Lately I feel like my mouth is running ahead of my brain. There has been more than one occasion where I’ve regretted my words the second they were out of my mouth. Most definitely cases of speaking without thinking. I’m tired of opening my mouth and inserting my foot!

With this awareness, I’m trying to be silent. When I’m with my friends, I’m learning to sit back and just listen.

The other night, I carried this a little bit further. I kept the TV off! Now, I’m a TV watcher. And admittedly, sometimes I have the television on only for company and I’m not really watching it. Previously, when working in the broadcast industry, I got used to the background noise of the radio or TV station constantly on. If we accidentally went off the air, it really was a case of “the silence was deafening.” So, I’m used to noise.

Anyway, the other night, I hadn’t turned on the television, and never bothered to. My husband and I enjoyed the evening reading, and I started a new cross stitch project (now whether I finish that project or the several other projects I’ve started is a blog post for another time!). But you know what? I really enjoyed that evening. I relished in the quiet and really liked the silence.

As a Christian, I’m taught to listen to the still small voice of God. I read in a devotion that to tune into God’s voice, we must tune out this world’s noise. How can we do that if we’re focused on everything else but Him?

I’m not sure I heard God’s voice the other night, but I believe it was good to sit in silence. And if I’m prayerful the way I should be, who knows what God might say!

Have you ever done this – sat in silence? If not, try it! Turn off the TV, turn off the electronics. Just read, or knit or study something.

This is good practice for me to sit in silence with friends as well, and LISTEN. Truly hear what they have to say and not just think about my response. Perhaps if I thought more carefully before I spoke, then my foot would stay out of my mouth!  I’m still learning to be silent, and to grow comfortable with silence. But so far, I think it’s something I need to do more often.

How about you? Do you like quiet? Have you taken time to shut off the electronics? Let me know how it worked for you.