Lisa-Jo Baker
About the Author

Lisa-Jo is the best-selling author of Never Unfriended and Surprised by Motherhood. Her newest book, The Middle Matters: Why That (Extra)Ordinary Life Looks Really Good on You invites us to get a good look at our middles and gives us permission to embrace them.

(in)side DaySpring: things we love
& you will too!
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(in)side DaySpring:
things we love
& you will too!
Find more at
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  1. Still. Something that used to make me cringe when I thought of it and now brings a sense of unreal peace to my life. In the stillness of God I’ve found myself in Him again, I’ve learned that His love and His path are much deeper than I could have ever imagined.

    It wasn’t until He brought my life to a stillness that I learned to appreciate the love of my husband, the time with my family, the beauty of nature, that His Word is still alive, and the Truth of His plan.

    I love how He can bring our life to a hault, through a loss, (in my instance a loss of a job) and yet bring beauty and security through every tick of the clock.

    He’s made me realize how important it is to be still literally. And to also always be mindful that He still loves me, He is still on the throne, He is still the King of Kings, He is still Immanuel, His love is still unconditional, His Word is still everlasting, His light will still shine in the darkness, He is still fighting my battles, He is still my best friend, He is still the lover of my soul, He still hasn’t changed, and He is still here. He is still GOD.

  2. I don’t have a blog, but I am moved to participate, so here is mine.
    Still-
    Still at the end of the day I am alone. I long for effortless smiles and laughter like that within my children that escapes so often. Laughter musical and filled with joy. Smiles that radiate the innocence that God gives them. They are asleep and I am still for a fleeting moment until you arrive. Then I see your eyes glossy and droopy and smell
    the venom on your breathe. I can no longer be still because the sadness creeps up into my throat and into my eyes. I tell you I am tired, that I love you, that I am going to bed. I climb the stairs one last time for today in hopes of laying still in a pool of tears wishing, hoping, praying that God will take away your disease or just take you away. So I can be still.

    • Dear Mary,
      You have written a powerful post that speaks volumes. I am sorry for your pain. Someone very soon is going to come along and quote a verse to remind us both that there is a Scripture that says to “be still, and know that I am God.” I will pray that you will feel His hand holding you throughout . . .

      • Mary
        I truly feel your pain. One night I was having a very bad night and I started reading my scripture note cards one right after the other. Over and over. Then I started writing and this is what I put down. I am changing all the places I had put my name and I am putting in your name. I call this my letter from God!
        Lisa

        Mary,

        Stop what you’re doing. Just be still and know that I am God. I’ve got things under control. Mary you looked for me and you cried to me. I will answer you. I am answering you. You will be free of your fears(heartache).
        Just trust me Mary.
        I know you do not understand, but just believe that I will get you through this tangled mess. I know the plans I have for your life. I will never hurt you. I will give you hope again. I will give you a future. You will not stay in this pit. Mary you know all this yet you still do not trust me.
        There is nothing that will ever take my love away from you, you do not need to be afraid or discouraged. I am with you everywhere you go. I will never leave you though others have.
        Just trust me Mary.
        This looks really bad to you I know, but Mary I will work this all out to be something good even though you cannot see what that is.
        Believe that I do.
        I already know how it turns out.
        MaryI see you every morning when you wake up and I am with you everywhere you go until you go to bed. I do not sleep. I am watching over you! I know what you are thinking, good and bad, and I still love you. Mary, there is nothing on this earth that can ever take my love away from you.
        Do not be afraid Mary.
        Be strong, I will give you courage to do what needs to be done.
        I am with you.
        I will hold your hand.
        I will lift you up and put you in a safe place.
        I chose you Mary to be my daughter long before you were born.
        I will never leave you.
        I will never change.
        All you need to do is just believe that I am here.

        God, Abba, Healer, Counselor, Redeemer, Protector, Friend

  3. […] I thought it would be fun to participate in 5 Minute Friday with The Gypsy Mama (hosted over at (in)Courage today).  I have seen this on many of the blogs I read and always wondered what it would be like to […]

  4. Good Morning!

    Lisa H, you are wonderful:) ! I might cut that out and say all three of our names in it! Will be thinking of both of you fabulously strong women today!

  5. Still I do not have a blog or website and still I would like to have one if I knew what to do with it. As I read your words today Lisa, I still feel that my words do not come together as peacefully or as eloquently as yours or Lysa T or Holley G or Rene S or the many others who wrote for incourage. My words are many but how do I chanel them to be useful to anyone else. Still I am blessed to read and be incouraged by those words. Still I long to arrange the words about how I feel in a way that could bless others as you all have. Still I feel that may not be what God needs for me to do. I read of the She Speaks conference but think I still have nothing to offer there. Still I have the feeling that I am not a good steward of my time and talents. Still I love my Jesus and my family so much. Still I think if I could find the special quiet and stillness, I could figure out his purpose for me. I still probably make it all too complicated. Each day I realize so many blessings and I know that he is with me still and always. I am happy but still long to ensure I achieve the purpose God has for my life.

