(Continuing with some practical suggestions from yesterday to cultivate a more quiet heart and mind that has depth)

4. Listen to more quiet & contemplative music: I use Pandora a lot on my iPhone. I have created stations for Fernando Ortega, David Nevue, Randy Edelman, Paul Cardall, David Carnes, Ed Gerhard, Bach, Handel, and Yo Yo Ma. These are all very contemplative music stations – only Ortega has the occasional songs with words, all the rest are instrumentation only.

If you want some more upbeat contemplative music that is a bit more inspiring…I use the stations: Band of Brothers, James Horner, John Williams, Braveheart, and Gladiator (You can probably figure out what I was listening to in certain portions of my sermon).

Whatever it is, try and mix in quieter and more contemplative music. OR, just drive and walk with NO music at all! I’ve found this to be surprisingly helpful at times recently largely because I always have noise around me, and it was nice to not plug noise into my ears (pleasant though it may be).

5. Read! I mention this in the “turning off the electrics” section, but find a book that you like and even if you are not a reader (especially!) commit yourself to reading something for a stretch of no less than 15 minutes. Further, try and do it in quiet. The weather is getting warmer, go outside, do it there.

I have recently started reading good history books in the evening. Oh, how I miss reading history, and it has really inspired me when reading it and has encouraged my imagination and helped me be a better communicator and illustrator.

Obviously, don’t read anything that is going to take your mind to places it need not go. Also, don’t read books/articles that will eventually encourage you to be thin. Stay away from the thin, more entertainment driven magazines largely because what is behind them is not depth, but thinness.

6.  Create regular times of Prayer & Solitude: The Pastor of our Mother church is really good at this and he told Joey and I once, that if you don’t do this regularly you will get “wobbly.” (I’ve never forgotten that word)…and I have found it to be very true.

I’ve noticed I get a little snappy, frustrated, or agitated easily when I don’t do this regularly. These manifestations are tip offs to me that I need to go and get some prayer and solitude.

When I say “regular” that could mean an hour a week where you plan to do something every Saturday or Sunday. It could be a half day or whole day every month, etc. But don’t let too much time go by between these times as you will find yourself getting snappy, frustrated, or agitated easily, then it is too late.

Here is a sheet our former Pastor wrote up as to what that looks like. If possible drive outside the city and get to some peace and quiet. If you don’t have a car, schedule a time to do it with someone who does, and one go one direction, the other go the other direction. I’ve found tons of places within an hour of DC to do this. Get out there and don’t bring technology with you (except a phone for safety if need be, but leave it off unless you ABSOLUTELY need it) and bring your Bible, a journal, or nothing at all. Just sit for 20-minute stretches and don’t say a word, just listen. Then pray, spend a lot of time in Thanksgiving, don’t start hitting God up with a thousand petitions, though do petition Him, but mainly just try and enjoy His company.

Too long…some more tomorrow…