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More wonderful words this morning.  I love the way the first few verses begin with psalmists command to God, “Teach me,…Give me understanding,…Direct me,…Turn my heart…”  Of course, they are followed by a promise to keep His laws and serve Him. And 37 really stands out to me, “Turn my eyes away from worthless things; preserve my life according to your word.”  In other versions, worthless things was also referred to as idols and idolatry, vanity, toys and trinkets…all of these things are great examples of distractions of the world that can kill our time with God.  I know for me personally I have had times in my life where this was happening and I did not even realize it until once I was consumed and having to exert the extra effort to get out of yet another pit.  The best and most recent example would be the one that got me into this commitment.  “If the Devil won’t make you bad, he’ll make you BUSY.”  That is what he did to me.  Yes, for me business became a sin, because I let it affect my time with God.

I am not going to be able to blog tomorrow and most likely not untillater Sunday, because I will be away without internet access.  I promise to keep my quiet time these mornings.  Please feel free to still comment on the next sections, though!  Thanks for all of your comments so far; they are all encouraging!  Have a great Memorial Day Weekend…

Getting a late start today.  I read first thing this morning, but am just now having an opportunity to write.  I wrote an e-mail to my husband today, and I would like to quote part of what it said, “This has been refreshing, and I am glad i am doing it, but it has also been really hard.  Trying to consume my thoughts with what I’ve read and make changes in my life and having so many other things going on and bothering me is a constant struggle.  Huh…I have done my reading but not my blog yet…maybe I could just use part of this…” 

That is the truth of how I am feeling.  I don’t regret being called to this task, but it is so not easy!  Getting life back into rhythm seems alot harder than just letting it get that way in the first place.  I’m sure you can understand this and have felt the same.  Seriously, my phone has ramg 5 times and I have 2 new text messages just in the time I have been writing.  This is a lesson learned that Kelly pointed out on Sunday.  There needs to be a rhythm to our lives, just as there is a rhythm in all that God has created.  And, quiet time needs to be done in the early morning!  Once we get going in our day it is hard to slow down and take time away to be in the Word and really talk to God.  I am going to make sure I continue to follow Jesus’ example while on earth and pray in the early morning.  God deserves all of us, even if it is only for a few minutes a day, without distractions and worries of this world. 

I have reread verse 30 about 10 times…I have chosen his way of truth, and I continue to set my heart on his laws.

Wow.  This passage from 17-24 has really hit home with me this morning; very timely.  I read it through first in the NIV, but the personal application really shone through when I read the version in The Message.  (I mentioned to one of our family who posted a comment yesterday that we are so fortunate to have all of the resources that we do!  To be able to read the same passage in however many different versions can really send a point home and offer clarity.)

I will tell you that the hurtful situation I referred to yesterday has attempted to consume my thoughts for the last 36 hours or so.  And, there have been moments where I admit I, without even realizing it, completely entertained the negative thoughts even though I kept praying for that not to happen.  So, maybe I am praying for the wrong thing???  Instead, I should be praying to just stay “absorbed” in the Word (23), and to continue getting delight and fulfillment from It.  Seek happiness, not misery…what a concept.  Why is it such a Eureka moment to realize it would be much easier to ignore gossip and negative attitudes and to just stay focused on the Lord and scripture?  I mean, I read and learned on Day One that I will be blessed as long as I stay on His course, but yet I still let the words of imperfect humans make me forget that just hours later!!!  I continue to be humbled by what God reveals to me, but there is joy in learning his lessons!  “Open my eyes so I can see…”

I felt very energized and excited about facing the day yesterday.  I wrote that anything that could come up would seem small after spending the morning with God, but the Devil decided to use that against me.  Actually, I expected to be hit with temptation and trouble throughout this process, and, therefore, made that my a huge part of my prayer yesterday.  I pleaded with God to give me strength and shield me against the Evil’s schemes.  I found myself facing one of the most hurtful situations I can recall in a very long time yesterday afternoon, and turned myself back into Psalm 119:8-”I will obey your decrees; do not utterly forsake me.”  Yesterday morning those words of the psalmist seemed a little bold to me, but at that point it was the plea and prayer I needed. 

 So this morning, I am feeling even a little stronger, because as much as I hurt I am still going to delve into the Word, follow His decrees, and keep praising.  Psalm 14 struck me today-”I rejoice in following your statutes as one rejoices in great riches.”  When I think of rejoicing in great riches, I picture the dance and I’d be doing if I were to play and win the lottery.   Trust me, it would be wild and go on forever, and I would call everyone I knew to tell them about it.   That is how I am supposed to feel about what God has laid out in the bible for me to follow, and it should be shared!  I think I will get up and jump around and read a little more…

Thanks for your comments yesterday!  I really enjoyed reading them!

So, here I am to embark on this journey of an exposed daily quiet time.  For the record, I am not a morning person.  In fact, I am about as far from a morning person as you can get.  I was hopeful that I would wake up this morning hearing birds sing, a smile on my face, and skip into the other room to begin praying.  Not exactly.  But, I did sit down and start my day with prayer and reading.  I will say that I have missed this feeling that after a good morning conversation with GOD, the fears of the rest of the day already seem small in comparison.  No matter what is thrown at me today, I know that I have blessings to look forward to as long as I  “walk according to the law of the Lord” and “seek him with all of my heart”.   Hope you are joining me!