BEST PRACTICE # 2 ESTABLISH A ROUTINE

It has been said that it takes 21-30 days to obtain a habit.  Think of the habits that you have. It took about 30 days to make those habits a routine.  If we are dedicated to our upcoming study and it’s activities, by the time we finish you will have a habit to prayer. There is NOT a better habit to have to me!!

Yesterday I posted about you finding a place and dedicate it to your prayer time. Today will be talking about the routine. At a minimum, this routine will help you create consistence and build your ability to focus.  I know I need help sometimes focusing when I pray.

SETTING THE STAGE

1.   LIGHT A CANDLE.

  This helps trigger your attention toward God, Because He is the Light of the World. It also gets your mind transitioned to a prayerful mindset. What thoughts go through your mind when your light a candle? It was invented to be able to see in the darkness. As you pray, this candle can represent the darkness of your prayer needs and the light is God. Even scented candles is nice. Incense has been used in Christian worship throughout history to represent the prayers of the faithful rising to heaven.

2.   PRAY FOR UNDERSTANDING before you read your devotion. Pray for God’s help to understand His word.

3.   READ THE BIBLE. Devotional readings not for study. Study involves lots of critical thinking.

4.   JOURNAL- Write down your thoughts, prayers or Bible verse that “spoke” to you.

5.   IDENTIFY A TAKE-AWAY. Always look and listen for actions steps that God is calling you to do.

6.   MEDITATE and LISTEN. Pause in silence to listen what God has to say. Just be very quiet.

7.   THANKS GOD. For insight and the time together.

I know you are problem thinking I thought we were going to talk about HOW to pray. We will get to that in our study, but the point I am making here is that we should spend time with God daily not just when we need Him.

For example, when you are trying to have a relationship with someone, do you only talk to them when YOU WANT something? As nurses, do you have so-called friends call you ONLY when they need medical advice? Or money? How does that make you feel? How do you think God feels when that is the only time we talk to him?

This prayer time/ devotional time doesn’t have to be 30mins. It can be as short as 5 mins. There are so many short devotional books, emails and apps that you can uses, for this “getting to know you more” time and make your relationship with God more intimate.

This time is, among other things, a training ground for life. It’s where GOD shapes you to perform better in the “mission field of life”

TOMORROW…..INCLUDE SCRIPTURE…….

PRELUDE TO PRAYER STUDY: BEST PRACTICE #1 ESTABLISH A TIME AND PLACE TO PRAY

As I sit here thinking about my past weekend, working the "Walk to Emmaus" I am rejuvenated in my walk with God. As much as when I attend the "Walk to Emmaus" for the first time as a pilgrim. (Your first time you are a pilgrim the other times you are workers or "the team". ) We did a lot of praying this weekend and it made me think about our upcoming study on prayer.

I want to give you a little introduction information, some REFLECTION questions and some activities to do before we officially begin. Just to get us in the right mood and atmosphere for the study.

If you want to improve or learn to pray, you need to set the stage. Just as if you are cooking. You need a place to cook, a cookbook/recipe, the right utensil and ingredients along with equipment.  In fact for each room in your house, there a specific things there to MAKE THAT ROOM what it is. Think about it, the bedroom, the bathroom, the living room, and the laundry room. You should have EVERY THING you need, to accomplish what is expected and necessary for those task specific for those rooms.

5 FACTORS SHAPE YOUR PRAYER

1.    CONSISTENCY. How often do you pray?

2.    BREADTH. Do you struggle with what to say?

3.    DEPTH. Do you have a growing sense of intimacy with God? Do you recognize God at work?

4.    FOCUS. How well can you stay focused during prayer? Does your mind tend to wander to other things?

5.    INTEGRATION. How much is prayer a part of your life? Is it shaping who you are or just an extra curricular activity?

As most of us are nurses, we have heard a lot about “BEST PRACTICES” when it comes to patients. 

Wikipedia says “A best practice is a method or technique that has consistently shown results superior to those achieved with other means, and that is used as a benchmark. In addition, a "best" practice can evolve to become better as improvements are discovered.”

 Prayers have “Best Practices” too.

During this week, I will be posting these “Best Practices” for you to prepare for our study next week.

1)   ESTABLISH A DAILY DEVOTION/PRAY TIME AND PLACE

Prayer should not be left to WHEN ever and WHERE ever. It is simply too critical. That’s why you need to sit aside a TIME and PLACE for PRAYER.

Your prayer time/devotional time is a sacred time, holy time, a time set apart from all other times, just for GOD.

Just as you schedule your workday, important appointments, schedule time for GOD. This is one way to make prayer a priority.

