The Place of Prayer

RHOP Moms will be on break until January 26, 2007. I am glad for this “selah” time to pause and reflect, but I’m already looking forward to when we will be together again!

During this time, please don’t relax your pursuit of God! We must feed our bodies regularly or we will starve. If we don’t feed our spirit, it too will starve. In addition, our hunger will wane. On the other hand, when we meet with God regularly in the Word, worship, and prayer, our hunger will increase! Ask God for the gift of hunger. As our hunger increases, so will our capacity for receiving from and enjoying Him.

I would encourage you to continue taking advantage of RHOP. It takes you out of your usual context and into a room where God’s presence is continually invited, with others who are also pursuing God. Child care will continue to be available on Fridays from 10am to noon. There are also a couple of other family times available (no child care, though): Wednesdays from 8-10am (children welcome), and Saturdays from 7-8am (specific intercession for families).

Of course, RHOP isn’t the only place for seeking God. In fact, Jesus talked about our regular place of prayer being at home.

But when you pray, go into your most private room, and, closing the door, pray to your Father Who is in secret; and your Father, Who sees in secret, will reward you in the open (Matthew 6:6).

Create your own prayer room at home. Make it easy and fun for yourself! Plan ahead so that you don’t have to work hard to get there and so that it’s a pleasant place to meet with God. Organize your favorite prayer room items so that they are easily accessible. Some things you might want to include are a Bible, journal, pens, highlighters, book(s), folder for loose papers, and a computer (E-Sword, NetBible, and IHOP Streaming are some useful tools I have found.) If you like, have worship music playing. In addition, organize some of your prayer room items so that they are easily picked up and taken with you to RHOP or wherever you may be.

My current favorite prayer room setup is to have my laptop close by playing IHOP streaming. (I do have to discipline myself not to check email during my prayer time, and I’m not always successful!) I have my Bible, journal, and a bag with highlighters and pens. I keep it all in a canvas bag, as I tend to move between the living room, my desk, and the kitchen table. And I often add a cup of Earl Gray tea with milk and sugar. Having my favorite morning drink reminds me that this is my time to relax with God. Then I sit and enjoy God’s company while marveling that He also enjoys mine!

Once you are at your place of prayer, structure your prayer time as you’d like. Worship first, last, or interspersed through your prayer time. Read the Word for breadth (many chapters, big picture) or depth (one verse or group of verses, like holding the Word under a microscope to examine the cells and atoms, discovering the intricacies). Make it into a conversation. As you come across something that catches your attention, ask God questions about it like, “Why are you pointing this out to me? Is there something here you want me to apply to my own life? Is this an area in which I need to repent and be transformed? A truth about You that I can delight in?” Another fun question to ask is, “Why in the world did you put this in the Bible?” It’s exciting because now, instead of skipping past things you don’t understand, you begin to receive deeper revelation of God through those very passages. This conversation with God is your prayer. As you meditate on the Word, the Holy Spirit will bring people and circumstances to mind. Stop and pray about them. When you are finished, return to the Word, and the conversation will continue.

Enjoy your prayer times! I can’t wait to see you again.

Abiding in Christ

This week, let’s meditate on John 15. First, read it. Then stop on a verse that stands out to you, and begin a conversation with God about it. Ask questions. Tell Him your thoughts. As you ramble on, the Holy Spirit will begin to direct your thoughts. He may bring to mind other verses. (That’s when the concordance in the back of your Bible comes in handy!) He will bring greater understanding of what He wants to say to you through that Word. You will begin to receive personal revelation regarding God’s heart, His purposes, and your place in them. When you have received revelation, begin to pray about it, asking God to make it real in your heart and life.

Try journaling your conversation with God. Next week, we’ll share some of what God has shown us. Here is an example from my journal to help get you started. (The parts in quotes are the parts where I feel Jesus is directing my thoughts to greater understanding of Him and His Word. Of course, they are not scripture, except where scripture is quoted. This is just my way of making the conversation real.)
____________

If you keep my commandments, you will abide in My love and live on in it, just as I have obeyed My Father’s commandments and live on in His love. (John 15:10)

How can I abide in Your love? By keeping Your commandments as You obey Your Father’s commandments. What are Your commandments? They are Your words – the Word. They are also Your Spirit whispering direction, instruction, conviction, etc. How do I receive Your commandments? By spending time with You, in prayer and the Word, learning of You, eating of You, filling myself with You until Your heart becomes my heart. And it becomes a continual conversation of love and obedience.

“Daughter, I love you!”

I love You! I can hardly believe or understand that You love me.

“I love you! You are precious and beautiful to me. I am completely pleased with you.”

My heart is full! Fill me even more with Your love until it overflows. Use the overflow to pour out your love to others. Use me, Lord!

“I am using you. As you draw close to Me, I am using you to draw others as well. As my love overflows in your heart to others, it pools around your feet and theirs. It becomes the substance of your life. Then you are abiding in My love! You are obeying the command I gave you: to ‘love one another as I have loved you’ (John 15: 12, 17). You cannot love that way in your own strength, not the kind of love that lays down your lives for one another (15:13). But as you dwell in Me and I dwell in you, I strengthen you to obey me more, and the cycle of love increases continually.”

Help me obey You. I want to drink, breathe, eat, and dwell in Your love. Remove impatience, irritability, and self-interest far from me. Protect me by Your love.

“If you live in Me and My words remain in you and continue to live in your hearts, ask whatever you will and it shall be done for you (15:7).”

(I just asked Jesus to help me obey Him, to deliver me from temptation, and to protect me by His love. Is this His reply to me? Did He just essentially say, “As you wish,” as Wesley said to Buttercup in The Princess Bride?! What love! It melts my heart.)

Let Your words remain in me and bear much fruit. Be glorified in me! I want to be a true follower of You (15:9). Teach me how to keep your words in me. Let them become my thoughts and desires. Conform me wholly to Your words. Show me what to ask for so that I may receive all You have for me, and so that I may see all You desire to accomplish in the lives of others as well. Unite us in love for each other. Make us one in joy as together we experience true, life-giving fellowship with You.
____________

Don’t be afraid of saying the wrong thing. The Lord loves the simplicity of our desire for Him that we would come before Him and begin to ask what He means in His Word. He will meet us when we are motivated by love for Him and not just by a desire for intellectual knowledge. We can check our thoughts by comparing them to scripture. I get excited when more and more scriptures begin to come to mind and confirm what I feel He is showing me, because then I know I’m on the right track!

I’m going to go meditate on John 15 again right now! I can’t wait to hear what He shows you as well.

(Note: The above is not necessarily representative of my daily devotions. It is representative of how I converse with God when I am meditating on a passage. However, what I write in my journal is often much shorter and not necessarily as inspired.)

Enduring Trials: Meditating on Scripture

Consider it wholly joyful, my brethren, whenever you are enveloped in or encounter trials of any sort . . . (James 1:2).

This morning I woke up so tired. After about twenty minutes of debating, I got up anyway. I came into the Lord’s presence and began to receive strength and hope for my life. It isn’t easy. God didn’t tell me He is going to make things easier. In fact, He said it would be harder. But He is fashioning me into His image. Do I want Him more, or would I rather have temporary comforts? An easier life, or identification (intimacy) with Him? I can have my rewards now if I want. But I’ve been down the path of seeking my own satisfaction. Ultimately, it leads to emptiness, not happiness. It is deception to think that it will lead anywhere else.

Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but the kisses of an enemy are lavish and deceitful. He who is satiated [with sensual pleasures] loathes and treads underfoot a honeycomb, but to the hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet (Proverbs 27:6, 7).

The only path that leads to joy and fulfillment is the hard and narrow one. It requires me to die to myself, but at the end of that path (and in tastes along the way) there is true life, joy, and peace in the person and presence of Jesus. So let us meditate on the Word. We will not survive otherwise. It is the honey that will refresh us. But if we are full of other pleasures then it will not be sweet to us. God uses our problems to get us to the place of being desperate for Him.

. . . do not despise or reject the correction of the Almighty [subjecting you to trial and suffering]. For He wounds, but He binds us; He smites, but His hands heal (Job 5:17, 18).

The enemy will try to kiss us with other desires. He will try to lead us into self-preservation, saying, “God will not take care of you. He has abandoned you.” That is a lie. Open the Word. Let your mind receive truth. Be filled up with Jesus so that you can resist the lies of the enemy.

