did you see something this Easter that you never saw before? did the Lord speak to you about something specific while you were journaling or fasting from something? is this the longest time you have spent being in the word daily? did you pick up the journal late and are still in the middle of all the goodness? where ever you are or may be – this place is for you!
to catch up (for those who are wondering) on Ash Wednesday i issued a challenge to journey with me the next 40 days using the Naptime Diaries Lent Journal. i encouraged people to link up blog post with their first thoughts and impressions. now Easter has passed and lent is over and it is time for another link up talking about what we learned!
anyone can link up even if you did not necessarily do something for lent or use the journal. i want to hear from you about this season and what the Lord used to teach you more about Him! i believe that we need to be active and engaged in our faith or else our faith becomes stagnant and moldy.
i’ll go first-
1. i learned how important it is to be in the Word everyday. before this, i was not making time to get up before work and have a quiet time. this journal was a little challenge to me because i knew that i needed to wake up and read because you all were keeping me accountable to it! i created a rhythm and surprised myself when i was waking up without an alarm by the end. just being in the Word every morning changed my perspective on the day. Jesus really is an important relationship that we need to nurture.
2. hope, follow, live, bless. i learned that our faith is not this perfect line of progression like “yeah, i used to doubt but then i believed and then i lived perfectly as the best wife and friend ever so now i can give, love, and bless others because i made it there!” our faith walk is nothing like that. we always need to be reminded of what the Lord has done and the hope we have because life gets hard and dark sometimes. we always need to keep our eyes on Jesus and not start following other idols. we always need to abide and live in Him or else we let the world feed us. we need to bless and be a light so people know there is hope in the darkness.
our journey moves forward day to day but it is never perfect. we need to relearn things all the time. we need to turn back to the Lord and away from our idols all the time. we need to realize we still need grace and we still mess up all the time. that is why the Lord desires us daily. we need to nurture that relationship with Him or else we will start trying to fill that void in other ways. it is a sweet spot to be in to know that you are nothing without Jesus. things get messy when you think you can handle it on your own. i learned, am still learning, that i want time with Him every morning more than i want to sleep in. yes, He is that important to me.
"i learned that our faith is not this perfect line of progression…" I love this. So true.
i'm one of those that is still in the midst of going through this journal. i am loving it! and yes, our relationship with Jesus is something that we have to continually nurture. we have to remember that we never get to a point where we are good without him. i need him daily!
yes 🙂 I am glad you are still working through the journal!
for real. that is why we need Jesus daily!
He is incredible!