iPray


You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.
Jeremiah 29:13

There are some things she's just better at than me. She's a more creative cook. She's a far better artist. She's also my oldest daughter. Sixteen years ago I couldn't imagine a point when she'd surpass my abilities, no matter how limited they may be. But the paradigm shifted somewhere along the way and I'm so thrilled it did. 

This fall I'm leading a Moms of Teens group at my church. Each Wednesday about 20 moms gather together to find hope, encouragement and wisdom for this journey called motherhood.  Prayer is such an essential part of this that I wanted our prayer box to be a prominent part of our room. I decided to fashion an "iPray" box that would resemble an iPhone. This was my way of making our prayers relevant to our teens.

I got as far as covering the outside of the cereal box before I called in for reinforcements from Hannah. I knew she'd have no problem penciling in some appropriate teenager-y apps. While I traveled to speak at a conference this weekend, she completed her assignment. She texted me a picture of her work and as expected it was bright and colorful.

Here's what I didn't expect to see. She had fashioned every app to relate back to our relationship with God. 

The Phone icon reminded me to phone "home".
The Message (texting) icon prompted me to read His message.
The Music icon encouraged me to worship.
The Camera icon invited me to picture Him.



I've never counted but I'm willing to guess I touch my phone at least 100 times a day. What if I formed a new habit of reaching for Him every time I reached for my phone? I could check my heart with every message. Send a prayer with every email. Every ding and ring would be a reminder to connect with the One with whom I most need contact.

So today I'm going iPray, iMeditate, iStudy and iConnect. For the next 24 hours I'm going to make a conscious effort to connect with God every time my phone calls. 

Want to join me in this 24 hour challenge? Tell me today what you think is going to happen and then check back in tomorrow with your results!

13 comments:

  1. Your daughter is very special, has to be, with you as her Mom! So bright and creative. I am not a techie so I rarely use my phone, only in emergencies, but I am on the laptop pretty much all day long! And I do pray a lot when I am on it, by visiting sites such as yours and others devoted to prayer. xo

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    1. Love that, Barbara, thanks for the great idea!

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  2. I love this Shannon and join you in this worthy challenge! I see your daughter is a chip off the block, your household must ooze with creativity!

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    1. :) With five women there's definitely lots of conversation and fun. The trick is making space for each to express herself!

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  3. I love this Shannon and join you in this worthy challenge! I see your daughter is a chip off the block, your household must ooze with creativity!

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  4. i just found this blog a month or so ago. i love it and continue coming back for more inspiration and healing. Thank you for your time and transparency, for letting your light shine.
    tonya

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    1. Tonya, so thankful you've joined the oasis! I am honored to have you here and pray you are refreshed over and again!

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  5. I'm in! What a fantastic idea! I constantly check my phone all day, every day. This would be a wonderful way for me to stay connected with God all the time. I think this is definitely going to be more than a 24 hour challenge. This is my new iLifestyle. :-)

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  6. What an incredible girl she is to think of all of those. We really do need to reach for Him more often.

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    1. Don't we. Particularly when He's always reaching for us!

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  7. Love the iPray idea! We should have something like that for dads, too!

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    1. Come up with an idea...I'll help you promote it!

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