Scribbles In A Journal

You may remember from previous posts, I am focusing my year on the theme of rest. I am asking myself, what do I find restorative? Writing is helping me process how I should go about practicing rest. This chart shows you the areas I am reflecting on and making a priority.

Let’s quickly review the areas we have discussed so far. We have explored the area of habits and seen the little things we choose add up to future results. I also wrote about being introduced to a new way of relating to God through adoration. Last Thursday, the post “Strength” was about energy and physical strength. We covered an area where I desire to experience rest in each category in the chart above: mental, physical, spiritual.

Today, I want to share a way through which God speaks to me, in hope that you will be encouraged to be on watch for how He communicates to you. Clear communication with God brings my heart true restoration and peace.

Before telling you my story, I want you to know our personalities, preferences, and positioning is designed by God. He speaks to us differently; for He designed you to relate to Him in a unique way.

How God speaks personally and uniquely to us can be illustrated in my own family. I have two sisters who love God and have a relationship with him. We were raised by the same parents, home schooled by the same fantastic teacher (our mom), and learned God’s Word, values, and Christian worldview in a similar way. Even with a similar upbringing, we are very different women and we hear from God in various ways.

Jessica is the youngest girl in our family. She often hears God speak by impressing a sense or feeling upon her heart. She gave me the example of how she could be listening to a podcast and have a feeling of how to specifically apply what she is learning. Or while she is reading scripture, an image of someone she knows will come to mind. She knows this leading and sense is from God because it’s followed with peace and excitement. Recently she was on her way to meet with a person and got a sick feeling. She paused wondering if she should still go. When she took a moment to push into the reasoning behind the sick feeling she realized she held wrong thoughts about the person earlier in the week. She needed to rethink her perspective and knew this direction to deal with her frustration was from God.

Kaylee’s stories differ from Jessica’s. She is the middle sister in our family and she says her concept of hearing from God isn’t to get down on her knees begging. She knows she is purposed to live life creative and strong and she looks inward to hear from God. She says she hears with a curious energy and really listens to her emotions. If she is fearful she knows that feeling isn’t from God. She knows His leading is full of peace, joy, and thankfulness. She doesn’t often pray with words, but knows her spirit is connected to the spirit of God. She will look for directions through signs (like seeing a certain animal) or having a dream. She feels it is vital to know we are created like Him to be His family.

Me? I love words as kids like popsicles on a summer day. They are refreshing, colorful, and good to share with others. I think God chose me to be a “word girl” and to love talking, reading, and writing. God primarily speaks to my heart through words- especially written words.

As a young girl, I began writing prayers to God in a journal. My prayer journal I started in 1998 (when I was nine) is a treasure I still keep in a tub of notebooks.

Let me share one of my nine-year-old girl prayers written to Jesus. I have changed the spelling so you can understand (in this prayer I spelled awesome “asum”).

November 4, 1998

Dear Brother,

I love you. Thank you for this nice day. Please help me to obey my parents. You are an awesome God. Please help my choir teacher teach us- bless her and her class. Thank you for my Bible.

Amen

Both my spelling and understanding of who God is has developed since those moments I scribbled in pencil. Now I ask God specific questions and ponder through writing what is going on in my heart.

On a mission trip to Guatemala in 2004, our trip leader told me that He wrote prayers too. Then he added something that surprised me. He also wrote down what God wanted to say to Him! This sounded bold to me: how could He know exactly what God wanted to say? He explained it was like writing dictation; you don’t have to be thinking about what you are writing, you are writing what you hear. The strange idea enticed me. I began with a question to the Lord. Then I started writing down what His answer was.

I have been writing my prayers and God’s responses in this way since that first time in Guatemala.

I am excited to share part two of this blog next week!