Tuesday, June 5, 2012

mornings

so anyone who knows me knows that i am an early riser....NOT!!!  i loathe getting up early.  meanwhile, my sister {not amy & not julie...can you guess which one??} will call me at 8:00 and casually mention how she's been up for two and a half hours.  makes me so exhausted that i want to go straight back to sleep.  i have been especially lackadaisical {did i really write that word?  do you even know what it means?} about getting up lately.  i think it's a combination of being at my parents' house {knowing that someone in the house is going to be up when my kids get up...did i mention that my mom often wakes up at 4:00 a.m. to work?  painful, i know} and summer break...however, lately i feel like the Lord has been working on my heart about this very important thing.  it is important, you know, this thing of getting up early.

now, i know that i probably lost some of you right there, because you don't want to have anyone harping on you about getting up earlier.  i know, i hate it, too...but for those of you who are reading on, i'm just going to be honest about the way i have oftentimes looked at this concept of getting up early.  i have been guilty of saying "i am NOT an early riser, so i will do my quite time at night!" or "my kids get up so early that i would have to get up SUPER early to do my devos...so i will do them at night!"  or "this is just SUCH a busy season of life; God understands when i miss a day or two...or three or four." you know, excuses, excuses.  but God has really been convicting me that at the end of the day, that is all they are...EXCUSES.  i have been reminded so often lately of what a great sacrifice Jesus made for us...and i'm not willing to sacrifice an hour in the morning?  i feel ashamed even admitting it!

i talked with drew about it last week and told him that this week was going to be different...during the school year i don't struggle with this as much because we are in a routine. even though we're on summer break, i'm going to try to get up at 7:00 so that i can get my quite time done before the rest of the house is up and about.  God really affirmed to me through my quiet time from Streams in the Desert this morning that that is EXACTLY what i need to be doing.  i just had to share it...

"Go not, my friend, into the dangerous world without prayer...the morning breaks; and it may be you rise late, and so your early devotions are not done, or are done with irregular haste.  No watching unto prayer!  Wakefulness once more omitted; and now is that repairable?  We solemnly believe not.  There has been that done which cannot be undone.  You have given up your prayer, and you will suffer for it.  Temptation is before you, and you are not ready to meet it.  There is a guilty feeling on the soul, and you linger at a distance from God.  It is no marvel if that day in which you suffer drowsiness to interfere with prayer be a day in which you shrink from duty.  Moments of prayer intruded on by sloth cannot be made up.  We may get experience, but we cannot get back the rich freshness and strength which were wrapped up in those moments."  -Frederick W. Robertson

"If Jesus, the strong Son of God, felt it necessary to rise before the breaking of the day to pour out His heart to God in prayer, how much more ought you to pray unto Him who is the giver of every good and perfect gift, and who has promised all things necessary for our good." 

What a convicting reminder to GET UP!  GET ON MY KNEES!  Hear a word from Heaven...the day is so much different when we do; is it not?

who knows...i may even decide that 7:00 is just not early enough!  {don't count on it, though}

1 comment:

  1. Stacey-I used to try to do mine at night in college, and I would do the same thing and put it off. I now do it early in the morning. Our pastor at HP did a whole study on how to have a priority time. Yes, I dont call it quiet time anymore because either myself or God is talking so it really isnt quiet. Anyways, what really convicted me was the fact that Jesus always always got up before the sun to pray and spend time with his Father. He never waited until late at night (which he was always in contact with his Father, but you never read in the Bible about late night time with his Father). I encourage you to go watch the My Priority Time sermons at :

    http://highpointmemphis.com/media#!/swx/pp/media_archives/109489/channel/1704/series/2987

    He really outlines how to journal, how to pray, and how to really have a quality time with God! I am still not great at it because I only have like 15 to 20 mins most morning even getting up at 5am, but I feel very encouraged just for that little amount of time. I probably should set a goal for 30 mins a morning. We will see. I have a book too on Priority time that came with the series. If you would like it, I would love to send it to you. Just let me know. We should also get together! We miss yall! Love you and email me sometime-- ngarey@re-trans.com
    I hope this helps you with getting up early to spend time with he Lord!

    Natalie Garey :)

    ReplyDelete

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