Category: Pam Farrel

Cultivate: To Foster the Growth Of


After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.” 
(Revelation 7:9-12 ESV)


When I was a little girl, one of my favorite parts of Vacation Bible School was the featured missionary. I remember after meeting a missionary from Africa, who brought items from her country to touch and pass around, promising God that I would go to Africa for him when I grew up. As a single young person, I thought I would become a full-time missionary. 

As a grown woman, I have learned that I can be a part of missions through prayer and support. In 30 Ways to Wake Up Your Quiet Time, Pam Farrel challenges us to find ways to expand our global perspective on the kingdom of God. 

Make friends with a missionary, writing to him or her may enrich your quiet times . . .visit churches from other cultures . . .if you can’t find a church of a different culture in your area, then you can be equally inspired by books. 

Here are links to the resources she mentions:





©Pam Farrel from 30 Ways to Wake Up Your Quiet Time (IVP). For more devotional books by Pam http://www.Love-wise.com


How do you maintain a kingdom perspective 
in your quiet times?
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Still: Uttering No Sound; Quiet

Silence is praise to you,
    Zion-dwelling God,
And also obedience.
    You hear the prayer in it all.
(Psalm 65:1 The Message)

I am restless. A cold snap in the weather caught me unawares. I miss sitting out on our front porch. To go for a walk seems like a huge effort; to find socks, a coat, a hat and gloves appears insurmountable. I sit in the front room staring out at the empty porch swing, wondering how a little cold weather holds me hostage. My mind wanders and focus eludes me. The sunlight peeps through the window. I need some sunshine. I need some warmth. I want to be outdoors in the solitude and silence of a good walk with God.

I grab my phone, a travel mug with coffee, a book and a pen. I rummage through the closet to find gloves and a warm coat. Walking to the park, my mental block begins to thaw. My soul warms up to God. We just walk together. I try to read, but He just wants to be with me. Uttering no sound, being quiet together, moving through the cold, sunny day is enough.

Enough to bring me back to peace, back to some mental clarity and the ideas for a class I’m teaching on Friday begin to flow, just like the blood coursing through my body and the oxygen filling my lungs. 

Solitude affords me the opportunity to be present to the moment. To listen and soak in God’s love. 

In 30 Ways to Wake Up Your Quiet Time, Pam Farrel reminds us that we have to carve out time to be still and know God:

Enjoying quiet is a lost art. Many of miss God in the everyday, but when things are still, when we take time in the quietness of nature–or in the quietness of our souls–our hearts will begin to tune into thoughts of God. 

If it’s been a while since you stopped to smell the roses, do just that. Begin your journey in solitude by a walk in a garden or park. find a grassy knoll and lay on your back…and watch clouds, noting their shapes. then just pray through your thoughts as they come, even if they seem jumbled and random. 

It may feel strange at first to rest in the Lord, but one day of R and R with God can give you back months of clarity and productivity.

©Pam Farrel from 30 Ways to Wake Up Your Quiet Time (IVP). For more devotional books by Pam http://www.Love-wise.com


What is keeping you from being still?

Posted on by kelrohlf 4

Record: To Give Evidence Of

Moses recorded their starting places according 
to their journeys by the command of the Lord, 
and these are their journeys according to their starting places.
(Numbers 33: 2 NASB)



Apparently God cares about keeping records. I found the above Scripture fascinating. In a quick concordance search, I found this repeating phrase: “These are the records of the generations of…” After each entry would be a person’s name, like Noah, etc. Several times in Israel’s history, these records were important reminders of God’s faithfulness and direction for the nation.

Today’s idea for waking up our quiet time is to create a “Miracle Scrapbook.” If you are visual person, you may love this idea. But other ways to record God’s miracles in your life are readily available. Like using a digital journal on your phone to take photos, type notes and record God’s daily faithfulness or the old-fashioned journal, where you can list your blessings or keep track of answered prayers. You could also use a voice recorder on your phone to have a verbal record of God’s praiseworthy deeds in your life.

I am a visual person, so scrapbooking, doodling and journaling the journey appeal to me. I have shelves of scrapbooks, so I am not sure I will go to the effort of making a special one for miracles. Come to think of it, if I just go back and look at my current scrapbooks and journals, I could find plenty of everyday and once in a lifetime miracles that give evidence of God’s grace in our lives.

If you don’t want to or don’t feel like making a visual reminder, why not just look at some old photos and thank God in person for the miracle of your life with your voice or in your heart.

Here’s  a couple reasons that Pam Farrel keeps a miracle scrapbook:

Someday we’d have children, and I didn’t want them to think because we were in ministry we were paid to be good. (I wanted them to know there was a time when were “good for nothing!”) I began to keep evidence of answered prayer. For example, the grocery bags that held two weeks of free groceries we received when we were broke…Whenever my faith becomes weary and I’m not sure if God can see me…through a crisis or challenge, I pull out that miracle scrapbook. I am reminded that while the obstacles might have changed or grown, God hasn’t changed, and he is able to handle the challenge.

