5 minutes

Wow! I started this blog in September, wrote through the end of October and finally back on. It's been a crazy journey during these past few months...too many things to update on so....I am going to update you on my latest discovery!

5 minutes is all it takes to slow yourself down. At least for me that's all it has taken. I was talking with my accountability partner on Sunday night and trying to figure out how I can be more faithful with reading the Bible and have intentional time with God. As we discussed this we came to the conclusion that I have too many expectations of what I want my "intentional time with God" to look like. Therefore, each week that I don't do what I wanted to get done, I get disappointed with myself because I don't accomplish it. We continued to discuss this and she ended up suggesting that I just sit for 5 minutes and do nothing. I responded like this: "Do nothing for 5 minutes, yeah right, I can't sit for 5 minutes and do nothing." She said, "Well how about start with 3 then." I said, "No, I can do 5." I think that was her point exactly. Another thing I have been struggling with is just slowing down and being too busy, always filling my time with something. I don't know if I think that makes me feel important or what, but it was making me tired and unproductive.

Soooooo, this week I set a goal of sitting for 5 minutes literally doing nothing. I started the minute I got off the phone with my accountability partner. I was pumped for this week to start and to try this. I had faith in myself. I believed that I could do it and that it was an attainable goal. So, I was sitting on my bed, looking at the amazing painting of Jesus (named freedom) that hangs on my wall at the foot of my bed, painted by Bill Butler. I turned my phone over after looking at the starting time so I wouldn't be tempted to constantly look at it throughout this small amount of time of 5 minutes. I closed my eyes and wasn't thinking about much. It was so peaceful and calm. I totally felt the Lord saying to me, "You are free." Funny how that painting is called freedom (but at the time i didn't even think about that, it wasn't until i was journaling later that night that I had remembered that). And...the 5 minutes actually turned into 8 by the time I felt ready to look at my clock. WOW I thought, that was way easier than i thought. I could have even stayed sitting there so much longer.

I have continued this 5 minutes throughout the week and consistently it has turned into 7 or 8 minutes and even 10 minutes one day. This is amazing to me that I can sit and do nothing when I have always been someone who needs to/wants to be busy, for what reason you may ask, i have no clue. But i wish someone would have given me this strategy sooner. But I guess God knew when I needed it and this was definately the week for that!

I know that God commands us to "Be Still and know that He is God" but for some reason, I never knew how to "be still". I mean of course at times I did but more often than not I would run from one activity to the next.

This "5 minutes" has taught me many things. It has taught me to have less expectations of myself, not want to be in a hurry to get things done, less rushing, and be on the run all the time or filling my empty time with activities. The cool thing about not filling my time with activities is that I had 3 hours this evening before I have to go to Immersion. I was thinking, what in the world am I going to do in those 3 hours. God told me to rest, to do nothing. I had thought about going to the Blitz, but is that really what I want to do or do I just want the free food and to fill my time? Of course I want to learn about what they are studying but my initial motives are probably not right AND I don't need to fill all my empty time.

This "5 minutes" has also given me lots of opportunities to rest this week, and I have taken them!!! This is an amazing concept to me. To some you may already know how to do this but for me it is a new concept. Okay, well not a "new" concept in the fact that I just learned that people actually take quiet time and just time to rest, but new in the fact of how to do it and of me actually doing it. I have actually been productive this week and not rushed. I am not overly stressed about things I should be stressed about and not feeling too bogged down with activities.

What an amazing concept...LOL It's all about a matter of slowing down the body and mind. It's about saying no and be okay being alone, having quiet time or just doing nothing and not feeling guilty for doing nothing or like you have to be doing something. It's amazing and has changed my life already and I hope you will look at your life and slow down and be still long enough to hear what God is trying to speak to you. I have several busy work weeks ahead of me and I definately feel like God is slowing me down, preparing me and teaching me how to rest now so in the midst of those busy times i know how to rest. I pray that you take some time this week to rest as well and not be so busy in this world that tells us being busy is what makes us successful!

Created in His Image

Last night I was helping out with Powerlife our 7th and 8th grade confirmation program and our senior pastor spoke on creation the first couple chapters of the Bible...Genesis 1 and 2 about all the things that God created in the beginning. He talked about how after God created them he said..."and saw that it was good." We are part of God's creation and he created us in "His Image" (Genesis 1:27). This means that He created us to be like him and act like him. Not only did he create us in His image, he saw that we are good. God was a generous, loving, non-judgemental, accepting man. So often we are pressured in school, at work, from friends and/or family to be someone we're not. Especially in 7th and 8th grade. I pray for these middle schoolers through these tough years that they would hear God's word and know his heart for them. That they would resist temptation from the enemy and falling in the trap of trying to be someone they're not. It's hard in this broken world not to fall into that trap because there is always someone saying...."hey if you were only better at that" or "I wish you would do this..." These are the traps that we all fall into and we end up doing something that we may have never wanted to do or that would make us someone that we are not. Please Lord, speak to these students and everyone in this season.



On the 7th day the Lord rested from all of the work that he had completed. As the 7 days of completion were demonstrated by students last night, the last one just stuck out to me today. God rested on the 7th day. This is a huge reminder to me that I need to take a day of the week to rest. I work so hard on the other 6 that I need to rest, take a sabbath and keep that day Holy as God did. Too often I am running, running, running and I get run down. I get so run down that I am exhausted and not even wanting to hang out with anyone or talk to anyone. That is not a good state to be in. Luckily that hasn't been the case lately but it was a wake-up call last night that I need to continue to take a day of rest and just kind of "chill". Thank you Lord for the amazing things that you are teaching me in this season. I pray for the middle schoolers and all the leaders that they get rest and that they don't try to be someone they are not. I pray for protection over them. Thank you for your creation and your works. I love you Lord!