Hi everyone!Hope you’re doing well. :)I don’t know what day it is that you are hearing this episode but today is the first day of JULY and it’s my birthday month! It’s funny that I’m stating that on the first day of the month because I don’t remember the last time I had an actual “birthday party” I do typically have a birthday meal and celebrate with the fam, but I’ve never been about the party, but what I am about it intentionally taking in life by looking back, looking around, and looking forward.I had the thought a few weeks ago about sharing a thought from my journal page for the month of July and wanted to invite you along in the July journal journey.This leads me to the topic of today’s episode. 3 tools to hear God more clearly.When I typically write or share about tools that help us connect and hear God more clearly, there are a few particular practices that come to mind. Practices that I’ve talked about many times through the years and will continue to talk about.But today instead of talking about those specific practices which are definitely part of the bigger picture I’m narrowing the focus down to 3 specific tools you need to help you connect with God, your creator in an easy, simple, powerful way.The Definition of tool is a device, especially one held in the hand, used to carry out a particular function.And a means to an end.I love that ...a means to an end…Because even though at any moment we can choose to connect to God. He is omnipresent which means he is always present everywhere at the same time! How cool is that?!?I can remember as a child trying to wrap my mind around that one!Even though we have access to the Father at any time we also live in a time that we have access to the world on a device that most often can be found in our hand or somewhere close by. And as beneficial as that can be at times it can also be the biggest distraction in our lives as well as the biggest obstacle in connecting to God intentionally.So you ready for tool number one?!? Here we go…The 1st tool you will need is A writing tool ( meaning a pencil, a pen, a crayon...whatever you can get your hands on ;) And I’ve talked about his before but there are actually studies that show that sequential hand movements, like those used in handwriting, actually activate large regions of the brain that are responsible for thinking, language, healing, and working memory.The 2nd tool is a piece of paper. And when I say paper that can be the nice think lined kind OR it can be parts of a recycled paper grocery bag that you have. What kind of paper you use is totally up to you. You don’t have to have a fancy journal, a regular old classic sheet of notebook paper works just fine. As a matter of fact, sometimes the fancy-schmancy journals hold us back. Because they are so perfect looking we don’t want to mess them up with words that might not make sense and misspellings and mistakes.And last but not least tool number 3 is your words.I do want to add there are times when I feel the need to start out with someone else’s words...It might be a day where I’m needing some help in opening up so I might borrow some of David”s words from the book of Psalms. And I will write it out and typically by the time I’ve written that out my own words are showing up.I know you might be listening and thinking. Another person talking about journaling...or this is sooo basic.And you would be right! It is! And isn’t usually everything that is true and healthy and so needed in our lives?!? HahahaWe tend to overcomplicate everything we put our hand to hahaThis is in no way offered up to you as another practice to check off some man-made religious checklist or another task to get done on your never-ending to-do list.Not at all. And I keep sharing these things because I keep sharing them with myself!And I will continue to share and remind myself because I have seen the good that comes from this practice of putting pen to paper as well as the “not so good” that comes w