For our light, momentary affliction is achieving for us an everlasting weight of glory (2 Corinthians 4:17).

Only let us hold true to what we have already attained and walk and order our lives by that. . . [W]e are citizens of heaven, and . . . we earnestly and patiently await the Lord Jesus Christ . . . who will transform and fashion [us] anew . . . (Philippians 3:16, 20, 21).

How has God been calling you to live? Be faithful to that. Even when it is hard, seek Him. When you are weak, cry out to Him in your weakness. Let Him make you and shape you as He pleases, using the pressure and heat of His choosing. Don’t worry about the end product. Just stay in His hands.

You are our Father; we are the clay, and You are the Potter; and we all are the work of Your hand (Isaiah 64:8).

[For my determined purpose is] that I may know Him . . . to know the power outflowing from His resurrection, and that I may so share His sufferings as to . . . attain to the resurrection from among the dead [even while in the body] (Philippians 3:10-12).

“[No] man or woman who is intimately aware of and shares in the sufferings of Jesus Christ . . . can stand that unless he is identified with Jesus Christ. . . . God is getting us into fellowship with Himself. Let Him have His way. . . . Why shouldn’t we experience heartbreak? Through those doorways God is opening up ways of fellowship with His Son. Most of us collapse at the first grip of pain. We sit down at the door of God’s purpose and enter a slow death through self-pity. But God . . . comes with the grip of the pierced hand of His Son, as if to say, ‘Enter into fellowship with me; arise and shine’” (Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest, entry for 11/1).

Allow God to make your life a highway for His purposes. Fellowship with Him in His sufferings. Know that you are drawing closer to Him even as you endure. Bring your cares for yourself into submission to Him.

“Faith, as the Bible teaches it, is faith in God coming against everything that contradicts Him – a faith that says, ‘I will remain true to God’s character whatever He may do.’ The highest and the greatest expression of faith in the whole Bible is – ‘Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him’ (Job 13:15)” (Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest, entry for 10/31).

Oh, that You would rend the heavens and that You would come down. . . . For from of old no one has heard nor perceived by the ear, nor has the eye seen a God besides You, Who works and shows Himself active on behalf of him who waits for Him (Isaiah 64:1, 4).

Lord, make our hearts so at peace that You can do whatever You want with us. Shake all that can be shaken, and remove it far from us. Help us to be utterly yielded to You. Help us to keep our minds stayed on You.

Meditate on the Word. Come back to the Word several times a day. Soak your mind in the Word. It will bring you back to reality when you begin to lose perspective. You will receive strength to respond to life’s challenges according to God’s character. Over time, you will be transformed.

You will guard him and keep him in perfect and constant peace whose mind is stayed on You. . . . So trust in the Lord forever; for the Lord God is an everlasting Rock (Isaiah 26:3, 4).

Seeking the Lord: Creating a Schedule

. . . [W]hoever would come near to God must believe that God . . . is the rewarder of those who earnestly and diligently seek Him out (Hebrews 11:6).

We must know God for ourselves. In order to minister to our families effectively, we need to have our own relationship with Him. There is no substitute for spending time alone with the Lord. Just as we must have times alone with our husbands to nurture an intimate relationship, so we must have times alone with our Lord. As moms, we must be especially committed to this to see it happen. As we earnestly and diligently seek Him out, He will reward us with our hearts’ desire: more of Himself. When we ignore our hunger for God, it begins to fade. When we feed it, our desire for Him increases.

I know your industry and activity, laborious toil and trouble. . . . I know you are enduring patiently and are bearing up for My name’s sake, and you have not fainted or become exhausted or grown weary. But . . . you have left the love that you had at first. Remember then. . . . Repent (change the inner man to meet God’s will) and do the works you did previously [when you first knew the Lord] (Revelation 2:2-5).

Let us not think that our much toil and labor for the Lord and our families replaces intimacy with Jesus. As we seek Him first, all our other activity will flow out of our love relationship with Him. If we are to seek God wholeheartedly, some things will have to be removed from our schedule. Even some good and allowable things will have to go in order to make more time for seeking Him. Do we want to fill up our lives with many things and get nowhere, or do we want to focus on the one thing our hearts truly desire? Each day we have that choice.

To him who overcomes, I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God (Revelation 2:7).

Like an apple tree among the trees of the wood, so is my Beloved among the sons! Under His shadow I delight to sit, and His fruit is sweet to my taste. He brought me to the banqueting house, and His banner over me is love. Sustain me with raisins, refresh me with apples, for I am sick with love. I can feel His left hand under my head, and His right hand embraces me! (Song of Songs 2:3-6, my paraphrase).

Let us delight to sit in His shadow, the Word in our hand and our hearts open to Him. He will sustain us with His love, pouring it out in our hearts. As we take the time to dwell in His presence, He will awaken us to the reality of His love. He will tenderly hold us up and strengthen us. He will help us to get more done in less time. He will give us more love and patience for our husbands and children.

Homework

Let's create our schedule. First of all, make a list of the everyday things like mealtimes, laundry, finances, and any other responsibilities you have, as well as approximate times spent on each activity.

Now, set that aside for the moment and pull out your spreadsheet. You are going to begin to structure your life. Put in the “big rocks” first, and the little things will fit in around the edges. First, put in the givens, such as meal times. This will help get a structure started. Now put in time for you alone with God each day (perhaps in the morning before the kids wake up or during nap time). Next, put down any family time, date night with husband, Bible study times, etc. Then fit in the other things, like chores, free time, and other activities. You may find that you have more time than you realized. On the other hand, you may find that there are areas you need to downsize in order to make more time for the Lord.

Note: This is a tool to be used daily, so you will need to modify it as often as needs change.

Obedience to the Lord: Devising an Action Plan

Jesus answered and said, “I thank You, Father . . . that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to babes” (Matthew 11:25).

“All of God’s revealed truths are sealed until they are opened to us through obedience. You will never open them through philosophy or thinking. But once you obey, a flash of light comes immediately. Let God’s truth work into you by immersing yourself in it, not by worrying into it. . . . If you obey God in the first thing He shows you, then He instantly opens up the next truth to you. You could read volumes on the work of the Holy Spirit when five minutes of total, uncompromising obedience would make things as clear as sunlight. Don’t say, ‘I suppose I will understand these things someday.’ You can understand them now. And it is not study that brings understanding to you, but obedience. Even the smallest bit of obedience opens heaven, and the deepest truths of God immediately become yours. Yet God will never reveal more truth about Himself to you, until you obey what you know already. Beware of becoming one of the ‘wise and prudent” (Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest, entry for October 10).

This week we will create an action plan for each of our short-term goals. Whether you have stayed caught up with us or haven’t yet really started, I encourage you to go ahead and do it. This really can be done in one focused evening.

By doing these exercises, we are actually setting ourselves up to live according to God’s will. Unless we have a plan, we will not regularly read our Bibles, pray, fast, minister to our children spiritually, etc. If your personality balks at schedules, think of this is a matter of obedience. If you live only by how you feel at the moment, your spiritual life will be sporadic at best. And if you are one who thrives on schedules, remember not to be rigid. God will mess up your plan! Without a plan, we simply drift through life, not really getting anywhere in particular. (I can’t believe how much more progress I’ve made this year spiritually by learning to live a focused life than I did in all my previous years of walking with the Lord.) The great thing is that living this way actually makes room for spontaneity. We prayerfully plan, submit all our plans to the Lord, and then follow His leading. He will bring holy spontaneity to our plans by throwing in something we didn’t expect. Then it becomes our joy to obey and flow with Him.

Submit yourselves, then, to God . . . (James 4:7, NIV).

In the past, I have thought of submitting my plans to the Lord sort of like submitting a plan for review or opinion. I get God’s input, but then I have the final say. But that is not the meaning of submitting to God. To submit is “to yield oneself to the authority or will of another” (Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary). It is like dancing. One partner leads while the other yields to every slight touch of her partner, consciously submitting her will to his. So let us yield to the Lord in this dance of life. Let’s listen to Him, following His every move, in the way that we live our lives, consciously directing our steps to follow Him.

We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps (Proverbs 16:9, NLT).

