God First: Day 7-Find An Accountability Partner

Most of my GMG group

  

Day 7 Challenge:  Find an Accountability Partner

Day 7 Scripture:  Proverbs 27:17, Ecc. 4:9-10

“Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.”  Proverbs 27:17

“Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour.  For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow:  but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up.”  Ecc. 4:9-10

It’s amazing how much more you can accomplish when someone’s holding you accountable.  For me it’s my Good Morning Girls Group. We contact each other every morning (Monday-Friday).  I have to admit there have been a couple mornings I’ve still been in bed and I get a notification from one of these inspiring ladies and it encourages me to get up but also puts some extra pressure knowing they’re expecting me to post too.             

I suggest finding at least one friend-maybe more-that you can text, e-mail or even as we did set up a private Facebook group page.  Even if it’s just a simple “I got up and in God’s word this morning!”  It’s a start!  Ours started out this way but now it’s “This is how I can apply this scripture to my life…” or “This part really stuck out to me…”  Every now and then we’ll even have a post end with “Sorry about the book this morning!”

Some of these ladies were really just acquaintances when we first started our group.  But over the past year and a half we’ve shared prayer requests, struggles and victories! They have come to be some of my closest and dearest friends and now I can’t imagine my life without them in it.  I pray that everyone will find ladies as committed and uplifting as I have!  For my complete “story” on how our GMG group was created read here.

So what are you waiting for?  Call, text, e-mail, or tweet someone today!  There are SO many ways to communicate now there really is NO excuse!! Do you have an accountability partner(s)?  How do you keep in touch?

 

 

 

God First Challenge: Day 6-Find Your Solitary Place

Day 6 Challenge:  Find your Solitary Place

Day 6 Scripture: “And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed.”  Mark 1:35

So now you’re up and have your routine which hopefully involves spending some time with God so now that you have your Bible in hand where are you going to read it?

 

 

The Bible says Jesus found a solitary place: a place where He could be alone; a place where it was quiet and peaceful.   No TV, no cell phones, no other distractions just you and God.  For me that is sometimes my swing or sometimes a chair but always somewhere on my front porch. First of all there’s just something about being outside.  Something about seeing God’s power in the sunrise just makes it a little easier to feel His presence.  Secondly, I’m just a sucker for a front porch. If the world had a front porch, right?  Or even if more people had front porches and used them like they used to…but that’s another post.

 

 

Find a place where you’re comfortable…

A place where you won’t be easily distracted…

A place where God can fill you up and prepare you for your day…

Maybe the porch, a closet, a spare room, that favorite comfy chair, inside or out…

Where’s your solitary place?

God First: Day 5 Challenge- Establish a Morning Routine

 

Day 5 Challenge:  Establish a Morning Routine

Day 5 Scripture:  Proverbs 3:5-6

“Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.  In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.”

So we’ve gotten the motivation to get up (still with me on that, right?) now what do we do?

I have a confession to make:  I - LOVE - routine.  I’m not a spontaneous person. Those days where I go straight down my list and check everything off in order make me VERY happy!  Of course, if you really get down to it those are the days that rarely happen but I enjoy it when they do.  You may call it boring but I call it a sense of accomplishment!

One thing I’ve learned is that I can get up early and start my day the way I want to or I can lay in bed and let my kids, husband, the telephone or some other outside source start it for me.  I prefer to get up and do what I want to do even if it is just for 15 minutes! Tsh Oxenreider says it much better than me in her book One Bite at a Time:  52 Projects for Making Life Simpler.

“A methodical morning routine is a great way to treat yourself to a little soul care.  Instead of starting your day by responding to the stimulus around you, you’re proactively creating the day you want to have.”

