she reads truth – Days of Sunshine Diaries

It’s the beginning of April now! I can’t believe how time is flying by! 2020 hasn’t really been what I thought it would be so far, but it will be okay. I just want to encourage you to keep going and don’t give up! Keep trusting God, and remember that He knew all of this craziness was going to happen, and knows what will happen after this.

Keep up with what you have going on in your life. Even when life is crazy with this pandemic, we still need to keep up what we need to do in our lives. It’s really hard, and I have been really struggling with not letting the news overwhelm me. But God knew this all would happen, and He is the only One who can give us peace now, and anytime.

my goals

This year I started doing monthly goals and resolutions, not many yearly ones. A year is a long time, especially with everything that is happening in 2020 and in my own life. Right now my state is still in shelter-in-place, so I don’t exactly know what will be happening this month. But I know I still need to live my life, even if it’s just at home. To be honest, that’s not to much different from my regular life. And, for me, that’s okay.

So, these are my goals for this month. I hope they encourage you to set goals, goals that will push you but also could be attainable if you are motivated and focused.

Keep becoming healthier and feeling better! – My health hasn’t always been the greatest, but I am feeling better. I just want to keep feeling better and finding a rhythm to feel better on a consistent basis!
Keep falling in love with Jesus every day. – Staying home a lot more has given me so much more time to talk to Jesus and learn more about him. I just want to keep falling in love with Him every day.
Finish 30-day SHRED strong! – I am currently doing a YouVersion Bible plan with some Internet friends. This plan (30-Day SHRED if you’re interested!) is where you read through the whole Bible in 30 days. It has been very interesting already, and I really want to keep up with it. It’s a lot to do, but so worth it!
Connect with more people through the Internet and real life! – Connecting with people has always been hard for me. During this time, I know I can encourage others. I really want to help other have fun at home! I know I can keep in contact with others during this time, and I am so thankful for that. So, this month I just want to encourage and get to know more people!
Write more blog posts – I really haven’t made posting on my blog and Instagram a priority this month. In April I really want to keep up with my weekly posting here and posting 3-4 times a week on Instagram. I love it when I’m sharing more of my thoughts, so I want to keep doing more of it this month.
Do more art – I haven’t done as much art as I wanted to this month. I finally got back into in at the end of March, so I definitely want to keep up with that. I love to put on a good audiobook and be painting for hours on end. Definitely doing more of that while we’re all stuck at home!
Workout on a regular basis – I have been doing pretty good at doing some kind of exercise every day. I want to keep doing that! My goal is to do 10 minutes of exercise every day-whether it’s yoga, dancing, strength training, or really anything else! I just need to get my body MOVING.
Organize my spring clothes! – It’s April now, so hopeful Michigan will start acting like it’s spring 😅. So I want to get all my warmer weather clothes rearranged in my closet. Not necessary, but it is fun and helpful.

what are your goals?

Life is really crazy right now. But also, you’re probably staying home more than ever right now. So make some progress for YOU this month. Start working out, or learn a new skill. Work on lessening anxiety, texting people regularly, or whatever you need to do to help your mind and body. I don’t know what your’e life is like right now. But maybe God is using this time at home, not doing much of anything, to get your attention. Listen to Him during this season.

So, tell me. What are you going to set as your goals for April? I’d love to hear!

Talk to y’all soon!

Mackenzie 💕

Hey y’all!!! How’s life going? I know, probably pretty crazy. With everything going on in my area with COVID-19, its been insane. But that’s why this post is SO important. We ALL need Jesus. We can’t do life without spending time with Him. So, today I want to share my quiet time, or God time, routine. I love my routine, I think I have finally found the best kind of time for my life to really grow closer to God. Enjoy this post, but even more than that, let this post be your incentive to find your best routine for God time!

why does everyone call it ‘quiet time’?

ok, honestly – I am not exactly sure why. But, I think it is because this is the time where we separate from the noise of this world and QUIET our minds and hearts so we can commune with God, our glorious Heavenly Father. It doesn’t mean we don’t have music blasting and singing along with our whole hearts to worship the Awesome God who made EVERYTHING(cause I know I do!). So, the quiet comes from quieting every other distraction from the world and devoting that time to focus on our one true and perfect and good God.

I like to call it my God time, or my time with Jesus. Simple, I know. 😅 But this is probably my favorite part of my day. I usually kind of split it up into two times, just because I do a lot of Bible studies and I am not able to do everything at one time. I love it; I really do.

