Practical tips to improve your Spiritual health

Everyone works differently, and finding what works for you with your God time is a little bit of trial and error. I am very type A, organised and thrive on schedules and lists so having quite a practical structure works really well for me. There have been lots of things I’ve tried in the past and other new things I’m trying recently and as I grow and seasons change, so has (and will!) my routine changed. One tip that I’m learning is that it’s SO OKAY to make small achievable goals - I’ll see someone’s 1-2 hour a day Bible study and want to jump straight into doing something like that, but then whatever I try is not sustainable so I end up doing less instead of more. So finding when and where you best connect with God is super helpful, as well as starting off small and growing it gradually. I can be quite distracted in the morning, so doing much at that time is never very productive. However I still want to start my day right so I have a 5-10 minute routine, and then spend more focused time at night when I’ve done what I need to get done that day and can be fully attentive. And I will keep growing in my habits with the goal of making that morning time longer but for now, this works. There can definitely be pressure in Christian circles to have that "perfect" God routine but it's so not about WHAT we do, but WHO we're doing it for. All God wants is our hearts and for us to BE with Him. And whatever that looks like for you is perfect for Him. We can be inspired by other people and it's IMPORTANT for us always to be growing in this area, but as we spend time with Jesus and He changes our heart, our desire for Him WILL grow. Spending time with Him should never be a burden or a chore, it should be a joy (still a discipline because some days are just a #struggle and it's important to do it even when you don't feel like it) but if whatever you are doing isn't connecting you to Jesus then maybe it's time to shake things up a little, go back to the basics and rebuild from there. I still need to grow a lot in this area, and certainly don’t pretend to have my God time routine figured out but I’m trying and I’m learning and so I wanted to create and share a little list of things I do/have done that might be helpful for you to integrate into your life.

1. Sticky notes memory verses

1. In my car, in the top corner above my head I have a little sticky note with a Bible verse to memorize so when I’m at a red light or as I get in or out of my car, I read it and try to say it out loud while I’m driving. Am trying to memorize 1 a week!

2. Tick chart with dates

1. I printed out a table with a column for the date, Bible reading and praying out loud to tick off if I’ve done both each day to keep me accountable

2. I read my 100 day devotional with a 1 sentence journal prompt, and a chapter of the Bible before I get up which is quick but gets me in the right headspace for the day. Then at night, sometimes I journal too but I kneel beside my bed and pray out loud. I pray random stuff all throughout the day, but I like to end the day with Jesus and thank Him for the good things, ask Him to help me in the day to come and pray for other people in a more structured format.

3. Fruits of the Spirit verses sheets

1. This year each month I got a coloured A4 piece of paper and wrote out a list of verses about a fruit of the Spirit so now on my cupboard, I have them stuck up so I can reflect on and read the verses as a reminder to implement them into my day and my conversations with people

4. Getting a little daily devotional

1. I’ve had ones in the past with a little journal prompt and space to actually write in it or and others (like the one I’m doing now) where I have a note taking journal to write my reflections in. Super helpful to have a little tip or reminder or revelation super relevant to my life to think about as I start my day

5. Being still

1. At night, if it’s not too late, I am trying to remember to practice being still by sitting on the floor in my room, putting on a worship song and just being present with a clear and still mind or quietly worshipping Jesus.

6. Writing out a truth statement

1. Several years ago I was wrestling with being content, just wishing I was a ‘grown up’, because then of course, life would all make more sense right?! ;) And so because I love colours, I got a notebook and every morning, I would pick a colour and write the same sentence “Today I am going to enjoy God’s blessings and trust God.” so over time I formed some beautiful pages of gradient colours haha and my heart grew more grateful, more joyful and more content because I kept declaring the truth I wanted to convert from my head to my heart.

7. Weekly “God date”

1. I’ve started just last week going up to a little spot with some water and trees on the way to work on my late start day with my journal and worship music to turn off my phone (except for an alarm) and spend good quality time every week. I LOVE doing this for longer every few weeks down at the beach, but with covid I haven’t had that recharge space and have really noticed how much of a difference taking a decent amount of time to just BE with Jesus, makes in my life. So I found a close new spot to do it weekly now!

8. 5 minute timer grateful list

1. In the hardest week of my life, my youth pastor challenged me with spending 5 minutes writing everything I could think of to be grateful and oh my gosh it made the biggest difference in being able to get through it. But it doesn’t have to be hard times either, every day there are things to be grateful for, and it’s great to write them down.

9. Switching off social media 1 day a week

1. I did this a couple of times 2 months ago but now I’m trying to make it a habit because I realized how much of a filler social media is for any second that I’m bored. So instead of checking new instagram stories, I want to either stay productive with a task that I am doing, or read a book or pray or do star jumps or do something that’s a little more beneficial. Or even better, try to do nothing for 5 minutes haha.

