Daily devotions

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This is connected to Melissa's earlier two posts, but I thought it needed its own post. Does anyone do any kind of daily devotions or periods of meditation or prayer?

I have friends who are Monks and Nuns who have Matins and Vespers-prayers twice a day at six and six. I don't manage that! Three small things that I do are:

I keep a small devotional book of some sort in my needlework bag, before working on a project, I read a page or two, then reflect on what I've read as I do my needlework-I confess my thoughts often drift to shopping lists and menus! My current book is "Blessings" by Julia Cameron.

I have a small flip-type free-standing calender called-Reflections for Daily living-I keep it in the bay window at the kitchen sink and read the relection for each day as I do the dishes.

The last one is I have several small voltive candle holders on the window sill in the kitchen. As it gets dark out-usually the time I start getting supper, I light the candles. Each candle represents a prayer request that I'm making that day-some days the candles streach the entire lenght of the sill! It makes quite a blaze! My husband often gets home after dark, he likes to see the candles in the window. I try to plan my day so that the supper dishes are the last chore of the day. After everyone is home safely, and the days work is done, I blow out the candles.

I think being at home is very important and I try to find ways to blend my housework and my prayers together. Does anyone else do this?

-- Kelly (homearts2002@yahoo.com), January 03, 2002

Answers

In the morning I usually read a Bible passage with the kids, and some small book of a devotional nature. We just finished one called "What would Jesus do?" Then at night I read my Bible for a while before bed. I almost always have some book in the works that is religious in nature, whether it is humorous or serious.

-- Melissa (me@home.net), January 03, 2002.

Every morning I have my daily devotion-whether it is out of a book or the bible.I feel I need this to get through my day. I often pull something out of it and relect or apply it throughout the day. I have decided to do the daily devotions on the women of faith website Melissa posted earlier on reading the bible in a year. There are times, I over sleep or am away, and I try to have a least quiet time for reflecting and praying daily.

-- Micheale from SE Kansas (mbfrye@totelcsi.net), January 03, 2002.

When the children were younger, we had scripture time at breakfast. When that stopped working, we tried other times, and are now doing it regularly as part of bedtime, before prayers. On nights that we will be away until bedtime, we try to do it earlier, before we go out.

-- mary (marylgarcia@aol.com), January 03, 2002.

Kelly, I love your ideas. We try to do a devotional with the kids at bedtime. We have some kid's devotionals, but sometimes I find appropriate adult ones that they can relate to. At dinner we read our scripture trivia calendar page. That always prompts some discussion and further looking up of information later.

I have found some nice daily devotional websites and would like to have those pages be my homepage to start my day with.

-- Ann Markson (tngreenacres@hotmail.com), January 03, 2002.


Ann would you mind posting some of these sites. Thanks.

-- Melissa (me@home.net), January 03, 2002.


Sure! It may take until early next week but I will post them.

-- Ann Markson (tngreenacres@hotmail.com), January 03, 2002.

Bedtime is my favorite time for devotions. I have at least three books and my bible on my nightstand..each night when I crawl under the covers, I settle in and choose one of the devotionals to read....then some of my favorite psalms..the house is quiet, there are no phones ringing or folks at the door..after I am done reading, I turn off the light and look out the window at the stars and the moon, reflecting with God on my day, my actions or inactions...it's chat time with the Almighty and I relish it, every minute! When I had little ones in the house, I had my prayer time in the wee hours of the morning while I was the firat one up, making coffe, preparing breakfast, making school lunches, etc...again the house was quiet and inbetween all my chores I could sit in the kitchen rocker and have my daily chat with God...He sure is always available! God bless.

-- lesley (martchas@bellsouth.net), January 05, 2002.

I like to get up an hour and a half before the children do. I brush my teeth, get dressed, and put in a load of laundry (this all serves to wake me up thoroughly). Then I like to read a Psalm, marking verses that are especially meaningful that morning. Then I try to spend a half hour praying, then I read some other passage in the Bible, going systematically through the Bible.

Other devotional times include reading the thought for the day on my Elisabeth Elliott calendar and preparing for my Sunday school class. Also, I would like to be reading other spiritual books at bedtime, but lately I have been so tired I fall asleep. One book for young girls, newlyweds, and mothers which I have especially liked is "Stepping Heavenward" by Elizabeth Prentiss. I had to special order it from the bookstore since it wasn't in stock, but it was worth the wait. I recently gave that one to Jillian, so now I'll have to get another copy:o)

Another book I have benefitted from is "The Making of a Christian Family" by Elisabeth Elliott. Every time I read it I find something else that I can apply to myself as a mother. For Christmas my mom gave me a used copy of "Musings of a Mother" by Doris Coffin Aldrich. The copyright date is 1949, so I don't know if you can still find it. (It was originally published by Moody Press.) I also have enjoyed "How I Know God Answers Prayer" by Rosalind Goforth. The author tells of her own experiences as a missionary wife and mother in China during the late 1800s and early 1900s. Any good missionary biography makes a good devotional, and is equally popular with the children.

-- Cathy N. (keeper8@attcanada.ca), January 05, 2002.


Does anyone have any ideas for nightly Quiet Times with two boys nine and 10 years old?

-- Laura Roberts (interpreterprincess@hotmail.com), August 26, 2002.

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