5 Easy Ways to Connect With God

If there was one word that would most accurately describe 97.5% of my life, it would be busy. I have a feeling that strikes a chord with you too.

We are all looking for rest, relaxation, and some good ol' downtime and will often go out of our way to seek it. However, there is a way to find all of this without shifting the entirety of our schedules, planning pricey vacations, or seeking elusive solitude (though if you can swing any of those, I would totally recommend it).

The easiest way to slow the chaos around you? An intentional connection with Christ.

But... if you're anything like me, you may wake up with the best of intentions, but when the whirlwind of your day begins, those intentions slowly get thrown to the wayside or pushed into the deep recesses of your mind or are completed, but only half-heartedly. However, I know that when I seek God with with only half my heart or half my mind, I reap less than half of what He has for me. And if we're being honest here, I know that when I halfheartedly connect with God, I'm really not even soaking up half of what He has for me. The truth can be hard to swallow sometimes.

Despite this, the Lord, in all His grace, glory, and power, knows what each season of our lives looks like. He knows when we're running on fumes, when we have nothing left to give, when we feel used up and exhausted, and in His goodness, He has given us EXACTLY what we need to bring us fully into restoration: HIMSELF. And no halfhearted attempt at connecting with our Risen King is going to bring the peace we need when we need it. We must fully engage with Christ if we are to receive the full benefits of knowing Him.

However, even knowing this, I can't always clear my schedule or wake up earlier or stay up later. I've had to get creative with the ways I connect with the Lord, and that is the key. Get creative, connect in small ways, make time for the Lord throughout your day - not just in the mornings when the house is quiet or at night when the kids go to bed.

Here are 5 easy things I do to connect with God on a regular basis:

1. Bible Verse Coloring Book

• Jumping on the adult coloring book bandwagon, I decided I wanted to do something meaningful with the pages I colored: enter the Bible Verse Coloring Book. I got mine at Mardel for $9.99 and couldn't wait to get started. 

• Each page has a verse on it and as I color I meditate on the verse and repeat it over and over. I think about it in context, often going to the Bible to quick read the chapter it's in to get a full understanding. I think about how it applies to my life. I pray it out loud. And then I ask the Lord to reveal someone in my life who I can pray the verse over, specifically. Sometimes He does and sometimes He doesn't, but if He does, I write this person's name on the back of the coloring page, along with the date I colored it, my prayer, and anything else God reveals to me. When I finish the page, I either tear it out and give it to the person God laid on my heart OR I keep it and continue to pray over them every time I see the page.

     2.  Journaling

• Even if you aren't a writer by instinct, you can journal! You can journal while reading the Bible or another mentor text (i.e. a Christian book, blog, or devotional) or you can just journal your thoughts, prayers, struggles, and praises. 

• Pick your medium and get to it: you can type your thoughts online (google doc, online forum, blog, word doc), as notes on your phone, or you can write them out the old-fashioned way. I usually write out my thoughts, and at any given time have at least 3 journals sitting around (though I'm not really sure why, probably because I just like buying cute journals, but regular old notebooks work too). When you open up your journal (or your phone or computer), don't feel pressured by a timeline. Journaling takes me anywhere between 5 and 60 minutes, depending on where the Lord meets me.

• I used to stare at a blank page forever, not really understanding what it was that I should write, but then I figured out a method that works for me every time. First, I pray. I don't know where I got this prayer, but I wrote it down years ago and I still have the same raggedy, old post-it stuck in my first journal: "God, I lift up my willingness to learn right now. Please give me eyes to see your truth, a mind to understand how to apply it to my life, and courage to make lasting changes as a result. Amen."

• Next, I write the date,  I note what I'm reading or whether I am just writing down thoughts and prayers. Then, I write out what, specifically, speaks to my heart and why. For example, on June 27, 2013 (pretty close to three years ago now), I read Psalm   25 and noted that Psalm 25:21 really spoke to my heart: May integrity and honesty   protect me, for I put my hope in you. Writing down the 'why' part is crucial and I usually think about how my reading, thoughts, or prayers directly relate to my life in that moment. On that day, I wrote, "I have been thinking of all the dishonesty in the world and it really bothers me. Sometimes I feel helpless and like I can't help but be a part of it. Others I feel distressed because of all the negativity that comes from it." (Also, please note that you don't even need to write in complete sentences... I just happened to that day.)

• Then, I write out how God is calling me to respond to what was speaking to my heart. As a disclaimer, know that this takes patience. Write out whatever pops into your head, even if it doesn't make sense to you. Sometimes what I write connects immediately and other times I have no idea why I write what I write. To continue my example, I wrote that God was calling me to be more conscious of Him, to be more aware, and to take ownership of my thoughts and words. 

