#20 Moving from Distractions to Devotion: A Personal Journey Towards Spiritual Growth

Ever been so caught up in daily life that you feel like you're running from God? I've been there, and in this episode, I share my personal journey of overcoming distractions that deterred me from focusing on my spiritual growth. You'll hear how I went from running from God to embracing His purpose in my life. Through my experiences, I hope to provide a relatable narrative and thought-provoking prayer sessions to inspire you to surrender, stop running and partner with God for great achievements.

Besides, I'll share some practical tips on creating a successful quiet time with God. Remember how setting aside intentional time, choosing a place, and limiting distractions can transform your spiritual journey? Well, I will walk you through it using my personal experiences. I promise you, it's not as difficult as it may seem. This episode also includes my experiences of leading a Bible study, dealing with interruptions, and navigating distractions. 

Transcript

From Running to No More Running

Speaker 1 0:06

Have you ever found yourself running ? Running mentally , emotionally , spiritually , financially and even running physically from things in this life . This is no More Running the podcast for women . Hello , I'm your host , crystal Lloyd , and I've been known to run and still find myself running from the things in this life . Running from God , His calling , his purpose for my life . Running from change that's within my control , that needs to be made , or any type of change . Running from hard or even good or even just simple little things in this life . And God said to me Crystal , if you will stop running and surrender , there are things that we can accomplish together . Maybe you find yourself running as I have . I want you to know that you're not alone . Let's go from running to normal running together .

Speaker 1 0:59

Let's get started with prayer , holy Spirit , we invite you to be a part of the podcast , the lessons , the life coaching and the sharing of our stories . Let it be known today that you are God . God , help us to go from running in this life , from whatever it may be that we're running from , from running to no more running . In Jesus' name , welcome . I'm your host , crystal Lloyd , and I'm here to help you go from running to no more running . And I'm a runner Nope , not an actual physical runner who runs at 5K or marathon or even runs for fun . Honestly , I get winded just walking around the block . But I've been known to run and still find myself running from the things in this life running from good things , bad things , running from God and His calling and His purpose for my life , running from change that's within my control , that needs to be made , or any type of change . Running from hard or even simple little things in this life . Maybe you find yourself running from these things as well , and I want you to know that you're not alone . Let's pray as we get started here . First , we want to invite the Holy Spirit to be a part . Holy Spirit , come in and be a part of this podcast and the lessons that we share and be a part of the life coaching that I offer within , whether it's one on one coaching or group coaching . Holy Spirit , we want you to be a part of that and show your favor upon the podcast and those that listen as well and help us to go from running to no more running . And second , let's pray today . Let it be known today that you are God through this podcast , through the lessons , through the life coaching . And God , help us again to go from running in this life , whatever it may be that we are running from . Help us to go from running to no more running . In Jesus' name , I'm your host , crystal Lloyd . How determined are you to spend time with God ?

Speaker 1 3:29

On today's podcast , we're going to be talking about distractions and interruptions . I'm going to share with you on how I had a few distractions , interruptions trying to read God's Word , studying and praying . So I'm leading the study of Jonah , navigating a life interrupted by Purcell-Eshevour in my home . If you haven't done the study , I highly recommend it . It's great . I relate to Jonah so much .

Speaker 1 4:02

So go to the front porch and get my Bible out , get my study book out so I'll start to read my Bible , start to read my study , and then there's a nest of bees that make me nervous on my front porch . I'm not a fan , so I asked my wonderful husband to take care of those bees so that I can sit on the front porch , so I can have my quiet time . Well , he does , and I started to study and read . Then one bee is near me , and then another bee , and then another . I've been stung too many times as a child and as an adult . And I witnessed my son and his friend , when they were younger , get in a nest of bees accidentally and get attacked and stung by many bees . So I come in to get away from the bees . So I'm making a new plan .

Speaker 1 5:01

I get my big , comfy camping chair from the garage . I do have outside chairs , but they're gross . I didn't want to have to clean them because I'd already cleaned burb poo off the rocking chair on the front porch . So I sit up on the back deck and now I have my feet laid up over the deck . It's not too hot , it's not too cold , there's a nice breeze , the beautiful view of the Great Smoky Mountains . Oh , how I love this weather . It's starting to feel like fall . It's in the air in East Tennessee . Okay , so focus , crystal Focus .

