Daughter, put the phone down, and listen.  I’ve given you all you need right here.”

She woke, rolled over and grabbed her iPhone. After she checked the time and rubbed her eyes, she let out a big sigh and thought about the busy day ahead.  Then, she clicked on the blue square with a lower case f.  She saw how many likes she had from what she had shared the night before.  She scrolled through mindlessly for a minute.  Then her feet hit the floor with an empty feeling in her soul.

“Why did I just start my day like that?!” She thought.

She went to the coffee pot, then grabbed her bible and notebook for what she knew would make her empty soul feel good and satisfied instead- her Jesus.

Friends, the story above, has been my story some mornings.  Thankfully, I decided to do something about it.  I decided I had to live out my life verse:

“But seek FIRST his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” Matthew 6:33

I just won’t open any kind of social media until I’ve had time with God first.  Time to seek him first.  Time for him to remind me who he is, and who he says I am. Time for me to ask him for the blessings only he can give. Time for me to hear him remind me of the good work he has for me to do in the day ahead.  And I usually (actually never) hear him include:

“Spend time scrolling through your social media mindlessly.”

Trust me friends, I know we need mindless, chill time.  I don’t think anyone can run long and far for God without sitting back and relaxing.  Us mamas know at the end of the day, we have hardly any brain functioning left.  We need an escape.  We need to connect with the outside world, to get good ideas for recipes and outfits.  To see the cute babies our friends from college have had.  Yes, yes, yes.  Social media is not ALL bad.

But we need to check our social media surfing and ask ourselves some questions about how it is affecting our most important relationship, our relationship with our Heavenly Father.

How is social media affecting my relationship with God?  

1. Am I SEEKING GOD FIRST with my heart, my days, my time and energy while still being connected to social media?
2. Am I finding my IDENTITY and VALIDATION in who I am in Christ or in my popularity on social media?
3. Am I ABIDING in Christ and BEING PRESENT with him and with the people he has placed in my life or am I letting social media steal my attention from him and them?

We’ve already hit on the number one, so let’s start with number two.  And let’s just be real.  You have looked at your post to see how many likes it has.  You have looked at your profile to see how many followers you have.  You have even gone to another person’s profile to see how many followers she has compared to you.  Sometimes this makes you feel good. (Which is silly and prideful). And sometimes this makes you feel small, and not important. (Which is a lie).  This has to stop.

As children of God, we CANNOT find ANY IDENTITY in our popularity online. 

This is grieving the heart of God.  He is watching us thinking, my child, I created you fearfully and wonderfully, I sent my son to die for you, I have adopted you as my own through him, and given you every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realm, and yet you look on social media to see what people who don’t even really know you think about what you have posted?  Ouch.  That thought hurts, but in a good way, right?  Isn’t it fantastic that who were are in Christ is what really matters?

Let’s not let this cycle steal our blood bought identity and worth any longer.

“Daughter.  Put the phone down, and listen.  I’ve given you all you need right here.” 

 ~Hear him, and step away.  

~Sign off and look up.  

Which bring us to our next topic: Abiding(being present) with God and the people around you; instead of being on social media.  God has promised he will never leave us.  He has sent his Holy Spirit to dwell in the hearts of those who have trusted in his Son.  How can we converse with God, and the people around us if our eyes are on our phones and devices?  The answer is we can’t!  Someone is getting ignored.  Please, let’s make it stop.  (Preaching to myself here, too).

So how can we stay on social media and keep walking closer to God? 

1)Be disciplined about it.  

“So I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing. I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified.” 1 Corinthians 9:26-27

We need guidelines and limitations. Here are some ideas:

Time restrictions:  Only get on certain times of the day, like after you spend time with God, or just at night to check one time a day to stay connected but not obsessed.  Also, you may want to set a time limit for when you do get on, so you don’t look up and realize you’ve wasted an hour while your dishes are still piled up in the sink waiting for you.