10. Write out prayers

1. There is always a heap going on in my head, so I find that when I pray, I’ll remember something I need to do, or if I’m praying for someone, my thoughts drift over to what had happened that day or a good/bad memory of them etc and then I’m like sorry God, back focusing. So I’ve found that writing my prayers keeps my attention on talking to God and I don’t drift off with the fairies as much

11. Journaling

1. CANNOT recommend this enough!! I’ve journaled for about 10 years now, and it has been so instrumental in helping me get through stuff in different ways

2. Firstly, if I’m confused or just have so much going around and around in my head, writing it down helps me process and sort through it so by the end of 5 pages I have a little clearer head

3. Secondly, writing down prayers or what God is saying when I actually listen to Him, or ways that God has been faithful and got me through things, they become a testimony for me to look back on. When I was going through a really hard season, going through my old journals of when littler stuff had gone wrong and I had cried out to God and He had come through, reminded me how much God is faithful to me and that if He’s done it so many times already, I can trust that He will do it again. And my faith keeps getting even stronger because I’ve got a ever growing running record of how God was personally faithful which is so powerful so please, write stuff down!!!

12. Reading the Bible

1. At the moment the ‘plan’ I’m following is to read 1 chapter a day of a book of the Bible, choosing a book from the Old and then New testament so I’m getting through both but don’t get stuck for a long time reading through all the laws or something of the Old testament

2. I try to pray before I read, asking the Holy Spirit to speak through His word and show me what He wants me to learn. And I try to highlight at least 1 verse that means something to me or I want to remember or is applicable to my life each day before I move on with my day

13. Read a book with a close friend

1. Pick one with study questions and go through the questions together

2. I’ve done this with 2 mentors with different books and also a friend (who I did this with when we were young teenagers as well) over the last 12 months. It’s so helpful because it keeps you accountable to keep reading the chapters and with talking about it, especially if it has study questions, you get another person’s perspective to add to what you already have read and learnt

14. Bible plan with a friend

1. You can discuss the daily devotional on the Youversion app. Did this with a friend last year for a few plans and it was awesome. There are so many amazing resources, and it is quick and easy to do anywhere being on your phone and a great platform to have deeper, Jesus focused conversations with your friends

15. Let it go journal

1. I remember a lot of things and sometimes triggers set off memories of stuff I've done that I regret or stuff that has hurt me, even when I've forgiven them so I've started a let it go journal. I write what happened specifically and honestly, and then write what God's truth is about that situation and then I pray, asking God to help me let it go.

16. Prayer or Journal format

1. I like to have a basic structure of my prayers - always starting with thanking Jesus and praising Him, praying for my family, praying for the people I saw or talked to that day, praying for anything specific that's on my heart, confess anything that I need to from that day, and then I ask Him for whatever I need.

2. With journaling, if you haven't done this much before, I tend to just write as if I was talking to someone. Sometimes I even just start with "I have no idea what I'm thinking or feeling right now, but __ happened, __ is how this part made me feel, __ is what I think about it, __ is what God's truth is about it, and __ is what I'm going to do about it."

17. Turn music off and pray out loud in the car

1. I LOVE my music (check out my ever growing list here) so it’s a struggle to not get caught up with enjoying a good beat but it’s so good to switch it off and talk out loud to Jesus while I’m driving and I feel so much more refreshed and recharged turning up to wherever I’m going after spending time actually WITH Jesus not just singing to or about Him.

18. Get a mentor

1. This is a MUST. If you’ve got great parents you can talk to that’s awesome, but sometimes it’s really helpful to ALSO have someone outside your home, who has a different perspective about a situation that you can talk to. And sometimes they will have experience or wisdom for something that your parents haven’t dealt with - like with my first break up, my mentor had gone through almost the exact scenario 12 months earlier so she was able to share what she did that was either good or not so helpful and guide me through dealing with all of that. Whereas my parents had such a beautiful fairytale relationship that Mum was amazingly supportive and my rock but she didn’t really understand exactly what I was going through.

2. Organise how often you are going to meet up and plan the next one at your current one - life gets busy and time runs away so keep to an organised schedule every 6-8 weeks or as often as you both agree to and it will help a lot.

3. If you haven’t found someone, look for someone that you would want to be like in 10 or 20 years. Same gender, someone who loves Jesus and someone that you think you would be able to be 100% honest with because the more honest and open you are, the more they will be able to understand you and speak wisdom into your life and help you.

4. Also remember they are just human though! Go to Jesus first with everything, and then have a few close people whether you have a few older adults that you can talk to or a specific mentor and your parents, and/or some close Christian friends. That way you can get a well rounded view of a situation from different experiences and wisdom sources and put it through your own Holy Spirit filter to figure out what to do. Don’t rely on any 1 person to tell you everything to do, including yourself! Surround yourself with people who are going to speak love, life but also the hard truth when you need to hear it so that you can be the best version of you that you can be!!