Sunday, January 3, 2016

before my feet hit the floor - a personal campaign




I will be the first to say that I firmly believe God is not in the business of beating people up.  I mean, we are His creation, made in His image, for Heaven's sake.  But, I can also strongly say I fail miserably at even meeting Him half-way more times than I care to count.  And then I wonder why I'm on top of the world one moment and down in the valley the next, which is nearly always based on circumstance. In other words, when I might be tempted to look "up" and ask Him where He is, or why He's causing my emotional shift, if I were honest with myself, I'd realize it's me.  Just me.

I started doing Beth Moore studies years ago, and I remember writing down a most profound quote of hers in the front of my Bible... Do you walk with God for His results or for His company?  I must tell you, my toes hurt for days and days after that one.  What is my true motivation for living in God?  And does that motivation warrant the very best of me?

I have been blessed to be a part of a Christian family for my entire life.  Church, and everything that goes with it, is what we did.  It was most certainly my lifestyle, because it was my family's lifestyle first.  As I continue to get older, it becomes abundantly more clear to me how that lifestyle must be a daily choice.  There are no parents in my house to motivate me.  I'm the parent, now.  It's not a Sunday and mid-week check-in.  It is a 24/7/365 choice.  If I desire to claim the power of God's son to be a light in the world, Monday through Saturday, then I must claim Him everyday, on purpose, without fail.  And that is why I've begun taking on this personal campaign. It's not so overwhelming that I feel like a failure before I begin.  It's just the right size that I can feel the difference.  And the difference it has the potential to make in my life is huge.

John was talking with a colleague a while back, and they were on the topic of social media and children.  He mentioned to John that every night, when his children go to bed, he puts their Bibles on top of their phones.  Not to be the mean parent, but to make a statement about priorities.

I was thinking about that the other morning before I got out of bed, rolling over to stop my morning alarm on my phone.  If I'm picking up my phone anyway, why don't I take one extra step, before I do anything else, and read the Word of God?  Just a verse.  A daily verse to pray, for meditation, a verse to comfort when life is hard, or to guide when my human self doesn't want to yield to the Spirit Who lives within me.

I'm calling it my "Before My Feet Hit the Floor" campaign.  I have committed to not stepping foot outside of my bed before I've called on my God.  And I have chosen to ask Him to speak to me through the verse before I even read it. There have been moments over the last week or so I've done this, that I could see a direct connection immediately between His words and a life situation. There have been other times I've seen it later in the day.  I just use the daily verses provided through my Bible Gateway app. Nothing fancy.

So, that's it.  Many of you may already do this, or you may do more.  Speaking for myself, I'm excited to continue to see the results God has in store.  But I'm even more excited to walk with Him for His company.  I would love for you to join us.

Happy New Year and may God bless you in 2016!
Jen



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