This week I want to encourage your family to find a time to take a TIME OUT from the world, even if it is just for a day or an evening or an hour.
Quiet the noise of the world.
Quiet our minds.
Quiet our hearts.
As a new school season begins you’ve probably been asking yourself, “How am I going to get everything done?” And, you may be asking it a little desperately, a little nervous or stressed or overwhelmed. You may be asking, "How our we going to afford all of this or have time to fit everything in that needs to happen?" Or, "How am I going to be at that child's ballgame when the other one needs to be at choir practice?"
What I’m suggesting is a Quiet RESET physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually to prepare for the new adventure of a new school year. Step away from the noise of the world – the technology, the voices of what others say you need to be and do and say, and just focus on God’s will for your school year. God has a purpose and plan for each of your days this school year and we want HIS vision to be in front of you, written on your hearts. This will be the best and most important preparation for the school year ahead.
Rest that is the best kind of all, is finding rest in the Lord. What I have found so helpful in daily refocusing with the Lord is to take the following steps. You can do this yourself and then walk your kiddos through this practice.
STEP ONE, STEP AWAY:
First, step away.
Stepping toward our Heavenly Father, includes stepping away from the noise of the world. We are so used to constant sound - music, tv, phones, video games...
We need time to quiet the noise – sure the noise around us, but also the noise within us.
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We women can have some pretty noisy minds – full of doubts and concerns and pressures, and expectations.
A way that I quiet my mind as I come to God, is to pray to Him, when I come to His banquet table, "I am setting down the noise of the world’s beliefs and debates, social media opinions, and my own expectations of myself, Lord, and I am stepping into YOUR perspective of me. I want your design for me and my life, so I set aside my own agenda. I set it down and I step to you."
STEP TWO, BRING YOUR BURDENS & YOUR BAGGAGE
Step Two is coming to you with all my burdens and baggage. "I am bringing it to you and handing it over, Lord." ✅We give Him our concerns about this school year, our worries, and fears.
✅We give Him our decisions and options.
✅We give Him our weariness, overwhelm, and over-commitments.
✅We bring our loneliness, sorrows, wounds, and questions.
All of those things are the burdens we carry. God tells us, “Come to me all you who are weary and heavy burdened and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28)
STEP THREE, FOCUS ON THE BIGNESS OF GOD RATHER THAN THE SIZE OF YOUR OBSTACLE:
Step Three, Focus on Who God is. You have been focusing on the bigness of your life and obligations and obstacles. Now take some time to focus on the overcomer, the rescuer, the provider of our salvation.
Our capable, limitless, all knowing God is not surprised by any of our baggage and burdens. He knew they would be there, He knows how we carry them. He longs to carry our burdens for us while He leads us through the obstacle. He doesn't usually eliminate the burden or journey, but He leads us through. He is our Good Shephard, our Great Physician.
Scripture says that He prepares a banquet table before us in the presence of our circumstances.(Psalm 23:2) He prepares. He is prepared for you and all of your stuff, so come and acknowledge Him and sit down with Him. Fellowship with Him. The verse even explains that He prepares a banquet for you in the presence of your enemies. He is there with you, giving you everything you need, no matter the size of your problems or your enemies!
STEP FOUR, RECEIVE WHAT HE HAS FOR YOU:
Step four, RECEIVE what He has for you. He is your source of energy, motivation, hope,. He is your provider and sustainer.
Psalm 121:1 says, "I look to the Hills. Where does my help come from. It comes from the Lord, the maker of Heaven and Earth."
In Isaiah 46:4 God says, "I am He who made you. I will carry you. I will sustain you. I will rescue you."
The Heavenly Father is not like our imperfect or absent earthly father. God is always faithful, always loving, always working everything for our good.
Too often, we feel too busy to meet with the Lord, to rest in the Lord, and we miss out on the "banquet table" He has prepared for us. We settle for a piece of dry plain bread emotionally, spiritually, physically, when He is right there ready to give us a feast of nourishment for all aspects of our lives.
Intentional Mom, go through these four steps and share these with your kids. Walk them through the process of setting aside self, giving our burdens and baggage to Him, sitting down at his banquet table and getting quiet to meet with God and receive all we need. I think of the manna that God provided the Israelites for years in the desert. He sent it every single day. They couldn’t store it up; they needed more nourishment daily. Christ calls himself the Bread of Life and He is the nourishment our souls long for daily. Learn to rest in Him while getting your needs met through Him. In this new school year, be still, quiet down the world, and meet God at His banquet table to receive all we need.
RESOURCES to HELP YOU WITH MORE ON THIS TOPIC:
If you’d like more encouragement in this area, visit the FRONT PORCH of my website. When you go to PracticallySpeakingMOM.com, you will see six rooms of the intentional moms home – you are the intentional mom and you have six rooms to your life. One of those rooms is the FRONT PORCH and it represents your refreshing relationship with our Creator. Click on the FRONT PORCH and find some more encouragement and equipping for your soul.
Also, you could go back to some of my episodes that takes this subject deeper. Here's a couple of them.
IN THIS EPISODE I mention the former favorite, Episode 55, "YEAR ONE BLOOPERS Hosted by Abby & Emma."
