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Why this isn’t a blog about physical fitness….

IMG_5402You will never find inspiration here for heading to the gym. Just so we are clear.

Oh. I go.

But it is with steely determination, abundant prayer and multiple pep talks.

I am not athletic. As in…I not only am not athletic, I lack all desire to be athletic.

If you ask me what position or participation I want in any given sport, my answer will always be … spectator.

You will never hear me say things like “I want to train for a marathon”…or 5K…or jog around the block.

I can and will walk MILES…and love every minute of it. But that is the extent of my athletic endeavors, except for golf which is only because I get to spend several hours walking beside Russ and yakking his ear off while occasionally shocking both of us with a not-too-bad hit…or whatever you call it.

So after a string of legitimate excuses to NOT attend the Piloxing class for most of the summer…I went last night. I could no longer nurse my healed toe, fake a congested cough or rig up a conflict on the calendar.

Don’t get my wrong – I love the teacher. She is the most encouraging and positive instructor I  have ever encountered. The class is nice. The music is tolerable. And once I am there, it really isn’t so bad.

But not great enough that I won’t be having to gear up mentally again come Wednesday.

And have mercy…I am so out of shape and sore today because of my slack off this summer. But again…even knowing what reentry would be, I could not motivate myself to exercise on my own.

I used to be like that spiritually. I was hit and miss with my Bible reading, prayer, quiet time…basically the spiritual disciplines. I would go along until I hit a wall and then I would get back into the Word.

As soon as I felt strong again…I would become lax in reading, praying, meditating God’s Word.

Until the walls I hit got big enough.

Until the desire to know Him became more important than getting over/through/around the next crisis.

Until NOT being in the Word became my crisis.

So that’s my thing now.

To encourage you…to stay in His Word…which to me means, making a set time every day to read Scripture, to jot down some thoughts about what God is saying to you, to find some devotionals …. or inspirational writings…or hymns….or a study….and do it.

Every day.

Faithfully.

My bag is packed and I pull it out every morning…yes, there are some mornings that I have to hurry through…but I pull it out and do what I can…and since this IS a blog about exhorting you to spend time in the Word and develop a routine…here are my standard tools for 2015….

  • The Siesta Memory verse…one verse memorized every two weeks – see LPM website and sign up…it’s never too late. Get an accountability partner or two and text your verse to each other on the 1st and 15th of the month (men…you can do this…just find a Bro Memory group….)
  • Oswald Chambers “My Utmost for His Highest”….I had set this one aside but dug it out this year when one of my millennial sisters kept quoting it to me….
  • Streams in the Dessert…again…someone shared a few quotes and I got mine back out and in the bag
  • Our Daily Bread – a perfect little devotion that gets you in the word of God with a small meditation…don’t skip the Bible reading!!!!
  • Derek Prince -” Declaring God’s Word “
  • Reading a few pages of “The Ragamuffin Gospel” by Brennan Manning
  • Writing out my own prayer most days
  • Some other favorites that I keep in the bag but don’t use every day….are The Valley of Vision/prayers of the Puritans and a notebook I use to write down the lyrics of hymns and praise songs that I love…which are a lot of them….=0)

That may look like a lot…but honestly….it takes me about 30 minutes.

30 minutes…as in the length of a TV show or the nightly news.

Most mornings, it is like Oswald, Derek, Brennan, the assorted writers of Streams and ODB had a strategy meeting in the Spirit and have been apprised of my circumstances….God is thematic and speaks the same word to me through all of them!

This is what MY workout looks like…yours will be entirely different and tailored to YOU…
IF you will only seek God and ask to help you.

I just urge you to do it. Do something to get in His Word and get His Word into YOU!!!

Believe me, when we had the boys this weekend, I was reminded why I used to get up at a ridiculous hour to start my day…when you have small children you will have to be creative about your “quiet time”…but pray and ask God to open a window for you!

Now let’s get out there and do this thing!!!

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2 Comments

  1. Thank you for your list of suggested readings. I must get back in a routine as well. Love your blog. Keep it coming!

    1. Thank you Nancy! Glad they are helpful and motivating to you! The most important part of the whole thing is God’s word so definitely start there! I used to just read the short meditation in Our Daily Bread if I was in a hurry…one day the meditation was about if you don’t have time to do both make sure you read the Scripture for that day and pass on the devotional writing! Ouch!! God caught me!! haha!! Bless you as you find what works for you <3

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