Reasons to get on: Checking to see how popular your posts are should not be one of them! That is self-centered and makes us have that false sense of worth we talked about earlier as children of God.  But there are good reasons to get on.  You know what they are for you, so just ask yourself, “What’s my good purpose to get on social media right now?”  Don’t let it be a rote, routine habit to click on the app because you have a free second.

Log out or take apps off your phone: Train your fingers not to click where they’re used to clicking.  Either delete it off your phone, or sign out of your apps until the time you have decided you will get on daily.  Then log back out.

2)Run

 If you need a detox from social media, step away for a while.

“Run from anything that stimulates youthful lusts. Instead, pursue righteous living, faithfulness, love, and peace. Enjoy the companionship of those who call on the Lord with pure hearts.” 2Timothy 2:22

3)Accountability

Tell someone how you are trying to change your online habits.  Choose someone with the same heart for the Lord that you have, and explain to them how you are doing this for a closer walk with God and to grow in who you are in him.

Finally, we all know to change behavior, a new behavior has to replace it and take it’s place.  Use the time and energy you used to spend on your devices on social media to seek God instead; to grow in the truth about who He really is and who you really are as his child.  Get the bible app on your phone and find a great devotional to click on when you have free seconds.

Be present in the moment that you are in, with God and with those around you.  Live life to the fullest, like he intended you to, right where your feet are planted; instead of where your fingers are scrolling.

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” John 10:10 ~Jesus

Dear Daughter, 

I’m right here. I have given everything for you to be close to me. I gave Jesus. Don’t miss out on the fullness of life I have paid for you to have. Look up at the blessings in front of you. Let’s experience life deeply together, in person and not in front of that screen. 

Love,
Your Heavenly Father

Dear Sister, 

I know this is a lot to take in on a Monday Morning! But last night, I got on a mindless scroll fest that left an exhausted mama even more exhausted. Have you been there? I needed to hear this blog post I wrote a few summers ago. I am asking myself the three questions about how social media is affecting my relationship with The Lord.

Will you join me: 
Are you seeking Him first? 
Are you finding identity and  validation in social media? 
Are you abiding in Christ and being present with people? 

After we answer these questions, let’s make a plan. Some I mentioned above include time limits, reasons to get on social media, and logging out of apps. Maybe we need a break from it all together. Or maybe we need to be on our bible app instead of the social media apps. 

Just ask The Lord. He’ll be honest with you and lead you in the right direction, amen? As for me, I’ll be setting time limits. I do love me a good timer! 

I hope you find even more freedom in Jesus this week as His Dearly Loved Daughter.

Amy 

P.S. I want to hear from you! Really, email a sister back and tell me what you’re going to do different with social media this week to walk like His Daughter! 

Last week I shared with you how our daughter’s persistent petitioning of her daddy and then praying to her Heavenly Father for a puppy paid off. This wasn’t the first time, though, that this strong willed girl (Lord, help me) wore out heaven with her requests.

 
While we were adopting our other daughter, Sharon, from Uganda, we studied the story of the persistent widow from
Luke 18:
 

“One day Jesus told his disciples a story to show that they should always pray and never give up. “There was a judge in a certain city,” he said, “who neither feared God nor cared about people. A widow of that city came to him repeatedly, saying, ‘Give me justice in this dispute with my enemy.’ The judge ignored her for a while, but finally he said to himself, ‘I don’t fear God or care about people, but this woman is driving me crazy. I’m going to see that she gets justice, because she is wearing me out with her constant requests!’” Then the Lord said, “Learn a lesson from this unjust judge. Even he rendered a just decision in the end. So don’t you think God will surely give justice to his chosen people who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will grant justice to them quickly! But when the Son of Man returns, how many will he find on the earth who have faith?””
‭‭Luke‬ ‭18:1-8 NLT 

We all chose one specific thing to pray over their future sister whom we had seen a picture of, but hadn’t met yet. Arabella chose to pray everyday that her sister Sharon would have clean water, for she knew that many people in Africa do not have access to safe drinking water.
 
