Do you ever wish that there was a Pause button on life? It would be helpful for a lot of situations, wouldn’t it? Life comes at you like a fast-paced video game, and we would be so much more successful if we could just pause the game for a minute to catch our breath and think. This is even more true in our always-on generation!
Did you know that there actually is a Pause Button? It’s called “Prayer!” And, now there’s even an app for that!
There’s an App For That
Of course you don’t need an app to pray, but sometimes it is helpful to have a little guidance from someone who has gone before. In today’s era, this usually equates with an app. I have a ton of admiration for John Eldredge’s prayer life, and so when I heard that he had created an app to help you lock in to daily prayer, of course I downloaded it. The idea of this app is that it helps you to quiet your mind from all of the distractions around you so that you can focus on God.
He calls it the One Minute Pause, because that is often all the time we have in a busy day. One Minute! But if we unplug from life for 1 minute and Pause in God’s Presence, that one minute is enough! The app also has longer pauses if you have time for those, and I found that those were very helpful in certain situations.
The Leader Must Follow
I started using The Pause App because I needed to slow down and step away from the daily grind. Sometimes anxiety gets the better of me, so I have to be purposeful about the way that I shepherd my heart and my mind. (You know, lying down in green pastures and walking along still waters to restore my soul?) I thought that the Pause app might help me do that. I downloaded it in the fall of 2019, and I would periodically pray along with the app either with my morning quiet time to eliminate distractions, or at work to help me focus, or in the evening to help me relax. In any of those settings, it helps me to step away from whatever is happening and focus on God. In fact, the first words of the prayer are “Jesus, I give everyone and everything to You.” This was really a blessing for me, and a nice new tool in my prayer toolbox.
Follow the Leader
My boys started using the Pause app because they saw me doing it, and wanted to know more about it. So of course I let them pray along with me, using the app. After we had prayed through it together a few times, I realized that this could be very helpful for one of my sons. I started being more purposeful with inviting my boys to join me with the Pause, so it became part of our normal daily routine.
Just What He Needed
If you know Jacob, you know that he is full of energy, all of the time. He is always ready to go, and always looking forward to the next adventure! Life with Jacob is fun, entertaining, and exciting! (He acts like an Enneagram 7, if you’re into that sort of thing.) The downside to this is that it doesn’t come naturally for him to sit still and be content. When he is feeling bored or feeling trapped in a situation, he doesn’t always react appropriately. This is a behavior trait that we have been working with him to overcome, with some success.
I realized that a One Minute Pause is exactly what he needed! After that, when Jacob started to have a moment where he was acting up, I was able to encourage him to come off to the side and listen to the Pause app together. Because we had already been doing this together, it didn’t feel like a punishment or a time out. I explained to him that this would help him to be strong and take control over his thoughts and actions. (He likes the idea of being strong.) So together, we started building the discipline of how to manage our emotions when they begin to go the wrong way.
Bedtime Routine
Like all kids, our boys sometimes have trouble settling down and falling asleep. There is so much to do! So much to talk about! Why do we have to sleep?!? We then realized that the One Minute Pause would be a helpful way to settle down and calm our bodies and our minds so that we could fall asleep. So we started incorporating it into our nightly routine. One cool thing about the app is that it keeps track of how many pauses you have done, how many minutes you have spent, and how many days in a row you have done a pause. Of course everything is more fun when we are keeping score, so we made it a goal to keep our streak going as long as possible. We had a couple false starts where we missed a day and broke the streak, but after a while it was such a part of our daily habit that we almost couldn’t forget! We recently celebrated the One Year mark, with 365 consecutive days with at least one pause! I truly believe that these minutes we have invested will pay huge dividends over our lifetimes!
What Do You Need?
Do you need something to help you unplug and give all of your worries and thoughts to God? Do your kids need to practice the discipline of quieting their bodies and minds so that they can hear God’s voice? Do you need help making your prayer life more consistent? Do you need a new addition to your bedtime routine? If so, give the One Minute Pause a try! It’s free!
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