My sister Mandy told me of this podcast she listened to on Ask Pastor John where he revealed one way to feed your joy in Jesus: set a reminder or timer to go off every hour to read something from your morning reading. When that timer goes off, he then advised to read it aloud, say it to yourself, preach it to yourself, tell yourself that you really believe it, and thank God for it.
I encourage you to listen to the podcast (or read the transcript in its entirety) but I have to share this thought with you,
I am so thankful Mandy shared this with me - it has been a wonderful, simple addition to my day with the girls that has enormously benefited all of us.
What we are doing:
Every week Brielle (and my three year old Eleanna) has a verse she memorizes for her Wednesday night Bible study, and I am memorizing the book of Ephesians in my discipleship relationship. Every time the timer goes off she reads her verse to me and I read my verse to her, and we repeat Ele's verse many times. Then we each take turns attempting to say it without looking.
We have consistently accomplished this procedure for one week. Adding this little thing to our busy day has seriously made all the difference.
The difference one week has made:
Every hour our minds are redirected to God's word, and there has been more joy as a result. More Jesus = less of self. And before adding this one procedure, our day was filled with self. My toys, my books, my dress up clothes, I had this first, she took this from me, tattling, crying... so many heart issues that I felt overwhelmed every time another one came up. I was screaming out to God, "Not again! Please not the same lesson again and again and again." Those days are exhausting.
While those moments still occur, selfishness did not rear it's ugly head as often as it did the week prior. I cannot wait to see if this procedure continues to work. I am hopeful because it is not my word, but God's. I trust that if we are consistently in it, the Holy spirit will do His work in us.
After this week, I plan to add:
Once the procedure is firmly in place I plan to add prayer. For now I feel that scripture reading in a three and six year old's life is a wonderful place to start. I cannot wait to add this piece, but one thing at a time!
God's Timing
At church our pastor is spending time sharing with us the importance of scripture. How it is the foundation upon which we live. How the bible is our supreme authority in all spiritual matters, that every word of God is true, and it is sufficient to teach us about life and godliness, to encourage, to give us hope, and to instruct. It is what God has given us to know Him - therefore, we need to be in it every day.
I'm always amazed at how God brings about many lessons in my life that all relate to one another. He has made it abundantly obvious that we need His Word. And making it the central focus of our day has drawn us closer to God in one week's time! Imagine this being a lifetime habit!
With that I have to share this one last quote from John Piper's podcast,
I encourage you to listen to the podcast (or read the transcript in its entirety) but I have to share this thought with you,
"Our hearts are a desire factory, and if we think that we just fall into delight in God or satisfaction in God without any pursuit of it or conscious maintenance of that flame, we’re kidding ourselves. Our flesh and the devil are active all day long to draw us into pleasures that are anti-God. If we have no strategies for awakening and cultivating and preserving and intensifying our joy in God, we will be drawn away by our flesh and the devil into alternative pleasures, which are, as Paul said, idolatry (Colossians 3:5)." - John Piper (How Do I Feed My Joy in Jesus Every Morning?)First I found that advice convicting. How often are my thoughts led astray? How often am I held captive to the world? How often do other desires distract me from Jesus? More often than I care to admit. And if it's true for me, I know it's true from my children, especially because the fruit in our home these days are a lack of self-control over our emotions, selfishness galore, anger, and disobedience (and I'm not just referring to my children). This idea could not have come at a better time!
I am so thankful Mandy shared this with me - it has been a wonderful, simple addition to my day with the girls that has enormously benefited all of us.
What we are doing:
Every week Brielle (and my three year old Eleanna) has a verse she memorizes for her Wednesday night Bible study, and I am memorizing the book of Ephesians in my discipleship relationship. Every time the timer goes off she reads her verse to me and I read my verse to her, and we repeat Ele's verse many times. Then we each take turns attempting to say it without looking.
We have consistently accomplished this procedure for one week. Adding this little thing to our busy day has seriously made all the difference.
The difference one week has made:
Every hour our minds are redirected to God's word, and there has been more joy as a result. More Jesus = less of self. And before adding this one procedure, our day was filled with self. My toys, my books, my dress up clothes, I had this first, she took this from me, tattling, crying... so many heart issues that I felt overwhelmed every time another one came up. I was screaming out to God, "Not again! Please not the same lesson again and again and again." Those days are exhausting.
While those moments still occur, selfishness did not rear it's ugly head as often as it did the week prior. I cannot wait to see if this procedure continues to work. I am hopeful because it is not my word, but God's. I trust that if we are consistently in it, the Holy spirit will do His work in us.
After this week, I plan to add:
Once the procedure is firmly in place I plan to add prayer. For now I feel that scripture reading in a three and six year old's life is a wonderful place to start. I cannot wait to add this piece, but one thing at a time!
God's Timing
At church our pastor is spending time sharing with us the importance of scripture. How it is the foundation upon which we live. How the bible is our supreme authority in all spiritual matters, that every word of God is true, and it is sufficient to teach us about life and godliness, to encourage, to give us hope, and to instruct. It is what God has given us to know Him - therefore, we need to be in it every day.
I'm always amazed at how God brings about many lessons in my life that all relate to one another. He has made it abundantly obvious that we need His Word. And making it the central focus of our day has drawn us closer to God in one week's time! Imagine this being a lifetime habit!
With that I have to share this one last quote from John Piper's podcast,
"You have to tell your mind — like a muscle, like you tell your hand to do something — you tell your mind like a muscle to go find it, pick it up, and put it before your consciousness. Then you have to tell your mind to set it in context so you understand it rightly. Then you have to preach it to yourself and against the evil one. This is how you wield the sword of the Spirit, and slay the demonic temptations to discouragement, and feed the fires of joy in Jesus."And I highly encourage you to do the same. Adding this one little thing to your busy day will make all the difference.
