(((shhhh)))

silence
be still
listen
how often to we engage ourselves in these?
"be still and know that I am God".
"In the early morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house, and went away to a secluded place, and was praying there."
this is something that is clearly important in the Bible and in the life of Jesus himself. in our american culture, this seems to be a highly valued, yet rarely experienced concept. what I mean by that, is that you see commercials for spas, and cruises, etc. but everyone that I know seems to be running around all the time, stressed out... simply getting from point A to point B, and doing it well. we've perfected the arts of being busy and multi-tasking. technology is supposed to simplify our lives, isn't it? i think it's achieved quite the opposite. think back even 15 years... what did we do all day and all night? well, if we weren't in school, we were running around outside or playing by ourselves, or w/ our neighbor friend. in the evenings, we would eat dinner and maybe watch tv, hang w/ the fam, do homework. it seems like in today's world, people jam pack their lives with everything they possibly can. and they keep track of it all in their phone. :)
is this wrong?
is this just the natural progression of our culture?
I want to challenge those who read this (and myself), especially as we are entering into the busiest time of the year, to dedicate yourself to alone time on a regular basis. even more importantly, dedicate yourself to alone time with God. i believe we greatly underestimate the power of prayer and solitude and sitting with God. it just might save your sanity this holiday season.