Quiet Time in the Word ~ Four Cornerstones

This is part 2 of our series about spending time in God’s Word.  If you missed the first post, read it here —> Part One.

I’m so glad you’ve come back for part two!  I know that yesterday’s post might have caused you to take an honest look at yourself but I know that doing so will have a profound impact on the time you are able to spend in God’s Word!

Today we are going to talk about what you can expect when you take that step to carve out time and actually spend that time in God’s Word.  I’m sure you have heard over and over that as God’s children, we should read the Bible.  You may have even heard some reasons ~ it’ll bring peace, comfort, hope, etc.  I would like to take this a step further. Read more

Quiet Time in the Word

This week I’ll be doing a four-part series on spending time in God’s Word.  So many of you have shared with me that this is one of your biggest challenges and this is one of the biggest issues my Christian life coaching clients want help with.  I am thrilled to share my passion on this topic with all of you.  Be sure to check in each day or better yet, subscribe to receive the new posts right in your inbox!

Psalm 119:97~105

⁹⁷O how I love Your law!
It is my meditation all the day.
⁹⁸Your commandments make me wiser than my enemies,
For they are ever mine.
⁹⁹I have more insight than all my teachers,
For Your testimonies are my meditation.
¹⁰⁰I understand more than the aged,
Because I have observed Your precepts.
¹⁰¹I have restrained my feet from every evil way,
That I may keep Your word.
¹⁰²I have not turned aside from Your ordinances,
For You Yourself have taught me.
¹⁰³How sweet are Your words to my taste!
Yes, sweeter than honey to my mouth!
¹⁰⁴From Your precepts I get understanding;
Therefore I hate every false way.

¹⁰⁵Your word is a lamp to my feet
And a light to my path.

Finding time for daily quiet time in God’s Word can be a challenge in our hectic world.  We have so many roles to fill ~ wife, mom, boss/employee, teacher, sister, daughter, taxi driver, etc. that sometimes the role of daughter of the King gets pushed off of our list.  However, this week I dare to challenge you to carve out daily time in the Word.  It’s worth the effort.  But it’s not just about time.  It’s also about attitude.

Time vs. Attitude

Here’s a self-assessment question for you to ponder:

When you do read/study the Word, what is your attitude?

1. I look forward to that time with GREAT anticipation!
2. UGH!  I haven’t picked up my Bible in a week!  I really should read a verse or two.
3. If I don’t read three chapters a day, I’m going to hell.
4. OK, I’ll read it but I probably won’t get anything from it.
5. Other:  ___________________________

So many times we can put the emphasis on making time to spend in God’s Word without examining the attitude in which we do it.  Which of the above answers reflects your attitude when spending time in the Word?  I know that we all would want attitude #1 all of the time but that is usually not the case.

Now let’s imagine that you wanted to spend some time with your child or best friend.  What if they came to spend time with you and their attitude was #2 (squeezing you in), #3 (duty, obligation or to avoid your anger) or #4 (apathy)?

How would you feel about the quality of that time spent with them?  It’s not a stretch to imagine that you, like our heavenly Father, would want the time spent to be out of love, anticipation and the desire to be there, no matter how long it may be.

So, here is your challenge for the day…

Examine your attitude about spending time in the Word.  If you find it is not what you would like it to be, ask God to help you surrender to Him, allowing Him to change it.  And while it may be difficult, realize that He, the Creator of the universe, wants to spend time with you.  Do you, His creation, want to spend time with Him?  Ponder that today and prepare your heart for tomorrow’s post which will cover what we can expect when we spend time in God’s Word with an attitude of anticipation and expectation.

If you are willing to, please share with me which number you chose above.  No judgment ~ I promise!  We are all a work in progress!

Story behind “I Will Carry You”

“I Will Carry You” is the last track on Selah’s new CD, You Deliver Me.  This song, and the story behind it, is one of the most heart-stirring that I have heard in a long while.  It’s more than a song. It’s a lesson in trusting God’s sovereignty and goodness also.
View the first video to hear the song and then the last two videos to hear the story behind the song.  Please comment to share how this song and story has touched you!  WARNING:  Tissue will be needed!  And don’t say I didn’t warn you! 

