Five Times a Day Challenge

            This is not about being legalistic, but about setting in motion something that can raise our consciousness of God’s availability and interest in us, along with our consciousness of our stated devotion to Him.  I would like to grow to the point where I am always, every day, every moment aware that the lover of my soul is present and participating in my life, and I in His.  I want to grow in my own understanding of the importance of my loyalty to Him. I invite you to join me in this challenge:

A.     When you wake up in the morning, what are some of your first thoughts?  Have you considered the possibility of greeting God even before you are out of bed?  I’m not talking about anything big, just a simple “Thank you Lord for the rest, and thank you for this new day”, sort of thing.  And maybe a little [big?] question like what would you like to do with me today?

B.     One of the gifts of saying “grace” before meals is that this can serve as a reminder of how blessed we are, and of how our Creator is with us and present throughout the day.  He designed us to need food, and if we choose, we can make our mealtimes small celebrations where we stop from the other activities of the day to give thanks, and enjoy how we are made and to give thanks for His provision..  

C.     When you go to bed at night, what is usually the substance of your thoughts?  If you are going over all the things that happened in the day, also try to focus of the grand work that God has been doing not only in your life, but since the beginning of time.  This is a great time to have a simple conversation with God.  Like “ Thank you for this day, even though it wasn’t, (or maybe it was more than), what I had hoped for, I know I can trust you to work things out in a good way, even if right now I don’t see and understand how.  You have still given me so much to be thankful for…”

In the morning, at each of three meals, and before you go to sleep,  

                       fellowship with God in prayer!

FYI:  The Shema is comprised of three different passages from the Torah. (Listed below)  It has been said for literally thousands of years, and was likely on Jesus’ lips when he was growing up and it is a confirmation of loyalty—like a pledge of allegiance.  The first two are said both morning and evening, and the third, only in the morning.  How might our mindset be affected if we adopt the habit of saying, and thinking about, these words each day, morning and evening?

Read and Pray:  Deuteronomy 6:4-9, Deuteronomy 11:13-21, Numbers 15:37-41