The World Can Be Noisy.
I feel that often people have blogs about where they're at in life...mom blogs, travel blogs, food blogs, missions blogs. But what about all the in between blogs? Here's to a few posts on where this girl is at in life and the lessons learned therein...
Silence is a rare commodity these days. I work with the constantdrone roar of engines all day, 5 days a week, until the work is done- chainsaws, chippers, mulcher, excavator, blower. It's loud, and even though you wear ear plugs, it's still loud. There's little room for conversation, space to hear yourself think, or as I've mentioned, silence. As a result of all that, I've come to immensely enjoy the quiet. Last night as I turned off my car in the drive and opened the door, I just sat there. I could hear the crickets. I could hear the quiet. This evening, I took my dinner outside and sat on the porch. Again, quiet! I could hear the birds sing and chirp as they are getting ready to bid the day adieu.
This world can be noisy. And so much of it can drown out what's important. The roar of distraction, chaos, anxiety, lies. For me: work, long hours, tiredness, wrong perspective, a new people group that I spend my days with, and doubt. And all of that, that takes over peace, calm, love,assurance, truth, strength, even hearing the crickets and the birds.
Sometimes we miss out on what's meaningful, important, or even just simplicity when we have the constant bombardment of those less than important things that seem to take over, maybe simply because they're hard to ignore or get your attention in the moment.
I recently heard that it's not just your ears that have a problem if you can't hear well, it can actually be your brain. Your brain is responsible for taking all the noises you hear and then deciphering it for you and lets you know what's important. I.e voices versus background noise. Those with hearing aids, because all noise is amplified, part of your brain can actually start to shut down essentially- it stops being able to decipher what's important because it's constantly bombarded with all noise. Or yet again, with exposer to loud noises over time, you can also lose hearing from loss of the little hairs in your ears that take in vibration and send those messages to the brain. Now isn't it interesting that it's actually noise that cause you to go deaf? When it's too much or too loud; by hearing(or not protecting), we lose our ability to hear.
I love looking at the words and example of Jesus. We find Him as he walked our dirt roads and lived among us, He would often get away to a quiet place. Or He said, "my sheep hear my voice, I know them, and they follow me." Sometimes we need to quiet our surroundings so that we can hear. Sometimes I need to quiet my heart, so that I can hear. Sometimes I need to quiet my mind so that I can hear. How can I hear Jesus' voice if I can't take in what's important? Or maybe it's not that I can't hear Him, but that I'm hearing too much of everything else. Maybe He's speaking, but I'm not listening. I know far too often at work people don't hear something, sometimes even important things, because they didn't know that they should have been listening. And it can be dangerous. There's trees falling, machines moving, sometimes you can't afford to not listen.
You may question then, why so often does God's voice seem so quiet? I wonder if it's because He wants to be close to us. I need to lean in, draw near. When I draw near, He draws near. When I call He answers, when I listen, He answers. And that means turning a listening ear. In Isaiah 55 it says, "Incline your ear and come to me. Listen, that you may live...call upon the Lord while He is near." He wants us to come, He wants us to be close. He wants to speak, but we need to come. He desires us to lean in.
I hadn't thought much of silence or solitude being a spiritual discipline, but the more that I think about it, the more necessary I see it being to our lives. To routinely quiet ourselves, to dim the noise going on around. We can't listen or hear, if He can't be heard. He wants to drown out all the chaos swirling around, not let the chaos drown out what our souls truly need. I need to be reminded of His promises, I need to renew my mind, and it's then that we can not only hear, but see more of who He is and who we are. When we respond by listening, we begin to look for even more of Him to show up.
From the world of guys and trees:
1) Girls! Learn to back up a trailer, you never know when your life may depend on it. :)
2) You never know what people notice(when you're the only girl, they notice everything).
3) A word of encouragement goes a long way. A word of kind advice can go even further.
4) Now I know why work boots have steel toes.
5) I didn't realize that tree work was a spectator sport.
6) You only forget your lunch once.
Silence is a rare commodity these days. I work with the constant
This world can be noisy. And so much of it can drown out what's important. The roar of distraction, chaos, anxiety, lies. For me: work, long hours, tiredness, wrong perspective, a new people group that I spend my days with, and doubt. And all of that, that takes over peace, calm, love,assurance, truth, strength, even hearing the crickets and the birds.
Sometimes we miss out on what's meaningful, important, or even just simplicity when we have the constant bombardment of those less than important things that seem to take over, maybe simply because they're hard to ignore or get your attention in the moment.
I recently heard that it's not just your ears that have a problem if you can't hear well, it can actually be your brain. Your brain is responsible for taking all the noises you hear and then deciphering it for you and lets you know what's important. I.e voices versus background noise. Those with hearing aids, because all noise is amplified, part of your brain can actually start to shut down essentially- it stops being able to decipher what's important because it's constantly bombarded with all noise. Or yet again, with exposer to loud noises over time, you can also lose hearing from loss of the little hairs in your ears that take in vibration and send those messages to the brain. Now isn't it interesting that it's actually noise that cause you to go deaf? When it's too much or too loud; by hearing(or not protecting), we lose our ability to hear.
I love looking at the words and example of Jesus. We find Him as he walked our dirt roads and lived among us, He would often get away to a quiet place. Or He said, "my sheep hear my voice, I know them, and they follow me." Sometimes we need to quiet our surroundings so that we can hear. Sometimes I need to quiet my heart, so that I can hear. Sometimes I need to quiet my mind so that I can hear. How can I hear Jesus' voice if I can't take in what's important? Or maybe it's not that I can't hear Him, but that I'm hearing too much of everything else. Maybe He's speaking, but I'm not listening. I know far too often at work people don't hear something, sometimes even important things, because they didn't know that they should have been listening. And it can be dangerous. There's trees falling, machines moving, sometimes you can't afford to not listen.
You may question then, why so often does God's voice seem so quiet? I wonder if it's because He wants to be close to us. I need to lean in, draw near. When I draw near, He draws near. When I call He answers, when I listen, He answers. And that means turning a listening ear. In Isaiah 55 it says, "Incline your ear and come to me. Listen, that you may live...call upon the Lord while He is near." He wants us to come, He wants us to be close. He wants to speak, but we need to come. He desires us to lean in.
I hadn't thought much of silence or solitude being a spiritual discipline, but the more that I think about it, the more necessary I see it being to our lives. To routinely quiet ourselves, to dim the noise going on around. We can't listen or hear, if He can't be heard. He wants to drown out all the chaos swirling around, not let the chaos drown out what our souls truly need. I need to be reminded of His promises, I need to renew my mind, and it's then that we can not only hear, but see more of who He is and who we are. When we respond by listening, we begin to look for even more of Him to show up.
From the world of guys and trees:
1) Girls! Learn to back up a trailer, you never know when your life may depend on it. :)
2) You never know what people notice(when you're the only girl, they notice everything).
3) A word of encouragement goes a long way. A word of kind advice can go even further.
4) Now I know why work boots have steel toes.
5) I didn't realize that tree work was a spectator sport.
6) You only forget your lunch once.
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