Practicing Early Time With GodWritten by Demetria Zinga
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4.)Journal your thoughts and prayers to Lord. Haven’t invested in a journal yet? Get yourself one—it doesn’t have to be cutest and most expensive journal. You could even buy an inexpensive notebook…but do keep one on hand for your prayer times. Keeping a journal will help you monitor your growth in your relationship with Christ throughout years. 5.)And if you are STILL only one up for morning, NOW you can take time to retreat to a place in your house where you won’t awaken anyone, and talk out loud to Lord. Talking out loud does several things for you. Haven’t you noticed that when we simply keep our thoughts inward and never verbalize them, many times they don’t feel real to us? But once we verbalize our thoughts, they become tangible. It’s same with our prayers to our Savior. When we can, we should try talking out loud to Him as we would anyone else. It helps us to realize tangible-ness of our Lord, and that He is as real as talking to our friends and family, and actually hears us. Talking out loud also cements our prayers and thoughts in reality. As our voice echoes our resounding prayers and conversations with God, we are able to hear these prayers with our own ears, and are confirmed with our hearts truth and reality of our relationship with God, because after all, we were just talking to Him! Do you see how spending time with God first thing upon awaking each morning is not only possible but quite do-able, even for those of us with most hectic schedules? We can do this! The benefits of spending time with our Savior each morning are awesome. We’ll begin to notice our hearts become more pliable to His word. We’ll start to notice a difference in our feelings toward others and our relationships with family, friends, and co-workers. We’ll find peace of God transcending our thoughts and minds. We’ll begin to notice how strong and steadfast we are as we stand firm in our faith. As God becomes our rock and our fortress, we’ll find ourselves unmoved by chaos and stressors of life. Let’s aim to strive for EARLY time with our Savior. Once you begin to implement this discipline, your life is sure to change! -- Demetria Zinga is founder and owner of www.faith-media.com, a technology and consulting firm which specializes in web design and hosting, graphics and print designs, internet marketing, and e-training. She is also founder of www.christianladies.net, an interactive ezine, blog, and podcast for Christian women.
Demetria Zinga is the founder and owner of www.faith-media.com, a technology and consulting firm which specializes in web design and hosting, graphics and print designs, internet marketing, and e-training. She is also the founder of www.christianladies.net, an interactive ezine, blog, and podcast for Christian women.
| | Imagining the Life of Mary, Mother of JesusWritten by Patrice Fagnant-MacArthur
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In time, however, their happy life in Nazareth must come to an end and Jesus must go out to spread message he was born to speak. In these days, Mary speaks with maternal concern for her son: "I worry that he does not get enough rest. I hope that he has some time alone, for he always needed to get away by himself and pray." Mary also must face loss of her husband: "The Lord has taken my dear Joseph home. I did not know it was possible to miss someone this much!" Finally, she shares her pain at crucifixion: "I remembered that years ago old Simeon had said a sword would pierce my heart. Believe me, Rebekah, it has," as well as her joy at Resurrection: "My soul is singing praises to Lord!" One knows how story will turn out, and yet, Techler has managed to make it suspenseful. I found myself wanting to see what would happen next, eager to read next letter in collection. This is a wonderful volume, perfect for meditating on life of Mary. To purchase "Shalom, Mary", please visit: http://diskuspublishing.com/shalommary.html Patrice Fagnant-MacArthur is editor of The Spiritual Woman Newsletter (http://www.spiritualwoman.net) and author of Letters to Mary from a Young Mother (iUniverse, 2004). She has a Master of Arts Degree in Applied Theology from Elms College
Patrice Fagnant-MacArthur is editor of "The Spiritual Woman Newsletter" (http://www.spiritualwoman.net) and author of "Letters to Mary from a Young Mother" (iUniverse, 2004). She has a Master of Arts Degree in Applied Theology from Elms College
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