Beat the family up...

Well, yesterday, I started a new Bible study at a new church. First, let me say that all of this is very much out of my comfort zone, but it's amazing what you can do for your children. I want them to be as involved in church as possible, so I throw myself in the mix as well.

After we got our handbooks and did the normal "first day intros" we started the video. Week 1 was simply an introduction about how the author of this study wanted us to "go at" this bible study. The ENTIRE first night intro was a challenge to 'beat the family up' and start your day in God's word. She then went on to give us scripture throughout the Bible as to WHY devotions, prayer, and study time should be done FIRST thing in the morning, even if that meant that you were to set an alarm and beat your family up to get it done!! Well, for any of you that really KNOW me, this is an issue. I wanted to get up and leave the class. I thought, "this woman is crazy and this study is NOT for me!" I NEED every last second of sleep that I can get. So, as I started to tune her out, I felt convicted and realized that God had put me in this study to hear this message. I often complain about not having the time to do my study, have time to myself, etc.

This past January, I started a Bible study on facebook with a group of friends to read the Bible in a year. I stuck with this much longer than I ever thought that I would. After doing my readings daily, I felt an extra closeness, an addition to my personal relationship with Christ. We all know that we "should" read and study daily, but that doesn't mean that we actually do. We often wonder what God's direction is in our lives or why we aren't getting the things that we pray for or how we can become closer with God, but the truth is, we can't if we aren't seeking His word. That is His direction in our lives. That's our map, instruction manual to being a wife, mother, Christian, friend, all of those things that we daily want God's wisdom in. I tell you this only because in April or May stopped doing my daily readings and almost instantly I caught myself asking God what had happened to our personal relationship. I felt myself pulling away, not wanting to and wanting to be close again with God, but not knowing how. I was praying daily and asking God why I couldn't hear him, why I didn't just feel the closeness that I had just months before.

When I started in this study yesterday, it hit me like a ton of bricks!! The reason that I wasn't hearing God anymore was because I wasn't looking the one place that God speaks to us- His Word!! Many times since April when I stopped my regular readings, I've wanted to start back because I could FEEL a definite difference in my heart, thoughts, words, and actions. But at the end of every day (that's when I kept telling myself I would do my readings again) I was SO tired from everyday life that once I got the girls to bed, I didn't want to commit to anything that required dedication or obedience or discipline.

So, anyway, I had to PRAY like crazy last night for God to allow me to still feel the passion that I was feeling about beating my family up this morning so that I could get up and have that time with God. I am wide awake this morning, feeling energized and ready to face this day!! I had time to not only study but to pray for my precious girls, my amazing husband, our families and other things and to rejoice and thank God for ALL HIS blessings in my life. Thank you God for sending me to be a part of this study and to have so many questions answered in only one night that I had been asking for the past couple of months!!

*For those of you who may be reading this and wondering where in the Bible it addresses morning devotions and prayer time with God, here ya go:

2 Timothy 3:16-17---All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. (NIV)

Psalm 5:3---In the morning, O lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation.

Mark 1:35---Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.

This is not to say that the morning is the only time to worship and spend time with God. It's just a challenge to all of us that are too busy throughout the day to spend time alone with God. We have alot of time, it's just whether or not we find it and use it!! Hope everyone has a blessed week!!