Treating myself and proactively creating the day I want to have…I like it!  She suggests keeping it simple and finding 5 things that are about you and feed your soul.  I’m all about making life simpler (just in case you didn’t know ;) 

Here’s my simple morning routine:

1.       Get out of bed

2.       Get a cup of coffee (this one is not much of an option being as I can’t really do anything else until I have my cup of coffee)

3.       Grab my Bible and go out to the porch

4.       Pray

5.       Enjoy my time in God’s Word over my cup of coffee J

 

My prayer is that from the moment I wake up I’m seeking God’s direction for my life and trusting Him to guide my steps.  I love those days when I’ve finished my devotional time and can just sit and meditate and add a number 6 – Ok God in what ways can I serve you today? 

 

So how about you?  Do you already have a morning routine?  And an even more important question -Does it reflect your priorities and get your day started off right?    I’d love to hear your 5.

God First: Day 4 Challenge- Display a Verse

Day 4 Challenge:  Display your Verse

Day 4 Scripture: Deuteronomy 6:3-9

“Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe to do it; that it may be well with thee, and that ye may increase mightily, as the Lord God of thy fathers hath promised thee, in the land that floweth with milk and honey.  Hear, O Israel:  The Lord our God is one Lord:  And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.  And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart.  And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shall talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.  And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.  And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.”  (emphasis added)

I’ve always loved words.  I love to read and I love to write.  As Helen Keller said “Literature is my utopia.” 

Recently I’ve developed (from my Mom) a love for displaying signs and favorite quotes around our home.  Here’s a few we have around our home:

 

It seems like there are times that God just turns my eyes in the direction of a certain quote or sign right when I need it.  There are other times I’ve intentionally placed a scripture or quote right where I know I need to see it!  Either way we can’t just read the Bible like any other book and expect to really gain from it.  We need to meditate on what we read.  We need to talk of them when we’re sitting at the kitchen table, or when we run into a neighbor on the street.  They need to be on our mind first thing when we get up and last thing before we go to sleep.  This scripture even tells us to write them on “the posts of thy house, and on thy gates”. 

Hopefully by now you have your motivational verse that’s going to help get you out of bed and into God’s Word in the morning.  Now I challenge you to post it somewhere you will see it when that alarm goes off.  You may want to “dress it up” or even frame it.  You may just want to write it on a post-it note and stick it to your clock.  Just put it somewhere you will see it and it will serve you as a reminder.

And for those of you whom really want a challenge – memorize it!  Write it upon your heart.  Call it to remembrance throughout the day.  The more we read, meditate, see and talk about scripture the more likely we are to LIVE it!

 

God First: Day 3 Challenge - Pick a Verse for Morning Motivaiton

Day 3 Challenge:  Pick a Verse for Morning Motivation

Day 3 Scripture:  Psalm 63



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If you are a Christian chances are you have a favorite verse or life verse as some call it.  (FYI:  Mine is Matthew 6:33.)  The challenge for today is to pick a verse that will motivate you in the mornings.  I did this a couple weeks into my morning readings; my verse is Psalm 63:1:

“O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee:  my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is;” 

Go ahead and read this whole chapter it’s a good one! 

Have you ever been really thirsty? I mean REALLY thirsty? The kind of thirsty where only water can quench that thirst.  Spiritually speaking have you ever been really down and out?  Really needed uplifted and encouraged?  Really needed hope when it seemed like all hope was gone?  Sure we’ve all been there.  And I can tell you you’re not going to find that hope, encouragement and peace out in the world.  Nope, no water out there.  That living water is going to have to come from within you.  (John 4:14)

Reading Psalm 63:1 reminds me that I need God to fill me up with what I’ll need for the day.  Now I challenge you to pray and ask God to give you a verse to guide you through this challenge.  He’ll show you one.  Maybe it’s this one, maybe it’s another verse that has a special meaning to you.  Maybe it’s a verse you never really let sink in until you started searching His word.  That’s how it was for me.  I’m sure I’d read Psalm 63 before but it has become a lot more meaningful for me over the past year.

Now that you’ve had a refreshing drink of water- bring on the day!!

God First: Day 2 Challenge-Pray!

