On the QT: The 5 W's - When?

This is the third post in my series on quiet time.

If you missed the first ones, check them out: Who? and

Now comes the toughie:
When?

Checked you watch lately?
Days fly by and they’re over before we can say jackrabbit.

It’s hard to find any time when it’s quiet – and stay awake!

I’ve always heard

• “Spend time with God first thing in the morning.”
• “Give God your best – before you start your day.”
• “The day goes better when you start with God.”

I heard it so much I thought it was the 11^th commandment:

Thou shalt have quiet time in the morning.

But what if that doesn’t work?

The truth is this: God doesn’t punch a time clock.

He loves us and wants time with us – whenever is best for us.

If you work fulltime, early morning might work for you. It might not.

Some of us settle in with Him in the evening after things calm down. I fall asleep.

When your kids are down for a nap?

In the car? (Remember to pray with your eyes open!)

Maybe you grab spare minutes, catch-as-catch-can.

That’s ok - We have a 24/7 Father.

He welcomes you anytime, anywhere!

Do you have a set time every day? Fantastic!

Do you try to focus on Him for five minutes every day, whenever you can? Great!

If you desire to be with Him, He’ll work out the schedule.

Give Him what you have, when you have it, and He’ll bless you.

 

It’s hard to find time for God. How do you fit it in?

Do you have a schedule that works for you?

Share it and it might help the rest of us.

 

Share a comment and you might win a copy of Storms of Life!

 

 Photo Credit: pinphoto via Depositphotos 

On the QT: The 5 W's

 

 My desire in all I write and teach is to encourage others to bring God's Word off the page into their lives.

• Apply it.
• Live it.

But how do we do that if we can't set aside time with Him and His word?
 

Who has time?

 

How do we have a successful QT?
 

If you’re a nurse, you know it’s dangerous to use the Q word (quiet).
 

As soon as someone says that word, patient alarms go off everywhere, the emergency room fills up, and you’re on the run until you collapse.
 

It’s the same at every job, including working at home. Speak that horrible word and suddenly
 

your teenager has a crisis,

 

your toddler flushes a toy down the toilet,

 

hubby calls to say he’s working til midnight.

 

I don't know about you but, as soon as I settle down for prayer time,

 

that neighbor who talks without taking a breath calls,

 

the washer goes off-balance over and over,

 

someone drops by for coffee.

 

The phrase “Quiet Time” is an oxymoron.

 

Time and Quiet can't co-exist..

 

Yet our desire is to have undisturbed time with God.

 

I wish I could give you a magic formula but that ain’t happenin’.

 

I don’t have one.

 

But there are some myth’s that make QT a burden rather than a joy.

 

Hopefully debunking them will help you find your way to a meaningful QT.

 

Over the next few posts, we'll tackle the 5 W’s of QT:

• Who?
• Why?
• What?
• When?
• Where?

Time with God.

 

So precious, so needed, so hard to do.

 

Come along with me and we'll find the freedom to meet with Him in the way that's best for us.

 

Come along and we'll learn together!

 

 

Have you struggled to maintain a quiet time?

I have!

If you've been able to establish one, we'd love for you to share your ideas over the next several posts.

 

Photo Credit: Clogged Toilet 

Photo Credit:Gabbing woman

Feed the Fire!

Ps 119:105 says God’s Word is a light for our paths. I made the mistake of assuming the light was something God provided—I just walked along, taking advantage of it.

I missed the “God’s Word” part.

God’s Word can’t light my path by osmosis. What happens to a campfire if no one adds a log or some twigs to it? What happens to your gas stove if the gas is shut off? What happens to God’s light in our lives if it’s never fed?



We have to read it, learn it, and apply it. Spend time in it.

That’s the problem, isn’t it? Time: We all run out of it. We all need more of it

I’ve always struggled to have a consistent time set aside for God. I’ve struggled having any time at all!

 My days are so random, how can I ever have a set time?

        I only managed to sit with God three times this week. Why can’t I do better?

Every year I say, “I’m going to read through the Bible this year.” So I start in Genesis—I’ve read Genesis so many times I can quote it. I get bogged down and bored and quit. Do I always have to start at the beginning?

         How can I get my mind to slow down and to be still so I can hear God’s small, still voice?

Over the years, I’ve learned lots of lessons about how to build the discipline of a quiet time. Most important, I’ve learned that this time is so much more than discipline. It’s building a friendship with my Father. It’s finding joy and resting in Him.

Over the next few posts, I’ll share some of the lessons God’s taught me along the way. I pray they will light a spark within you to get to know your Father.

But first, I need some input from you...

Do you desire to spend time with God? What obstacles stand in your way?

When you do spend time with Him, what blessings do you receive?