growing closer to God has a whole lot less to do with any action we might take and a whole lot more to do with positioning our hearts toward His. It's what I call intentionally positioning ourselves to experience God—and the posture we are to take

Sometimes hardship happens not because of what you've done but because of something God is doing.

And honestly, I'm tired of knowing I have issues but having no clue how to rein them in on a given day. I need something simple. A quick reality check I can remember in the midst of the everyday messies.

The human soul is designed to recognize and respond to the calm assurance of Jesus.

And the ties that truly bind me to Him and the truth of who I am in Him are given to me in those quiet moments where I say, "I'm Yours, God.

As I sat in silence, the spirit interceded with perfect prayers on my behalf

We run at a breakneck pace to try and achieve what God simply wants us to slow down enough to receive.

With that said, maybe it's time to release back to God what we can't change so we can discover what He has for us now.

Imagine the difference this could make with not setting into motion what needs to remain still.

God is good at being God. I don't have to figure my present circumstances out. I don't have to fill the silence left behind in another person's absence. I don't have to know all the whys and what-ifs. All I have to do is trust.

And that's when it occurred to me that if you get desperate enough you'll go all in with living slow for a while. You'll quiet down all the outside noise so God's voice can become the loudest voice in your life. Now, I realize, none of us can just quit life when life falls apart. But we can quit some things.

Instead of letting the feelings from this situation label me, I'm going to focus on God and His promises for good things.