Song “I Will Carry You”

Story ~ Part One

Story ~ Part Two

Review: Selah’s New CD “You Deliver Me”

I admit it.  I am a music fiend!  Not just a music lover, a fiend!  I am particularly fond of worship music that blends contemporary and traditional styles.  In my opinion, no one does that better than the group Selah.

I was anxiously awaiting their new CD and was not disappointed!

The richly blended harmonies on songs such as “The Lord’s Prayer” and “My Jesus I Love Thee” were enough to move me to tears but I was completely unprepared for the emotion provoked by the title track “You Deliver Me” and the last track “I Will Carry You”.  This is truly one of Selah’s most intimately personal recordings to date.  I encourage you to check it out!

You can hear samples of the songs below by going to Selah’s website.

Here is the list of songs…

1. Into My Heart/Fairest Lord Jesus
2. How Deep The Father’s Love For Us
3. You Deliver Me
4. Hosanna
5. Standing On The Promises (Medley)
6. The Lord’s Prayer (Deliver Us)
7. Beautiful Terrible Cross
8. Unredeemed
9. My Jesus I Love Thee
10. I Have Decided
11. Glory To His Name
12. Depth Of Mercy
13. I Surrender All
14. God Be With You
15. I Will Carry You (Audrey’s Song) – Bonus Track

Who Cares?

“O LORD , you have searched me and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways.  Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O LORD .  You hem me in-behind and before; you have laid your hand upon me.  Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain.” – Psalm 139: 1-6 NIV

I have heard it said that God doesn’t really care about the day-to-day details of our lives. He doesn’t care if you have bacon vs. sausage for breakfast or which way you take home from work.

Well, I pose this question to those who might think along those lines: If He doesn’t care about those details, then why does He bother to know when I sit down? Why does He bother to know when and where I go?

The answer is clear to me: He bothers to know because He bothers to care.

If I am about to do or say something that He feels the need to address, then the Holy Spirit steps in and leads and guides me (as long as I make the choice to listen and obey). I wholeheartedly believe that. I believe that the Lord that I serve cares very deeply about my everyday life, my everyday decisions and my everyday thoughts. If He didn’t then we would have a God who sits in the heavens and “directs traffic” from His hub in the sky but doesn’t really get involved with the mortals. There are several places in the Word that dispute that. One example is Romans 8:11:  “The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as he raised Christ from the dead, he will give life to your mortal body by this same Spirit living within you.”

This Scripture clearly states that He is VERY involved with us because His Spirit dwells IN us. How can He help but be involved? He goes everywhere we go – we are never without Him. He knows the thoughts of my heart, He knows the attitudes brewing inside of me. The bottom line is He KNOWS and He CARES. And I for one will praise Him for that.

What is your opinion about this?  Share with me!

Toothpaste

A couple of weeks ago I started letting my girls put their own toothpaste on their toothbrushes.

You are probably either laughing at me or shaking your head in pity for my children as they have to tolerate their controlling mother!  After all, they are six and eight!  Aren’t they capable of putting toothpaste on their own toothbrushes well before now?!

My answer?  Yes and no.

You see, six months ago they went to the dentist and were sent home with this awesome new toothpaste for kids.  Naturally, it was only a sample tube.  And, even though each girl received one, the tubes still did not last very long.  We priced the toothpaste and decided that we could splurge on this one item and buy them this fun toothpaste.

And then it disappeared almost before our eyes!  How could one tube of toothpaste be used up so quickly!  It didn’t take us long to figure it out.  Clumps of toothpaste were seen visible in the sink.  Toothbrushes would remain blue long after they should have turned white with foam.  The girls were putting enough toothpaste on one toothbrush to cover all three kids’ brushing needs for the entire day!

So, a new rule was established – Mommy or Daddy had to put the toothpaste on the toothbrushes.

It dawned on me recently, though, that simply taking the task away from them was not going to do any good.  What was I going to do – put it on their toothbrushes for the rest of their lives?  That wouldn’t work!  It took me a while, but I began to realize that what I needed to do instead was work with them to learn how much toothpaste they really needed.  Show them a few times how much toothpaste I use.  Then let them try themselves with my supervision.  Then let them be free to do it themselves, provided I check on them regularly.  Finally, trust them to have learned to handle this by themselves.

The realization that truly hit me, though, was not really about toothpaste.  It was about life in general.  If I am that way about toothpaste, what bigger things do I handle the same way?  What  do I just take over and do for them that they really need to be learning?

