Be Still and Know . . . Cathe Swanson with Giveaway

Be Still and know . . .

Guest post by Cathe Swanson

How often are you truly at peace, at rest, alone with God? Is your mind always filled with people, work and things? In idle moments, do you seek distraction or entertainment? Most of us enjoy a break from our responsibilities and anxieties. What do you do with that time? Read a book, watch television, visit with a friend, browse Facebook and Pinterest, go shopping, play games? There’s nothing wrong with relaxing entertainment. I am grateful for Facebook, where I can see pictures of my grandchildren. It’s important to spend enjoyable time with your loved ones, and I certainly don’t want you to stop reading books!

Perhaps you garden, exercise, knit or watch birds – activities that should leave your mind open for prayer. Those things do require some attention, though, and if you are like me, your mind is prone to wander back into the world, maybe even dwelling on those anxieties and responsibilities. Often, when I have activities that occupy my hands but don’t require my full mental attention, I listen to audiobooks, so even when I could pray and meditate on Scripture, I clutter up my mind, filling it with something else.

We are called to worship and to serve in local church communities. The Holy Spirit equipped us for that work among the body of believers. It’s good and right. And yet, in this busy world, we also need to spend time alone with God, very still and apart from all that might distract us. For some women, especially those with young children, that means getting up very early, before the household (Psalm 119:47-48), or at night in bed, as David often did. (Psalm 4:4, Psalm 63:5-8, Psalm 77:6 and more).  

In other stages of life, we have more flexibility. Wherever we are, though, we need to be still and give Him our full attention. Jesus withdrew from his disciples, to speak to His Father. Throughout the Psalms, David speaks alone and intimately to God, with a hopeful soul, waiting, and God responds. David called on God in grateful praise, in deep pain and in frustration. He was honest and completely focused on God.

In my book, Baggage Claim, Teresa is a believer. She reads her Bible, prays and goes to church. She’s confident in her faith. But when she moves to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, she is alone with God for the first time in her life, experiencing his glory in a whole new way.  She is still, knowing God, and realizes that the petty sins of her life – discontent, anxiety and irritation – cannot coexist with that real stillness. You can find that. I encourage you to get alone with God for a while every day. Leave behind the study guides and prayer journals. Shut off the praise music. Be still – really still - and know that He is God. 

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Baggage Claim, Feb 2017

http://amzn.to/2mGdKTE  

There had to be at least one healthy branch on his family tree…

Who can he trust?

Ben Taylor, widower and father of four lively children, enjoys his easy, uncomplicated life. He likes his work and has a competent nanny to manage his household. Everything is good until he decides to seek out his biological parents and discovers a family tree with tangled roots and broken branches.

His comfortable life crumbles when he gets caught up in a criminal network of fraud and conspiracy at his new job. When Ben is forced into a dangerous alliance, he scrambles to find a safe situation and protection for his children before setting out to clear his name—all without getting himself killed in the process.

A nanny with a past…

Becoming a nanny was the perfect solution when Teresa Cooper needed a place to hide ten years ago, but now that she’s no longer in danger, she’s ready to move on and make a new life for herself. When Ben asks her to take the children to an unknown relative in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, she finds herself in hiding again, this time with four children in tow.

As the children explore the wilderness of the Upper Peninsula, Teresa begins to wonder about God’s plan for her future. Who is this stranger Ben trusts with his children? Why here? Can a city-bred nanny find joy in this wild corner of God’s creation? 

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Cathe Swanson lives in Wisconsin with her husband of 32 years. They enjoy spending time with their family and being outdoors, kayaking, hiking, birdwatching and fishing, but summer is short in Wisconsin, so it’s important to have indoor hobbies, too. Cathe has been a quilter and teacher of quiltmaking for over 25 years, and she enjoys just about any kind of creative work, especially those involving fiber or paper.

Her family is growing steadily; she and her husband had three sons, and those boys all grew up and married delightful women and started producing grandchildren: three boys and two girls so far - and two more arriving in the spring!

The long Wisconsin winters are perfect for writing and reading books! Cathe enjoys writing stories with eccentric characters of all ages. Her books will make you laugh and make you cry – and then make you laugh again.

  

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To Enter Cathe's Giveaway:

Leave a Comment Below, along with your first name AND email address and answer the following question: Where is your favorite place to go where you can 'Be still, and know . . .'?

Giveaway ends one week from today (March 24) at Midnight, CDT. Winner will be notified via email after a random drawing. Have fun with this!

Thank you so much, Cathe, for this timely, and thought-provoking post. God bless you!