    • I know exactly how you are feelin’! Try a blog and see what happens. Usually those of us who have feel we have the least to offer have the most.

    • My suggestion to anyone thinking of starting a blog is to go for it. It’s a little scary sometimes, but just having a formal place to write your thoughts can be so freeing. I find that I love the “publish privately” feature that some blogs have – so you don’t have to share with the world if you’re not ready, but you can still feel that sense of accomplishment by writing it online.

      For me, writing is a form of therapy. I find I can collect my thoughts better if I put them on paper, or on a computer screen. It’s not about “how many people will read what I’ve written” or “how I measure up to other bloggers or writers”, it’s about getting the words out there – no matter who reads them.

      So, I would encourage you to go for your own blog and share yourself. Because whether you think your writing is comparable to anyone else’s is beside the point – if you feel to write, you should :).

  6. Still and quiet is the house this morning, yet outside I hear the rain rushing over the ground and gently hitting the windows…hard comes the rain, but still is the sky. I sit and ponder the many things I should get done today, but still I must take time to give great thanks for the abundant blessings that fill my life in the stillness of the big picture. There is still so much to be done, still a ton of hope to hold for others, and much giving to do unto others still. Its so nice to have moments to start the day, reflect throughout the day and end the day with time to “Be Still And Know…”. I pray that my friends & family take time to sit still for 5 little minutes to give thanks in everything…amongst the busy-ness of our everday life…I stll do 🙂 Thank You 🙂

  7. Still.
    It seems to me such a strange word, a word from another world. A world so far away from mine – job, stres, anxiety, fears, anger, pain of heart – that’s let me astounish.
    ‘Be still and know that I am God’. My screensaver is full of images with God’s words, and for sure, today it has spoken me.
    Be still, I’ll do everything I have promise.
    Peace, be still – calm all your thoughts, I’ll do it.
    Just a matter of time – Patience need to be involved.
    And, praise, worship – The joy of the Lord is your strenght.
    After all that, my heart is refreshed, and calm.
    Do you see to believe, or do you believe to see? 🙂
    I smile, you’re always right. 🙂

  8. When I think about the word still, I think about not moving. I think of the verse in Psalms that says, “Be still and know that I am God.” One year at BCM, a fellow student spoke about that verse. I distinctly remember him saying that the words for “Be still” meant “SHUT UP!” in Hebrew.

    Wow. “Shut up and know that I am God” just has a bit of a stronger tone to it, don’t you think? I really struggle with this. I love words. I love to talk. I love to read. And I love to write. Hence, for me to “Shut up and know that I am God” takes a lot out of me. It takes a bit of humbling. I always want to be doing something. If I am reading, writing, cleaning the house, lesson planning, whatever, I want to have some background music on. In our American culture, I think we are afraid of silence. I find it hard to just sit and be still before the Lord. To shut up and just know that He is God. But that is what He wants. And that is where He can really speak–when everything else that could distract me is turned off and it is just me and Him.

  9. […] five minute Friday and time to lighten thing up after a heavy week! Over at Incourage it’s 5-minute Friday.  Here’s the rule:  Write for 5 minutes flat for pure unedited […]

  10. My heart is anything but still.

    When my phone rang at 2:30 this morning, I realized our cordless phone hadn’t been returned to the base. Since I didn’t recognize the name on the caller id, I didn’t answer, didn’t dash to the kitchen to grab the phone off the wall. I figured it was someone trying to call Cub Foods because that sometimes happens a strange hours around here. I roll over and tell myself, “I must, must, must change that number!”

    I check messages first thing this morning and learn the truth…

    Our fifteen year old son is in trouble. He did something wrong at camp, violated the camp rules, and the camp coordinator, from hours and miles away, at 2:30 a.m. want us to know about it.

    I grab the phone to call him back but his phone is off. Probably because he was up halfway through the night with my son.

    My mind is anything but still. We’ve raised him better than this. We’ve taught him to respect authority. Rules mean safety.

    Questions. Did he initiate or follow? What did he do? What should we do?

    Anger pulses.

    Jesus, I say…. Please still my anxious heart.

    God, why do I feel so guilty? Like I failed as as mom?

    Shhhh…. I feel God whisper….

    I understand, my daughter.
    I’m your perfect Father, but my children let me down.
    Over and over they choose. They fall, they rise.
    I love and lead and love.
    You can do that too.

