Friday, March 17, 2017

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

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? 

♦ ♦ ♦

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.
  

Social media links

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!





22 comments:

  1. Emily - emmystrobel@yahoo.com
    My favorite places to "be still and know" are my kitchen table in the winter/cold months,and my front porch when it's warm enough to be out.Morning is my favorite time.

    I tried clicking the link under the Baggage Claim picture and it isn't working (just wanted to let you know).

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  2. Marleen V - violaml@evms.edu
    My favorite place to "be still and know" is my backyard. It's so peaceful with the birds singing and just reveling in nature. When it's cold..any warm place I can find.

    Also, your link to the book isn't working - fyi.

    Thanks for the opportunity! Good luck all!

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  3. Thanks for dropping in, Emily. Thanks for the heads-up about the link. It is working now. You have been entered in the drawing!

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  4. Hi, Marleen, thanks for visiting. I have fixed the broken link. And I have entered you in the drawing.

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  5. As a retired pastor, I'd love to say anywhere, but,truth be told, even retired there are times and places I don't settle well. Outside in green space with birds is my place to be still and know. I don't need to be part of the giveaway, although I have subscribed ( you got me at Purple), I came over to check things out

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    1. Hi, Andrea, so pleased to meet you and thanks for checking my Purple blog out and subscribing. I hope you've enjoyed your visit here and will keep coming back.

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  6. I believe my favorite place to meet God in stillness is on our deck on Saturday mornings. My husband & I share coffee & watch the sunrise, along with bird watching & the chimes that resound in the breeze... and we sit, quietly... it's also our place to go with iced tea when I come home from work... it's our safe space...

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    1. Oh, that sounds lovely, Teresa. I can't remember the last time I watched a sunrise. Thank you so much for sharing. I have entered you in the book drawing.

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  7. Rebekah D. rjdeedrick@gmail.com

    I love to spend time where I can hear the wind in the pine trees. Favorite sound ever.

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    1. Oh, I have to agree with you, Rebekah. It does have a calming effect, as long as it's not the gusty force we've experienced here this month! I've added your name to the book drawing. Thanks for stopping by.

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  8. Although I read my devotions at my kitchen table each morning, I think I find special peace at my computer. I monitor two prayer chains, and the conversations I have with the prayer warriors and praying for their needs and them praying for mine bring me closer to God.

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    1. Hi, Bonnie. I read my devotions while seated at my computer. I love to check out the scriptures and often go to Bible Gateway to see how it's presented in different translations.
      You've been entered in the drawing, too. Thanks for visiting.

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  9. I agree with the wind-in-the-pines sound, and also enjoy special calm near flowing water. Thanks for the prompt...takes us all to a pleasant place! Gail. gkittleson at myomnitel.com

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    1. Amen to the sound of flowing water, Gail. While I was renting the house I now own, there was a small fish pond on the north side of the house, just outside one of the bedroom windows, with a waterfall over some rocks. LOVED that pond! But, the landlord took the pond out a few months before he sold it to us. Too much upkeep, and the algae was getting out of control. Sad.
      Anyway, thanks for coming by, Gail. Your name is in the hat!

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  10. I live in the desert where nothing is ever still. I don't "meet God" there naturally. For me, my best place is when I finally sit down, alone, after everyone has gone to bed at the "barn" I go to for a retreat every year. There I "hear" the Lord best.

    The rest of the year, it's just anytime I get alone in the car.

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    1. Hi, Chautona, thanks for stopping by. I know what you mean about the desert. I lived in the desert southwest for almost thirty-three years. But I did enjoy going out on my back patio and listen to the sound of mockingbirds and doves. I'd love to enter you in the giveaway, but I'll need your email address to notify you in case you're the winner. Thanks

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  11. Esther Filbrun • kingsscribblingprincess+@+gmail+.com (remove pluses). My favorite place for still, quiet meditation in the Bible at the moment is on my bed. It's my space, and my computer is not visible from there, so it really helps with cutting out distractions. Those times of quietness are so precious to me.

    Thanks for the giveaway!
    Blessings,
    Esther
    http://learningresourcedirectory.com

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    1. Welcome to my blog, Esther! This has been a fun discussion, don't you think? Thanks for sharing your 'favorite place' - your name has been entered in the giveaway.

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  12. It sounds like Cathy has come up with a winner in Baggage Claim!

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    1. Thanks for visiting and leaving a comment, Clarice. You've been entered in the drawing. Watch your email this weekend in case you're the winner.

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  13. And the winner is: REBEKAH DEEDRICK! Congratulations!

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