Make Time for Your Maker

Here we go again, another blog post I was prompted to write a bit ago but wasn’t sure how. I’m learning that you have to live out what you’re sharing, then just go for it when you’re ready to write.

While having a faith conversation with a friend about spending time with God (particularly through church), I felt Him tell me that I needed to “practice what I preach,” if you will. While I’ll humbly say that I know I put a fair amount time into my relationship with God if I’m comparing myself to some other people, I realized in that moment that I wasn’t putting as much time into it when I compared myself, with myself.

When I first went all in for Jesus in 2017, I was in a place of brokenness where I didn’t know how I would survive the day without spending every waking moment dwelling with the Spirit. It seemed as though I was in prayer each minute I wasn’t spending talking to someone, and nearly every activity I did was in attempt to draw closer to Him. I remember waking up at dark-thirty every morning to watch the sunrise on the beach before classes as my quiet time (sidebar: remembering this is one of the only things that makes me wish I still lived at the beach instead!). Every day I would pray the same thing (amongst others of course): Lord, please set me on fire for You. And man, that prayer has been being continually answered daily since then.

I also remember a distinct prayer I often repeated as well: Lord, please forgive me for the times in my life where I am more distant from you than I am now–because we both know those days will come. I find myself thinking about this often, which would be good and well if I took each of those thoughts and turned them into a fix for the problem. Sometimes it’s easier to forget about God when we think we need Him less–when our pain begins to subside, when our circumstances start to change for the better, or when we become more confident in who HE is transforming us into. Since that moment in conversation with my friend, I knew I needed to be more intentional with my relationship with Jesus because He is so intentional with me.

I honestly couldn’t be happier that I’m making more time for my Maker again. I can feel the difference in my day to day wanderings in physical presence and thoughts alike. As I’ve opened my eyes, ears, and heart to recognize how He’s moving, I’ve seen my specific prayers answered in insane ways I could’ve never came up with on my own. The best part is that I know He will continue to move in this way as He responds to bigger and bolder prayers throughout my life.

I want to share a few practical tips for how we can spend more time with Jesus, even when we feel our schedule is just too busy and overwhelming for much more. Disclaimer: none or even all of this could be a substitute for complete quiet & alone time with God in prayer, attending church, or serving in any capacity. More-so, they are suggestions for how to turn your everyday tasks into opportunities to spend time with the Spirit.

• Talk to God, out loud, in your car or shower. There is something so powerful about speaking to Him outside of our heads and being bold enough to hear our own cries to Him–or letting others see you cry in the car when it gets that good! You have to do these things anyway, so you might as well use them to connect with God. Turn on some worship music too if you’re into that, to help position your heart toward Him.
• Go on prayer walks. This is personally my favorite way to experience quiet time and has proven to be incredibly impactful in my life. Sometimes I’ll do it around my apartment and pray out loud, non-stop for about 30 minutes while walking back and forth between rooms. Other times, I’ll go on a neighborhood walk or hike while listening to worship music and just being quiet for a while to let Him speak to me. Anddd, you can get your steps and exercise in this way at the same time!
• Pick a verse of the day/week to dwell on in your in-between moments. This could be the verse of the day on YouVersion (an awesome Bible resource!) or you can search for one based on your current situation. Try to memorize this verse and find ways to apply it to what you’re experiencing. While it’s important to spend as much time as possible in the Word, this is a great way to be encouraged while you’re stressed or overwhelmed, by simply taking breaks during your day to remember God’s promises.
• Find ways to speak to (or ask) others about Jesus in your day-to-day. Whether it be in the lunch room at work or on your usual phone call to your parents/kids/friend, figure out you can encourage them or how they can encourage you. If you have a friend who you know loves Jesus and you just want to know more, casually ask them about the church they go to. Ask your loved one how you can be praying for them before you hang up the phone. You’ll be surprised how God will respond when you are incorporating Him in your daily interactions with others.
• Pray until you fall asleep! So many times I’ve gone through a mental list of people/things to pray about and woken up the next morning realizing I didn’t get to finish. And that’s okay! I was able to spend my last moments of the day talking to God and that sets me up perfectly for remembering Him first thing in the morning.

These are just a few simple ways we can try to spend a little more time with the Lord amidst our busyness. God wants to spend every single minute of your life with you, but we can’t experience the effects of this unless we let Him. I would love to hear any suggestions others may have on how they choose to make more time for their Maker! If you’ve read this and struggle with how to spend time with God, or even trying to find the desire to, PLEASE reach out to me. So many people miss an opportunity to transform their life in this way, and while I’m striving to get better every day, it would be great to help encourage someone else in this area too.

