On Spaghetti-Noodle Minds and 7 Ways a Woman Can Maximize Her Time with God

It is said that men are waffles and women are spaghetti. Men have compartments for everything, a time and a space for work, for family, for fun, and even for nothing.

Women are completely different. Everything is connected to everything. We long for quiet time and space. We do not understand when our husbands tell us they are thinking about nothing. We clean our houses while we worry about the problem our friend told us about earlier that day while our kids ram their push toy into our vacuum. We sit down and talk with a friend. We start off talking about the vacation she just had, which leads the vacation we wish we had, which leads to the discipline we think our children might need, which leads to the mess in our houses, which leads to the in-laws, which leads to what we have started eating for breakfast… (I think you get it).

When everything flows into everything how does one set aside time for listening? How does one quiet her mind? How does one meet with God?

Because really, how can one be crazy obedient without the words of God to guide?

I came up with a list of ways to set up your time with God that will maximize that time and draw you closer to Him.

Allow God to flow into everything
Realizing that because I am a woman and everything flows into everything, God can flow into everything. Sacred time and space is important, but who says time with God can’t be in the dishes, or the vacuuming, or the errands I am running. I make it a practice to invite God into every part of my day… because the beautiful gift we have in being a women—when everything relates to everything—we can connect God to every part of our lives relatively easy. We can take God WITH us.
Pray where your mind wanders.
I suffer from a wandering mind. For example, I might be praying but all of a sudden my mind wanders to my friend’s troubles and I am thinking of what I can say to her and no longer having a conversation with God. I am learning that God can go with my thoughts. Instead of feeling less spiritual for being a day-dreamer during my prayer time, I invite God into my dreams. I pray for whatever it is I catch myself thinking or worrying about.
Keep a notebook with you
If you are anything like me, when you sit down to pray and read your Bible, everything you have to do for the day pops into your mind. If you don’t write it down, you worry you will forget and so you keep it in your thoughts. Keeping a notebook allows you to write your thought down so you can address it later. It helps keep the space cleared and sacred for you and God.
Pair Time with God with something you enjoy
The BEST advice I ever got for how to set aside time with God, is to pair that time with something I already enjoy. I can’t tell you how easy it is for me to wake up earlier and spend time with God when I pair it with an iced latte with a tiny bit of chocolate added. I love that coffee. I look forward to that coffee. Because of this, my time with God has become favorite part of my day. It is not some kind of Christian chore to check off my list. It is easy for me to get up early and give God the first part of my day. (It should be noted: I am not naturally a morning person... at all.)
Connect with God where you connect easiest with God
My mom has a special chair. I love being outside or behind the lens of a camera. I have heard of runners that connect with God through the pressing-thru of a run. I have a friend that needs a room flooded with worship music. I have a hard time connecting with God in my living room… I see the toys, I worry about waking up my kids, I worry my husband is going to walk in. Sitting outside in the cool of morning is where I most easily connect with God. Driving on back country roads, noticing beauty and pulling my car over to snap a picture is a way I naturally connect with God.
Don’t just pray, read the Word.
The Bible is full of His words, so not only can God speak to you through the Bible, but you learn to recognize the sound of His voice. Study the Bible in a way that works for you and your attention span. Meditate on a verse at a time, read a chapter a day, the Bible in a year plan… I often use the inductive method. I read a book at a time, a bunch of times, however much I can a day (anywhere from a few verses to 5 chapters). I learn the history, the author, find the key phrases and words, notice themes, take notes all over the page. If I set myself to read a chapter a day, I fail because my brain wanders. I love history and analyzing… I was a literature major in college. This way of study works for me. I enjoy it.
Make it a Habit.
I have heard it said that it takes 21 days to make something a habit. So, every year for the last 3 years I have set aside 21 days for prayer and fasting. I get up earlier. I give God a very intentional and focused hour of my day. This 21 day reboot digs me out of the rut my routine with God has become. It replaces the bad habits I may have acquired over the past year with good ones. So I guess my challenge to you would be to set your prayer time exactly how you would want it to go and do that for 21 days straight, and maybe even consider a fast to go along with it. Every year the 21 days is challenging, but I grow in my relationship with God by leaps. I come out of it refreshed, recharged, and able to easily give God space in my life everyday.

Is there anything from this list that you would like to implement?

What would you add to this list?

By Grace,
Amanda

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