Whisper Yes to quiet time with Jesus

Why do we struggle to spend quiet, undistracted time alone with God in His word and in prayer?

I tell myself every evening that tomorrow will be different. Nothing else will happen in my day until I’ve had my time following Jesus into the word of God. Then the next day comes and the day comes flying at me.

Now, I know people always say to just get up earlier before anyone else gets up in my house. There’s a bit of a problem with this though. My husband gets up between 4 and 4:30 every morning. I’m not going to to try to beat him out of bed in the morning.

So once I’m awake the day just starts to slip away. Distractions, even minor ones, creep in and try to steal my time.

The enemy of our heart tries to destroy us with distractions.

I don’t know about you but then I’m trying to “squeeze” time for God in while I do other things.  Maybe it’s just me but I often find myself reading from my Bible app while I’m walking dogs only to have my phone ring.

I sometimes feel like I can’t focus for more than about a minute at a time most days. So I find myself praying while I shower, out feeding sheep or doing dishes.

Now I want to make it perfectly clear, I want to spend time talking to God while I do all those things. There isn’t anything wrong with listening to God’s word from a Bible app when I’m walking dogs.

But...Jesus has been calling me away from the distractions. Asking me if I will whisper yes to following Him into the quiet.

As for me, this means when distractions want to run rampant in my life I will choose to put them on hold.

One of the most important steps I’ve made is no social media before my quiet time with the Lord. I want my genesis thoughts each day to be centered on truth I can trust, not the chaos of the world.

Another one is realizing silence has actually scared me. I’ve been known to fill my days with sound of some kind all day.

Saying yes to hearing from God more clearly 

means saying no to so much noise!

This may sound a little simple but I also find when I first wake up, before I ever roll out of bed, I say “Good morning, Jesus.” Simply speaking His name first thing each day invites Him into my day.

Let’s be on guard for the distractions satan tries to throw at us to steal our time quiet time with our Heavenly Father. Stand firm against them!

I’m praying our daily whisper of YES to take Jesus’ hand will echo throughout our day.

Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

Romans 12:2 (NLT)

I'm sharing this post with several other blogger's at these Faith Linkups. I encourage you to check them out. If this post resonates with you and feel it would help others please feel free to share. Easy to share buttons below. ~Laura~

Do you treasure people or things?

How do you want to be remembered? Is it for the things you’ve accomplished? Maybe the awards and “stuff” you’ve collected?

What about the people we’re blessed by along the journey?

I’m a competitive person by nature. I like to set a goal and then go for it. I spent most of my youth competing in as many sports as possible.

One of my favorites was rodeo. I particularly liked to rope. Every free moment I had you’d find me roping a dummy in backyard or working with my horses.

Now I’m not what you’d call a hoarder. If you have something that means a lot to you it probably needs nailed down before I start cleaning. It could easily go out if no ones used in a certain amount of time.

Because of this I would have told you I always put people over stuff any day of the week.

But...when I won my first belt buckle as a kid rodeoing, I never looked back. It became my mission to win as many as possible. It was a bit of an addiction.

That same desire carried over into my adult years when I switched to training dogs instead of horses. Still working towards collecting as many prizes as I possibly could.

I was on a slippery slope of collecting stuff over people.

Along the way God quietly started working on my heart. He was showing me it wasn’t about how many prizes I could collect but how many people I could love.

Now I’m not saying goals are bad. I still set goals and work towards them. What I have learned is all the “stuff” I’ve collected over the years is basically collecting dust. It sure doesn’t give me any kind of love back!

People - they're what’s worth collecting!

The time spent chasing my dreams wouldn’t mean much without the people who are on the adventure with me. I cherish the countless times we’ve laughed, loved and prayed together.

Love is what makes life worth living.

We may have to dust off a relationship from time to time but it’s an investment worth making.

The memories with people far outweigh any kind of award I’ve ever won.

When we’re willing to follow where God leads all the stuff in this world won’t matter. Our focus shifts. Hearts take the lead role.

When Jesus called the disciples and asked them to come with Him they left everything and followed. All the earthly treasures stored up couldn’t compare to the desire to follow where He lead. He asked them and he’s still asking us to put people over things.

