Playing Catch-up and Part I of “Finding Margin for The Devotional Life”

Hey y’all, let’s chat…There’s been a lot of living since the last podcast dropped, but it did include some really good beignets. We traveled to the Big Easy last month where we enjoyed the best of ‘em at the original Café Du Monde.

We were in New Orleans for the Farm Bureau Convention where my son and daughter-in-law were in the running for Louisiana Farm and Ranch Couple of the Year. Another fine family took that title this year, but we remain super proud of Phillip and Carey for being in the top three.

While in New Orleans, the beloved farmer and I took in the experience that is the WWII Museum. Y’all. Words fail. If you can get thyself there, do it. But, carve out some time to stay. We were there three plus hours and we didn’t see it all.

June also gave us Vacation Bible School where yours truly volunteered to take the Stampede Sports Station outdoors. That week coincided with having the Lake Providence Grands while their parents were on a business trip to California and that was just a preface for the summer’s really big deal. The Third Annual Pops and Keggie Kamp kicked off June 30^{th .}

That’s our #noadultsallowed extravaganza where we host the grands without their parents. It’s full of swimming, tubing, tennis, crafts, flower picking at our neighbors, Gene and Jo, and their marvelous zinnia and sunflower patch, sight-seeing on the farm, and visits to the great grandparents.

 

 

And if that wasn’t enough, our middle grand Carlisle Mae was in the middle of All Stars so we were making road trips to cheer her on and support her All Star coaching parents!

The beloved farmer and I wrap all that fun around an eternal theme we hope will stay with the littles forever. This year’s theme was “Come to Jesus and Keep Coming!” There’s a video of the presentation they gave their parents of what they had learned on my Facebook and Youtube channels.

All that little loving culminated with a July Fourth celebration with parents and grandparents with more of the same along with water balloon fights and giant redneck slip and slips.

The men had not one, not two, but three grills going at once. No, I’m not kidding…

 

Can you say, “Have mercy”? Trust you me, it takes some time to get the house and the body back anywhere close to normalcy. As for my mind, I don’t know what to say there because I’m still trying to figure out when I lost my total mind, but I clearly have.

Exhibit A…she who tubes, skis, and kneeboards, but ONLY from the center of the lake and never but never hangs out in the water any longer that I have to in between rides, helped her grands learn to kneeboard and ski while Phil drove the boat. The Fabulous Five are old pros at tubing, and we thought they needed a challenge. That’s all good, but it meant I would help them from the water and if they got up, I would hang out there until the boat returned, trying not to think about the reptiles that also call this lake home.

If you’d ever told me I would do such a thing, I would’ve laughed myself silly. Oh, the lengths a grandparent will go!

Around here the Fourth of July end with a fireworks show over the lake. We load up on the float boat, armed with enough mosquito dope to take care of the entire population, and head out to join our friends and neighbors in their boats to watch the Sheriff department put on a great show!

Afterwards, it  is time to close her down, where (most of us) look like this.

But, enough catching up, I want to move on to the topic of our next few podcasts. I jumped on social media a few days ago and gave y’all three choices of what you’d like to hear me speak to in the next episode. A) How to develop a prayer life from scratch, B) Where to begin if you’re new to Bible Study, or C) How to find devotional time when you already feel stretched too thin. The level of response was as surprising to me as the variety of your votes. Since y’all appear to be deeply interested in all three topics, I’m going to take a turn addressing each of them. We’ll break it down into a three-part series, beginning with the one that barely edged out the other two: How to find time for a devotional life when you already feel stretched too thin.

I’d like to preface this big subject with my acknowledgment that people the world over are living in different circumstances and facing a myriad of experiences, many I haven’t walked through, and some that create a unique time demand I haven’t encountered. I offer that as an uncontested fact.  At the same time, I hold to the following rock-solid belief built on the authority of God’s word. God’s desire to reveal Himself to us and be known by us can never be eclipsed by our desire to know Him and anyone who endeavors to know God, and refuses to settle for anything less, will always run into God’s divine intention to be known. Call it God’s set-up for success.

