“Come near to God and he will come near to you.”

James 4:8

As you might have figured out from my past devotionals, I write a TON of them based on personal experiences.

So, if this gets a little too personal for you, I am sorry.

But hey, that’s just who I am. It’s the person I was designed to be. The one who gets personal and does not really know personal boundaries.

Anyways.

Today I want to chat about keeping God close to you as you live.

I’ll bet that a lot of you who are reading this right now are thinking, got that covered or maybe, Yeah, it’s harder than I thought it would be!

To be frank (or Joe, or Dan, or Meg, lol) with you, I can feel both of those thoughts on the same day!

But here lately I have been feeling the latter thought more. So, I thought why not write a devotional with some of the things that I do to make sure that I am doing my best to keep God close?

But before I dive into the meat of this devotional, I’d like to say that God belongs in every aspect of your life.

From business to family and travel to commuting to work. Not only does he belong in every aspect. He wants to be there too!!!

Recently I had another person tell me that religion (God) doesn’t belong in my business.

While it is okay for them to feel that way, I don’t push my relationship with the Lord on anyone. When they finally get up the guts to start their own business then they can keep God out of it and see just how long it lasts.

Jenna and I were watching this movie the other night, I’m horrible with movie names. But it had Julia Roberts and George Clooney in it. Their daughter just finished college and went for a little trip to Bali where she met the love of her life. A Seaweed Farmer.

The first day that she went to the farm with her new love. They were wading out to check the crops and she was saying how awesome this was.

That is when the guy said, It is great. I consider this a partnership with God.

He didn’t consider it all his hard work, and God didn’t do it without him. It was a partnership. They both had to be involved to make it happen.

Just like our lives.

God wants the best for us, but we have to step up to the plate and swing if we want the opportunity to grow.

Alright, I guess I have rambled on long enough. Are you ready for the tips that I use in my everyday life for keeping God close to me?

Tip 1. Make God the first thought of the day.

Don’t wake up and reach for your phone. Or think, just a few more minutes I’m soooooo tired. Instead, wake up and say, Thank you for this wonderful sleep I just received.

How can I serve you today?

When we start our day with gratitude towards our creator it makes a HUGE difference in getting our mindset right for the rest of the day.

Tip 2. Read the bible.
I know that you have heard this from me before.

But..

I don’t read the bible like most normal human beings.

I say a quick prayer, God guide me to the pages that you need me to read and allow me to hear the message that you craft for me today!

Then with my eyes closed I open the bible.

It’s like an adventure while sitting at my dining room table!!! Where is God going to guide me today and what am I going to learn from infinite intelligence?

Tip 3. Pray, A LOT!

Prayer is our way to connect with God.

To be honest with you I pray all day every day.

Before I get in the car, before meetings, before sending emails, before flying, before.

I think you get the point. I pray a LOT!

But here’s where I do something different than some people. I pray and then listen!

I can hear God talking to me when I shut my mouth and open my ears. The other thing that is WAY harder to do is after I hear what God is telling me. I go do it.

This one time after praying God directed me to call a specific company I had been trying to get in touch with.

So, I did what I was told. I picked up my phone and called the main number I had. In the past, I had never been able to get past the gatekeepers and get the right person.
But this time, the right person answered the phone. His assistant was out sick, and he was playing receptionist for the day!

After a quick conversation, I set up a meeting and that was all it took.

The best part of this quick story is that I wasn’t praying about business or clients. But that was where God needed me to be.

So be open to hearing different things that you are praying about. His answers might SHOCK you!

I’ve got a ton more tips, but I have been rambling on for long enough. And these are GREAT starts for keeping God close to you in every aspect of your life.