Parenting is not about making sure everything is done right.  Parenting is about teaching and training our children to know how to do it right when it matters.  The process, though, is messy.  Sometimes there will be globs of toothpaste in the sink.  At three, six, and eight, they won’t do it all right.  But that’s okay because right now they have Mommy and Daddy to come along behind them and make sure the messes get cleaned up – and to make sure that when they have to do it on their own without us, they have the tools and skills they need.

And, by the way, they are doing a great job measuring out their own toothpaste now!

Time to De-Stuff the Stuff!

Have you ever noticed that when your house is cluttered, you feel bogged down in other areas of your life? It’s a nice cruel little merry-go-round satan tempts us with – “you have money, so buy some stuff, and then buy some more stuff, go into debt to buy more stuff, but don’t ever get rid of what you have, you might need it one day, you spent good money on it, you can’t just get rid of it, buy some more stuff” and then you look around and all you see is stuff and it is suffocating you and it pulls all the energy out of you and you are so overwhelmed that you don’t even know where to start so you don’t start anywhere and it just gets worse and worse and round and round it goes! I want off this crazy merry-go-round!!

I am about to lose my ever-lovin’ mind over all the stuff we have in our house! In every room, there is stuff that doesn’t belong and that should just be taken out or given away. I took pictures of every room so that when I am done de-stuffing, I can compare them and vow to never let stuff overtake us again! But I’ve made a decision:  I refuse to let this stuff overtake my home any longer!   It’s only stuff after all.  It doesn’t have the power to control my life unless I allow it to.

Stuff can hinder us in so many ways

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” - Hebrews 12:1-2 NIV

Feeling surrounded and overwhelmed by our earthly accumulations can bog us down in many areas including rest, energy, creativity, productivity, accomplishment, etc.  Let’s determine together to make a change, no matter how small, in the amount of stuff we have.

How can we D.I.G. out?

 

Decide to do something about it! As long as we procrastinate in taking care of the problem, we will just wallow in it and the stuff will go forth and multiply in every nook and cranny.

Implement the “15-minute grab” technique.  We can do anything for 15 minutes, right?  Set your oven timer for 15 minutes, pick a room, take a garbage bag or box and get all the trash out first.  Do this technique as many days as necessary to rid the room of trash.  Then use that 15 minutes to empty a drawer, clean out a cabinet or organize a shelf.  Use this technique on each room that needs attention.

Grow our stockpile of spiritual things.  This doesn’t mean to accumulate things like books, CDs, videos, etc. but to stockpile God’s Word in our hearts and minds while we are cleaning out the physical stuff.  This will help us put earthly possessions into perspective as compared to eternal treasures in heaven.

Share with me!

• Are you a “stuff hound”?
• What room do you need to “de-stuff”?  What day this month will you start doing something about it?
• What tips or techniques can you share with us to help us live a “stuff-free” life?

It’s a Long Way Down!

Bernard Madoff’s fall from grace has been in the news for months now and as I was catching up on current headlines, I read that his beach house has a potential buyer.  The news piece included pictures of a luxurious, peaceful retreat that, honestly, looks shockingly similar to the beach house in my wildest dreams.  It’s so easy to look at people in Madoff’s former position and covet what they enjoy.

But his downfall and my longing for a beach home like his brings to mind the following Scripture from Proverbs 11:28 (NASB):

“He who trusts in his riches will fall,
But the righteous will flourish like the green leaf.”

Is it wrong to attain riches?

I’d say it depends on the motive and the method.  Assuming both are Godly and our hearts have a proper perspective of money and possessions, then I don’t think it is wrong to work toward something we want.  But that’s the kicker ~ it is way too easy to trust in and desire more and more money and want to store that up for security and an overload of selfish pleasures.

As children of God, we should strive to put our trust, hope, security and longings in Him alone and recognize that He is the giver of all good things.  Then we can enjoy what God has blessed us with instead of wondering when the bottom will drop out.

Share with me!

• What is it that you are working for?
• How do you keep your perspective and motives pure?

