Jen Hatmaker Day 2: On the daily.

"Don't wait until you have full possession of knowledge before you have full possession of God. Give your heart permission to trust Him." (Jen Hatmaker)

I love this line. I felt this way myself in my personal faith journey for SO LONG. I felt like there were still so many unanswered questions and that my Bible knowledge was lacking and I felt awkward when I prayed.

I felt like God was kind of some hovering light that I knew I wanted but could never really attain.

It wasn't until I made a very conscious decision to chase after Him that felt like I "had Him." 
Let me unpack that a bit. When I say "conscious decision," I mean making it a priority to get to know Jesus through His word and through prayer and worship. I figured if I had time in my busy life to do things like 90 minutes of hot yoga or 30 minutes of mindless social media browsing I most definitely could spend some time with the ONE WHO CREATED ME. Hard to swallow, but true.

You guys, what happened when I made spending time with Jesus a priority blows my mind.

Things started changing. Suddenly, opening my Bible didn't seem like such a chore. I began really craving my daily quiet times and things just didn't feel right on days that it didn't happen. It absolutely sets the tone for my day--just like exercise. You know how when you get your workout done first thing in the morning it just seems like you live a healthier lifestyle for the rest of that day? I hate working out in the morning (early rising don't come natural to this night owl) but on the days that I do, I enjoy the benefits of that workout for the rest of the day. Well, the same is true for having that daily quiet time with God. I usually do mine after I've fed the kiddos breakfast, taken Kai to school and put Gracie down for her morning nap. I just have to make sure Sunny is immersed in her imaginary world before I start or she ends up all over the place and the quality of my study is compromised.

Sunny Boo (Falcon)

My daily quiet time with Jesus has become crucial for my well-being, for my happiness, for the way I go about the rest of the day, and the way that I make decisions and encounter daily difficulties. I feel so full of peace and love and joy and there is always enough to spill over into my afternoon and rest of the day.

Don't get me wrong here--It's definitely not all rainbows and sunshine just because I'm daily drawing near. I have hard days and struggle often--but my closeness with Jesus is evident in how I am able to deal with the ugly and the hard that will undoubtedly show up. On the days that I make meeting with Jesus a priority--even in the midst of a long to-do list I am able to better re-direct my thoughts and actions when they get negative or apathetic or just plan grumpy and selfish.

"Faith is a process that {day by day} turns us into disciples." (Jen Hatmaker)

I'm no Bible scholar and I doubt I ever will be. I do not utter the most eloquent prayers. And if you've ever heard my singing voice you know, well, enough. I know I don't have it all together, but drawing near to Jesus and digging deeper in His word and meeting Him in prayer opens my eyes to a world world where I don't have to have all the knowledge and answers to all of the philosophical questions in order to be in the the presence of the Lord. Because the more of Jesus I get, the more all the other stuff just starts to fade away, paling in comparison to His overwhelming love for me. 

"Faith doesn't erase stuff. It OVERCOMES it." (Jen Hatmaker)

If I could encourage you, dear reader to do anything, it would be to take this special time for yourself.

We all have crap in our life that we've done or has been done to us. Growing and developing a faith won't take any of that away...but what it will do, is OVERCOME it. Jesus will take you above and beyond anything that hinders your ability to thrive. You just have to give Him a chance. And not just a "half-butt" chance, but a genuine, raw, "let's get real and down to business" chance.

It seems so elementary but it rings true that when you don't do it with intention, it just doesn't happen. Carve a small window out of your day and make it a PRIORITY. It may seem forced at first but once you really enter in and begin to open up God's word and let Him move around in your life you will more than make room for this time in your day.

I know that the Bible seems scary and big and overwhelming. Start small. No one started training for a marathon with a 20 mile run! I would encourage you to use some kind of supplemental devotional--I currently read "Jesus Calling" by Sarah Young, "Savor" by Shauna Niequist and also a Bible reading plan that my church provides, along with IF: Equip, of course! I love how the devotional supplements are everyday for a year--and they have the dates listed on each passage so am held accountable for daily reading.

I find that sitting down and mindfully reading the small excerpts from the above devotionals, reading the recommended Bible passages and journaling usually takes me anywhere from 45-90 minutes. This varies depending on where my kids are and what they are doing, of course. But in all seriousness, if you feel like you don't have full possession of Jesus, or you are kind of stuck in your faith, make a meeting time with Him EVERY DAY for a month.

Watch where it takes you, friend.

Keep your meetings with Him like you would the most desired client you could ever entertain. It won't be easy, I will warn you. The enemy won't like it, so he will show up and try to steal and destroy your devotion so be prepared for distractions. He will draw your attention to how dirty your kitchen is, or how much laundry you have to fold and what a bad housekeeper you are--it's inevitable. But power through.

Come and sit before Jesus and bring your whole self--ugly, sinful, selfish, worldly, you name it. Let Him wrap you in His arms and breathe fresh life into your spirit. I liken it to how my joints and muscles feel after a good yoga class. My soul feels that way after a good quiet time. Stretched and sometimes uncomfortable, but more at peace and centered and {joyful} because of it.

Jesus will show up.

Will you?

Love,