Homework

Create an action plan for each short-term goal (i.e., what you are going to do daily, weekly, etc., to put this into practice). This will be used to directly plug into our schedules next week.

Expressing Our Hunger for God: Defining Short-Term Goals

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled (Matt. 5:6).

“Jesus releases His power and presence to us in direct proportion to the measure of our hunger for Him. Spiritual hunger comes as we get a vision to have everything that God will give our spirit on this side of eternity. . . . The utter vastness of what He wants to flood our beings with in terms of experience of divine power and power encounters with the Holy Spirit, has not yet even entered our minds (1 Cor. 2:9-12). Yes this fullness, this abundance of divine reward imparted to the inner man, is what God wants to give us a vision to pursue. Again, He will give according to our hunger; thus, our first priority must be to become hungry.

“Some think they are spiritually hungry when they have a newly awakened interest in the things of God. But awakened interest is not yet hunger. . . . Hunger is when we cannot live without more, when we make radical alterations to our lifestyles in order to pursue God. A good way to measure the reality of our hunger is to measure the extent to which we rearrange our lives, our time, our money, and our comforts to pursue that for which we are hungry.

“. . . What do we believe is the level of intimacy God is willing to draw us into? Do we really believe in the rewards that God has provided to those who align their lives in the way prescribed by His Word? Have we heard His invitation, and what are we buying into as our life vision in God? What is the vision that you have for where your heart can go in God in this life?

“This may surprise us, but we ourselves actually determine some of the measure of spiritual blessing He will give . . . . Believing for too small a measure will lead to just that. . . . What will we contend for in our experience of Him; what will we claim as our inheritance? We need to have a vision for what God will give our hearts, as well as a vision for what He will do through us in our ministry.

“Do not limit your vision to just your ministry though. We must have a vision for how far God will take our hearts in love, meekness and revelation. We must not be too easily satisfied with a small measure, for Jesus will give to us according to the measure we build our lives around. The extent of our expectation, or faith, defines what we tenaciously pursue in God. If we absolutely refuse to settle for anything less than His fullness, we will be rewarded with our desire” (Dana Candler, The Rewards of Fasting: Experiencing the Power and Affections of God, p. 48, 52).

What do you hunger for? Are you hungry for more of God? Do you desire to have more hunger for God? This is what we are here for: to feed our hunger and to let it increase until our lives are radically altered. Until we are no longer living mediocre Christian lives, but lives of love and power in the Holy Spirit. The kind of lives Jesus calls us to live.

Homework

Let’s take our long-term goals and turn them into short-term goals (three months to three years). This is how you envision yourself to be living in the next three months to three years. In a general sense, this is how you are going to get to your long-term goal. (We’ll get more specific next week.) Here’s an example of my own:

Spiritual Long-Term Goal (where I want to be in ten years): To be confident of who I am in the Lord, unafraid and walking in His power, boldness and authority.

Spiritual Short-Term Goals (where I want to be in three months to three years): To develop a habitual prayer life, to be intimately familiar with the Word, to be comfortable worshiping at the piano, and to go deep through regular fasting.

You may find that you begin working back and forth between long-term and short-term goals, developing them more clearly as you go. Don’t worry too much about doing it “right”; just get something written down in each area. This is a tool for you to use as we get to what I consider the fun stuff: the action plan and schedule. That’s when all this dreaming begins to be turned into reality!

Breaking It Down: Short-Term Goals

Now let’s take our overall life vision and apply it to the seven major areas of our life (from “The Power of a Focused Life” by Mike Bickle):

Spiritual (prayer time, fasting days, Bible study, etc.)
Relational (family, friends, etc.)
Vocation (marketplace calling, etc.)
Ministry (in the church, outside the church, etc.)
Financial (spending, giving, saving, investing, etc.)
Physical (exercise, health, diet, etc.)
Rest (recreation, vacation, play, entertainment, sports, etc.)

First we’ll identify our long-term (10-year) goals. Think of how your vision could be applied in each of the above areas. What do you imagine your life to look like in ten years? Be as specific as possible. Think of what age you will be in ten years. What vision has God put in your heart for where you will be spiritually, relationally, etc., when you are that age?

As an example, I have written as my long-term (10-year) goal in the area of rest:
ATo be rested and relaxed. To eliminate hurry from my life. To have days centered around having fun. To be well-read in classics, spiritual, and devotional literature.

Let this be a fun exercise. Dream and imagine the best God has for you! This is an incentive to live our lives with focus. It will give us a context for our schedules so that we focus on areas which may otherwise be missed in the busyness of everyday life. Don’t think of it as a list of resolutions to be made and broken, but a picture of the dreams God has given you.

. . . in Your book all the days of my life were written before ever they took shape, when as yet there was none of them (Psalm 139:16).

Homework

Think of how your life vision can be applied to each of the above areas of your life. It may not apply in an obvious way, but think of who you are as a person living according to your life vision. As that person, how do you want to live in each of these areas?

Your Primary Purpose, pt. 3

Why Write a Vision Statement?

Ten years from now, do you want to be in essentially the same place you are now? If not, where do you want to be? What visions/dreams has God given you? Let’s start living purposefully so that we can see the purposes of God fulfilled in our lives! We have to live purposefully so that we are not as the man who looks into the mirror and then walks away and forgets what he looks like (James 1:23, 24). Without a plan, we will forget. We will live erratically and without discipline. In the end, we will have regret for how we wasted our time.

See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is (Ephesians 5:15-17).

Your vision statement is helpful because it will help you to remember what you are here for. When temptation comes or life becomes mundane, it is easy to lose focus. We forget or neglect to do the things that once propelled us toward our destiny in God. Let your vision statement be God’s perspective of you, and let it challenge you to keep pursuing Him even when it’s hard or boring.

Once we lose sight of God, we begin to be reckless. We cast off certain restraints from activities we know are wrong. We set prayer aside as well and cease having God’s vision in the little things of life. We simply begin to act on our own initiative. If we are eating only out of our own hand, and doing things solely on our own initiative without expecting God to come in, we are on a downward path. We have lost the vision. Is our attitude today an attitude that flows from our vision of God? Are we expecting God to do greater things than He has ever done before? Is there a freshness and vitality in our spiritual outlook? (Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest, entry for 5/9).

What excites me about my vision statement is that it gives me a context for understanding how God is working in my life. In ten years, I will be able to look back and see how God has sovereignly orchestrated my life toward intimacy and to see how others have deeper relationships with Him as a result. It can be applied to my relationships with my husband, children and others.

Homework

Write down what you think your life’s vision might be. Does it inspire you? Is there a “yes” in your spirit as you read it over? Go with it! We will refer to it over the next few weeks as we define long-term and short-term goals, turn those into an action plan, and then use that to create a schedule. It will be exciting to see how our vision can be played out in our everyday life! You will be more inspired as you see the purpose behind what you do every day and begin to find creative ways to bring meaning into what used to be merely mundane. You won’t be living merely by how you feel and what you feel like doing at the moment, but with an overarching purpose.

Don’t pressure yourself to find the “ultimate” calling on your life. Write a working vision statement, and let God refine it as days and years go by. Have fun!

Your Primary Purpose, pt. 2

What Is a Vision Statement?

It can take some time to identify your life vision. It cannot be made up off the top of your head, or it will not be authentic. It is not wishful thinking, either. It is a statement that recognizes who you are as an individual from God’s perspective. Of course, we can say that we want to follow God all the days of our lives, but perhaps that is too general. Each of us is a mirror designed to reflect God in a totally unique way. And He has unlimited facets to reflect! So, before God in prayer, consider what makes you uniquely you. What aspect of God totally fascinates you? Is it love? Wisdom? Justice? Compassion? Faith? Intimacy? Healing? The list could go on and on. (Make your own!) This can be a clue to help you understand the way God desires to express Himself in and through you. Ask God to reveal His vision to your heart.

God has called you to do many things. But He has called you to be only one thing – what is that? As you look over your life’s history, what has been your greatest consistent desire and motivation? What do you desire most today? What do people call you?