“Lord, please help Sharon have clean water.”
 
“God, please give Sharon clean water.” Her little three-year-old voice would pray a slightly different variation of the exact same request, night after night after night, for months.
 
God granted justice to his Chosen one, his daughter, for praying for His other daughter. I remember the day I took this picture of the two sisters, side by side, drinking  bottled water in a hot van bouncing down a bumpy dirt road in Uganda.

 

When I realized she was living her answered prayer, with my heart exploding out of my eyes, I said,
 
“This is what you prayed for, Arabella!”
 
I think she kind of just smiled, pressed into her sister, and giggled. She was so happy to be with her sister, I don’t think her answered prayer registered.
 
Dear Daughter,
 
I am here, waiting for you to ask again and not give up. I will empower you with inner strength through my Spirit within you (Ephesians 3:16) so that you will be able to keep asking and not faint. I will not drag my feet. There are many pieces to this puzzle that I am strategically positioning. Everyday I have not been able to grant you your request quite yet, I have collected your tears and I am holding them in my bottle. (Psalm 56:8). Trust me, daughter until you can see the bigger picture. In the meantime, keep praying to Me and never give up. I desire for my daughters to have this kind of persistent faith and I’m sending Jesus back to get you soon. (Luke 18:8)
 
Dear Sister,
 
Have you been in the position of the persistent widow?
 
Have you been tempted to loose heart as Jesus warned against in this story in scripture, and quit praying?
 
I know I have.
 
Day after day of asking the SAME THING is exhausting. I get tired of hearing my own voice say the same words, same syllables, same sounds.
 
But God doesn’t.
 
Remember His desire? It’s for his daughter to return to his lap, his chest, his countenance, day after day. If you have the same need today that you had yesterday he wants you to lay it there, again, at His feet.
 
Your father will not delay. He will not make you wait a day past his appointed time to grant your request. In fact, he will do it speedily. We just have to trust his timing and KEEP ASKING.

If you are tempted to give up and quit praying for someone or something today, don’t!

Email me and let me partner with you in prayer this week. Just let me know what the request is, I’m here for you! 

And as always, please let me know if this week’s Dear Daughter Devotion encouraged you! 

Amy

“Daddy, look at this puppy!”

Every night, my daughter would crawl up in her daddy’s lap, and talk to him about her biggest wish, the dream in her heart – getting a puppy. She would show him pictures of puppy after puppy on his phone.

Like seriously, every night. For two years. 

Never, not once, did her daddy roll his eyes in annoyance that she was asking…yet again. Quite the opposite, actually: he revelled in her asking. He got excited with her over all those adorable fluffy fur balls. He hung on her every word about what she liked about each one, what she might name them, and if she should get a boy or a girl.

I sat at a distance, watching and wondering why that man was entertaining this wild idea about her getting a dog! Everybody knows that mama is the one who ends up taking care of every living creature in the house and I was not on board!

This father/daughter interaction struck a chord in me as it relates to prayer. She ran to him, daily, with this deep desire in her heart. Daily this daddy opened his arms wide, delighting in her asking. He didn’t grant her wish immediately, like a genie. He was a wise, good father (and husband) to not say yes right off the bat and give in to her fantasy whim the first time she asked.

Imagine all the precious hours of connection they would have missed out on had he done that! All the minutes she had crawled up in his lap, rested her head against his chest, called him daddy, and shared her deepest dreams of doggie love with him would never have happened.

He was listening. He was enjoying spending time with his daughter. 

Watching them made me want to run to my Abba Father with my “childlike faith” big dreams that seem unrealistic. Do you have some of those, too, friend? Sometimes in the light of day, they seem unreasonable to ask for. Yet we know from scripture that this childlike faith is the kind of faith our daddy in heaven wants us to have.

