* Spending Time in God's Word

Not so much a GAPS issue, but relevant in the life of this GAPS Mamma, is the issue of time spent seeking the Lord, because He is the One who saved us.  Not only did God save our souls from the consequences of His wrath because of man's sin, but He saved us from GAPS.  We were captive to it.  Life was hard on GAPS, but harder when not on GAPS, so we stuck with it, but...oh, it feels so good to be free.  Now I tell you, there is a battle going on and sometimes/often our faith is tested, but God has proved faithful.  God is more powerful than food!  Nothing is impossible for God!

So, when I began to seek the Lord, it was towards the end of the school year.  I shared everything I was learning during my Bible reading and quiet time with my children.  OK, not everything, but everything that jumped out at me and excited me.  I figured that getting to know God was more important than anything else (and I was right).  We finished up for the year and took a much needed summer break from academics.  We usually study through the summer, but...well...given everything we had been through in the past few years it just seemed the right thing to do (and I was right).

There has been a drought here in our part of Texas (and all around) and so we passed through the summer with virtually no rain.  This made it possible for me to establish a set time to go outside (too many distractions in the house)  and spend time reading God's word and talking to God.  I would garden, ponder what I had read, ponder what I was observing in creation, and I would talk to God about all of it.  I told my kids what I was doing.  I shared with them what I was learning.  I encouraged them to read their Bibles, too, and even had my oldest commit to reading at least 10 minutes and log what he had read (because he was not inclined to do so on his own).  My now 11yo girl wanted to have her own quiet time, so we scheduled it in before her chores.  My now 8yo girl also wanted some quiet time, so we scheduled it in for her as well.  I had to schedule their times, because in order for me to get any quiet time, someone had to be in the house prepared to comfort and help the two little ones when they woke up in the morning (if they woke up before my quiet time was over, which sometimes did happen).  I did not require my girls to read their Bibles or have a quiet time, and they had to wake up early in the morning to have it, but because of the changes they were seeing in me, they got up and voluntarily had their own quiet times.  I was so blessed.

Then, school started and Fall Back (Daylight Savings) made it too dark to read outside in the morning, and it was incredibly difficult to drag ourselves out of bed an hour earlier by our biological rhythms.  I put off  my quiet time for a few weeks (which dragged into many, many weeks) in order to get school off on the right foot.  Big mistake!  Everything fell apart.  I began to spend time with the Lord again, but my children never got back into the routine of it.  So sad.

Ah, but I do share what I am reading and learning and we started reading missionary stories during lunch, which has really encouraged us and strengthened us in our faith.  Because I was asked about all of this, I mentioned it to my girls and encouraged them to read God's word for themselves and to spend some quiet time with God to see what He will teach them, so we shall see.  They seemed very receptive.

I could insist that my kids have a quiet time, but I can't really make them have a relationship with God.  That will only come if they begin to seek the Lord on their own.  I hope and pray that they will.  Our lives depend on it!