When we’re following the heart of Jesus we’ll find the 

hearts of those He loves. (Click to tweet)

I'm sharing this post with several other blogger's at these Faith Linkups. I encourage you to check them out. If this post resonates with you and feel it would help others please feel free to share. Easy to share buttons below. ~Laura~

But if You say so...

Have you ever known God is telling you to move but not sure what that means? Or even if you know where He’s calling you but it just doesn’t make any sense? I’ve been there a time or two as well.

We’d had a special speaker at church and I’d been hearing God whispering to me during the whole service, “Come”. It didn't make sense. Come where? Do what?

“Lord, I NEED some details. Okay, maybe need isn’t the right word but I would LIKE some details.”

No details were given. Simply a chance to follow Him.

As we neared the end of the service I knew God was inviting me to be obedient and get baptized.

Why would God ask me to do something that made no sense and honestly felt really strange?

You see, I’d been baptized when I was young. I wrestled with God about it in my heart for quite some time. I even left the service right after and sat in my car for a bit.

As I sat there I tried to explain to God how this didn’t make sense. Why would I need to do this again? I was 41 years old, the pastor’s daughter and led the youth ministry. What would my “kids” all think of me?

I’m not proud to say those thoughts went through my head but am so grateful God never stops loving me. Despite my weaknesses.

No big bolt of revelation came. No profound understanding. Only a choice to come with Him or not. As He had shown me time and time again, the choice was mine. Would I say yes?

A little side note here, we’re what you’d call a “cowboy church”. Our baptism’s most often happen in a livestock watering tank. We’re not talking heated and comfortable by any means.

I bet you’re praying this is where I walked back in with my head held high and said, “Whatever it may be, bring it on!”

Nope. It was more of a quiet, “But if you say so God”. Not a resentful, apprehensive yes but a calm, expectant yes. A yes full of trust.

I let my need to see before I believed slip away as 

I followed God into the unknown.

He’s faithful and I’ve met Him in the unknown many times before. Each time I’ve answered, “But if You say so” He’s been right there to meet me.

Faith works when we use it.

When Jesus asked Simon Peter to drop his nets again it didn’t make sense either. Peter’s day of fishing had already proven unsuccessful. He could have tried to reason with Jesus why it wasn’t the best idea. But I love his answer!

“Master,” Simon replied, “we worked hard all last night and didn’t catch a thing. But if you say so, I’ll let the nets down again.” Luke 5:5

Now I know we can read on after and see what a glorious night of fishing it ended up being. But...Simon Peter had NO idea what the outcome would be when he said YES.

I love how we’re given such a great example to step out in faith even if we don’t understand. I find it so reassuring how Peter doesn’t come back with some lofty type of answer. He’s honest and real.

As I broke the plane of the cold baptism water I still didn’t understand. I simply made the choice to follow. Coming up out of the iciness I felt a huge wave of blessing wash over me.

Lord, if you say so...

I'm sharing this post with several other blogger's at these Faith Linkups. I encourage you to check them out. If this post resonates with you and feel it would help others please feel free to share. Easy to share buttons below. ~Laura~

Move Close to the Heart of Jesus

Do you ever feel like you can identify with the Israelites?

I’ve read about the many miracles they witnessed first hand and wondered how their faith faltered so often. I mean come on, they saw the Red Sea part!

Moses reminds them in Deuteronomy how God loves them. Not because of how good they are, far from it actually, but because He’s chosen them.

In the same breath he also calls them out for being a stubborn people.

Oh good grief, here I am, raising my hand. Yep, that’s me. Just go ahead and put the name tag on. “Hello, my name is Stubborn.”

I come from a long line of stubborn people. We’re a strong willed bunch and it can take us longer to listen to the Holy Spirit’s prompting than I’d care to admit.

It goes back to our faulty self preservation mentality. Generations of abandonment and addictions led us to believe the only way to survive was to dig in our heels.

However, let’s not forget an important part of Moses’ reminder. God chose them! Hand picked. Set apart. WANTED

Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. Ephesians 1:4-5 (NLT)

I love this! My family may have been “back row people” before, to stubborn to come to the front row when called, but we are chosen!

Chosen to rise up from our past and come forward

into a relationship with Jesus.

I want to step out and have a front row seat at the feet of Jesus unobstructed by distractions. Nothing to block my line of sight to the everyday, wonderful miracles God has for each of us through His grace!

We may never get to see the Red Sea part but we have seen addictions broken, lives saved and legacies changed.

