3 Little Things That Will Change Your Life

Do you ever have those mornings where the alarm goes off, your brain gets jolted, your eyes snap open, and your body jerks off the bed and in under 5 seconds you’re standing up? This was me for many, many years. The alarm was a Pavlovian response to go-go-go, do-do-do, achieve-achieve-achieve.

I can’t say I know what day this all changed.

It wasn’t a single moment or some life event that preempted a wake-up call, but God did send me plenty of mini-messages saying that I needed to ease into the day, slow down, and truth-nugget: spend some time with Him.

I was putting the world’s needs of me first and putting God last.

Y’all, it just doesn’t work as well that way, and sometimes it doesn’t work at all.

About six years ago, I had the great pleasure and life-changing experience of attending a women’s retreat. During the weekend, I heard from women still in college all the way through retirement who had rediscovered their relationship with God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Their stories were moving, sometimes harrowing, but all of them real-life encounters with the Holy.

If I had to choose a moment in time – a time that led me to a more devoted approach to each day – it was that retreat. If any of my sisters are reading this now, you know who you are and I’m grateful for your witness.

After that retreat, I started doing the following three things, and to this day – six years later – I can say with complete confidence that when I skip this routine, my days feel more like a road ready for a repaving job as opposed to my preference of it flowing like a silk ribbon in a breeze.

The three things that I do, that may help you to, that also just might change your life:

1.       PRAY FIRST. Do not look at your phone, unless you’re called to hit snooze or turn off the alarm. Personally, I avoid snooze whenever possible, because I believe that’s spiritual warfare keeping me lazy and keeping me from prayer. My prayers don’t thee-thy-thou, but simply go something like this.

Hello Lord or Good morning God. I’m going to give you this day and before my feet hit the floor, thank you for the gift of having another one. Please show me what to do today. Show me how to serve you and please, please, please help me to be patient. Bless my kids and my husband today. Help us to do your will, not ours. Let’s do this. Thank you for this chance to do another day with you.

2.       SOAP. I know what you’re thinking. Take a shower, because cleanliness is next to Godliness, right? Of course, it is, but the SOAP I’m talking about is a way to get connected to scripture in a personal way. This method, SOAP = Scripture, Observation, Application,, Prayer, is a “serendiptious discovery” (thank you God and Google) that I discovered during quarantine and it has made reading the Bible so much more meaningful and applicable. Whether you’re reading a book of the Bible start to finish, or you’re more likely to read the daily readings like me, this method is so incredible. Thank you to a women’s ministry leader in Texas who virtually suggested this to me through a Google Search. Here’s how it goes:

S is for Scripture. This is what you’ll select to read. Read it once to yourself, a second time out loud, and a third time to ensure comprehension. Need help understanding it? Check your Bible for footnotes and explanations or websites committed to accurate theological explanations for what you’re reading. Then, select a few key verses and WRITE THEM DOWN. I know. This can take time, but the connection to comprehension between writing something down and our brains is huge.  The words come alive and they have more meaning. Trust me. I never did this before SOAP and it has been huge.

O is for Observation. What is it that the scripture is trying to say? What can you learn from it in context with the times, the writer, the lesson that is being shared. WRITE DOWN YOUR OBSERVATIONS. Again, if you need help, find a theologically legit resource to support what you’re reading. Sometimes it’s in reading Biblical scholarly notes that the a-ha moment happens for me.

A is for Application. How can you apply this scripture’s main points and teachings? What can you take from this an apply it to your daily life? What about it is confusing or harder to understand? Do you need more support to make it apply to your life? WRITE IT DOWN IN YOUR JOURNAL.

P is for Prayer. This is when I think it really gets real. The prayer section is where we ask for the Lord to help us make this scripture viable in our own lives. It helps us to walk our faith more richly and stretch beyond our human ideas of what it means to live well. The Bible offers the best self-help guide (even though I truly believe that self-help doesn’t exist). All things are possible through the Lord, not without Him!

Note: I use a basic spiral journal. After years of fancy journals stacking up, I found that the basic one subject notebook gets the job done beautifully and on a dime!

3.       DAILY REFLECTION & GRATITUDE. At the end of each day, I make time as I lie in bed or I’m washing my face (honestly this is stream of consciousness for me now and happens at multiple times throughout the day), where I ask God for help with the hard things and thank him for the many little joys and big triumphs of the day. Whether it’s a beautiful sunny day or the smell of fresh air, whatever it is, I take time to say thanks. The Examen, from St. Ignatius, is also such an intentional and meaningful way to check in on our life that day using a straightforward methodology. Google it to find the way that makes the most sense for you. The key is this: Looking back on what went well, what needed improvement, and thanking God for all of it.

These three steps have dramatically changed my life and brought me closer to God, remind me when I’m off-form, that HE IS IN CHARGE, not me, and ultimately that my life is richer with these practices in place.

A special loving note to the Perfectionists out there. I’m a recovered one, so I speak with a smidge (or rather large dose) of authority. God is the only one who is perfect. Let that go. Just show up. Keep it simple and let him do the work on you rather than you doing the work on him. No perfect prayers. Satin journals be gone. Perfect prayer hands down. Just show up from sun-up to  sun-down. That’s all He wants – a relationship with you and to help you live your life well.

I hope that these are helpful and you have your own ideas that are supportive to this community and me, please don’t be shy. I love learning new ways to increase my faith!