Thrive

On Christmas Eve, I was seeking and praying over what my word for 2023 would be. I felt aimless (ironic since my word for 2022 was focus) and had no clue what my word would be. I was praying for God to reveal it to me. I looked back over my words for the last 4 years and still had no clue.

Finding Quiet

What a timely book for all that is going on in the world today! With a pandemic, election, hurricane season and so much more, it is increasingly difficult to find quiet. This is something that Jamie Grace knows something about, especially in a field where she gets paid to be loud. I had only known of Jamie as a singer, but really enjoyed learning more about her through her writing of this book. One of the things that Jamie said that really struck me is that, "So many times we have the opportunity to face our pain, but we choose to allow noise to cover it instead." Instead of choosing noise to cover the pain, we need to embrace the quiet and see what God wants us to learn from that season, or experience. Another thought that she expressed was the freedom to "allow yourself to feel." Some of the chapters had questions at the end for journaling and reflection, taking the book beyond simply reading, to a more thought-provoking read, encouraging you to process and learn from what you are reading. As Jamie is encouraging us to find quiet, she is also giving glimpses into what inspired some of her songs. This is an easy book to read, with lots of nuggets of good information, and sprinkled with appropriate Scripture throughout. I would highly recommend this to anyone who is struggling to find quiet in the midst of chaos.