Student Blog Post by Hannah Wade

   On Wednesday, Nate brought a message on idolatry.  For a lot of people, including myself, that hit home.  While we can easily put it out of our minds that we are idolizing something, most of us can't escape the realization that we struggle with it.  I struggle with making an idol out of social media.  I know that I do, but up until Wednesday night, I could let it sit in the back of my mind and promise to myself that I'd start spending more time with God eventually.  Honestly, I think that's how we all are.  When we realize that we are sinning, we want to just hide it or put it where we think God can't see it.  That's where we always run into the problem, though.  We become so ashamed and prideful that we won't come before God and say, "Hey, can you help me figure this out? I can't do it on my own."

   That night, I tried to figure out how to better dedicate my time and to give more time to God.  While I was thinking about that, I realized how ridiculous I was truly being.  We tend to think that the only way we can spend time with God is through reading the Bible and praying.  Although those are very important ways of getting closer with God, there are other things you can do too.  For example, if you find yourself having a hard time understanding part of what you are reading, Google that verse and find it in different translations. You can also read other verses around that verse to figure out what might have been happening.  If you want to find out what the Bible says about specific things, then you can Google verses about *insert topic here*.  You can even do a search on most Bible apps. There is also a topical index in every Bible. Did you even know that your Bible had an index?  You can find all kinds of things from what the Bible says about money, to what the Bible says about family.  There are also tons of websites like www.godtube.com, where you can watch Christian videos (this is where our youth pastor Nate gets some of his videos).  Journaling after reading your Bible also will help you comprehend things (at least for me it does).  Even if you just write something short like what happened or what God told you when you read it.  Christian music also helps and is really easy to find.  You can find a FREE Christian playlist on anywhere from Pandora to YouTube.  Even if you are exercising or cleaning, you can still be worshipping God without having to drop everything (although taking time to spend ALONE TIME with God is important too).

   We have so many opportunities to spend time with God, that there shouldn't be any excuses for why we can't spend time with Him.  We, myself included, have to stop being so lazy and reach out to God.

~Hannah