• Finally, I write out any other thoughts, prayers, or anything else that pops in my head. These are usually action steps. As a result of my example journal entry, I began praying for the world. I prayed that God would use me as an instrument of change. I prayed that I could be His hands and feet in this broken world. I wrote, "AM I LIVING OUT LOUD FOR GOD?" and highlighted it. Then I wrote the verse that stuck out to me a couple more times. 

• Each day when I journal, I go into it without expectations and without a plan. I journal out of a connectedness with Christ. In the stagnant times of my faith walk, it sometimes takes longer to get some words on paper, but I have never ended a journaling session without feeling the presence of God. Know that wherever you start, God will meet you there. Psalm 5:3 always helps me to be patient and know my efforts will produce fruit: In the morning, O Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation. 

     3.  GroupMe

• I am blessed to be part of an incredible small group of women who pray for me, encourage me, and walk side-by-side through life with me. If you are not already in a small group, I would encourage you to join one regardless of the amount of time you have to commit. Trust me, you will eventually reach a period in your life where fellowship will be a God-send, a blessing you didn't know you needed or maybe even wanted, and you will be so thankful for your people. But anyway, I digress. 

• GroupMe is an app that allows you to group message people without constantly getting text messages. All of the messages go through the app and you can turn the alerts off and check it only when you want if you'd rather not be bombarded with notifications. My friends and I use it all the time to share Scripture, ask for prayer, share praises, ask questions, share struggles, and schedule get-togethers. It is a quick and easy way to be both purposeful and accountable to a group, two things I continually strive for in my faith journey.

     4.  Prayer Apps

• Praying is simultaneously easy and hard. Easy because it can literally take 2.5 seconds and hard because it rarely takes me 2.5 seconds. Prayer is the area I most need to hold myself accountable, and... you guessed it, there's an app for that!

• I've used a few different prayer apps, and they're all slightly different in their uses and capabilities. Four of my favorites are:

• Prayer Notebook: This app allows you to set prayer reminders, group prayers into categories, email contacts when you've prayed for them, and mark prayer requests as answered.
  
• Echo: This does pretty much all of the same things as Prayer Notebook, but you can also set a timer for how long you want to pray which is great for intentionality and creating space to pray in your schedule.

• InstaPray: This has more of a social feel as you can join prayer communities, create your own prayer communities, or just complete some of the same prayer tasks as the apps above. The coolest thing about this app is that you will receive a notification when one of your contacts asks for prayer, and you can send them a quick message of encouragement letting them know you've prayed for them

• Prayer Prompter: If you don't know how to pray or what to pray about, this is the app for you as it prompts you to pray for topics and will even show you scripture that you can repeat back in a spirit of prayer.

     5.  Praise & Worship Music

• Every time I'm in the car, I put praise & worship music on. The incredible worship team at my church recorded several worship CDs that are my favorite to listen to, but I also frequently jam out to the 'Grace Like Rain' Pandora radio station, as well as my local Christian radio station. Nothing opens my heart up faster than singing to the Lord... and trust me, my singing voice is horrendous, but God doesn't mind (and neither do my kids, apparently). I can go from hard-hearted to crying in 30 seconds flat just by really feeling the words I'm singing and really thinking about what they're saying. And you know song lyrics can just burn themselves into your mind... instant programmed reflection time!

Whatever you choose to do, I pray that you would do it out of a heart of surrender, a spirit of gratitude, and with a measure of awe in knowing that our Lord and Creator allows us to come into direct communion with Him whenever we feel like it because of Christ Jesus.

The Calling of Christ

As a teacher, there are two distinct seasons that structure life as I know it: the school year and the summer. Generally speaking, the school year is much more rushed. There are more routines, more commitments, and more stresses. The summer is more flexible with vacations and playdates and time to recharge. Really and truly though, the biggest difference between these two seasons is time and the way it passes.

Teaching is not just a job for me. It is a talent. It is a passion. It is a calling. Teaching is a part of me the way my students become a part of me. It is ingrained in the center of my being, the thing that keeps me up at night for reasons both good and bad.

But despite all this, things got HARD this year.

Harder than I wanted them to be.
Harder than I ever thought they could be.
Harder than I thought they should be.

There were times I questioned if I had missed my real calling, times when I wondered if I should just throw in the towel. There were days when others made me doubt myself and my abilities and my motivations and my credibility and my talent.

