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Are you a creature of habit?

Confession: I use the same coffee mug for my morning brew (it’s 10 years old), enjoy almond butter toast every day by 7:30 a.m. and I use purple pens only for poetry. I also have the propensity to stick with the same routine when it comes to spending time with my Maker. 

The good thing about habits is that they provide predictability. 
The bad thing about habits is that they provide predictability.

On the one hand certainty brings stability, which inherently leads to comfort. We know what to expect and when to expect it. (I feel comforted already.) 

On the other hand some things can become so ordinary, so predictable, that its uniqueness wanders and wanes—including our time with God—if we’re brutally honest with ourselves. (My comfort level is quickly dwindling.) 

Time with God can look different for everyone, as well it should. As for me, I’ve done the same thing for many years (surprise!), including journaling, reading His Word, praying aloud, and studying. In recent years, however, I’ve sensed a need to kick predictability to the proverbial curb by trying fresh ways to connect with my heavenly Father, such as: 

  • Taking a walk around my backyard, thanking Him for even the slightest hint of creative handiwork. 
  • Singing to Him. 
  • Journaling with instrumental music playing in background.
  • Releasing the “doing” part of the time (studying, journaling, etc.) and simply “receiving” what He reveals to me in His Word.

Most recently, I signed up with Christ Notes to receive a randomly selected daily verse. I write it in my journal along with answers to the following questions:

  • What word or phrase speaks to me? 
  • What do I need to hear today? 
  • How do I respond?

You may want to give it a try! It’s not what I’ll use every day, but varying my time with God breathes life in to the routine and renews an appreciation for the fact that He didn’t create us to be robots, but rather, His children. 

And children are rarely predictable. 

See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be
called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world
does not know us is that it did not know him. 1 John 3:1

How about you? Have you tried something new during your quiet time? Please share in the comment section! 

 

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