Sometimes we just need to stop talking.
Sometimes we need to quiet the buzz of electronic gadgets around us.
Sometimes we need to turn off on the iPod.
Sometimes we need to embrace silence.
We need to find God, and he cannot be found in noise and restlessness. God is the friend of silence. See how nature – trees, flowers, grass – grows in silence; see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence… We need silence to be able to touch souls.
Mother Teresa
Then we can hear what me missed in the din of our day.
We hear birds outside. We hear our own stories coming to mind. We hear God’s whisper.
Be still and know that I am God.
Psalm 46:10
I think I’ll take a walk today. How about you? How do you find quiet?
Betsy and Laurie
Writing Sisters
Writing Sisters 
Walking, definitely. It’s the only way to escape responsibilities, distractions of home and work, people talking, entertainment. A wonderful time to be with God.
Yes.
Did you sign up for these blog posts? I like them and this one hits home for me because I talk too much. If I have been contributing to a stressful level of noise in your head about Matthew, I want you to feel free to turn me off any time. 🙂
I’m also going to send you a nice famous prayer of St. Francis of Assisi, since you like him. Maybe you already know it, but if not I think it will charm you. I always feel sad when people think that Christianity is all about rules. It’s really not. Its essence is actually the antithesis of manmade rules, and a big part of Jesus’s message was precisely to show the absurdity, folly, and even sinfulness of putting “the law” ahead of love and appreciation. i.e., “Render unto Caesar” (earthly man/woman) according to the manmade laws, but…. serve God and each other from the heart and the soul.
Love, Kathy
Well said, Kathy.
The law reflects our sinfulness and sends to Jesus where grace abounds and we receive the power to love with all our heart soul and mind.
Thanks
So true and so needed! My favorite place for silence is on a nature trail by a stream. Though I can’t do that regularly enough, my living room early in the morning before the sun comes up and before the family wakes up is where I find my moments of silence.
mmmm, the nature trail sounds wonderful
Walking is peaceful for me also. The electronic devices can be quite a distraction. Sometimes, i just have to close my eyes and force my mind to hush. Great post!
I too savour silence and peace – and seek and find it in the garden.
But for my sister, living alone, the noise and company of a constant radio fills in the emptiness of her silent house. She is a chatty, people person and we grew up in a household of 10, so not hardwired for solitude. So for some, noiselessness hangs heavy and sad.
I’ve written about this several times on my blog. It’s difficult to escape noise anywhere, as even coffee shops and gyms have (ofter too loud) music. It’s one of the reasons I so enjoy vacation in the mountains each year. When I’m home, since I work at home as a housewife and general manager of our family, I can keep noise out of my life if I wish and I do that regularly. I often wonder how people manage to think anymore while being bombardedcontantly with noise.
janet
If I go on a long car journey, and especially if I start early in the morning I like to drive without the radio/cd/iPod playing. It’s good to have time alone to reflect, pray, and “prepare” for the day ahead.
Other than walking alone on the South West Coast Path.
I love praying in the car … but with my eyes open!
I actually got so engrossed in my thoughts that I closed my eyes and started to pray at 70 mph one morning on the way to Bristol! A split second later I realised my error, and opened them again (by the way it is legal to do 70mph here).
I love working in my garden. With my hands in the dirt, listening to the birds chirping, in wonder over God’s creation, I feel peace. My back yard and garden are truly my sanctuary.
A sanctuary – yes it is. I love this picture.
I’ve begun turning the radio off on my drive to work. I realize it’s not 100% silent, but it give me a chance to reflect and pray.
Working in my backyard garden. No matter how noisy it is in the neighborhood, I’m able to think and pray.
Yes, and gardens are such a wonderful place of new life and growth.
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I go “unplugged” on Sundays. I fail some days but by God’s grace just keep trying and going. I found you on This Day With God’s blog roll, I was curious, now I’m following.
Thanks for sharing your writing with us. I was encouraged and strengthened. May God bless you and your blog ministry more.
Blessings,
Mary
good idea about Sundays – it’s so hard not to be pulled away from God on the Sabbath.