A Missed Quiet Time is Not Good

I started off the weekend great. I was 100% on my habits Friday and then had most all my habits in Saturday before we met the realtor to look at a house.

I had planned on having soup at home after that, but we went to Jason's Deli instead. I had some of their toasted bread (Yum!) with my chili. Then I planned on having my nuts as a snack at church (I was running video), but I forgot about them. We went to out to eat Italian food for our anniversary. I ate SO much and was so stuffed when we got home. But it was SO good.

Sunday I didn't get up early enough to have my quiet time before church and I think that threw me off for the entire day. I didn't get hardly any of my habits all day. I think it is because I didn't have my quiet time. I realize now how important it is for me to have that time. I can't even recall the last time I didn't have it to know what kind of day that was. So, now I know and the next time I am running video at church, I will just get up at my regular workday time.

I think this is probably why I struggle when I am away from home. I don't get to have my normal quiet time then either and it causes me to try to fill myself with food because I didn't fill myself with the living Word of God. We will be going out of town at least once in November (and probably twice), so it will be important that I spend some quiet time with God while we are gone.

Just Five Minutes

I am working this month on sitting quietly for 5 minutes to listen to the voice of God. It is hard. My thoughts flitter around and I spend most of the 5 minutes telling them to "sshh!" But, I will keep on working on it. I know that with time I will be able to be still and listen for God.

How Great is Our God

I started my quiet time off this morning with a worship song - How Great is Our God by Chris Tomlin.

Then I started my bible reading and this was included:

Praise the Lord and worship him. Tell everyone what he has done and how great he
is. Sing praise to the Lord, because he has done great things. Let all the world
know what he has done. Shout and sing for joy, you people of Jerusalem, because
the Holy One of Israel does great things before your eyes. ~ Isaiah 12:4-6 (NCV)

How Great is Our God indeed!

Peace

Today my quiet time has involved mainly quiet - just sitting and resting in God's presence. Most days I do my bible reading, but this has been a busy week and it seems my mind has been churning all day every day. It was nice to just sit in the quiet with God. I have His peace in my heart this morning and I want to bask in His love all day.

Happy Daylight Savings Time!

Yippee! Daylight Savings Time is finally here! The dark winter days are over and spring is on the way. I was excited to wake up 10 minutes before the alarm this morning and be ready to get out of bed. Then I had a good quiet time and found an appropriate devotional for Friday's devotional I will be giving when we are working the Kairos. On top of all that it is RAINING today! It is a beautiful day. All praise and glory to God on High!

God Helps Me be Regular

I apologize in advance if this is too much information. I just feel like maybe I just post this because it might help someone else. It's about having regular BMs, so if you're not interested, stop reading now.

I have to praise God that I am regular. Kind of weird, huh? Let me explain. In about May I started having my quiet time when I first get up. This is my routine: The alarm goes off about 5:30, I get up, empty my bladder, and start the coffee pot. Then I set down in my chair with a 24 oz bottle of water and begin my daily reading. It is usually cold in the house this early in the morning, so I set with my feet up in the chair with my knees to my chest to help stay warm. (I believe this "squatting" position is significant from something I read some time, so where, but of course I don't know where.) I drink the entire bottle and by that time the coffee is ready. Mmmm...coffee! I have it with powdered milk and a little artificial sweetner - not that how I drink my coffee makes any difference to the story, but I love it. :) Anyway, I drink my cup of coffee and continue my quiet time. By about 6:00 am, I am ready to "go." It's like clock work. I have never been so regular in my life. I don't believe it is the quiet time that is the "magic" here, I'd been having a quiet time long before this. I praise God for inspiring me to start having my quiet time first thing in the morning, for giving me the desire to start working on re-hydrating right away, for a cold house that makes me want to curl up in the chair, and for warm coffee to get things moving. God is good and He cares about every part of our lives. I praise Him and thank Him for that!

