Habits the Q Gave Me: No. 1 "A Rock Higher Than I"

Morning coffee on “a rock higher than I”— via @passioncity’s daily YouTube study

I’ll start by saying –– I was raised in a Christian household and I’ve chosen to be a Christian as an adult, but…

I can’t rattle off Bible verses from memory. Never have I ever attended a small group/Bible study for more than 3 or so consecutive weeks before dropping out. Every devotional book I’ve purchased or “read the Bible in a year” app I’ve downloaded has collected some serious dust seriously quick.

My sweet friend texted our El Paso Girls group text back in March to share the daily Bible study she was doing that a church based out of Atlanta/D.C. had created. It was a quick and simple –– “Hey, I’m loving this and you girls might too!” Dark, anxious, uncertain, disappointing, painful, etc times are when I draw closer to my faith because it becomes an absolute need instead of a thing-that’s-important-to-me-but-mostly-on-Sundays-and-kinda-in-the-background-a-lot-of-the time-if-I’m-being-honest situation. The past 6 months have been the most 😭🤬😳😩 I’ve ever dealt with, so I was capital G game.

Instead of a fluffy feel good verse taken out of context to get your day started off on a fuzzy note, it is a pastor going through books of the Bible 1-2 verses a day. They’re filming in real time, so it directly addresses what’s going on in the world and talks about what God’s Word has to say about it. First up was Thessalonians –– a book written in a time and to a group of people similarly soaked in uncertainty.

PROCESS:
1.) I stumble out of bed, get my coffee, and open my laptop + Bible.
2.) I write the verse or two that are being covered that day in red to really slow down and take that verse in…also to let the coffee take effect he he.
3.) Then I press play on the @passioncity YouTube video for that day and take notes in black.
✨It’s takes 10-15 minutes tops.

After going to a Christian school that started with chapel every day (yes, that means I was going to church 6 days a week (!!!) until I moved to public school for high school) and being a longtime Christian, I can officially say I’ve now read a book of the Bible all the way through and dove a layer deeper because it was every single day and a verse by verse situation.

If this was the only habit that sticks and the only good thing to come out of The Q, then I’ll consider the past 6 months of ouches a win.

This week I was in Psalm 61 with the Passion City study which is where a character named King David is in trouble. He’s crying out, begging God to listen to his prayers. It’s filled with imagery of needing to get to “a rock higher than I” (think getting to higher ground in a battle) and a reminder to himself that God has been his “strong tower” in past troubles (the tallest building in town where in ancient times people would run to for cover when the city was under attack).

I still feel so isolated. I’m still sometimes gripped with anxiety when everyone has gone to bed and I can’t fall asleep. I still feel flipped upside down. But for the first time in literally ever I have a verse at the ready (not necessarily memorized forever quite yet 😉 but that was read that morning) that refocuses me on my strong tower. That will lift me up to higher ground where my pulse can slow and I’m reminded of God’s presence, plan, and protection.

If you want to give it a shot, I’ve linked it in my bio. It’s clearly been a game changing habit for me, so if you need one too I highly highly recommend.

All my love from The Q ,
D✨