February Challenge- Slowing
- Union Community Church
- Jan 21
- 2 min read
Slowing Challenge:
Pick at least 1 of the 3 practices below to try each day. Then comment to this post about what you are trying and how it is going to help encourage others:
The Practice:
(1) SLOW DOWN- Think thru your day’s schedule then do something intentionally slower: drive in the slow lane, choose the longest line at the grocery store, sit longer over your meal, Intentionally chew your food, take a longer shower. Relish the time and make God a part of it. Be in the presence of God. What rises to the surface of your mind? What does this tell you about yourself?
(2) GIVE OVER- People who are rushed often feel anxious. As part of a morning prayer, offer God three concerns of the day. Ask him to take care for those things for you. When those worries creep in, return to the moment you handed God your concerns.
(3) TAKE A MOMENT- Insert moments of rest and relaxation into your day. Remembering that it is better to be unavailable than inattentive: make sure you have no back-to-back appointments, take some deep breaths before you pick up the phone, ask God to make you present in the moment, put into practice breath prayers throughout your day.
When & Why:
Slowing is a way we counter our culture’s mandate to tend to the bottom line, to move it or lose it, to constantly be on the go. It is a way we honor our limits and not get distracted from the fact that God is found in the present moment. Whether we are busy with work or family or being retired- ANYTHING can direct us away from God’s presence and serving God in the now! When we drive, we sometimes need signs to remind us to slow for students and children at play… but aren’t we children of God and students of Christ. We need to slow down to Be doing that playing and learning ourselves!!
Some Scriptures
“Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, ‘Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.’”
-Mark 6:31
“Be still, and know that I am God.”
-Psalm 46:10
I actually posted this comment for January and then I read the February challenge. I rolled right into the Slow Down challenge without missing a beat. I slowed down to watch the snow, recite a breath prayer and there it was…..the heart in the tree, God was speaking to me. Had I not slowed down, I would have missed it. I wonder how much I have missed because I normally move at warp speed?!? I will continue to slow down and take the time to hear from God!
This morning (1/31)I was watching the snow and practicing my breath prayer. While I was inhaling/exhaling, I saw it. A heart in the tree! Some will say it was just the…