“The shepherd walks right up to the gate. The gatekeeper opens the gate to him and the sheep recognize his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he gets them all out, he leads them and they follow because they are familiar with his voice.”—JOHN 10: 2–4 MSG”
— 100 Days to Brave: Devotions for Unlocking Your Most Courageous Self by Annie F. Downs
https://a.co/b7eGEsy
“BE BRAVE: Could you be brave enough today to believe that God wants to speak to you? Just ask Him. Pray this: God, I want to hear You. I want to know Your voice and recognize it. I’m listening. Speak to me.”
— 100 Days to Brave: Devotions for Unlocking Your Most Courageous Self by Annie F. Downs
https://a.co/3K1fnne
That picture in my header... that isn’t staged. That’s my war-area, if you want to call it that. Most mornings, I wake up. Take my bible, my journal and whatever books I’m reading and gather them around me with my coffee. And I read.
I don’t read because I’m a good Christian and this is my “quiet time” or whatever type of cliche you’ve heard from your Christian friends... I’m not hating, I think quiet time is great. But... you know what I mean.
I do this because usually my anxiety is so high when I wake up that it gives me a tangible thing in the morning that I can hold on to. I can crack open that teal book on the left and reread those verses to calm my heart and mind over and over again.
When my anxiety is astronomically high, I go for a run with no headphones, no phone. Just me and the road ahead and God.
It doesn’t solve everything. But it reminds me that I don’t need to be “solved.” I just need to listen.
I do this so I can talk to God and hear Him back.
For me, it’s my lifeline because I live with such high anxiety, I need this connection and relationship with a higher power.
I need to hear God on the regular. But He’s only going to speak to me if I ask and if I am listening.
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