One thing that I have often been called is “deep.” In the past this has been frustrating to me, as I felt that it was a brush-off. (“Oh, I can’t go there; I’m not that deep.”) It made me feel lonely and misunderstood. But eventually I started listening. I started thinking, if others see me as “deep,” what does that tell me about who God has made me to be? I started reading things by people who have gone deep in God. I have allowed myself to go deep instead of feeling like I have to apologize for it or be more like others. As I am embracing the depth that God has placed in me, a desire has grown in me to invite others to go deeper in God with me. That doesn’t mean that everyone will or should look like me, but that perhaps by going deep myself, others will be inspired and challenged to go deeper as well.

So here is my vision statement as an example: To live a life of intimacy with God such that others are inspired to pursue Him in a deeper way. Here’s another example (my husband’s): To live a life of faith so that my children, grandchildren, and others see that it’s the best way to live.

Your Primary Purpose, Pt. 1

Writing a Vision Statement

Who Needs a Vision Statement?

We do! We moms who devote so much of our time to caring for our families and households, who are needed by so many others on a daily basis, who give and give . . . we need God’s perspective on our lives. We need to have a purpose behind why we do the things we do. A vision that will inspire us every day to grow in our relationship with the Lord and in the calling for which He has made us.

Where there is no revelation (or prophetic vision), the people cast off restraint; but happy is he who keeps the law (Proverbs 29:18, NKJV).

When God has not given you his dream and vision – if you do not have a goal on which you have your eyes fixed (as if you are climbing toward the peak of a mountain) – then you will be exposed, uncovered and made naked. You will not get anywhere, but will fruitlessly spin your wheels. But if you can keep God’s precepts and statutes, you will be blessed and happy (Proverbs 29:18, paraphrase based on a word study by Christal Stroup).

Each of us, if we want to stop spinning our wheels, must live our lives in the light of the revelation of God, both of who He is and of who we are in Him.

As you grow your understanding of God, you will also begin to understand yourself more clearly. You are unique from anyone else who has or ever will be created. And you are a reflection of God. Therefore, you display His character and personality in ways that no one else can. You have a unique purpose, which only you can fulfill.

And all of us have had that veil removed so that we can be mirrors that brightly reflect the glory of the Lord. And as the Spirit of the Lord works within us, we become more and more like him and reflect his glory even more (2 Cor. 3:18, NLT).

We don’t want to live mediocre lives. Our Bible heroes grew to know who they were as they grew to know God intimately. As He revealed Himself to them, they grew in understanding of their purpose and calling. We know, for example, that Moses (Exodus 3), Jeremiah (Jeremiah 1:4-10), Isaiah (Isaiah 6), Jesus (Luke 3:21, 22), and Paul (Acts 9) had defining moments when God revealed to them who He is and for what purpose He had created them. (Read these passages on your own!) Let us seek Him to find out who He is, and who He has called us to be.

Journey to Desperation

My journey with God has progressed gradually over my lifetime. At times I have walked with God closely and at other times not so closely. The first major milestone in my walk with Christ came when I was fourteen years old. At that time, I asked God to make Himself real to me. I began reading my Bible regularly (though at the time I thought it was very boring). I asked God, if He was real, to prove it by changing my heart through His Word. I didn’t know what that would look like, but I knew that I would know when it happened. I figured, if it were just a bunch of words, nothing would happen. But if God were behind it, something would change.

God passed my original test. After about a year of reading the Bible, I realized that I was different. I read primarily out of determination and stubbornness. The Bible still seemed dry most of the time. I’d quickly read a chapter and then put it aside for a more interesting (read: entertaining) book. But something in my heart had changed. No longer did I question whether the God of Christianity was real, because I knew that He had done what I had asked.

He did not only what I asked, but also much more. He began to introduce me to Himself. While I wasn’t noticing, He began revealing to me who He was. Over time, I began to fall in love with Him. Now, almost twenty years later, I am hooked on God’s Word. In reality, I’m addicted to Love. The God I met at age fourteen causes me to fall in love with Him daily, because He is in love with me. The more I read the Bible, the more addicted I become. There is life in the Word. But I can only get to the life by spending time in the Word. In fact, not spending time in the Word causes my hunger to wane. Love takes time to nurture and grow, and the more I get the more I want. But it does take time.

I sort of took time for granted in my teenage and college years. In my home-school high school, Bible study and memorization were part of our curriculum, and I ate it up. Later, in college, I would often go to school early so I could sit in my car with my Bible for an hour or so. The desire grew in me to be in ministry. I prayed and researched different mission fields, but I did not have peace about going. As I neared the completion of my bachelor’s degree, I wondered what would come next. All I really wanted to do was to be in the ministry, and to be a wife and mother. God opened a door for me to work at my church, which I did for over three years. All the time, I continued to dream and pray about ministry, marriage, and motherhood, seeking the future God had for me.

On September 1, 2001, at age 28, I married my husband, Paul. Finally my dream was beginning to be fulfilled! I threw myself wholeheartedly into our marriage. My parents have a great marriage, and I envisioned nothing less for myself. I have not been disappointed. We began to grow our family right away, quickly having three children in a row. But something happened that I had not anticipated. I no longer had time or energy for the long, leisurely times in the Word that I had previously enjoyed. The demands of a husband, children, and household were taking their toll. I began to understand why 1 Corinthians 7:32-34 speaks of the unmarried being able to focus on the Lord without distractions. I struggled with resentment.

At the beginning of this year, I reached the end of my rope. “Why,” I asked God, “did You give me this great desire for You if I cannot spend time with You anymore? Why did You lead me into marriage and motherhood if that meant giving up a deep relationship with You?” I love my husband and children, but I felt as if my life was being sucked away. I was barely hanging on with minimal devotions when I managed to find the time.

And God answered me! Over the next few months He began to show me how to change my perspective and lifestyle to center around Him. I began to shed my “I can’t” attitude, instead asking Him how I could. Whenever a frustration would arise, I’d ask, “Lord, what do you want this to look like?” I have been doing that regarding time in the Word, prayer, fasting, etc. In the process, my family is benefiting. No longer do they have a wife or mommy who sulks in perpetual self-pity. They have one with vision and purpose who is being continually filled up with God’s love, which can then be poured out on them. I’m even beginning to realize that I can bring other things, such as intimacy with my husband, time with my kids, having more fun, and character training issues, to God in the same way. He continues to answer!

I am not saying that my life is perfect. But it is significantly different than it used to be. I am different than I used to be. What God has been teaching me is what I would like to share with you.

Return to Desperation

Last weekend, returning from a wonderful, amazing second honeymoon with my husband, I fell apart again. “I can’t return to my life!” I whined to Paul. “I am sick of being exhausted and having no time for fun. I can’t stand the thought of dealing with these three whiny, demanding kids!” (Wonder where they get that from?) “What is going on?” he asked, confused. After all, we’d only been home a few hours, and the children had merely been rambunctious and glad to see us. As we talked, he quickly identified the problem. I needed to go through the process again, to reevaluate my schedule and priorities according to God’s perspective. We then spent a significant portion of the remainder of the weekend doing just that.

During these twelve weeks, we will identify our vision and purpose and then apply it to our daily lives. This process, when actually applied, will transform the way you live. You will be enabled to partner with God to see His purposes worked out in your and your family’s lives. If you have already been through some of this with us before, I invite you to come along again. Like me, you may be ready to reevaluate and refocus for a new season. Be assured, God has more for you!

Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy-laden and overburdened, and I will cause you to rest (Matthew 11:28).

If I will simply come to Jesus, my real life will be brought into harmony with my real desires . . . . At the most unexpected moments in your life there is this whisper of the Lord – ‘Come to Me,’ and you are immediately drawn to Him. Personal contact with Jesus changes everything. Be ‘foolish’ enough to come and commit yourself to what He says (Oswald Chambers).

Take My Yoke

"Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy-laden and overburdened, and I will cause you to rest. [I will ease and relieve and refresh your souls.] Take My yoke upon you and learn of Me, for I am gentle (meek) and humble (lowly) in heart, and you will find rest (relief and ease and refreshment and recreation and blessed quiet) for your souls. For My yoke is wholesome (useful, good – not harsh, hard, sharp, or pressing, but comfortable, gracious and pleasant), and My burden is light and easy to be borne" (Matthew 11:28-30).

Whenever reading these verses, I have wondered: what is the yoke of Jesus? What is this yoke that causes us to rest when we are overburdened? That so lightens our load that it is “easy to be borne”?