Many People pray at night as they fall asleep. They may offer thanks for meals or just run to God when life gets so overwhelming.

God is with us constantly, throughout the day and always giving us HIS very best, shouldn’t we do the same?

A PLACE. You can pray anywhere you want. However have a set place will make you more focused.  Your prayer “spot” can be as simple as a chair in your living room

or maybe you want to dedicate a closet as a “prayer closet”. (I am planning this myself).

It may be somewhere outdoors or more than one place.

 Wherever the place or places are, make sure that your space is one where you can be ALONE with God and uninterrupted. Yes, it can even be in the Bathroom.

NEXT TOPIC....ESTABLISH A ROUTINE......................

NEXT BIBLE STUDY

APPLY THE BIBLE TO NURSING

I recently came across an organization called Nurses Christian Fellowship. You know I had to join and "check it out".  Found this and thought it might be useful .

APPLY THE BIBLE TO NURSING- BE TRANSFORMED, TRANSFORM NURSING THUR BIBLE STUDY.

Use these questions in any inductive Bible Study to intergrate your faith and role as a nurse.

 What attributes do you appreciate about God in this passage of Scripture? Which of these attributes do you want to reflect in your nursing practice?

 Is there a promise to claim that encourages you in your nursing role?

 What do you learn about caring, compassion or mercy? How can you integrate what you learn in your daily life as a nursing student or nurse?

 What do you learn about yourself as a person created in the image of God? How does this impact the way you care for others?

 How can you apply the main point of this Bible passage to interactions with your peers, colleagues or patients?

 What does this text say to you about how Christian nurses are to act, speak and work? Is God asking you to make a change in your actions or speech?

 How does this passage offer insight about a problem or challenge you are facing in nursing school or in your nursing role right now?

Bad Girls of the Bible Weekly Outline

Feb 1 2015           Week 1  All About Eve: The First Bad Girl

Feb 8 2015           Week 2 Bored to Distraction: Potiphar’s Wife

Feb 15 2015         Week 3 Pillar of the Community: Lot’s Wife

Feb 22 2015         Week 4 Dying for a Drink: The Woman at the Well

Mar 1 2015          Week 5 The First Cut is Deepest: Delilah

Mar 8 2015          Week 6 Generous to a Fault: Sapphira

Mar 15 2015        Week 7 Knocking on Heaven’s Door: Rahab

Mar 22 2015        Week 8 Friends in Low Places: Jezebel

Mar 29 2015        Week 9 Out of Step: Michal

Apr 5 2015           Week 10 I Beg Your Pardon: The Sinful Woman

ONLINE BIBLE STUDY GUIDELINES

ONLINE BIBLE STUDY GUIDELINES

CONFIDENTIALITY: Anything shared in this group is not to be repeated outside of the group. Please respect anyone who are transparent with their testimonies. Be assured that only members of this group can see your responses.

NON-DENOMINATIONAL: Within this group , there will be different doctrines, Bible translations and theologies. This is a place if you disagree, you will do is respectfully, rather than judging one another. This will help us all to grow and understand different viewpoints. It is okay to question and see things differently, however I ask you to be kind and sensitive to the feelings of others.

BIBLE TRANSLATIONS: There are so many translations of the Bible out there. You are welcome to use the translation of your choice. I encourage you to explore parallel translations to get the most from this study. You can use an on-line program so that you don’t have to spend $$$$.  Here are some sites you can use: BibleGateway, YouVersion, BlueLetterBible… ( I won’t tell you how many translations I have)

ACCOUNTABILITY: I encourage you to find an accountability partner to pray for you and keep you on track.

PARTICPATION: If you want to get the most out of this study, participation is required. Respond to the discussion questions will not only help you grow, but it can help others grow too.

My Personal Bible Study Tips

Getting Started: My Personal Bible Study Tips

I am not sure how many of you are accustomed to BibleStudies, but I thought I would share my tips. First, it is OK to write in yourBible.  In fact, I got me a JournalingBible about a month ago, just so I could have room to write next to verses. Ialso have been using a journal in the past. Any composition book will do.  When writing in you Bible, I found crayola pencils work well for highlighting. They don’t bleed through the pages.Also different color pens, for underlining or commenting,  as long as they are ball point pens not gel.

I use the S.O.A.P. method, when I study. How appropriate for a nurse. I don’t know if any ofyou are old enough to remember S.O.A.P charting.. Well, Belinda and Jodi will.Any way..

S. Scripture.. I write down scripture that speaks to me

O. Observation. What is that scripture saying

A. Application. How can I apply it to my life. 

P. Pray. Pray about it ( I write my prayer so I can repeat it as often as needed)