The challenges of my school year made me forget WHOSE I was for awhile, but I fought tooth and nail to remember. I struggle with patience and boundaries and worry and fear and control issues and gossip and overreactions, etc. But my identity? I never need to struggle with that because I am a daughter of the King, and no circumstance, person, or self-doubt will ever change that.
But all things are temporary, just as these struggles were.

The old adage that time heals all things is certainly true; however, it's more than that. This is a story of redemption; redemption from unrealistic expectations, redemption from crushing self-doubt, redemption from worry and fear.  This is a story of God and how He redeems.

In Him, I will always find my identity, but sometimes, I am blind to the things that truly matter, to the ONE who truly matters. I want things to be neat and tidy. I want to control my circumstances and my feelings and others' responses to me. Desire for control of the uncontrollable sometimes throws me for a loop and in those times I must remember one thing: I'm not God. That's a hard and sobering truth sometimes.

When I lost my way, I clung to Christ and He showed me my identity, both who I am and WHOSE I am. This is one request I believe He always grants, and in order to find ourselves, we must first focus on God.

“If your first concern is to look after yourself, you’ll never find yourself. But if you forget about yourself and look to me, you’ll find both yourself and me.” (Matthew 10:39 MSG)

It's now summer, and the hustle and bustle of the school year is over. My students have graduated and are jetting off on far-flung vacations and preparing for the next phase of their lives, and I am doing the same.

This summer, I am healing. I am in a state of renewal and rebirth. Mostly though, I am excited to see the new layer God has added to my heart and soul through these trials.

Maybe the next time I face an unexpected and inevitable struggle, my identity will be something I will not question. It is something I needn't question. I am in Christ. I will always be in Christ. That's all I need to know.

Jesus, I praise you for the gift of time. I praise you for gentle reminders of who I and whose I am. I praise you for whispers in the night telling me I am more than my circumstances. I praise you for broadening my perspective. But most of all, I just praise you. Through my highs and my lows, I praise you. Amen.

Spread Your Wings

ANXIETY.

One small word. One big problem.

Before this year, I never knew what chronic anxiety felt like. Every now and then I would fret over something, but it wasn't a force that held me down.

However, things changed.

They got harder.

When life gets harder, we often get tunnel vision. It's more difficult to see around our problems, to see our way out of them, to see Christ among them.

And that's what happened to me.

I lost control of my health.
I lost control of my work situation.
I lost control of my emotions.

I felt like I was losing myself.

My anxiety ruled my life.  I felt as if I was at the top of mountain, fast losing oxygen and no way down but to jump.

So I jumped.

Head first with all the tenacity I had left, I jumped.

I jumped into my faith.
I jumped into my quiet time.
I jumped into my relationship with Christ.

When the world spins faster and faster, when we don't know which way to go, when we can't see the way out and there doesn't seem to be light at the end of the tunnel, let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful (Hebrews 10:23).

Christ is worth jumping for. He is worth jumping to.

Because of his great love for us, we are NOT consumed, for his compassions never fails (Lamentations 3:22). We do not have to fear. We will not fall. We can be strong. We can look up. We don't have to cower or relent.

God is with us. He is for us. He is ever-present and almighty. A light in the darkness, a guide in the rough.

When I felt as if the person I was, the person I was meant to be, did not match the person I had become, I still had Christ.

And in Christ, I became whole. Again.

Through all the battles we fight in this life, we CANNOT be defeated if we remember that we have already won the war. We are more than conquerors through Him who loved us (Romans 8:37).

My anxiety seemed out of my control, and often it was. My health and work situations seemed out of control, and often they were. My emotions seemed out of control, and they really were. My soul felt weary with sorrow, so I prayed and asked God to strengthen me according to his word (Psalm 119:28). 

Sometimes in times of great anxiety, I couldn't even manage real words. I didn't have the energy to pray. I simply didn't have the hope.

But there was something in me that did.

As a child of Christ, his spirit is within me, and he intervenes for me just as he does for you if you are in Christ. The spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans (Romans 8:26).

The crushing worry and fear, the doubt, the relentless waters of life that seemed to be drowning me were conquered not by anything that I did or ever could do, but because of the hope that I have through Christ.

Not overnight. Not in a week. Not in a month. But in His time. In His way.

He healed me. He loved me. He held me.

I am not in control. But I know the one who is, and that makes all the difference. Won't you let him heal what you have to bring to him? He did it for me. He will do it for you, too. Don't be afraid to jump, friend. Whatever it is - no matter how big or how small - God cares and He wants to help, but you have to give up the reigns and go along for the ride. Are you willing to do it?