I don’t know about you, but I have trouble keeping the persistence and passion in my prayer life with The Father that my daughter had with her father. Yet it’s evident in scripture that RELATIONSHIP is what God’s after in prayer. It’s the relentless running to your daddy and resting you head on his chest, asking and talking to Him that He desires.

Dear Daughter, 

 When you pray, come away with me. Shut the door behind you, and pray to me, your Father in private. Then your Father, who sees everything, will reward you. When you pray, don’t babble on about what you think sounds good and religious. I know exactly what you need even before you ask me! (Adapted from Matthew 6:6-8)

Even though I know what you need, even what you desire, I want you to take hold of this opportunity Jesus gave you to have relationship with me. Pour your heart out to me, and let’s sift through it together. 

I just want to spend time with you.

Love,

Father.

“Because he bends down to listen,  I will pray as long as I have breath!” Psalm 116:2

Dear Sister, 

You are probably wondering, did she get the dog?

As I mentioned the mom in this story was lovingly watching their snuggles and daddy’s delight in his daughter, but I was a firm NO in the dog department. Well, daddy was out of town on a trip, and I taught the kids a lesson on prayer journaling. I told them to just “pour their heart out to the Lord in your journal.” Whatever is in your heart: your desires, frustrations, your uncertainties. Thank Him for what he has done. Ask Him for what you need. I read Hannah’s prayer for a son to them from 1 Samuel 1.

“Oh no, sir!” she replied. “I haven’t been drinking wine or anything stronger. But I am very discouraged, and I was pouring out my heart to the Lord.” 1 Samuel 1:15

Obviously, this prayer for “a son” translated to “prayer for a puppy” in our daughter’s mind and heart!

The daughter in her, who had been running to her earthly daddy and asking for a puppy, ran to her Heavenly Father and began asking Him for a puppy.

We are now the proud owners of a Malshi (Maltese/Shitzu) name Millie.

Sister, this week, let the daughter in you run to your Father like a daughter who is crawling in her daddy’s lap asking for a puppy. He will not turn you away. He will not roll his eyes that you’re asking for the same thing, yet again. He may not grant your desire, but He will become your desire. He will satisfy the longing in your heart until he either fulfills it or gives you peace over it.

He is the only true need you have. Just run to him, daughter.

I hope this Dear Daughter Monday Motivation letter has inspired you for the week ahead!

If it has, I’d love to hear from you about it!

Please share it with a friend.

See you next Monday, daughter.

Amy

P.S. Get this Monday Motivation direct in your email box by subscribing to my email list in the pop up box.

Plus, you’ll get a FREE Bloom Journal!

 

 

Do you need to grow in your awareness of God’s love for you?

Could you use encouragement to entrust your worries to Jesus?

Would accountability to read and meditate on God’s Word daily be helpful to you?

If so, THIS is for YOU! June 3rd- June 30th, I will be hosting a FREE online Bible Study, titled “BLOOM” that will be perfect for your summer schedule. We will prayerfully study and meditate on one verse of scripture a day.

The devotion plan is built upon Paul’s prayer for spiritual growth in Ephesians 3:

“Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong.” Ephesians 3:17

 

I’ve created a simple devotional plan to help you prayerfully study the scripture and grow in your relationship with Jesus. It’s based on the acronym “BLOOM.” (See image below:

We will be walking through two passages of scripture from Ephesians 3 and Matthew 13.

To join the study, just subscribe to my email list (in the pop up box on this website!) and download the Scripture Plan for FREE!

Then join our private Facebook Group where I’ll be doing some Facebook Live talks and the posting daily verses for discussion.

I created these printable BLOOM journals for FREE! They have the verse of the day and the devotion plan all laid out for you to just grab your pen and grow with God.

Make sure you subscribe to my email list in the pop up box above!

I hope you’ll join us and BLOOM in June!

Praying for you,

Amy

“I’m doing this because I love you…’

My daughter didn’t seem moved and continued to complain about having to work on memorizing her multiplication facts over the summer.

