KEEPING YOUR LIFE SPACIOUS FOR GOD

It is always a gift to my heart to start a new journal. Often my three young sons gift me journals for Christmas and Mother’s Day (hint to my hubby :) ) so opening up a fresh one is also opening up a thoughtful gift that holds sweet sentimental value. I get all giddy when I begin to put pen to paper on fresh, untouched pages. I often wonder in my heart: What will these pages hold? What dreams will bud? What prayers will be answered? What new things will I discover about God? 

Starting a new journal reminds me that we like fresh starts. We like a clean slate. We like the feeling of starting over, starting fresh, and beginning again. Maybe something in us craves newness. A new journal also gives me a chance to look back at the previous one, and always, there are themes that run through the lines of each page. It seems that God teaches me in seasons with themes of His grace and love and His desire for me to live free from hang-ups and more and more in His rhythms of rest and grace. It seems that there are always themes of prayer and faith. It seems that putting pen to paper helps His lessons, grace,  and truth sink deeper into my soul.

One of the themes that God seemed to have inspired across the pages of my journals is this idea of dreaming with Him, hence the book, Dreaming with God. But along with this theme of the joy of dreaming with Him, I’ve noticed another theme coming in close behind it. It’s the theme of slowing my pace, tuning out distractions and tuning into God, and simply keeping Him number one in a world full of distractions. And what I’m noticing is that the two themes go hand in hand. I’m realizing that one of the keys to dreaming with God and walking in His sweet plans for us is that we be incredibly in tune to Him – that we guard and protect our relationship with Him. That we make room for Him and guard that time and space to meet with Him and to dream with Him. And it’s tricky when we’re busy, moving fast, and keeping up with responsibilities, emails, news, and everything else.

So today, I want to encourage us to slow down, to savor God, to make space for Him. Because in the slowing, God’s dreams for you begin to take root. In the savoring, God’s directing hand begins to lead. In the quiet spaces of time where we meet with Him, God’s presence begins to take over in our lives and wraps us in a warmth and peace that we can find nowhere else.

Maybe we pray something like, “Help me be fully in tune to You, Lord, so that I can know You more and discover Your dreams for my life. Transform my heart to desire a slower pace and a deeper awareness of you. Establish Your deep peace in me so that I may live with satisfaction, joy, focus, and freedom.”

And maybe, we choose to be kind to our hearts each day by choosing to pull them up close to God. Maybe we grab our journal and Bible instead of surf for something to watch on TV. Maybe we take a few minutes to soak in the sunset instead of checking our email inbox. Maybe we set our to-do list aside for a few minutes, and simply be still and listen for God’s whispers. Maybe we tune out the newsfeed for awhile and take some to time to dream with God about how He wants to use us for His purposes. The busyness isn’t bad or wrong, but sometimes, I think the busyness keeps us constantly on the go and pulls us away from the One who wants to settle and establish our hearts. I believe we will flourish as we tend our souls by giving them space and time to draw close to God.  (“Keep your soul diligently.” Deuteronomy 4:9/”Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” James 4:8)

And maybe today, this begins a fresh start for you. A clean slate. A new beginning of slowing down and tuning more fully into the One who has dreams for you and who delights in His relationship with you. Lean into your desire to start fresh. Lean into your desire to slow your pace. Lean into God’s presence in your life.

Questions for your heart:

What themes and lessons has God been teaching you over the last few months?

What dreams has God laid on your heart in this season?

How can you practically keep God number one and keep your heart spacious for God in a world full of distractions?