Speaker 1 5:41

So I get my pappal out , I get my study out , and then I think why didn't I sit up here in the first place ? So I started reading , started studying again , really enjoying my quiet time with the Lord . Well , guess what ? It started to sprinkle . I can hear thunder now . And then I remember what the weatherman says If you can hear thunder , then you're close enough to get struck by lightning . This is what's going on in my head . I'm fine , it's fine , it's East Tennessee , it does this . Well , it doesn't . It doesn't pass . So I bring my nice comfy camping chair inside because I don't want it to get ruined like the other furniture . And then I thought I'll try my front porch again . There still bees out there . I try not to focus on them . I'm good , get my pappal back out , get my study back out .

Speaker 1 6:47

Then it starts to rain , heavier and heavier . By this time it's coming in on me . I go back inside again . I'll try the bedroom , because the guys are watching and move in the living room and I'm trying to be alone . I'm trying to read my Bible , I'm trying to do my study and guess what ? Someone comes in the bedroom , interruption after interruption , distraction after distraction , and then I start to turn into a she-hulk . God , I'm trying here . I'm trying to become faith strong .

Speaker 1 7:31

You know what the sermon was about . This morning , lord , I finally got my alone time with God . Honestly , I almost just gave up and said never mind , it's just not meant to be today . Maybe tomorrow it will work out better for me to read my Bible , study and pray . But I decided I wasn't giving up or running just because it wasn't perfect or because it wasn't easy or everything wasn't just right .

Speaker 1 8:02

I want to tell you a little something about myself . I'm a perfectionist . I don't do well when things don't go just right the way I feel like they should go , you know perfect . But I was determined and now I'm so glad that I didn't give up . I did get my quiet time with the Lord . I did get to read God's word and oh how I love God's word and the truth of it and just to be in the presence of God . You know , god's word is like the meat of the meal , the best part , like the steak or the chicken . I just love God's word and I adore God and His word . Once I do this , once I get my quiet time , I'm better . I'm better spiritually , I'm better mentally , emotionally .

Speaker 1 9:03

Remember the question that I asked at the beginning of the podcast how determined are you to spend time with God ? Do you let a little distractions or some interruptions get in the way of reading and studying and praying , or just say , never mind , I'll give up , I'm done . This is crazy . It's just not going to work out today . The truth is , there will always be something to distract you and keep in mind when you try to spend time along with God . The enemy will do whatever to try and distract you from doing that . His goal is to still kill and destroy . John 1010 tells us this . He will do whatever to keep you from spending time with God . Distractions is a scheme of the devil to keep us from succeeding at doing what God wants us to do . Don't let distractions derail you . I encourage you not to give up , no matter what distractions or interruptions come your way , even if you have to stop and then start again , and then stop and start again . Refuse to give up on spending time with God . Don't let that time go . Decide in your heart that I'm spending time with God , no matter what comes my way , no matter what distractions and no matter what interruptions . Refuse to give up . Here's a few things to try . Of course , this may not work for everyone

Successful Quiet Time With God Tips

Speaker 1 10:46

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Speaker 1 10:46

Number one set a time . I should have set a time . Maybe it would have worked out better if I'd set it and done it in the morning or maybe even in the evening , and I used to have to do this when my kids were little , after they would go to bed when the house is nice and quiet . The reason to do this is because if we don't , we think we'll find time . You know that free time to spend with God , but that may never come .

Speaker 1 11:18

Number two set a place . I was all over the place . Looking back now , if I had started out in the bedroom , I wouldn't have to go from place to place and then finally the bedroom . Yes , I probably would have had some distractions , because Satan has to show his little ugly head , but maybe not so many . Number three limit the distractions . Let's take my distractions . For example , if you don't like bees , then maybe outside is not a good place to do your quiet time with God . Again , looking back , I should have checked the weather for the current conditions . If I was going to be outside and if I had already set the time and the place , maybe there wouldn't have been so many distractions or interruptions .

Speaker 1 12:17

I share this so that someone can learn from my mistakes . Yes , it did work out in the end . I did get my quiet time with the Lord , I got to read , I got to do my study and pray , but it could have gone much smoother . Of course . Keep in mind that nothing is ever perfect , and I have to tell myself this all the time , crystal , nothing is ever perfect , or even sometimes it may not go as planned , but remember , failure to plan is planning to fail . Let me say that again Failure to plan is planning to fail . Did you know that I'm a life coach , and if you're interested in coaching with me and want to learn more , run on over to my website , crystalloycom , and sign up for a free 20 minute coaching session with me , and don't forget to join my email list . You can email me at info at crystalloycom and tell me hey , sign me up for that email list , and I would love to hear your running story as well , one way to help you go from running to know more running .