BECOMING A BALLERINA

Lucia my little Ballerina. She is as sweet as she is strong-willed and now once a week she gets to be a ballerina. I think the long time buried dancer in me just about did a triple pirouette when she put her little tights and leotard on. I wish I could tell you that we were all cool and collected and extremely sophisticated bringing her to class...but then, you know me don't you? You better believe we went posse in tow and cheered her on! 

Once a week, she gets to be a little ballerina once a week. 

I began to think about this. Obviously, if she really wanted to pursue becoming a ballerina we would not leave it at once a week. We would practice, we would cultivate our skill. You couldn't possibly become a ballerina if you only attended class once a week and let it be the only source of ballet exposure. If this small window of concentrated time were all you gave to ballet.

I've been working on becoming a more disciplined woman of God. 

I've seen pictures and heard of women who wake up early before their children to spend some time with God. I think "YES! That is what I need! How disciplined would that make me!" For the record, I am not a morning person, I am the girl who rolls her eyes at the Proverbs 31 woman waking up before the sun. That woman makes me look like the Jonah Woman....it would take a giant whale to get me out of bed that early and you better believe there will be some grumbling....but i digress.

So I've been waking up early, before my kids. I've set this time aside to pray to read to draw closer to The Almighty. It's been great, I mean truly I'm getting to focus more on God. But here's the deal....and you knew there would be one, right? It felt unfinished. I feel a little weird admitting this, but it felt like something was missing. 

Now, here is what I believe God is revealing to me...

God and prayer can not be left at this small window of concentrated time. 

You cannot become a ballerina if you only go to class once a week and leave it at that.

I cannot become a disciplined woman of God if I pray during this one window of time if I turn to scripture this one moment of my day. Sure this time set aside is a great start and foundation, it is the 'Ballet Class' but as we all know, we need to practice and continue on what we learned if we are to become ballerinas. 

So here's the deal. I'll continue to set aside that morning time alone with God, but also He needs to be there the rest of my day. I need to bring my everyday moments to God. I need to pray continuously. I need to pray when i feel like it and pray when i don't. I need to pray when it's loud as well as in those quiet moments. I need to pray when someone pops in my head and give thanks when there's just gratitude to give. Pray. Meditate. Confess. Worship. and then maybe I'll become an awesome "Ballerina"! 

So Pray on Prayers...Pray on!

"In the same way, prayer is essential in this ongoing warfare. Pray hard and long. Pray for your brothers and sisters. Keep your eyes open. Keep each other’s spirits up so that no one falls behind or drops out." -Ephesians 6:18 (MSG)

"Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus." -1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (NIV)

and one of my favorites...

" So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering." -Romans 12:1 (MSG)