This month we are in a series called, "Messy. How to ‘Family’ Better." A common theme throughout the series has been about the importance of putting your relationship with God first. Specifically, during the message on marriage, Jerry talked about putting God first and your relationship with your spouse second. If you've got a busy week, you may be wondering…how do I do that? We completely understand. We’ve all felt that way at one time or another.

So, the question…"How do I prioritize my relationship with God this week? My schedule is so demanding."

ANSWER: TAKE THE 10-MINUTE CHALLENGE

We suggest you take 10 minutes out of your day and reserve it for God. The time really is whatever works best for you. You may be saying, "How do I find 10 minutes? I literally don’t have 10 minutes." Well sure you do. We all have 10 minutes. Think about the time you spend on your phone, social media, on the Internet, watching TV. You have 10 minutes somewhere.

OK, now what do you do during those 10 minutes?  

1. Read the Bible (5 Minutes): First, we would encourage you to take 4-5 of those minutes to read your Bible. In fact, since we're studying the book of Proverbs, you could use the book of Proverbs as a jumping off point.
   
   There are 31 chapters in Proverbs, so you could take a chapter a day, and do that for a whole month. It will work out perfectly. You can read a chapter in Proverbs in five minutes or less.
   
   
2. Reflect on the Word (2-3 Minutes): Once you've read the Bible, take just two or three minutes to quietly reflect on what you've read. Maybe something stood out to you as you were reading it. Just spend a minute letting that settle in and think about it, contemplating what you've read. You could also journal your thoughts so you can track them and reference back.
   
   
3. Pray (2-3 Minutes): Spend the remaining time in prayer. You could pray that God will help you remember what you've read. You could pray for your family, what you have going on during that day. Jerry will often pray this at the end of his time with God. He has mentioned a prayer has been transformational in his life:

"And God, I want to give this day to You. Help me to do what You would want me to do. Help me to think like You would think. To feel like You would feel. Help me to see things and see people the way You would see them."

When we do that and just surrender, we are giving ourselves to God for the day. By spending this time with God, His truth has been firmly planted in our minds so that as things happen throughout the day, we may be reminded to respond the way that He would. And, as a result, it helps us be a better wife, husband, friend, sister, brother, daughter, son or co-worker.

We are looking forward to continuing our series, "Messy: How to ‘family’ better." As a church, we are praying this series would help us all build better and stronger families.