Yesterday, she posted about her "quiet time." In Christian land, that is the catch phrase for that regular time of day where you meet with God - meditate on His word, study it, pray, worship. Well, I really connected with a lot of what she said in her post.
First of all, it's entitled, "How I do my 'quiet time' - I don't."
I'll admit. I was a bit taken aback at first. How could you NOT have a regularly scheduled time with God?! I mean, it's biblical, right?
Well, curiosity got me, and I started to read her post...
"I’ve tried so many strategies in the past and they’ve all worked for a week or two and then failed. My life and my days are so very fluid."
This was the first sentence that I REALLY connected with. This has JAMIE written all over it! I, too, have tried sooo many methods for trying to get into the habit of having a regular quiet time with the Lord. It's important! However, life happens - especially when you are a mother - and just when I think I got this quiet time thing down - BAM! I've gone a week or two without it. And I hate that!
Then, I read this on Lauren's blog...
But then I tried something that you won’t read about in Bible Studies — I threw out all the “strategies” and methods I had been told are the best or most biblical way to do it. I sat down and asked God to show me what he wanted from me. The answer was simple and freeing…
God wants all of me all day. God wants my thoughts, my conversations, my friendships, my marriage, my motherhood, my ministry, my blog, my facebook account, my rest, my meals, my dreams, and all the moments in between. God doesn’t just want my time — He wants me.
Wow. Truth. You can hear it, right?
I look at the life of Jesus - my mentor, my savior, my God - and that is what I see!
I see what Lauren describes next...
So how do I do my quiet time? I don’t. I wake up each morning and stumble out to get a cup of coffee. I try to be thankful for a new day even if it takes me 30 minutes and one hot shower to get there. I talk to him all day long and when I can find time when my husband and children don’t need me I sit and work on a Bible Study, or read a devotional, or think about a passage of scripture and how I can practically apply it to my life. Every day looks different and that’s okay because one thing remains the same: Jesus and I do each day together… every moment.
Every day for Jesus was different. Some days he was spending time with his disciples, and some days he was speaking to the multitude. Some days, he did go off by himself alone to pray, and other times, he was speaking with a woman beside a well or flipping tables in a market place. BUT every day, He was constantly in communication with the Father. He was constantly doing His will - constantly looking to Him for guidance. Kinda like how Lauren describes here...
My relationship with Him isn’t about carving out 20 minutes for “quiet time.” It’s about praying for grace in the midst of dealing with a tantrum. It’s about thanking him (and really and truly meaning it) when I sit down for a meal. It’s about enjoying the friends he’s given me and encouraging them to live for him. It’s about loving my husband in a way that shows God I honor him and appreciate the man he’s given me. It’s about thinking pure and Godly thoughts. It’s about honoring him through my writing, my voice, and my interactions online. It’s about loving my children. It’s about looking for ways to show Jesus to a hurting and lost world.
That's he kind of quiet time with Jesus that I want! See, that is what TRUE Christianity is. It's a relationship - not just a religion.
Today's forget-me-not: Every day, don't forget the most important relationship in your life. Jesus. He said, "I am with you always..." Take advantage.
AWESOME post, Jamie! I'm going to have to refer back to this about a million times
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