Keeping quiet times fresh

I know its been a while since I last posted......since then, a lots been happening (including discovering how to change colours and fonts on blogger using a Mac!)

Something that I've been meaning to post up for a while is a discussion we had at PCT training a few Fridays ago about keeping quiet times fresh. I post this not only for my own reference in the future (go soft copy!), but also for your benefit too.....i've really appreciated the importance of 'being still and knowing that God is God' in amongst a busy day - even if its ministry.

So here goes....(feel free to post and comment about your own quiet times (hard/tough/good/learning) and whether you have any other suggestions):

• Bible briefs from the Briefing (something I'm using now to go through Numbers)
• Listening to talks
• Using some resources from here
• trying to memorise verses
• speaking it out loud like you're telling children (reading for meaning)
• reading a book
• meeting with others
• sharing what you're learning with some else (eg. write letters, post on blog)
• use other devotional materials (eg. topicals)
  

Its helpful to mix it up and to use variety rather than just doing the same thing each time. By mixing it up, you'll be motiviated and excited to look at the Bible and apply it.

Basically, there are 3 reasons why we read the Bible. This will govern what approach/method we can take:

1. read for familiarity - in which case we're more interested in working through big chunks and getting through the text

2. read for enquiry - here we'd look through the details....maybe if we were doing a bible study or writing a talk

3. read meditatively - this is reading maybe just one verse and pondering, reflecting on it. Chewing over it. Psalms are great for this.

Hope this helps you all.....feel free to post away with any ideas or comments!