This entry is a bit awkward because, at the time, I wasn’t fully confident that I could trust I was hearing from the Lord. As I read it today it seems obvious to me that I was hearing Him, so I have edited it with that in mind.   Could my faith have grown?  After over 25 years, I would hope so!

From the journal . . . . May 1999

During church we were challenged to listen to God.  Pastor said, “Jesus could hear the Father because He took time to listen and time to be alone.” 

Mark 1:35  Before daybreak the next morning, Jesus got up and went out to an isolated place to pray. NLT

Luke 5:15-16  But the news about Him was spreading even farther, and large crowds were gathering to hear Him and to be healed of their sicknesses. ¹⁶ But Jesus Himself would often slip away to the wilderness and pray. NASB

Luke 6:12  It was at this time that He went off to the mountain to pray, and He spent the whole night in prayer to God. NASB 95

Lord, I spend time with You but I do most of the talking.  Yet You speak through my mind and then I write.  I’m not sure how it works, but I want to try to be silent before You so You can speak and I can hear You.

And I Believe God Said:

You hear Me more than you think but you don’t always pay attention.

Oh Lord – that’s worse than not hearing at all!

What are you doing for lunch?  You could take five minutes then.

Today take Streams  in the Desert* to work.  Read for five minutes.  That’s what I want you to do, not legalistically or conspicuously, but be resolved to do it.

*Streams in the Desert by Lettie Burd Cowman. Lettie Burd Cowman Publishers 1925

Good idea, right?  But I confess, I never made it a habit. I started out fairly well but that routine slid off my agenda. Failure. Oh, how patient and merciful the Lord is not to give up on me!

However, I believe He had planted a tiny seed for the plant called Encouraging Moments for You!  I was working full time as a teacher in public school.  I yearned to be able to take time during the busy weekday to specifically connect with Jesus, but as any Christian working in a secular job knows, that can be complicated!   I started thinking about the idea of a devotional to bring encouragement to working women while on the job.   I wanted it to be limited to two to five minutes so it would be manageable for someone on the job. Fast forward twenty years when I retired and the idea came to me to start a blog which I called Encouraging Moments for You!  The idea of a devotional is still there but only time will tell.