Gutsy Faith - We Were Broken
This week in our Gutsy Faith discussion group, several of us were really broken. It was just an amazing time. In our discussions over the past two sessions we've walked away with several "assignments." After our first week we all agreed to find 15 minutes in our days and redeem that time by reading and meditating on the Psalms. Myself, I spent most of that time meditating on Psalms 90-100. Good stuff. Go check it out. Last week we chose to carve out 15 minutes of time in prayer. What we found was that even 15 minutes of time each day was difficult. Many of us were broken about the idea that it was such a difficult thing to do. Just 15 minutes a day, and many of us failed, to include myself.I'll withold this person's name because this message was sent to me in confidence, but one of our group wrote an e-mail to me and had this to say regarding the 15 minutes of time:
"...I haven't been doing the more personal, reading of the psalms and praying 15 minutes each day...But I know it goes the same, just keep trying, I know the Lord knows my heart and I am trying, just need to keep at it. I just felt real convicted for not being able to give the Lord 15 minutes each day of "my" time. It's just frustrating to me that I won't do that, that’s my struggle. But I'm pluggin away..."
Don't we all struggle with that? There is a shame issue that we feel
when we can't give God even 15 minutes of our time. Wow! Why is it so difficult? Why is it we allow the world to crowd out God, when God should be our everything?
Here's my questions for you:
- How do you find time to be with God?
- How do you find time to focus on Him and what He wants to say to you?
- What do you do to carve out time for God?
If you want to pray for me, or our group, here's what I want you to pray: "God, give Jeff and the Gutsy
Faith group the ability to find at least 15 minutes each day to find solitude with you."
That's what we need.
That's what we all need.
posted by {jeff edmondson} @ 9:01 AM
5 comments
5 Comments:
Hello Jeff! My name is Tim Sheets and I'm a youth pastor in Bluffton, IN. I just finished your book Gutsy Faith and posted a review on my blog. Thanks for writing! Enjoyed the book and look forward to using it with some of my senior high teenagers!
T <><
jeff.
i'm in KC.
doing the in service modules.
seminary.
lunch sometime?
So I may be the only one here but it makes me sad that there is a shame issue.
I think we can find God in so many aspects of our days, and there is something to be said when we do "find that time" but I hate to think that there are people out there who are wondering if they are failing at their faith simply because they don't carve out 15 minutes a day.
Again, maybe its me, but so many times in my journey this requirement/suggestion from pastors, teachers, etc, always seemed to give me more guilt and more a sense of failure. And also seems to enhance the rules vs. grace issue. I just don't think that is what God had designed for us.
I hope that the person in your group can find God in the every day aspects of her life and that maybe for right now that is exactly where God is waiting to meet them.
update...
Hello,
My name is Kelly and my youth group is going through your book. I really love, but we have an intern that is teaching it and he does not want to do the second half of the book.. 12 on. It may not connect as much with the first part of the book, but it does have a lot to do with having a strong faith. I personally would love to do the second half because I am not just wanting to improve my prayer life, but I have recently been through a trying year. I looked through 12 shortly and it is jsut the thing I need, healing.
Anyways the point, I have no idea where that was going, we have been having a hard time understand some of the questions. For example: Identify what fig trees need to shrivel up before you can move forward. I interpreted this as what things aren't bearing spiritual fruit for you and are hindering your spiritual life, things such as bad habits and things. My youth leader decided to just skip the question instead of try and figure it out. So I was wondering if there was a way I could get ahold of some people and see how they interpret the thought questions.
Well, this is getting to be a really long comment. Thanks for the ear, or eyes.
Kelly
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