Your adornment must not be merely external—braiding the hair, and wearing gold jewelry, or putting on dresses; but let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in the sight of God.

1 Peter 3:3-5

As I put my heart and intent towards developing more quietness, gentleness, calmness in my life what better inspiriation in stiving towards this than the beautiful words precious in the sight of God. The aim of my every action and word should be to please God. If the qualities of gentleness and quietness are precious to God, He will help me to achieve this in my life.

Luke 6:45 says "The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil; for his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart.

Where does a gentle, quiet spirit come from? the heart. I cannot hope to achieve these qualities just by "trying"; it must come from within. How does one develop the "inner" qualities of gentleness and quietness? From reading and studying the Word, meditating upon verses, walking closely with the Lord and communing with Him in prayer. In Deuteronomy 6 God commanded Isreal to to keep the words which he was commanding them on their hearts, to bind them as a sign on their hands, to be as frontals on their forehead, and to write them on their doorposts. In this way they would be reminded constantly of the Lord's goodness, graciousness, and mercy towards them, and of the Lord's commands, so that they would not forget and slip back into unfaithfullness. The Lord wanted them to live to their greatest spiritual potential, as he longed to bless them, and He wants them same from us! We should structure our life, and our home, so that we too will be constantly reminded of the Lord's goodness and mercy, and his commandments. Will quietness, gentleness, calmness be a result of this? Most certainly!

It has been a busy couple of days getting back into routine after such a nice break! Gone are the relaxing, slow breakfasts, and the quiet, lazy days. As 2012 unfolds I want to strive to create a better sense of stillness, calm, and quietness in my everyday busy life that is so precious yet hard to accomplish.

Isaiah 32:17 says, The work of righteousness will be peace, And the effect of righteousness, quietness and assurance forever. " Another lovely verse found in Isaiah 30:15, "For thus says the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel: “ In returning and rest you shall be saved; In quietness and confidence shall be your strength.”

How do we find this quietness in the middle of a hectic day? Firstly, I believe that starting your morning in the Word helps achieve this. Days when I am running late and don't have time to read first thing, it does affect the way I handle stresses that come my way during the day, and my attitude. As Hebrews 4:12 says, "For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart". The Word is our source of life. When we make it a priorty to begin our day in the Word we will definitely be blessed by it and will have a greater chance of maintaining peace and quietness through our day, and have a better attutitude towards the difficulties and annoyances we face each day.

"A Quite Life"