Slow Down!

But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.            Matthew 6:6 NIV

There are always dangerous curves ahead in life, but if you are anything like me you find the urge to I hit the ground running in the morning. We are anxious to not fall behind, but speeding ahead is not great if you are on the Titanic sailing straight into an iceberg!

Jesus teaches us that before we talk to anyone, do anything or make any plans we need to go alone with our Father. Remember that angels fly, the unbelieving world is always on the run but throughout the Bible we read that God walks. If we want to spend our day close to Him we must find a way to slow down our pace so that we can hear His voice and walk one step at a time with Jesus!

Never travel faster than your guardian angel can fly. Mother Teresa

sunset over schooley pond

The Cool of the Day

Here in Florida where we have plenty of warm muggy days to contend with; I love to walk early in the morning. It helps me to gather my thoughts and spend part of my quiet time with God before the sun punches its time clock and begins work for the day. The Bible says that God went looking for Adam and Eve in the cool of the day. The word cool can also be translated wind and it is akin to the breathe of God that hovered over the waters at the beginning of creation. Even before God said; “Let there be light!” the breathe of the Spirit was at work. In that same way if we earnestly seek the presence of Jesus in the cool of each morning He won’t need to come looking to come looking for us!

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Media Mealtime and Multitasking

Priority

It came to me today that my efficient manner of layering tasks one over the other is not God’s best for my life. So in my own battle here are a few things that God is helping me to do.

Prioritize- God first in my day. No media till after prayer. The phone is on but I won’t even glance at it till after prayer, morning coffee and breakfast. This might seem like a no brainer but for me it has been a welcome return to those slower starting pre-cell phone days. This little time is the first fruits of our day and should belong first to God.

No Media at Mealtime!

Have you seen families sitting in a restaurant paying good money for food but paying little attention to one another while they text or play games on their cell phones? The scarier part of this is we might be more likely to do this ourselves at home. It is time to liberate mealtime from the dictatorship of media! That includes eating alone. How can we even taste the food if our attention is elsewhere? God gave us a 3 times a day appetite so we would have 3 opportunities a day to give thanks and then enjoy what He has given us!

Mini Media Fasting

The attitude of the 21st century might be summed up by the phrase “No cell phone left behind!” But unless we are the President or an on duty 1st responder, the truth is the world will not miss us for 30 minutes. While I do admire folks who go off grid for a month; I confess that I am not there yet. But half an hour on my morning walk without a cell phone I can do. Maybe for you that might be time at the gym, a visit with a neighbor- (cell phone left behind) or an hour fishing. So why not give these ideas a try this week? You might be amazed at what God can do with just a little bit of our time that we liberate just for Him and His purposes!