Noise

Hey guys, I know it has been a while since I last posted any writing. College has been going by so fast as we are already finished with week eight. Through these exciting eight weeks I have learned so much about myself and really have been growing in my relationship with the Lord. As you all know I am book obsessed and I adore Sadie Rob Huff. I signed up to be a member of Sadie’s Live Original group which is basically a whole bunch of Christian women who are there to uplift others. It really is amazing, the network that Sadie and the LO team has created. Anyways, Get out of Your Head by Jennie Allen has been on my to-read list.

When the news came out that Sadie and Jennie were teaming up and doing a book club on this book, of course I was in. In this book club there were discussion questions, zoom calls with Sadie, podcasts from Jennie, and of course a community of women to discuss with. The biggest take away that I got from this book is that you have a choice of what goes on in your head. One must take every thought captive in order to really have a clear and controlled mind. I struggle a lot with stress and over thinking everything. Jennie brought up that with this generation there is so much noise going on in our lives. Especially college kids who are trying to juggle schoolwork, part time jobs, social lives, and then planning our future. Too add to all this craziness there is social media and so many other factors that play into the noise of our lives.

So, then the question is posed, how do I take every thought captive and cancel out this noise that is going on in my life? One tip that Jennie Allen gave is enforcing and implementing quiet time first thing in the morning. When you hear your alarm go off, what is the first thing that you do? If you are anything like me you sit on your phone and answer Snapchats, scroll through Instagram and Facebook, and even watch Tik Toks. Then I thought to myself, maybe this is why my quiet time with the Lord is one of the loudest times of the day even though the physical environment around me is dead silent. Jennie encouraged her readers to make an intentional effort not to touch your phone until you have had that quiet time with the Lord. So that is exactly what I have been doing every morning this whole week. I have also found it helpful to write a checklist of things to get done the night before so that isn’t racing through my head during quiet time. That also helps me keep on track with all the papers I have to write for school and eliminates procrastination (for the most part ;)). With this change implemented into my life, I have overall been less stressed and really have been enjoying all the relationships I have been building in college.

In the end, I recommend this book to anyone and I also suggest that you also listen to her podcasts as you read along. This book has completely changed my way of thinking and has really got me to get out of my head. It is amazing how the Lord works and what He will put in your life at certain times. I have been praying for God to allow me to grow and let me tell you it has been raining. I challenge you all to make an intentional effort to have Jesus’s words spill into your heart first thing in the morning instead of the world’s lies.

Until next time,

Elizabeth Hodges ❤