Having trouble focusing on spending time with God? Here are some ideas to renew your spirit and revamp your daily quiet time.
- Go for a walk. Getting some fresh air and admiring God's creation while moving around will help get rid of stress and make your prayer routine more interesting.
- Sync up your iPod. Add some positive worship music to your playlist and try to listen to at least two songs each day. The rhythms can be just as cool as today's most popular music, and the positive messages will really brighten your day. (Try Tenth Avenue North, Jeremy Camp, Casting Crowns, Mercy Me, Rebecca St. James, Britt Nicole, Chris Tomlin, and Natalie Grant.)
- Start a prayer journal. Keep track of prayers and when they're answered. Sharing your thoughts with God on paper helps you sort through what you're feeling.
- Count your blessings. Jot down as many great things in your life as you can think of. Record every good thing God has given you -- family, friends, talents, good hair days, whatever. There's a reason He gave you those gifts, and writing them down can help you to be more aware and develop an attitude of gratitude.
- Try a daily devotional. The Bible is God's gift to you, but sometimes it's hard to understand what He wants you to get. A devotional -- especially one written for teens -- will help you understand God's word and make you look at things in a whole new way.
What do you do to spend time with God? I want to know! Leave a comment.
Hi! For me, every night before I go to sleep I get out my bible read a verse, and then thank God for all he has blessed me with. Then, I ask him to bless/protect/heal all of my friends, family, people I know, and pastors. Its easy to stay consistent with it once I got the hang of it! What about you Melissa?
ReplyDeleteI pray every night before I fall asleep and thank God things that happened that day. Sometimes I write my prayers down, whenever I'm really frustrated about something. I'm not good at keeping a consistent journal, but it helps for that moment to write it all down. I pray in the mornings and when I'm in the shower, too, because that seems like the only time I truly get to be alone. Haha.
DeleteI have a daily devotional and at the moment I'm currently doing a 365Grateful program on my Instagram. Everyday I have to take a picture of something I'm grateful for. It's really awakened me and realised how much I'm blessed by my Heavenly Father!
ReplyDeleteI love Casting Crowns and Mercy Me! Britt Nicole isn't that bad either. Music is so important in a Christian's life. We just have to remember to choose the right music, not the wrong stuff. :)
Thanks for the blog, Melissa!
That sounds so cool! I don't have an iPhone or anything, so I don't have an Instagram. But I always steal my friends' phones and look at all the photos. I love it! And tieing it into gratitude just makes it so much better.
DeleteI totally agree. Oh, and I forgot to mention my personal favorite -- Tenth Avenue North. They're amazing! I think I'll add them up there....
:) Thanks for doing this post!
ReplyDeleteHaha I'm glad you liked it! (:
Deletei pray before bed and i pray in the daytime, i aslo read my bible daily x
ReplyDeleteThat's great! I always have trouble with the whole read-the-Bible-every-day thing. I always tell myself I'm going to do it, and it lasts for about a week. I have the attention span of a mosquito. -__-
DeleteI myself am really trying to connect with God right now, but I have been doing the 2nd tip pretty well- listening to music with positive Christian music! This may sound weird to some people (I don't really care what "some people" think) but I only listen to Christian music- never any secular music. I've made that choice because, well, simply I don't want to trash my mind with inappropriate, unGodly, and worldly music, thoughts, and messages. So only listening to Christian music, (I listen to A LOT of music) I know some more Christian artists for you to listen to:
ReplyDeleteJamie Grace, Britt Nicole, Chris Tomlin, Toby Mac, LeCrae, V. Rose, Flame, Mandisa, Brandon Heath, Matthew West, Michael W. Smith, Josh Wilson, A. J. Michaela, Group 1 Crew, Newsboys, King & Country, Holly Starr, Casting Crowns, Hillsong [United], MercyMe, Matt Maher, Plumb, Matt Redman, Natalie Grant, Tenth Avenue North, Laura Story, Kari Jobe, The Afters, etc.
I know that some of the artists/bands are abit old (the older ones were ideas from my mom- i don't know...- but there are some really good singers, and music! Right now I'm caught onto Jamie Grace (until I find another great song/singer on the Christian Radio)
Anyways thnxs for G4G! I <3 it sooooooo much!
PS. If you want to listen to Christian Radio- Chri Family Radio- In Ottawa and places around Ottawa, it's 99.1
Thanks for the list of great artists! I hope the other girls see this, it's really helpful because sometimes you want to change something in your life (like listening to music) but you don't know where to start, and this is perfect.
DeleteI think your committment to positive music is amazing. You know they say garbage in, garbage out -- therefore we should strive after things that are holy, so we don't live lives of garbage!