The thought of my life and leadership being as repulsive as maggot-covered, stank bread was just too much for me to gloss over when God challenged me at the beginning of 08. So, I made daily time in His Word a priority for 08 and set a pretty lofty goal.
Like I said yesterday, I am not naturally rhythmic at all. I'm jealous of those who are. But, that is no excuse when it comes to feeding on the daily bread God provides. I've had to adjust a little since the beginning of the year, but here is my plan:
Before I do anything productivity-related, I spend time reading The Word.
Physically writing notes in the margins, underlining, etc. keeps me focused, so I switched over to a "book at a time" Bible reading plan produced by Discipleship Journal and now use my new Bible. This reading plan works well for me because it works through about 3 chapters per day plus a reading from Psalms or Proverbs.
After I read, I journal immediately.
I use Wayne Cordeiro's SOAP outline. Cordeiro writes about this plan in-depth in The Divine Mentor, which was one of the most refreshing books I have read in a long time. The goal is to focus on one scripture from my daily reading, meditate on it, and then write what God says to me. Here's the outline in a nutshell:
S = Scripture. Write out the verse(s) word for word in my journal.
O = Observation. What happened in the verse(s).
A = Application. How am I going to apply what I learned, and experienced in this verse(s).
P = Prayer. Write out a prayer for applying the truth(s) to my life.
Typically, I have done a terrible job journaling my journey through scripture. With this outline, I have confidence and God is using it to speak directly to my heart each day. My biggest challenge is zeroing in on one scripture to meditate on and journal about. Of course, I journal using the famed Moleskine.
After I journal, I pray.
This takes on a lot of different forms. Sometimes it's in the shower. Sometimes it's while I'm driving. Sometimes it's on my knees. But I always pray my written prayer from my SOAP outline and pray for the other things on my heart. I pray for my family, my friends in ministry, neighborhoods I drive by/through, friends I am investing in, etc. I try to capture these things in my journal as well.
On Saturday or Sunday, I rest.
God provided two days worth of fresh bread on the day before the Sabbath for the Israelites. He literally wanted them to do nothing but enjoy Him and rest in Him for an entire day. So, I have added this into my plan as well. I take a day off from reading, journaling, and praying and just enjoy what God has taught me, what He is doing in and around me, and dream about what might be next.
So, that's me. Anyone else want to share your feeding plan?
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