On Devotionals

I’m still plowing through “Living the Christian Year” and “Steams in the Desert” anxiously noting how few pages I have left! How is it I’m so quickly barreling towards the end of the year? It seems like yesterday I received the book, a gift from my Godparent.  I’m not certain what to do when it ends, start it again? Find another one? While I ponder that quandary, here are some things I’ve noticed about devotionals in general during this year.

Quality Over Quantity

You don’t “have” to do a devotional to live a God and people loving life. There is no scorecard for doing them, it’s for your integration and knowledge in God. You won’t get brownie points for them when go to be with the Lord. Diving into spiritual texts takes patience, silence and responsiveness on your part. It’s active reading in the most practical sense. In a sense, it’s spiritual work. So there are times in your life where you’ll miss a day, a week, even a month. So give yourself a break, and seek those quality moments to convene with scripture where you can find them. A moment, even a few minutes, of awareness can fill your cup. 

Finding the “Right” Time is Key

I went through a lot of trial and error to find the right moment to meet my devotionals. I didn’t want to feel rushed. I had to find those spaces within the day where I could find quiet and alone-time–two commodities in rare supply in mommyhood. As it stands now, “Streams” is my nighttime ritual, I write a one-sentence capture from the day after reading it. “Living the year” is my weekly devotional, which I use on Sunday mornings. Finding this schedule I’m able to carve out a habit for reading scripture.

Be Flexible and Creative

Don’t just READ, speak it out loud! Sing it! Interact with the scripture in the way the Spirit is calling you. Just today I realized Bible Gateway will play an audio of scripture. Amazing! I sat out on the porch and played my weekly devotionals, able to concentrate much better than I would reading. We live in such an amazing time for technology, don’t turn up your nose on some fun apps and hacks for integrating God’s word into your life.

Have a tip for me on which devotionals to check out next year? Tell me in the comments.