Silence! (and other good Facebook thoughts this week)

I love when a good Facebook status inspires me. Earlier this week, singer-songwriter Gwen Smith posted a quote that really spoke to me. On a side note, Gwen and her ministry Girlfriends in God (GiG) new book Trusting God will be out before Christmas and is now available on pre-order.

“The Holy Spirit will not shout down the noise of our busy world to counsel you. He won’t try to silence all the racket in your thought closet to be heard. To hear His counsel, we have to quiet ourselves and truly listen.” (Jennifer Rothschild, Me, Myself & Lies)

Did you hear that? If we want to hear God's voice, we have to SILENCE all the noise in our head. Turn off the TV, the radio, the podcasts, Pandora. Shut off my thoughts, my frustrations, my planning. Stop running lists, stop plotting my next move, stop worrying about what comes next. Be still, be quiet, breathe. (Or as Danny tells me, Ok mommy, take three deep breaths. One...two...three.)

Another good Facebook status came from my Aunt Doris today. (For the record, Doris isn't really my aunt, but I have known her all my life and she is a wonderful woman of God who is always encouraging me, praying for me, and teaching me.)

Doris posted something very similar to this on my wall, and rather than just copy and paste it into my status, I retyped it in my own words:

Church is my college, Heaven is my University.
Jesus is my principal, the Holy Spirit is my teacher, and my classmates are Angels and Saints.
My study guide is the Bible, trials and temptations are my exams.
My homework assignment is winning souls, prayer is my attendance, the Crown of Life is my degree.
Praise & Worship is my motto.
Enroll today, there is room for all and no student loans. Your tuition has already been paid in full!

(***Editor's note: There is something funky going on with the fonts...my apologies.)