plan and seek the best way to implement it.
I guess I’m a bit stubborn, but I maintain a hopeful and determined attitude that all is not lost when my plans didn’t evolve. Very possibly one or two of the things I dream of and set as goals for this year or this life, might just happen, but not without lots of hard work and determination.
Now I must hold onto that picture, trusting God to show me what’s worth my time – and what’s not. As I trust my life and energy to obeying, serving, and glorifying God in this life, He will reveal what’s important but also He will choose the outcome, success or failure. I love the fact that even a failure is still a success in His plan – it teaches or protects in a loving way.

Get A Planner!

So how will I begin this quest? Of course, with prayer, but more tangibly, I ordered a new planner. (smile) I’m excited to find one with plenty of pages designed for me to: get organized, plan, and maintain those plans; set goals, build relationships, plan holidays, and jot notes to myself; plus it includes cute designs with quotes and verses to remind me of God’s love and ways I can share that love with those around me.

I searched for weeks and looked at literally hundreds of planners, both pre-printed and reproducible versions. I share those finds in my next post, so click here to read about the many options available.

In a nutshell, I recommend you FIND A PLACE, no matter what it looks like (a notebook, a printed or computer planner, even a decorative personal planner) just a place to jot down your thoughts, dreams, plans, to do list, calendar items. Don’t keep them swimming around in your head, hoping they’ll somehow develop into a plan or system all on their own. Write them down, organize them, prioritize them, and like Francis Chan says in his wonderful book, You & Me Forever, “Just do something.“

When it comes to goal setting, proactivity, and responsibility, my own ‘fortune cookie proverb’,

“Do nothing, expect nothing in return. Do something, and you will certainly see results.”

Don’t seek perfection, simply seek God, and you will find your way, His way! His love is unending and everlasting. But there is still work for you to do. Trust, obey, and get to work!

Let all things decently and in order. 1 Corinthians 14:40

Adapt – My Word For The New Year

By livingabovethenoise

I’m in a group of bloggers and we’re writing about our “Word for the Year.” I’ve been wondering what to write as I venture into this new year, so this got me thinking. Hang in there as I explain how a simple movie changed my perspective and gave me my word.

Lesson Learned From “Pete’s Christmas”

We watched a *”really good” movie at Christmas-time called, “Pete’s Christmas”. Yes, it was silly at times, but overall, the writer/producer got to the heart of human nature and our need to be cared about. The storyline deals with Pete, who “messes up” Christmas but then is given numerous chances to re-live the day until he gets it right. *caveat: “really good” means one thing to one person and another to the next, so excuse me if we differ! :o)

Pete tries and tries, from his own perspective, to “do Christmas right” only to mess up again. But slowly, as the story moves on, he learns to see through the eyes of his friends and family, thus learning to make Christmas perfect by loving them right where they need to be loved. Ah…such a great message….and one I keep pondering as the days pass by.

How to Live “Perfectly”

You want to know the real lesson I got from “Pete’s Christmas”? Every one of us gets to re-live a day, to make it “perfect” every day when we wake up. God gives us a new day, a new week, or month or year in which to live “perfectly” by loving those around us with the everlasting love the Father had for us. That Love that wrapped His arms around a tree and gave up His freedom to love us perfectly!

ADAPT – My Word For This Year.

Why did I choose this word? Because in ALL my searching for the perfect life, I’ve missed the main point of the Gospel. That the only “perfect” is found in Christ. I’ve struggled and worked, wondered and hoped, fought and cried when things haven’t gone my way. But God….only He could bring me to the place of adapting to His story for my life.

I must let go of my story, just the way I thought it would go, and adapt to His plan, His ways, His method of loving me. He loves me enough to NOT let me get everything I want, or have relationships be the way I want, or have my story look the way I thought was perfect! Now, that is true, tough, unending love. Love from the ONE who knows me more than I know myself. He knows just what I need to learn to lean on Him, to depend on Him, to die to myself so I can love others in the same way He loved me!

And so I adapt. I’m learning what this all-encompassing word means every day. Praise God for His good lessons. May we kneel together as we seek to find His will for our lives!

Love to each of you & Happy New Year!

1 Corinthians 2 – And when I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God. For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling, and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God. (vs. 1-5)

…but just as it is written,“THINGS WHICH EYE HAS NOT SEEN AND EAR HAS NOT HEARD, AND which HAVE NOT ENTERED THE HEART OF MAN, ALL THAT GOD HAS PREPARED FOR THOSE WHO LOVE HIM.” (vs. 9)

But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised. But he who is spiritual appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by no one. For who has known the mind of the Lord, that He will instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ. (vs. 14-16)

Anticipating Christ’s Return…This Christmas!

By livingabovethenoise

The Holy season of Christmas gives me much time to ponder the things of old. Think about that time when men hungered and anticipated the birth of the long-awaited and promised Messiah. How they must have looked forward to that wonderful day, a day above all days when the world would see God’s power revealed! A day when He would claim the earth as His own. A day that had been foretold for centuries.

Now, after many more centuries, the question is begged of us, “What if we anticipated the return of Christ with such expectancy as those believers of old?” It is promised to be a time when Jesus will again show the world His power and claim His reign as King of ALL Kings!

I must admit that I have missed this. What it is to anxiously await the coming Messiah? Yes, He has already entered our world, but He has promised He will come again. We must live in that expectation! Imagine what it would look like to the watching world if we lived with that promise in mind? What excitement it would elicit. How it would change our decisions and plans and actions!

Something as simple as a Babe in a manger. Something as profound as a King coming to reign. All the anticipation of a needy people awaiting their Messiah. All this wrapped together in one beautiful package!

Won’t you join me as we await and long for His return?

Merry Christmas and a Joyous New Year!

And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness, He judges and wages war. His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems; and He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself. He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses. From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty. And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, “KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.” Revelations 19:11-16

« Previous Page