Do you hear me?

"Hello?! Do you hear me??"I have the sweetest children in the world.  Kind, loving, insightful.  They are fun and funny.Also they are busy, loud, constant.  The dilly-dallying drives me crazy.  I say everything at least twice.  I say some things over and over and over and never get heard."Are you done with your lunch?"She is playing with her cup."Are you done with your lunch?"The cup is fascinating."Excuse me, do you hear me?"There is nothing in the world except the cup."Please respond to my question."Cup."Hello?! Do you hear me??"I touch her hand that is holding the cup. She looks up."Whaaaaat?" She pulls such a funny face when she says 'what' and I have hard time not laughing every time."I was talking to you.  Could you hear me?  Or do you tune out my voice?""Oh yes, I tune out your voice because I have stuff to do." Four-year-olds are hilarious.And the simple life illustration grabs my heart: God, I tune out your voice because I have stuff to do.I can't believe how easy it is for my kids to not hear my voice.  It's fascinating.  I can be right beside and talk directly into an ear and still not be heard.  How is that possible!?We humans say "God isn't speaking to me."  And we say "I don't know how to hear his voice."But what if the problem is we have chosen (consciously or subconsciously) to tune Him out?

I listen carefully to what God the Lord is saying. Psalm 85:8 (From today's readings)

I love that our church is doing a summer focus on "Devotionals."  In highschool I started doing daily Bible reading and reflection.  Reading God's Word is how I got to know what God's voice sounds like.  I know His voice in everyday life now because I know His tone, His manner, His Truth.But even still, I tune Him out.  Every day.  Maybe even every moment.One of the amazing young women in our youth group once said to me, "God is speaking non-stop. I hear Him in everything.  In the movement of the leaves.  In the sounds of life around me. In words people speak.  If my eyes are open and my ears are listening, I can't help but hear Him."I agreed with her words but I was tainted by my stage of life.  She was in highschool and her life was fairly simple. She didn't have all the burdens and demands of adulthood.  It was relatively easy for her to find time to spend with God.But stage of life and busyness were just excuses for me.  The truth is, I tune His voice out because I have stuff to do.My four-year-old's comment today has reminded me, once again, that communing and communicating with my Father God is a choice.I feel like this is a reminder I need every day!I need to be purposeful in what I tune out.  Tune out the stuff of life instead of tuning out the voice of God.  Say no to some things I dearly love like friend get-togethers and meetings and all the things that crowd my life and squeeze God out.Thanks my sweet spunky daughter.  God spoke to me through you.  Again.How are you? How is your Bible reading going? How is your communing and communicating with God going?Want to read through the Bible with me?  Today's readings are Psalm 85; John 20:1-31