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:
- 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!
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