How Do I Talk To God?

This morning started like any other weekday morning.  After fighting with my alarm clock for about twenty minutes, I dragged myself out of bed and went to take a shower.  By the time I finished in the bathroom I was coherent enough to function and somewhat presentable.  I packed Boss-Man’s lunch, saw him out the door with a kiss, made the bed, and headed to the living room with my bowl of cereal (awesome breakfast, I know) to start my quiet time.

First things first.   I pulled out the prayer request book from my Sunday School class at church. (crunch, crunch goes a bite of cereal) God, please bless the couples going on the marriage retreat this weekend. (crunch, crunch)  Please bless this person having surgery next week, protect them and help them to heal quickly. (crunch, crunch, crunch)  About this time my tea kettle went off so I grabbed my cereal bowl and headed back to the kitchen to pour up my requisite cup of tea.  The whole way there, I continued down the list, punctuating each item with the crunch of my cereal.

Standing there at my kitchen counter, working on the last bite of cereal, it struck me that maybe I was going about it the wrong way.  I’m not necessarily saying that it’s wrong to eat while you pray, because we’re supposed to pray continually (I Thessalonians 5:17).  That’s a whole other post.  What I was wrong in was the way I was approaching the throne altogether.  I was allowing distractions to divide my attention.  I was talking to God as though I were calling to place an order for something.

“Yes, I’d like to order blessings for friends, ummm, about five couples.  I’d also like the safe surgery and smooth recovery, I think it’s on page 17 in the catalog…”

That type of prayer is a one-way conversation, which is better than no conversation at all, but still not true conversation.  It’s going down a list, shooting off item after item without waiting for any response.  It’s the difference between calling to place an order and calling your best friend to discuss what’s going on in your life.  You might still use a list, there’s nothing wrong with that!  I have to use lists just to make it through my day without forgetting something catastrophic.  It’s about pausing to let the Holy Spirit speak to you.

When we sit down to do our quiet time, we need to minimize distractions.  For me, that means I need to finish that bowl of cereal and pour my tea BEFORE I sit down with the Word.  We also need to pour out our souls to the Father the same way we do when we sit down with a friend over that same cup of tea (or coffee), with true conversation.  We need to listen as much as we talk.  It also helps to be well rested, so that you’re not dozing off when you’re trying to listen.  If that means moving around and doing a few things before having your quiet time so that you can be fully awake, then that’s what you should do.  Find what works best for you, and make it a habit to sit down with the Father every day.

Mary vs. Martha

Mary vs. Martha

As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him.  She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said.  But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made.  She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself?  Tell her to help me!”

“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed.  Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

- Luke 10:38-42

This is an almost daily battle for me.  My day starts with rolling out of bed and stumbling to the bathroom to take a shower.  Once that’s done, my eyes are usually open enough that I can manage to dress myself, then it’s off to the kitchen to pack my husband’s lunchbox for the day.  By the time he leaves for work, I have been out of bed for a little over an hour and can function somewhat like a human being.  At this point, I am faced with my daily struggle… do I go sit down in the living room with my Bible and dig in to the Word, or do I start tackling the mountain of housework that is always waiting for me no matter how much I get done the night before.

If you were to ask me, point blank, “Rebekah, which should you do?” the answer would be easy.  I should be like Mary and go sit down to have my quiet time with God.  However, when I look around my home in the morning, Martha starts to take over and I start thinking about the clean dishes that need to be put away, the laundry that is always there (six people can make a very large laundry pile very quickly, especially when one is a toddler learning to use the potty), planning out the steps that need to be done to have good nutritious meals and snacks, the preparation that needs to be done for the day/week’s schoolwork, etc.  These thoughts can get overwhelming, and my very human need to be in complete control of my environment often takes over.

I can get so caught up in what I think needs to be done that I forget about what God says I need to do.

When we have a specific part of our day set aside for Bible study and prayer, and actually DO it, we will grow steadily closer to God.  This will in turn affect the rest of the day.  The days I slip up and skip my quiet time are almost invariably the days that I lose my cool with the kids, that I get completely frustrated and overwhelmed in the kitchen, etc.  It’s when I sit down and read my Bible and spend time in prayer that I draw closer to Him.  That is when I can feel His gentle guidance more strongly throughout the day.  The kids and I may still “butt heads” over the things they don’t want to do, but I am able to handle that conflict with much more grace if I have spent time with God first that day.

