{"id":22252,"date":"2026-03-11T12:40:00","date_gmt":"2026-03-11T12:40:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/uncategorized\/my-spiritual-challenge-to-be-still\/"},"modified":"2026-04-10T06:13:50","modified_gmt":"2026-04-10T06:13:50","slug":"my-spiritual-challenge-to-be-still","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/positive-living\/health-and-wellness\/life-advice\/my-spiritual-challenge-to-be-still\/","title":{"rendered":"My Spiritual Challenge: To Be Still"},"content":{"rendered":"

I love to be busy and this summer I\u2019m not. I\u2019m not writing a book, leading a conference or shooting a video\u2014all things I\u2019ve enjoyed doing this past year. On top of all that, I\u2019m practically an empty nester. After having a household of seven children just a few years ago, I\u2019m down to one child at home, my 17-year-old son Hunter.<\/p>\n

All this free time makes me a little anxious. Not having deadlines and the pressure to produce leaves me nervous. It sounds crazy, but without a daily list of things-to-do, I\u2019m out of sorts.<\/p>\n

The more I think about it, I realize I depend on accomplishment to feel good about myself. When I don\u2019t have tangible results to show for my day, I\u2019m more likely to feel down and tense. I looked up anxiety in an online Bible concordance, and found the apostle Paul\u2019s beautiful words about it in the book of Philippians.<\/p>\n

\u201cDo not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.\u201d (Philippians 4:6)<\/p>\n

Prayer. Most of my prayers are breathed heavenward while I\u2019m jogging. But since my stress seems to increase when I\u2019m not busy and active, I feel drawn to try stillness. Every morning I\u2019m taking some time to be still. I pull a chair on my back porch into the sunshine, sit, close my eyes, breath deeply and enjoy the warmth. I hear bird chirps, and feel life in me and all around me. After several deep breaths, I describe how I\u2019m feeling to God and listen.<\/p>\n

Meditation and prayer are time-honored spiritual practices for finding direction and peace. The Psalms say, \u201cBe still and know that I am God.\u201d It\u2019s my hope that slowing down each morning will help me to relax and love myself as a child of God even when I don\u2019t have a million things to accomplish.<\/p>\n

—–<\/p>\n

Get more <\/em>advice from Theresa<\/em><\/a>!<\/em><\/p>\n

Find all you need to know on whole-person
\nwellness in<\/em> Shaped by Faith<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Theresa is a former model and nationally certified fitness professional who teaches people to use their faith to inspire fitness and their fitness to strengthen their faith. She is the author of<\/em> Shaped by Faith: 10 Secrets to Strengthening your Body & Soul<\/a>, and two exercise DVDS:<\/em> Pilates for the Soul<\/a><\/p>\n

She and her husband, Robin, have seven children and live in Calhoun, Kentucky.<\/em><\/p>\n

You can email her<\/a> with any questions or concerns.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I love to be busy and this summer I\u2019m not. I\u2019m not writing a book, leading a conference or shooting a video\u2014all things I\u2019ve enjoyed doing this past year. On top of all that, I\u2019m practically an empty nester. After having a household of seven children just a few years ago, I\u2019m down to one […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":137,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[225],"tags":[49,28,68],"ppma_author":[528],"class_list":["post-22252","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-life-advice","tag-peace","tag-spiritual","tag-summer"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nMy Spiritual Challenge: To Be Still - Guideposts Articles<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"My Spiritual Challenge: To Be Still\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I love to be busy and this summer I\u2019m not. 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