Blog Tour: Peace, Be Still by David S. Baxter

Peace, Be Still, by David S. Baxter
2013, 128p, LDS Non-Fiction
My Rating=5 stars
Source: Received copy from publisher for an honest review

“No waters can swallow the ship where lies
The Master of ocean and earth and skies.
They all shall sweetly obey thy will:
Peace, be still; peace, be still.”
(Hymns, “Master, the Tempest is Raging,” no. 105.)

Our modern world is full of fast-paced stress and jam-packed schedules. Both trials and blessings happen to us so quickly that there is rarely a moment of peace. It is easy to be overwhelmed and lost.

In Peace, Be Still, Elder David S. Baxter of the Seventy describes ways for us to find peace in our crazy world by turning to our Lord, Jesus Christ. He speaks of principles to learn, habits to gain, and places to go to find peace in our daily lives and at home. This inspiring book will help us through the tempests in our lives and lead us to a greater sense of personal peace by encouraging and instructing us to follow Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace.

I loved this book! I found myself thinking each chapter was the best one and the one I needed the most, and then I moved on to the next one and thought the same thing. I have lots of highlights to go back and reflect on. Elder Baxter uses lots of quotes from church leaders, past and present. 

The chapters are as follows: 1) The Still, Small Voice; 2) Peace in the World; 3) Peace through Forgiveness; 4) Peace amidst Adversity; 5) Peace amidst Death; 6) Peaceful Places; 7) Peaceful Pathways; 8) Peaceful Perspectives; 9) Peace at Home; and 10) The Prince of Peace. 

One of my favorite parts is in the Peaceful Pathways chapter, where he says, "Somehow and in some way, in the midst of this avaricious attack on our sense of calm and peace, we each have to simply find the time, and a place of solitude to reflect, ponder, and 'be still'." Life gets so busy and I often find myself craving stillness so that I can reflect on my purpose and the direction I need to take in life. This is a good concept to embrace and I find when I do it, I feel peace and inspiration.

I also enjoyed something he said in the Peaceful Perspectives chapter on happiness. "I am convinced that we can each find things to be happy about, even if our current circumstances are less than enviable. We are each writing our own book, and we should not allow some unhappy passages to bring dismay to the chapters yet to be written. As long as we are breathing, the book is still a work in progress. Find happy things, make them happier, enjoy them, and write them down. Your own record of happy experiences can be read over and over again; they will bring you peace." The end of last year was rough for me and I felt like it had been the worst year ever. I knew good things had happened, but I just couldn't remember any of them. I saw an idea on Facebook (it probably originally came from Pinterest) for a "Good News Jar." When something good happens, you write it down on a piece of paper and put it in the jar. Then, at the end of the year, you read what's in it to remember all the good times throughout the year. We've implemented this in our family this year. We need to catch up on a few activities, but we plan to read it during Christmas break to remind ourselves of all the fun times we've had this year. I'm excited for it and plan to make it a tradition in our family so we can always remember the good times, no matter what else is happening!

With so much turmoil in the world, this book has a lot of great suggestions and quotes to feel peace in all areas of life. I highly recommend this to anyone looking to find peace and happiness!

David Baxter was born in Stirling, Scotland, and became a General Authority of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 2006. He previously worked in senior leadership roles in the telecommunications industry and on the boards of various UK Government agencies, and he holds a BSc degree in economics. In his Church service he has been a bishop, a stake president, a member of a mission presidency, and an Area Seventy. He has served in Church area presidencies in Europe and the Pacific. He and his wife, Dianne, are the parents of four children and nine grandchildren. He is the author of A Perfect Brightness of Hope.