Best Intentions

When meeting with my posse this week, (my posse is a group of ladies who love to get into God’s word), we talked about how difficult it is to start the habit of meeting with God first thing every morning.  We discussed how intentional you have to be to make this decision and stick with it.  We talked about our failures and successes.  But mostly we talked about the difference it made in our lives. 

Change is intentional.  It is a choice. I made that choice about five or six years ago and it is the best decision I have ever made.  I decided to give the first of my day to God and trust him for the rest.  Most of my life I spent time in prayer at the end of a long day.  It was good, but spending time in the morning is unsurpassed.  Why is morning better?  And isn’t that a little legalistic?  I’m glad you asked.  My pastor explained it this way.  Time is valuable.  We fight for it everyday and run out everyday.  24 hours is never enough.  Giving God the first minutes of your day and trusting him with the rest is a huge shift in thinking.  It is prioritizing and placing first things first. It is saying everyday, “God, you are the most important thing in my life.”  Getting up early is a big sacrifice to a night owl like me. However, it shifts the order of my universe when I shove aside everything else and give the first place in my day to God.  

A sweet friend from my posse, Carla Cochrane, started this practice two or three years ago and never looked back. She would tell you what a change it has made in her life too.  We discussed what we could share to help others get started in this radically life-changing process.  In this blog I am going to share with you some of the steps we took to get started meeting God every morning.  Here are our ideas in no certain order.  

Get some Inspiration.   

Watch the movie War Room if you need inspiration to make this big change.  It.Will. Pump.You.Up! For that matter, watch any YouTube clip from Priscilla Shirer.  That will get you going.

Plan your Place.

Pick a comfortable spot that gives you privacy.  Mine is my favorite chair with my coffee.  It could be inside or outside, in a closet or a location in a big room.  Just pick a special spot and set it up.  Do a little nesting there to make it yours and yours alone.  

Choose your Sword.

This time isn’t just output to God.  It is input from God.  It is a conversation between friends that is food for your soul.  Listening to what God has for you is the most important part of this process, and a Bible is the word of God. It is a weapon of offense to help you take on the issues in your day.  You may want to buy a new Bible just for this time with God.  If so, research and go shopping.  His input is so important and there are so many choices of Bibles.  I chose a digital Bible that allows me to see two versions side by side, is lightweight, and is on every device so it is always with me.  There are so many cool Bibles now.  Go to a book store and spend some time shopping.

Choose a Daily Devotional Book.

A great way to start is to find a daily devotional that you like.  There are many phenomenal ones out there.  If one does not work for you, try again.  

Find your Focus.

I can’t focus well if there is any distraction. And sometimes my mind bops around like a pinball in an arcade game.  That is me.  When this happens I stop and write down that thought, then go back to my quiet time.  Some days I fight for focus the entire time, and some days the conversation flows.  I have heard of people who keep sticky notes by their Bible so they can jot down that random thought then get back to their quiet time.  

Journal your prayers.

Try writing down your prayers. You will be amazed how they are answered.  I got this idea originally from reading The Help. You may look back ten years later or a day later and remind yourself how God answered your prayers.  Also, writing them down makes your prayers more thoughtful and intentional.  I often realized how selfish I sounded when I saw it in black and white and writing it down provided a window to see myself without the rose colored glasses.  A little honesty goes a long way when having a conversation with a friend.  I chose to journal in my iPad notes because it is free, is in the cloud and even has a lock feature.  (There are also apps for this but be careful.  I lost over half of my 2016 journal to a bad app.)  If you are not into the digital side, go to a book store where you will find a wide selection of journals in every shape, size and color.

Set your Alarm.

Set your alarm clock 15 minutes early to get started.  It needs to be a time when the house is quiet before the rest of your family takes over your life.  Start small and don't feel guilty about it.  As you get into the habit, this time will grow from God-given passion inside you. 

Give yourself Grace.

If you have an off day, week, or even month, forgive yourself, and take up where you left off.  But start again.  I have a hard time making anything a habit. (Sometimes I still go to bed and have to get up again because I forgot to brush my teeth.)  It takes many failures to get into any habit.  

If you chose to do this, be excited about this decision.  Your life is about to change. I have witnessed the metamorphosis in others and I have seen a transformation in myself.  

With prayers for you all,
Susan

Martha, Martha, Martha!

One of my favorite scriptures is Luke 10:41-42 New International Version (NIV)

⁴¹ “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things,⁴² but few things are needed—or indeed only one.^[a] Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”  

In my twisted sense of humor I always see Jesus saying, Martha, Martha, Martha! I imagine that he said it with the same exasperated tone of Jan Brady.  Stick with me here.  There is a point.

I love sermons.  I am a preacher's kid and I dearly loved my dad.  I guess that is why.  Some of my greatest 'ah-ha moments' were from sermons.  I had one last night when I was listening to my pastor preach on the above 'Martha' scripture where Martha was busy in the kitchen and frustrated with Mary who was ditching the kitchen duty to talk with Jesus.  My pastor said the point was not that we should do more, but that we should make better choices between the many good things in our lives because there is only 24 hours in a day and life is short.  So my pastor asked us to think about the things that are most important and essential in our life, the most important of the good things. You see, in the story in Luke 10, Martha made a good choice but Mary made the RIGHT CHOICE!  So much of managing this life is ditching the many good choices to make room for the right choice.  

This made me think of the best choice I have ever made in my life.  I chose to get up earlier every morning and spend a quiet time with God (and coffee😉).  This one choice was a game changer yet I didn't make that choice until I was in my mid 50's.  Before then, I spent time with God but at night or whenever it was convenient.  My relationship with Christ  was not a priority but an afterthought. The lack of priority was reflected in all the good things I chose to do.

Why didn't I to do this sooner in my life? I was a believer since I was 7 so I had certainly thought about this.  But here was my thought pattern:

1. I'm not a morning person. I'm just better at night.

2. I'm not a fanatic Christian.  That would scare people off of Christianity.  

3. And on and on...

What was I doing?  I was boxing myself and my relationship with Christ in with excuses.  Like those boxes inside of boxes, I was boxing myself into an even smaller box with every excuse.  I can imagine Jesus saying in the tone of Jan Brady, 'Susan, Susan, Susan!  Mary made the better choice and it will not be taken away from her.  Come on out of all those boxes and let's have a heart to heart conversation'.