Time For More Changes

       I didn't post much on Friday, and stayed off line all weekend, it was a busy weekend with my friend's wedding, getting very sick one day, and having to play catch up the rest of the time on errands and chores. Despite all the chaos though I still tried to make time for the Lord, I put aside time to read and pray and when I was too sick to read or too tired I played an online audio Bible so I still got some time in the word. Even with these attempts to be vigilant about the time I spent with the Lord though, I still woke up this morning feeling like I missed God a lot today, that I hadn't given Him the attention He deserved over the weekend. Honestly, it's something that I've been feeling for weeks now and for a while I wasn't sure how to remedy it.
           Every week for at least a month now, I wake up Monday morning missing God, desiring His presence and looking forward to spending more time with Him throughout the day and week ahead. When I work on this blog I spend a lot of time focusing on God, praying, listening for the Spirit, and reading scriptures, but when the weekend comes I take a break, shifting my focus from writing to family. I don't think this is a bad thing, I feel I need the break from writing and responding to people, I need the break from social media, I need the uninterrupted time with my husband and family.  The problem that arises from this is that I then don't feel as close to the Spirit because I am not as intensely focused. During the weekend I still read and pray but I'm not spending the hours that I otherwise would be during the week entirely focused on God. The more this has gone on, the more I feel like I need to do something to change it, that I need to carry my intense focus from the week over into the weekend.
       It's something that I've been praying about, and the answer is really something I already knew, the only way to keep it going is to keep seeking Him and giving Him that time whether it's Monday or Saturday. If I want to be as full of the spirit Sunday as I am Wednesday I need to put in Wednesday's work. I need to give Him first place everyday, and in everything I do. I need to stop making excuses for myself as to why I don't spend as much time with Him on the weekends, because the truth is whether I am writing this or not I can still spend time with God. Just because I am not writing that day doesn't mean I can't spend most of the day communing with God, I don't need to write in order to be focused on the Lord, I can invite Him into my day in other ways too.
       Some of the things He has been convicting my heart to change in order to better focus on Him I would like to share with you in hopes of helping or encouraging someone else who may have a similar issue on their heart now. Before I do though I want to make clear these are not "you should do's;" or "you have to do this's" these are just suggestions! Some of the things are obvious and I've been doing them, like reading my Bible and praying. The difference between the week and the weekend on this is two things; one during the week I'm in the word a lot more than just twice a day, and two I tend to read in absolute quiet instead with the TV on or music playing in the background like during the weekend. Another thing I tend to do over the weekend is get in a hurry with our errands, I get caught up in the running here or there and I forget to take as much time to say small prayers throughout the day to say thanks or ask for help as I do during the week. The last thing that has been placed on my heart to change so I can be just as spiritually full on the weekend as the week day is taking the time to worship. During the week I listen to worship music just about the entire day, it's in my car and play it on Pandora whenever I'm cleaning, or playing with the children. Worship is a part of my daily lifestyle during the week, but I have failed to carry it over as much on the weekends.  Other than church service, I don't live in worship on the weekends and I think that's a big part of why I am waking up Monday morning feeling like I didn't spend enough time with God, that I actually miss Him.
       The Lord loves to see us worship Him, He loves how our hearts respond to Him in worship, and He commands that we worship in  Him in Spirit and truth (John 4:23-24), and it's this that I know now my weekends have been missing. I need to carry over my worship into the weekend, and I need to turn off distractions when I'm supposed to be focused on God, and if I can't turn them off I need to find another room to be in. I have to not just say He is a priority, but I must show Him that He is, I must make my life reflect that statement in all I do just like I would for anyone else I said I loved. Thank you and God bless all of you, I hope and pray we all walk a little closer to Him each day, be blessed.

Psalm 84:4   
Blessed are those who dwell in your house, ever singing your praise! Selah 

Psalm 95:6   
Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker!

John 4:23-24   
23 But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. 24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”

Colossians 3: 14-17
14And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. 16 Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. 17 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.