During a conversation this morning, I was reminded of a few things:

Going to God with praise comes easily when life is good and things are going well.

Going to God with requests comes easily when life is hard and things are going horrible.

But when you’re in that inbetween area – the I’m-just-kind-of-coasting-along time… I find it difficult to maintain a consistent prayer life.

Sure, I pray a few prayers here and there, but I do not consistently (nor persistently) spend time in prayer, even for the small things.

How do others deal with this struggle? Maybe y’all are better than me and don’t struggle – I don’t know. 🙂

Father,

Give me the wisdom and perseverance to come to you, be it for better or for worse. Give me an unending desire to do so, and remind me when my pride or stubbornness wants to tell me otherwise.

You are awesome. Thanks.

Too often Jesus fades into the background of our busy lives.
But He hasn’t changed. And He invites us to meet Him again.

This is the “catch phrase” for this year’s NEXT Conference.

I do not know why, but the three sentences immediately resonated with me. It is a problem I struggle with every day. I always said “Oh, I make time for the things that matter” – which is often the case, but not always the case for God.

I have been praying the last 9+ moths that God would show me when he’s trying to tell me something. I think this was one of those moments – amidst struggles for how to pay off debt AND save money for my Israel trip, he told me “Oh, btw… you should go to this. YOU SHOULD GO TO THIS.”

Okay, God. I’ll go. You’ll take care of the rest. Money? Somehow. Vacation? Okay.

And so I registered. God is awesome, and I can’t wait to see what happens.

If you are curious about the speakers this year, one of the NEXT people went and tracked down the easter messages of the speakers this year:

Joshua Harris
The Resurrection and the Life
John 11:1-44

Sinclair Ferguson
Does the Resurrection Really Matter
1 Corinthians 15:1-20

D.A. Carson
Why Doubt the Resurrection – VIDEO
Why Doubt the Resurrection – AUDIO
John 20:24-31

Kevin DeYoung
Worthy Is The Scapegoat
Lev 16

C.J. Mahaney
Death Swallowed Up In Victory
1 Corinthians 15:17

I look forward to going – to seeing God work in my life.

I’m giddy for God.