This week is parent observation week at Lighthouse Dance. I told our teachers before hand that something they may say in their devotional, a scripture they may share, or a worship exercise they do may not only minister to their students, but to the parents as well.

Monday night, in the middle of my daughter’s ballet class, Miss Abbey told her students to close their eyes and open their ears to what God had to say to them. I don’t remember what happened next in the class, whether they prayed or began stretching or what. My mind was fixed on  “Close your eyes and open your ears.”

Our theme for Lighthouse Dance this season is “Vision.” This theme is all about seeing. It’s about getting God’s vision for our lives, seeing from His perspective, and seeing beyond what we see with our physical eyes. It’s about fixing our eyes on Jesus who is the author and finisher of our faith.   We fix our eyes not on what is seen, but what is unseen, asking God to heal both our physical and spiritual eyes.

Ultimately, we want our vision to be Jesus.

We “see” so many pictures every single day. We are bombarded by images, highlights, and sneak peaks into friends and strangers lives via social media. We are constantly presented with images of what our home should look like, what our children should look like, what we should look like whether on Pinterest, tv, movies, or magazines. We are constantly looking around us, making judgments based upon what we see.  I’ve even included images in this post:).

What if our ability to see beyond the physical depended upon our willingness to close our eyes? What if closing our eyes to the “images” around us made us able to truly see what God wants us to see?

I recently took a month long break from social media.  In closing my eyes to my Facebook and Instagram feed, I opened my eyes to the people right in front of me.

With less to look at on a screen, my children received more of my attention. I felt less stressed, more content, more at peace, and more connected to the people I spoke with, face to face.

Sometimes we have to close our eyes to the way things look around us in order to see things the way God sees them.  Difficulties in my relationships, work, or life circumstances can seem overwhelming when I see them with my own eyes, but when I close my eyes to my own vision, and see things through God’s vision, I see the impossible become possible and what is heavy become light.  I see His perspective.  I see His heart for people.  I HEAR His truth.

My sense of hearing gets strong when my eyes are closed.   The same could be said when I close my ears to sounds of distraction, the radio, podcasts while driving, or music, and instead embrace the silence. In silence I am more able to see what God wants me to see and hear what he wants me to hear.

Silence is not easy for me. I like noise. I like the sound of my children talking, playing and laughing. I love music while I’m cooking, podcasts while I’m driving, and even white noise while I’m sleeping. Complete silence makes me uncomfortable and is something I don’t experience often. But the Holy Spirit is convicting me and showing me the beauty of open ears to hear the Lord and open eyes to see him by embracing silence. This means both visual and audio silence.

My phone is my biggest distraction and prevailing source of distracting noise in my life. With it, I check and answer emails, I read texts, I check social media, I respond to event invitations, I do google searches, I get directions, I make phone calls, I plan my weekly menus, I listen to music and podcasts,  I take notes, schedule appointments, look up recipes, look up health concerns, track my period, and list goes on and on and can be done at any given hour of the day or of the night. My phone is a fabulous tool and help in my life, but every day, I NEED to close my eyes and my ears to my phone in order to hear God’s voice and see with His eyes.

Close your eyes and open your ears.  

My bathtub is a place where I hear God’s voice. When I bring my phone alongside my bath, I take away that sweet time for Jesus’ voice to speak to me and for me to receive His rest.

Car drives are a time when I hear God’s voice. When I constantly listen to the radio or my favorite podcast, I deny myself the opportunity to hear what Jesus has to say just to me.

When I check my social media pages in the middle of my Bible reading time, I communicate to the Lord that His Word isn’t enough for me.

When I’m always needing podcasts or music while I go on walks or hikes,  I’m missing out on the opportunity to pray.

God has used my phone and the things I come across on it to speak to me. No doubt about it!  The Holy Spirit encourages me in many different ways.  This isn’t an anti cell phone or anti social media post.  I choose music and podcasts and social media pages that feed my soul good food. However, NONE of those things can satisfy me like God’s word can.

I got a journaling Bible this summer in England. We stayed in Cornwall, England for Creation Fest.  There’s an artist from Cornwall who does scripture verse art with much of her art inspired by the Cornish countryside. Her artwork is sold at Creation Fest. My journaling Bible has her colorful artwork spread throughout. I started reading through the Bible again this fall and that break from social media helped me to get into God’s word see God’s Word more clearly.

God has been showing me His goodness and the power of the gospel throughout all of scripture, even through those “boring” books like Leviticus and Numbers.   When I close my eyes to “other things”, God’s Words brings life, becomes my desire, and speaks intimately to my spirit.

I want my vision to be Jesus.   I want what I am looking at, listening to, and filling myself with to point to Jesus. The Holy Spirit can use many creative things to point us to Jesus. This includes funny things, serious things, people, art, nature, science, and the list goes on and on.  I’ve been greatly impacted by  a variety of movies and books.   I feel joy, contentment and closeness to the Lord when I’m outside, in nature. Finding music for dances and dance classes is one of my favorite ways to connect with Jesus.

Sometimes, God asks me to close my eyes to certain things so that I grow deeper in my relationship with him and to protect me from sin. There have been multiple tv show series over the years that I’ve been in the middle of watching when the Holy Spirit has spoken to my heart and said, “Enough. No more. Give that up for me.” Ugh… Initially, I feel frustrated when that still small voice convicts me, but when, by God’s grace I choose to obey, I feel free and the obedience is only painful for a short time.

I want to hear what the spirit is saying!

