Weekend Challenge--"Quiet Times"

The prior pic post was actually a segueway into this post...my challenging post for the week. (I like to do that going into weekend. Everyone else is leaving something light and humorous for people to find...then, there is my post, wanting something thoughtful on my mind so that I can play hard and still mull something significant -- multitasking at it's finest.)

Subject: "quiet times".

To begin I'm going to start out by disagreeing -- arguing with the standard. Be prepared to have your wits rattled a bit.

I've been trying to hit this "regular quiet time" thing for about seventeen years now. That's a long time. I've attacked that goal with more fervor than anything else in life. I want to know God and live a life for Him, and do what it takes to get to that point. Not there yet, but that's the goal. As I see it, seventeen years or so makes a person somewhat of an expert. (Okay, so just humor me anyway).

Disclaimer: I've only tried to establish an effective "quiet time" for myself and not anyone else!

Why that is significant is entirely my point, actually. Some say, if it works, it works. Do it my way and it will work for you. Well...sort of.

Maybe.

Not necessary.

Yes, you have to start somewhere and guides are helpful.

Let's consider this method--the one most frequently advocated. The "same time, same place, first thing in the morning, everyday, hitting it all at one time method". I actually wonder if it really works that way for anybody, but that's not something I can prove just yet, so we'll leave it there as a model.

I think this model can develop a high fail rate. It did for me. If felt like I was not getting much of anything "done" they said to do...so I was not as super-godly as I needed to be to call it a real quiet time. I was seldom able to hop up out of bed early before the alarm (or even at the sound of the alarm), stay focused, and get it all done. If I missed "the time, the place, the spot", I just skipped the whole thing and called it a missed day...a failure.

The pattern and the suggestions are only meant to help you establish a habit. If you miss the ideal...what do you do? What do you do in college if you miss your regular study time...skip it altogether? You could try that. A few times.

So, life gets busy and sleep gets lost, and the ideal is gone...what then? What about when family gets sick, you get sick...you get pregnant (okay, some of you)...what then? What of the "regular quiet time" that's supposed to carry you through? Do we just rely on the past regular quiet times during those seasons? Sure! I can!

For about 10 days.
Then, what?
I'm dying a slow and painful death it feels like.

Here's what I think. Big revelation coming up right here. Get ready. Are you paying attention? Okay, then.

You find what works...for you... And you do it. Often.

I ran into this same concept with trying to stay in shape. As a young mom, I could not do everything, but I realized that was keeping me from doing anything. Yet, I realized that was a cop out...I COULD do something. I decided one day looking in the mirror (not so happy about what I saw) that every time during the day I thought about it, or it bothered me that I hadn't lost my pregnancy weight, I'd drop and do twenty situps right then and there. Or go somewhere and do it (okay, well not in public). There is usually somewhere closeby you can have one minute of privacy many times during the day. Say I had that thought 4 times during the day. That's a full set.

Was that a full workout... or all I needed? No, but it was inspiring, responsive to the need, and got me started again. It kept me from wasting time and emotional energy complaining and got rid of the feeling of being out of control. Making progress of any kind built a desire to add more --to cut things out of other areas until I had time to be healthy again as I progressed.

Perhaps we avoid our quiet times because of the same type mentality. I can't do it all. I don't have time for it all. I don't know what to do exactly. I'm not...

Think about Jesus. He wasn't out there with his hardback journal filled with inspiring quotes, studies, a Bible, and his prayer list. There are some differences comparing ourselves to him I suppose, but even still, I don't see him advising us to work down some list necessarily and calling that an ideal quiet time. Good things to consider to keep us well rounded. But, don't get stuck there.

I liked wondering what he may have done...rock wall climbing for all I know....he was always at "the mount". He had a big time, I think. He horsed around a little (obeying God, but not in a boring way), did the unexpected! Enjoyed being with God--doing something totally whimsical, powerful, odd, and not just for the sake of being different...to reveal who He was. I often don't calculate the unexpected things in my "quiet moments" enough. It didn't matter what he was doing, who he was praying about, what he was studying. God led, filled, empowered him for the next thing.

