The 12 Days of Christmas - Day 6

Time Out
Verna Coppinger

Matt:l4:23
After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray.

You may be thinking, "Time for myself! Surely you must be joking! Caring for my husband, small children and household chores while holding down a full-time job takes all of my time and then some!"

However, one proven way to cope with so much stress is to have a daily devotional time with God. It is true that this stress only increases before Christmas when there is also shopping for presents, decorating, holiday baking, parties, etc. But all of these many activities only makes time for yourself more necessary.

It may take some creative thinking on your part to find some time, but it will be well worth your effort. It's helpful to have a certain place at a certain time and soon it will become a habit. Maybe you could arise fifteen minutes earlier than your family, maybe take a short walk, maybe you have a "retreat place" in your home--or you can even lock the bathroom door. Anything that works best for you. And don't quit if there are interruptions at times. Just resume it the next day. God understands. The benefits will be much greater than the effort required to establish this devotional time.

"Don't bother about whether you are growing in grace or whether you are being of use to others, but believe on Jesus and out of you will flow rivers of living water."
Oswald Chambers

In your devotional time, read some Scripture, tell God aloud that you love, praise and adore Him, thank Him for blessings, and ask His help for your needs and those of others. Throughout busy days one can even pray short silent prayers like: "Love someone through me," "Heal my child," "Bless my friend," "Thank You." With practice this will become easy and God will be included in all that concerns you each day.

Let this sixth day of Christmas remind us:
"We should establish ourselves in a sense of God's presence by continually conversing with Him.”

Brother Lawrence