Peace and Quiet

 

When you think about peace, peaceful, rest, and or quiet what comes to mind? Do you think of still waters? A pond, a brook or creek? Or do you picture sitting in the woods on a cold winters day? There is nothing like a walk in the woods after a snowfall. Everything is quiet and peaceful. The birds are snuggled into their nests, the squirrels are high up in their tree nests, the deer are in the thicket huddled together. The peace that winter brings is why I love living in New York. 

Walking outside after the snowfall is just what my mind needs. Our minds are always going, thinking, worrying and filled with all kinds of troubles. If you don't live where there is snow you can still experience much of the same kind of thing. Go out right after the rain, walk around, go to a park, walk in the woods. There is nothing like it. Going out and becoming one with nature as God intended it to be. 

"The work of righteousness will be peace. And the effect of righteousness, quietness and assurance forever. My people will dwell in a peaceful habitation, In secure dwellings, and in quiet rest places." Isaiah 32:17-18

For many years now I have had a focus word for the year. The past 2 years have been horrible for my family. From the death of loved ones to tragic events involving my children I was craving peace! It was the word my mind kept going back to. I craved a quiet life, a peaceful life. I felt as if life was just full of chaos for 2 years. What I really craved was to be home again. I wanted to be able to do the work the Lord had created me to do. Financially at this time that is not possible. But I was blessed to be able to change jobs this past year. Which has now led to me being able to work remote most of the week. I am only required to be in the office 2 days a week! Because we live so far out my commutes were taking close to an hour one way. If the weather was back it was closer to 2 hours one way. So now that my new job has blessed me in ways only God knew was possible I have a lot of freed up time. I am able to keep my home clean and organized, cook supper, do some baking, do more ministry work and so much more. Plus I am able to assist with the finances. We have almost paid off our mortgage so maybe I will be able to stop working outside the home altogether one day soon!

One of ways I am trying to bring more peace into my life is by reading. I saw the book, Holy Hygge: Creating a Place for People to Gather and the Gospel to Grow, by Jamie Erickson. Hygge pronounced HYOO-gah is a Danish practice that brings a sense of peace and coziness into your home and life. It is about doing with what you have, and living a life of minimal items. I have found that the less I have the more peaceful I am internally. This is so far a fantastic book! 

One of the major things that always brought peace into my life was being in the kitchen creating goodies for my family. Instead of wishing I was home to do so again, I put my phone down, limited my time on social media and hit the kitchen when I had the opportunity to do so. Social media has become such a time waster for me. Endless scrolling of a bunch of drama and fake posts really started to get to me. 

I never really had the patience for pie making. But with store purchased pie crust, I decided to attempt it. Perhaps one day I will conquer my fear of making my own crust. But for now I am taking baby steps! The above pies were for Christmas. One was the pumpkin and the other was pecan. YUM! They turned out really good! Even if I say so myself. :-)

What do you do to create peace in your life? Are you able to just sit in the quiet? We have so much noise all around us. Even if it is not audible noise our brains are full of it. We are constantly thinking about what's next. I challenge you to just sit in the quiet, listen, what are you hearing?