Be Still

During the retreat workshop that Joanne presented on having a quiet time, she passed out several handouts.

One of them, a yellow worksheet, was titled "Quiet Quest for God: How to listen to God during your Devoted Time with Him each day".

The first section on that worksheet is titled, "BE STILL before Him" and describes what stillness looks like:

"To be still, we need to be undisturbed, calm and silent with our minds captivated by the thought of the Living God speaking, and wait for Him to speak."

I came across a devotional yesterday in the book "Streams in the Desert" by L. B. Cowman that spoke on the concept of stillness before God in this way:

(from January 30th)

"I will be like the dew to Israel" (Hosea 14:5)

"The dew is a source of freshness. It is nature's provision for renewing the face of the earth. It falls at night, and without it vegetation would die. It is this great renewal value of the dew that is so often recognized in the Scriptures and used as a symbol of spiritual refreshment...

...Quietness and stillness bring the dew. At night when the leaves and grass are still, the plants' pores are open to receive the refreshing and invigorating bath. And spiritual dew comes from quietly lingering in the Master's presence. Get still before Him, for haste will prevent you from receiving the dew. Wait before God until you feel saturated with His presence. Then move on to your next duty with the awareness of the freshness and energy of Christ." Dr. Pardington

What an awesome reminder in our hurried lives that we should plan time to do nothing but BE STILL before our Living God.

Learning Our ABC's

I homeschool my First Grade son, and most days I also have my 2 year old daughter, my 2 year old niece, and my 10-month old nephew crawling around at my feet. It's a delight to be a part of the constant learning experiences going on in my home.

But I have to be honest, it's pretty basic stuff. My son's counting money, learning to add and subtract, learning how to spell and read, etc.

And the little ones are learning words, recognizing letters, and beginning to count.

No algebra, no chemistry, nothing complicated or confusing. Just the basics.

Perhaps that's why I'm so drawn to the suggestion in our "20 Ways to Wake Up Your Quiet Time" to PRAISE JESUS FROM A to Z.

from the worksheet:

For example, "Jesus, You are amazing... Jesus, You are beautiful..." As you praise Jesus using each letter of the alphabet, spend time meditating on each word you use to describe Him. Thinking deeply about Him is more important than racing through each letter of the alphabet as fast as you can.

With the ABC song constantly being sung around my house, I am looking forward to spending some quiet time this week meditating on the ABC's of praising Jesus. Perhaps that will remind me throughout my day, as I prepare lessons and flip flashcards, that it's often very good for all of us to return to the basics. The simple reminders of how great our Savior is!

Jenny

How about you?

Add a comment with one letter of the alphabet and one praiseworthy attribute of Jesus, and let's see how far we can get here in our ABCs of Praising Jesus together!!

Learning to Hear His Voice

Have you been using the 3-Question format for studying Scripture lately? As we mentioned at Retreat, this particular format is the way Anne Graham Lotz teaches during her "Just Give Me Jesus" workshops.

If you'd like a refresher or if you were not able to participate in our Saturday Bible study workshop at our Winter Retreat, please visit AnGeL Ministries website to watch Ms. Graham Lotz present this Bible study method. The video runs about 30 minutes, but she lays out the method in the first 7-8 minutes, and the remainder of the video is practice!

Click HERE to watch it.

In addition, you'll find other helpful resources on her site, like several 3-question Bible study series. This would be very beneficial if you'd really like to apply this technique but just don't know where to start!

Click HERE to go directly to those resources!

As always, we'd love to hear how things are going with you at home! Is there a particular passage of Scripture that you've come to understand more deeply as you train your heart to listen for His voice?

Power Walking

Another great idea from "20 Ways to Wake Up Your Quiet Time":

GO ON A PRAISE WALK!

Thank God for everything you see. Take the opportunity to look closely at God's creation, praising Him for His creativity and the beauty of the world He's crafted.

After hiking for a while, find a quiet spot to read one of the many Psalms that describe His creation.

Isaiah 40 and Genesis 1 are two chapters that will help you focus your heart and mind on God's creative character.

We'd love to hear YOUR ideas, too! How are you finding ways to focus your heart, quiet your mind, and even stay awake during your devoted time with the Lord?

What's On Your Playlist?

(contributed by Jenny D.)

I've been enjoying some new music lately during the last few minutes of my morning prayer & Bible study time. This morning, I listened to the song, "The Reason For the World" by Matthew West and as the tears just poured down my face I was reminded of how grateful I am to God for the gift of music to remind us how worthy He is of our praise!

And I got to thinking... I bet many of you have some great music that really is speaking to your hearts right now like this song did to mine this morning.

Would you share one or two of your favorite songs? Whether it provides encouragement through a promise of Scripture or a challenge to become more like Jesus or a reminder of His great gifts... your song may be just the thing someone else needs to hear today!

(In the next few weeks, we'll ask you to share favorite devotionals, books, etc as well! So stay tuned!)

Think About Such Things

At Retreat, Sue shared a beautiful testimony of how she meditates on the Scripture passage in Philippians 4:8.

Philippians 4:8 is also referenced in the handout Joanne gave us entitled "20 Ways To Wake Up Your Quiet Time". The following excerpt is from that handout:

"WRITE OUT" a Philippians 4:8 list. What is lovely to you, worthy of praise, excellent, etc.? Hang the list in a place where you tend to be grumpy, such as above the washer and dryer or on the dashboard of your car for that frustrating commute!

Philippians 4:8
New International Version (NIV)
8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

Share with us a way you've been able to think about SUCH things this week! And thanks to those who have already shared personal stories and left comments on the first post of our challenge blog!

30 Day Challenge

At our Winter Retreat this year, Joanne challenged our ladies to take a 30-Day Challenge.

Commit 1 hour each day for 30 days to prayer, quiet time, and Bible study in God's Word.

Many of you took the challenge that weekend and have already been blessed by the commitment you've made to walk deeper with the Lord in 2012.

Now, we want to give you a place to share your hearts, testimonies, and provide encouragement to eachother.

In addition, we'll provide helpful hints from Joanne's teaching on developing your personal quiet time and will highlight stories from YOU, too!

If you have committed to spend the next 30 days devoted to going "Deeper" with the Lord through a daily devoted prayer/journaling/Bible study time, we ask you to leave us a comment here.

Tell us your name, what day of the challenge you are on, and how the Lord is working in your life through this time.

For instance, my comment might be:
I'm Jenny, and I'm on day 5 of 30. God is using this time to remind me to daily surrender my battles to Him. He is teaching me what it is to truly love others. I already can't imagine starting my day any other way than this hour with Him!

We can't wait to hear from you!
To God be the glory!!