#100: When Chrisitians Struggle - Finding Time for God
You're rushing out the door every morning to make it to work on time. After work you spend about an hour in the gym before heading home to cook dinner. While loading the dishwasher you ask yourself if you can squeeze in a load of laundry before taking a shower. By 10:00 p.m. you're exhausted and you fall asleep as soon as your head hits the pillow.
Day after day you follow this routine. Your weekends are spent recovering from the previous week and getting mentally prepared for the week ahead. The stress begins to wear on you.
But when was the last time you spent time with your Heavenly Father? And no crying out "Oh Lord!" when you forgot to pick up milk on the way home doesn't count.
Don't worry. Below are a few ways to make time to spend time with Him while completing your to-do list. I promise trying out just one of these suggestions for a few days will bring a peacefulness over hectic schedule.
1. Create multiple opportunities throughout the day to talk to God. - I attempt to have both an A.M. prayer and a P.M. prayer. For this I like to use the devotional books "Starting Your Day Right" and "Ending Your Night Right" written by Joyce Meyer. I have another devotional geared towards women that I like to read during my lunch break at work. My personal Bible study is saved for after work. It's a nice way to transition from math teacher responsibilities to wifely duties.
2. Invite the church to your living room on Sunday mornings. - Not in the literal sense, but in which you tune into your favorite local or national televised sermon. Here in Jacksonville quite a few of the mega churches have the entire church service broadcasted on local stations. No cable? No problem. Church websites are another great way to tune in.
3. Keep a prayer journal. - I found the one pictured above at my local Marshall's for under 10 dollars. I find that sometimes writing out my prayers help me feel more focused when talking to God and is great way to reflect back on past thoughts. I also use this journal to jot down questions that arise whenever I'm reading my Bible.
4. Pencil it in your schedule...daily. - Every woman nowadays has joined the planner decorating community, myself included. Well, how about sprinkling a little bit of Jesus on your sticker-filled pages? I believe He deserves His own entry next to a pretty heart checklist.
5. Follow Christian-based accounts on social media. - I am so serious. I know it may sound crazy but why not? You're already keeping up with the Kardashians and the latest #socialmediachallenge. A few tweets or IG posts on scriptures will give you that much needed break and help keep you grounded in a world now filled with plastic surgery and twerk videos.
These are only a few ideas that I'm currently trying to implement in my own life. Trust me when I say every little bit helps. I used to feel as though I had to set aside quiet time for a certain period in order to really spend time with God. That is so far from the truth. God is with you with you every second of the day so don't be afraid to make his presence constantly known.