delighting

Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart. Psalm 37:4

How do I "delight" myself in the Lord?  What do I do to spend time with Him, that brings me joy and gives Him glory? Studying His word. Praying. Giving him thanks, laying my burdens at His feet and trusting him with my day, my heart.

But if I'm being honest, I don't always do this.

When there are struggles and my heart is heavy, I run to the water. I soak it up like dry ground in a rain storm after a drought. I jump and splash and allow myself to go under, to be overwhelmed by His love, His promises, my only Hope.

But just like a cliche, when the sky is sunny and all is right in my world, I forget who made the sun shine, I forget where my blessings come from, I forget to simply delight in the Lord.

So I want to do more than just read a chapter in the bible or a quick devotional excerpt for 15 minutes each day. I want to actively seek to know Him more and to meditate on His love letter to me.

I love this reminder from Lysa TerKeurst:

Seeking God — really seeking — is more than just reading a few verses from the Bible in the morning and trying to be a good person that day. Seeking requires me to sacrifice the things I feel compelled to chase so I can be available to notice God’s clear direction. Whatever we chase, like it or not, gains our full attention. 
 Jeremiah 29:13, "You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart." (NIV)


Enter bible journaling. If you're unfamiliar with this term, do a quick pinterest or instagram search and prepare to be inspired. I am a visual learner, I have to see something in front of me and copy it down myself to be able to commit it to memory. I've always been someone who underlines highlights and writes in the margins of my bible. I also have stacks and stacks of filled journals so this was right up my alley.

I picked up a new single column bible specifically for journaling - it has 2 inch margins, lightly lined - and some colored pencils and watercolor markers and made myself comfortable. No music, no tv on, a quiet house, my kitchen table and I went right to the book and chapter at the start of this post. It caused me to dwell a little longer, linger over a verse, and picture it in my mind. This seemed like the Psalm to start this new hobby that I hope becomes a habit.

Comments

  1. I have been doodling and journalling in my Bible for years and love that more people are getting on board with this practice. I've been thinking I need to invest in a one column Bible because my current Bible is one I got at camp when I was 16 and is definitely showing it's age! It's so interesting to flip through and see where I was spiritually and emotionally at different times.

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  2. I've been journaling this year in my Bible too! I wrote a blog post back in August that's been exploding on Pinterest. I guess it's getting popular. I love it! Thank you for sharing this with all of us.

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    1. Thank you! I love how this is becoming a popular way to go a little deeper and be creative with your quiet time. I'll have to go find your old post for some encouragement!

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  3. Loving this new Bible journaling trend, and I imagine it's hard NOT to meditate on what it is you're drawing/doodling/writing which probably makes it stick to your heart a little more I would imagine.

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    1. Definitely! It's totally made me pause and take it to heart more and not just skim over a verse I may have read a bunch of times before.

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  4. Beautiful. I have heard so much about Bible Journalling but I haven't involved myself in it yet. I really need to, I'd like to :) Thanks.
    Katie

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    1. Thank you! I had heard so much about it too and just decided it was time to give it a try. I think it's also a cool way people can share what God is speaking to their heart. Good luck starting out.

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