Chapter 5 Wide-eyed Listening

* The moment we deny God's fingerprint on our soul, the instant we stop listening to our uniqueness, our God hearing starts to deteriorate.

* God is present with us. But God is more than present with us, He knows us. He doesn't follow alongside of us, He follows inside of us. We don't have to attend church to find God. We don't have to make sure our life is clear of any sin to find God. God has found us regardless of our situation, regardless of our condition. We can be lost, dizzied by our own spiritual vertigo, but God is present with us, luring us back to Himself. We may turn our backs on God, but God is always facing us.

* I would like to suggest a new way of hearing God's whisper - savoring. Savoring is the lost art of cherishing, appreciating, relishing. When you and I stop and savor a particular of life, we soak it in, we listen with all of our senses, we immerse ourselves in what we are savoring.

* If we truly want to hear God, if we truly want to hear Him speak, then we need to take the time to savor Him. To immerse ourselves in our Father and bask in the intoxicating presence of God's speaking voice - this is prayer. Prayer is savoring God. Savoring is immersing ourselves in His presence, hearing Him with all of our senses.

* "When you are waiting you are not doing nothing. You're doing something. You're allowing your soul to grow up. If you can't be still and wait, you can't become what God created you to be." - Sue Monk Kidd

* We will hear the whispering God if we are willing to wait, if we are willing to abandon our need for the quick fix. "God is our midwife not our rescuer," Sue reminds us.