Spending Time With The Light!

Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee. (Isaiah 60:1 KJV)

Since retirement, I have not found a lot of reasons to encourage me to get up and out of bed early in the morning. I do, though. I don't want to fall into the habit of sleeping my days away.

Depression can lead to a lot of excess sleeping and sleeping our days away can lead to depression as when we spend all of our time sleeping we do not get to live life. We do not get to enjoy life. And, life is for living! Sleep is for resting and rejuvenating our bodies and minds so that we can get up and live the next day.

Over time, I have developed and committed myself to some coping skills that help me to get up without regrets and to live a bit. I rise early before my husband is up so I can spend some quiet time with the Lord; for devotions and to write this daily blog. I began writing this daily blog, at least in part, to discipline myself to get up and spend time in the word and with the Word before the world comes crashing in. I usually wake up before the alarm goes off. But, there have been more than a few times when the alarm has gone off, that I've thought that maybe I should skip my morning routine and go back to sleep. 

Lately, though I have been waking up with a smile. I realized that the blasting of the alarm clock is like a mother or grandmother hollering at a teenager to get out of bed. So, I found an alarm on my phone that sounds like a wind-chime. Wind-chimes, of course, remind me of the wind. The wind reminds me of the Holy Spirit. When I wake up now to the sound of wind-chimes, I wake up smiling ready to face the day and live life, knowing that the light, who is Jesus the Christ, is with me in that moment. 

Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee. (Isa 60:1)

What better way is there to start the day than to spend some intentional time with the light, who is our Lord, Jesus the Christ!

God's Peace - Pr. J.

Pray Without Ceasing

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit." 1 Thess 5:16-19 NRSV 

When we fail to spend time in prayer; when we fail to spend intentional time in the presence of God, the Spirit can become quenched.

I have found that my life and the lives of the people around me go a lot smoother when I begin my days in communication with God. I take it very personal when things interrupt my the times I set aside for prayer each day. Travel and vacation over the last couple of weeks have definitely interrupted my routines. The change of routine has thrown my clock out of whack and I have found it more difficult to find the time to sit quietly in His presence and to be refreshed and empowered to do God's will throughout the day.

The good news is that I am very aware of this and have found myself intentionally praying randomly more often throughout the day and more often for people whom I do not know: for bikers riding in heavy traffic or rain; for the mother pushing a stroller; for the man in the electric cart in the department store; for the beautiful gray haired lady who worships God with such enthusiasm.

Pray without ceasing! Rejoice that you don't need a cell phone to talk to God! The line is always open and He never fails to respond to your call.

God's Peace - Pr. J