Curb Your Appetite

Curb Your Appetite for Trash by Phil Joel of the Newsboys
Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will know what God wants you to do, and you will know how good and pleasing and perfect His will really is” (Romans 12:2, NLT).
I won’t lie to you—life in a rock band is amazing. I still pinch myself, half expecting to wake up as a 14-year-old boy who went to sleep surrounded by posters of my favorite bands and musicians. I’m having a blast, and touring in a band is a lot of fun. There are, however, a few challenges. One of the seemingly minor ones is that for a touring musician, the road is laden with burgers, fries and those crazy American “donut” things. Truck stops, fast food restaurants and backstage catering offer every fattening food option imaginable. Finding good nourishment can sometimes be very difficult. But, if I’m willing to put in the effort, it can always be found.
My pastor has a great saying: “You hunger for what you feed on and you feed on what you hunger for.” It’s really true! When I’m feeding myself with healthy foods, my energy levels increase and I find myself satisfied after each meal. I soon lose my appetite for the junk and become addicted to the way my body feels and functions when I’m eating well.
It’s the same principle from a spiritual angle. As Christians, we may be tempted to feed on the “junk food” of our culture: the wrong TV and Internet, pornography, the drive for fame and recognition in our own social scene, etc. If we give in to the temptation and spend little or no time with the Lord—reading His word, in prayer and intimacy with Him—we will continue to be stimulated by the “junk food.” Our minds will be coated in a “spiritual fatty layer” that will block our true potential in Christ.
The deal is this: There is an enemy of our souls. He has a plan to destroy us with a complete buffet of lifestyle garbage. I don’t necessarily mean those obvious, terrible and dark things that may tempt us. I mean anything that would distract us from pursuing God and feeding on His goodness and His words and ways. We need to ask ourselves, “Do I have a plan? How am I planning to grow and be deliberate in my pursuit of the Lord and His word?”
I’m writing about this today because five years ago, I made a conscious and deliberate decision to meet with the Lord every day arid spend time listening, learning and feeding on His presence. I renewed the simple, yet essential, practice of “the quiet time.” Rising and meeting with Him through the Bible and prayer is so important. It has radically changed my life. This is real-deal relationship-building stuff, and I need it. We all do! Without this time each morning, we risk spending our days as undernourished, ignorant, unfilled Christians who haven’t entered into the fullness of what Christ has for our lives.
In Psalm 19, King David talks about being hungry for God’s word and ways. He describes them as being “more to be desired than fine gold” and “sweeter than honey and the honeycomb.” When we eat the right foods, we build and strengthen our bodies. As we feed on God’s presence through His word and prayer every day, we build and strengthen our relationship with Him. We hunger for what we feed on, and we feed on what we hunger for.
So what are you hungry for?

This was in a devotional I received in the mail yesterday from KLOVE. I get these because I am a monthly donor, but because I have other things I am reading, I normally just throw it away. However, I thumbed through it and this article caught my attention. After being out of town for a weekend and feeding on actual junk food, I was happy to return home and return to my healthy food. However, the first couple days I definitely suffered from some cravings and came real close to devoring hot chocolate (regular - not sugar-free) and cheez-its. Now I have returned to my return and those foods do not even appeal to me. The same thing happens with my quiet time. Anytime we are away from home for a few days, my routine is thrown off and I don't get my normal quiet time. It's disrupts me spiritually and I am always very happy to be home and resume my quiet time with the Lord.

Happy Heart

I trust in your love. My heart is happy because you saved me. I sing to the Lord because he has taken care of me. ~ Psalm 13:5-6

Some mornings it is really hard to get out of bed to have my quiet time. This was one. I've been feeling like I was getting a cold, I wanted some extra sleep, it's cold, Sugar Pop didn't hear my first alarm so we didn't have our normal snuggle time. But, I had to get up because I am going with Sugar Pop to church early and learn how to run the video. It will be fun, but scary because everyone sees if you mess up.

Anyway, even though I wasn't thrilled about getting out of bed, my heart is now happy. Reading the Word does that for me. It changes me. That is a good thing, because there are days when I really need a lot of changing.

I will set no worthless thing before my eyes ~ Psalm 101:3 (NASB)

I have created a screensaver on my computer that has various scriptures and spiritual quotes. This one came up today during my quiet time.

When we wake up in the morning and turn our soul toward You, You are there first. ~ Soren Kierkegard

That quote came in a book of "Faith Notes" that DSD1 (Oldest Step-Daughter) gave us for Christmas.

Two messages to me about the distractions that I am allowing in during my quiet time. I've started a bad habit of getting on my computer first thing, instead of having my quiet time first.

Dear Lord, I am listening. I desire to start my day with You. Please increase that desire and help me to avoid distractions. Spending time with you in the morning blesses me and sets my feet on the right path for the day. Help me to remember and to be faithful. In Jesus's name I pray. Amen.