Contentment Now

Contentment is something that I have struggled with for about 5 years now. When I finally truly surrendered my life to the Lord, He planted a seed in my heart that gave me an acute sense of His purpose for my life, not a full revelation but a “knowing”. Since then as I have matured in Him and grown closer to His heart, my restlessness has grown stronger. Restless is the best word I can use to describe the “ants in my pants” feeling that I get when I think about my future. It’s kind of a “Come ON, let’s get on with it!” feeling. Each birthday, I think “God, You know how old I am getting and I would like to be able to accomplish what You want me to before I come to live with You forever…..can we get to it, please?”

My hospital job is a gift from God in that it provides a wonderful income and flexibility for my family’s needs but it doesn’t utilize the gifts, talents and interests God blessed me with. Because of this, I have had to fight loathing my daily life. I want to do something every day that has an eternal impact for the Lord. Then a few weeks ago, the Lord revealed to me that what I do indirectly helps people in that it allows people to live another day and have another chance to come to know God. That allowed me to relax and know that even if I am not yet doing what the Lord has planted in my heart to do, I am still having an impact for Him.

Different Seasons

Another revelation was that, with and since the birth of my son, I am living God’s will for my life IN THIS SEASON. This is a huge revelation to me. I used to think that God’s will was an ultimate and final destination but I believe that it has different seasons and that while there is an ultimate purpose that is different than my  hospital job, I can be content in the season He has me in now by knowing I am doing what He wants me to do in this season. For me, this season has me nurturing and training my son in the ways of God and preparing myself by studying God’s Word and letting Him build a foundation of trust in Him.

I have to pray for a balance every day between contentment with where I am now and the passionate fire for eternal impact that burns in my heart. I only know that balance can be found in Him alone.

Share with me!

• In what ways are you struggling with contentment or lack thereof in your life?
• Is there anything about your current season in life that you can be thankful for and recognize God’s hand in?

Seize Every Opportunity To Teach Kids Eternal Truths

As parents we’re building God’s kingdom one day at a time by shining God’s light to our children. It’s a great privilege to serve the Lord in our homes. As they grow we need to get creative in how we teach them God’s truths to make sure that the Word is instilled in their hearts.

How do we learn the most precious lessons in life?

Many of the lessons we learn are from making mistakes. Trial and error can teach us a lot. Unfortunately many don’t learn from mistakes and don’t listen to counsel.

“The way of a fool is right in his own eyes: but he that hearkeneth unto counsel is wise.” – Proverbs 12:15

Even though making mistakes can teach us many things- reading and talking about God’s truths can instill wisdom in our children’s hearts. We must do all that we can so that our children can learn God’s truths.

“And you shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up.” – Deuteronomy 6:7

It’s so important to teach them how to study read and understand the Bible so that they may always correctly interpret God’s Word and have a foundation to make right decisions in the future.

As a mommy I’ve found that there are many ways to teach our kids. Here’s a few ideas for you to teach the Bible to your children in a fun and meaningful way.

Tell your own life stories.

This is a fantastic way to teach them. Did you learn valuable lessons through making certain mistakes? What truths did you find in God’s Word that helped you get the right perspective though the trial?

If you can share those life lessons with your kids- it will mean so much more to them. It takes on a whole new meaning and they’ll always remember the lessons from those stories because it happened to their own parents.

Many times we categorize Bible time only as devotional time. The truth is that with a little bit of creativity we can incorporate teaching of God’s Word into every aspect of life.

Teachable Moments.

Seize the opportunities in real life situations to teach your kids God’s truths by applying His word to their daily lives.
This is by far my favorite way to teach because they are going through the situation and so it is much more memorable for them.

They may be going through certain issues and we can use those moments to help them get the biblical perspective on things.
Real life consequences to poor decisions are excellent tools to teach our children. It may seem very negative to deal with the consequences. However when we see these as opportunities to prevent worse problems up ahead we can be grateful in the midst of the trials.

Directly read Bible verses and talk about them.

I love to read verses that are uplifting and positive. Here’s a list of encouraging and inspirational Bible verses for you to reflect upon and talk about with your children at devotional time.

You may also choose to simply read through one of the books of the Bible and ask questions to your children about what was just read. When kids talk about things they will retain a lot more of the information.

The fact is that as parents we are called by the Lord to minister, train and teach our kids. We need to redeem the time and count our days to do this. Every moment of our lives is an opportunity to fulfill our ministry.

Eren Mckay is a WAHM to 3 boys. She loves to help others by providing homemaking and family resources.

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