Be Quiet

Crazy, busy Mama I see you.  I know it’s ridick trying to squeeze a quiet time (aka devotional, time with the Lord, Scripture study) into each day but you should…

…now don’t go shoulding all over yourself before you read the rest of this post…

As I was saying, you should try to do what’s best for you at your stage of life with plenty of grace for good measure.

THE EVOLUTION OF MY QT’S

Last week, Dave & I were joking about my quiet times in College.  I would go to the library every night to study.  I would begin with a quiet time, in which I ALWAYS -and I do mean 100% of the time- fell asleep.  I’d wake up, finish the quiet time & then begin my homework.   For this reason, I was at the library for up to 4-6 hours at a time.  I was kinda hard-core like that.

Also, I had a little 3 x 5 binder of prayer requests so I knew who & what to pray for in each leg of my typical 45 min. commutes.  #NewBelieverNerdAlert

After marriage & before I had the boys, I began each work day with a quiet time.  My flexible work in ministry, made that at an easy thing to do.  Now, if I sat down at my desk and began a quiet time by opening up a Bible on the clock my boss would go all “what the H?” on me.  So, I don’t.

Once I had R1, my work hours grew increasingly precious.  To begin each day with a somewhat leisurely QT, felt incredibly strained.

I tried picking up that time with the Lord each night only to wake up with a large drool pile in my Psalms night after night after night.  Unlike old times, I never finished.  At times, I had quiet times during Ransom’s morning playtime with loud, battery-sucking toys gurgling in the background.

At times, I contented myself with getting alone with the Lord, 3 times a week.

While baby #2 was a newborn -and cried more consistently then my quiet times- I saved my quiet times to once a week, for 2-3 hours.

In all the transition of having 2 boys and working at minimum 30 hr.’s/wk but usually close to 45/wk. I seemed to have found my happy place in having quiet times early in the morning before the kiddo’s wake up on most mornings.  Not all, but most.

The point is, I keep coming back for more.  It’s never been this fluid, consistent, non-messy part of my life.  But I keep working to reintroduce them back in, in new ways, over & over again.  I keep my resources varied & have learned to incorporate prayer interwoven throughout the day.

WHY I HAVE QT’S & THINK YOU SHOULD TOO

Having regular, consistent times with the Lord is a natural, relational connecting place, just as you do with your husband, children or bestie.  It’s where you say hello, share deeply, find wisdom, compassion & fuel for the road.

My times with the Lord are what reminds of what is true about this life.  This life, so often filled with lies (often coming straight from my own head) needs recalibration.  Our lives need reminding about the who’s, the what’s, and yes, sometimes the shoulds & should not’s.

Time with Lord is where you will likely develop a love and passion for Bible study.  (I’d like to talk later about the how-to’s of Bible study).  When I first began following Jesus, I used to loathe studying the Bible simply because I found it to be big, obnoxious & confusing.  Learning to study it proved key in growing my love for it.

QT’s are often the primary place I have heard from the Lord.  Not audibly, don’t I wish, but right there, written down.

I met Jesus at 19 and was discipled by InterVarsity staff worker, York at Wayne State.  I asked York how I could prevent “believer burn out”.  I was concerned by Jesus followers who seemed to be “on fire” one moment, leaving the faith the next.

By far & away the most important lesson York ever gave me was to develop consistent, engaged, life-long quiet times.  If I ever took anything he said to heart, it was that.  And I believe my life is a reflection of that.  I’ve been through hell of my own making, & the hell of others’,  I’ve had mountain top experiences and been taken to the lowest of lows, but what’s held me firm is, like the Prodigal Son coming home to be with the Lord, over & over again.

This post is the first of many I hope to do about this important spiritual discipline.  I’d like to do one on best resources for quiet times, quiet time nitty-gritty, practicing silence, prayer-journaling & whatever else I can think of that will serve you making quiet time a regular part of your life.

For today, here is your initial invitation.  Move that life around, take the 1st step up.

So.  Do you have a quiet time?  What is the hardest thing about sitting down to be quiet?  As I continue to explore writing about personal times with the LORD is there anything you are particularly interested in?  Are there any of you rocking-the-house in your quiet times and would like to guest post here on the subject?