    I care about your son even more than you do.
    Be still, and watch me work this for good.
    You want your son to trust me.
    Trust me first.
    The One who began a good work
    is still faithful to complete it….

  11. 8:53 – 8:58am
    I still like to write even though I have lesson time to do so. I still love to eat even though I have lost 80 lbs. I still have more left to lose and the battle feels brand new some days, almost as if I am back at 306. I laid in bed this morning remembering when my 306 lb sized body took up so much space. Mentally, I still feel I take up that space. It’s amazing how our brain grows to think my new size is as big as my old size. I think that’s why I still stress about weight. Until my mind sees me as beautiful, I will still feel overweight. Of course, there are times I am still proud of my accomplishments, just not as often lately. Trying to lose those last twenty pounds is nothing short of ridiculous. My eating is emotion driven. My big cue is when I have gone a few days and not really felt hungry. That’s my goal this morning – to not eat lunch until I am hungry, no matter what time that might be. Not just eating because I’m bored or because it’s so much more exciting folding my son’s clothes or mopping the floor. But, I will wait until I am hungry, then I will not be beating myself up afterwards. Yes, I still think about and obsess about weight. Not all the time and not every day, just when life throws me a curve ball. I still want to learn how to make true friendships. I’m reading a book on that. Yes, a book on how to be a friend. I never thought I would need one, but the more I read the more I’m kicking myself for not doing it sooner. Why didn’t anyone teach me these principles? Thank the Lord for good books.

    Hope i win the clock! 🙂

  12. i love the things that remain true in our lives even along the road of… life.
    ps. i love that i look at that last photo and know that it is Africa 🙂

  13. Still
    Is the little rabbit in my flower garden, afraid to move because I am approaching near, hopes he is safe and that I am nothing to fear, I will walk the other way, let him enjoy the shade of plants in my garden on this hot summer day.

    Still hot, day after day, not a breeze stirring, just hot glaring sun and still I pray for rain.

    Still, it’s how I meet with the Lord every day, not just slowing down for awhile, but stopping, pushing everything else aside for awhile, to be still and know Him, and then go through the rest of my day with Him. Still, He loves me, still, He blesses me immeasurably so. Still, He is everything to me!

  14. This is my first time participating in five minute Friday. As much fun as it was to write my post, its even more fun to see all the different takes on the word still!

  15. Being still physically comes easier as I have aged. I have become more of an observer at events, being the cheerleader for younger women. That doesn’t take much courage since the body will not move fast anymore, prefers to sit still.
    But I find it takes courage to still my tongue, to be swift to answer and quick to hear. That old saying, been there,done that gushes with pride all too often when listening to someone. To still my mind and listen actually takes so much strength that I must depend on Him to still my gushes. Still I fail, still He forgives, still He continues to use me, still I love Him for it.

  16. Stillness is something I have forgotten. Moments after I became a mommy to the most incredible baby boy, the words “sit still” have become meaningless. When there is so much in the world for my now one year old to DO, DO, DO. Sitting still is not one of them. So, from sunup to sundown, we DO, DO, DO. When I finally tuck him in as my last “DO” of the day, I try and sink into my couch for a few peaceful moments until my husband gets home from work and be STILL, STILL, STILL. Oftentimes I resort to my television, a beautiful familiar whirl of noise to push all of my thoughts out of my head. Then, other times, those days when DO after DO has left me even too exhausted to even find the remote control, I sink into the couch and remain actually STILL, STILL, STILL. It usually isn’t but 5-15 minutes until my amazing husband enters the door still wound up from his day of DO, DO, DO. But, those five minutes are all a full-time working momma needs!

  17. Be Still and know that I am God, says the scripture. Yet, I am the one who wants to be productive and do things, not to sit still and wait and listen for that still, small voice. I am always trying so hard to keep the house clean, my husband happy and the cats fed that to be still is very complicated. Yet, I need to simplicity of just “being.” I need to find that small swatch of time that will bring my living into a peace that passes understanding as I wait and watch for God’s hand to bring me into His presence. This exercise makes me ache to put on paper the words I have stored up to find His will in all I do and say. I don’t want to be someone who just accomplishes those daily tasks and find no meaning in what I have done. Rather I would be a person who yearns for God’s Word to penetrates my frentic motions and brings me into a place where there is meaning and significance. That is only found in the person of our Lord Jesus and He bids me to come apart and sit at His feet and to just “be still.

  18. Being “still” for me is about rejoicing at what we have rather than suffering for not being able to fulfill all of our plans yet.
    We always have everything we need to get by, the difference between those who are “still” fighting the good battle and the ones that sat on the sidewalk to cry their frustrations out is that some of us can easily find reasons to keep going, to move on, to get up and try again, when others can’t see through the storm and contemplate the sunrise God put there for us and that’s the thing… His light is always there, but being able to see it or not depends on us.

