For those of you who aren't Christians (which I will define as believers in the One Lord and Savior Jesus Christ as the only way to heaven and the only means of forgiveness of sin and the only means of right standing before God), I encourage you to think about this. The new year is a good time for looking over your life and asking questions. Find a church and talk to someone there with whom you can discuss this. Here is a link to the Presbyterian Church in America church directory search as a start in finding a church.
For those of you who are Christians, I encourage you, if you don't already, to carve out time to be with the Lord in the Word and prayer. Many of you are mothers; some of you stay at home with your children; some of you homeschool; some of you work. I know the difficulties of finding time for this, but I have found in my own life that this is vital. Several years ago, the church I was attending started a ladies' morning Bible Study. Since I was working part-time then, I could attend. Those years changed so much in my life. I began to see how much I'd been missing. Sure, I read my Bible each night before bed, but this study time, this time with other women, some older than me who were Spiritual Mothers to me, gave me a hunger to know God better. The more study I did, the more I wanted to do. I missed the times when we did not meet. Now I live far away from that church, so I cannot attend the Bible study. But the legacy they left was a hunger for God and His Word, a new understanding of being God's true woman and a desire to be so, (as well as many good friends.)
I have never been into devotional-type books, but having been introduced to some at Bible study, here are a few I have read and like. Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World by Joanna Weaver; Treasures of Encouragement by Sharon W. Betters; Whiter than Snow, Paul David Tripp; Prayers of the Bible by Susan Hunt; Women of Courage by Debra Evans; Daring to Draw Near by John White; The True Vine by Andrew Murray. These are not substitutes for reading the Word of God, but they can be very helpful in keeping one's day and life sane and spiritually productive.
I can hear some of you saying, "Where do I find the time? I am married with small children, too much work, and too much filling my life." I will say as Mr. Scott said in Star Trek: Generations, "If something's important to you, you make the time." I will also note the words of an old song called "The Wedding Banquet" by Sister Miriam Therese, Medical Mission Sisters. "I cannot come to the banquet, don't trouble me now. I have married a wife. I have bought me a cow. I have fields and commitments that cost a pretty sum. Pray hold me excused, I cannot come." Most of us don't have fields and cows, but we could sing the song like this: "I cannot come to the banquet, don't trouble me now. I have emails to answer and a meeting in an hour. I have a Smartphone and tablet and clients to be won. Pray hold me excused I cannot come." OR "I cannot come to the banquet, don't trouble me now. I have ESPN, CSI, and Jack Bauer. I have American Idol and Survivor just for fun. Pray hold me excused I cannot come."
We have lots of time in our 24-hour day; we just have to determine what the priorities are. I'm no expert at prioritizing, but I have come to understand that if I don't take time for God, my life just doesn't work right. Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World has many and much better ideas than I have, so pick up a copy of that and read it. I will tell you what has worked for me. First, I do try to get up and use what time I can before I get the kids up. I pray while walking or doing some other form of exercise. Second, I don't have a lot of TV shows that I watch. I have a routine for my evenings (my friend E will laugh because she knows it's true and teases me) that winds me down to be ready to sleep, and this includes Bible reading while I stretch the muscles that have tightened up after a long day of running after kids, cooking, cleaning, writing, and many other tasks. I write in a journal little prayers or thoughts to God based on the day's Bible reading or something that happened during the day. This may not work for you, but I stress that finding something that works is the most important thing you can do. An in-law once asked me my thoughts for dealing with family problems. I am not a therapist. My main advice was work on your relationship with God. All else will fall into place.
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