I think the key to understanding is in verses 25-27:

"At that time Jesus began to say, I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and clever and learned, and revealed them to babies [to the childish, untaught, and unskilled]. . . . All things have been entrusted and delivered to Me by My Father; and no one fully knows and accurately understands the Son except the Father, and no one fully knows and accurately understands the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son deliberately wills to make Him known."

Jesus is praising God that revelation is hidden from the wise and given to the childlike (see also Matthew 19:14). He states that only the Son can make the Father known, and then issues the invitation: “Come to Me . . . .” Because of the continuity of the context of this passage, I believe that the yoke Jesus is talking about is the revelation of the knowledge of God! (See also Ephesians 1:17-19.) Here is a paraphrase of Matthew 11:27-30 in my own words:

"My Father has given me all knowledge and understanding. I hold it in trust for those who are childlike and eager to be taught. I am the only one who has true revelation, and I alone have the authority to reveal Him to whomever I choose. So I choose you! Anyone who is tired and weary, come to Me. As you come to Me, I will give you new understanding of God, and in this knowledge your soul will rest. The experience of My gentle and humble heart will so lighten your heart that all else will be easy to bear. Upon the revelation of the knowledge of God will hang all the burdens you carry. You will no longer bear them in your own strength, but in Mine."

I am blessed that God brought this understanding to my heart several days before finding out that our expected fourth child, Selah Joy, has gone to Heaven to be with Him. My heart can rest, knowing that He has invited me to come to Him in the midst of my trouble. I will set my eyes on Him, not on my circumstances, and let Him reveal His heart to me in a deeper way. God is love. God is good, and everything He does is good. I will rest in Him.

Long-Term Goals

When God has not given you his dream and vision – if you do not have a goal on which you have your eyes fixed (as if you are climbing toward the peak of a mountain) – then you will be exposed, uncovered and made naked. You will not get anywhere, but will fruitlessly spin your wheels. But if you can keep God’s precepts and statutes, you will be blessed and happy (Proverbs 29:18, paraphrase based on a word study by Christal Stroup).

This week let’s take our overall life vision and apply it to the seven major areas of our life (from “The Power of a Focused Life” by Mike Bickle):

1. Spiritual (prayer time, fasting days, Bible study, etc.)
2. Relational (family, friends, etc.)
3. Vocation (marketplace calling, etc.)
4. Ministry (in the church, outside the church, etc.)
5. Financial (spending, giving, saving, investing, etc.)
6. Physical (exercise, health, diet, etc.)
7. Rest (recreation, vacation, play, entertainment, sports, etc.)

Think of how your vision could be applied in each of these areas. What do you imagine your life to look like in ten years? Be as specific as possible. Think of what age you will be in ten years. What vision has God put in your heart for where you will be spiritually, relationally, etc., when you are that age?

As an example, I have written as my long-term (10-year) goal in the area of rest:

To have a regular, established bedtime and wakeup time. To have a Sabbath day each week. To be well-read in classics, spiritual, and devotional literature. To have many fun memories with kids and Paul of creative outings and vacations.

Let this be a fun exercise. Dream and imagine the best God has for you! This is an incentive to live our lives with focus. It will give us a context for our schedules so that we focus on areas which we may otherwise miss in the busyness of everyday life. It is not a list of resolutions to be made and broken, but a picture of the dreams God has given us. As God gives us bigger, better dreams, we can go back and reevaluate this vision so that it conforms to the reality He has prepared for us.

. . . in Your book all the days of my life were written before ever they took shape, when as yet there was none of them (Psalm139:16).

Defining Our Life Vision

“Where there is no revelation [or prophetic vision], the people cast off restraint . . .” (Proverbs 29:18).

I have been thinking a lot about the process of defining our vision. It can take some time to identify your overall purpose statement. It cannot be made up off the top of your head, or it will not be authentic. It is not wishful thinking, either. It is a statement that recognizes who you are as an individual. Of course, we can say that we want to follow God all the days of our lives, but perhaps that is too general. Each of us is a mirror designed to reflect God in a totally unique way. And He has unlimited facets to reflect! So, before God in prayer, consider what makes you uniquely you. What aspect of God totally fascinates you? Is it love? Wisdom? Justice? Compassion? Faith? Intimacy? Healing? The list could go on and on. (Make your own!) This can be a clue to help you understand the way God desires to express Himself in and through you. Ask God to reveal His vision to your heart.

Keep it as simple as possible. One thing I have noticed about others’ vision statements is that they are first directed toward who I am, and then toward how God wants to use me to impact others. Jesus didn’t say “Sit at my feet and soak it all in for your enjoyment alone.” No, He said “Go into all the world . . .” (Mark 16:15). “Love each other” (John 15:12). So our vision statement should take us outside ourselves into the lives of others as well.

Here is my vision statement as an example: To live a life of intimacy with God such that others are inspired to pursue Him in a deeper way. Here’s another example (my husband’s): To live a life of faith so that my children, grandchildren, and others see that it’s the best way to live.

What excites me about my vision statement is that it gives me a context for understanding how God is working in my life. In ten years, I will be able to look back and see how God has sovereignly orchestrated my life toward intimacy and to see how others have deeper relationships with Him as a result. It can be applied to my relationships with my husband, children and others.

In addition, your vision statement is helpful because it will help you to remember what you are here for. When temptation comes or life becomes mundane, it is easy to lose focus. We forget or neglect to do the things that once propelled us toward our destiny in God. Let your vision statement be God’s perspective of you, and let it challenge you to keep pursuing Him even when it’s hard or boring.

"Once we lose sight of God, we begin to be reckless. We cast off certain restraints from activities we know are wrong. We set prayer aside as well and cease having God’s vision in the little things of life. We simply begin to act on our own initiative. If we are eating only out of our own hand, and doing things solely on our own initiative without expecting God to come in, we are on a downward path. We have lost the vision. Is our attitude today an attitude that flows from our vision of God? Are we expecting God to do greater things than He has ever done before? Is there a freshness and vitality in our spiritual outlook?" (Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest, entry for 5/9).

The Power of a Focused Life

by Mike Bickle

I. The need for vision and focus

Where there is no vision, the people perish. (Pro. 29:18) KJV

Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint (Pro. 29:18) NKJV

II. Components of a focused life

A. Overall life vision – primary purpose in life

B. Life goals – applying my life vision to each specific area of my life.
Long-term goals (over 10 years) and short-term goals (3 months – 3 years)

1. Spiritually (prayer time, fasting days, Bible study, etc.)

2. Relationally (family, friends, etc.)

3. Vocation (marketplace calling, etc.)

4. Ministry (in the church, outside the church, etc.)

5. Economically (spending, giving, saving, investing, etc.)

6. Physically (exercise, health, diet, etc.)

7. Rest (recreation, vacation, play, entertainment, sports, etc.)

C. Action plan – for each long and short-term goal in each area of your life.

D. Schedule – for each action plan, i.e., focuses us to prioritize. This is where our life vision most easily is derailed and lost.

The Lord says: "Awake, you who sleep, Arise from the dead, And Christ will shine on you." 15 See then that you walk wisely, not as fools but as wise, 16 redeeming the time, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. (Eph. 5:14-17)

Meditating on the Lord

The Reality of God’s Presence

Having the reality of God’s presence is not dependent on our being in a particular circumstance or place, but is only dependent on our determination to keep the Lord before us continually (Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest).

If the Lord’s presence doesn’t seem real to us, it is not He who has become less real, but we. The spiritual warfare we must do at that point is not to bring Him back, but to bring ourselves back to the ever-present reality of Him. It is to come back to a place of faith and trust from the unreality of doubt and fear.

. . . be satisfied with your present circumstances . . . ; for God Himself has said, I will not in any way fail you nor give you up nor leave you without support. I will not, I will not, I will not in any degree leave you helpless nor forsake nor let you down (relax My hold on you)! Assuredly not! So we take comfort and are encouraged and confidently and boldly say, The Lord is my Helper; I will not be seized with alarm (I will not fear or dread or be terrified). What can man do to me? (Hebrews 13:5, 6, Amplified).

This is not something we can do in our own strength. We cannot bring ourselves back to reality. We can only admit our complete dependence upon God and come to Him.