My personal prayer spot

Day 2 Challenge:  Pray

Day 2 Scripture:  1 Thessalonians 5:17  “Pray without ceasing”;




James 5:16 "Confess your faults one ot another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed.  The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much."

When I first started brainstorming and drafting these challenges I actually had “Pray” as a Day 6 Challenge.  Then when I got to writing Day 6 the Lord quickly showed me prayer needed to be moved up! I hope you prayed before you even started this challenge.  I feel quiet sure you prayed for strength before you drug yourself out of bed yesterday morning.  And I hope you will continue to pray everyday BEFORE you get into God’s word. 

The Bible is SO much more than just a book to be read.  It’s the only book meant to be read with the author present when you read it.  So before opening my Bible each morning I ask God to join me and show me what I need to get me through the day.  I ask Him just to fill me up spiritually for whatever I’m going to face because even though I don’t know what it may be – He does.

There’s SO much I could say about praying.  So many different directions I started in when I started writing this post but for the purpose of this challenge and starting off your day I decided on two things I wanted to share that I've learned about prayer. 

First of all, prayer is a conversation with God – It’s not my to-do list for God.  It’s a conversation between me and Him.  To have a conversation with someone involves both speaking AND listening.  So many times I wonder why God hasn’t answered my prayers then I realize that I haven’t been listening for His answers.

Secondly, it’s SO important to have your own prayer spot close by.  Mine is an oak tree in our back yard. Before our house was built, we lived in Louisiana. When I came home from Louisiana I'd usually take time to walk or ride the 4-wheeler over to where I wanted to build our home and pray under this tree that if it be God's will we'd come home and build a house here. The prayer was answered (praise God!) and we built the house and I started looking for a prayer spot. I really wanted a rock further from home but couldn't seemed to find one. One day I was walking with my ipod listening to a Beth Moore study and she asked "Where is YOUR prayer spot?". This was a difficult time right after I'd quit my job and I felt God drawing me back to my oak tree. I knelt down and prayed turning it all over to him. When I opened my eyes I saw an acorn and I realized that if God could take that acorn and make that HUGE oak tree he could take what little faith I had and accomplish great things. I picked up that acorn and it's still in my kitchen window as a reminder of how great my God is!  

I decided then that was my prayer spot and it was a good thing it was right at my back door!    

Anyone else have a special prayer place?

God First: Day 1 Challenge-Get Up and Look Up!

 

Day 1 Challenge:  Get Up and Look Up!

Day 1 Scripture:  “My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up.”  Psalm 5:3

Brrriiinnnggg!! Don’t hit that snooze button!! Get up!!  Christ rose from the dead for you the least you can do is get out of bed for Him! (I know- to some of you rising from the dead or getting up early – not much difference, huh?)  However, I challenge you to Show Him you love Him even MORE than your sleep!!  And that’s A LOT right???!!!

Ok that’s probably enough motivational sayings and exclamation points for the first day…

But seriously, this is going to be the hard part everyday for the next 15 days.  Whether you realize it or not when that alarm goes off you have a decision to make.  You can get up and look up as David did or you can hit that snooze button saying, “Sorry God I’m choosing a few extra minutes of sleep over you.”  

It may be a struggle to get up this morning and even tomorrow morning but I promise it will get easier.  I’m not guaranteeing that you will become a morning person overnight or even within these fifteen days but I can guarantee if you stay committed it will get EASIER.  Your desire to get up and have a few peaceful moments before all the chaos begins will begin to outweigh your desire to sleep longer.  Naturally speaking we have to get up and feed our bodies to prepare for the day.  You’ll find that there’s a need to do that spiritually too. 

So once you’ve made it up – look up!  Thank God for allowing you to wake up.  Thank Him for keeping your family safe through the night.  Thank Him for what He’s going to do for you and what He’s going to show you in His Word.  Because if you get up and look up, He’ll show up- I can promise you that…