  19. […] see what others have come up with on this topic.  They are very interesting.  This week she is at In-courage.                                                                   […]

  20. […] 5 minutes flat for pure unedited love of the written word on the prompt, “Still.” 2. Link back here and invite others to join in. 3. Get a little crazy with encouragement in the comments of the five […]

  21. “Still” … Being still requires patience, it requires a measure of being able to persevere and sometimes I’m not so good at it. I want the desired results ‘now’ – ‘yesterday.’ I’ve recently been through eleven years where being still made no sense to me. But I made up my mind to be patient and to endure. A year ago when things came to a head, I took the risk of being utterly rejected, rejected by family, by doing what I put off doing for ten years! I finally did the right thing no caring at all if it meant my family’s rejection of me.

    When I confronted them – they did reject me. And even though it hurt, the emancipation God gave me was more than I ever expected. It’s been a year and I feel so incredibly blessed. It pays to wait on the Lord, to be still and know God has a plan that He implements at just the right time. His way is PERFECT. “Be still and know that I am God.” ~ God

  22. […] friend, Krista Burdine, wrote a 5-minute friday post on her blog this morning. Krista’s post sparked something in me so I decided to write […]

  23. Wow! This post was beautiful and so real! I love to see how God works when we put a pen to paper- or keyboard clicks to a screen. This is a really neat idea- I Love It!!!

  24. It’s still Friday here in Arizona but if you are on the East coast it’s not. So…. Time is relative.
    Our Dad did something spectacular for me today….I found my church “home”. It meant an awful lot for me to find it after searching for so long; so many years. I know where I belong now and where He is going to use me. Everything has changed. I feel on-fire!

  25. Ok, I’m finding it difficult to keep up with everyone today! I love to browse the linked up blogs and the comments, but I’m so tired and overwhelmed this week.

    But for everyone who has written – well done! I have read a few and been touched by the imagery of the words and the hearts of the women behind the words.

    love and blessings.

  26. I haven’t participated in a looong time, but I’m back in action! (A little late, but late is better than never, right?)

    http://thescienceofmusic.blogspot.com

    ps- Lisa Jo, I love your byline – “Finger painter of words”. Because that’s exactly what you do – the pictures you paint with your words are so vivid, so clear, yet so down to earth, like finger painting is. 🙂

  27. (So, it was Friday when I wrote this, but before I could publish it, Gabriel started crying in is crib so I went up to take care of him and fell asleep myself before I could come back down and push the ‘publish’ button!)

    It’s Friday and I am going to meet up with Gypsy Mama to join in. Feel free to join us, too! It’s lots of fun!

    The rules? Write for 5 minutes without stopping to edit or proofread (although I will edit a little since my ‘h’ key is not working well today, tanks to Gabriel…)

    The topic? STILL!

    Ready? GO!

    Still: As in

    ELIZABETH! Are you STILL in bed???? You have to get on the bus in 15 minutes! I woke you up 45 minutes ago!

    Or:

    Jo, you STILL haven’t finished emptying the silverware from the dishwasher? Your sister’s going to do it and get your quarter if you don’t get a move on!

    But then there is also:

    Be still. Just being. Still. We are being. Still. Everyday. I wake up and I am being. Still. I get up and be and go to work and be and move through the day and be. Still. I’m still being. Being me, being hot, being tired, being frustrated,

    then coming home…

    and being loved and being needed and being patient and being Mommy…still. Everyday. To the fullest.

    And sometimes, to retain my sanity, I need to take all those times of being and step out of them for just one moment and be

    Still.

    Soak it in.

    Look to God who in His own mercy and grace has given me the ability to be

    Still.

    and to

    Still be!

  28. Still Waters
    Still is the bay on very special days. Glass covered water. No waves. Not even any ripples. Cloudless sky days are rare, but when glassy waters meet the cloudless sky, the color is indescribable. The deep blue of the sky reflects off the mirrored waters.

    From The Shepherd’s Psalm….”He leads me beside still waters; he restores my soul.” Notice I didn’t just end up at the still waters. He led me there….sometimes kicking and screaming. But He knew what I needed….still waters. He restored my soul….by still waters. No giant waves, no tiny ripples….just still waters.

  29. Still I wonder what to say to you

    Yet the words come when on my knees

    Still all so crazy to think I can figure you out all by myself

    When all the while you’ve got me all figured

    Still I marvel at how the whole wide world was framed by your words

    Still I wonder at your majesty and awesomeness.

    So mighty yet you live in me

    Still I wonder!