Spiritual Life: Where I am and Where I Hope to Be

I posted earlier about where I started out in my spiritual life.  I really do promise this will be the longest of these posts about my categories.  There is just so much wonderful information to share about why I am a Christian and why I am where I am today because of Christ that I couldn't help it!  That brings me to...

Where I Am :

I am a Christian saved by God's grace.  That doesn't mean I'm perfect.  Far from it!  In fact, much of this blog is about my failures.  I want to learn from then and become a better person as a result.  My spiritual life is no different!

I know how important reading my Bible is.  I know how important it is to pray.  If my goal is to be more like Christ, I have to know what He was like, right?  I have to understand Him better and know His character.  I also have to talk with Him.  I have to share myself with Him in prayer.

But, this is another are I often fail.  It is something I need to improve.  It is one of my goals.

I started a read-through-the-Bible-in-a-year program this year.  I use the YouVersion app on my phone and iPad.  I'm behind.  REALLY behind.  But, I haven't given up.  Some days (a lot of days) I just don't read the entire days worth of readings.  Why?  Time is part of it.  But, it has more to do with quality vs. quantity.  If I can get in 10 minutes of reading where I can really concentrate and focus on God and what He has to say, that is better than 30 minutes with kids interrupting, DH trying to talk to me, or my own cloudy brain not staying focused.  So, I often don't finish a whole days reading every day.  I might stretch it out for a couple of day.

But, I have recently started a journal that helps me make the most of this limited time.  While I read, I write down any thoughts that come to me.  Questions, inspirations, things I want to remember, prayer requests...whatever I happen to think about.  I also have a section in it for prayer requests.  But, I need a better system for that.

Where I Hope to Be:

My biggest goal right now is to consistently read my Bible daily and pray continuously throughout the day.  This is hardest to do on days that I work.  I generally read my Bible at night since I am hardly ever up before my kids in the morning.  But, when I don't get home until midnight or later, I'm just ready to fall into bed.  I need to come up with a better plan!  So, I might try to experiment with different times over the next few weeks/months to come up with something better.  I know I can't be the only one with this problem.  I'd love to hear any ideas someone has to share!