Showing posts with label devotions. Show all posts
Showing posts with label devotions. Show all posts

Wednesday, July 13, 2016

Day 13: Summer Mornings

Noah and I realized we're just about a month away from the beginning of school.  And while he is counting down the days, excited to be a Junior, see his friends and teachers, and get back into routine; I'm digging in my heels just a bit.

My summer mornings are a joy, when I take the effort to get up and savor the me time.  But also a joy on the rare occasion I can sleep in a bit, due to my flexing schedule.

On a morning I can linger, I love to nestle into my chair with a steaming cup of coffee and wake up slowly with the world.  The only slow of school days is the time it takes to get my son stirring.  He is such a heavy sleeper and not a morning person.

A few years ago when we replaced our windows, the installers were in disbelief that he slept through the noise.  They were even in his room!  It was a running joke with the workers that if his bed had been small enough, they would've set it outside so he could wake up under the trees.

In the summer, I have nobody but myself to get ready so I can take my time and there is no need to yell out the clock status every 10 minutes.  Although admittedly, sometimes I do need an internal push to move on to the next station.

Most mornings I'll also toss together a smoothie, something new for me as for years I never felt there was time for breakfast.  This is a quick, easy and healthy way for me to start my day with a belly full of nutrition.  If there's time, I'll catch some Good Morning America, about the only news show I enjoy because they seem to focus more on the positive than negative.

And I'll end with a devotion in my car.

Might seem a weird place to do so but there's a few reasons I have this habit.  Currently I'm doing a devotion workbook that asks for a pause at morning, noon and night to read, reflect and write.  I find it easier to stay consistent if it is in my car.  After almost 20 years of commuting and now in a position with lots of windshield time, some of my best talks and worship moments with God come in the car.

So if you see a woman passionately singing, crying, or deep in thought and not waving back, that would be why!

Are you a morning person?  What's your favorite way to start the day?




Friday, November 15, 2013

Faithful Friday: Operation Me

Most of us envision what we would do with free time.  Days with no schedules, no rules, no lists, just free time.  In today's busy world, is that even a realistic concept?  But if you had the opportunity for freedom...what would you do?

Although I normally saved my vacation time for family activities, every now and then, I would take a Me day. Being a homebody, it normally involved staying at the house in my PJs to read, write and watch movies. And it was nice.  Once in awhile.

I'm on day 5 of unemployment as I write this.
People have asked how I'm doing, and, "How you liking retirement?"

Well, at 37, that's not really a phrase I'm prepared to answer yet.  But I'm dealing with it (or at least trying) in the only way I know how... with a joyful attitude and lots of prayer.

Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved,a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.  
2 Timothy 2:15

Last week, while out running errands, a gentle nudging led me to stop and get a devotion book for this new season I'm facing.  I picked up a few, flipped some pages, touched the covers of others, but this one book kept finding me.  I'd turn the corner and see it on an end cap.  Sitting down to check my phone, I again found a display at eye level.

Ok, God, I hear ya.

The book I chose (or rather He chose) is Whispers of Hope by Beth Moore.  It's a daily devotion that includes room for me to write and is focused on prayer.  Speak to my heart, sister.  And it lasts for 10 weeks.

Now, I'm not saying I want to be unemployed that long, but the studies I've read are shocking.  It could take more, it could take less, but I figure 10 weeks will give me lots of growth in Him regardless.  No matter how long it takes, my prayer is to find something which brings Him glory.

The first page was a definite sign He has news for me along this journey.
"God wants us to surrender to His will, but we tend to want a blueprint of His plans 
so we can decide whether or not to surrender."

Surrender sure sounds a lot like my word for 2013...Submit.  Isn't it amazing when we can look back and see the hand of God at work in our lives?  While I don't know what he has planned for me next, I do know and believe his promise that it will be 
for my good.


In the meantime, I'm catching up on DVR that's reached capacity, cleaning out and organizing the house, and helping manage Thanksgiving deliveries to over 300 through my church.  Oh, and starting that book - at least in my head.  Good things.  Truly blessed...
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