Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Cozy Times with God

'Coffee and Cozy times' are affectionately what I call my daily times with God. I came up with that a few years ago when I realized that "quiet time" didn't accurately describe my times with Him. I do often have some time of meditation but normally I'm singing, reading out loud, praying and I've been known to dance sometimes too. Each morning I grab my coffee and get cozy with God, thus the name. I say if you're going to "game it" then you've got to "claim it." LOL. 

One thing you'd notice is that my Coffee & Cozy's aren't always pray, read & study then pray again. So what pops into my mind first is don't let it be boring because you are building a relationship here! If you are longing for something new in your personal times with God, below are 22 ideas to try:

 
  1. RELOCATE: find new places all the time to have them! watch the sunrise or sunset, find a hill that overlooks a valley nearby, go to a park, sit under a tree, create a cozy corner in your home
  2. WORSHIP: buy Christian concerts videos or worship songs so that sometimes you can jam out or sit quietly
  3. STUDY: grab an inspiring book to help you (devotional, poetry...)
  4. ENCOURAGE: pick about 5 people, pray for them, then search for verses and encourage them by sending them text messages or making them cards
  5. PARTNER: ask another woman if you can have a time with God together
  6. BOOST: go on a prayer walk or run around you neighborhood and pray specifically for the people and homes you pass by
  7. GROW: pick one verse, meditate on it and memorize it
  8. SHARE: for one week, share what you learn each day with someone new
  9. TEACH: write a short study on an attribute of God's character
  10. RELAX: have a picnic with God during your lunch break, read and pray
  11. FILL: walk through your home and pray in each room
  12. LEARN: listen to an online message and journal
  13. IMAGINE: go out after dark and spend some time reflecting on stories you've read about Jesus
  14. WALK: take a nature walk and meditate on how to continue to grow in your 'walk' with God
  15. FEED: go bird watching or buy some feed and go provide for some birds; reflect of verses like Luke 12:24 or Matthew 6:26-34
  16. RESEARCH: go through some of the post in my 'studies' section. Some interesting ones back in January and early in the blog :)
  17. TALK: lay on the floor or curl up in a chair and simply talk to God about things you are going through right now
  18. DREAM: spend time dreaming about what it will be like when Christ returns then find scriptures!
  19. CARRY: pick one verse, write it down, meditate on it then carry it with you ALL day long - read it whenever you get the chance
  20. DRIVE: get up, get ready and get out the door. take a prayer drive!
  21. RECEIVE: find an app that reads the bible to you and sit quietly to listen
  22. GIVE: pray for all the people on the prayer list from church
No matter what I'm doing, my focus is thinking about God, talking to Him about things, learning about Him and sharing myself with Him. :) I love this simple statement in James 4:8a "Come near to God and he will come near to you." I can say without a doubt...this is very true.