The underlying foundation of Jesus Christ’s kingdom is poverty . . . having such a sense of absolute futility that we finally admit, “Lord, I cannot even begin to do it.” Then Jesus says, “Blessed are you . . .” (Matthew 5:11) (Oswald Chambers).

“Blessed are the poor in spirit . . .” (Matthew 5:3).

This week at times the only way I have been able to reach out is through praying in the Spirit. In my own self, I have been completely at a loss. When you don’t know how to pray for yourself, when your perspective is off and you find yourself worrying, let the Holy Spirit pray through you. This is spiritual warfare. God will act on your behalf and restore your perspective. You may have to keep fighting for it the only way we can – by crying out to God like a babbling baby. God’s heart will melt, and He will come to your aid.

Praying in the Spirit

. . . the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express (Romans 8:26).

Choose a time of the day, every day (like the shower, in the car, whatever), and begin to practice praying in the Spirit. Let your mind rest and simply focus on continuing to pray in the Spirit continuously for five minutes, ten minutes, or half an hour. Do this daily, and over time you will see how God begins to give you His thoughts about Himself, yourself, and your circumstances.

Praying with Understanding (Meditating on the Word)

We cannot receive life from the Word if we read it and walk away. Hold it before you with these simple steps. They can be done at RHOP or at home, and you can modify the steps so that you can do it while driving, walking, or doing housework.

Choose a verse that is life-giving to you. Or one that you desire more understanding about. Then:

1) Read it
2) Write it
3) Say it
4) Sing it
5) Pray it

Spend as much time as you’d like on each step. When you reach step 5, start over again.

Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly . . . as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God (Colossians 3:16).

The Word of Christ will begin to dwell in you richly as you simply do this. You will begin to have manna from heaven not only for yourself but for others as well.

You can meditate on whatever verse(s) you want, but I suggest that you choose a passage and let it be the theme that your heart and mind return to over a period of time (a week or month). Here are a couple of verses that have encouraged me over the past few months:

For you have died, and your new, real life is hidden with Christ in God (Colossians 3:3).

For my determined purpose is that I may know Him: that I may progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him, perceiving and recognizing and understanding the wonders of His person more strongly and more clearly (Philippians 3:10).

I do spend some time on other verses as well, but I keep coming back to these. As you spend a longer time on one verse, the Lord will be able to reveal it to your heart more deeply and your thoughts will align themselves more and more to its reality. I’m even finding myself thinking these verses as my own thoughts and then suddenly realizing, “Oh, that’s that verse I’ve been meditating on!”

Free Time? What Free Time?

by Amanda Smith, 1/11/2006

A schedule is key to living a lifestyle of prayer. The reason is simple, if we don’t schedule it, it won’t happen. When we live without a schedule for our free hours, the principle comes into action that ‘what seems most important at that very moment is what we will do’. If we live according to our daily whims and wishes, we live for the moment and for the hour. But, on the other hand, if we focus our time we live with our hearts and lives set on eternity and a future reward, not momentary pleasure. A schedule brings freedom because it sets up a structure for us to operate in.

I love the freedom of a schedule for several reasons:

1. I get to plan my rest. I had thought a schedule would make me work 16 hours of the day, but to the contrary. I get to plan rest, time to hang out with friends, and even open hours when nothing is scheduled. My body and mind need rest, and with a schedule I find that I take better care of myself than without one.
2. I have a structure to return to. When I do deviate from my schedule, for whatever reason, I love to have a structure to return to. I check my schedule, see that it is my time to study the book of Isaiah or cook dinner or whatever, and I move on to doing so. I don’t spend time wondering what I should do, or sitting around doing nothing, because all of my time is designated for a purpose.
3. It’s not cast in stone. Occasionally you will find yourself updating your schedule in little areas. Every month you should reevaluate the entire thing. Are you following the schedule? What have you scheduled for too short or too long or at a bad time? Do you need more sleep or less?
4. I am pursuing my goals. A schedule allows me to choose my goals and to choose how I will reach those goals. I can decide if I want to learn a musical instrument, study a certain book of the Bible, pursue a certain career, or pursue certain friendships. I don’t live for the moment, I live for what I want to achieve in 1 year, 10 years and this lifetime!
5. I don’t always follow my schedule. I know that in general I will follow my schedule 80% of the time. Things change, I plan poorly and for whatever reason, I deviate from my plan. And, I have the freedom to do so, all in the knowledge that I have set goals and I am working towards reaching them.

So, I encourage you, make a schedule! Even if you only have 3 hours free time a day, set some goals of what you want to achieve, short and long-term, and start designating your time with what you want to do. Begin with the easy things – meal times, sleep times, work or school times and then fill in the rest. A schedule comes together very easily. Finally, find an accountability partner who will keep you on track with following your schedule. You can do it on your own, but partnering with a friend keeps both of you in check and lets you encourage each other.

Removing Distractions, Pt. 2

And those sown on the good (well-adapted) soil are the ones who hear the Word and receive and accept and welcome it and bear fruit – some thirty times as much as was sown, some sixty times as much, and some even a hundred times as much (Mark 4:20).

What does a life of “wholehearted and sincere and pure devotion to Christ” look like? How can we be ones who “receive and accept and welcome” the Word? Begin asking God how to remove the distractions that choke out the life of the Word in you.

Remember the analogy of a monastery. In my imagined monastery, everything has its purpose. Nothing is wasted. Every activity and thought is useful to draw us closer to God. That doesn’t mean that there is no time for fun and leisure. Simply, everything is submitted to Him and received from His hand. (In the end, we may find that we have more fun, because we don’t have any sense of guilt or entitlement or dullness when we are engaged in our favorite activity!)

Ask God what may need to go. You know what you do that is restful, recreational and life-giving. Those things are good and are God’s gifts to be enjoyed. But you also know what you tend to turn to for escape from life that draws you away from His presence and darkens your perspective. Those things have to go. They will hinder you from being with Him. Being with Him is life, and being away from Him is death. So these are life-and-death choices we are making.

And this is eternal life: [it means] to know (to perceive, recognize, become acquainted with, and understand) You, the only true and real God . . . (John 17:3).

One example from my life is books. Reading is one of my favorite ways to relax. During the first month of the year, I fasted reading anything but the Bible. I found that I had so much more time for God when I wasn’t trying to also make time to do what I considered “my” things. I began to wonder: should I keep doing this forever? And yet, I didn’t feel that was what God was calling me to. He desires obedience, not sacrifice (1 Samuel 15:22). And so, since then, I have cautiously added back in reading books. But I don’t just read whatever I want. I try to stay sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit, and I don’t make it a priority over spending much more time in the Word and prayer. Reading, for the first time in my life, has its proper place in my life: as a fun addition, but not the focus of my day.

Yesterday, by the time I put the kids down for their naps, I was nearly at my wits’ end. Tired of whining, complaining, and procrastination, my temper was short. I’m sure my children felt it. At that point I felt that I “deserved” to escape into some “me” time. I was tempted to pick up a book and escape for an hour or so. But the Holy Spirit gently drew me to spend time with Him instead. (I had slept late and missed my regular time with Him anyway, which was likely part of the problem.) So I listened to my five chapters of the Bible while putting on my makeup, and then sat down to journal-pray and read My Utmost for His Highest. By the time I was finished, God had restored my perspective, reminding me to lean on Him, to love my children out of His love, and not to rely on my own strength. If I had given in to escapism, would I been refilled with life for my family and myself? No. Instead, I would have made the problem greater by feeling sorry for myself. Instead of going to the Healer, I would have been licking my own wounds. Later I may have the freedom to enjoy a chapter of a good book. Then it will be something I can enjoy with God rather than something I’m using to hide from Him and my life.

There is another distraction that is so universal in our culture that I can hardly ignore it: television. This is an area that must be disciplined if we are to thrive in God. How can we stay focused on Him if we allow the world to set the tone for our home and thought life? I know many who do it in different ways. Each must ask God what it should look like for them. Some get rid of the TV altogether; while others limit the time and types of programs they watch. My family has felt led not to have television reception, while still enjoying DVD’s of movies that we have chosen. When we first made this decision, we didn’t fully comprehend the reasons. We just knew that we felt God calling us to lay this down. Now, over five years after having given up a regular diet of TV, we are still discovering how God is using this to protect and bless us in so many ways.