If you are... just JUMP.

Wanderer Come Home

Two years ago, I began to classify my life into nice, neat little boxes. Four of them, to be exact. Each of these boxes carry inside them a part of my life that I've compartmentalized, not necessarily in a negative way, but just to mark my faith journey as I've experienced it.

Section I: Wandering

I've always found beauty in the term, "wander". To wander means to travel different places, usually without having a particular purpose or direction. It can also mean to follow a path with many turns or even to go away from a path. This is exactly how I would classify the first 21 years of my life. I jumped from path to path to path - always searching for something I could never seem to find. Never feeling good enough or whole enough or worth enough. Never enough.

Section II: Seeking

But then I met the man who would become my husband. Mark was immediately the yin to my yang. We were opposites in many ways, but he complemented me. However, Mark couldn't fill my every void, though he tried. Bless him, he did try. Despite my humanly shortcomings, Mark gave me the best gift anyone ever could - unconditional love. You see, early on in our relationship I dropped some pretty big truth bombs on him. Bombs I needed to unload, truths we both felt needed to be said and heard and understood, but truths he probably wasn't really ready for. 

Still, he stayed. I wouldn't have blamed him if he packed it in and called it a day, but he didn't do that. His roommates told him our relationship was moving too fast, that we weren't right for each other, that he should break up with me. They were religious, you see, and even took to shunning Mark so he would turn from his sin - a.k.a. me - and repent. Mark didn't do that. Instead, he showed me the love of Christ; a love that was without judgment and without condemnation.

Seeing Mark's example of love and hearing about his faith instilled within me a desire to get to know Jesus relationally, as well.

Section III: Finding

We married shortly after I turned 22 and moved to Dallas. There, we learned the art of compromise as newlyweds and tried to find a church to plug into, but none really seemed to fit. When we learned we were pregnant with our first child, a son, finding a church home became more pressing. We knew how we wanted to raise our children - we didn't want them to wander aimlessly down some of the same paths we both did, if we could have them avoid it, so raising them up knowing the love of Christ was, to us, one of the most important gifts we could give.

Enter Preston Trail Community Church in Frisco, Texas and we were home. It was through this wonderfully blessed place that we learned to love and live. It took a long time for me to break out of my "routine Christianity"; you know, the attending-church-on-Sunday, plugging-into-a-Bible-study-on-Tuesday, but still-not-living-out-the-gospel-all-the-other-days kind of faith. 

Section IV: Following

To me, it felt like one way to know you're doing something right is to feel like you want to do it better; that seemed to be the first step to growing in my faith. With the help of a God-given church community around me, I began to truly follow Christ. Now, this doesn't mean I'm perfect because I can assure you I am not. Most days, I'm a beautiful mess, but I'm still in His light and I'm still working on being better - for myself and for the Kingdom I am called to serve. I am enough.

I can tell you this, I am a hot-and-cold Christian more than I'd like to be. I struggle with consistency, but in this struggle I know that Christ is beside me. I never have to wander or seek... I have already found and now God has called me to follow. 

In John 12:26, Jesus said, "Anyone who wants to serve me must follow me, because my servants must be where I am." 

I have been called to be where Christ is. So have you, if you have accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. And if you have, don't backslide. 

You don't need to wander anymore. You've found the path.

"Stay on the path that the lord your God has commanded you to follow." (Deuteronomy 5:33)

You don't need to seek anymore. You've already found the Answer.

"For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened." (Luke 11:10)

You don't need to worry about finding Christ. Christ has found you.

"For once you were full of darkness, but now you have light from the Lord. So live as people of light!" (Ephesians 5:8)

Now you need to follow. We need to follow. C.S. Lewis said there can be no following without a previous forsaking. To follow Christ is to renounce all lesser loyalties. Loyalties to ourselves, loyalties to others, loyalties to things or ideas or places. To follow means to be loyal, to go or come after or behind. Let us follow Christ and, in turn, help others follow Him, as well.

"Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will send you out to fish for people." (Matthew 4:19)

Looking back, it's easy for me to neatly categorize my life into these four sections and looking forward, I know I now have a deep faith that I believe will allow me to remain in this last "box".

However, to remain does not mean to stagnate.

I will constantly strive toward maturity, trying to live and love more deeply, to represent my Lord better, to be more humble, and the list could really go on and on. However, all I really need do is follow. That was the call of Christ on the lives of the disciples, on my life, and on yours.

Let's heed the call and move forward on this journey. Together. With one another and with Christ.

What can you do TODAY that will move you one step closer to Christ?