Many of us have been more than happy to hang out in the “back row” out of fear to move to the front. Fear of the unknown. Fear of failure. Fear of being truly seen.

If God is calling us to come forward, He’ll make the path,

we just need to step out and follow it.

If you’re reading this and not real sure you feel chosen, let me reassure you, Abba Father is calling you. The whisper you hear somewhere down deep, it’s from Him. He wants YOU!

It doesn’t matter who your name tag said you were before, God is calling you by your true name, “Chosen”.

Whatever is holding us back from moving forward as God calls to us, let’s offer it up to Jesus. Take His hand, put one foot in front of the other and move into whatever row will put you closest to the heart of Jesus.

I'm sharing this post with several other blogger's at these Faith Linkups. I encourage you to check them out. If this post resonates with you and feel it would help others please feel free to share. Easy to share buttons below. ~Laura~

Fully Alive!

Five Minute Friday is so much fun for me. No pressure! Simply a word prompt on twitter (#fmfparty) on Thursday night and then write. No over thinking or editing. There is a linkup on Friday at Kate Motaung where we can read other's five minute free write.

This week's prompt is: Alive

---

Jesus’ death. Heart wrenching and devastating, yes.  Yet...because of His death we now have life. Not just any ordinary life either. Abundant life!

I’m so grateful the story doesn’t end with Jesus’ death. He is alive!

We serve  not only an amazing God but the only living God. This is huge. I’m not worshipping an inanimate object or idol. I’m in a relationship with the God of the universe who is ALIVE!

It makes me giddy with excitement. I want to live my life grabbing a hold of this abundant life. Not settling for anything less than God’s best for me.

The best way I know how to live this out is to die to myself. Not easy but necessary.

Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it. Luke 9:23-24 (NIV)

I want to be fully alive. How about you? Are you ready to throw off the grip of death that tries to hold us down?

Death can’t hold Him and it doesn’t win with us either!

Let’s go out today and live fully aware of the life we’ve been given through God’s grace. Living fully alive!

If this post resonates with you and feel it would help others please feel free to share. Easy to share buttons below.
~Laura~

Into the Deep End of Faith

Is it just me or does life feel messy sometimes?

I feel like I can be going along and life feels kind of simple for a while and then wham, hit with something else!

Not too long ago my youngest brother was living life pretty fast and hard. Some choices he made were not in alignment with God's will for him.

He was in a pick up accident which almost took his life.

SO many broken bones along with serious head trauma! Just to name a few were his back, neck, face, ribs, sternum and one leg. The only thing not broken were his arms and they were full of glass. His lung was punctured and full of glass as well.

The phone call you get after an accident like that is kind of burned into your memory.

My dad was the first person to get the call. Before he called anyone else, he prayed the following verse for my brother.

And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. 1 Peter 5:10 (NIV)

The doctors were giving our family the worst case scenario. They said there wasn't much hope of him surviving let alone being restored to full health.

It was time to step out into the deep end of faith. As a family we could have crumbled and given in to the fear but we cried out for God's mercy and stood firm on His word. We spent quite a bit of time in prayer reminding God of his promises.

We let the doctors do their job and we did ours as a family, 

standing in the gap for my brother.

I won't lie and say it was easy. There were tears shed and frustrations vented. Many days of hearing the worst case scenarios could have threatened to steal our faith. The thief came to steal, kill and destroy. We were holding onto the promise that Jesus came to give us life abundant. (John 10:10)

We already knew God was in control and would never leave us. We also knew God is sovereign and His ways are higher than our ways.

Many times, well meaning friends would comment how nice it was to see us “hoping” he would be fully restored. It wasn’t just hope like we normally think of it. Not the wishful kind of hope anyway.

It was an expectant hope. A confident and assurant hope. 

In other words...it was faith!

There are no shortcuts to faith. We must spend time in God’s word so we’re ready to do battle when the tough days come. Arm yourself with God’s promises so you too can cut down any attack from the enemy!

God makes impossible things possible.

My brother is a living, breathing, fully restored, walking testament of God’s miracles. He will always have some scars to remind us of the battle God won!

I'm sharing this post with several other blogger's at these Faith Linkups. I encourage you to check them out. If this post resonates with you and feel it would help others please feel free to share. Easy to share buttons below. ~Laura~