Out of the Overflow Part II

"But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart"

Matthew 15:18a

We've all met people that seem to be so filled with God's grace and wisdom that we can't help being attracted to them.  It's like they've been soaking in God's word and His truth just sort of oozes out of them.  It's easy to put on a facade some of the time (blogging for example only shows one aspect of a person's life) but to be so filled with God that His love can't help but spill over all of the time, takes true discipline in our daily walk.

Yesterday I wrote about how important it was to bring up God's teachings at every possible moment for our children's sake, but if we're not spending time with God ourselves this will be next to impossible.  We need to fill our hearts with the things of God in order for God to overflow.

There are some seasons in life when this comes easily.  Others seasons such as those of sickness, grief or busyness (raising two or even three in diapers for example) make filling our hearts with God somewhat more challenging. Just because it may be harder, doesn't mean we're off the hook, particularly if we have little souls  in our care. 

Ideally we'd all be able to wake up half an hour or an hour before our families so we could spend time in reading and in prayer but this ideal isn't always realistic if you have an infant waking you up at 4:30 or you're so exhausted from morning sickness, nursing, and running after an older toddler that your body needs all the extra sleep it can get. Reading God's word can be hard to squeeze in, and yet it should be a top priority.

 I certainly haven't experienced every season in life, but here are some different things I've done in the past that have drawn my heart closer to the Lord.

• Eliminate Television, secular magazines, and secular novels for a period of time (or permanently if you're brave).  Depending on how much secular media you watch, read or listen to this could free up a sizable chunk of time to devote to Bible reading.  
• Find CD's, podcasts, radio programs or MP3 downloads of preachers you like and listen to them throughout the day.
• Listen to the Bible as you work, get ready, drive, or before you go to bed.
• Set a timer when you're on the internet or set up parental controls to limit your activity.  I don't think it takes a rocket scientist to know the internet can be a massive time waster.
• Have someone or a group of people who will hold you accountable
• Hand write or print out scripture verses to post around your home, make it your goal to memorize them within "x" amount of time.

This is by no means an exhaustive list, I'd love to hear any other tips that have helped you in various seasons of your life.

Tomorrow we'll talk about practical ways to make prayer time a priority.

Have a Blessed Day!

Kasey

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