What is it that distracts your inner life from God’s perspective? Prayerfully consider any changes God may be asking you to make in your lifestyle. I mention my own convictions only as an example of what God has done in my life. It is not to put my particular choices on anyone else, only to encourage you that no matter how impossible, strange or counter-cultural it may seem, once you obey the conviction of the Holy Spirit, you will begin to grow in ways you never imagined. Eventually it will even begin to make sense!

Don't just remove something without replacing it with something else. Fill it with pleasures and joys from God's hand. Let Him be your joy. Good books, good friends, good movies, time with family, etc., are all gifts from His hand when enjoyed in and through Him rather than taken as a right we think we have. Enjoy!

Removing Distractions, Pt. 1

Parable of the Sower

Read Mark 4:3-9, 14-20, in the Amplified Version. (A practical aside: I love using the Amplified Bible during this season of my life. It is a great way for a busy mom to get a “quickie” word study.)

4 Types of Soil (Our Hearts & Minds)

1. Along the path – Lacking comprehension.
2. Full of rocks – Lacking depth. (The wrong rocks were put in first!)
3. Thorns and thistles – Distracted by cares & pleasures (mediocrity).
4. Undistracted & focused, much fruit. (Not mediocre! This one stands out!!)

Let us listen and hear (v. 9). Jesus wants us to pay attention (v. 3). If He is putting so much emphasis on this, He must intend for us to consider and apply it to our lives.

We’ve spent the last few weeks on #2. We have been learning to put the big rocks in first, focusing our lives around God rather than trying to fit God into the cracks and crevices. We are starting to grow in depth. Now we need to be aware of #3. This is, I believe, the greatest reason why so many believers live in mediocrity. We love the Lord, we read the Bible, and we may even pray regularly. But we are distracted by

. . . the cares and anxieties of the world and the distractions of the age, and the pleasure and delight and false glamour and deceitfulness of riches, and the craving and passionate desire for other things . . .

We allow these things to

. . . creep in and choke and suffocate the Word, and it becomes fruitless (v. 19).

It is a constant battle to keep the cares and distractions from creeping in. The “desire for other things” especially catches my attention. There are so many choices, so many pursuits, so many ways to spend our time and energy. No matter how good we get at the spiritual disciplines, if we continue to allow these things to creep in, it will all be for nothing. We may enjoy a measure of peace and victory over sin, but is that really all we want? There is so much more to us than that! There is a longing deep inside for so much more. We are the beloved of God.

. . . for I have betrothed you to one Husband, to present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. But I am fearful, lest that even as the serpent beguiled Eve by his cunning, so your minds may be corrupted and seduced from wholehearted and sincere and pure devotion to Christ (2 Corinthians 11:2, 3).

But there is hope! God is able to do in us what we cannot do:

The Lord sat as King over the deluge; the Lord sits as King forever! The Lord will give unyielding and impenetrable strength to His people; the Lord will bless His people with peace (Psalm 29:10-11).

The Lord sits over the deluge of distractions that are daily offered to us. He will give us strength. He will enable us to live in peace with our hearts and minds focused on Him.

Focus (Discipline) Your Mind

Now that you have a structure, consider what you are doing with “dead” time? When you are in the car, doing dishes, or folding laundry, are you worrying about the problems of your life, or are you redeeming the time? If you find that these are not life-giving times for you, seek God as to how to make it so. He doesn’t take a break; He is ready to fill us at every moment that we ask.

I am the Lord your God, who brought you up out of Egypt. Open wide your mouth and I will fill it (Psalm 81:10).

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit (Romans 15:13).

One thing that I do is listen to the Bible, podcasts from IHOP, sermon CD’s, or worship music. This is not to have it playing in the background, but to really focus my mind on it. Learning to discipline my mind, wash my mind, in the Word and in God’s perspective. I find that it doesn’t so much matter what it is I’m listening to (as long as it’s Biblical, of course), as it matters that it is taking my mind off of myself and on to God.

We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5, NIV).

Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word (Ephesians 5:25-26, NIV).

Another suggestion is to use that time to meditate on a scripture. Choose a scripture at the beginning of the day, or week. Ask God to bring one to your attention during your quiet time. Every time you find your mind beginning to wander or worry, recall it to that scripture. Write it down. Read it. Repeat it to yourself aloud. Sing it. Pray it. Then start over again. Allow God to penetrate your mind and emotions with the truth of it. Let it become life to you.

Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, NIV).

Structure and Set-aside Times

Who is this who comes up from the wilderness leaning upon her beloved? (Song of Songs 8:5).

Now, let’s get to the practical stuff. How do I live a lifestyle of leaning on my Beloved? I have the desire, but something needs to change. I have to live differently if I want to see Him live and move in my life and family. The first thing I want to suggest is having what I call set-aside times. Here is an excerpt from my blog earlier this year:

What I keep hearing today is that the work of life -- the laundry, etc. -- has to be done, but it's not what I was made for. So while I need to get it done, I don't need to structure my life around it. Instead, I need to schedule it around my life! I am made to be a worshipper. So the very first priority of my day is to spend time with God, and then everything else. Even in caring for my children, my first priority is to teach them to worship God. If these are truly my priorities, then that should be reflected in my everyday schedule.

So today I changed around my schedule to make room for going to RHOP more often. Also, I let the girls get up earlier so we could have worship time together while I fed Cedar. We read from Jesus Wants All of Me, which is the kids' version of My Utmost for His Highest. Then we read Matthew 6:33, 34. I told them about how God takes care of us. (I needed to hear that today too, as our financial situation is a bit strained this month.) We prayed together and sang a made-up song about God taking care of us. Then they read books on my bed and we listened to the Bible on CD while I finished feeding Cedar. After that, we got dressed, ate breakfast, I checked my email and put in some laundry, and we went to RHOP. I refused to let myself stress about how everything else will get done. Today we've put the most important things first. God will take care of the rest.

So first of all, write down your schedule. How do you actually live your days? Not how you wish you were living, but what you really do with your time. Be honest and unashamed. This is between you and God, and He already knows better than you what you do with your time.

Now, set that aside for a moment and pull out your Excel spreadsheet. You are going to begin to structure your life. Put in the “big rocks” first, and the little things will fit in around the edges. First, put in your set-aside times for God. Perhaps a bit of time in the morning before the kids wake up, or during nap time. Then add in the givens, such as meal times and nap times. Put down any family time, date night with husband, Bible study times, etc. Now fit in the other things, like chores, free time, and other activities. I have provided my schedule as an example. Keep in mind, my life rarely looks exactly this way. But this structure allows me to relax, knowing that there is room for everything. Each day I submit it to God for any changes and to add, move or subtract anything that needs to be modified to flow with His plan for my day and week.

Focusing Our Vision

I want to be very clear what this group is and is not about. What it is not about is our individual lifestyle choices or parenting styles. This is not a time to compare with one other in any way. What it is about is our heart’s desire to pursue God and encouraging each other as we do so. Of course, as we share we will be tempted to compare ourselves with each other. But we must not. We must protect each other and allow ourselves to be under protection. We must each live according to the conviction of the Holy Spirit. Only He knows our hearts, our families, our kids, and our husbands. Only He can speak life into our individual situations. Let us be careful not to get in God’s way as He deals with our hearts.

Criticism is one of the ordinary activities of people, but in the spiritual realm nothing is accomplished by it. The effect of criticism is the dividing up of the strengths of the one being criticized. The Holy Spirit is the only one in the proper position to criticize, and he alone is able to show what is wrong without hurting and wounding (Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest, entry for June 17).

When I began this year, I felt quite a bit of hopelessness. I desired more of God and yet felt hindered by my family responsibilities. I had no idea how to live differently. All I could see ahead of me was years of resigning myself to live for my family and ignoring my heart. But I cried out to God. And He has begun to answer! The result is life, life and more life to me and my family.

I have so much to learn. I am only beginning this journey. But what I have is a passion and, I believe, a responsibility before God to initiate conversation with other moms, that we may encourage each other in our pursuit of Him. To cry out together in the midst of our specific situations for Him to begin to show up, to move in our lives, and to see Him change us. Nothing I can say will change your life. I don’t have life for you, but God does! I can share what God has shown me. But I have no desire to make it a rule for you or even for myself. The whole point is that we each pursue God and His design for how we are to live our individual lives and minister to our individual families. If there is something God has shown me that quickens your heart with excitement, then by all means try it! If someone else shares an insight or resource God has given them, and God whispers, “This is for you,” then take advantage of it. But do not be condemned for being different. You are the Lord’s beloved, and He will be faithful to guide you in the path He has lovingly designed for you. Be free to run the race with Him!

