The Byway
-One mom's journey following the narrow path-
Have you ever had a dream that felt too big for you? Something that made you feel alive with excitement but then overwhelmed you with fear at the same time? God placed a big dream in my heart and my feelings of discouragement sometimes overwhelmed the joy I felt for that dream. It’s easy to become paralyzed by those negative feelings when we want something so badly and it seems far away. I struggled to get started because the end result was so daunting. A friend encouraged me to just start somewhere. To do one thing each day or each week to work towards the dream God had laid on my heart. I listened to her advice and began to take small steps. Even though some of those steps didn’t feel like they were making a difference in this dream, I quickly discovered that they were doing something else. Those steps were bringing His plans for me into focus. As I continued with the work He had called me to, I noticed that what I thought the end result would be had changed. Ecclesiastes 7:8 (NIV) says, "The end of a matter is better than its beginning, and patience is better than pride." I am learning that it’s important to be patient because God’s timing is not always what we are expecting. I realized that the end of this dream would be better if I let God lead me in the steps I should take. It’s wonderful to have a goal in mind, but we have to be open to the leading of the Holy Spirit. God placed a desire to write in my heart and I've been prayerfully working past my feelings of inadequacy. I'm learning that I need to just take one step at a time and then pause to listen. He will confirm or reroute us if we continue to seek Him in each step. Recently I wrote an article for The Joyful LIfe Magazine on walking through the wilderness. Out of fear, I almost didn't submit it. I'm grateful that I did because God used that article to lead me to a new friend. So do it. Take the next step and then pray. Our dreams will take shape through His leading and the end will be better than the dreams we imagined for ourselves. Heavenly Father, thank you for being with us on the journey. Whether we are on a clear path or walking in the wilderness, I pray that we will always see you leading us. I pray for courage to get started, to take the next step. Help us to continue to move towards You and not become complacent or stuck in fear. May we seek You and Your will for our lives as we move forward.
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My husband and I were talking about spiritual disciplines as we prepared for a middle school Sunday School lesson this morning. There were really 4 areas that we focused on - church attendance, prayer, Bible reading/study, and service to others. I would love to talk about all of those things, because they are important, but today I'm just going to focus on prayer. I've always loved to write and because of that, I have lots of journals filled with my thoughts and prayers. I'm grateful that I've chronicled a record of prayers for my kids to see one day. I want them to know that God is faithful and He is able and He hears us. It's fun to go back and see the ways in which God has answered my prayers. While I love to journal and still write down my prayers, this is an area in which I hope to grow. I've noticed that as life gets busier, my prayer life suffers. Social media is becoming more of a constant distraction (for me) and it has ruined my ability to focus and be still. I'm so used to the constant entertainment that it's difficult for me to just be.
I have a friend at church who I consider a prayer warrior. She truly pours her heart and soul into her prayers (those of you who know me, may know who I'm referring to, I often say she calls down the angels when she prays!). She believes in prayer and her first instinct when faced with something is to go to the Lord with it. I was thinking the other day that I wanted my prayer life to look like hers, so I started examining what I admired about her. She is a great example of someone who regularly intercedes for others, she prays big prayers and has faith that God will answer them, and she's intentional about praying. Intentional. I know that is the key, so I'll come back to that. I am learning a lot from her and I doubt she realizes it. The Bible tells us to "pray without ceasing" (1 Thessalonians 5:17). Pray without ceasing- not scroll without ceasing. I tend to do the latter. Being a prayer warrior means going to God first in all situations, it means setting aside intentional time alone with Him to talk and listen, it means turning your thoughts into prayers. I am famous for thinking about stuff all day long (or worrying about it) and not praying about it at all. God has been bringing this to light for me- gentle conviction. In order to establish a habit, you have to have self discipline. So how can we do that? How can we become prayer warriors? I am not an expert so what I am about to suggest, I am going to do too! If you need an accountability partner, so do I. Message me. I would be grateful for the help! Okay, on to some practical tips- start by scheduling a time to meet with the Lord daily, even if it's just for 5 or 10 minutes. If we are too busy to do this, we are too busy and something needs to go! Be sure there are no distractions, leave your phone in the other room, go in a closet or a room with no computer/TV. Start a prayer journal if you need to write prayers down to keep yourself focused. Don't know what to say? There are so many methods you can use! Do a little research and choose something that will be comfortable for you. Val Marie Paper has some great prayer journals and she has some great resources and blog posts on different ways to pray. I have lots of other resources I can share if you are interested. Reach out to me- I'm not an expert but I love to read, do research, and share what I've learned. Show up. That's the most important part. Show up every single day and God will meet you there. It might be awkward at first or feel unnatural. It will get easier and it will become more natural. Keep doing it. You will notice a difference in your life as this scheduled meeting becomes a habit. You will desire more time with the Lord and will find joy in praying. I am trying this right along side you this week! Let's do this. Let's meet the Lord in intentional prayer daily and watch Him change our lives and the lives of those around us. Follow me on Instagram this week to be reminded and encouraged (@thebyway) as we build a better fellowship with our Lord. Our life group is reading the book Whisper by Mark Batterson and the discussions have been so good. If you haven't heard of it, I encourage you to look into it. Mark really focuses on how God speaks to us and how we can listen and develop a discerning heart. There are so many ways that God speaks to us daily but we miss it because we are preoccupied with other things. How often do we scroll through our phones out of boredom, missing what is happening with the people right in front of us? There are so many things competing for our attention all day long. It's easy to overlook the seemingly small things in our day. Maybe we are too busy to notice that the same Bible verse has shown up twice in one day. I find that God speaks to me most through repetition (what that says about my listening skills I don't know!). The day to day monotony can hinder us from noticing the supernatural. This week, try to slow down and savor a little longer. Linger in the Word and have a second cup of coffee. Write down the verse that causes you to pause in your daily reading. Underline and share something that spoke to you in your devotional. Read that Proverbs 31 email and connect the dots from that to what you prayed about last night. His Word says "...If you seek Him, He will be found by you..." (1 Chronicles 28:9, ESV). In Whisper, Mark says, "Nothing has the potential to change your life like the whisper of God. Nothing will determine your destiny more than your ability to hear HIs still small voice" (p. 11). I really want to focus my days on hearing His still small voice and tuning out the loud distractions. I want God to change my life and guide me down the path that He wants me on. A path that includes dreams that are too big for me alone. You may not even know what you want or what to pray for- start there. Pray for God to reveal your bravest prayer. Ask Him to show you the desires of your heart that will please Him and lead others to Him. God gives us desires and those dreams can become a reality if they start with prayer. In order to hear Him, we must seek Him daily - in the trenches, in our jobs, in our chores, on our commutes, and in our relationships. Meditate on these words this week: "I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently find me" (Proverbs 8:17 ESV). Seek Him.
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Meet Christina
Christ follower. Wife. Mom of two. Here to encourage others by writing about what God is teaching me. Archives
April 2018
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