Cold, refreshing water of Life

My husband will be the first to tell you that I have a hard time drinking water every day. Milk? No big deal. Water? Eh. Not that it tastes bad, but I just seem to have too many other things going on to think about stopping and getting a drink. Even though I feel healthier and stronger when I do drink, I just don't always put time and focus into it. It seems like such a small effort, and at the end of the day I feel better if I've had water, but I always have something going on.

This is kind of like prayer in my life right now. I know that in order to be close to God, spiritually healthy and refreshed, I need to draw myself TO him through prayer. I actually really love to pray, and it feels so good to be helping others through prayer as well as drawing closer to my Maker. 

BUT.............there is always something going on!

I have been searching for reasons, methods, and techniques that will help me in my quest for a healthy, refreshed soul that is near to God every day, not just on Sundays when I manage to make it to church for some, a little....(a few moments?) of kid-free time.

The best place to look for answers is in the Bible, and, as mentioned above, the time I have available for this is minimal, so hopefully God is ok with me Google searching Bible verses about living water and prayer. 

Here are a few that I loved:

James 5:16 "Therefore....pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working."  Sounds exciting, right?

1 Thessalonians 5:17 "Pray without ceasing."  Gulp...

John 7:38 "Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, "Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water."  Ahhhh, refreshing. 

John 4:14 "But whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." 

I love it! Now how do I do it? 

Well, it took a little bit of thinking, but I finally hit on a plan that seems to work, as long as my desire for prayer, (and water) is there.

I made a shopping list board for MOPS last year when I was the Creative Arts director.  

I love this list SO much! It is an old picture frame with scrapbook paper behind it, and I can use a whiteboard marker to write on it and erase when I'm done. Super easy, especially since I only remember items at odd times during the day. (If I tried to remember everything in my noggin, we'd only come home with one thing, and that thing would probably not be needed!)

I started to realize that I needed something similar for my prayer life. Finding a TIME to pray was no good, since my children have crazy sleep patterns and are just as likely to be up at 5 am than not. Putting prayers in a journal was ok, but it would be misplaced or colored on, and not ever really right in FRONT of me, to keep me focused. 

So, I made a prayer board, and just in case you'd like to make one as well, the instructions are right here! Handy, right? :)

Start with an old picture frame, painted, or antiqued, or just Goodwill style, which makes it kind-of antiqued in it's own way, like mine was. 

Cut out scrapbook paper to fit inside. I loved this paper with crosses on it; it was a big hit during MOPS this year.

Next, hot glue it closed if it does not have clips to keep it there. (Mine did not, so I will not be able to switch out the paper, but that is fine. Make sure you have a frame that can open if you'd like to switch things up once in a while.)

Hot glue heavy-duty magnets on the back as well. Start with a few and add more if it does not hold up.

Finally, use stickers, (or Cricut letters, or whatever you have on hand.....you can even write it out), to make the word "Prayer" on top.

 Ta Da! As you can see, mine is right above the WATER dispenser on our fridge. The fridge is a handy place for me at any rate. If you've met my kids, you will know that they are "starving" all the time, so I am in and out of there all day long.

Whenever a prayer need arises or comes to my attention during the day, I jot it down. Then, whenever I'm getting water for my kids, ahem, myself, I can spend a few moments in prayer. I am amazed at how many things and people there are to pray for throughout the day. I may not be praying ceaselessly every second, but I am able to pray constantly throughout the day. I love that.

“Don’t pray when you feel like it. Have an appointment with the Lord and keep it. A man is powerful on his knees.” ~ Corrie ten Boom