“Move your heart closer and closer to God, and He will come even closer to you. But make sure you cleanse your life, you sinners, and keep your heart pure and stop doubting.” James 4:8

A First Calling

Just two years ago, I had decided to switch from a Criminology major to an Oceanography major. Seeing as I ended up getting my degree in Recreation & am moving to the mountains, it’s obvious that didn’t last very long. When I first became a Recreation major, I really had no clue what I wanted to do in the field. There are countless options of career paths to get into with the major I finally decided on, & for a while I was lost trying to narrow them down. A beautiful friend of mine by the name of Brooke (the same friend who let me stay with her as I mentioned in my “Going All In For Jesus” post) told me a little bit about her job as a counselor at the YMCA when we lived together over the summer of 2017. At the time my practicum was about to be over & I was going to be left without a job for the remainder of the summer. To make a long story short, I ended up getting hired as a Camp Counselor and ended up transitioning into an Afterschool Counselor position shortly thereafter.

I’ve always loved kids, but I had never really considered a career that involved working with them daily. With my part-time position with the Y, I quickly realized that I genuinely enjoyed the job each & every day. Even when I was in the worst mood, coming into work & being with our kids made me leave all my cares & concerns behind. Because of that job (& Brooke’s influence which got me there), I discovered a first calling on my life by the Lord to pursue a career that impacted the lives of children.

Since then I’ve also discovered that my area of passionate ministry is the military community. My upcoming internship will allow me to serve children in military families through recreational & educational opportunities as well as through general loving care. When I received my offer for this internship, in my state of choice no less, it confirmed to me all that I believed God was calling me to do. And it all started with that initial Camp Counselor gig that made me realize the joy I so easily find every time I’m around our youngest generation.

Today was my last day of work at the YMCA, at least here in Wilmington. I found myself tearing up at the thought of the fact that I’ll likely never see any of our kids again, and full-on crying when I saw the most wonderful sign on the wall with a goodbye note written from each of them. Those elementary schoolers may not even remember me when they get older, but boy I wish they knew how much they mean to me. It took nowhere near the entirety of my eight months spent with them to realize that I want to keep impacting the lives of our youth for years to come. I can’t even imagine being in the career fields I once thought were my perfect fit, which just goes to show that God knows me better than I know myself & He brought me exactly where I needed to be, when I needed to be there. Even though I’m going to miss the YMCA, my coworkers, & those kids immensely, I know that the Lord will provide new opportunities for me to pursue this call on my life throughout my internship & beyond.

Getting Rooted

Life requires Community & I found mine at Church.

As I’m starting to say my goodbyes in Wilmington, I’ve been reflecting on how blessed I am to have found multiple communities of people to support & encourage me. But the one I am so grateful for most recently is the one I found at Life Community Church. From the day I walked into “the church in the mall” searching for a place of worship to begin attending my senior year, I genuinely felt right at home. Since then I’ve grown to love the people, the praise, and the powerful delivery of countless encouraging messages from our pastor and the leadership team. Even though I’m slightly nervous to have to find a new church home, I’ll always remember how God showed up right when I needed Him to by bringing me into Life CC. I know He’ll do it again in Colorado!

Becoming an active part of my church helped my relationship with the Lord grow immeasurably more than I probably even realize. First, I started attending the early service every week. It didn’t take too long before I desired to get more involved (based on how happy it made me every Sunday) through becoming a part of the young adult ministry, serving in the children’s ministry during second service, and eventually beginning to give my weekly tithes. I could write an individual blog post about how each of these things has allowed God to blow me away, especially since I had gone so long without them in my life. I was so unaware of the joy I was missing out on, until I realized that the community I’d made at the church had given me so much of it.

But at the end of the day, no matter how involved you are at church, our salvation is not measured by our good deeds and participation. Because of Jesus, we have been set free from any kind of rule book in order to be in personal relationship with God. So while being part of a church community is a crucial aspect of nourishing that relationship, it doesn’t change how much God loves us already. Having been able to “get rooted” is the most valuable thing I’ve gained from becoming an active member of the church. When something is rooted, it is attached to something else which supports its growth by providing nourishment. That is exactly what I’ve gained from Life CC, and I can’t wait to see the long-term harvest to be reaped after getting to do this all over again.

Catch Amy & I church searching in Colorado Springs!!