Tuesday talking and priority time

 

Happy Tuesday, friends! I thought I'd share something else exciting I have going on, but before I start, I want to tell a story. I love listening to podcasts, as you know, and last week I was listening to Tara from The Bible Recap and she was talking about the book of Jeremiah, which is where I've been reading. I haven't read this particular way, but I've read through the Bible chronologically for years, and this plan is similar. In it, you read a few chapters each day, then you can listen to her less than 10 minute podcast to recap what you've read. I love this and how the recap is short each day. In each episode, she talks about her "God shot", which is when she shares how something jumped out to her as she read. She also talks about her morning quiet time and how she calls it her priority time. I'm going to take a note from her and start calling my time with the Lord the same, hence my title for today.

I mentioned my priority time this weekend in yesterday's blog post. One of my favorite things to do is to sit and read the Bible, soaking in God's presence. And before I forget, I'm going to share a song I love and heard recently for the first time. You all know that I love listening to worship music in this time each morning, which is why I share this song now. It's called Nothing Else, and it's by Cody Carnes. Here's the lyric video from YouTube.

I got used to having to rush through this time while I worked full time last semester, so I really love just being able to sit and savor the time with Jesus. I love not having to rush off, to just spend time reflecting on what I've read in the Bible, and writing about it in my journal. I like to do that as I read; I read in Jeremiah chapters 4-7 the other day and just wrote down the things from each chapter that stood out to me. Doing this serves two purposes: one, it helps me to pay attention. Secondly, I like to write things down so I can remember why something stood out. I'll share the verse number, or sometimes I'll write it out, but I also like to share why it meant something special to me. For instance, when I read this the other day, it reminded me of my mom-in-love.

Her best friend died on Sunday and is now seeing Jesus face to face. She was fine last week, even as recent as Friday morning, but that afternoon she had an aneurism that ruptured and she never opened her eyes again after she was transported from one hospital to the next. These verses reminded me of my mom-in-love because they speak of how God comforts His people, and I knew Phyllis would appreciate the reminder of what He promised. I know I would, if I were in her shoes, which is why I like to encourage people. 

Encouraging people is also high on my spiritual gift list; do you know what your spiritual gifts are, if you're a Christian? If not, here's an excellent article by Focus on the Family describing what they are not, followed with Scripture to explain a little more, and finally a test from Lifway to take to find out your gifts. I say gifts (plural), because with most tests, you'll discover your top three. You should take this and find out what yours are, if you don't already know. I'd love to hear what yours are! My top three are faith, discernment, exhortation (encouraging), wisdom, and knowledge. I mention five, because when I took this, exhortation, wisdom, and knowledge had the exact same score. 

Anyway, when you think of the Baker family and my in-love's, will you pray for them? Thank you so much.

When I write things down that stand out to me as I read, here's what it might look like.

That was what I got out of Jeremiah chapters 1-4. I stopped at the beginning of chapter 5, and picked back up the next day. This also reminds me of where I've read and where I need to pick back up. I saw this on social media yesterday that was in my memories and thought I'd share it here as well. It's for those times when you're reading in a difficult part of the Bible and need something to supplement with that's a bit more uplifting and encouraging. If you've ever read chronologically, you know that going through the Kings (1 & 2 Kings, Chronicles, and parts of some of those prophetic books) and some other books in the Old Testament are just plain hard. I'm talking to you, Leviticus! (I say that jokingly, because every word and book, difficult as it may be, is there in the Bible for a reason and is vitally important. I know that Leviticus teaches all about keeping things holy.)

Here's what I said about this on social media a few years ago.

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Sometimes when I don't love where I'm reading in my Bible reading plan, I need additional resources to help me along in my quiet time. I picked this up at church last week. I loved today's page: it was titled Hope Blossoms. I needed to read this today! I've been feeling "off" all week long in all my relationships. Do you ever get like this? The issue is with me and my own heart, nobody else. I pray and I read the Word of God, but I don't always feel His presence, if I'm being honest. And some days just suck. Being tired has a lot to do with it, as well as feeling bad with a sickness or headache. 

I think almost all of us would say that we can easily become discouraged; what's important is how we handle it when such times come. Here are some things that help me when I get like this: 

1.) Continue to pray or to be prayerful, even if it's the last thing you feel like doing. 

2.) Keep on reading the Word of God, even if you stray from your plan. 

3.) Lean on those you're closest to: your husband, your friends, sisters, whoever. Communicate and tell them how you're feeling; we aren't meant to walk through life alone and without sharing our struggles. 

4.) And lastly, SHARE YOUR STRUGGLES. When people ask how you are, be truthful. None of us are perfect and nobody will believe you're "fine" when you've got smudges in your makeup from tears or if your face reflects your heart. I tend to completely withdraw from people. I clam up and keep all the emotions inside. That isn't healthy, so don't follow my example! Talk to someone. Tell someone you just need someone to listen, not to solve whatever is wrong. 

These times are hard. On the grander scale of things, we could be worse off, yes, but it's still hard. People are mean. Smiles are covered by masks and people are mean about those too! More than ever we need Jesus and His continual presence and peace. If you don't know Him, I don't know how you're standing. Life is hard even with Him, but without Him? It would be impossible.

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The same words prove true still today, three years later. And all those things I said then? They're even worse now, it seems. I don't want to dwell on the negative, though, and for my own wellbeing, cannot do that. So, I tend to look for the good that I see all around me, whether in sunsets, worship songs, the smile of a kid I had in class last semester when he saw me in the bookstore on Sunday, or in the simple joys that our dogs bring to me. Reading the Bible is the number one thing that helps me, though, along with talking to Jesus about #allthethings. There is nothing wrong with reading a devotional, either. We're all at such different stages in our spiritual journey, so while something works well for me, it might not be your thing, or vice versa. The point is, spending time with Jesus is the most important thing you could ever do, no matter the time or how you go about that. 

Lastly, look what came in just in time for us to start studying tomorrow!

I'll never get over the incredible privilege it is to help write Bible studies for women. You may wonder why we do this when there are so many incredible studies out there already written - the short answers to that are the fact that our Pastor wants us to do this, so we will continue for as long he wants, or until the Lord tells us to stop. Another reason is that the Lord has called us to do exactly this, and we'll continue to write for His glory, so that we can teach women how to study the word of God, using the word of God. He doesn't need our words for this, but He is kind to let us have the opportunity to help show women how to dig deep into the truth of His word. As I often say, we won't know the lies of the enemy if we don't first know the truth of Scripture. 

Are you local to me and interested in joining? Do you want to start a small group in your home and have access to the internet and a computer? In a few weeks, you'll be able to order this online and use our YouTube channel to watch the teaching videos. If you want to join us in person, we would love to have you! Comment, and I can send you the registration info today. We begin in person tomorrow, August 16th, and we have two different options on times: Wednesdays mornings are from 9:30 - 11:30, and Wednesday evenings are from 6:30 - 7:30 at Collierville First Baptist Church. I'd love to see you there! If you attend church with me, these are for sale now in our #CornerstoneBookstore and will be available for purchase the day we begin. 

If you want to place an online order instead, in a few weeks you'll be able to purchase one from Bookbaby, and in about eight weeks, you'll be able to purchase one from Amazon. The minute that these become available online, I will let you know. #JudgesOrdinaryPeopleExtraordinaryGod

Thanks for reading my blog, friends! I pray, as always, that these words encourage and inspire you in your own priority time. Love to all! 🖤