Welcome back to Day 22 of 31 Days to a Life of Purpose!
The greatest thing you can do in this life is to nurture your relationship with God. When life gets busy and overwhelming, it is easy to let this slide as other immediate things, though not necessarily the most important things, vie for our attention.
I have often struggled with finding time to consistently be fostering my relationship with God through prayer and bible reading. This month, however, I have made this a primary focus and I can already see the impact it is having on my life. Last week, I quoted Charles Swindoll when he said, “Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it. I can see that my reactions have been tempered by the mindfulness of God I have gained from being in His Word daily. Today, I want to share with you what I have been doing in hopes that it will encourage you in your own time with God. These simple steps have made a tremendous difference in my life.
Start the day with prayer.
Before I even get out of bed, I start the day with prayer. I want to be in tune with God from the very beginning of my day. Mornings are often rushed in trying to get the kids ready for school and it can be frustrating things don’t go smoothly. I pray for my attitude towards them throughout the day and for their day at school. I pray that I will live purposefully, not wasting the day.
Read the Scriptures.
I make time to read the Bible before I really start my day. I do wait until the kids have gone to school so that the house is quiet. I then spend 30-45 minutes reading, which I know isn’t always possible for everyone. Part of the reason it takes so long for me is that I have been color-coding as I read. I love this concept from Courtney at WomenLivingWell.org and it has really changed how I read and understand Scripture. Here is a link to the method she uses: Bible Coloring Chart. I have a hard time staying focused, but color-coding gets me to pay attention to the words because I am putting them into categories and really processing what is going on. I have found this method has allowed me to retain far more than I ever have before. I’ve made it almost all the way through the book of Acts using this method and following along with Courtney’s study at Good Morning Girls.
End the day with prayer.
I have taken quiet time to reflect on my day for the past several nights. During this time, I talk with God about how my day has gone and the times where I messed up. In doing this, I feel like I am truly having a conversation with God, rather than sending up rapid-fire requests as I was prone to do in the past.
At the beginning of the month, I felt very disconnected from God. After days of working through these steps, I feel like I have done a complete 180. I want to encourage you that if you feel disconnected don’t give up hope. God’s Word tells us, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?” (Hebrews 13:5b-6). You serve a God who sees you, who knows you, and who wants to be known by you. Fostering your relationship with God is the greatest step you can take towards living a life of purpose.
I will see you back here tomorrow as we continue on this journey!
P.S. In support of bloggers taking on the Write 31 Days challenge, Dayspring is generously offering a giveaway of a $500 Dayspring gift card to readers. You can enter by clicking here.
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