For us, yes, we need time in the word and worship and all the other well recommended disciplines. We need the pen and paper and record at times. BUT, that does not constitute the only kind of quiet time. The kind that takes us back to a precious place.

When we will do what it takes to fit it all in, just as we would cramming for a test in college? My! I'd get sick for some tests...but that didn't stop me from studying. I'd just sit on the toilet with my notebook and keep rehearsing the material. Do I still have that kind of passion and fortitude with something eternally more significant? To stay up late and get up early and shove it in anywhere and everywhere...to live it and breathe it? Quiet times can be times of angst, of joy, of study, of free thinking, of intercessory prayer. Can you do it all of that in one sitting?

I just can't...too much.

But, I blog with Him in mind.

I clean house to be more hospitable.

I see Him in the yard as I work.

I take care of my family and sense His joy in it.

We discussed Wednesday in our MasterLife group that one poll found that the average Christian gives God 2 minutes a day. I thought, you've got to be kidding me! We've got to stop thinking inside the box.

I was mentored by someone who said to me once, "I pray all day as I go."

I just now view my quiet time and my life a little differently than I used to. The 15 may be the assignment time...but the rest of the day is walking it out and talking it out with Him! All of it. The author said in our text that our goal was to be 15 minutes with Him a day.

I sure hope that's just the 15 minutes of assignment time. It's all with Him. "LORD." That means "Lord"...with him all the time. The quiet time is just to tune in--the beginning, nOt the end.

Perhaps it's the same difference in learning the joy of tithing 10% as opposed to realizing later that EVERYTHING works best when under His stewardship? I was thinking that I'd never ask my husband to give me 15 minutes a day. I we are talking about face to face conversation...yes, I can see that. But, my whole day is about family. So is his. We expect to be considered in each other's planning, work, and purchasing. It's a joy--we all work together. Family all the time. Our identity. Who we are.

Let's see: last week--what was my favorite quiet time? Well, I had several favorites last week (I'm getting out of the box.) But, one day in particular, I was down. I'm still not exactly sure why (probably hormones), but I decided to do something I love to do during my time with the Lord that day...scrapbooking. I got out my colored pens, some bright textured papers, ribbon. I began to write on the papers in different writing fonts any verse that came to mind, especially ones I needed to hear. When I was finished, I punched a whole in them, installed metal grommets, fed the ribbon through, and made a little booklet. That gave me joy...creating with scriptures in focus. That was the best quiet time I could have had that day. We had fun for a minute. I'll probably end up giving it to someone. I didn't care if the verses were 100% accurately quoted or not or if the scripture references were there. It was about lightening up and still focusing.

We don't teach beginners this: How to survive the days you are not "on" for the discipline.
last week I chose to cherishing his word and working with it with my hands when my heart wasn't quite ready, engaging however I could, whatever it took. Just a waste of time with crayons? No.

I love the way Beth Moore often talks about loving the sound of pages turning in her Bible. You know the sound...that tender, crisp, delicate sound of a Bible page turning. The feel of that binding in the palm of your hand. The weight of the eternal words of God resting on your lap. It becomes comforting...just the book itself, having been rescued by it so many times. Delight!

I suppose the discipline has to come first to find your way. But, oh! Look forward to the day when you just feel compelled to go meet Him. To go find your place. To see Him in a camera lense on an early morning in the sunrise, to find Him in your favorite blessings, pouring out his love on you. It's really okay to soak in it. Bask in it, for a moment. Take a moment to see Him in it...lay down the preconceived ideas of what godly time is with him. Embrace all the joys and pleasures and affections he lavishes.

I journal, not to discipline, but to take a peice of it that precious time with me--to preserve a bit of it...the favorite time of my life and day.

Someone told me yesterday they were getting tired of an assignment to read the same scripture over and over again. I do, too! Switch translations! Break the familiarity fog. Learn how to find the joy, to awake your brain, to create, to make it beautiful.

Tell me something new you tried if you want to. I hope to hear about it, or fun things you've done that are memorable. In discipline, just don't be afraid to add fun here and there! You'll be glad you did. Get creative! Just find Him.

~Me!