By recording anchor points in your marriage or family, you strengthen the faith of everyone in that family. By spending your quiet times cataloging God’s provision for you, your heartstring to him is also strengthened.

©Pam Farrel from 30 Ways to Wake Up Your Quiet Time (IVP). For more devotional books by Pam http://www.Love-wise.com
How do you record God’s faithfulness to you?
Linking up with Soli Deo Gloria Party.
To read more of the posts from 31 Days of Quiet, click here.
Posted on by kelrohlf 10

Motivate: To Inspire a Response

. . . just say the word . . .
(Matthew 8:8 NIV)


What motivates me, most likely, is different than what motivates you. When I am weary, I need to take a nap in the middle of the day. When I feel depleted of ideas, I need to go and play in my art room. When I feel bored with my quiet time, I need to seek God’s presence with creativity and variety. 

Another thing that energizes me is definitions! If I’m experiencing  a dry time with God, I ask for a word. Just one word to keep me moving towards God. Sometimes the word brings much joy, like desire, my One Word for the year. Or they can be convicting, like today, while I was reading Jesus Calling: 

“To live in My Presence consistently, you must expose and expel your rebellious tendencies.”

Ouch! And further into the reading, God exposed and thankfully helped me to expel some resentment. God brings these words to mind for my well-being and wholeness, and for that I am ever grateful.


In 30 Ways Wake up Your Quiet Time, Pam Farrel shares some clever ways to use a slogan or catchy phrase to jolt your quiet time:

We’re a T-shirt society. Give us a slogan, cause or  catchy saying and we’ll wear it on our back. I listen to sermons frequently. Yet only a few stick out in my mind. One was a series Jill Briscoe did for leaders. Every day in every message Jill would use the Nike commercial slogan and say, Just Do It! 

Now in ministry when I am so exhausted…I feel I can’t go on, I hear a gentle reminder, Just do it…On those days I don’t feel like having my quiet time I hear Just do it!

Pam made her own T-shirt to illustrate a talk she gave on perseverance:

On the front it has a cross. On the back: He went the distance for me, I can live this moment for him! I know that perseverance is a complex subject. There are hundreds of verses on the topic, but when I am dead tired what keeps me motivated is that saying, that word picture of all Jesus did on the cross for me. 

She invites us to create our own slogan to inspire our devotion to God:

Try it! See if you can create an internal motivating saying for one of these spiritual disciplines: prayer, fasting, worship, Bible study or holiness. Think of how it might fit on a …T-shirt.

©Pam Farrel from 30 Ways to Wake Up Your Quiet Time (IVP). For more devotional books by Pam http://www.Love-wise.com



I would love to hear any great slogans you come up with! Share with us in the comments!

Posted on by kelrohlf 2

Fast: To Abstain From


This is the kind of fast day I’m after:
    to break the chains of injustice,
    get rid of exploitation in the workplace,
    free the oppressed,
    cancel debts.
What I’m interested in seeing you do is:
    sharing your food with the hungry,
    inviting the homeless poor into your homes,
    putting clothes on the shivering ill-clad,
    being available to your own families.
Do this and the lights will turn on,
    and your lives will turn around at once.
Your righteousness will pave your way.
    The God of glory will secure your passage.
Then when you pray, God will answer.
    You’ll call out for help and I’ll say, ‘Here I am.’
(Isaiah 58:6-9 The Message)


Spiritual fasting is often associated with abstaining from food. When I found this passage from Isaiah, I was amazed to note that the kind of fast that pleases God is the one that abstains from sin and selfishness. And instead embraces justice, compassion, service and practical presence in the lives of those in need. 

In 30 Ways to Wake Up Your Quiet Time, Pam Farrel points out another benefit of fasting:

The  most encouraging benefit of fasting is sometimes overlooked because it is so simple: fasting changes our pace, our focus and our hearts so we have fewer distractions. A fast gives us quality time with God.

She goes on to list Scriptures that define situations that called for fasting: 

Times of mourning (Matthew 9:14-15), times of decision (1 Kings 21:12), consecration to God (2 Chronicles 20:3), repentance (Jonah 3:5), intercession (Esther 4:16), overcome sin (Isaiah 58:6)

Before fasting, please pray and ask God what kind of fast that He wants from you. If you have never participated in a food fast before, please read up on the practice or ask someone who has experience to share some tips and guidelines. Each person’s physical capability to fast differs. 

Pam reminds us that fasting means taking a break from the routine, in order to connect with God: 

 Anytime you break the routine and give God the time, he is faithful to meet you there. Give up something to gain more.

©Pam Farrel from 30 Ways to Wake Up Your Quiet Time (IVP). For more devotional books by Pam www.Love-wise.com


What will you do this week to gain more time with God?


Posted on by kelrohlf 4