Close your eyes and open your ears.   What is the Spirit saying to me? What does He want me to hear? Who does He want me to pray for? What scripture does He want me to meditate on? God is so gracious to speak in the midst of noise. He’s so good to speak to me even on those days when I check my phone while in the middle of reading His Word. He’s so good to never leave me, to never forsake me, even when I fall so short in fixing my eyes on Him.

God’s “no” is ALWAYS for a greater good.   Sometimes, He asks us to say “no” to good things. I get a lot out of movies, books, podcasts, and social media at times. But if He says, “Get into the quiet. Close your eyes to the distractions.” Then I want to obey, because I know in that obedience is great reward! The reward of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. The reward of knowing I am in the center of God’s will. The reward of knowing I am in communion with my Father and receiving his love with open eyes, open ears, and an open heart!

As a mom of 6 children, distraction is inevitable. My kids are 19, 17, 13, 10, 8, and 6. Life is FULL!   Full of distractions that come at all times of the day or night.  This is a driving reason for me to close my eyes and silence my ears to the things that God tells me to say “no” to.  I NEED to hear God’s voice.  I NEED His wisdom and understanding.  I NEED HIM!   I want to be present when my teenagers (yes, I have THREE teenagers now) come to me at 10:30 at night needing to share a struggle.   I want to be present when my 6 year old asks me to cuddle her before bed. I want to be present when I’m homeschooling each morning, or when I’m visiting with a friend. I want to be present with my husband when He needs my love and my attention.

I close my eyes so that I can see the people right in front of me.  

I don’t have this down. I don’t always close my eyes and open my ears. I am convicted even as I write this. This is something the Holy Spirit is currently speaking to my heart with a greater revelation given to me just three days ago!  I want to grow in this area because I deeply want eyes to see, ears to hear, and a heart to understand.  I want to follow Jesus and I want to help others to follow Him too.

So even though I’m not even close to having this down.  Here’s some things I have been doing to help me to close my eyes and open my ears.

1. Most days, I keep my phone turned off until lunch time. I homeschool four of our children in the morning.   If I turn on that phone before lunch, I’m sure to get some text that distracts me and begs for my attention whether it’s work related or not. Keeping my phone turned off the first half of the day has done wonders in making me a more peaceful and present homeschooling mom.
2. I keep my phone out of the bathroom. I felt like this was a huge request from the Lord to me over a year ago. My tub is my place of rest and renewal. I have failed in this multiple times over the past year, but for the most part I keep my primary form of distraction out of my bathroom so that I can better connect with God and rest.
3. I’m not quick to respond to most texts or emails. If I’m in the middle of something with my husbands or kids, my response to a text can wait. Texting is fabulous. I love it, actually, but I am in control of my texting, not texting in control of me.
4. I set time limits on my social media use on my phone. I have my time limit set for 20 minutes each day. It’s amazing how fast that 20 minutes goes!  I often click on that request option for 15 more minutes when my time is up, but setting a limit has certainly helped me from going overboard scrolling through my feeds.
5. I know that when I’m tired or stressed I’m more likely to want to fill myself with images and sounds instead of embracing the silence and connecting with my Father. Knowing this helps me to turn to Jesus, my journal, and God’s Word even when my inclination is to distract myself.
6. I open to hearing God say “No. When He I sense Him telling me to stop watching that tv series on amazon prime, stop reading that book, or to take a break from social media, I know that he must want to take me deeper. He has “YES” for me that is better than any pain that comes from His “no.”
7. I read the Bible. God’s Word is life. I need it. You need it. We need it!   The primary way God speaks to us is through His Word. And anything we hear from God should be in accordance to His Word or it’s not from Him. The more of God’s Word that we hide in our hearts, the more we are able to hear the Holy Spirit speak. When I’m in times of dryness and I don’t feel like reading my Bible, I ask the Lord to give me a hunger and love for His Word again and He always does!   My journaling Bible has helped me to get hungry and dig in during this season!

Here are some things I want to do or do more of as I seek to close my eyes and open my ears:

1. I want to embrace more silence. Whether that’s on a walk, driving, or just laying in bed before I go to sleep. I want to press through my uncomfortableness with silence and make myself at home there.
2. I want to keep my phone out of hand and out of sight one day a week. Sunday could be a great day for this.
3. I want to consistently choose to read a good book, journal, read THE Good Book, or connect with someone face to face when I’m stressed or tired and tempted to escape by scrolling through my phone.
4. I want to be quick to listen and quick to obey. There’s so much joy in hearing God’s voice and doing what He says to do. I need to grow in quick obedience.
5. I want to respond to what the Lord speaks to me through His Word. What in scripture might he be speaking to me for myself, and what might he want me to share with others to encourage them?
6. I want to keep my phone out of hand and out of sight in the evenings when my younger children are gathered around me before bed.  I get the itch to get on my phone right around our kids’ bedtime and I think they know this.
7. I want my prayer time to include more of me listening to Jesus and what He wants and says, then me just telling him all of my needs and concerns. He is worthy to receive all honor, glory, and praise. He is worthy to receive my eyes and ears and heart!

What might God be speaking to you? How may he be asking you to close your eyes and open your ears?

God wants to speak to YOU.

“Speak Lord, for your servant is listening.” 1 Samuel 3:9

“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.” Isaiah 30:15

^” So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” Romans 10:17

“Give ear, O my people, to my law;
Incline your ears to the words of my mouth.” Psalm 78:1 

“Turn away my eyes from looking at worthless things,
And revive me in Your way.”  Psalm 119:37

“While we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.” 2 Corinthians 4:15

“The Lord God has given Me The tongue of the learned, That I should know how to speak A word in season to him who is weary. He awakens Me morning by morning, He awakens My ear To hear as the learned.”  Isaiah 50:4