faith

Six Simple Ways I Center My Day On God

In a perfect world, I’d always keep my focus on God and stay connected and in tune with Him. Let’s be honest, though, life just isn’t perfect! I feel like it’s so easy to become disconnected from God in my everyday life if I don’t make a concentrated effort to center my day around Him.

Ways to center your day on God

I have days where I get busy and before I know it, it’s time for bed and I haven’t read my Bible or spent much time talking to God. I can tell you that those days are always tough and filled with anxiety. Yes, I have days where I center my thoughts and mind on the Lord and still have a rough day, but keeping the Lord at the forefront of my life makes all the difference.

I’ve worked on establishing a few daily habits that center my day on God that I want to share. I’m always looking for more, so let me know what you do!

1. Bible and journal first thing in the morning. Before I start my day, I love sitting on the couch or at the kitchen table with my Bible, journal, and a mug of coffee. This is my time to talk with God, read His word, thank Him, and focus for the day.

Starting out the day with my Bible and a pen in my hands instead of my phone has made such a difference in my life! I always finish my mug of coffee and scripture reading time with more clarity and peace than if I hadn’t picked up my Bible.

Coffee and Bible

2. Pray throughout the day. I make an effort to be in prayer throughout the day. If someone comes to mind, I pray for them. If a situation is bothering me, I try and pray about it and then leave it to God. If the news is on, or I have a conversation in the grocery store with someone, those people or situations are in my prayers.

We also have a prayer list from our church pinned up in our kitchen so we can pray for the various needs of the members of our church and their friends and families. Along with that, each night at dinner either Jimmy or I pray before our meal and thank God for getting us through the day and lay our requests before Him together. It sets the tone for our evening together and is really special to us.

3. Listen to Christian music and podcasts. If I have my phone with me while I’m dog walking, cleaning the house, etc., I usually listen to a podcast sermon. If I’m driving, I turn the radio onto the local Christian music station and jam out.

Phone

4. Keep my Bible in front of me. My Bible is pretty much always sitting on our kitchen table. Since I work from home and pet sit, I’m generally able to eat lunch at home. I always try to pop my Bible open and study it while I eat. It definitely beats scrolling on social media and leaves me feeling refreshed and replenished at lunchtime.

5. Read Christian books. This one can be tricky because the book I want to be reading and spending the most time in is my Bible! With that said, supplemental devotional books or even Christian fiction are great options for leisure reading.

Reading book by water

6. Use my phone wisely. If I’m on my phone, I try to spend more time in apps like YouVersion and Bible Lens instead of checking my email or opening social media. If I am on social media, sometimes I’ll post scripture on Instagram or Facebook.

Another way I try to use my phone more wisely is to connect with others! There’s just something about texting a church friend or family member and giving or receiving encouragement that just makes all the difference in my day.

How do you center your day on God?

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Room to Breathe

Whew, life has been full for Jimmy and I lately. Between training Mavis, tackling house projects, taking on some extra responsibilities at church, working, and Jimmy taking violin lessons, we have both found our selves completely worn out.

brown and white parti colored cocker spaniel puppy sleeping on couch

I pretty much look like this at the end of every day lately!

We talked about how we’ve been feeling busy, so busy we don’t have breathing room in our days and weeks. When we have an obligation every single night for weeks straight, something has to give, you know? We’re both introverts and just don’t thrive off of constant socializing.

We realized we needed to make some adjustments, decide what is truly important, and which obligations we aren’t willing to give up. So, here’s where we’re at now.

  • Jimmy isn’t going to take violin lessons anymore. This was expensive and took a decent chunk of time each week. He put a lot of pressure on himself to be ready for each lesson. Now he can practice at his leisure and truly enjoy it.
  • Mavis is done with training! She passed Adult Level II, which was the highest level class we could do at the pet store we went to. We are so burnt out on training and have been going to classes once a week since August. We are all ready for a break and the opportunity to train on our own time at home.
  • We won’t give up the new church responsibilities, because our focus in life is Christ and living for Him. Serving God means serving our local church (among many other things!), and we wouldn’t want to give that up in a million years.
  • We are trying to cut back on any extra obligations that pop up. We are both pretty bad at saying no to people, but we’re working on it 😉

This week is our first week without violin lessons or Mavis’ training and we feel like we have room to breathe. That is a wonderful feeling!

Have you ever found yourself overly busy for an extended period of time?