“Honey, if I didn’t care, I would just let you wake up, watch tv, and do nothing all summer. But, I know what’s coming in fourth grade math. If you aren’t automatic in these facts, it’s going to take you twice as long to do your work everyday. Trust me.”

Her face started to soften as she could hear the compassion and wisdom in my voice. A willing spirit SLOWLY began emerging and she softened to the thought of a little math over the summer.

She trusted my reasoning, even though she would rather totally chill and forget math for the next three months.

Ladies, don’t we push back at The Lord’s guidance like this?

He sees the next season and knows what we need to bloom there. 

and

He loves us.

Unlike me, the sinful, human parent, wanting what’s best for my child, He’s the perfectly loving Father, knowing what’s best for His child.

If we could just get that the next time we question His love, question why this is happening, everything would shift in us.

I am convinced, if we grow in knowing His love for us, we will grow in our faith in every way.

Paul convinced me in Ephesians 3.

“Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong.” Ephesians 3:17 NLT

Friends, we want our roots – our belief system – to grown down into the reality of His love for us in every situation. In my life, I see examples in three levels of faith crises: everyday messes, more serious stresses, and fear.

Everyday messes:  when we are stressed because the dog peed on the floor, the kids are arguing and the house is a wreck. (Or if your’e nine -Mom making you memorize math over the summer 😉

More serious stresses: Things that are causing lasting anxiety and worry. This could be wrapped up in money or making big decisions.

Fear: This faith crisis usually occurs when you realize you are absolutely not in control, and you are having trouble trusting The One who is. For me, it is often wrapped up in a health scare or uncertainty in my future.

Think of a situation you’ve been in lately where you just totally temporarily forgot God loves you and He’s got you. In that moment, you experienced a doubt of His love, His goodness, His mercy, forgiveness, and His peace. We’ve all  been there. We all experience real life. Jesus told us we would:

I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” John 16:33

In this series, Bloom in His Love, we are going to walk through how to grow and blossom  in our faith when we are in danger of withering and shrinking back in frustration and fear. We will learn to do three things to ensure we don’t just survive, but that we thrive. We want to take the opportunity set before us and become like a tree planted by His stream of living water, bearing fruit in every season, with strong roots that don’t just hold our faith secure, but strengthen the faith of those around us, amen?

So here’s the three things we need to BLOOM: 
1. Check our Soil

2. Weed 

3. Water 

But before we do that, assess what level of BLOOMING you’re at

Blossoms abound- I am in a season of praising God, experincing His love and thanking Him for all I see Him doing, even the frustrating hard things, I can see his hand in and I trust He’s working all things together for good.

Weeds popping up- I know The Lord loves me, but I’m praying the same things over and over and feeling stuck instead of trusting and waiting. I’m a little nervous about a few things and overanalyzing a my situations.

Need water! Withering – I have to be honest, I’m in a hard season. There’s been one struggle after another. I want to believe God is good and He loves me, but I’m having a hard time walking in that right now.

Which one of these conditions do you feel your heart in right now? Let me encourage you, we have all been in all of theses conditions. The good news is, like Paul says in Ephesians, we can simply let our roots grow down into His love, and we be strengthened in our faith. I’m here to help you! Next week, I’ll walk us through how to grow in an awareness God’s amazing love for us. It’s the most transformation thing I’ve ever experienced.

What do you think, friend – what stage of BLOOMING are you in right now?

Are you blossoming in faith? Need some weeding? Needs some watering?

His love is the cure.

I have a free printable for you below:: 3 Steps and Scriptures to help you BLOOM:

BLOOM

Print it out, post it where you can see it, memorize the WORD and BLOOM!

I’ll have more next week on checking the soil we’re planted in!

If this email has been encouraging, make sure to subscribe to my newsletter (in the pop up box) and receive a FREE 28 Day Bloom Devotional Journal!

Amy