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I admit it. I don’t sit still very often.

*Pause for gasps of shock*

In fact, one of the only times I sit still is in church.

It’s so hard for me because I think of everything else I need to be or could be doing once I sit down away from my computer.

But don’t get me wrong; I still pay attention. As a writer, I write to process. So while I may be refining a to-do list, I’m also taking sermon notes.

A couple weeks ago, as I pulled out my planner/notebook, my husband leaned over to me and said, “try to put everything away today”. So dutifully I did. But not only did I have trouble listening to our pastor, but my mind started to wander even more…and yes, I got bitter at my husband for even suggesting such a thing!

I actually found myself listening to the sermon less than if I had allowed my normal brain outflow on to paper.

Think of it this way – in order for me to make more room in my brain to receive new info, I need to pour out some things onto paper. Some of the sweetest times I’ve had with God have been after I’ve gone to a quiet spot (I prefer my closet) with a legal pad and just “emptied my brain” onto the paper. I’ve filled up sheets & sheets in one sitting! I just write whatever comes to mind: items to-do, things I want to make for dinner, people whose face pop in my head, random words, bills I have to pay…you get the idea.

Once I’ve poured everything I’ve been carrying around in my head out on to the paper, I feel like I’m finally able to let God speak to me in the silence (literal & figurative). You see, it does me no good to sit in a quiet place if there’s a lot of noise in my own head.

Everyone experiences God differently: some will go for a walk, some wake up early and pray, some experience God on their commute singing praise songs in the car. God happens to meet me where I am, and more often than not, that comes when I have old-fashioned pen and paper in hand.

Be still and know I am God ~ Psalm 46:10

What does ‘being still’ look like in your life? Where does God meet you most often?