Monday, August 4, 2008

Your Personal Quiet Time

Let just jump right on in by allowing me to ask you a question?

Do you struggle with a daily quiet time with Christ?

I mean, do you have some days where it's real, and long, and meaningful, and then look up and a week or two have gone by? Maybe a month or two?

I know that everyone who chooses to follow Jesus struggle with this pull back and forth of spending time with Him and then, boink!, it's been how long?

I know I did. (That's past tense if you missed it...wink wink) I'm not tooting my horn here, I'm just saying that there was a long time in my life when I would have days of great journaling, Bible study and prayer and then find that same journal under my bed with an entry from months past! I'd get so angry at myself and so upset and feel like I had let God down because I was so wishy-washy!

Anybod-eh!?

I mean, this is supposed to be the greatest relationship on the planet and I'd goes days without even speaking to Him. That's not to say I didn't think about Him or worship Him or talk about Him, but my talking to Him and listening to Him were as haphazard as a drunk behind a wheel. I'd go over there and read, then slowly go back over there where I wasn't even in the right lane with Christ anymore. Sometimes I'd find myself on the completely wrong road heading the wrong way into a deadly crash!

I needed some sobering up! So, I'd try to mark on the calendar every day that I met with Christ and journaled. I had a little chart with every day of the year on it after I had spent time with Jesus I checked it off. You know what? It worked. I met with Him aaalllmost every day. Then I actually went back and counted the days. Gerr! I was, in all actuality, only meeting with Him about half the month!

It didn't work.

But that little wake up of actually seeing the days I sat down and had time with Him opened my eyes. I began meeting Him more regularly, more deliberately. Soon, that little calendar had a check on every day.

Over time, I felt the Lord releasing me from using my little chart. It wasn't hard and I knew I didn't need it anymore. It had just become habit for me to go and spend time with Him.

Every.

Day.

I tell you this little story so that you will know that if you struggle with a consistent walk with Christ then I know what you're dealing with. It's not uncommon, in fact, I think it's more common that we do struggle with it.

I'm sure you caught that I used tools in my daily time with Him and over these next few days I'll share with you more about different things you can do, however, we'll also, mostly, you-can-count-on-getting-in-to-it, talk about the heart of the matter.

Over these next few days, we'll dive into the Psalms and see if we can't uncover some great passages to light our fire, set our sights heavenward, straighten out our priorities, and bring us a desire to sit with our King...

every.

day.

Are you excited about how to spend time with Jesus in the middle of it all???

Me too!

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11 comments:

lori said...

Sassy Shoed from Georgia...(actually I'm more often barefoot....but anywho!)
Listen...Natalie..this is great...We all could use the prod into an even BETTER relationship with HIM...and truth be told..we need to find ways to make it consistent....nothing else in the world is...we'd BETTER hold on to what is!! I LOVE it...and I love the gal on the button...VERY CHIC...she reminds me of, um....me:) great job...glad I stumbled in in these blasted heels!:)
peace..
lori

Robin Meadows said...

I'm ready!

Natalie Witcher said...

Thanks Ladies! Glad you're here!

Mary Jo said...

Ugh. This is so me. I do so well for a long period fo time then do just as badly for a long period fo time.

My problem is this: My 'perfectionist' personality says "get it 100% right or don't do it at all" and my 'religious' side says God can't talk to me at all unless I've been hours in His presence.

I long to be with Him every day ( I long to exercise too) and my discipline just sucks frankly. Sucks out loud.

Tammy said...

oh I am so here right now....I go in spirts...and I mean spirts...and I am hard on myself when I realize how often I have not met with Jesus. I am not disciplined and you would think I would be since I tend to be disciplined in most areas of my life...why not this one.

can't wait to read tomorrow.

blessings

Anonymous said...

Exactly what I needed to read today!

Anonymous said...

Flip flippin' in Canada ... :) What I struggle with is not finding the time it's sitting there and waiting to hear Him. I usually do all the talking. My mind wanders at times if I wait to hear Him. But I've noticed that I hear quite well when I'm walking the dog and I look at the beautiful nature, His perfect painting, that surrounds me. Still though ... I wish I could just sit like so many others. God, why did you put ants in my drawers??

truly blessed said...

I can't wait to hear what tools you use in your daily walk. I stumbled upon the great pack of notebooks you mentioned the other day! I'm currently doing a study in Psalms, but I really want to start a journal, I just never seem to stick with it when I try. Maybe if I had some of your marvelous tips! :)

Kim Heinecke said...

true dat.

SpkH said...

Thank you thank you thank you!!! Okay I don't remember "how" I found this site, but was glad I did.

I happened to catch the tail end of the last session and was waiting for the new session to begin and what a joy..

Thank you for this site!!

Jjlrdomom said...

LOL! The date on all these comments is 2008, yet here I am, in my slippered feet, in the year 2013, eager to jump in on this!! God is wooing my heart to Him! I'm a big journaler. I think I've got 15 "God Journals"....however that covers 25+ years....looking at it like that is like looking at the days on your calendar. Yeowch! So now I'm gonna shuffle my slippered feet over to my favorite quiet time corner (with my cuppa coffee) and spend some time with the Lover of my Soul! Thank you! (btw, stumbled over from Internet Cafe Devotions)