When you look in the mirror each day, who do you see?  Do you see Martha, going about your daily chores and leaving no time for God?  Or do you see Mary, realizing that God should always come first, that the chores aren’t going anywhere and will still be sitting there patiently waiting for you to tend to them after your quiet time?

Finally Starting a Garden!

I'm venturing out into new territory today.  Well, at least it's new for me. :)  I just started my first-ever tomatoes from seed.  A lot of my friends are surprised when I tell them I've never had a garden before.  Yes, I grew up on a small farm.  My dad has had a garden every year for my entire life (and then some!).  I even helped him in it as a child.  His green thumb, however, did not get passed down to me.  I was always good with animals, but have notoriously black thumbs.  I've even killed a cactus!  A few of years ago, I got a couple of small tomato plants from my dad and tried them in huge planters on my porch.  I yielded one tomato.  One.  There were originally three, but the other two became collateral damage during a pool noodle fight.  I still don't know exactly which of the three possible culprits actually did it.

In spite of my black thumbs, there are so many reasons why it is so important to have a garden!  To name a few...

1. Nutrition - providing fresh food for my family to keep them healthy.

2. Money - a few bucks now for seed, starter trays, potting soil, etc, compared to all the money I would otherwise be spending on tomatoes for the coming growing season.  This carries even further when you add in the possibility of making my own tomato sauce, which gets used in our house at LEAST once a week right now.

3. Stewardship - for us to have the space we do, and NOT grow our own food, would be some pretty poor stewardship of what God has blessed us with.

Back to today.  I'm going to try to chronicle our gardening adventure on here as a way of keeping motivated with it.  Here is what I've done so far...

My methods are far from perfect, but I'm learning.  Please keep us in your prayers... the lives of these poor tomatoes may depend on it! ;)

She's Walking! Time for gripper socks.

Well, Miss P turned one last month, and started taking single steps a few days after her birthday.  I've been meaning to find some gripper socks for her since we have hardwood floors, but everything I've found locally seems too cheaply made to bother spending my money on.  While at the store yesterday, I finally broke down and got a pack of socks (she's about to outgrow most of her socks anyway) and some puff paint so I could make my own.

All you do is lay the socks out, soles facing up, and apply the puffy paint in whatever design your heart desires.  The bottle says to let it dry for four hours, but mine were still a little soft at that point, so I left them overnight.  By morning, they were ready to go!

As you can see, Miss P decided to "help" me with the white/purple pair. :)

Here's one last picture... she's wearing the sixth pair, "helping" R finish her homework before school this morning...

Where are YOUR priorities?

"Now this is what the LORD Almighty says:  "Give careful thought to your ways.  You have planted much, but have harvested little.  You eat, but never have enough.  You drink, but never have your fill.  You put on clothes, but are not warm.  You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it." (Haggai 1:5-6, NIV)

Unfulfilled.

Discontent.

Dissatisfied.

How many other words can we come up with to describe that feeling of emptiness we all have known at some point in our lives?  According to Roget's 21st Century Thesaurus, some synonyms for "discontent" are depression, displeasure, envy, regret, restlessness, uneasiness, and unhappiness.

What causes this?  Why do we all feel so dissatisfied when we keep pouring ourselves into the things that are supposed to make us happy?  We think our priorities are in line, but are they?  We work hard all week long to bring home that paycheck, which is immediately spent on the important things: food, shelter, transportation.  What time we have at home, we spend focusing on our families, on our children.  That's what we're supposed to do!  Isn't it??

Not if we're placing these priorities before God.

Don't get me wrong here... those ARE critical priorities!  However, they will amount to nothing if we are not placing God FIRST in our lives.  "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." (Matthew 6:33, NIV)  Jesus promised our needs would be met (notice that I say needs, not desires), but we have to place God's Kingdom first!  Seek out His will for your life, and pursue that first. Does He want you to serve where you are?  Awesome!  Do it!  Does He want you to drop everything and do something totally different, or go somewhere totally new?  Awesome!  Do it!  "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." (Romans 8:28, NIV)

My challenge to you today is to read the book of Haggai (less daunting than it sounds... it's the 2nd shortest book in the Old Testament!), then read Matthew 6:25-34.  Study and pray on these passages, and your priorities.  Ask God what steps He wants you to take to place Him first in your life.

Praying for God's blessings on you!
~Rebekah