From the Closet of Babes

My sister-in-law, Jill, posted this picture of my niece on facebook the other day.


The caption read, "Amelia got quiet - went to check on her - she was in her closet reading her Bible. Haha! I hope she's still doing this when she's 16."

First of all....Is my niece not the most precious thing in the world?!! God has blessed me with 7 precious nieces and 5 wonderful nephews.

But anyways...this picture of Amelia got me to thinking about my own quiet time with God.

My mind first went to 1 Timothy where it says, "Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity."

This 19 month old little girl is setting an example and she doesn't even know it. Like her Mom, I pray she is still setting that same example when she is 16.

The more I thought about this picture, the more I wondered if anyone noticed that I spent time with God.

Amelia got quiet and like the mom of any 19th month old that quietness led Jill to go and check on Amelia. Someone noticed that Amelia was spending time in God's word.

Does anyone notice when I spend time with God's word. I don't expect anyone to check my closets and find me sitting in my underwear with my Bible. (Side note...I don't have my quiet time in my underwear...well I wear underwear, but not just my underwear. HA!)

I believe that when you spend time with the Lord and in His word, the Holy Spirit grabs a hold of you and you start to exhibit the fruits of the spirit. These fruits are love, peace, patience, joy, kindness, goodness, gentleness, self-control, and faithfulness. These are not things you can do own your own. They come from the Holy Spirit. They are things that I notice in other people so I'm sure that people notice them about me when they are present. I notice them in myself when they are present.

When you are spending time with God consistently, your life should look different from the world. As Christians our lives should look different. People should notice that difference.

For me, having a daily quiet time is a challenge. It is something that I fail at regularly. It's hard not to give up after missing even just one day. Sometimes I find myself reading God's word every day, but that's it...I'm just reading. I don't meditate or apply what I've read. That isn't what God wants from us. We aren't asked to read the Bible just so we can check it off a long list of things we need to accomplish in the day.

I really struggle with giving God the first of my time and not what is left over at the end of the day. Even when I have that time left over at the end of the day, it's not my best quality time. I'm tired and I've already gone through a full day with little , sometimes no communication with God.

I know that getting up a little earlier in the morning and giving God my first in my time is a discipline. Not doing it is lazy and God is not a fan of laziness.

Does anyone else struggle in this area? Those of you who are disciplined in this area, do you have any advice? I have people in my life who seem to have this all figured out. I envy those people. I wonder how they do it.

I think know that I need an accountability partner, something that I believe to be biblical. Someone to ask me each day what God revealed to me in my quiet time. Right now I don't have that person. There are people that I trust and would love to have that relationship with, but I feel like it would be a burden to them. Keeping a journal has helped. It's been a way for me to hold myself accountable to what God has revelaed to me and how He works in my life.

This is my goal for the summer. I want to be more disciplined in my quiet time.