Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. -James 4:8

Anchored Action Plan

Anchoring yourself to Jesus is about maintaining a connection and trusting Him, even when you don’t understand His ways. And in order to maintain a connection with anyone important to you, you have to make time for that relationship to blossom. A relationship can’t be expected to flourish if you don’t put in the time. Here are 10 ways to anchor yourself to Jesus so when the storms of life hit, you will rise instead of sink:

1. Spend time with Him first thing in the morning. I have set aside a time each morning when I first wake up to pray, read a daily devotional, and read a section from my Bible. This allows Him to get into my head before anything else does. It focuses my day and helps me keep my eyes on Jesus.
2. Praise Him by worshiping Him through song or verbal admiration. I do both. During my quiet time in the mornings, I will verbally praise Him. Other times, I will turn on Christian music and worship him, raising my hands to feel closer to Him.
3. Shoot prayers up to Him often. Whether it’s a simple “help me, Jesus” or a longer prayer, connect with Him throughout each day. I know I cannot truly live without His help, so I do this often. Sometimes, it’s a prayer to help me be more patient with our girls. Sometimes, it’s a prayer asking Him for help letting go of my anger.
4. Practice gratitude as often as possible during the day by thanking Him for even the smallest of blessings. I’ve tried to make it a habit to thank Him several times each day for things that can easily be taken for granted-such as my family, running water and food in our cupboards.
5. Take a break from social media. I’m currently “fasting” from Facebook. Facebook was a huge waste of precious time that could have been spent nurturing my relationship with Jesus and my family. Instead, I was showing a sliver of the reality of my life to many people that weren’t nearly as important to me as the relationships I should have been nurturing. It was a complete time suck and a distraction from my priorities. Becoming less distracted and more present in Him, is when I hear God most. It was actually during this “fast” that He put it on my heart to tell my story through this blog.
6. Meditate on His Word. Choose a verse and meditate on it throughout the day or listen to a Christian meditation app at night before bed.
7. Serve. Do something for Him. Use your gifts to give to others and do it joyfully. This can be as time consuming as you make it. Sending someone a card or text with an encouraging word and Bible verse can be done in just a few minutes. Serving is an area I am really working on incorporating more into my life. Not only am I doing something for God, but the rewards of peace and joy are a real blessing.
8. Talk to Jesus about anything and everything, either silently or on paper. If writing is your thing, do it in the form of a letter or journaling. Have conversations like you are having with your best friend, at any time of the day. Tell Him your deepest thoughts, struggles, and feelings. He loves and cares about YOU! It was during my darkest moments lying in bed chronically ill, that I really learned to communicate with Him and came to know how much I need to keep that line of communication open.
9. Listen. God speaks in many different ways. In order to hear Him though, distractions must be set aside. When I am distracted, checking out on social media or in a Netflix marathon, I’m not able to hear Him. My mind is not focused on Him and I miss the connection. It is in connecting with Him and maintaining that connection that I hear Him most.
10. Obey. If He says “move,” move. When I hear Him and don’t listen, it never works to my benefit. Not only am I sinning, I miss the blessing He has for me and the consequences are not worth it. Being stubborn and strong-willed, this has been a hard lesson to learn. I am a work in progress. Picking up His cross and dying to myself daily is a constant challenge.

The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him in truth. -Psalm 145:18