Ever woke up with a song that stays with you all day? The phrase from some pop hit has been with me all day, “I really really really like you.” Trust me, it has woven it’s way into even into my prayers. Don’t check the whole song out, because the rest of the lyrics don’t apply AT ALL. But, the really really really really like you part is good. Hey tween, there is a God who really really really likes you. And if you are a young heart like me you can still enjoy knowing God really really really likes you no matter the age, year of life, or circumstances.

I have written a daily examine as if you were at coffee with God. Enjoy. Little girl, your daddy would take you out. Tween he is still interested in you and your wild life. High schooler he has a stronger interest in you than any fresh boy. Twenty something he knows the world expects much of you and he just wants to talk about your day and how you’re doing. Thirty and up, mom to most he waits for you, stays awake with you. Your Father in heaven would love to catch coffee do you have a few minutes?

But each one must examine his own work for boasting in regard to himself alone and not in regard to another. Galatians 6:4

Examine Prayer:

Rest relax be here now. Feel the warm cup heating your perma-cold January hands. Let the tensions of today slip away. Know that you are in the presence of God. God welcomes you heartily regardless of the forgetfulness you experienced of His presence.

Look back over the day. Let gratitude fill you like shots perfectly extracted, pulled from an Italian espresso machine. Ask yourself what do I want to thank God for? What gifts of happiness have you received?

Jesus said the Holy Spirit will teach us all things. In God’s word he says we have all we need for life and godliness. Ask God’s Holy Spirit to assist you as you look over the day. In the Lord’s prayer Jesus directs us to pray for daily bread. Daily provision. Daily nourishment. Now, from the moment you opened your eyes this morning until this moment here look back peacefully over your day. Trust the Holy Spirit will show you what the Father wants to show you. He is waiting. Look at places you have been, things you have done, and people you have been with.

Look for the moments when there has been energy light life. When you have experienced the fruits of the Holy Spirit? Love. Joy. Peace. Patience. Kindness. Goodness. Trust. Gentleness. Self-control. Hear him say, “I just want you. Flaws, mistakes, smiles, jokes, all you are right now before me. I adore.”

God is always present in our lives to bring about our greatest good and the good of others. When did you feel His goodness? When did you feel the pull of the current of His love? Thank Him. Ask yourself when did you feel disconnect from God. Try not to be judgmental. When have you chosen separation? Invite God into those spaces now before the day forever closes. Ask God for whatever it is you need. Ask God to open your eyes to the surprises of His plan. This God forgives, restores and wants you to live freely. Free from great temptation and small. What do you need Him to strengthen? What gift do you need in order to follow his way of freedom. This God is Father and knows you. He walks with you in this life to deliver, rescue, and protect you. You are part of an eternal Kingdom of salt and light, grace and love, without limit. It begins in this world and enters into eternity.

Glory be to God in the hearts in this room. Glory be to God in the world without end. Amen

James 1:22-25:

‘You must do what the word tells you, and not just listen to it and deceive yourselves. To listen to the word and not obey is like looking at your own features in a mirror and then, after a quick look, going off and immediately forgetting what you looked like. But the man who looks steadily at the perfect law of freedom and makes that his habit – not listening and then forgetting, but actively putting it into practice – will be happy in all that he does.’

Modified prayer from: http://www.jesuit.org.uk/blog/examen