This blog has been temporarily overtaken by my Thirty Days To Greater Fruitfulness Challenge.  You can find out more by checking out the Introduction.

So the win today was how miserable I was.  That’s right, I was miserable and I think that means I’m winning.  You see, yesterday was tough.  The reason yesteray was tough was because I missed my time listening for the Lord’s voice.
Today was only different because I managed to eak out some time with Jesus before bed this evening.  And while I had a busy, productive, full day, I was miserable because I hadn’t had time to listen for the Lord’s voice for more than two days.

How is being miserable a win?  Well, in my mind it’s good that I’m becoming used to listening and hearing Jesus.  The fact that I’m miserable when I’m not doing those things means that I’m becoming dependent on what He says and doing what He says is becoming my source of strength. And, for those of you who are worried, I’m not falling off the bandwagon, I’m just trying to find all the fruit I can, even when the days don’t work out like I plan.

So, today miserableness is my fruit.  It’s not pretty, but there it is hanging on the vine.

Have you found yourself noticing a difference when you don’t get time with Jesus?  How is that changing your outlook on your time spent listening? Let us know in the comment section.

Join us on the “Thirty Days to Greater Fruitfulness” experiment.  For the rest of September we are spending 30 minutes in silent prayer listening to Jesus and then acting on what He asks us to do.  Then we blog about the changes that are occurring in our lives through the marriage of listening and obedience.  It’s not too late.  If you’re just checking out that experiment feel free to jump in.  And if you want more information, you can check it out here.

Photo Credit: September WallPaper Calendar by DewDreams

This blog has been temporarily overtaken by my Thirty Days To Greater Fruitfulness Challenge.  You can find out more by checking out the Introduction.

Today did not go how I expected nor did it go how I would have liked.  What went wrong today? Well,for the first time in about 19 days I did not get any time in front of Jesus listening to His voice.  Don’t get me wrong.  Our church gathered together to worship.  I did spiritual things today.  I even accomplished some things that I heard earlier in the month (more on that later).  Nonetheless, today I dropped the ball.  I missed time waiting, hearing, and listening.

How could such a thing happen? To be honest, a need came up.  The jury is still out on whether I should have filled the need or whether I should have waited for the Lord to open another door.  Sometimes the enemy to good listening is all of the legitimate needs that are going unmet.  My friend Mary can tell you a little bit more about that from her perspective.  All I know is that I stepped in to fill the need and used up any time that could have been used for waiting on Jesus.  I’m not even filled with condemnation over the fact that I missed the time today, more than anything I just really miss it.

However, the fact that I missed time waiting and hearing does not mean that nothing else happened.  Today I also was able to get together with the first couple and share the things the Lord has been speaking to me about.  First of all, our time was great.  We really enjoyed time together.  And then, when things turned to more serious conversation I could really feel the Lord present, guiding the conversation.

At one point in the conversation something new happened.  As we were talking I began to see an issue “in the Spirit.”  It’s not something I can describe with words.  All I can say is that I saw an issue that was about to come up in conversation floating in front of me.  Normally, I would not have brought the issue up.  But when I saw it, I knew that when it came up I would have to address it.  Sure enough, two minutes hadn’t gone by before the chance to address the issue came up.  Having seen it “in the Spirit” I knew that it needed to be addressed and I did.  And, I have to say, it was good to address it and helpful to everyone involved.  I think the Lord really moved at that point in the conversation.

So the good news is even though I missed some time today, the Lord is still with me.  All of the time I’ve spent listening the past few weeks has carried me.  Not only that, He is more faithful than to just abandon me because I got busy and made a few bad choices.  The result? Despite the worst day of listening so far, I may have managed to be obedient.  Pretty good for a bad day, huh?

How have you experienced Jesus leading you even when you haven’t done the best job at listening through this journey?  Tell us in the comment section.

Join us on the “Thirty Days to Greater Fruitfulness” experiment.  For the rest of September we are spending 30 minutes in silent prayer listening to Jesus and then acting on what He asks us to do.  Then we blog about the changes that are occurring in our lives through the marriage of listening and obedience.  It’s not too late.  If you’re just checking out that experiment feel free to jump in.  And if you want more information, you can check it out here.

Photo Credit: September WallPaper Calendar by DewDreams