That is the most important thing: we need to LOVE our time with God. We can’t do it begrudgingly, because then we will really never grow closer to Him. We can’t do it mindlessly either. We will fall away more than actually growing closer to Him. So, if you see that you really don’t enjoy your time with God, ask yourself why. Ask yourself what has been placed above God in your heart. Pray that all idols will be taken out of your heart. Pray that you will love your time to commune with God more. Pray that you will love your Heavenly Father more. Pray to be a scholar of God and what He had told us.

my God Time routine

My God time is split into two times: one when I get up, while having breakfast; and the other one, when I have extra time throughout the day. My early morning time is pretty simple, while my second time is usually a lot more in-depth studying the Bible. I know some of y’all are already like “oh she’s such an overachiever” but I really don’t mean it in that way. I have had some tough times in my life and I don’t know what I would do without my time with God. I need my time in the morning, and if I could do all my time then I would. But I have a lot of pain and soreness in the morning, so I can’t write that much until after I have put my oils on and exercised. (tip – find a pattern that works for YOU)

early morning…

Normally I start my mornings doing a short devotional. Right now I am doing 100 Days to Brave by Annie F. Downs, and it is probably the best devotional I have ever read. I usually write down the key takeaway that is on the side of the page, and the verse that she starts the day with. It is really making me so much braver than I was before, and I’m only halfway through!

After I read my devotional I write down three quick affirmations. I just started doing this at the beginning of March and I am really seeing a difference in my day! My three affirmations for March are:

I belong to God, and nothing could ever change that.
I can make today a great day, only by God’s strength.
I am kind, and I will serve others willingly.

I’ve heard about people doing affirmations every morning, and I always kind of thought it was weird. Not sure why, but I know I was WRONG. These have changed my day, and I am so excited to come up with new ones each month.

And that is my morning time! This usually takes right around 10 minutes, yet in really gets your started off right! And, of course, I am listening to the Passion 2020 Vibes on Spotify the whole time. 😂 Such a good, God-focused, yet fun playlist! (tip – find a great worship playlist that you can’t get enough of!) Then I exercise and keep on with my day!

later…

Later in the day, really whenever I have a good chunk of time, I have my main time of studying the Word. I prefer to do it in the morning, but really whenever I have time to focus and learn more about God. I know a lot of people encourage having a set time to do devotions, but for my life and health right now I can’t set a time and be able to do it regularly. I just need to do it daily, but not every day at the same exact time. A little controversial, I know, but as I have said, we need to be able to make our God time our own. Which includes WHEN we do it.

So, when I have my God time, I usually sit on the floor next to my prayer corner. My prayer corner, as you can see in the photos, isn’t that big, plus it kinda is a 3-in-1. I do devotions here, workout on the mats, and do my hair in the mirror. For me this is the best spot for me to have time with God. When I am really not feeling good, I do it on my bed, but I prefer to keep it in one specific spot.

I will have a post coming all about prayer sometime soon, so I won’t dive into why I chose to do a prayer corner. But this has really grown my heart to commune with my Heavenly Father.

what I do in my quiet time

So, now I am in my quiet time. I first read my She Reads Truth Bible, or whatever Bible I am currently using. I love my SRT Bible, I think its such a good resource! Currently I am working through the New Testament, first in my SRT Bible, which is the CSB translation. I am planning to read through the whole NT in 3 versions: first the CSB, then the ESV and finally the NIV. Right now I am reading Acts and it is really changing my relationship with God for the better.

I also use the Enduring Word Commentary while I’m reading. I don’t like to read it every day, because I want to rely on God’s Words, and not another person’s words. But it is a really helpful resource.

I usually read through the passage once, then look at cross references and commentaries. Then I grab my pencil and start underlining, circling, and writing notes. Then I read through it one more time, highlighting everything. I am using a highlighting key for my SRT Bible. I like it, but I also like just highlighting in random colors. It will probably go back and forth whenever I get a new Bible. Currently in my SRT I am using these gel highlighters. They’re not my favorite, but they work fine!

After I study God’s Word, I pray and talk to God. Again, more on this coming later, but this is such an important part of growing closer to God. That’s why it’s getting its own post. 😉

Then I either read a book and take notes, or I work on a Bible study. I am currently reading through Visual Theology, and it is really good. I also have a youth group Bible study that I work on every so often (this is the Bible study we are doing currently). This changes frequently, and sometimes I don’t have this time.

ok, wow. I can’t do that much.

Yeah, I know. After writing all this down, I see how much I actually do. It’s so good, but it’s not the normal. So, I just want to encourage you to do as much as you can. Whether it’s listening to sermons on your long drives, or reading for ten minutes two times a day. Just get in the Word. Lean on the Lord. He is only one who can truly help you. I sometimes spend up to two hours focusing on God, but it wasn’t always like that. Sometimes it was hard for me to have my God time last for more than 20 minutes.

It’s something I believe we all need to grow in. We all need to enjoy more time with God, myself included. But even if you feel discouraged sometimes, don’t give up!

I’m here for y’all. Whatever you need, let me know. I would love to help in any way I possibly can.

Love you guys! Stay in and stay safe!