Kristi writes:
School is just around the corner. It starts next week for many of us. We’re focused on getting our kids’ school supplies ready and getting bedtime routines back on track. The kids have clean clothes that fit and shoes that won’t leave marks on the gym floor. New backpacks are filled with paint shirts, crayons, scissors, and box of tissues.
Let’s face it – we’re all ready for some sort of routine again. Summer has been great. We’ve gone places, played outdoors a lot, scratched our share of mosquito bites, and enjoyed the freedom that comes with summer. Now it’s time to return to our normally scheduled lives.
You’ve got the kids ready. Are YOU ready? How’s your prayer life? Hopefully you were able to maintain your prayer routine. Mine fell apart when summer hit. I didn’t have my regular time for Scripture reading and prayer. I succumbed to the extra sleep and never got myself back to the Word as I said I would. My days go better when I make the time for God’s Word right away, rather than telling myself that I’ll still get to it. The fact is: I’ll not return to it because something else will “come up.”
So I’m going to get myself back on track. I pray that the Holy Spirit would help me to put everything else on the back burner while I take time to receive all the blessings God has for me. It’s time for me to relearn all the goodness that God gives in His Holy Word. Are you ready for school? Let’s do it!
Thanks Kristi, seasons such as this (school starting, getting back to routines) are good times to remember to incorporate more discipline in many areas of life.
ReplyDeleteWith my first baby going off to pre-school next week (sniff, sniff) I know our mornings will need to start being a little more structured. I'd like to make it my goal to get up earlier and prepare myself for the day with prayer (I've wanted that for a long time). It's so tempting, being 36 weeks pregs, to just stay in bed an extra 30 mins though!
Yes, this is something I have been struggling with a lot since I left Concordia...I pray and hope that I can get a routine started because spending time in prayer is better than anything else in this world. I did get a glimpse of this at the Higher Things conference...but I got back home and it went right back to the normal small 20 sec prayers.
ReplyDeleteMaybe we need to focus on prayer yet again at EVE...
ReplyDeleteI have been wrestling with this a lot lately. It happens to me often but especially this time of year.
ReplyDeleteI begin my summers expecting each one to be different than the last. I plan to have time to get on top of things that have long been put off, including prayer and devotion time. Nevertheless, my summers come and go with much of my list unchanged and other things have taken precedence. Why did I live like I needed a break from God just because it’s summer? And for that matter, actually enjoyed it?
Is my struggle reading/hearing God’s Word or doing it? I know I need to be more faithful in both. My hubby has suggested that I read the book of James. In the meantime, the answer to my priority problem is Jesus! Sundays come around and my feelings of guilt and sin of neglecting time in prayer and in God’s Word are once again forgiven and I am showered with God’s unrelenting love. I’m reminded that it’s not about me and what I do and thank God that He loves me despite how hard or little I try to pray and spend time in His Word. Thank you for the encouragement, Kristi! I, too, pray that the Holy Spirit help me to prioritize my whole life according to God’s good and pleasing will. God’s blessings, girls, as you begin the new school year!