So after breakfast she sits at the piano and begins to
play. She plays a song that I taught her
and if I close my eyes I can see myself as a child playing the same song. She has gotten so good at this song that she
could play it with her eyes closed. She
knows where each finger goes…where each note is…and what notes come next. What she once struggled with or messed up on
the melody…she now knows like the back of her hand. Practice…this is what it does. It makes us better and more comfortable with
whatever we are practicing on.
I’m practicing my prayer life with God because I want to be in His presence and to be more like Him.
I’m practicing how to walk with God daily. I want to know Him and know when He is speaking to me. I want to run to Him
when there is a problem instead of running my mouth or thinking I can fix it. I want to pause instead of jump. I want to be
able to close my eyes and lean into Him as easy as breath comes into my lungs. SO…in order to change I need to
practice.
“We
cannot trust who we do not know.” ~Wendy Blight
To practice all of this – to practice walking with God
daily – requires being present in His presence.
It requires me to open my hands and let go of control. It requires me to trust in Him and to see the
world through Kingdom Eyes.
We lit the first Advent candle this past Sunday…the Hope
candle. Lighting the candle brings a
beautiful light into our home. Jesus is
our constant light and when I practice being in His presence – no matter when
that candle is blown out – the light still shines.
There is a lot of darkness in this world and it could use
a bit more twinkle. One of the things I
love about this season…are all of the Christmas lights…the twinkle…spread all
over the world. If only we could keep
the lights shining all year long. In
order to shine the light…we need to know the Light of Him.
So yeah…I’m practicing a lot these days. Because I want the light to shine constantly
in my home…my family…and everywhere.
Practicing His presence, the present moment, and leaning in to His
gift…Jesus.
“Here’s another way to put it: You’re
here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret
to be kept. We’re going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I
make you light-bearers, you don’t think I’m going to hide you under a bucket,
do you? I’m putting you on a light stand. Now that I’ve put you there on a
hilltop, on a light stand—shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives.
By opening up to others, you’ll prompt people to open up with God, this
generous Father in heaven.” Matt. 5:16 (MSG)
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