Too busy for God?

If you have time for facebook, then you have time for God! 

I wrote this  blog a month ago and didnt post it and so it has a bit of then and a bit of now in it.

This blog is mainly for myself, but I am sure that almost every Christian can identify with it. We all have busy lives, but I feel that I  am too busy. Even though I do have a "quiet time" in the morning before the household awakes,it had dwindled down to once or twice a week at the most and wasn't very long and often I was  just "too tired" to get up that extra hour earlier.

All we have to do is look around us today to see the evidence of this sad truth. And where has all of our busyness gotten us? For starters, it's made us more tired, stressed out and sick. This is not the way to enjoy life! Plus, our busyness also effects our relationships.

A wise man once said, "If you're too busy to spend time with God, then you're too busy!" If we don't spend regular, quality time with those we love-- including God--our relationships will be shallow, meaningless, and unfulfilling.

I needed to make more time for God.
That night I was mulling  this over, wondering on how, where, to make more room for God, as my day is so full as it is. I really wanted to and it just didn't seem possible. This is  when I clearly heard in my spirit, " If you have time for facebook, then you have time for God".  It stopped my thoughts dead in their tracks! I realized that I fill in a lot of the gaps in the day with a quick facebook post here and a check check on what my friends are doing there.

The truth is that I had my my priories all wrong. I say had, as I am now writing in present tense again, although I am sure that there are many priories that still need adjustment.   I began to formulate a plan on how to put God first in my life and not to schedule him in a time slot. In my busy life, God had moved down the ladder. It was a gradual process, and I cant even say when it started happening.

That night I decided to re-dedicate my mornings back to God. I also need to slow this "time" down, to be able to get back to a place where I can be still and know that He is Lord. A time to listen. In my busy life,  my prayer and worship time had even become busy, and I had forgotten to "stop and smell the roses".
Since I have started re-dedicating a morning time, I have once again been drawn towards contemplative prayer. I know that I desperately need to listen to God, and really just soak in His spirit once more. My prayer life has also opened up and now it seems that my morning time is too short.

I was thinking again ( I do a lot of thinking),  on how I am now going to get up half an hour earlier as I didn't see getting up at 05.30 being very easy.
God has a funny sense of humour. In fact, I find Him very humourous.You see, I have started spinning again at gym, and the only classes I will be able to do are the 06.00am ones, which means I have to get up at 05.25 then, in order to get there on time.
The next challenge is what to do about my quiet time and spinning time on the same day. But I am sure if I leave it to God, he will find a way, and not the other way around, which is what I am apt to do.

As I begin my journey once again into contemplation, I will keep you posted. In today's Christian world, this is not regular practice, but it really is truly vital. Richard Foster writes how its in these small quiet times, totally alone that we truly begin to know who God is. The monks sure got it right all those years ago! I love his book Celebration of discipline and Prayer: Finding the Heart's True Home.

Its  almost 10pm and so time to log off and go to bed in order to go "spinning" tomorrow.

Winter wonderland

Been going through the book "prayer" by Richard Foster. This is a heavy book to read and so I am going through it in stages as I feel the H/S promptings.

Just finished the chapter called Formative prayer, which is the process of transformation to be Christ like.

He opens with this, which I fell in love with....The primary purpose of prayer is to bring us into such a life of communion with the Father that by the power of the Spirit we are increasingly conformed to the image of the Son. Isn't that such a beautiful way of summing up prayer.

He talks about how in our walk of eagerly pursuing God, we are slowly moulded and shaped bit by bit, IF we allow ourselves to be.

In fact as I read this chapter I saw myself, and realised that this chapter is where I am in life. How I am being drawn into Solitude. How I am being stripped away of all I hold dear to me, and also of parts of me, branches, you could say, that are dead.

I realise how much pride I have in me. I was so proud that "my calling" is prayer.contemplative, meditative prayer.Now I cant even pray the simplest prayer. There is no desire, nothing, its all flat flat flat. I began to think that that I was "so special" because I heard constantly from God. Now it feels like everything I say bounces and echo's back to me.

Its been months and months now like this. However I know that I am bathed in grace. I can feel it, sense it, KNOW it. God is good. He is loving, and He is kind. I am being held at an arms length, but its Him who is doing the holding and I am safe.

Richard Foster calls this the Blessedness of Winter.To the outward eye everything looks barren and unsightly. Our many defeats, flaws, weaknesses and imperfections stand our in bold relief. ( and in my eyes they are so glaring). But only the outward virtues have collapsed, the principle of virtue is actually being strengthened.
The soul is venturing forth into the interior. Real solitude,enduring virtues begin to develop deep within. Pure love is being birthed.

I cant claim this as my own as I feel nothing.As painful as this is, I must accept that this is where I am and humbly as God that through Christ, our Lord, that He continue the good work that He started.

I declared simply to God last night that I loved Him so much. He answered gently but loudly...Love is not enough, You (Karen) have to be obedient.