The biggest thing that God is teaching me is to live with focus. That entails knowing what I am focusing on. As I asked God how to live differently, a concept welled up in my heart that I could hardly express in words. So, as I sometimes do when overwhelmed with emotion and unable to clearly express my heart, I wrote it down as a short poem:

A New Vision

A family of God
Loving
Worshiping daily
An atmosphere of invitation
Presence
Anything can happen
What next, God?
We're listening for Your footsteps
To be with You
Now

This is revolutionary for me. The focus of my home is not to be the kids, myself, my husband, the chores, or anything else. Our entire purpose and desire is to seek God. How do we live that out? That is my daily quest. My heart’s cry before God is that He would reveal Himself more and more in our days and teach me how to welcome His presence into our lives at every moment. Picture a monastery. Everyone who lives there has one purpose: to seek God. They work, play, interact, sleep, eat, worship, study … they live their lives in the presence of God. If they can dedicate their lives to seeking God in a monastery, why can we not do the same in our homes? Picture your family members as fellow members of the monastery. You minister with and to each other, but it is all with one end in mind: to know God. It is a complete paradigm shift. We are not living for our own pleasure or self-fulfillment. We are not primarily living to please our husbands or children. We are living to seek God’s heart. And from that place flows everything else: all of our words, thoughts, and actions. We will love each other from that place. We will be able to give more of ourselves that we’d ever dreamed possible, because we are coming from a place of complete weakness in ourselves but total reliance on God’s strength. Are we perfect? Of course not, but we are learning to lean on our Beloved.

Narrow Your Focus

Read Luke 11:9, “. . . seek, and you will find. . . .” and James 4:3, “You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss . . . .”

“If you ask for things from life instead of from God, ‘you ask amiss’; that is, you ask out of your desire for self-fulfillment. The more you fulfill yourself the less you will seek God. ‘. . . seek, and you will find. . .’ (Luke 11:9). . . . narrow your focus and interests to this one thing. Have you ever sought God with your whole heart, or have you simply given Him a feeble cry after some emotionally painful experience? ‘. . . seek, [focus,] and you will find. . .’” (My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers, entry for June10).

How can we focus our lives on seeking God? As moms, in the midst of the busyness of life, what can we do?

“To penetrate deeper in the experience of Jesus Christ, it is required that you begin to abandon your whole existence, giving it up to God. . . . You must utterly believe that the circumstances of your life, as well as the whole course of your life – anything, yes, everything that happens – have all come to you by His will and by His permission. You must utterly believe that everything that has happened to you is from God and is exactly what you need” (Experiencing the Depths of Jesus Christ by Jeanne Guyon, p. 32).

We must learn to be grateful in every situation. Whether or not we feel like it. Whether or not we like it.

Last Monday, I was looking forward to coming to RHOP. It has become sacred time in our family. Other things may come and go, but coming at least once a week is essential for me. I look forward to my date with Jesus. A little after 10am, we were ready and getting into the car. The house was clean (amazing!), the kids fed and dressed, and we were going to be only a few minutes late to RHOP. As I was getting the kids into their car seats, I noticed that Rayne’s was crooked. It wasn’t installed correctly! Half an hour later, it was down tight and we were finally ready to leave for RHOP.

Normally this situation would have caused a breakdown in my patience and a rising of self-pity and despair. “What is the point of even going now? I’m only going to be there an hour! I was looking forward to two hours!! My measly two hours a week, and I wish I had much more!” But as we had been going to the car, Rayne had asked me, “Why are we going to RHOP, Mommy?” She often asks this, but this time the Holy Spirit must have known I needed to hear the answer, because I not only answered her then with my standard answer, “We’re going to worship Jesus,” but I continued to answer her over the next half hour. As I was buckling her in (and starting to realize something was wrong with the seat), I added that we can also worship Jesus by having a good attitude and a happy heart. Gritting my teeth, I took a deep breath and chose to find out what God had for me in this circumstance. After all, I was going to RHOP to spend time with Him. Who was I to complain if He wanted me to spend part of that time with Him fixing the car seat instead? As I continued to tighten the car seat down (it took me three times of starting over to do it), I continued to tell her that we worship Jesus by being grateful all the time, even when things happen that we don’t like. I don’t know if she understood me, but my heart heard it. When, at 10:40, we were finally on our way to RHOP, I was truly grateful (at least, mostly) that I was still going to have some time there and that God had kept Rayne safe by bringing the problem with her car seat to my attention. My kids had a mommy who was still at peace, not frazzled and impatient. And I felt that God had won a small (for me, major) victory in me that day.

“Does it really matter that our circumstances are difficult? Why shouldn’t they be? If we give way to self-pity and indulge in the luxury of misery, we remove God’s riches from our lives and hinder others from entering into His provision. . . . self-pity . . . removes God from the throne of our lives, replacing Him with our own self-interests. It causes us to open our mouths only to complain, and we simply become spiritual sponges – always absorbing, never giving, and never being satisfied. . . .

“. . . learn to lavish the grace of God on others, generously giving of yourself. Be marked and identified with God’s nature, and His blessing will flow through you all the time” (My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers, entry for May 16).

This is what I want to learn: to "be marked and identified with God's nature" so that "His blessing will flow through me all the time." In every circumstance, to ask Him, "What do you have in this for me right now?" Even when the kids are whining, my husband is being hard to get along with, and I am out of sorts.

"Come to Me . . ." (Matthew 11:28)

“If I will simply come to Jesus, my real life will be brought into harmony with my real desires . . . . At the most unexpected moments in your life there is this whisper of the Lord – ‘Come to Me,’ and you are immediately drawn to Him. Personal contact with Jesus changes everything. Be ‘foolish’ enough to come and commit yourself to what He says” (Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest).

Have you heard that whisper? In a quiet moment, when your heart can be heard, do you hear the longing of your soul saying, “I want to; how desperately I long to come to you!” Listen. It is God’s invitation to you. Let nothing hold you back. He will show you how to run with Him, leaping over every obstacle. You need only come to Him in your weakness and inability, and ask. Hold up your arms and cry, “Help me!” And He will pick you up like a little child and carry you. He will teach you to walk, then to run and leap with Him.

“. . . there is no circumstance of life in which we cannot abide in Jesus. ‘We will come to him and make Our home with him’ (John 14:23). Put no conditions on your life – let Jesus be everything to you . . .” (Oswald Chambers, emphasis added).

When you do, He will invade your life! Eternity is being with Him. We don't have to wait for Heaven! We can learn to know His presence at every moment, starting now.

Desire

Lord, it is so difficult for us as moms to commit to anything for ourselves. Give us a holy determination to push through every obstacle. Begin to transform our perspective. Show us how much more You have for us, even today.

I have felt God call my heart to deeper intimacy. As a wife and mother, I felt that this was not practical for me at this time in my life. Having a short devotional time in the morning was often more than I could manage. So, for a couple of years, I tried to tell my heart to wait until my children are older. Finally, I could no longer stand it. In desperation, I cried out to God to show me how I can pursue Him even now. In His great love and grace, He has been providing tools and ideas to make it possible. I would like to share these with you.

I have talked with other moms who tell me that they feel the same way. One mom shared that God showed her that her children are like weights strapped to her arms and legs. She cried out to God, how do you expect me to run the race with so much to carry? He told her that she would not run fast, but she would become strong. So this is for any mom who, like me, needs the encouragement of others on this race (sometimes it feels like an obstacle course!) of godly motherhood.

I love this quote from Experiencing the Depths of Jesus Christ by Jeanne Guyon:

“. . . you may feel that you simply are not one of those people capable of a deep experience with Jesus Christ. Most Christians do not feel that they have been called to a deep, inward relationship to their Lord. But we have all been called to the depths of Christ just as surely as we have been called to salvation.

If all have been called, then that includes moms. I believe that mothers do not have to wait until their children are grown to pursue God in a deeper way. Let us encourage each other so that we will not grow weary on this journey alone.