This new Christian habit will change your life, forever.
Get ready to live a life of greater gratitude, joy and hope.
Coming up is a step-by-step guide for a transforming your spiritual health, but naturally before I can show you a solution, I need to first convince you that…you, and me, and well, everyone we know, has a problem. A pretty big one. Here’s the root of our collective problem:
We spend a disproportionate amount of time not considering all the ways God has moved, is moving, and will continue to move in our lives.
Life is busy, and getting busier. Social media algorithms and constant push notifications force us into a space of continual coveting of other’s lives, families, bodies, and bank accounts. Images of un-real, photoshopped, half-naked men and women are forced into our field of view every minute. The world seems to grow darker by the day due to the 24/7, fear-based internet news cycle. Life. Is. Hard. Living in Joy. Is Hard. We need help.
We spend a disproportionate amount of time not considering all the ways God has moved, is moving, and will continue to move in our lives.
Oh, and to make things worse, it seems that biologically our brains are hardwired to more easily recall the bad/painful/fear-inducing memories, more-so so than the joy-producing ones. This isn’t my opinion, either — do a quick Google Search and you will see countless articles describing this unfortunate reality.
The effects of what I am describing are visible at a global scale. Consider the rising rates of anxiety and depression, depicted below:
The Bible is well aware of this challenge, and outlines this issue in great detail; much of the Old Testament is dedicated to showcasing how Yaweh instructs his people to combat this despair/fear, much of which is rooted in humanity’s perpetual inability to properly remember/recall God’s goodness.
I cover specifically what the Bible has to say on this topic in great detail in the article I am linking below — if this topic interests you, I’d recommend checking it out!
Ok, enough bad news. The good news is that the solution is really, really simple. Time to get practical — let’s go.
Hope, one index card at a time.
How do we combat this distraction, fear and despair? Simple — we focus on the one unchanging, immovable source of Joy in our life: God, with a capital “G”. It’s surprisingly simple, too (only two steps!). Following the blueprint laid out in the Bible, the first step is to record the moments when they happen, and the second is to reflect on them regularly.
Step One: Record
For the early followers of Yaweh, when God moved powerfully in their midst their response was often to stop, deeply consider what just occurred, and then mark the spot with an altar or something as simple as a large stack of stones. This was a highly purposeful action, as it forced them to reflect on all that just occurred AND create a physical mile-marker for all bystanders to reflect on in the future.
Our first step is the same as theirs, albeit a bit simpler (no rocks required).
The first thing you need is a stack of index cards. Pictured above is my typical card format — I decided to make things simpler on future-self by creating a standard set of fields that I would fill out each time.
This step is as simple as it sounds. When you encounter God’s presence in your life, write it down on the index card. Are you super verbose? Type it up in Word/Google Docs and print it out, instead! The idea is to simply record it, as soon as it occurs, so that you have as much detail as possible — and again, you will realize details you didn’t first notice when you start writing/typing.
Some examples of the “categories” of God Moments you should be on the lookout for:
- A promise from God
- A gift from God
- A blessing
- A healing
- An answered prayer
- A miracle
- A hedge of protection (1 Samuel 7:12–17)
- A word from God
- A vision from God
I would encourage you to do this for any God Moment, no matter how small. If you do this you will begin to realize that God is constantly moving, and it is often a collection of small whispers that can add up to a mighty movement.
Now I want you to take this index card/slip of paper, and fold it up, and put in a jar/some kind of (ideally see-through) container. I personally prefer see-through containers, like a glass mason jar, as you can see the slips of paper pile up over time! We will call this the Collection Jar.
If you do this you will begin to realize that God is constantly moving, and it is often a collection of small whispers that can add up to a mighty movement.
Here’s the real kicker. You ready? If you are able to, don’t do this alone. If you live with others, whether roommates or your family, have them do this with you. One Collection Jar for the household. If you live alone, invite your closest friends/family to join you. When God moves, share the moment on your group thread so that everyone can create a card for their jars, as well. Not only will this quickly grow your field of view for God’s movement in your community, but doing something in a group bakes in accountability, and having accountability is the #1 way to ensure that you stick with your new resolutions/habits.
Ok, we’ve recorded what God is up to within our life and the lives of our community members, and now it is time to move onto step two: Reflecting on these moments.
Step Two: Reflect
This step is similarly simple — once a week, preferably on a Sunday (marks the end of the current week, more time for discussion during meals, etc.) carve out time to sit down as a group (this can even be done with others over video chat if you live alone), pull a card out of the Collection Jar, read it aloud and discuss it as a group. Keep this time relatively open, as you never know where the conversation might go. One moment might bring to mind a particular verse you want to meditate on, it might spur a time of prayer, or cause someone else to recount a moment in their own life that they are reminded of.
Do this for each slip of paper, putting them in a second jar once complete. I recommend one that is larger than the Collection Jar, as this will hold all of your collected moments over time! I call this the Reflection Jar. Keep both these jars in a highly visible spot in your home — we often have them on our dining table, right in the center. The Reflection Jar will grow over time as the weeks pass, and periodically I recommend you go back into this jar, pull a slip out and go through a similar exercise of meditation. The more time that passes the more special these moments become. You’ll have lots of “Oh wow! I totally forgot about that!”. You could even have a jar for each year and label is as such, or you could take the index cards and at the end of the year transfer them to a journal/binder/scrap book.
One thing I definitely recommend doing with the Reflection Jar is making a tradition each year of opening the jar and going through all the moments together. This makes an amazing way to reflect on the previous year with gratitude and propels you forward into the new year with a tank full of of hope and joy.
One of the things I LOVE about this practice isn’t only the restorative effect it will have on your own spirit, but the fact that you are creating a timeline of God’s presence in your family/community that can be shared with generations to come. Can you imagine getting handed a book from your Mother that contains a lifetime of God Moments from her parents, and their parents, and so on? Incredible. Talk about a legacy.
The last step
Ok, I lied. There’s actually one more step.
Get started!
Don’t over complicate this. Grab some jars and strips of paper and right after you finish reading this article (you’re almost done) reflect on the last week and record a few God Moments for your Collection Jar.
Ok, let’s recap and I’ll share a final truth with you.
Recap
We have a problem. Every day we battle distraction and give into fear, anxiety, and despair. It’s a big problem, one of the biggest we have, and yet most of us don’t address it like we address other smaller issues in our life, like our bad diets or poor sleep habits.
There is a solution, and it’s one the Bible talks about a lot. The solution is building a muscle that is new for a lot of us — our “God Memory”. And it IS a muscle — it takes exercising it to make it stronger, and you will get better at it over time.
The best and simplest way to build this Memory is to follow the steps above, recording and reflecting on God’s presence in your life. Do it often. Do it in community. Build the muscle.
One final word
Let me share with you something I’ve discovered first hand, which totally took my by surprise:
The more you look for God, the more you will find Him.
It’s the most powerful outcome this process produces, and pays HUGE dividends in your life. You will start to see Him everywhere, because subconsciously your mind and spirit will be looking for Him.
The more you look for God, the more you will find Him.
Thanks for staying with me.
I hope this habit changes your life like it had changed mine.
If you want to learn about an app we are building to do everything I just talked about, in a more immersive, efficient and portable way, head over to LivingStones.app, or click the link below!
I hope you liked it, and if you did like it, feel free to give it a little motivational clap-clap (yes, you can clap multiple times if you like). Also make sure to Follow the Living Stones publication (this one!) on Medium to not miss another post! ❤