You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. Jeremiah 29.13

That’s not simply an encouraging verse. Nor is it me reaching for a handy caveat. It’s foundational truth for a conversation on finding devotional time. Now, let’s be clear. None of us can make time or find time. The best any of us can do is manage it. So, with that established, we’ll frame our discussion with the language of finding and losing because it’s easy to understand.

No doubt you’ve heard the old axiom, “We make time for what matters.”  It’s true.

All serious conversations about developing a devotional life begin here, with our priorities. What lengths are we willing to take to walk closely with God? What sacrifices will we make?  How much do we want such a life? I fear for most of us finding margin in our schedules for God must be easy, convenient, and immediately rewarding, lest we grow weary and give up far short of the goal.

Can we come to Christ in a second? Yes, indeed. Can He redeem us from a world of sin and make us His instantaneously, sealed forever by His Spirit? Absolutely. But we’ll never come to know Him intimately in that lightening quick way, and any claims to the contrary are biblically unfounded.

For the remainder of our conversation, I’d like to assume we’ve all counted the cost, and we’ve decided knowing the One who made us, redeemed us, and is coming back for us, is worth whatever lifestyle sacrifice is required.  Let’s say we’ve realized we won’t fall into such a relationship with Jesus accidentally or automatically, and we’re here for the long haul, but our days are still maxed out, our time does not feel like our own, and we don’t see margins anywhere.  What now?

I would like to humbly suggest that the best way forward is a change of perspective.

I heartily recommend aiming for a devoted life over a devotional life.

Oh, that’s bigger than it sounds!

Again, I’m not mincing words. I’m hoping to shed light on attitudes that often trip us up, and a devotional life can sometimes suggest a certain part of our day, whereas a devoted life pictures someone in ongoing pursuit of Jesus. Let me explain.

A devotional life may have a certain time of day in mind where we intend to read or pray, and if we miss that time, so be it until the next regularly scheduled opportunity. A devoted life is always looking to feed on the Word and listen for God’s voice whether in prayer, in the company of others, or in the sights and sounds of nature.

“Having a devotional” is contained in time and place.  Whereas, someone living a devoted life will listen to the audio Bible or a teaching podcast while she gets in her steps at the gym, while she’s stuck in traffic, or when she’s waiting to pick her child up from ball practice. Or she may choose to use that time to pull up her favorite online devotional and choose to mediate on the scripture that accompanies it. Or, she may repeat one small verse to herself over and over that she’s trying to commit to memory, trusting the Lord to use it to speak to her. Will she have to say no to the countless other things vying for her attention, including those temptations to escape through a few mindless scrolls of her smart phone? Yes, but remember, she’s committed and aware that having a devotional is a once a day endeavor, and she wants the rewards of a devoted life.

Those who live devoted are always on the lookout for snatches of time to nourish their souls, however small those moments may be at first, but as those moments begin to transform their lives they find themselves increasingly aware that they’re looking for more places to nourish themselves in God’s word and in His presence, and finding previously unrealized opportunities to do just that.

This suggestion may seem small to you. Perhaps you’re listening and you can’t imagine how it could make a difference in your life. I understand, but I’m asking you to buy into it and see what happens.  I can promise you this much, as long as you try to confine your pursuit of God to one part of your day, you will find that part of your day is constantly interrupted and your time is stolen.

If you’ll allow me a moment of personal testimony? This change in attitude towards being devoted rather than having a devotional, well, it blew the doors wide open in my life with God many years ago, and He continues to use it transform my life, today. If it speaks to you and if it sets you on a different type of pursuit of God than you’ve ever been on before, I’d like to ask you to let me know so I can pray for you, by name.

That’s it for now. I hope these thoughts have helped you. The next time we’re together, we’ll talk about how and where to begin if you’re new to Bible Study! I’m pumped about that one!

Hit subscribe so you won’t miss it and invite someone to join us! I’ll see you right here next time, if the Good Lord’s willing and the creek doesn’t rise. This is Shellie with hugs for all!

 

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS