'Tis the Season.. To Stop and Be Still.

'Tis the season, or so they say.


It's only November 29th, and already the stores are bustling, the decorations are out, traffic is crazy, and the stress of the season is setting in.

If you read my post a couple weeks ago, you know that it's been a challenging season for me. And I wish I could say that as soon as I made that post things dramatically turned around and life has been nothing but great since then.. but that wouldn't be true.

But, even in the midst of frustration and doubt and confusion, I have been amazed at just how wonderful my time with the Lord has been every morning. I started a new study through She Reads Truth, which was based off of traditional hymns with verses and a devotion each day.

Come, thou fount of every blessing. It is well with my soul. I need thee every hour. Be thou my vision. His eye is on the sparrow. Great is thy faithfulness.

Hymns of peace, of trust, of realizing that the Lord is in control.

And then last week, I read my favorite yet.
Be Still, My Soul by Katharina A. von Schlegel.

It's a crazy time of year y'all. There are presents to buy, parties to attend, final exams for us college students to take, houses to decorate, food to make, family gatherings to.. enjoy.. (just kidding, love my family).

We can all agree it's a busy time.
But in the midst of the chaos, we are called to stop for a few minutes.. and just be still.

Be still, my soul: the Lord is on thy side.
Be still, my soul: the waves and winds still know His voice who ruled them while He dwelt below.
Be still, my soul: begin the song of praise on earth, believing, to Thy Lord on high.

This hymn reminds us that in the busy, in the crazy, we need to stop and praise. Stop and be still.

Psalms 46:10 "Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth."


 Stop and realize that silence and just being in God's presence is okay.

Psalms 62:5-7 "For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence for my hope is from him. He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken. On God rests my salvation and my glory; my mighty rock, my refuge is God."


 Stop and realize that there is nothing we need to do to prove ourselves to God.

Psalms 62:8 "Trust in Him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us."


He simply asks us to repent, to call on Him.. and just to sit. Sit and be still.

This hymn also reminds to "begin the song of praise".

We get so caught up in the season that we often forget that the reason we are celebrating the birth of Jesus is all to give praise to the Father.

But praise is mentioned so much during the Christmas story.
It's such an integral part of what we are celebrating.

Mary gave glory to God when the angel told her she was going to be the mother of Jesus. Even though she was young and it made absolutely no sense at all, she told the angel Gabriel that she was the Lord's servant, she would do whatever He asked. She gave praise to the Lord by being so incredibly obedient.. which is more than I would be.

Luke 1:38 "And Mary said, "Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word."


 After Jesus was born, the angels went to the fields to tell the shepherds. They shared their message and then a whole heavenly host came together to praise God, singing and glorifying Him. I can only imagine what that would've been like. Literally, THE Heavenly Host.


Luke 2:13- 14 "And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom He is pleased." 


And then there were the shepherds themselves. The lowest of the low, the bottom of the totem pole, just hanging out in their fields tending to their sheep. Dirty, smelly, shepherds.. the first to visit the baby Jesus. And they gave glory too.

Luke 2:20 "And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told to them."


 Eventually the wise men made their way to Jesus as well. And when they found Him, they rejoiced. They praised the Father. They made an extremely long trip, probably hundreds of miles, to just stop and give glory to the baby Jesus.

Matthew 2:10-11 "When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshipped Him." 


I say all this friends, because it is easy to get caught up in the busy. It is easy to get stressed about what is happening around us. It is easy to lose sight of the important.

And so today, this Tuesday morning at the beginning of the busiest time of year, I just want to encourage you to stop. Be still. Praise Jesus. Give glory to the Father.

I can guarantee to you that not everything will go your way this holiday season. There is bound to be some form of disappointment, of sadness. And so to that I'll say that we are called to praise in the good and the bad.

In the song Joy of the Lord by Rend Collective (a new favorite of mine), the chorus says

The joy of the Lord is my strength
The joy of the Lord is my strength
In the darkness I'll dance
In the shadows I'll sing
The joy of the Lord is my strength.

And so here I am. I am not perfect. My life is chaotic these days. I am busy, I don't make time for Jesus, I forget so often to just take a moment.

But Jesus is calling. Softly, tenderly calling. Calling for you and for me.

So this month, I am deliberately stopping.

I am being still.

I am sitting in the silence, in the goodness of God.

I am praising Him for this season, both the Christmas season.. and the challenging life season.
For all the seasons.

And I would really love for you to join me.


I took this picture a few years ago during Christmas at EFM. We had finished talking about how the angels gave glory to Jesus, how bright the star was shining that night, and one little girl covered Jesus in sparkles because she said Jesus was bright like the star.




I encourage you all to give glory, shiny bright diamonds of glory, to Jesus, to the Father this season.

And ladies, or men if you're trying to find a nice Christmas present for a lady, I have a really cool opportunity for you.

As I said earlier, I am currently doing my daily devotions through She Reads Truth. They are an awesome company/website that creates study guides, books, and daily devotions for Christian women. I have found that they place the real importance on actual Bible verses, and then back it up with other thoughts, and that is hard to find these days in a devotion.

SO, if you are interested in working on being still, on taking time each day to praise the Father for all He has done, I highly encourage you to download their FREE app and get started. Guys, there is a He Reads Truth app that I have heard is great!

And in the interest of the Christmas spirit, I am doing my first ever giveaway!


This study book by She Reads Truth is on Proverbs, one of my favorite books of the Bible. It contains scripture reading, charts/infographics, guided reading questions, space for journaling.. and let's be honest it's just really pretty.

Picture- www.shopshereadstruth.com



The way it works is you use this book, along with their free app to go through a 28 day reading plan. It is super easy, convenient, and is a great way to focus on just being still and spending time with the Lord. When you have something to help you get started and stay focused, it's a lot easier to keep going.

To enter: Put your name and email below for a chance to win. Then click "Invent your Own Option" and hit enter! I will be choosing the winner by a random generator thru rafflecopter this Sunday, December 4th. I will email the winner and announce it on Facebook. There will be one winner, and you can only enter once!
And y'all, please share with friends! The more the merrier.





a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thanks for reading everyone. I'm sure to write another post this month, but if you don't hear from me, Merry Christmas to you and yours. May you be still and give glory this month.



*This post was not sponsored in any way by She Reads Truth.

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