Take Up Your Cross

In Luke 9:23, Jesus said to the crowd, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross daily, and follow me.”

Those words have long echoed in my head and in my heart.

“Take up your cross and follow me.”

But the burden is too heavy, Lord.

“Take up your cross and follow me.”

But I’ve already messed up, Lord, maybe tomorrow.

“Take up your cross and follow me.”

But I don’t know what to do, Lord.

“Take up your cross and follow me.”

As believers in Christ, our path has been made clear. We can choose to overcomplicate it, to distract ourselves just enough so we can’t see it, or we can start walking it – one step at a time – until we’re hand-in-hand with our Lord, down in the trenches, carrying our crosses and working together to lighten the burdens of this world.

I’ve thought long and hard about what it means to “take up your cross”, and I understand the overall gist, but really and truly, all I know is that taking up my cross is HARD.

But that’s the point, isn’t it?

It’s not supposed to be easy to follow Christ. By following Christ, we will be blessed, but blessing and hardship are not mutually exclusive. We are not guaranteed a smooth road ahead. In fact, quite the opposite. Jesus, himself, warned we would have troubles in this life. But he also said to take heart, because he has overcome the world (John 16:33).

I want to be an overcomer, too.

But first… my cross.

Crucifixion was slow and painful. It was often used as a method of terror and dissuasion, a warning to those who were thinking about walking the same path as the victim. It was terrible, no doubt, and it was always public. Often the condemned were forced to carry their crosses themselves. If they were fortunate, they would only carry the 100-pound crossbeam. If they weren’t, they’d carry the whole thing, a 300-pound burden.

Nothing about the cross was easy.

Nothing about it was private.

Nothing about it was timely.

Nothing about it was light.

But our Lord, knowing He was doomed to die on the cross, knowing He would be pierced for our transgressions, crushed for our sins, walked willingly down the path toward death and emerged victorious. The punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed (Isaiah 53:5).

Healed. Whole. Worthy.

A reminder I often repeat to myself when life gets too hard. When the path gets harder and harder to walk. When I’m tempted to take the “easy” road and say something I shouldn’t or react out of spite or impulse when I should just pray. 

A reminder that is honestly never too far from my lips.

Healed. Whole. Worthy.

By his wounds, we are healed, so, “take up your cross and follow me.”

What do we have to lose? Ourselves? Good.

When we take up our crosses, God’s Spirit is with us. He's with us the moment we accept Christ, and He will never leave us. We don't have to do this thing alone. We are not controlled by our sinful nature. We are controlled by the Spirit living within us. And because Christ lives within us, we have no obligation to do what our sinful nature urges us to do. (Romans 8:9,12)

We are still going to mess up. We are still going to make mistakes. We are still sinners and will be until the day we are made new in Heaven. We do not need to strive for perfection; we are already made perfect in Christ. In this life, our progress IS our perfection.

All we can do is take the weight of our crosses and lift them up daily as an act of praise and worship to our Lord who loves us. Our Lord who was willing to die for us, who has made us an equal heir of God’s glory. This world would have us believe that we are doing it wrong because we suffer, but if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering. (Romans 8:17) 

What we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later – we are all waiting eagerly for that future day (Romans 8:18) when God will reveal His glory to us in full. The day we are fully released from our bondage is our greatest hope. Until then, though...

Our path is clear.

“Take up your cross and follow me.”

Together, if we share its weight and believe in the power we have in Christ, we, too, can overcome the cross and live in victory with our Lord. 

Progress, not perfection.

Every day.

Every moment.

Every opportunity.

The old has gone; the new has come (2 Corinthians 5:17). Through both our blessings and our hardships, though we are afflicted in every way, we are not crushed. Though we are perplexed, we are not driven to despair. (2 Corinthians 4:8).

“Take up your cross and follow me.”

What will this mean for you today? What will it mean for you tomorrow?

For me, to live is Christ. (Philippians 1:21) And I pray the same for you.

Father, thank you for lightening our burdens, for taking the weight of perfection and requiring only progress. Who are we to deserve your unending mercy and grace? To be made equal heirs of your Kingdom? To be known by you and loved just the same? Thank you for sending your Son to be lifted up our behalf so that we could, in turn, be drawn to Him, then draw others to Him. I pray we would not see the call to take up our crosses as a burden, but that we would be forever changed for the better knowing we are made perfect in and through Christ, and can, like Him, walk with You as we carry out Your work here on earth. Your yoke is easy and your burden is light, but only if we view it as such. Help us to do so, Lord, so that we may help others in Your sweet and holy name. Amen.