Well, I can wash my bedding... the pillow case on my bed looked a little greasy. So I did that. Then I thought, "Why not do my God time?"
It took about 10 minutes to get things in order, I used to have a Bible cover that held a lot of material but it was ruined by the flood. The Bible and contents were fine but I had to toss the cover, which is a shame. But the movers knocked a lit candle over on it and the wax got everywhere.
One lesson I learned out of that cover; it is just not practical for me to have a leather Bible cover. I am hard on my Bibles. Ideally they are getting a lot of daily use and I need a canvas. I found a light Christian playlist on Youtube and downloaded that (I pay for a subscription) to my phone. I played that as I organized.
It is interesting, I purged so much of my home but the God Time stuff wasn't touched, with the exception of the Bible cover. Everyone has my address it seems: the Bible that needs a cover is 6x9x1.5 inches if you want to send me one. :p
Anyway I arranged everything. I have some useful little booklets on Biblical themes like obedience, prayer, etc. I sorted those and selected one to read in addition to my usual lineup. I dug out all the devotionals and stacked them up, a couple of devotionals and some "read the Bible in a year" Bibles, two different types, my "regular" Bible, etc. I got my prayer notebook.
Now I have VERY strong feelings about the "journaling Bibles" where they have room to draw in the Bible. Now, many people make a Bible coloring book with themes like "Give thanks to the Lord" and a fill-in thanksgiving cornucopia, or "Sing to the LORD" and a bunch of various birds in song... I think those are GREAT even though I don't really have the fine motor for that (although I can still work, and type, go figure). I like the coloring books with Bible verses.
Using the Bible as a coloring book? I don't like it. I would NEVER tell someone how to express their faith some are Pentecostals, whatever, I was raised in a very somber faith but that's fine, too. But it just curdles me when I think about it. Yes, it is splitting hairs.
BUT God is Lord and He can make His own call on that. I have noticed my prayer notebook is probably my version of the art Bible. I have encouraging notes in plastic sleeves, photos of missionaries and other evangelists, handwritten lists of prayer requests, a brochure from Al-Anon (some ideas on how to pray for an alcoholic), etc. All bound up in plastic sleeves and inside a very loud purple binder mended with peacock-style duct tape (I said I am hard on tools of my faith!). That's just how I roll and it has worked for me.
So I sat down and read the Bible first, I always do that. I also read an informative brochure I picked up somewhere on how to step out in faith. Then I did the prayer time. I got through it with very few distractions. It is really easy to do my God Time when Ron is asleep, and he was. Biscuit came in and almost knocked over a stack of Bibles but other than that totally unremarkable. The music was nice, and not distracting.
My bookmarks showed my last "study" at October 30, so I don't know if that was last year or what. I got it going this year.
One thing I may do later, my little booklet said "Go through Luke and underline every time Jesus prayed" and that sounds like a good idea. Oh, Spotty, in the litter box... oh. And I can't use scented products in the house because Ron's allergic. It's a good thing Spotty is so cute.
I have had cats come in the orange room while I am doing my God Time and use the litter box right next to me. God understands. I did find the bright orange color very uplifting and focusing. I am glad I picked it. I still have some work to do organizing the bookcase but it looks nice. I can easily access everything and actually sit in my chair and DO IT. Which is the whole point, DOING my faith EVERY day. If at all possible.
I have tried doing God Time with a migraine, for instance, and that didn't work so well I was saying "Oh, God" alright as I tried not to vomit or whenever I moved my head.
On the migraine front I found some medicinal herbs in my box so I am taking those every day, I think they are helping and I can get more when I refill the menopause herbs.
Back to God Time I am glad I got back on that. I am spending a lot more time at home these days, I don't want to shop a lot as I don't want more clutter, plus I don't have much money. So this is a nice dovetail of time structure and practicing my faith. And I really do enjoy the room, SO glad I painted it orange.
That's it for now, when the washer finishes the soak cycle for the bedding I will take a shower and then run a standard cycle.
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